#going to a gay bar and discovering both of these men are 20 years old

[unreversedumbrella]

listen im a big aroace bart fan, but i do understand the konbart vision

[inevitably-johnlocked]

STEPH I ACCIDENTLY REWATCHED TSOT AND NOW I'M FUCKING SOBBING. I JUST HAVEN'T WATCHED THE ACTUAL SHOW IN FOREVER AND FORGOT HOW SAD SHERLOCK LOOKS IN THIS EPISODE. GOD. so yeah i just wanted some fics where john & sherlock dance together, whether it be at a/their wedding, "for a case", some kind of ball, or my favorite- sherlock teaching john to dance. it's maybe one of my favorite situations/tropes in media. (also welcome back!! and i love you <3)

Hi Lovely!!!

AHHHH I’ve been putting a “dancing” list together before I even had a system in place to do my lists, so I’m going to use your ask as an excuse to finally post it because I can’t find the original ask, LOL LOL!!!

And to pad out the list, I’m adding any that I’ve tagged from my MFL List, so I hope you enjoy that, LOL.

As usual, add your own, friends!! Hope you enjoy!!!

DANCING

You Lead, I Lead, You Follow, I Follow by BrighteyedJill (M, 862 w., 1 Ch. || Fever, H/C, John Whump) – John wakes up after a chase gone wrong to find Sherlock watching over him, but he’s a little hazy on the details.

Velvet by headlessjess (G, 1,155 w., 1 Ch. || Pining, Angst, Jealous Sherlock, Loneliness, Sad Fic) – It's the day, the wedding day - John and Mary, getting married. And then there's Sherlock, in pain and in love, without knowing how to deal with it.

Your love it feels so good by Hotaru_Tomoe (E, 2,843 w., 1 Ch. || Gay Club / Gay Bar, Lingerie, Stripping, Anal) – Sherlock is last at a quiz night and is forced by Anderson to perform in a gay stripclub. John must be with him, because he will have to record the performance. Sherlock takes the task very seriously. Part 20 of The English job

Behind Closed Curtains by twisting_vine_x (G, 2,939 w., 1 Ch. || Dancing, Angst, Pre-Slash) – Set loosely during season two, when Sherlock and John are still, ahem, dancing around each other. Sherlock teaches John how to dance.

Unimpressed by 221b_hound (M, 3,106 w., 1 Ch. || New Year’s Eve, Dancing, Jealousy) – Sherlock has no intention of attending the Met's New Year's Eve party. The start of a new year is all but meaningless to him. But he ends up there anyway, having odd conversations, and John does not find Sherlock's jealousy the slightest bit cute. And then there is dancing. Part 10 of Unkissed

Every Step of the Way by Shi_Toyu (G, 3,795 w., 1 Ch. || Car Accident, John Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Caretaking, Pre-Slash) – When John is injured on a case, Sherlock can't forgive himself. Everyone expects him to give up on his flatmate and get bored, but he'll prove them all wrong by sticking with him...every step of the way.

No Good Without You by textsandscones (T, 4,021 w., 1 Ch. || Case Fic, Sherlock’s Violin, Dancing, Soppy Fluff) – A diverting new case surrounding musicians and stolen instruments captures Sherlock's attention, the consequences of which lead both detective and doctor to see one another in a different light. Part 1 of Prompt Fills

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

But Tonight You Belong to Me by esplanade (T, 4,296 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff & Angst, Pining, Stag Night, Sad Ending) – “You. It's always you. John Watson, you keep me right.”

The Dance Lesson by bittergreens (G, 4,596 w., 1 Ch. || TSo3 Missing Scene, Dancing, Pining Sherlock, URT/UST, Romance, Angst, POV John) – Sherlock teaches John to dip. Part 1 of Goodnight, Vienna

Sway by CrackedMetal (K+, 4,602 w., 1 Ch. || Romance, Drama, Dancing, Mary is Nice, Canon Divergence, Song Fic) – Sherlock doesn't leave the reception and Mary wants the best friends to have a moment to talk… So she suggests a dance. Johnlock with a side of John/Mary.

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

a very soft epilogue (my love) by darcylindbergh (E, 5,395 w., 3 Ch. || Retirement, Domestic Fluff, Dancing, Dogs, Grumpy Old Men) – Across the pillows, Sherlock shifts and hums, the creases of his face deepening and then smoothing before settling. John watches him wake up, his chest swelling with affection and fondness, and thinks he’ll never get tired of Sherlock in the mornings, sleepy and soft. It’s been some forty-odd years, and John hasn’t gotten tired of it yet. Part 5 of things fairy tales are made of

Second Waltz by Atiki (T, 6,685 w., 1 Ch. || MCD, Angst, Fluff, Cancer) – "The night I died, you wished I could wait for you."

What I Hide By My Language, My Body Utters by PixChuu22 (M, 9,047 w., 1 Ch. || Fake Relationship, For a Case, Friends to Lovers) - Based on a prompt from Tumblr user thetwogaydetectives - “fake relationship that ends up being so real, they finally realize they are in love.”

Down with this Ship by FrostedFlame (PinkOrchid) (M, 10,862 w., 10 Ch. || For a Case, Gay Bar, Pining Sherlock, Coming Out, Slow Burn) – Sherlock drags John undercover to a gay bar - for a case, of course - looking forward to seeing John flustered by their surroundings (since you know, he's NOT GAY). John decides that he has hidden both his orientation and his feelings for his daft flatmate for far too long. He is done hiding, time to be honest with his bloody best friend in the world. He just hopes it won't change anything between them. And then it does.

the first day of forever by darcylindbergh (E, 11,850 w., 8 Ch. || Est. Relationship, Domestics, Light Angst, Insecurity, Emotional H/C) – “I’m going to marry you,” John murmurs with against Sherlock’s smile, and they both giggle in the joy of it. “We’re getting married.” “Yes,” Sherlock says, just to hear himself say it out loud. “We are.” A June wedding. Part 4 of things fairy tales are made of

All the Girls Love a Soldier by Book7BrokeMyBrain (E, 12,951 w., 1 Ch. || Military Kink, Frottage, Domesticity, Post S3, Pining Sherlock, Kilt John, Wedding, Dancing) – John is invited to a stag party and a wedding. The related accoutrement suit Sherlock to a T.

Twelfth Night by yourdykeinshiningarmor (E, 15,139 w., 5 Ch. || Fake Relationship, Christmas, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Angst & Fluff, BJ’s, Anal) – John is invited to his aunt's Twelfth Night ball. Sherlock offers to attend with him as a friendly face among strangers, but John's family force him to address his true feelings for Sherlock.

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.

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...

Sonatina in G Minor by SilentAuror (E, 22,574 w., 1 Ch. || Case Fic, POV Sherlock, Angst, UST, Sherlock’s Violin, Post-S3, Romance) – John has come back to Baker Street, but Sherlock doesn't understand the strange tension between them, even after he begins teaching John to play the violin at John's request.

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

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.

Guilty Secrets by Ellipsical (E, 55,086 w., 16 Ch. || Drumsticks, First Kiss/Time, Love Confession, Self-Sexual-Discovery, Anal, Rimming, Orgasim Denial, Butt Plugs, Cooking, Furniture Sex, Bath Sex, Rimming, Double Penetration, Anal Beads, Dancing, Romance, Tantric Edging) – John has a prostate exam and discovers something surprising about himself. Experimentation follows. Sherlock wants to help. They're in love. You know the drill.

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.

Not Broken, Just Bent by Schmiezi (E, 87,585 w., 43 Ch. || Pining, Love Confessions, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Villain!Mary, Suicidal Ideations, Main Character Death, Sherlock POV, Eventual Happy Ending) – "For a second, I allow myself to remember teaching John how to waltz. There is a special room in my mind palace for it. A big one, with a proper parquet dance floor. For a second, I go there. I remember holding him, closer than the World Dance Council asks for, excusing it with the fact that we are training for a wedding, not for a competition. For a second, I feel his hand on mine again, smell his sweat, hear the song we used. For a second, I allow myself to love him deeply. For a second, only a second, that love reflects on my face." Fix-it for S3, starting at the end of TSoT. Evil Mary.

Shatter the Darkness (Let the Light In) by MojoFlower (E, 109,683 w., 23 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Genie/Djinn AU || Magical Realism, Kidnapping, Genie Sherlock, First Kiss / Time, Case Fic, H/C, Angst, Clubs, John Whump, Mild DubCon, Hand / Blow Jobs, Torture) – Fairy tales are for those who remember how to dream; not John Watson, broken and hiding from his bleak future in a beige bedsit. But then he discovers a lamp and finds himself in the dangerous riptide of an enigmatic man whose very existence is unbelievable, murder charges against his sister, and the growing pains of feeling alive once more.

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.

MARKED FOR LATER

He really can’t breathe. by Luna_sharp618 (NR, 696 w., 1 Ch. || Pining Sherlock, Dancing, Sherlock Teaching John to Dance, TSo3 Fic) – In which Sherlock teaches John how to dip his dance partner for the wedding and has some pining thoughts.

The Gay Bar Scene that never was by MadSophHatter (T, 1,372 w., 1 Ch. || TSo3, Gay Bar Scene, Confused Sherlock, Jealous John, Humour) – The gay bar scene from The Sign of Three as I envisioned it. Featuring a confused Sherlock, halfnaked men, sexy dancing and John who is absolutely not jealous.

Tango by standbygo (M, 1,424 w., 1 Ch. || Different First Meeting, Dancing) – “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” “Shut up and dance – a man’s alibi depends on it.”

Operation Synchronous by Daziechane (NR, 1,691 w., 1 Ch. || Dancer Sherlock, Lip Synch Battle, Abuse Of Umbrellas, Bets) – Sherlock never welches on a bet. That doesn't mean he'll give in easily, however.

on his mouth like liquor by chrysanthemumsies (T, 1,780 w., 1 Ch. || TSo3, Stag Night, Gay Bar, Romance, Dancing, First Kiss, Fluff) – The gay bar scene from Stag night that the creators didn't want to show! Pure crack with a bit of angst and a whole lotta fluff (if you squint). Sherlock and John on the dance floor - what's not to love?

Take me to Baker Street by MorganeUK (G, 2,087 w., 1 Ch. || Adult Ballet AU || Ballet Dancer Sherlock, Doctor John, Song Fic, Pre-Slash) – I always loved Sergei Polunin interpretation of Take me to the church so I decided to write a version where Sherlock is a ballet dancer in serious need of a doctor…

May I Have This Dance? by ScaryFairy13 (G, 2,297 w., 1 Ch. || Slow Dancing, Fluff, First Kiss, Wedding) – John drags Sherlock to Greg's and Molly's wedding. Dancing ensues as well as the discovery of certain sentimental feelings.

Under the Lights by CarmillaCarmine (E, 2,872 w., 1 Ch. || TSo3 Fix It, Stag Night, Gay Club, First Time, Dancing) – Following Sherlock’s map marked with all the streets where they had found a corpse, John and Sherlock stumbled into a gay club. Part 1 of TSoT Fix-It

Dirty by standbygo (E, 5,093 w., 1 Ch. || Established Relationship, PWP, Dirty Dancing, Romance, Smut and Fluff) – “Yeah, I actually learned how to dance like that, like in the film. I was quite the hit at parties while the craze lasted. Some of Harry’s friends called me Johnny Castle, after the character. Or Swayze.” “Swayze? What kind of word is that?” John did not reply, but gazed at Sherlock, his lips pressed together but still smiling. After a moment, he stood and held out his hand to Sherlock. “Dance with me,” John said.

The Posh Purple Pirate (Enter My Life and Make Me Drown) by  Loveismyrevolution (E, 7,408 w., 1 Ch. || Exotic Dancer AU || Alternate First Meeting, Strangers to Lovers, For a Case, Lap Dancing, Hand Job, First Kiss, Pirate Sherlock, Drama Queen Sherlock, Dancer Sherlock) – When Mike Stamford invited him to a fun night out, John Watson never expected it would become such a wild ride - captivated by an enigmatic pirate his life suddenly gains speed in an unexpected direction. Part 1 of PirateDragQueenVerse

Life's Uneven Kilter by theslovenlyfool (T, 14,877 w., 4 Ch. || Canon Divergence S3, BAMF John, Secretly Married, Camp Gay Sherlock, Dancing, John is a Good Actor, Fake Relationship, Mycroft Plays a Role) – "According to Sherlock, the game began on September 21, 2005 at precisely 10:37:04 am. John complained that, with that logic, the game had actually begun on January 7, 2000, at around 1:30 am. But for Sherlock, games are only fun when others are willing to play. What is a game without an adversary, after all? And what is a proper dash across London without a partner? Now, Sherlock thought as he assessed the doctor with the unforgivable cane, the game is on."

Thirteen Dances (Or, The Doctor Dances) by Knackorcraft (E, 17,544 w., 13 Ch. || Dirty Dancing, Tango, Ballet, Frottage) – John is a great dancer: we're talking all types. Not only is he able to pop and lock it, he's got some great ballet technique. He was best at lifting / holding girls.

The One Where Sherlock Doesn’t Ruin John’s Holiday by nutmeag83 (T, 18,898 w., 11 Ch. || Pre-TRF / S2 Timeline, Friends to Lovers, Cruise Ships, Vacation / Holidays, Fake Relationship, For Science, Bed Sharing, Cuddling/Snuggling, Mutual Pining, John POV, Minor Case Fic, Cooking, Dancing, Drunk Shenanigans) – John wins a cruise vacation for two and brings Sherlock along. But when it turns out to be a couples cruise, they have to pretend to be a couple themselves (for science). How many pretend kisses will it take before they can’t deny their feelings any longer?

Lockdown by johnwatso and Salambo06 (E, 23,376 w., 20 Ch. || Quarantine, COVID-19, Lockdown, Fluff, Parentlock, Reunion, Dancing, Soft Idiots, Sex Toys) – The world is in lockdown due to Covid-19. This is how Sherlock and John spend their time.

Dance With Me by Silvergirl (E, 24,813 w., 12 Ch. || Post TEH, Dancing, Met Charity Gala, Sally/Sherlock Friendship, No Mary, Fluff) – Sherlock rescues Sally Donovan, and in turn she tries to help him get John to stop faffing about and get on with Johnlock.

Mountebank by Odamaki (M, 26,514 w., 2 Ch. || Fake Relationship/Dating/Marriage, For A Case, Jealous John, Suits, House Party, Crack, Trapped, UST, Dancing, Idiots in Love, Confessions, Friends to Lovers) – “I am calm,” John snaps, leaning on the door to glare out at the dark streets around them. Sherlock’s not said where they’re going; all he knows is they came off the ring road to the west of London and have vanished somewhere into the depths of Berkshire. All he knows is that he’s been trussed up in a suit that wasn’t hired from anywhere and if brought new would edge up into the triple figure margins. “Be calmer,” Sherlock advises, with a trace of irony. “We’re going to a party.” Part 29 of the The Sherlexicon

Time Of My Life by fiveainley_ohmy (E, 29,719 w., 8 Ch. || Dirty Dancing Fusion || Bisexual John, Dancing, Gay/Demi Sherlock) – John Watson takes his alcoholic sister to a summer camp in attempt to rehabilitate her. He didn't expect to fall in love with the dance instructor.

Brooklyn Heat, Summer Jazz by Zigster (E, 41,820 w., 10 Ch. || New York Ballet AU || Jazz Pianist John, Ballet Dancer Sherlock, Modern Setting, Brooding Sherlock , Confused John, Non-Linear Storytelling, Sexual Tension, Angst, Alcohol / Pot / Club Drug Use, First Time, Not-Good Mycroft, Happy Ending) – "There was, however, one thing that made it easier to stay on his piano bench every day. One thing that kept John Watson showing up to class on time, every morning at ten with a large thermos of honeyed tea and a conviction to see a job well done. His name was Sherlock Holmes and he was the most confounding and extraordinary thing John had ever come across - the most exotic of birds and the most unattainable of men."

Blond Barista Seeks Dashing Ballet Dancer: Inquire Within by prettysailorsoldier (E, 43,847 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock Coffee Shop AU || Rugby/Barista John, Ballet Dancer Sherlock, Fluff) – Between classes, his job at a local cafe, and being captain of the rugby team, John Watson's life is plenty stressful enough without the addition of a mysterious ballet dancer he can see through the windows of the dance studio across the street, but, somehow, he can't bring himself to mind.

My Pictures of You by 72reasons (E, 50,527 w., 19 Ch. || Fashion AU || Model Sherlock / Photographer John, Bisexual John, Gay Sherlock, Past Viclock, Past Warstan, Cocaine / Drug Use, Mary is Not Nice, Angst, Pining, Case Fic, Kidnapping, Human Trafficking, Past Jolto, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, Frottage, Oral / Anal, Fingering, Dancing, Non-Con Drug Use, Rimming) – John Watson, a photographer, gets an assignment to shoot gorgeous, young fashion model, Sherlock Holmes. He feels an instant connection, but Sherlock uses drugs and has an old friend who's just landed himself in a lot of trouble. When Sherlock comes to John for help, he reluctantly agrees. Angst, past loves, and insecurities threaten to end their budding romance, but ultimately love and trust wins out.

Focal Point by PuffleLock (E, 60,913 w., 13 Ch. || Post-TRF Divergence / Different Reunion, POV John, Slow Burn, For a Case, Friends to Lovers, Suicidal Thoughts, Sad Wank, Sherlock in Makeup, Dancing, Mentions of Torture / Depression / PTSD, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, Frottage, Blow Jobs, Scars, Rimming, Anal, Toplock, First Kiss / Time, Gay Sherlock / Bi John) – John comes home early from a medical conference to find that every once in awhile, Sherlock can surprise the hell out of him. Can John surprise him back?

A Moment's Surrender by anchors (M, 64,272 w., 10 Ch. || Dancer AU || Ballet Sherlock, Swing Dancer John, Angsty Fluff, Romance, Swing Dancing) – Sherlock tours worldwide with the English National Ballet. John dances the Lindy Hop competitively all across the globe. That they would meet, then, by the slimmest of chances in one lonely city, is pure coincidence. The whole 'dancing together' bit is a little more planned.

This Is Your Song by agirlsname (E, 79,990 w., 19 Ch. || Moulin Rouge Fusion || Prostitute Sherlock, Poet John, Acting, Singing, Dancing, Writing, Poetry, Musical, Song Fic, Heavy Angst, Unreliable Narrator, Sherlock is French, Love at First Sight, UST, First Kiss/Time, Frottage, Coming in Pants, Anal Sex, Switchlock, Clothed Sex, Crossdressing, Secret Relationship, Forbidden Love, Jealousy, Terminal Illnesses, Grief/Mourning, Breakup/Makeup Sex, Past Drug Use, Attempted Rape, Canon-Typical Violence)– When John Watson is invalided home from the army in 1895, he moves to Paris to rediscover his writing and find a new meaning in life. His old friend Stamford invites him into a group of artist friends, and suddenly John finds himself auditioning to write a show for the famous brothel across the street. There, he meets the most beautiful man he’s ever seen - Sherlock, the star of the Moulin Rouge. But Sherlock is already promised to the investor of the show, the rich Duke Moriarty.

A Case of Identity – The Musical by shamelessmash (E, 83,147 w., 15 Ch. || 1950′s Hollywood AU || Musical, Case Fic, Undercover as an Actor, Dancing, Happy Ending, Kidnapping, Drugs, Fluff and Angst, Humour, Writer/Director John, Slow Burn / Romance) – A mysterious death on set causes chaos in Stamford productions latest movie. With the premiere date left unchanged, they must find a new lead actor and reshoot an entire movie in two months. Sherlock Holmes goes undercover as a lead actor in a Musical: a juggling act to solve a murder while singing, dancing and charming his way through 1950s Hollywood. The last thing he expected was to fall in love with the screenwriter along the way. Or as I like to call it: the case where Sherlock finally gets to dance. Based off this prompt.

Rewind by All_I_need (E, 87,593 w. || Fake/Pretend Relationship, Pining, Angst, Sharing a Bed, Dancing Lessons, Oblivious John) – About a month before John's wedding, he and Sherlock embark on one last case together: a murder at a remote hotel in the middle of nowhere. A lot can happen in a week. And a lot doesn't. But what if ...?

Rosethorne by suitesamba (M, 98,888 w., 28 Ch. || Secret Garden AU || Injured Sherlock / John, Recovery, First Times, Minor Character Death, Disability, Past Domestic Abuse [Mary/OMC]) – John Watson, WWII army doctor, is injured in the line of duty and can no longer wield a scalpel. Sherlock Holmes, Britain’s best code-breaker, is side-lined by his own devastating injury. In a work inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden,” the two men must find meaning and purpose in a world which seems to have taken away all they hold most dear. But of course, it really hasn’t.

October to Hogmanay by snorklepie (E, 127,318 w., 25 Ch. || Post HLV Fix-It, Awkward First Times, Hurt/Comfort, Sherlock is a Mess, Shameless Smut, Sherlock’s Past, Scotland, Poison, Holmes Family, Kilts, Dancing, Angst) – John stared at Sherlock’s profile against the cab window and exhaled slowly. After a long moment, he reached out and touched Sherlock’s long fingers where they were fiddling with the button on his coat. The tall man didn’t look around again, but his fingers slowly unfurled before curling deliberately around John’s hand. Part 2 of Scotland

Shatter Me by Loveismyrevolution (E, 162,856+ w., 20/24 Ch. || WiP || Sherlock Dances, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Angst with Happy Ending, Misunderstandings, Introspection, Mutual Pining, UST, Idiots in Love, Big Brother Mycroft, Implied Drug Use, Suicidal Thoughts, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions) – This is a story about two men trying to find their way back into the comfort of their companionship. No easy task in the aftermath of the events of Reichenbach, a wedding and a shot through the heart. They are facing a very rocky road ahead with a lot of introspection, misunderstandings, angst and pining. They each try to cope in their own particular way. Eventually, they'll find a way to communicate and learn about the true nature of their feelings.

[simplyclockwork]

Simplyclockwork Fic Recs

Alternate Universe/Crossovers

I am breaking my massive fic rec into pieces by genres.

Performance in a Leading Role - @madlori

Explicit. 156,714 words. 21 chapters.

Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?

A Moment’s Surrender - anchors

Mature. 64,272 words. 10 chapters.

Sherlock tours worldwide with the English National Ballet. John dances the Lindy Hop competitively all across the globe. That they would meet, then, by the slimmest of chances in one lonely city, is pure coincidence. The whole 'dancing together' bit is a little more planned. Dancer!AU.

Love or What You Will - @miss-frankenstein

Teen and Up. 31,987 words. 11 chapters.

John is an English professor who specializes in War and Post-War Literature and Sherlock is the brilliant yet impossible Ph.D. student assigned to be his TA because no one in the Chemistry Department is willing to put up with him. And - somewhere between Waugh and Plath, e-mails and takeaway, novels and villanelles - they fall in love.

Two Two One Bravo Baker - abudantlyqueer

Explicit. 114,574 words. 27 chapters.

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?

The Jewel in the Tower - PoppyAlexander (@fuckyeahfightlock)

Explicit. 207,079 words. 39 chapters.

"Xie [...] had invented an entire pleasure-industry by combining superior visual aesthetics with impeccable personal attention. Drasha salons were by that time a feature of any even half-decent house of repose in every pleasure district in the British Isles, but once upon a time, when Xie debuted, there had been only one, and Xie had named it: the Icehouse."

* In a contemporary dystopia, Unity is peace--despite the fact unsanctioned information, illicit currency, and every sort of danger flows unchecked in the world's pleasure districts.

John Watson, a weary hired gun, is assigned by the mysterious Mentor to investigate a subversive element lurking in the Icehouse, the world's most famous House of Repose. As accustomed as he is to dealing with the unexpected, John is nevertheless woefully unprepared to meet the gem of the Ice house, Xie, the world renowned "drashaskaya," the living work of art after which all other drashas are modeled.

In sumptuous suites, amid trailing puddles of silk and fervent whispers in the night, John soon learns that nothing is as it seems in the floating world of London's pleasure district. *

Modern-day dystopian/one-world government/espionage/geisha!lock AU

The Loss of Flesh and Soul - deuxexmycroft 

Explicit. 60,000+ words. Unfinished.

Five years after John Watson puts the murderous Sherlock Holmes behind bars, a vicious copycat killer emerges. A reluctant John is pulled out of retirement to seek the expertise of the only man who can help, a man who has developed an unsettling obsession with John himself.

Crossover with Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs

Simplyclockwork note: Not fully finished, but an alternative ending was posted. Still worth reading without a full ending.

I wake up and I wake up and you’re still dead - thisprettywren (memento/Sherlock crossover)

Mature. 24,226 words. One-shot.

Sherlock isn't the only one who's lost.

The Sinking of the Titanic: Sixty Years Later - flawedamythyst

Teen and Up. 15,340 words. One-shot.

John Watson is interviewed for a documentary being made for the sixtieth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The story he tells is not the one the interviewer was expecting.

The Bachelors’ Handfasting - Jberry

Explicit. 30,624 words. 20 chapters.

After her son is caught in a compromising position, Victoria Holmes must make arrangements for a quick marriage between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Simplyclockwork note: Kilt!Lock and Soft Bab Sherlock (but of age)

Just to Hold You Close - @sussexbound

Explicit. 70,841 words. 18 chapters.

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. John is a conundrum and mystery: frank yet reserved, tender yet angry, open yet afraid. Sherlock is instantly drawn into his orbit, and begins to feel and desire things he never has before.

Summit Fever - @jbaillier

Mature. 78,867 words. 18 chapters.

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?

The Last Companion - standbygo (@blogstandbygo)

Explicit. 34,101 words. 14 chapters.

Thirty years after the Miranda Wars, there is peace, both on the Rim and the Core planets. There are a number of old social mores still in place, such as the Order of Companions, but there is a sense that even such respected practices are coming to an end…

Sherlock is a Companion - the best Companion on Persephone. With a bit of detective work on the side, of course. Then he meets a man named John Watson, encounters a series of bizarre cases, and finds his world is getting turned upside down.

Simplyclockwork note: Sherlock/Firefly AU!

Out There - @discordantwords

Teen and up. 131,695 words. 10 chapters.

FBI Special Agent John Watson, medical doctor and army veteran, is assigned to assist eccentric genius Sherlock Holmes with paranormal investigations on the X-Files project.

This is a fusion with The X-Files, written for the Fall TV Season Challenge.

Say You’ll Stay With Me - justacookieofacumberbatch (buffyholic)

Explicit. 63,349 words. 21 chapters.

It was just supposed to be an ordinary business trip, but when John's car stalls out on Hollywood Boulevard, he meets someone who just might change his life.

Simplyclockwork note: Pretty Woman/Sherlock AU.

Gimme Shelter - @sincewhendoyoucallme-john

Explicit. 159,368 words. 21 chapters.

All John Watson wants is the feeling of a freshly waxed surfboard under his feet and the hot California sun baking down onto his back. To finally go pro in the newly formed world of professional surfing and leave the dark memories of his past behind him as he rips across the face of a towering blue barrel. To lounge beside the beach bonfire every evening with an ice cold beer tucked into the cool sand beside him and listen to Pink Floyd and the Doors while the saltwater dries in his sun bleached hair.

That's all he wants, that is, until the hot young phenom taking Oahu and the Hawaiian shores by storm steps up next to him in the sand in the second round of the 1976 International Surf Competition.

Apokalypsis - songlin

Mature. 12,125 words. 4 chapters.

There were things I never told you because I thought we had time. There is no time left in the world anymore.

Sensory Science - @sussexbound

Explicit. 80,017 words. 24 chapters.

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.

Comparative Literature is for Idiots - lookupkate

Explicit. 8,173 words. 4 chapters.

Sherlock thinks he's very bohemian, smoking cigarettes and wearing patchouli oil and writing poetry in the attic. In truth he's just your average seventeen year old, not showering enough and being hit particularly hard by his continued path through puberty.

John is getting his masters in literature. He's the TA for comparative literature and yearns for romance. Romance has other plans, plans that require him to go without for at least ten more years. Plans that put in front of him the exact man he'll finally fall in love with, but in boy form.

When Sherlock happens to see John reading poetry at a coffee shop he is immediately smitten. John holds him at arm's length because he's a bloody child.

How will ten years and miles apart change that view, and will John be able to understand how he's fallen in love with someone he doesn't ever get to see?

Stay tuned for puberty hi jinx and the passing of time to find out. And yes, there will be love.

An Everlasting Inferno - thatawkwardfriend

Explicit. 108,389 words. 15 chapters.

Sherlock and John are both men who operate outside the law. John works for Mary and her hitmen in order to keep a roof over his head. Sherlock does anything his drug dealer asks of him in exchange for free drugs and housing.

They meet one night in a darkened garage to negotiate a deal. But they soon find out that neither of their bosses are being entirely honest with them about their goals or motives. With a little poking around, they stumble upon something much bigger than themselves and discover that perhaps, it might be in their best interests to work together.

(Loosely inspired by StartUp and Little Favour)

Only To Be With You - @sincewhendoyoucallme-john

Mature. 40,768 words. 4 chapters.

I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black.

I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

You Give Me Fever - michi_thekiller

Explicit. 16,122 words. One-shot.

Thou givest fever when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth Fever I'm afire; fever, yea, I burn forsooth "He's the kind of boy you want to take apart."

Gratuitous Greaserlock. It's essentially 16k of mostly-porn. Warnings for underage sex between teens.

If you’re one of the authors listed here and have a Tumblr, and would like me to link it (if I haven’t already), please let me know! 

[fiiore-blogs]

( lorenzo zurzolo , 20 , cismale ) i  just  bumped  into  fiore  gattuso  the  other  day  while  walking  down  north  kingsboro , where  he  lives . i  hear  they  can  be  charming  and  narcissistic , but  when  i  think  of  them  i  immediately  think  of  bloodshot  baby  blue  eyes , luxury  brands , an  enchanting  smile ( ari , 21 , she / her , est ) 

tw : homophobia , abuse

full  name : fiore emiliano luca gattuso ( first name pronounced fee-oh-reh, also see here! )

nicknames : fifi, emmy ( by people who know his middle name ), some people might say… flower boy ( fiore literally means flower in italian ) ����

gender : cismale

height :  5 ′ 8

age : 20

birthday : may 30 , 2000

zodiac : gemini ( aries moon, libra ascendant )

right  handed  or  left  handed : left  handed

eye  color : baby blue

hair  color : basically dark blonde / light brown

piercing  &  tattoos : the gemini symbol on his left wrist, a cartilage piercing on his right ear

languages  spoken : italian  ( native  tongue ), english, spanish, pretty decent sicilian

sexuality : bisexual / biromantic

place  of  birth : livorno , tuscany , italy

last  3  songs  listened  to : dimmi che mi ami by dj matrix, almeno stavolta by nek, west coast by lana del rey

character  inspo : kat hernandez from euphoria ( huge muse ! ), adam groff from sex education ( think season 2 adam ), alyssa foley from the end of the fucking world, maeby funke from arrested development, lucrecia montesinos from elite

♡ so fiore was born to a spanish mother named martina & a fully italian father named gian gattuso in tuscany, but they later moved to rome when he was around four years old. his mother is a very well known politician & his father is a billionaire, heir of several gas, water & electric companies all over europe. besides that, he is also a preacher and very involved in church. both his parents are very well off financially

♡ fiore grew up with anything he’s ever wanted ( materialistically, of course ). besides that, his parents genuinely weren’t the best of people. his mother stole millions from the so called campaigns she ran & was a very corrupt politician, his father treated his employees like shit & was a pretty hateful person altogether

♡ they were people who expected a lot out of their only son, which made fiore feel an insane amount of pressure from the very start. at a very young age, he showed characteristics lots of boys his age didn’t show. he did things like peeing while sitting down instead of standing up, preferred to play with dolls instead of ‘boy toys’, favored the color pink, got along better with girls, preferred to watch shows that were considered ‘girly’, etc etc.

♡ they were very harmless things honestly, things that most parents would laugh about & turn a blind eye. however, fiore really wasn’t that lucky when it came to them any time he would do anything they claimed a ‘normal boy wouldn’t do’, he would get a huge lecture & a beating to go with it. needless to say, he learned to hide a lot of who he really was from a very young age

♡ he did a lot of things to seek the approval of his parents. he wasn’t smart academically ( dumb boi 101 tbh ), but he tried to make them happy in other ways. fiore was never fond of sports at all, but he started playing tennis when he was five, because it made his parents happy. truth be told, he hated tennis with every fiber of his being, but again, he did this, simply because it satisfied his parents

♡ he grew up trying to be the perfect son, often times putting himself in situations he didn’t want to be in or felt uncomfortable doing because he wanted them to be proud, but honestly? it was like? never enough. it was all smiles for the pictures, but behind closed doors, he really was pretty damn miserable

♡ simply put, he has always known that he likes boys. he likes girls too, don’t get him wrong, but he knew, literally since he could remember, that he also had a thing for guys too. of course, he was aware that this wouldn’t settle well at all with his extremely strict & unfortunately, very close minded parents, so he buried his feelings incredibly deep

♡ he has a lot of charm & wit & found himself getting into relationships quicker than most of his friends. he briefly dated a girl when he was fourteen, but it was when he was sixteen that things really began getting pretty #spicy

♡ there was a romanian boy new to his very #elite school & if you guessed it, they began to date! his first boyfriend at sixteen years old. fiore was basically living two lives at this point, sneaking around with a guy behind his parents’ back, but when he got home, the facade began. the way he would switch up as soon as he entered the front door to his house was honestly shockingly scary

♡ he really felt himself falling in love with this boy even though they were both fairly young. they snuck around forever. when no one was home, he would sneak him into his room to have sex, sneak out of his house when his parents were asleep, all that fun stuff. their relationship was forbidden ( at least to fiore’s parents ), but things go downhill pretty fast

♡ so one day, fiore & him get really really drunk & honestly? video record themselves having sex fjkgnfv they didn’t do this to post it anywhere or show anyone or anything, they really just did it for themselves. they made a few copies ( stupid boys, i know rip ), but they really felt like they would get married & all that gooey lovey dovey shit so they did it because yolo i guess? this was a pretty big mistake though

♡ one day fiore & him are walking back from his tennis practice. this is a time where fiore knows no one is home & no one is coming home for a while, so when they get to his house & see his father’s car parked outside, he lowkey panics a little. of course he makes the guy leave & goes inside to see what’s going on

♡ his father asks him to come upstairs & surprisingly, leads him into his room. this is when fiore’s entire life practically changes forever. his father turns on his tv & legit starts playing his sex tape with his boyfriend. just picture this though; your extremely homophobic, close minded & hateful father & you sitting on your bed, watching your gay sex tape with your boyfriend

♡ obviously, this news isn’t well taken by his father. to make a long story short, he gets his ass beat. like, literally almost dies type shit. when this happened, he was eighteen and had just recently graduated school, with plans to travel. he knew if his relationship was ever discovered by his parents, it wouldn’t go well, but he really didn’t think them discovering his sexuality would be that brutal

♡ his parents basically disown him at that moment. they bought him a ticket to new york & told him they never wanna see him again. it’s sad, but he packed his things & left in two days to go live with his cousin 

♡ it doesn’t really take an expert to figure out that fiore did not take this move well at all. for months, he was really depressed. he wouldn’t go out & would just lay in bed for the longest time. he was really hurt by everything that happened & it took him a while to recover. he has also lived in italy his whole life & wasn’t really used to life in america at all, but after like the fourth month of just feeling sorry for himself, it was his cousin who snapped him back to reality

♡ he began putting himself out there. at first, he began working at a pizza place, but fiore slowly began to realize how much he despised working. his entire life, he received everything on a golden plater with pure solid gold spoons, he’s always had everything he’s ever wanted without working for it, so this? he was for sure not used to it at all. again, his life completely changed. he went from living in a three story mansion in the most prestigious part of rome to living in a very shitty part of new york, broke almost always, & working a job he hated with everything he had, splitting rent with his cousin

♡ fiore did not want this at all for himself. it wasn’t until he went out clubbing ( fake id & all ), that one his friends showed him the wonders of conning people. they walked into the bar with twenty bucks and left with four thousand dollars

♡ quickly, fiore began to learn his friends’ ways. his looks, personality & his thick italian accent helped him tremendously; it was like people literally couldn’t get enough of him. soon enough, he was conning & finessing the fuck out of older men & women for their money. he once walked into a casino with five dollars and walked out with over 12k

♡ finessing people became a huge hobby of his. he’s also very very lowkey done some camboy stuff, but with a mask on because he’s sneaky af ( legit think kat from euphoria ) like, these super lonely old men or even women are just sending him money for being hot? amazing! it was with all this money that he bought himself a luxury car & jump started his model & influencer career. it was also with this money that him & his cousin ditched the crap show that is south kingsboro & moved into a much better apartment up north. with his looks & persona, he gained followers like crazy & posted videos on youtube as well, getting sponsorships & recognition easier than he expected. he honestly makes a shit ton of money off social media & modeling, like, he’s basically living off his looks, personality & the content he post? we love to see it

♡ there is still a part of fiore that has a lot of issues & trauma. honestly mommy & daddy issues af, but he doesn’t talk about this at all. he literally refuses to talk about anything that happened to him before he was eighteen. no one really knows how he came up or where his family is & he keeps it this way, dodging questions about his personal life as much as he can

♡ in a way, he is kind of relieved with everything that happened with his parents because now, he’s completely free to be himself & do whatever the fuck he wants, knowing very well they can’t really touch him anymore. of course, it still left a mark that he’s never going to be able to erase or forget ( both in his heart & on his body too ), but he feels free for once in his life & he’s honestly kind of happier now, but also, low key needs therapy tbh 🥴

♡ relationship wise, he really doesn’t commit to anyone. after practically being forced to leave his now ex boyfriend, he kind of feels like he doesn’t deserve love? it’s really fucked up but he’s genuinely convinced that no one is ever going to really love him or want to be with him so he just avoids any romantic relationship of any kind, usually just hooking up with people & then leaving as soon as it’s over, or just stealing money from them and ghosting. the truth is that he really does want to be loved, accepted & cared for by someone he loves, accepts & cares for as well, but will it ever happen if he continues pushing people away? probably not tbh

♡ he is a fucking drinker & hella pot smoker!! legit give him some alcohol & weed he’s happy. he always has either one on him, or both tbh. he’s secretly a hella good cook too but this is something almost nobody knows really. he can make food or desserts, and he’s also taught himself to make weed edibles which is honestly iconic kvnfjvc even though he keeps this part of himself hidden

♡ he can be really sneaky & deceiving when he has to be, like, he’ll legit have 0 reason to lie but he’ll lie anyways? it’s like a defense mechanism lmfao

♡ very much conceited boy, honestly in love with his looks but it goes deeper than that. he feels like he has nothing to offer besides being hot so he dwells on looking good always, pretty sure he would rather die than wear sweatpants like vjkdfsvnfs literally always looks a1

♡ is actually? secretly blind af ndjvdfnv one of his many secrets tbh. has a vision of 20/50, nearly 20/60, but hasn’t worn glasses since he was seven, pretty much doing everything with contacts. he just thinks glasses look unattractive on him & honestly refuses to let anyone see him with them on. the only person who even knows he has vision as bad as he does is his cousin who is a npc sooo 🤡

♡ this is all that’s coming to mind rn but hmu for plots pretty pls jkfnvjnfv, this is his birthchart for some extra #tea

[thebestintoronto]

48 hours in. . . Toronto, an insider guide to Canada's spirited first city

Canada's multicultural fusion

Canada's biggest city, the 4th biggest in North America, is regularly rated among the most effective areas to live in the world. Investing also a few days here makes it very easy to see why. Cosmopolitan and also cultured, fun as well as fun-loving, with an icing of unpredictability simply to make points fascinating, Toronto takes pride in being the dynamic, innovative and also risk-free amount of all its components.

The city's roots show in myriad ways, with greater than 200 cultures stood for on the streets. (The truth that there are 3 Chinatowns as well as 2 Little Italys speaks volumes.) This is among the reasons the cooking scene is such a big deal-- there are much more ingredients in the pantry to pull from. With four first-rate sporting activities teams, a spirited arts scene and a vibrant beachfront with its very own flight terminal, Toronto makes both a gratifying end destination and an excellent pitstop.

Warm right now ...

Doug Wallace, our citizen specialist, supplies his top tips on the best things to do and also puts to eat and drink this period.

Consume

Canada's initial Eataly (55 Bloor St. W.; 00 1 437 374 0250) has opened up in the ManuLife Centre to much excitement and also more than a couple of crowds. Spanning 50,000 square feet over 3 levels, the Italian marketplace brings the preference of Italy home to Yorkville's Mink Mile. Locate takeaway counters, dining establishments, regional as well as Italian components, food preparation courses as well as more. - The best dining establishments in Toronto

Do

Not just does Resort X Toronto (111 Princes' Blvd., 4th flooring; 00 1 647 943 9300) have a gigantic 90,000-square-foot gym with 4 interior tennis courts and also 9 squash courts, but it now likewise has Canada's first Guerlain Day spa. Get pampered via customised body therapies and facials in 10 areas, plus pre- and post-stay lounges with views of the lake. - The very best things to do in Toronto

Drink

Don't let the false front of Vatican Gift Store (1047 Gerrard St. E.; 00 1 416 462 2682) mislead you: the makeshift gift store opens speakeasy-style to expose a low-lit Gothic secluded administering European and regional brews, clever (as well as solid) mixed drinks as well as thin-crust, hand-tossed Neopolitan pizzas. Stock up on votive candles on your way out. - The most effective night life in Toronto

48 hours in ... Toronto

The first day

MORNING

Even if you're not staying at the Delta Resort Toronto, begin your day with a vibrant coffee and also a morning meal sandwich at SOCO to Go (75 Lower Simcoe St; 00 1 416 637 5465), the hotel's 24-hour grab-and-go counter and also café in the southeast corner of the structure.

Your 2nd quit of the day is nearby: Ripley's Fish tank of Canada (288 Bremner Blvd; 00 1 647 351 3474) opens at 9am, which is when the displays will be the least crowded. After having a look at the jellyfish wall surface and seeing stingrays skyrocket over your head in the undersea gallery, function your means over to the Hockey Hall of Popularity (30 Yonge St; 00 1 416 360 7765) to look into the interactive video games as well as well-known souvenirs.

MID-DAY

There's absolutely nothing even more Canadian than a peameal bacon sandwich (a kind of unsmoked back bacon). Discover one for lunch at Carousel Bakery, right near the front door in the St. Lawrence Market (93 Front St. E.; 00 1 416 392 7219). If bacon is not your thing, head to the reduced level to consider greater than a dozen hot-food stalls. The marketplace has been a culinary hub of the city given that 1803, which in Canada-years resembles 2 centuries.

After that, a 10-minute stroll south to the water's side will land your toes in the sand at the synthetic Sugar Coastline (Lower Jarvis St. and Queen's Quay E). Sit under the cotton-candy pink umbrellas and also enjoy the tankers get here in the harbour prior to continuing to the historic Distillery Area (55 Mill St.). Take a great, slow-moving poke regarding this pedestrian-only cultural territory of shops, present stores, clothes stores and also galleries. SOMA is the most effective bean-to-bar chocolatier in the area.

LATE

Pre-cocktails, take a little stroll via Yorkville Area (Cumberland Ave. at Bellair St.), in search of stars shopping or ordering cappucinos in their baseball caps and sunglasses. Duck into either The Oxley (121 Yorkville Ave.; 00 1 647 348 1300) for pints on the (much quieter) 2nd flooring or opt for martinis at d|bar in the Four Seasons (60 Yorkville Ave.; 00 1 416 964 0411).

Supper reservations tonight are at Constantine (15 Charles. St. E.; 00 1 647 475 4436), a little piece of Italian-Mediterranean paradise in the back of Anndore Home. Just move up front to the cocktail bar for a nightcap or stroll a brief block east to the Gay Town for a drag show at Woody's (467 Church St.; 00 1 416 972 0887).

- The most effective dining establishments in Toronto

Day 2

MORNING

The most effective time to get your photo taken in the "O" of the Toronto indicator at City Hall (100 Queen St. W. at Bay St.) remains in the morning prior to any individual else is around. Get a quick chai latte initially at Bannock (401 Bay St.; 00 1 416 861 6996).

Post photoshoot, it's a 15-minute walk to a healthy breakfast at Karine's (109 McCaul St.; 00 1 416 591 0863), a little food court serving morning meal staples with a side of Center Eastern, along with vegan and gluten-free, treats. Satisfied, you can then do a deep-dive right into the long-term collection (or exploring exhibits) nearby at the age-old Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas St. W.; 00 1 416 979 6648).

AFTERNOON

On via Chinatown currently to the bohemian neighbourhood of Kensington Market (Kensington Ave. as well as Dundas. St. W.) to take a look at its indie society, vintage garments shops as well as art rooms. While you're there, put into a piled-high hamburger at Ozzy's Hamburgers (66 1/2 Nassau St.; 00 1 416 862 7983)-- have the Mustang Sally.

Stroll it off by heading back down to Queen St. W. and also shopping your means westward-- both sides of the street, mind you-- completely to Trinity Bellwoods Park (790 Queen St. W. at Strachan Ave.). Must-stops in the process must consist of: Frank as well as Oak for men's and also ladies's clothing and also possibly a quick haircut (735 Queen St. W.; 00 1 647 930 8711), Zane for the developer jewelry and desirable bags (753 Queen St. W.; 00 1 647 352 9263) and the shoe heaven that is Heel Kid (773 Queen St. W.; 00 1 416 362 4335).

LATE

Supper is also westward this evening, but first, choose of fresh margaritas or tequila shots at Reposado (136 Ossington St.; 00 1 416 532 6474) or a couple of Rust and also Bone cocktails at The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St. W.; 00 1 416 531 5042), whose bartenders virtually created the craft mixed drink scene in Toronto

Then for a little taste of Argentina at Tanto (74 Ossington Ave.; 00 1 416 546 3022). Fill out on the innovative little plates-- such as the spicy beef empanada with paprika aioli or smoked squid covered with pancetta as well as scorched almond salsa-- then just share one primary.

Later, take your pick of the area's live songs areas: a burlesque program at the saucy Painted Lady (218 Ossington Ave.), classic blues or people at The Dakota Pub (249 Ossington Ave.; 00 1 416 850 4579) or an indie band at The Fort (1197 Dundas St. W.; 00 1 416 519 9439).

- The very best night life in Toronto.

When to go ...

Might to October is the best time to visit Toronto, while the sun is out, the dining establishment patio areas are jumping, as well as everyone gets on the street after a lengthy winter season cooped inside. June, July and also August are usually hot and humid, 30 levels seems like 40 levels. On summertime weekend breaks, residents go out of community to their homes, leaving the city streets (and dining establishment chairs) to you. Summer season is additionally when most of the city's festivals are slated, focusing on food as well as beverage, arts and also theater, multiculturalism, songs as well as movie. The excellent climate just doesn't just transform itself off come August 31, either: In September, kids go back to college, grownups return to organisation as well as you have the sidewalks, stores and destinations to on your own.

Know prior to you go ...

Necessary information

Vacationer board info: 00 1 416 203 2500; seetorontonow.com Emergency situation fire and ambulance: 911 Emergency police: 911 British Consular Office: 777 Bay St., Collection 2800; 00 1 416 593 1290.

The essentials.

Flight time: Fly from London to Toronto in 7 hours. Currency: Canadian dollar. International dialling code: +1.

Local laws and etiquette.

- Canadians are notoriously courteous, conscientious as well as unstuffy, normally expecting the very same of others.

- Like elsewhere in North America, it is customary to tip 15-20 per cent for service in restaurants and bars. Ditto the cab driver, massage specialist, tourist guide and hairstylist. For hotel housekeeping team, budget plan CAD$ 3-$ 5 (₤ 1.80- ₤ 3) per day.

- The Toronto Transit System of trains, streetcars and buses-- while flawed-- is safe and also simple. The train trains stop at 1:30 am. Some streetcar and buses run overnight. Visit ttc.ca.

- Taxis abound and you can flag them down on the street or call one of the dozen business. Fares are approximately CAD$ 4 (₤ 2) per mile. Uber and Lyft vehicle drivers, while a lot more numerous as well as additionally less costly, are normally much less aware of the midtown streets, so cross your fingers.

- If you're driving yourself, know that you can make a right turn on a traffic signal and you can make a U-turn in the middle of the street, unless there are signs mentioning or else.

- Toronto is a two-kiss sort of location, however that is booked for people you know. A firm handshake is fine for brand-new associates.

- You can get cannabis legally. You have to smoke or vape it outside or in somebody's private residence. Check out ontario.ca/ cannabis for more details.

The post “ 48 hours in. . . Toronto, an insider guide to Canada's spirited first city “ was seen first on The Telegraph

Naturopathic Toronto Doctor - Dr. Amauri Caversan, ND

[dark-and-twisty-01]

Randy Kraft

Randy Stephen Kraft was born on March 19, 1945 in Long Beach, California. Apart from being particularly accident prone, Kraft seems to have had a relatively normal and conventional childhood. His family having moved to Westminster, Orange County, in 1948, Kraft developed into an active and intelligent adolescent, known for holding the conservative views typical of the area in which he was living. He graduated from Westminster High School in 1963, his academic performance putting him in the top 10 of his class, and he went on to study economics at the prestigious Claremont Men’s college.

So far, so good. It was between the ages of 18 and 20, however, that Kraft’s personality seemed to enter a confusing stage. At first he appeared resolutely conservative in his political and social outlook, joining the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), and throwing himself into the presidential campaign of right-wing candidate Barry Goldwater. 

He was also vocal in his support for U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. Yet in 1964 he changed sides, becoming left wing in political orientation, backed by growing long hair. Furthermore, it was around this time that his sexuality went through significant transformation. By the time he was 18 he had realized that he was homosexual, and there were many campus rumours about his predilection for bondage. He began frequenting gay bars, and in 1966 he was also arrested for having offered himself sex to an undercover vice officer, he was released with a caution. 

In 1968 Kraft joined the U.S. Air Force. He was only in service for a year before he was discharged on “medical grounds” in 1969, incidentally the same year that he told his family he was gay. His revelation alienated him from his conservative parents, and from now on Randy Kraft seemed to go off the rails.   

Timeline of a Murder

1: December 31, 1975. Twenty-Two-year-old Mark Hall is enjoying a New Year’s Eve party in San Juan Capistrano. At some point during the evening, he meets Randy Kraft, and leaves the party with him. Hall had been drinking alcohol and his body was later found to contain traces of Diazepam and Valium.

2: Kraft and Hall travel out to the Cleveland National Forest, heading to the east end of Santiago Canyon in the Saddleback mountains. This location is about 30 miles (48km) south of San Juan Capistrano.

3: What occurred is largely based upon forensic evidence derived from Hall’s body. It appeared that Hall had been stripped and tied to a tree sapling. He was then sodomized and tortured horribly. Parts of his body were burnt with a cigarette lighter or cut with a sharp knife. His genitals were removed, and stuffed into his rectum. It is also likely that Kraft was forcibly administered more alcohol, and pushed earth and leaves into both Hall’s mouth and anus. He died at the scene of his wounds and strangulation. 

4: Hall’s body was discovered on January 3, 1976. A bottle was found at the scene which had Kraft’s fingerprints on it. This was later used by prosecutors to connect Kraft with the murder.

First Victims

From the early 1970s, Kraft’s lifestyle was focused on a combination of frequent sex with various highways and beaches of southern California. Moreover, it was apparent that the manner of killing was becoming increasingly depraved. The first body, of an unknown male, was discovered on February 6, 1973 beside a freeway in Wilmington, Los Angeles, again with one of his socks pushed up his anus. The next body (another unknown male), however, had it’s genitals removed, leading to the possibility that the man simply bled to death from the mutilation, although there were also signs of strangulation. Another victim found shortly afterward had his head thrown on to Long Beach, while his torso, one leg and both arms were found in the next county on Sunset Beach. Clearly California’s gay men were being hunted by someone with monstrous appetites. 

Catching a Monster 

It is ironic that even as Randy Kraft was slaughtering men on a regular basis throughout California, he was actually in a semi steady with one Jeff Seelig. In 1982 he even went for counselling to try and help their relationship improve. He also had a serious relationship with Jeff Graves, a former classmate. Furthermore, Kraft found steady, respectable employment in 1975, he began working as a computer programer for Pacific Computing Systems. Balanced against this normality, however, were crimes of almost unbelievable brutality. Some serial killers focus on delivering an efficient killing without using consciously designed tortures. Randy Kraft was not one of them. Typical injuries inflicted upon his victims include castration, a variety of objects inserted into the penis or anus (of the latter, some were large as substantial tree branches several feet long), decapitations, burns from a cigarette lighter and bites to genitals and nipples. 

In January 1975, a multi county police task force was formed to pursue the serial killer. Because of the nature of the crimes, police and FBI psychologists were brought in to create profiles of the potential killer. Bodies were turning up every few weeks or months, and the pressure was on to find the man responsible. Kraft did in fact briefly pass through police hands in June 1975, after he was arrested for lewd behaviour in Cherry Park. He spent five days in jail before being released, after which he resumed killing where he left off.

Despite the number of bodies, the police were still struggling to get close to the killer. Kraft was not, in fact the only serial killer operating in California during these years. In 1977, for example, Patrick Kearney was arrested and confessed to the murder of 28 young men. Such killers made investigating Kraft’s murders that much more complicated, and his killing spree would continue for another five years. In fact, it could be argued that the sheer volume of his murders made the job of the police that much harder, by producing a vast multiplicity of false leads investigating dead ends.

The ultimate break came on May 14, 1983, when officers of the California Highway Patrol pulled over someone driving erratically on the San Diego freeway. The driver was Randy Kraft and having stepped out of the car and performed badly during a sobriety test, he was arrested for drunk driving. Yet a far more serious offence related to the dead man, 25-year-old Marine Terry Gambrel, who lay in the passenger seat of the car. He had been strangled, but also had near-lethal amounts of drink and drugs in his system. Now treating the suspect with utmost caution, the police searched his car and further found a pack of polaroid photos showing dozens of apparently lifeless men, and also a sheet of paper containing what appeared to be a coded list of men murdered by Kraft. A later search of Kraft’s home produced mass of further forensic evidence, including more photographs of murder victims plus personal effects of many of the dead. 

After a lengthy trial, Randy Kraft was convicted of 16 counts of murder on November 29, 1989, and he was sentenced to death. In a curious act of futile bravado, in 1922 Kraft attempted to launch a massive lawsuit against an author who painted his character in a less than favourable light. Not surprisingly, the lawsuit was rejected, and in August 2000 his death sentence was again confirmed by the Supreme Court.  

Timeline of a Murderer-Known Victims of Randy Kraft  

 Date                                 Victim                    Age     Details

September 24, 1971  Wayne Joseph Dukette  30      Possibly Kraft’s oldest victim

December 24, 1972   Edward Daniel Moore     20     U.S Marine serving at Camp Pendleton; body found dumped near the 7th street exit of the 605 freeway; one sock was inserted into his anus.

February 1973            Unidentified male        18-20   Found on the Terminal Island Freeway on February 6, 1973; strangled to death.

April 1973                   Unidentified male         ?         Found in Huntington Beach

April 1973                   Unidentified male         ?        Body was refrigerated prior to being dumped

c. July 30,                   Ronnie Gene Wiebe    ?        Last seen at the Sportsman Bar in Los Alamitos.

December 23, 1973    Vicente Cruz Mestas   23       Discovered by hikers in the San Bernardino foothills.

June 2,1974                 Malcolm Eugene Little  20  Truck driver from selma, Alabama, visiting his brother in Long Beach; murdered after being picked up while hitchhiking.

June 22, 1974            Roger E. Dickerson    20       U.S Marine; disappeared after accepting a lift to Los Angeles. 

c. August 2, 1974       Thomas Paxton Lee    25       Waiter in San Pedro; body dumped in a Long Beach oil field.

August 12, 1974          Gary Wayne Cordova   23     Body found on highway in Orange County.

Late November 1974    James Reeves            19     Last seen alive leaving a gay church in Costa Mesa after Thanksgiving.

c. January 3, 1975        John W. Leras            17     Body found on Sunset Beach on January 3, 1975.

January 17, 1975        Craig Victor Jonaitis    21      Body found at Long Beach Motel on Pacific Coast Highway. 

c. March 26, 1975       Keith Daven Crotwell   19     Victims head discovered on May 8 off Long Beach and other remains found the following october.

January 3, 1976          Mark H. Hall.                22      (see “Timeline of a Murder)

 c. April 1978              Scott Michael Hughes   18      Murdered in Orange County.

June 10/11 1978         Roland Gerald Young    23     Thrown from a moving vehicle when dead; genitals severed and stabbed to death.

June 19, 1978            Richard Allen Keith       20       Body found in Laguna Hills in June 1978; strangled to death.

July 6, 1978               Keith Arthur Klingbeil     23     Body found on the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, near Mission Viejo, in Orange County.

November 18, 1978     Michael Joseph Inderbieten 21  Burned with a cigarette lighter and his genitals severed. 

June 16, 1979                Donnie Harold Crisel     20

September 3, 1980        Robert Wyatt Loggins    19     Photos of Loggins body matched Kraft’s blood type.

January 27, 1983           Eric Herbert Church       21    Semen found on body matched Kraft’s blood type.

February 12, 1983         Geoffrey Alan Nelson     18   Body discovered in Garden Grove. 

May 14, 1983                Terry Lee Gambrel           25    Body discovered in Kraft’s car when he was pulled over for driving while intoxicated.

[sending-the-message]

R is for Romance by MikeyKnutson

It all started at a bar.

That's where I met the woman that changed my life. Typical, right?

Average looking guy in his 20s goes out drinking with his buddies and picks up some strange. Almost every bro-movie and frat party story has been based off of that premise. It's not factual, of course. That doesn't actually happen that way. The fact of the matter is most women don't want to be hit on when they go out. One could go so far as to say they even despise when arrogant men swing their dicks around all night trying to see who can throw theirs the hardest. Have you ever wondered why ladies enjoy going to gay bars? That's why.

Despite the odds being stacked against any breathing object with a penis, hook-ups still do happen on occasion. Maybe the girl is going through a rough break-up and needs a rebound. That woman over there hasn't been fucked in two years and is simply too shy to approach a guy about having casual sex. Another one might just like to fuck as many guys as she wants. She gets bored with the same guy and his same bedroom routine that gives him a false sense of pride. She craves adventure like an Everest climber craves warmth.

I found the latter.

A friend that I hadn't heard from in years shot me a message over social media out of the blue. He asked me to come out with him on the Saturday following New Year's Day. I obliged. We exchanged numbers and that was that. I didn't hear from him for another week and presumed that he had forgotten about me. It didn't seem too far-fetched given that the last time I talked to him we had a different president.

Saturday came and went without a peep. I had all but forgotten our plans until I received a text at 10pm sharp:

Meet you at Riverwood in 20.

Strange. A little vague, but I had nothing else going on and it was Saturday. Why not at least get a few drinks in me?

I responded to the affirmative, threw on a shirt that didn't smell, and drove down the street to the bar.

My friend was waiting outside the bar for me, which was a bit odd given the northeast Ohio weather during that time of year. Most people avoid the outdoors like a divorced aunt with an alcohol problem.

"Chris! What's up, man?" The short, ginger bearded man called as he walked towards me. I could tell that his beard was hiding a newly formed double chin.

"Looking a little heavy there, aren't ya?" I teased, going in for a hug. "Drinks on you? Clearly you've got enough money to spend on food...or is that just desserts?"

We shared a laugh and a couple of hard back pats as we walked inside the bar.

There she was. Stunning. Short brown hair with a few strands of blonde. Light brown skin. Thick thighs you couldn't wrap your hands around. Lips that could show you things you didn't know and eyes that could steal your entire being.

I couldn't help but stare.

"You going to go for it?" My friend brought me out of my trance.

"Oh. No, man. No. I just didn't expect to see that here of all places!"

He got us a round and two doubles to knock back as a kick-off. I felt her watching us. Me.

I spent the entire night at that bar one-handed until my half-full pint glass was gently taken away from me by a slender, tan hand with white acrylics.

"Fuck me."

I coughed. "Excuse me?"

Before me stood that stunning, voluptuous woman who I had my eyes on since we came to the Riverwood. I felt mom's spaghetti coming up.

"Did-did you just ask me to fuck you?" I stammered.

"No," she grinned, "I told you to fuck me."

"Alright." I didn't know what else to say, and I couldn't resist.

I walked over to my friend to let him know I was heading out but as I walked up to the bar he already had a target on the girl behind the bar, so I left.

Cynthia, as I later found out her name, lived above the bar in a spacious wannabe penthouse apartment with a 1970s stepdown from the dining room to the living room.

"There's something about you, you know? Like jus-"

Cynthia put her finger up to my lips.

"I'm not here to talk. I'm here to get my pussy wet, let you inside, and shove you out the door. Understand?"

I nodded. The dominatrix style she was putting off was turning me on, I can't lie.

"The bedroom is over there behind that gray door. Go in, take off your clothes, and get your cock hard. I'll be in in five." She commanded.

The room I went into was immediately off-putting, but not because it was some sex dungeon or full of paintings of Vlad the Impaler. Hell, I would've been more okay with that than what I actually saw. The bedroom, if you can call it that, was painted a pale yellow on every surface. Like Homer Simpson with a stomach virus yellow. There was no furniture. No decor. No clothes. No. Nothing except for a large mattress with a blue sheet laying haphazard in the middle of the floor, and a single Edison lightbulb illuminating the room. I couldn't wrap my mind around why a woman who made such an effort to get a penthouse vibe to her apartment would completely give up on her bedroom. Had it not been for the alcohol I might have hesitated, but that five minutes was going to come up quick.

I undressed, tossed my clothes into a corner and began stroking my dick slowly and firmly. I wanted to be at full attention when she came into the room. If Cynthia just wanted a good fuck, I wasn't about to let her down. Besides, those thick, juicy thighs being wrapped around my waist was something I could only dream about having. I was erect in no time.

Cynthia walked in wearing no clothes, carrying a large mirror. She hung it up in the middle of one of the yellow walls, just low enough so I could see myself laying on the bed.

"Interesting piece, where'd you get it?"

She sighed, "Pine Grove Mall. Nice cock. Lay down."

Cynthia walked over to the bed, got down on her knees and took my entire manhood into her mouth all at once. My eyes rolled back in instant ecstasy. I had been deepthroated before but nothing even close to this good. She kept going and going. The gagging sounds we're almost a bigger turn on than the actual act itself. As I began pondering finishing in her mouth and going again, she pulled back.

"Eat my asshole." She ordered.

"What? Uh. No. No thanks. I'm good." I objected instantly.

"I didn't give you a choice." She got on all fours in front of me. This was my night now. I will admit, she looked incredible bent over like that.

I positioned myself behind her and slid my tongue into her. She moaned loud and deep. She loved it. Knowing that made it more bearable for me. I kept licking up and down, throwing in the occasional perimeter move for good measure. Her body was writhing in a way I've never been able to make a woman move before.

I felt my tongue go inside of her.

I went to pull it out...but it was stuck. I tapped her on the cheek aggressively but Cynthia kept moaning louder and began rubbing her clit.

"Fuck!" She shouted.

At that moment a piercing pain shot through the tip on my tongue. A scream made its way out of my throat but it was stifled by my protruding tongue. Tears rolled down my face as I kept slapping her ass and legs, trying to stop this sick game and free myself.

"Oh god!" She moaned, "I'm so close. Just twenty six seconds. I'm almost there!"

The pain intensified. I couldn't do anything. I started seeing spots and white flashes.

Why the fuck did I do this?

Cynthia's entire body convulsed in one strong movement and I yanked myself away as hard as I could, falling back to the floor. I grabbed my mouth in agony, but I tasted no blood. I check my hands. Nothing.

As I lay there discombobulated, Cynthia walked over to me and bent down.

"Your turn. Go find yourself a nice girl. Have her suck the juice out of your little cock."

I grabbed my clothes. I ran out. I ran to my car. I drove home naked. At that point it didn't matter who saw me or what happened. I needed to be away. Safe.

A couple days later I went and got myself checked for any STDs and explained an abridged account of my night to the doctor. He assured me that my tongue must have just cramped due to nerves and all of the motions. I was willing to live with that.

A couple more weeks went by. My tests all came back negative. That calmed me, but at that point it was the least of my concerns. I hadn't heard from my friend since that night. According to the girl that he was hitting on at the bar, he went home with some "sleek, feminine" guy shortly after I left. He was always the biggest homophobe I knew, so honestly him being in the closet didn't surprise me in the slightest. Even more so than that concern, however, was my sex drive. My dick was constantly getting hard any time I was near an even remotely attractive female. I felt like an eleven year old boy who just discovered that breasts are for more than feeding.

After a few days spent masturbating way too much, I managed to convince the server from Riverwood, Olivia, to come home with me after bar close one night.

Once we worked past the kissing and boring formalities, we both stood in front of each other naked and ready to become partners in sin.

"Suck my dick." I told her.

"Ooh, I like a bossy guy." She squealed a little. "I'll suck it so good, daddy."

Olivia got on her knees and took me into her mouth. She couldn't get it all the way in, but she could take enough to scratch my itch. It was good. Not Cynthia good, but enjoyable. I felt her try to pull her head away as I felt my cum getting ready to burst out, but she couldn't. I could see the fear in her eyes as she looked up at me.

"Twenty six seconds, then it'll be all over."

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Do you know of any fics where John has body dysmorphia or an eating disorder? Also, I’ve read almost every fic in your lists... what is your recommendation for a punch in the gut pining fic from either side? Thank you ever so, lovely

Hi Nonny!

Ah, I actually don’t read eating disorder fics because for personal reasons, but I have done a list SIMILAR to John dysmorphia here before: Insecure / Awkward John or Sherlock (Jan 2019). Alexx has a John is Insecure list you can check out there.

For Pining, I have a RIDICULOUSLY HUGE Pining Sherlock [MOBILE FRIENDLY VERSION] list at that link there and a Mutual Pining list too. And Pining John… well, I’ve been putting together a list for years because someone asked me for it ages ago, LOL. Sorry it’s not super long like my others (most of them are in the Mutual pining list, LOL)! I suppose I can use this opportunity to post up what I have sorted so far, LOL

PINING JOHN

See also:

Mutual Pining

Pining Sherlock [MOBILE FRIENDLY VERSION]

Where You Are by Mazarin221b (E, 2,478 w., 1 Ch. || Beach Sex, First Time, Fluff, Smut, Holidays, Pining) – He can admit he’s secretly a little glad Sherlock didn’t come with him. He needs a break. Sherlock is a handful at the best of times, and the near-constant apologizing, fixing, dealing-with, and following up on is exhausting. The near-constant unrequited attraction is a bit exhausting, too, to be honest, and John could really use a tiny bit of rest from the relentless hammering on his brain and heart.

Until the End of the World by SarahCat1717 (G, 3,049 w., 1 Ch.|| Angst, First Kiss, Pining Sherlock, Oblivious John, Drunkenness) – Taking place in Season 3, John listens to an old favourite song and sorts through his memories and feelings about Sherlock and Mary.

Out of Time by westernredcedar (T, 3,163 w., 1 Ch. || Wedding, Angst, Pining John, Sad Ending) – Somerset is a lovely place for a wedding, but what John hadn’t accounted for was the getting everyone there.

Between Asleep and Awake by katydidit (K, 4,309 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Sick Fic, Post-TRF / Reunion) – John is sick. Incredibly, extremely, dangerously sick. Plagued by a high fever, he begins to hallucinate, start seeing things that aren’t really there. Because they can’t be there. Can they?

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.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want by hubblegleeflower (E, 4,804 w., 1 Ch. || Pining, Sexual Tension, UST / RST, First Time) – John wants. He always has, but now that he’s living with Sherlock again, it’s all he can do to hold it back. And Sherlock isn’t helping…

See Recipe for Details by pandoras_chaos (E, 4,981 w., 1 Ch. || Oral / Anal Sex, Food, PWP, Fingerfucking) – John knows Sherlock’s mouth will never water over the sweet smells of baking chocolate biscuits or a lovely roast chicken, but he’s watched Sherlock nick mince pies out of Mrs. Hudson’s fridge often enough to deduce that the man does have taste, albeit confusing and obscure. So John makes a list: Things Sherlock Likes

Strings by EstherShapiro (E, 5,267 w., 1 Ch. || Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Massage, Friends to Lovers, Fingering, Anal, PWP) – Sherlock wakes his doctor up. Was this weird? John was sitting on his bed, late at night, rubbing his hands over another man’s body? That was supposed to be weird, right? Then again, this wasn’t just some man, it was Sherlock. They were so used to each other that John didn’t even think to question it. It wasn’t weird.

EMERGENCY CONTACT: John Watson, RELATIONSHIP: Saint by blueink3 (M, 6,229 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt Sherlock, 5+1, Hurt / Comfort, Caring John, Scars) – The first time Sherlock Holmes realizes he needs an emergency contact is the first time he mentally appoints John Watson with the job. John, of course, does not know this and neither does the local hospital. Part 2 of The Emergency Contact Series

I can’t pretend by Salambo06 (E, 7,692 w., 1 Ch. || Fake Relationship, Victor Trevor, Jealous John, Miscommunications, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, First Kiss/Time, Anal, BJs) – They had arrived more than a hour ago, and the moment they had walked inside the hotel reception, John had understood why Sherlock hadn’t wanted to come. Two men, posh suits and expensive watches on their wrists, had come to greet them with sharp remarks and badly hidden mockery, and John had seen red. Sherlock hadn’t said anything, mostly ignoring the two men entirely, and without thinking twice about it, John had slid an arm around Sherlock’s waist and introduced himself as his husband.

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…?

Every Night I Look for You by destinationtoast (E, 8,377 w., 1 Ch. || POV John, Post-TRF, Angst, Mystery, Unsafe Sex, BAMF John) – Every night, John looks for familiar hints of Sherlock in the men he meets in bars, and he does with them all the things he wishes he’d done before. Eventually, he stumbles into a situation that Sherlock would know how to handle, and John must decide whether he can handle it without him.

Evening Ride by LapisLazuli (E, 8,632 w., 1 Ch. || Public Sex, Alternate First Meeting, Humiliation Kink, Groping, Frottage, Consent Issues, Come Play) – John has a series of unexpected meetings with a stranger on the Tube.

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.

Down with this Ship by FrostedFlame (PinkOrchid) (M, 10,862 w., 10 Ch. || For a Case, Gay Bar, Pining, Coming Out, Slow Burn) – Sherlock drags John undercover to a gay bar - for a case, of course - looking forward to seeing John flustered by their surroundings (since you know, he’s NOT GAY). John decides that he has hidden both his orientation and his feelings for his daft flatmate for far too long. He is done hiding, time to be honest with his bloody best friend in the world. He just hopes it won’t change anything between them. And then it does.

Johnlock Ficlet Collection by Irrevocably_Sherlocked (E, 11,505+ w., 16/? Ch. [WiP] | Random Ficlets, Pining, Angst, Fluff & Smut, Parentlock, AU’s, First Kiss, Character POV’s) - Just a collection of Johnlock ficlets, originally posted on my Tumblr page.

Say For Me, Love by MirabileLectu (T, 13,147 w., 1 Ch. || UST, First Kiss, Drama, Pining John, Victor Trevor) – If you had asked John this morning what the result of his quiet afternoon at home would be, discovering a truth about Sherlock’s past startling enough to shift the foundations of their friendship would not have been his first guess. So naturally, that was what was bound to happen.

A Hundred Thousand Ways to Say the Name John by Jberry (E, 16,825 w., 1 Ch. || Fake Relationship, Fake Marriage, POV John, Pining John, Cruise Ship, Angst & Fluff, Case Fit) –  John Watson and Sherlock Holmes must solve a case on a cruise ship. To get close to the crew and passengers, they must get married for the case on the Baetica. However, their relationship hits rocky seas both due to the case and internal conflicts. Part 1 of Baetica

Love or What You Will by miss_frankenstein (T, 31,987 w., 11 Ch. || College/Uni AU || Professor John, Ph.D Student Sherlock, Pining John, Poetry, Falling in Love / Slow Burn, Light Angst, Happy Ending) – John is an English professor who specializes in War and Post-War Literature and Sherlock is the brilliant yet impossible Ph.D. student assigned to be his TA because no one in the Chemistry Department is willing to put up with him. And - somewhere between Waugh and Plath, e-mails and takeaway, novels and villanelles - they fall in love.

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.”

The Wrong Wagon by DancingGrimm (E, 35,663 w., 20 Ch. || Alternating POV, Molly/John [Molly pines for John], Public Sex, Casual Sex, Obliviousness, BAMF!John, Awkwardness, Angst & Humour, First Time, Virgin Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock) – Molly sees John in a new light and realises that she may have hitched her horse to the wrong wagon…or something like that. John pines for Sherlock and worries what he will think if he ever finds out. And Sherlock doesn’t know what Molly’s up to…but he knows he doesn’t like it.

The Boy Who Drank Stars by kinklock (E, 36,157 w., 4 Ch. || Howl’s Moving Castle AU || Witches and Wizards, Slow Burn, Magic, Jealous John, Happy Ending, Bed Sharing) – “I’m looking for a castle,” John informed the scarecrow. “A moving one.”Except that, as it turned out, it was not a moving one at all.

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.

The Soul Remembers by i_ship_an_armada (E, 43,636 w., 10 Ch. || Oblivion AU || Post-Apocalypse, Movie Fusion, Science Fiction, Action/Adventure, Angst, Dreams, Bittersweet Ending) – John Watson is the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined future Earth. His dreams are plagued by a tall, dark-haired man, and when his dreams meet reality, he will be forced to question everything he believes is the truth about his life.

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…

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?

Secrets and Revelations by Hisstah (E, 83,535 w., 9 Ch. || Sentinel / Guides Omegaverse AU || Adventure, Violence, Anal / Oral, Omega!John / Alpha!Sherlock, Case Fic, Politics, Mild DubCon) – Dr John Watson has some major secrets that he’s kept from his flatmate, Alpha Sentinel Sherlock Holmes. Now the Sentinel Tower is after him. Can John stay out of their hands until he can reveal his secrets to Sherlock? Part 1 of Secrets and Revelations

A Case of Identity by jkay1980 (T, 91,009 w., 22 Ch. || Post-TRF, Fake Relationship, Case Fic) – John and Sherlock have succeeded in rebuilding their friendship after Sherlock’s fake suicide, but an unusual case puts their relationship to the test. They pretend to be engaged and attend a marriage counseling workshop. Under the pretext of the case, Sherlock turns out to be a master of seduction, and John finally learns he might like Sherlock more than he thought. Slowly, John discovers that he loves Sherlock not only in a friendly, brotherly way, but both men have to fight their own demons before they can think of taking their relationship to a new level…

The Burning Heart by May_Shepard (M, 119,150 w., 21 Ch. || Canon Divergence, Post-TRF, John’s Sexuality, S3 Rewrite, Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, POV John Watson, John’s Gay) – When Sherlock dies, John Watson feels like his life is over too. He’s completely shut down, until Mark Morstan, a new nurse at John’s medical clinic, catches his attention, and helps him uncover the long buried truth of his attraction to men. Although he’s certain he’ll never get over Sherlock, John plans to move on, and build a new life with Mark, unaware that Sherlock is not quite as dead as he appears, and that Mark is hiding secrets of his own.

Gimme Shelter by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (E, 159,368 w., 21 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || 70′s Surfer AU || Period Typical Homophobia, Hawaii, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Professional Surfers, Gay John / Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, John was a Sailor, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining) – All John Watson wants is the feeling of a freshly waxed surfboard under his feet and the hot California sun baking down onto his back. To finally go pro in the newly formed world of professional surfing and leave the dark memories of his past behind him as he rips across the face of a towering blue barrel. To lounge beside the beach bonfire every evening with an ice cold beer tucked into the cool sand beside him and listen to Pink Floyd and the Doors while the saltwater dries in his sun bleached hair. That’s all he wants, that is, until the hot young phenom taking Oahu and the Hawaiian shores by storm steps up next to him in the sand in the second round of the 1976 International Surf Competition. (PUBLISHED AS ‘The Sea Ain’t Mine Alone’)

[simplyclockwork]

Simplyclockwork’s Sherlock Fic Recs

This will be updated as I find and read more fics. I will make it accessible as a link on my blog if people want to follow.

This list is in no way exhaustive. 

Alternate Universe/Crossovers

Performance in a Leading Role - madlori

Explicit. 156,714 words. 21 chapters.

Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?

A Moment’s Surrender - anchors

Mature. 64,272 words. 10 chapters. 

Sherlock tours worldwide with the English National Ballet. John dances the Lindy Hop competitively all across the globe. That they would meet, then, by the slimmest of chances in one lonely city, is pure coincidence. The whole 'dancing together' bit is a little more planned. Dancer!AU.

Love or What You Will - miss_frankenstein

Teen and Up. 31,987 words. 11 chapters.

John is an English professor who specializes in War and Post-War Literature and Sherlock is the brilliant yet impossible Ph.D. student assigned to be his TA because no one in the Chemistry Department is willing to put up with him. And - somewhere between Waugh and Plath, e-mails and takeaway, novels and villanelles - they fall in love.

Two Two One Bravo Baker - abudantlyqueer

Explicit. 114,574 words. 27 chapters. 

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?

The Jewel in the Tower - PoppyAlexander

Explicit. 207,079 words. 39 chapters.

"Xie [...] had invented an entire pleasure-industry by combining superior visual aesthetics with impeccable personal attention. Drasha salons were by that time a feature of any even half-decent house of repose in every pleasure district in the British Isles, but once upon a time, when Xie debuted, there had been only one, and Xie had named it: the Icehouse."

* In a contemporary dystopia, Unity is peace--despite the fact unsanctioned information, illicit currency, and every sort of danger flows unchecked in the world's pleasure districts.

John Watson, a weary hired gun, is assigned by the mysterious Mentor to investigate a subversive element lurking in the Icehouse, the world's most famous House of Repose. As accustomed as he is to dealing with the unexpected, John is nevertheless woefully unprepared to meet the gem of the Ice house, Xie, the world renowned "drashaskaya," the living work of art after which all other drashas are modeled.

In sumptuous suites, amid trailing puddles of silk and fervent whispers in the night, John soon learns that nothing is as it seems in the floating world of London's pleasure district. *

Modern-day dystopian/one-world government/espionage/geisha!lock AU

The Loss of Flesh and Soul - deuxexmycroft

Explicit. 60,000+ words. Unfinished.

Five years after John Watson puts the murderous Sherlock Holmes behind bars, a vicious copycat killer emerges. A reluctant John is pulled out of retirement to seek the expertise of the only man who can help, a man who has developed an unsettling obsession with John himself.

Crossover with Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs

Simplyclockwork note: Not fully finished, but an alternative ending was posted. Still worth reading without a full ending.

I wake up and I wake up and you’re still dead - thisprettywren (memento/Sherlock crossover)

Mature. 24,226 words. One-shot.

Sherlock isn't the only one who's lost.

The Sinking of the Titanic: Sixty Years Later - flawedamythyst

Teen and Up. 15,340 words. One-shot. 

John Watson is interviewed for a documentary being made for the sixtieth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The story he tells is not the one the interviewer was expecting.

The Bachelors’ Handfasting - Jberry

Explicit. 30,624 words. 20 chapters.

After her son is caught in a compromising position, Victoria Holmes must make arrangements for a quick marriage between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Simplyclockwork note: Kilt!Lock and Soft Bab Sherlock (but of age)

Just to Hold You Close - sussexbound

Explicit. 70,841 words. 18 chapters. 

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. John is a conundrum and mystery: frank yet reserved, tender yet angry, open yet afraid. Sherlock is instantly drawn into his orbit, and begins to feel and desire things he never has before.

Summit Fever - J_Baillier

Mature. 78,867 words. 18 chapters. 

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?

The Last Companion - standbygo

Explicit. 34,101 words. 14 chapters.

Thirty years after the Miranda Wars, there is peace, both on the Rim and the Core planets. There are a number of old social mores still in place, such as the Order of Companions, but there is a sense that even such respected practices are coming to an end…

Sherlock is a Companion - the best Companion on Persephone. With a bit of detective work on the side, of course. Then he meets a man named John Watson, encounters a series of bizarre cases, and finds his world is getting turned upside down.

Simplyclockwork note: Sherlock/Firefly AU!

Out There - DiscordantWords

Teen and up. 131,695 words. 10 chapters.

FBI Special Agent John Watson, medical doctor and army veteran, is assigned to assist eccentric genius Sherlock Holmes with paranormal investigations on the X-Files project.

This is a fusion with The X-Files, written for the Fall TV Season Challenge.

Say You’ll Stay With Me - justacookieofacumberbatch (buffyholic)

Explicit. 63,349 words. 21 chapters.

It was just supposed to be an ordinary business trip, but when John's car stalls out on Hollywood Boulevard, he meets someone who just might change his life.

Simplyclockwork note: Pretty Woman/Sherlock AU.

Gimme Shelter - SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John

Explicit. 159,368 words. 21 chapters.

All John Watson wants is the feeling of a freshly waxed surfboard under his feet and the hot California sun baking down onto his back. To finally go pro in the newly formed world of professional surfing and leave the dark memories of his past behind him as he rips across the face of a towering blue barrel. To lounge beside the beach bonfire every evening with an ice cold beer tucked into the cool sand beside him and listen to Pink Floyd and the Doors while the saltwater dries in his sun bleached hair.

That's all he wants, that is, until the hot young phenom taking Oahu and the Hawaiian shores by storm steps up next to him in the sand in the second round of the 1976 International Surf Competition.

Apokalypsis - songlin

Mature. 12,125 words. 4 chapters.

There were things I never told you because I thought we had time. There is no time left in the world anymore.

Sensory Science - sussexbound

Explicit. 80,017 words. 24 chapters. 

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.

Comparative Literature is for Idiots - lookupkate

Explicit. 8,173 words. 4 chapters.

Sherlock thinks he's very bohemian, smoking cigarettes and wearing patchouli oil and writing poetry in the attic. In truth he's just your average seventeen year old, not showering enough and being hit particularly hard by his continued path through puberty.

John is getting his masters in literature. He's the TA for comparative literature and yearns for romance. Romance has other plans, plans that require him to go without for at least ten more years. Plans that put in front of him the exact man he'll finally fall in love with, but in boy form.

When Sherlock happens to see John reading poetry at a coffee shop he is immediately smitten. John holds him at arm's length because he's a bloody child.

How will ten years and miles apart change that view, and will John be able to understand how he's fallen in love with someone he doesn't ever get to see?

Stay tuned for puberty hi jinx and the passing of time to find out. And yes, there will be love.

An Everlasting Inferno - thatawkwardfriend

Explicit. 108,389 words. 15 chapters.

Sherlock and John are both men who operate outside the law. John works for Mary and her hitmen in order to keep a roof over his head. Sherlock does anything his drug dealer asks of him in exchange for free drugs and housing.

They meet one night in a darkened garage to negotiate a deal. But they soon find out that neither of their bosses are being entirely honest with them about their goals or motives. With a little poking around, they stumble upon something much bigger than themselves and discover that perhaps, it might be in their best interests to work together.

(Loosely inspired by StartUp and Little Favour)

Only To Be With You - SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John

Mature. 40,768 words. 4 chapters.

I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black.

I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

You Give Me Fever - michi_thekiller

Explicit. 16,122 words. One-shot.

Thou givest fever when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth Fever I'm afire; fever, yea, I burn forsooth "He's the kind of boy you want to take apart."

Gratuitous Greaserlock. It's essentially 16k of mostly-porn. Warnings for underage sex between teens.

OmegaVerse

The Gilded Cage - BeautifulFiction

Explicit. 326,887 words. 31 chapters.

In a world where Omegas are the property of the elite Alphas, locked away and treasured by those wealthy enough to buy them, John never questioned his flatmate's secondary gender. Sherlock Holmes was an Alpha through-and through.

Wasn't he?

A chance discovery turns the world on its head, and John is left grappling to come to terms with Sherlock's past as events conspire to threaten their future.

Relative Incandescence - orphan_account

Explicit. 35,486 words. One-shot. 

Two musical notes: Every parrot and every construction worker knows them. Shrill and salacious, so Sherlock will remember: You are on display. It’s supposed to be a compliment. Supposed to make him feel good, that they have laboured to remind him.

It makes him feel like a package of meat, set down into the cooler, raw and waiting to eaten.

Supernatural/Fantasy/Magical Realism

Graceless - Belladonna_Q

Mature. 1,296 words. One-shot.

He spins and throws blindly, and another soft whump, that comforting scent of home vaporizing before him. A single raven coloured feather seasaws through the air.

“God damn you, Sherlock!” He shouts, he screams, and there’s nothing in the space he can strike. Nothing he can grab and heave into the darkness.

Beneath the Silver Moon - SailorChibi

Explicit. 85, 993 words. 73 chapters. 

After being bitten in Afghanistan, John was invalided home. Being a werewolf was new to him, and he wasn't interested in any of the help or orientation that the Centre had to offer, but even his wolf knew better than to enter territory that had been marked. Until his first outside change, when he met a strange alpha wolf that wanted John to follow it home into pack territory. John's initial refusal became a challenge for the curious alpha... one Sherlock Holmes.

All Things Inherit - BeautifulFiction (@the-pen-pot​)

Explicit. 53,682 words. 6 chapters. 

"For John, it's not a bullet that throws his existence into disarray – it's a bite."

In a world where twelve percent of the population are Mactiri - people with the ability to turn into wolves at will - John finds himself struggling with a new and horrifying existence. The victim of a shocking attack, he is discharged from the army and sent home, determined never to acknowledge what he can now become.

However, when his health starts to fail, it is up to his enigmatic new flatmate to show him that perhaps his life is not the nightmare John believes it to be.

Inexplicable - emmagrant01

Explicit. 34,664 words. 6 chapters.

So what was in that matchbox, anyway? John and Sherlock find out, the hard way.

Simplyclockwork note: this fic ripped my heart out in the best way.

Riptide Lover - jinglebell

Explicit. 114,090 words. 20 chapters.

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...

Victorian mermaid AU. Heed the tags. Complete!

John Watson’s Moon - patternofdefiance

Explicit. 11,314 words. One-shot

“You’ll let me see it, of course.”

It takes John no time at all to realize what is being asked, to stiffen with indignation, but he asks, “See what?” nonetheless.

The look those grey-green eyes level at him says please don’t actually be that stupid far more eloquently than should be possible. “You are loup garou, recently infected under traumatic circumstances and subsequently discharged from military service, most likely from a post in Afghanistan or Iraq. Your wounds would have healed with the passing of the initial fever, so whatever lingering effects you are suffering are likely psychosomatic – and severe enough to bar you from the one occupation where being a ruthless hunter is seen as a qualification rather than a detriment.” Those eyes flick back up from their cataloguing of John’s limbs and body to meet his eyes. “When I say you’ll let me see it, I am then, of course, referring to your wolf form.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Potential flatmates should know the worst about one another.”

Hellfire - PrettyArbitrary

Teen and up. 2,966 words. One-shot.

John learns, with clawing, bloody slowness, how to fend for himself. He learns the capacity to love wasn’t taken from him, or the need for it. He learns what it is to starve. To need things that aren’t given to him.

A prequel to Graceless.

Full Moon - sommerprosson

Explicit. 5,151 words. One-shot.

Sherlock rather wishes the man hadn’t woken. Now, he has to talk to him before he bites his throat during the night.

Tedious.

The Curious Wine - songlin

Explicit. 15,095 words. 8 chapters.

"I want to watch you kill, because I want to see you lose that tiresome battle against your baser instincts. I want to drink from you, enough that you go weak and breathless and can’t stand properly, but I don’t want to kill you, because then you’ll be gone and the thought of never being surprised by you ever again makes me want to go naked into the sunlight and wait until it burns me into ash."

Blue Blood - You_Light_The_Sky

Teen and up. 963 words. One-shot.

"I know you're here," John shouts into the darkness.

The Autumn Moon is Bright - barrowjane

Mature. 23,935words. 3 chapters.

John has two secrets he keeps from Sherlock - he manages this, he thinks, only because Sherlock would find the idea that John is attracted to him just as unlikely as the idea of John being a werewolf. He's not sure what it says about his life, that love and lycanthropy are considered equally impossible events.

The Stars Move Still - BeautifulFiction (@the-pen-pot​)

Explicit. 96,022 words. 5 chapters.

"What could I want so desperately that would make me sell my soul? What could possibly compel me to surrender the part of myself that makes me who I am: the source of my magic, my self-control, everything?"

Say That Again, But In English This Time - janonny

Explicit. 15,842 words. One-shot. 

Lestrade was calling about a new murder, Sherlock was acting strange even for a consulting detective-werewolf, and John was missing blood from the fridge. Just another day in John’s life. (Alternate Universe where Sherlock is a werewolf, and John is a vampire. Everything else is exactly the same.

Darkling, I Listen - You_Light_The_Sky

Teen and up. 73,254 words. 8 chapters.

No one who enters old London ever comes out. They say that the beast devours them. When his sister disappears, John ventures into the dead zone beyond the wall, and finds a brilliant madman under a terrible curse...

The Bite - Laur

Explicit. 48, 214 words. 16 chapters.

Sherlock gets it wrong.

Days, months, even years in the future, Sherlock’s oversight during the Baskerville case will continue to torment him, but nothing about that night will ever be as painfully vivid as the memory of John’s screams.

This is how it begins.

Dark!Sherlock/Dark!John 

Hollow Hands Cling series - misanthropyray

Explicit. 17,718 words. 2 works.

Written for a prompt on the kinkmeme: "John breaks up with Sherlock and moves out of Baker Street. Hurt, angry, and heartbroken, Sherlock implicates him in a murder."

The Most Dangerous Game - gestalt1/chi-chi-chimaera

Explicit. 26,179 words. One-shot.

Written for a prompt on BBC Sherlock Kink Meme : I'd really like to see some secret!serial-killer!Sherlock, either because he's finally gotten bored of solving regular crimes, or he's been doing this all along and framing other people for it.

Extra Dark!Watson would be much appreciated. Maybe he's just seen so many people killed, and killed himself, that it no longer feels like much to be concerned about.

Skinful Canvas - You_Light_The_Sky

Teen and Up. 9,360 words. One-shot.

A person’s sins gets marked on their skin in such beautiful ways. Sherlock has no such marks and yet his hands are the bloodiest of all. He would so like to mark John in etchings of his own… Serial-Killer!Sherlock

Training Dr. John Watson - angelblack3

Explicit. 57,917 words. 30 chapters.

In this universe, Jim got a hold of Sherlock way before he ever met the ones that were meant to save him. Now, they're happy business partners. Though, according to Jim, Sherlock isn't nearly as happy as he could be. He should find someone like Jim found his dear pet Sebby. Sherlock is skeptical, until he finds an army doctor with a psychosomatic limp in a twisted sense of fate.

Simplyclockwork note: Very, very dark. Rape and non-con. Read the tags! 

Post-Reichenbach

One Day at a Time Series - KeelieThompson1

Mature. 35,137 words. 2 works.

Sherlock always had an influence on John, so when he "dies" and John finds his secret stash of cocaine, one thing leads to another. And John is far too proud to admit just how far he is falling or ask for help. Afterall, who is there left that he can really ask?

The Burning Heart - May_Shepard

Mature. 119,150 words. 21 chapters.

When Sherlock dies, John Watson feels like his life is over too. He’s completely shut down, until Mark Morstan, a new nurse at John’s medical clinic, catches his attention, and helps him uncover the long buried truth of his attraction to men.

Although he’s certain he’ll never get over Sherlock, John plans to move on, and build a new life with Mark, unaware that Sherlock is not quite as dead as he appears, and that Mark is hiding secrets of his own.

The Quiet Man - ivyblossom

Explicit. 157,369 words. 58 chapters.

"Do you just carry on talking when I'm away?"

Ford - theshopislocal

Mature. 31,744 words. 5 chapters.

He turns back round then and looks down at me, eyes curious. “Your name, W.S.S. Holmes.” That’s not my name. “Is it Walter? Or Wilbur? Maybe something really awful like, er,” he smiles wryly, “Willoughby? Winchester?”

I feel my face go blank as my body numbs over. “Scott,” I say, voice devoid of emotion. “My name is Scott.”

The Imposter - PoppyAlexander

Mature. 9,802 words. One-shot.

Sherlock has been rescued by his brother and is ready to reclaim his life, his work, and--of course--John Watson.

But John Watson let it all slide in the wake of Sherlock Holmes' death and is living on the streets, drinking, dissociated from his previous life and even from his own name.

Sherlock will have to convince him that he really *is* Sherlock Holmes.

Synapses - theshopislocal

Explicit. 52,725 words. 9 chapters.

“Thrice.”

“Yes.”

John blinks. Shakes his head. Blinks again. “Thhhhrice.”

“Yes.”

Is my mouth moving right n- “Thrice in your entire life?”

“Yess, John,” Sherlock growls, hissing like a snake grabbed by the tail. “Thrice, three times, twice more than once and once more than twice, a veritable triptych of onanism. Thrice.”

Of Nightmares and Memories - @annecumberbatch

Not-Rated. 220 words. One-shot.

Stream of consciousness poem of fragmented thoughts after Sherlock leapt to his death and John tries to continue life without him. -------------

I grab at a stranger

Pulling them out of their life

Trying to pull you back into mine

It left me with empty hands

Ten Days - @engazed

Explicit. 137,212 words. 31 chapters. 

Sherlock Holmes has been dead for forty months, and John is at last beginning to live his life again. But just when he believes he might be happy, his world crashes back down around him.

John is named a missing person. Someone is pointing DI Lestrade in the wrong direction. And as the days pass, his situation only grows more dire. It seems like the disappearance of his best friend is the only thing that can bring Sherlock Holmes back from the dead.

Simplyclockwork note: Intense torture and non-con. Read the tags!

Slow Burn/Pining/Unrequited Love

Drawn to Stars - silvergirl

Explicit. 100,000+ words. 56 chapters.

“Romantic entanglement, while fulfilling for other people—” “—would complete you as a human being.”

After the Culverton Smith case Sherlock is clean, working, and looking for a romantic partner—since John has told him that’s what he needs. Shame John didn’t mention he was interested in that role himself, before Sherlock went off to Rome with a gorgeous Italian copper to try to fall in love and become a complete human being.

Thermodynamics series - entanglednow 

Teen and Up. 16,300 words. 4 works. 

In which there's no heating and there's a dead owl in Sherlock's bed.

the knife I turn inside myself - polyommatusblues

Explicit. 11,307 words. One-shot.

There are a million parallel universes out there in which Sherlock and John are happy—universes in which Sherlock never jumped, John never married, and things never went to hell. Sherlock knows that this is not one of universes. It could have been, he imagines, but it’s not.

They make do.

Ease Your Way into Occupied Spaces - joolabee

Explicit. 11,091 words. One-shot.

One thing’s certain: this wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.

The Real Meaning of Idioms - feverishsea

Teen and Up. 21,691 words. 13 chapters.

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.

The Symposium - orphan_account

Explicit. 2,542 words. One-shot.

"You're going to regret this," Sherlock manages while John sucks on his neck, "Whatever you're doing, I'm not going to stop you, and you'll regret it." He doesn't want to be that, some guilty secret John carries about. Sherlock might not have much in the way of qualms in general, but he does have some standards.

"I'll just add it to the list then, shall I?" John's voice is rueful, bitter.

White Knight - discordantwords

Mature. 69,840 words. 13 chapters.

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 Progress of Sherlock Holmes - ivyblossom

Explicit. 62,006 words. 25 chapters.

“I had,” he said, “come to an entirely erroneous conclusion, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data.”

-- Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Angst/Hurt and Comfort/Sick Fics

The Vapor Variant - 88th Parallel (CanadaHolm)

Mature. 72,684 words. 18 chapters. 

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.

kiss me on the mouth & set me free (but please don’t bite) - crysanthemumsies

Explicit. 18,743 words. 6 chapters.

Five times John got drunk and slept with Sherlock, and the one time Sherlock got drunk and couldn't do the same.

Control, Alt, Delete - MirithGriffin

Explicit. 75,196 words. 28 chapters.

If you could delete everything except what was really important, would you? Sherlock and John explore the question and each other. 

Lacuna - coloredink

Explicit. 15,607 words. One-shot.

God, it must have been terrible, to think that he would never have this again.

Second Waltz - Atiki

Teen and up. 6,685 words. One-shot.

"The night I died, you wished I could wait for you."

The Haunting of 221B Baker Street - earlgreytea68

Mature. 10,388 words. 2 chapters.

In which Sherlock Holmes is a ghost.

Warm Me Up - halloa_what_is_this

General audiences. 5,357 words. One-shot.

For days, it’s like living with a sick toddler craving for attention and entertainment. Sherlock stays close to John the whole time, climbs on top of him or next to him every time he sits or lies down and sleeps with his head buried in his stomach every night.

This Time No (Forgiveness) - AtlinMerrick

Explict. 29,464 words. 11 chapters.

It was Sherlock's fault. It usually is. And though he'll ask forgiveness for what he's done, for the very first time John will say, 'This time no, Sherlock. This time, never.' And maybe, just maybe, John Watson is going to mean it.

Electric Pink Hand Grenade - BeautifulFiction

Explicit. 67,718 words. 13 chapters.

"If Sherlock's brain is a hard drive, then these attacks are an electro-magnetic pulse." Sherlock Holmes does not do anything by half, not even a migraine. It falls to John to witness one of the greatest minds he has ever known tear itself apart, and he must do his best to help Sherlock pick up the pieces.

Already Gone - AnneCumberbatch

Explicit. 3,649 words. 7 chapters.

“Sherlock…” John smoothed Sherlock’s shirt out over his chest. “I’m not a good man. I’m not.” “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, John.” Sherlock shifted his hands to hold onto John’s shoulders. “I think you give me too much.” “John…” Sherlock ducked his head towards John and stopped, hovering above John’s lips. “Please. Kiss me again.”

Emails from the War Zone - trajektoria

Mature. 1,872 words. One-shot.

John returns to Afghanistan for a month to be an army doctor once again and Sherlock is left alone in the flat. The only contact the men have with each other is via emails. Sometimes it's easier to write something than to tell it face-to-face...

carrying up his morning tea - darcylindbergh

Explicit. 34,504 words. 5 chapters.

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.

You Have Drawn Red From My Hands - J_Baillier 

Teen and up. 67,085 words. 17 chapters.

John getting injured leads Sherlock on a path of guilt and revelations.

Alone on the Water - Mad_Lori

General Audiences. 7,725 words. One-shot.

Sherlock Holmes never expected to live a long life, but he never imagined that it would end like this.

Simplyclockwork note: This fic has Major Character Death in it.

The Wisteria Tree - SilentAuror

Explicit. 29,773 words. One-shot.

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...

Without Words - allonsys_girl

Explicit. 12,492 words. One-shot.

John and Sherlock have been together for six months and Sherlock still hasn't said "I love you". Then John gets hurt, and Sherlock expresses how much John really means to him.

When a Man is Wrong - plantsareneat 

Mature. 70,000+ words. Incomplete. 

After the events of The Lying Detective, John and Sherlock attempt to rebuild their friendship, and John struggles with life as a single father. He discovers he is not fully in control of his anger and behavior, and spirals into depression. Follows John through this dark period, and through the healing process he needs to make both for himself and for Sherlock, who has stood by him throughout.

Author Note: *Trigger Warning: pretty graphic depiction of deep depression and suicidal thoughts, including a (non-successful) attempt. Later part of the story follows a hospitalization and healing process coupled with developing/realized romance. Please take care of yourself, dear reader; if this subject is triggering for you, choose another story!

Simplyclockwork note: incomplete but still actively being worked on I believe, very worth the read even unfinished.

Open Your Eyes - AnneCumberbatch

Mature. 4,385 words. 6 chapters.

Sometimes you don't know what you could have had until you lose it.

Winner of the Fall 2019 #keepjohnlockalivecompetition by sherlockswolmes on Tumblr

The Heart in the Whole - verityburns

Explicit. 101,650 words. 21 chapters.

Events after 'The Great Game' leave Sherlock dependent on his best friend and colleague. But John has a secret of his own...

The Emergency Contact Series - blueink3

Mature. 11,763 words. 2 works.

The first time John Watson’s emergency contact is called is the first time Sherlock Holmes finds out that he has the job.

Rebuilding Rome - SilentAuror

Explicit. 94,000 words. 15 chapters.

When a case unexpectedly forces John to acknowledge some difficult truths about himself and his life, he spirals downward, leaving Sherlock to do his best to rescue him from his own darkness and somehow try to build something new on broken foundations.

Radioactive Trees in a Red Forest - Maribor_Petrichor 

Explicit. 280,226 words. 73 chapters. 

John Watson is what happens when a man can no longer see a reason to go on.

John Watson is what happens when a man starts to let go.

"It is what it is."

John Watson is what happens when what "it is" becomes too much to bear.

This is a story of the life, death, and resurrection of John Hamish Watson.

Sink Like a Stone - pennydreadful

Teen and Up. 4,348 words. One-shot.

After defeating Moriarty at the pool, life isn't quite the same around 221B Baker Street...it's more peaceful. And stranger.

Dissolution: Our Plague Days - PoppyAlexander

Teen and up. 6,663 words. One-shot.

The bees have been dying for years. A mysterious pandemic has the people of Great Britain quarantined and terrified. Sherlock's solved it; now John must save them.

Evidence of Human Life - thesardine 

Explicit. 16,906 words. One-shot.

Sherlock's sanity deteriorates while he and John are stranded on a deserted island.

Canon Divergent/Fix-It Fics

The Internet is Not Just for Porn - cyerus

General Audiences. 1911 words. One-shot.

John is Sherlock's internet boyfriend - from CANADA.

No one thinks he's real.

Nature and Nurture - @earlgreytea68

Mature. 203,273 words. 57 chapters. 

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

Of Course I Forgive You - allonsys_girl

Explicit. 10,735 words. One-shot.

What if things had gone differently on that train car?

The Pieces That Fall to Earth - Itsallfine

Mature. 49,513 words. 84 chapters. 

John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most.

An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. Now complete.

The Unfinished Letters - SilentAuror

Explicit. 37,391 words. One-shot.

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...

Don’t Leave Anything Out - lookupkate

Explicit. 27,422 words. 24 Chapters.

The first letter John writes home from Afghanistan is meant to go to a woman he went on only one date with. How it ends up in Sherlock's hands is completely innocent. What happens next is not.

What do you do when you find out the person you're in love with has been lying about something as monumental as who they are?

What do you do when you're the one who lied?

How on earth do you put the pieces back together?

Equilibrium - augustbird

Mature. 12,351 words. One-shot.

At Baskerville, John is infected by a virus that turns him into a genius. But when the infection progresses into neurodegeneration, it's a race against time to save himself. Flowers for Algernon fusion.

He’s Not Paid Enough to Deal With This Shit - janonny

Teen and Up. 9,829 words. One-shot.

One of the first things John did was to write up step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a proper job interview before handing it over to Mycroft for his perusal. There were no kidnapping, deserted car parks or stolen therapy notes anywhere on that list.

(Or the one where John returned from the war and ended up working for Mycroft as his personal assistant slash doctor on retainer. Everything was fine, until he was sent to post bail for one Sherlock Holmes.

Play for Me - orphan_account

Explicit. 6,105 words. One-shot.

"John had shown up at Baker Street only one day prior, an army duffle slung over his shoulder, the expression on his face like a cracked and ruptured fault line. Sherlock stood aside, holding open the door, and let John ascend the stairs in silence, asking nothing of Mary, asking nothing at all."

The Bee Charmer - dreadpiratewatson

Mature. 3,314 words. One-shot.

Greg goes to 221B to check up on Sherlock after a strange phone call pulls him away from an important case, and is stunned to find himself in front of a gun brandishing soldier with a sleeping Sherlock on his chest.

John Watson is a doctor, a war hero, a husband, and the only one in the world who can soften Sherlock's heart.

Whisper Game - astudyinrose

Explicit. 11,705 words. One-shot. 

John is on his stag night at a gay club a few weeks before he ships out to Afghanistan…when he meets Sherlock Holmes.

Wild Nights, Wild Nights - cassy1

Mature. 32,047 words. 15 chapters. 

If Sherlock had never met John, would he still be on the side of the angels? On his return from Afghanistan, John takes a job working the night shift at a high secure psychiatric hospital, but when the infamous criminal mastermind Sherlock Holmes is admitted as a patient, John begins to suspect that all is not as it seems.

Gone is My Past - cyerus

Teen and Up. 7,800 words. One-shot

John is an army bomb detection dog who has been turned into a human. Angst. No, really, angst.

Illusory Correlation and Confirmation Bias - VanillaBroompolish

General Audiences. 10,448 words. 6 chapters. 

Looking back, there were a few things that should’ve tipped Greg off long before that night at the pub. A few things Sherlock left fairly obvious, that on reflection, made Greg question how he’d gotten his job in the first place.

Unilock/Teenlock

The Awakening - Popcornjones

Explicit. 34,166 words. 9 chapters.

Sherlock is a University student and he's in trouble - good thing a handsome rugby player comes along...

Unilock with a twist.

Simplyclockwork note: this is a really complex fic. It’s unilock, and canon-divergent, and angst, and there’s brief major character death that isn’t permanent. Read the tags! 

Up to Speed - prettysailorsoldier

Explicit. 13,364 words. One-shot.

John doesn't know what he did to deserve this, but, whatever it takes to atone for it, he is more than willing to try, because, if he has to spend one more second with Sherlock Holmes, he might spontaneously combust. Or strangle him. He's currently undecided.

Feeling Seen - jadztone

Explicit. 30,177 words. 9 chapters. 

Rugby player John is starting over at a new university, with the help of friends Molly and Bill. Few people know that John is demisexual, but ballet dancer Sherlock Holmes deduces right away that he has no interest in sex unless he’s fallen in love. John finds this strange genius intriguing and would like to get to know him, but Sherlock has a self-cultivated reputation for only wanting casual sex. John has reason to believe that’s not really true, but he’s not sure he wants to risk his twice-fractured heart to find out.

Invite Me Over - testosterone_tea 

Explicit. 8,443 words. One-shot.

Sherlock lives in a crappy, run-down flat during his grad studies in chemistry when an attractive med student moves in next door. Unilock.

Happy Little Accidents - weneedtotalkaboutsherlock (Paradoxe1914)

Explicit. WIP. 

John had never really thought about art before the man dropped his dressing gown to the ground. Even then, art took a moment to manifest itself in John's mind, for his thoughts had gone as bare as the model in front of his seat: entirely. 

Transition Game - emmagrant01

Explicit. 33,258 words. One-shot.

Sherlock Holmes is a chemistry grad student and a TA for Dr. Stamford’s Forensic chem course at Greenview State University. One fall semester, John Watson, captain of the hockey team, takes that course. (Unilock + hockey AU)

You’re On the Air - prettysailorsoldier

Mature. 20,616 words. One-shot.

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?

Let me Touch you (The First Summer) - Shay_Fae

Mature. 18,536 words. 14 chapters.

Seventeen-year-old John is spending the summer at Sherlock's country house. Sherlock can't imagine anything worse.

Especially since he may be falling in love with the boy

Case Fics

Midnight Blue Serenity - Beautiful Fiction

Explicit. 151,907 words. 19 chapters.

“This was like nothing John had ever thought to associate with Sherlock: stubble, skin-tight jeans and three small silver rings gleaming at the crest of one ear. It was unbelievable, like stepping into an alternative universe, and John couldn't stop staring.”

When Sherlock infiltrates a club in order to track down a serial killer, his altered appearance is enough to make John question his assumption that Sherlock is beyond his reach. However, is he the only one who appreciates his flatmate's charms, or is Sherlock at risk of becoming the next victim? (Warning: reviews may contain fic spoilers)

The Thing Is - TSylvestris

Explicit. 56,743 words. 21 chapters.

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.

Smut 

To a Tee - lookupkate

Explicit. 15,321. 14 chapters.

Sherlock receives a text from an unknown number. The man is under the impression that he needs a sugar daddy. After careful consideration...well, he could be right.

Coin to Travel Twice - entanglednow

Mature. 1,997 words. One-shot.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone pretending to be dead with such relish before."

Closer - michi_thekiller

Explicit. 8,516 words. One-shot.

You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you "Sherlock cupped John's face between his trembling hands, the two of them so close together that they shared the same breath. Oxygen and carbon dioxide passed from one set of lungs to another, and he couldn't hear over the pounding of his own heart, and he said, 'I need you.'"

Pentadione, Damascenone, Furanone, Vanillin - peevee

Mature, 2,242 words. One-shot.

Sherlock takes his work very seriously, whatever the job.

Every morning he catalogues. He wants to distill the very scent of John’s skin, his hair, his sweat.

Whisper Game - astudyinrose

Explicit. 11,705 words. One-shot.

John is on his stag night at a gay club a few weeks before he ships out to Afghanistan…when he meets Sherlock Holmes.

Curious Case - Cleo2010

Explicit. 44,653 words. 11 chapters.

After burning his hands, Sherlock's unable to release his 'tension' in the usual manner. Who should he turn to? His totally, completely straight friend and flatmate who's totally not into Sherlock or his boy parts at all. Definitely.

Just a bit of fun that's PWP with a hint of plot, all the way through.

Exquisite - SoftTae

Explicit. 4,755 words. One-shot.

Sherlock and John have been together for a while now, but everytime they get start to get intimate, Sherlock pulls away. What happens when Sherlock stays and John finds out his secret?

Say My Name - mistyzeo

Explicit. 2,611 words. One-shot.

John Watson, my dear partner, faithful friend, eternal confidante, and enthusiastic lover, is the quietest man in bed I have ever known. ACD.

Best of Three - SilentAuror

Explicit. 17,473 words. One-shot.

“You want to have sex with me,” Sherlock announces one evening about a year after John's divorce. John's vigorous denial sparks a three-day wager wherein Sherlock is determined to prove his point, and John is determined to hold onto his heterosexuality. Set well after HLV. (Canon-compliant). PORN. With feels.

Distractions - allonsys_girl

Explicit. 9,677 words. One-shot.

Sherlock's on a stakeout and John's very pretty - distractions ensue

High Voltage - thedeadparrot

Explicit. 2,018 words. One-shot.

John. Sherlock. A gay club.

Not Your Doctor, Not Your Captain - weneedtotalkaboutsherlock 

Explicit. 8,645 words. One-shot.

Daddy Doctor John/Barista Sherlock 

In So Many Words - Mazarin221B

Explicit. 2,613 words. One-shot.

Wine and a post-case high lead to some an interesting conversation and even more of an interesting night.

Oh God, oh God, he should say no, he should, but Sherlock is intense and aroused and John hasn’t been laid in months, too damn busy cocking about with Sherlock and brandishing a weapon with enthusiasm. Oh, fuck it. “Yes. Christ yes,” he says, and the words are lost against Sherlock’s mouth.

In Good Hands - penumbra

Explicit. 1,619 words. One-shot.

John gives Sherlock a hand. 

Nothing ever happens to me - PlainJane

Explicit. 5,575 words. One-shot.

John Watson is a very bored member of the UK Border Agency, assigned to Heathrow. Sherlock Holmes is a very rude passenger who smells pretty interesting to the sniffer dogs. Someone needs to be searched...

I Think It’s A Dare, Johnny - lookupkate

Explicit. 2,110 words. One-shot.

John gets teased by his army buddies on his 40th birthday. They dare him to try to bed a much younger man at the bar. Seeeeeexxxxxxxx.

Best Seat in the House - wendymarlowe

Explicit. 5,014 words. 3 chapters.

AU where John gets a new job bartending at a gay nightclub. He takes the job for the money, but he keeps at it because he loves watching Sherlock dance. Until one night, when Sherlock suggests they make it something rather more.

The Perfect Specimen - Cleo2010

Explicit. 16,066 words. One-shot.

After seeing John undressed for the first time and making certain observations, Sherlock quickly becomes obsessed with a certain body part belonging to his flatmate. This is the story of how that first sighting came to be and the following attempts to learn more. An unashamed masturbation-fest, first person and very detailed. It's rated explicit for a good reason!

Evening Ride - LapisLazuli

Explicit. 8,832 words. One-shot.

John has a series of unexpected meetings with a stranger on the Tube.

Just Browsing - bendingsignpost

Explicit. 3,869 words. One-shot.

“I’m a good kisser,” John says.

Another eye roll. “Everyone thinks that.”

“Everyone? Blimey, someone’s been kissing and telling. Had no idea I was so famous.”

Sandy Toes and Chafed Arseholes - CatieBrie

Mature. 5,506 words. One-shot.

And it all would have gone great, John getting a leg over and Sherlock being the devious whatever it was he was being but they had forgotten one disastrous component of sex on the beach.

The sand.

Or: A cautionary tale against sex on the beach

Perchance to Dream - dorothydonne

Explicit. 7,213 words. One-shot.

Sherlock has been the voyeur to people's dreams for as long as he can remember. It's why he hates sleeping.

That is, until he stumbles into one of John Watson's dreams. Then suddenly sleep isn't so unwelcome.

Fake Relationship(s)

Hitting the Water at Sixty Miles An Hour - what_alchemy

Explicit. 30,568 words. 5 chapters.

“You love your mother, Sherlock?”

John watched the muscles in Sherlock’s jaw jump. He nodded in one sharp jerk.

“Then we’re going to her party and making her happy.” John let out a resigned sigh. “As a ruddy couple, you bastard.”

Reunited - write_for_your_life

Teen and up. 10,880 words. 11 chapters.

Sherlock wants to go to his high school reunion, but needs someone to pretend to be his spouse to attend.

His not-so-platonic flatmate is more than happy to play along.

Funny/Crack/Weird

Revolting Resolutions - PatPrecieux

Mature. 2,793 words. One-shot.

Resolutions for the new year are a good thing EXCEPT when Sherlock is the one making them.

Sherlock Discovers Smarter Investing - buttsnax

Explicit. 1,057 words. One-shot.

John is worried about his financial future, and why shouldn't he be? Like millions of others he finds the treacherous landscape of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds overwhelming to navigate. Fortunately for John, Sherlock--with the help of Morgan Stanley Financial Services--is there to show him the way in the only manner he knows how: with his big, throbbing cock.

The Newlywed Game: Johnlock Edition - patternofdefiance

Explicit. 9,020 words. 7 chapters.

What it says on the tin: John and Sherlock pretend to be married in order to be contestants in a Newlywed Game. Of course it's for a case. Of course it doesn't stay that way.

Survey Says - involuntaryorange

General audiences. 9,048 words. 9 chapters.

Sherlock, John, Mycroft, Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson wind up competing as a team on Family Feud. Somehow.

Pranking Sherlock - Random_Nexus

General audiences. 600 words. One-shot.

Sherlock's rudeness about interruptions prompts a reprisal from John.

Dear Umbrella - Jberry

Explicit. 13,027 words. 63 chapters.

Mycroft Holmes has a crush on Greg Lestrade, but he thinks it won't be reciprocated. He joins an anonymous dating website. His handle is limo_to_the_prostate. He starts chatting with Umbrella. Not realizing that Umbrella is really Greg Lestrade.

Obvious; Or, Greg Lestrade is Good At Detecting and Has Five Pounds to One That Sherlock and John Will Shag - the_arc5

Teen and up. 2,269 words. One-shot.

Lestrade isn't the reasoning machine Sherlock is, but that doesn't mean he's blind. And it's obvious to him, if nobody else, that a certain dynamic duo could use a nudge in the right direction.

Boat Chase! - shamelessmash

General audiences. 14,347 words. 6 chapters.

Sherlock, John and Lestrade are on a case that lead them to Brooklyn, NY. Reluctantly, Sherlock accepts the 99th precincts offer to help with the legwork.

Welcome to this Sherlock/Brooklyn 99 crossover, where everyone ships Johnlock, and the case doesn't matter.

I Just Had Sex - pennydreadful

Teen and up. 916 words. One-shot.

Sherlock just had sex and he's going to make sure everyone knows.

He Who Watches - buttsnax

Not Rated. 4,272 words. One-shot.

"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (Matthew 6:22-23)

Simplyclockwork note: this fic is WEIRD, and funny, and dark. 

Captain John Watson, Genetics, and Other Crazy Things - cyerus

Mature. 5,581 words. One-shot.

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.

Fluff

Five Times Sherlock Holmes and John Watson Hugged, and One Time They Didn’t - longwhitecoats

Unrated. 2,746 words. One-shot.

They're sitting in the living room one night after finishing their curry takeaway when Sherlock looks up from his violin. "John," he says, "would you come hug me, please?"

Quiet - orphaned_account

Teen and up. 4,026 words. One-shot.

"It all comes down to this. John knows Sherlock. Not in his details but in his entirety."

Bed-Sharing Between Flatmates - testosterone_tea

Teen and Up. 5,053 words. One-shot.

5 times Sherlock had an excuse to share John's bed, and the one time he didn't need one.

subtleties that we are not aware of - belovedmuerto

Teen and up. 1,657 words. One-shot.

The first time Sherlock kisses John; the first (and second) time(s) John kisses Sherlock.

But Love Is A Voice On The Wind - Snow

Mature. 1,832 words. One-shot.

From the prompt: Sherlock keeps getting texts from Mycroft with tips on wooing John.

"Take his arm. MH"/"Tell him about the sugar cubes. MH"/"Let him catch you looking once in a while. MH"

Sherlock resents this (I don't need your HELP, Mycroft), but does them anyway.

Other Pairings & M/M/M

Joltolock

Sherlock Holmes Has Two Soldier Boyfriends Series - greyscalemuse

Explicit. 56,632 words. 8 works.

Sherlock Holmes goes to Afghanistan for a case. He meets John and James for the first time and the sentiment of sparks flying is by far an understatement.

Soldier Sandwich - orphan_account

Explicit. 1,099 words. One-shot.

Joltolock is good and pure and we desperately need more of it!!

Morning Cardio: A Joltolock Workout - Smirkdoctor (orphan_account)

Explicit. 5,324 words. 3 chapters.

What if Sherlock Holmes stumbled onto a boot camp class being taught by the sexy-as-fuck couple of John Watson and James Sholto? And what if they wanted a third, and worked *really* hard to recruit their new student?

Happy Birthday, John - stravanganza 

Explicit. 9,350 words. One-shot.

It's John's birthday. His wife, Mary, has the perfect gift for him. After all, she has always known that his husband isn't 100% straight... So, she set up a fun night for him. "He still didn’t know how he had let Mary convince him to do this, without even speaking to him. Nor did he know how she had found out about his inner desires. But the fact remained that she had, and that she had decided to take advantage of it to ‘surprise’ John. And what a damn surprise it was."

Johnstrade

M/M/M

Self-Service - Calico

Explicit. 9,478 words. One-shot.

Gratuitous porn, remixed as a favour from another fandom's double penetration prompt. Yeah, I'm not sure what the redeeming feature is either...

Simplyclockwork note: Sherlock/John/Lestrade dream smut.

[gaymusicchart]

Gay Music Chart - 2020 week 29

Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

 Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

YOUTUBE (in the comment section of the video of the week) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7yfp-xq-b08tD6mAWwclA

BLOGGER : http://gaymusicchart.blogspot.fr

FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/GayMusicChart/

TWITTER : https://twitter.com/GayMusicChart  with #GayMusicChart

TUMBLR : http://gaymusicchart.tumblr.com

 Watch all the music videos presented in our weekly playlist : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuIOHxXXNws2s3yjKtG2sa38e7yk4xqEs

 OUT : Todrick Hall - "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels"

OUT : טליסמאן (Talisman) & הראל סקעת (Harel Skaat) - "רוצה לחזור" ("Rotze lahzor")

OUT : Mabel Matiz - "Comme un animal"

OUT : Manila Luzon featuring Latrice Royale - "ROBBED"  

OUT : SNG - "Corner Store"

OUT : Elias - "Neon Lights"

OUT : ไบร์ท วชิรวิชญ์ (Bright Wachirawit) - "คั่นกู" ("khạ̀n kū")

OUT : Smallpools & morgxn - "Slowdown"

OUT : Nguyễn Trần Trung Quân x Triple D - "Canh Ba" ("Tự Tâm" 2)

OUT : АНГЕЛ (ANGEL) - "Давай заму��им" (Davai Zamutim)  

OUT : The Chain Gang of 1974 feat. TWINKIDS - "Bends"

  01 (=) : Yuma X - "Secret Lover"

LW: 01 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 01 (x2)

Australia - April 2020

The music videos shows a secret relation between two men who have both a girlfriend.

 02 (+ 16) : Ben Platt - "Rain"

LW: 18 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 02

USA - September 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead" (Deluxe)

 03 (+ 4) : PJ Brennan - "Bones"

LW: 07 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 03

USA - September 2019

 04 (=) : Melanie C - "Who I Am"          

LW: 04 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 04

UK - March 2020

The ex-Spice Girls member make a queer come back with several songs and music videos with LGBT themes. This one is about self-esteem.

 05 (=) : Javiera Mena - "Corazón Astral"

LW: 05 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 05

Chile - June 2020

 06 (- 3) : Макс Барских (Max Barskih) - "Лей, не жалей" (Ley, ne zhaley)      

LW: 03 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 03

Ukraine - February 2020

 07 (+ 1) : Eurovision Song-Along (Official) - Iconic Contestants Join The Party

LW: 08 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 07

USA / international - June 2020 - from the Netflix movie "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" OST

 08 (+ 6) : Scott Free - "The Last Revolution"

LW: 14 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 08

USA - June 2020 - from the album "The Last Revolution"

 09 (- 7) : Christopher Sorensen - "Way. Way. Back"

LW: 02 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 02

USA - November 2019

A sweet music video about two childhood friends at three different moments of their lives, who faced the opposition of the father of one of them when he discovered they were lovers.

 10 (+ 33) : Netta - "Cuckoo"

LW: 43 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 10

Israel - June 2020

 11 (+ 11) : Hoshi - "Amour censure"

LW: 22 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 11

France - December 2019 - from the album "Sommeil levant"

A song for tolerance and gay love, and a music video against "La manif pour tous", a collective against LGBT rights in France.

 12 (NEW) : Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande - "Rain On Me"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 12

USA – May 2020 – from the album "Chromatica"

 13 (+ 2) : Will Young - "All The Songs"

LW: 15 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 12

UK - March 2019 - from the album "Lexicon"      

The British singer dares to strip naked in this music video.

 14 (+ 7) : LP - "Shaken"          

LW: 21 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 14

USA - June 2019 - from the album "Heart to Mouth"

 15 (- 4) : Сергей Лазарев (Sergey Lazarev) - "Я не боюсь" ("Ya ne boyus")  

LW: 11 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 11

Russia - November 2019 - from the EP "Я не боюсь"

With this song called "I'm not afraid", Sergey Lazarev shows subtly that you don't have to be afraid to love who you want.

 16 (- 6) : Kim Petras - "Icy"

LW: 10 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 10

Germany - October 2019 - from the album "Clarity"        

 17 (+ 27) : Greyson Chance - "Dancing Next To Me"    

LW: 44 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 17

USA - February 2020

 18 (NEW) : CRIMER - "Eyes Off Me"

LW: - / WO: 01 / PEAK: 18

Switzerland - July 2020

 19 (+ 1) : Bright Light Bright Light - "I Used To Be Cool"

LW: 20 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 19

USA - June 2020 - from the album "Fun City"

 20 (+ 10) : Jessie Ware - "Spotlight"

LW: 30 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 20

UK - February 2020

 21 (NEW) : Guy Sebastian - "Standing With You"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 21

Australia - June 2020

 22 (- 10) : MIKA - "Sanremo"

LW: 12 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 08

UK / Lebanon - October 2019 - from the album "My Name Is Michael Holbrook"

The music video shows the difficulties to be gay in Italy in the 50's, with a married man cruising in the streets and clandestin bars while avoiding police patrols.

 23 (- 14) : Pierre Lapointe - "Le monarque des Indes"

LW: 09 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 06

Canada - November 2019 - from the album "Pour déjouer l'ennui"          

 24 (+ 5) : Stefan Alexander - "Skeleton"

LW: 29 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 24

USA - September 2019 - from the EP "Thunderclap"

 25 (+ 10) : Beverly -「尊い」(tōtoi)

LW: 35 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 25

Japan - November 2019 - from the album「INFINITY」

 26 (- 20) : Sam Smith - "How Do You Sleep?"

LW: 06 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 05

UK - July 2019

 27 (- 10) : Romy, Tanishk Bagchi & Yo Yo Honey Singh - "Pyaar Tenu Karda Gabru"

LW: 17 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 14

India - January 2020 - from the OST "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan"

This song is taken from the first Bollywood gay movie "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" which tells the story of a gay couple who must face the opposition of the father of one of them.

 28 (+ 3) : Esteman - "Hasta Que Tú Me Quieras"

LW: 33 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 28

Colombia - March 2020

 29 (- 5) : Lu Xue-Rui (盧學叡) - "Who I Am" /《我是誰》

LW: 24 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 07

Taiwan - October 2019

This music video shows the struggles to assume your sexual orientation.

 30 (NEW) : Marshmello & Halsey - "Be Kind"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 30

USA - June 2020

 31 (NEW) : Vini Uehara - "4NTENA"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 31

Brazil - June 2020

 32 (- 7) : Yanni Burton - "A Part Of Me"

LW: 25 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 25

Australia - July 2020

 33 (+ 7) : Wils - "Open up Babe"

LW: 40 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 33

Singapore / USA - April 2019

 34 (+ 11) : Kim Petras - "Malibu"

LW: 45 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 34

Germany - May 2020

  35 (NEW) : Danna Paola - "TQ Y YA"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 35

Mexico - June 2020

 36 (- 2) : Apolo - "Otro Nivel"

LW: 34 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 34

Spain - June 2020

 37 (- 11) : Kyan Palmer - "Quarantini"

LW: 26 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 26

USA - April 2020

 38 (+ 9) : Azis - "Who Cares"

LW: 47 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 38

Bulgaria - February 2020

  39 (NEW) : Doug Locke - "Why?" (Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 39

USA - July 2020 - from the EP “Why? (Lunar II)”

 40 (- 12) : Lesley Roy - "Story Of My Life"

LW: 28 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 28

Ireland - March 2020 - from the compilation "Eurovision Song Contest 2020"

 41 (- 22) : The Irrepressibles feat. Jon Campbell - "Let Go (Everybody Move Your Body Listen to Your Heart)"

LW: 19 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 19

UK - March 2020

 42 (- 6) : Goldnation feat. Sir Ari Gold - "Soundtrack to Freedom"      

LW: 36 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 24

USA - June 2019 - from the album "Soundtrack to Freedom"    

 43 (- 27) : Thibaut Pez - "Que tu meures"

LW: 16 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 16

France - June 2019 - from the EP "Garçon formidable"

 44 (- 31) : Hatari feat. Bashar Murad - "Klefi" / "Samed" (صامد)

LW: 13 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 13

Iceland / Palestine - May 2019 - from the album "Neyslutrans"    

 45 (NEW) : Tom Goss - "Regretting"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45

USA - June 2020 - from the album "Territories"

 46 (- 14) : Benjamin Scheuer - "I Am Samantha"        

LW: 32 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 10

USA - March 2020

This is a powerful transgender anthem.

 47 (- 14) : Nguyễn Trần Trung Quân - "Tự Tâm"

LW: 23 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

Vietnam - October 2019

In this first part of probable trilogy, a king falls in love of a man found in a lotus lake. Don't miss this awesome music video, with several twists.

 48 (NEW) : Duncan Laurence - "Someone Else" (Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48

The Netherlands - May 2020

 49 (NEW) : Debris - "UNI"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 49

USA - July 2020

 50 (NEW) : Monét X Change - "March"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 50

USA - June 2020

   ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

 Troye Sivan - "Easy"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Australia - July 2020 - from the EP "In A Dream"

 Bilal Hassani - "Fais le vide"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - July 2020

 鍾明軒 (Mitchell) - 『當我說真話的時候我感到自由 I feel free when I’m saying the truth』

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Taiwan - May 2020

For his first song, the 20 years old Taiwanese YouTuber releases a LGBTQ+ self-esteem song.

 Tuure Boelius - "Hengitä"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Finland - May 2020

 Holland (홀랜드) - "Loved You Better"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Korea - December 2019

 Pol Granch - "Chocolatito"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - June 2020

 Declan McKenna - "The Key to Life on Earth"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - April 2020 - from the album "Zeros"

 alextbh - "The Chase"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Malaysia - July 2020 - from the EP "The Chase"

 Pantherist (แพนเตอร์) – "กี่เหตุผลที่ทำให้รัก" (How Many Reasons to Make Love)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Thailand  - February 2020 - from the OST "WHY R U The Series"

 Agoney - "Más"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - June 2020

 Isaac Dunbar - "Makeup drawer"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - April 2020 - from the EP "Isaac's insects"

 Nuri Harun Ateş - "Ay"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Turkey - June 2020

 Static (סטטיק) and Ben El Tavori (בן אל תבורי) & Nasrin Kadri (נסרין קדרי) - "חביב אלבי " ("Habib Albi")

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Israel - June 2020

This is the official song for Tel Aviv Pride 2020.

 Val - "Da Vidna"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Belarus - March 2020 – Taken from the album "Eurovision Song Contest 2020"

 Betty BBQ feat. PARTYTIER - "Zick Zack Zwiebel"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Germany - November 2019

 청하 (CHUNG HA) - "Stay Tonight"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Korea - April 2020

  GFRIEND (여자친구) - "Apple"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Korea - July 2020

 Myylo - "Kissing on Your Dad"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

A fun song about a man who tells to a kid he's dating his father.

 Armstrong feat. Sur Ellz - "Truth Machine"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - May 2020

#1 on Weekly Top 40 LGBT Urban Chart (2020 week 28).

 Davis Mallory - "Greatest Work of Art"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - May 2020

#1 on The Gay 100 Chart (2020 week 28).

 Jason Mraz - "Look For The Good"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - April 2020 - from the album "Look For The Good"

#1 on Tad's LGBT Top 50 (2020 week 28).

 The Shapeshifters Featuring Billy Porter - 'Finally Ready'

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK / USA - June 2020

#1 on Gaydio Dance Chart (5th July 2020).

 KEiiNO - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Norway - June 2020

This Whitney Houston's cover is the official song for Global Pride 2020 in Oslo.

#1 on LGBTQ Music Chart (2020 week 29).

 annsofi me - "Beauticool"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Norway - June 2020

This is the official theme song for Oslo Pride 2020.

 JUHA - "Lucifer in Love"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - May 2020 - from the album "The Borders of the Mind"

 Neptune - "Tropical Storm"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Chile - April 2019

  Wrabel with Kesha - "Since I Was Young"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

 VINCINT - "Save Myself "

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

 Anne-Marie feat. Doja Cat - "To Be Young"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK / USA - July 2020

 Shamir - "I Wonder"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

 Patrick Starrr - "Go Off"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

 ✨ spot TV 2020 Disneyland Paris - La magie n'existe pas sans vous (version française)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - June 2020

While Disney parks in the world are reopening after several months of closure due to the Covid-19 health crisis, Disneyland Paris has produced a TV commercial featuring the song "Un jour mon prince viendra" / "Someday My prince Will Come" from the classic Disney movie "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs", but sung by a man for Pride Month.

 ✨ spot TV 2020 Disneyland Paris - La magie n'existe pas sans vous (english version)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - June 2020

While Disney parks in the world are reopening after several months of closure due to the Covid-19 health crisis, Disneyland Paris has produced a TV commercial featuring the song "Un jour mon prince viendra" / "Someday My prince Will Come" from the classic Disney movie "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs", but sung by a man for Pride Month.

 Thomas Sanders feat. Jon Cozart - "A Gay Disney Prince"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - August 2019

Both Youtubers dreams about a gay Disney Prince, which finally be a first LGBTQ+ model for LGBTQ+ children.

 Mike Zubi / Mark Scarnander - "Part of Your World"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Argentina / Brazil - April 2020

A gay version of the famous song from classic Disney movie "The Little Mermaid", sung by Mike Zubi and illustrated by Mark Scarnander.

  See you next week !

[the-end-of-art]

Nothing better than similar friendships

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination Harvard Commencement Speech 2008 by J.K. Rowling (Text as delivered)

President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates.

The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, the law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step to self improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that have expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that would never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension. I know that the irony strikes with the force of a cartoon anvil, now.

So they hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all the subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown.

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea then how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.

So given a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

Now you might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I personally will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working at the African research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.

There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.

Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to speak against their governments. Visitors to our offices included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had left behind.

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him back to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just had to give him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard, and read.

And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces leads to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

What is more, those who choose not to empathise enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, people who have been kind enough not to sue me when I took their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

So today, I wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom: As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters. I wish you all very good lives. Thank-you very much.

[man-reading]

Delete Grindr. Join Book Club.

Photo: Getty Images

Like a good dinner party, gay book clubs succeed where dating apps and bars fail.   

by Jason Chen            

It had only been about 14 hours after we’d said our good-byes when the Slack alert popped up on my screen. “What is Tom’s deal?” my friend Patrick asked (names have been changed to protect the thirsty). Tom and Patrick were both new-ish members of my book club, a group of about a dozen early-30-something gay men (and one or two straight women) who had just met the night before. Our club is pretty standard-issue — we send endless emails trying to get together, spend much of our time gossiping, and have rosé-fueled debates about whether Elena Ferrante could possibly be a man, or where the narrator of The Idiot falls on the spectrum, or if A Little Life qualifies more as torture or interiors porn. The only difference, of course, is that some of our members will probably have sex with each other.

Like a good dinner party, what I’m calling “gay book club” has a few critical ingredients — gay friends who like each other but don’t see each other that regularly, a space that’s comfortable enough to accommodate a group of eight or more for book discussion and the requisite post-discussion noodling around, very free-flowing booze, and (this is key) a smattering of new faces to keep it interesting. Everything else — having finished the book, snacks, straight women — is optional.

“Let’s say you’re at a bar,” says Erik, a 30-year-old editor who’s in my book club, “you’re meeting people and just going by looks. But at book club, your intelligence and intellect are on display. It’s a different kind of mating dance.” Observing that romance will fly in a room of gay men is like discovering that water is wet, but the kind of attraction that blooms over discussion of a book is different than the kind that’s stirred at gay dodgeball or Metropolitan (or, yes, on Grindr). To dissect a novel (the tragedy of The Goldfinch or pretentiousness of Private Citizens) is to peek into someone’s interior life ten minutes into meeting them. “I remember one discussion we had about a character who was being harassed, and someone had such a callous response that I was taken aback,” says Erik. “I think because you’re talking about fictional characters, book clubs can reveal character traits about people that are otherwise hidden.” There’s an inhibition-loosening abandon to book club: For 20- and 30-somethings a decade-plus removed from freshman seminar, sitting in a room with strangers and talking Big Ideas can feel like a suspension of the rules of real-life gameplay. They overshare, or get vulnerable, or play devil’s advocate. In one meeting you learn the kind of information about a person — their values and capacity for empathy, or their ability to engage differing points of view — that would take at least three dinners. Book-club meetings are effectively group speed dating.

Garrett, a 25-year-old designer who’s a member of another gay book club, thinks that the book-club environment has all the trappings for seduction: “It’s very late at night when we have these meetings,” he says, “and you’re in a room with these high-powered 20- and 30-something-year-olds. We’re in these offices with their incredible views. It’s easy to get swept up.” What’s sex if not a little bit of escapism or voyeurism — or both?

The tension inherent in book-club discussion can be its own aphrodisiac, too. Garrett notes that were it not for book club, he wouldn’t have become interested in someone who actually held opinions completely contrary to his own. “I don’t ordinarily entertain the idea of opposites attracting, but he had such divergent opinions that I couldn’t help thinking, ‘How could this same story lead to such different feelings in him?’” Garrett says. “Things he hated, I loved. It drove me to talk to him afterward, and then that evolved into something else.” It’s a hoary fictional trope that love springs from hate — Elizabeth and Darcy, Han Solo and Princess Leia, Sam and Diane — but a cliché only describes a repeating pattern. To despise someone is to care enough to expend energy on them, after all. A fiery gay-book-club conversation, then, can act as emotional fluffer, pitting its members against each other and priming them for ecstatic, headboard-rattling makeup sex.

Disagreement can actually be a welcome upside because, just by nature of how these clubs are formed (friends who invite friends who invite friends), their members tend to be very much alike...

https://www.thecut.com/2017/06/delete-grindr-join-gay-book-club.html

[haughtbreaker]

Summary: Whitney Earp is getting married, which in a small town like Purgatory, is big news already, but Whitney has a secret. While sorting through some boxes in the attic, preparing for her move off the homestead, she stumbles across a familiar white stetson, and her mother’s old journal. She learns that her mother Waverly has been keeping something important from her her entire life -- Waverly Earp is not her biological mother. Through lies and the perfect scheme, and a wedding that is one disaster after another, Whitney is determined to get to the bottom of the family secret, even if it means getting both of her mothers in the same room after 20 years of estrangement.

Note: @jaybear1701 and I promised that as soon as we were blessed with new content from the Wynonna team, we would start posting this. The idea for this started as a Christmas fic but it got back burnered until just recently. It was inspired during a less than sober viewing of Mamma Mia and the dilemma came from how do you gay up a story line that only seems possible in a straight world.  We hope we did ok.

"I can still recall our last summer, I still see it all Walks along the Seine, Laughing in the rain Our last summer Memories that remain…"

On any normal day at the Earp homestead, the sun would be rising to the peaceful serenity of the vast snow-covered land, the sound of birds chiming in to sing the tale of the coming day. As of late, however, there were no normal days, and it wasn't rare that the brightening of the horizon was accompanied by the loud clatter of hammers and drills. The small army of men worked tirelessly, clearing away the snow that had fallen the night before to continue construction of the temporary shelter.

The sound of a generator firing up jarred a young woman from slumber, long brunette hair dishevelled from a full night's sleep. Blinking light brown eyes open, Whitney Earp sighed softly, curling under the thick comforter in her cocoon of warmth. The pillow beside her own on the queen sized bed was home to a blur of red and green, and she reached up to rub her eyes before she focused on the single rose. A smile spread across her face, dimples evident to the empty room as she picked up the bloom, breathing in the sweet scent.

"Sap." She chuckled, running her fingertip along the length of the dark green stem that had been shorn of all thorns. It made waking up alone a little more bearable as she pushed aside the blanket and slipped from her bed. She tucked the rose into the vase of mixed flowers on her way to the bathroom, pausing to look at her own reflection.

"Three more sleeps," she told herself, running her fingers through her unruly wavy hair and pulling it back into a loose bun. It was all that was on her mind as she got herself prepared for the day, brushing her teeth and washing her face. Looking a little closer, she wrinkled her nose at the sight of her natural hair color showing at the roots. She'd have to make sure to get the brown evened out, maybe some highlights?

"Three more sleeps," she repeated, slipping into an oversized knit sweater, careful to tuck her ring on the inside of her hand so she didn't snag it again. A knock on the door got her attention as she was slipping her boots on over her leggings. "Come in!"

"Hey Whitney," a familiar voice sounded before the door even opened. Recent revelations had opened another door to mistrust, but the way her mother smiled at her, she never had to question if it was genuine. "I'm about to head out to go pick up your aunt." Even into her 40s, Waverly Earp had an aura of honest affection for almost everyone she was around.

Whitney smiled the same smile, or at least she always thought it was the same smile. "I can't believe Aunt Wynonna is flying in. She hates flying." Standing up, she stretched her back out with a yawn.

"Well until they build that bridge from Europe…" Her mother laughed, stepping up to wrap her arms around her in a hug.

Whitney took a long breath, revelling in the comforting embrace. She savored the familiar scent of perfume, the one that hadn't changed since she could remember, and the way her mother would pull her down half a foot to rest her chin on her shoulder, no matter how many inches the years had added to her height. This was home. This was her mother, and her mother was going to be pissed at her soon, if everything went the way she planned.

"My baby girl… three more sleeps and I can finally turn your room into my crafting room."

"Mom!" Whitney laughed, pushing her away. "You know I'm going to be bugging you left and right, right? I mean I'm still going to be working at the bar."

"Bah." Her mother waved dismissively at her before heading out the door with Whitney in tow, moving down the stairs of the home. "I should fire you, just to force your tushie to get a real job."

"Go ahead. Then you can get someone like Dani or Trina to wait your tables for you. See how well that goes…" Whitney smirked. It was a common argument they had, her mother wanting her to go out and experience the world, but she knew her mother wasn't serious. There was no way Waverly would follow through with that threat. Her mother had spent the last 20 years of her life focusing solely on Whitney, and she was forever grateful for that.

No matter what she had read in some silly diary.

She hadn't meant to snoop around, but curiosity was in her genes. Well, she couldn't really say that anymore either. She wasn't sure. Growing up, Whitney had always wondered about her own conception. Her mother had always told her she was conceived with the ways of modern technology, through in vitro fertilization with a sperm donor. It had always seemed strange to her, considering her mother was one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen, someone loved by everyone in town, unlike her wayward aunt who everyone had a complaint about.

So why would a beautiful woman in her 20s turn to science instead of companionship?

"That's a long story full of tears and heartbreak. I'll tell you when you're older." Her mother had always said. But as it turned out, she would never be old enough for that story...at least until she discovered the truth herself.

Okay so maybe she was a bit of a busy body, Whitney could admit, but she hadn't been looking to uncover ancient mysteries.

She had just been going through the attic, packing up her things in preparation for the big move when she found it, a dust-covered cardboard box shoved in a corner labeled: DO NOT OPEN EVER AGAIN.

Her mother may as well have set her in front of a big red button and told her not to touch it. To her surprise, it was just… stuff. There were no dangerous contents, no poisonous spiders or venomous snakes waiting to strike. Lifting out the white stetson and what looked like an older version of the uniform her fiancé wore, she set both aside and dug a little further. A coffee mug, a few knick knacks, and…

Lifting up the framed photo, her eyebrows furrowed. The glass was shattered, like someone had hastily thrown it in the box, but it did little to damage the memory it contained. She recognized her mother instantly, minus the streaks of gray and the wrinkles she had always called her laugh lines.

Who she didn't recognize was the redhead, sitting behind her mother, arms wrapped possessively around her shoulders, chin resting on a shoulder.

Now, her mother was always a cheerful person, never one to get upset quickly or get frustrated with her demonic spawn of a child that seemed to get into anything and everything she could reach, but Whitney had never in her life seen her mother smile like that. That smile on her face, and the smile of the woman behind her didn't simply display happiness, it was nauseating bliss.

So naturally, when she found the diary, wrapped in an old t-shirt, her curiosity was beyond piqued. Really, who on Earth would be able to resist reading a diary that was older than she was? What had her mother been like at her age? What did she do to pass the time when she wasn't burdened with raising a child alone at such an early age? Did she date? Was she as wild as her Aunt Wynonna?

She hadn't expected to uncover some huge secret.

Nicole Haught. She had a name to associate with the picture and there were definitely some things she was sorry she read as she flipped through the pages, her own cheeks inflamed with guilt and an inability to put the book down. It wasn't just some sad story, it was her mother's life in black and white on page but full of color in memory. She nearly cried as she read through her mother's hidden feelings when the first IVF procedure resulted in failure. When she reached the last page, simply mentioning some complications with the second IVF after a fight, she felt like everything began to make sense.

Why she was taller than her mother. Why she didn't share a single physical trait with anyone in the family. Why, without her trips to the salon, she would be the only one in the family with red hair. Looking at the picture, studying the familiar curve of a jawline and dimples matching her own, she finally understood.

"Hey."

Whitney shook her head. "What?"

"You're spazzing out." Her mother narrowed her eyes, holding the back of her hand to her forehead. "No fever… are you feeling dizzy?"

Swatting the hand away, Whitney laughed. "I'm fine. You should probably get going before Aunt Wynonna lands." She pulled the scarf off the hook near the door and wrapped it around her mother's neck. "Hey… you know I love you right?"

Her mother blinked, a smile crossing her face. "I love you too, Kiddo, but you better not be thinking about running off and eloping cause I'll hunt you down and kill you myself. I've got a small village being built out back 'cause you wanted an outdoor wedding in the middle of winter."

"No eloping," she reassured her mother. "I'm just… just really glad to have you as a mom." She saw it, that little falter in her mother's smile and she couldn't imagine how she'd never noticed it before.

"Well��� I couldn't ask for a better daughter than you." Her mother looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. She just stood there with half a smile until they both jumped at the sound of skidding.

A loud series of honks accompanied loud music as a car pulled dangerously close to her mother's SUV. Her mother was quick to open the screen door, stepping out into the cold. "MARGARETTE SUSANNAH NEDLEY YOU BETTER NOT HAVE HIT MY CAR!"

Whitney cringed when her friends laughed, crawling out of the convertible that had its top down despite the weather.

"Sorry Miss Waverly." Both of her friends spoke at the same time, running up the stairs.

"Holy shit it's cold."

"Your mom is hilarious."

Whitney didn't respond. She waited for her mother to pull herself into the SUV, patience wearing thin as it took longer than it should for Waverly to pull away from the driveway. Finally she turned to her two friends, her maids of honor because she could never choose between the two. "Guys… I have a confession…"

"Oh my god, you're knocked up!" Margarette, or Anna as everyone knew her by, piped up.

"No! I did something really stupid yet super genius and my mother is going to kill me."

Anna grinned. "I love stupid genius."

"Oh no, Whit. What did you do?" The shortest of the group, Jen, gave her a worried look.

Whitney ran upstairs, taking them two at a time until she got to her room, quickly grabbing the diary from where she'd hid it before running back downstairs. "Ok so…" She poured herself a cup of coffee from the already brewed pot her mother had made. "I invited my mother to my wedding."

Both of her friends gave her a confused look. "Um… Dude I thought your mom gets to be there like by default…" Anna made her own cup of coffee, drowning it in sugar and cream until it was a beige color.

"Not her." Biting her bottom lip, Whitney took a deep breath before blurting out, "my real mother."

"Oh my God… are you adopted?" Anna jumped to the closest assumption. "Holy shit, Whit. I mean we always wondered why you were like the only ginger in the family."

"Especially with red hair being a passive gene." Jen gave her friend a worried look. "How did you find out?"

Whitney shook her head, holding up the diary. "I'm not adopted. My mother gave birth to me but, I found this diary in a hidden box in the attic. The egg my mother had implanted was not hers but… her girlfriend's."

Having been in the middle of a sip of coffee, Anna coughed in surprise, spraying the table with coffee.

"Ew. Anna." Jen quickly stood up to get a towel. "How did we not know your mom was gay?"

"Because she never dates." Whitney pointed out, wiping a bit of the splashed coffee from her arm. "And I don't think she's gay. I mean, she dated Jesse's dad for years."

"That's so creepy," Anna commented. "His dad is so creepy."

"Wait… you said you invited her to the wedding." Jen was always the brighter of her two friends, always trying to connect pieces of puzzles together. "Did you talk to her?"

"Well, no." Whitney felt a bit of guilt at that part. "She might have thought the invite was coming from my mother."

There was complete silence for a long moment before Anna finally spoke up. "Fuck. You're gonna have a wedding and a funeral on the same day."

"Your mother is going to kill you."

Whitney shook her head. "It's going to be fine. I'm going to meet my mother, and maybe find out what the hell happened between them." Pulling out the picture she'd liberated from the frame, she set it on the table for her friends to see. "Because I want to see my mother smile like this."

"Dude…" Jen looked closer at the picture, her eyes darting back and forth between the photo and Whitney. Now that the physical evidence was there, there was no way to deny the resemblance.

A smile spread across Anna's face. "What's the plan?"

"What the hell, Waves? Do you know how long I've been waiting?"

Waverly laughed as she shut the engine off, hopping out of the SUV. "Hey, Sis." She opened the back door for the luggage to be deposited before pulling her sibling into a much needed hug. It had been at least a year since she'd seen her. "I missed you."

Wynonna seemed to sense it as she let her sister hold on for longer than the norm, pressing a kiss to her forehead before pulling away. "Hey... I haven't been gone that long…"

"I know…" Waverly released a shuddering breath, trying not to let the strain show. "I'm just… exhausted." She smiled weakly before patting Wynonna on the shoulder, heading back to the driver's seat. "So," she cleared her throat when her sister hopped in, "no Dolls?" She was hesitant to ask, but curiosity was always one of her major weaknesses.

Wynonna shrugged, propping her feet up on the dash as Waverly pulled out into traffic. "We were in the middle of tracking some demon thing I couldn't even try to pronounce. He decided it was that much more important… some sort of worldwide epidemic or whatever…"

"Wynonna! You left him there?" It wasn't that unbelievable, Waverly decided as she pulled onto the highway. Her sister always had a nonchalance that bordered on dangerous, but she also knew that if Wynonna didn't think Dolls could handle it, she wouldn't have left. No doubt Dolls probably hadn't been surprised. 20 years with her sister made even her notoriously unpredictable nature predictable.

"Like I was going to miss the wedding of my favorite niece?"

Waverly rolled her eyes. "You mean your only niece."

"Hey that's not my fault." She leaned her chair back. "Maybe if you dated more…"

"No." Waverly cut her off. Dating was the last thing she wanted to partake in. 20 years and she could count the amount of dates she'd been on on one hand and none of them had come anywhere close to… She shook her head. That was the last thing she needed to think about. "I don't have the time or energy to deal that with… that." It wasn't a lie. Running a bar and taking care of a daughter, who seemed to have gained some of her sister's knack for trouble, wasn't the easiest thing to do alone.

"It's just a bar, Waves."

"And raising a daughter."

Wynonna snorted. "That girl is raised. You need to find a new excuse." She picked at the edge of her coat, a hesitant expression on her face. "So… any word from Doc?"

Waverly didn't want to mention it. She'd been willing to just let the whole subject die but since her sister asked. "I sent an invitation to his last address but I never heard back. You know he just… moves around a lot. It's hard to keep track of him."

"Oh well… fuck him. It's his loss."

While it was true she missed her sister, sometimes the Earp heir could be a pain in her ass. "God you're so full of it. You know you're lucky you're pretty… even for a 50 year old."

"Whoa! I've still got a year… or not… shit."

"Maybe you should try sticking around for a little bit. It'd be nice to have a friendly face other than the one that crawled out of me."

Wynonna sighed, tipping the chair back a bit. "Problem with Purgatory is, without revenants, it's boring as shit. Should have never broken that curse." She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to find the most comfortable position. "Probably why your kid is getting married at 20."

"Believe me I tried to talk her out of it." Waverly exhaled slowly, taking the next exit off the highway. "She's dead set on this wedding."

"I can't believe you're letting her marry into that family."

Waverly snorted. "At least she's not marrying into the Nedleys."

Wynonna chortled, a smile pulling at one side of her mouth. "Whit still friends with that girl? She's always been a looker, but man, no one's really home upstairs."

"Wynonna!" Waverly tried not to laugh. "That's horrible to say." It was fairly accurate. "She's actually gotten a lot better." No she hadn't. "She and Jen are Whit's maids of honor."

"Aren't they called bridesmaids?"

"Yeah well she didn't want to have to choose."

"Changing the rules due to her own conflict avoidance… Earps don't avoid conflict. We thrive in it." Wynonna pursed her lips, the silence speaking more words than she dared speak. She had never agreed with Waverly's decision as far as what to tell Whitney, but she supported her right to raise the girl how she wanted. So instead, she changed the subject. "Jen… Jen… shit is that Pete's kid?" She winced.

"Oh yeah. Thank god her mother's got a brain."

"Smallest fucking town ever." Wynonna sighed, pulling herself back into a sitting up position. "Why do you keep letting her associate with kids of people we've slept with?"

"Smallest… fucking… town." Waverly sighed softly as they passed old and familiar buildings that hadn't changed in more than two decades, as if time had stood still.

Nicole Haught took her time as she worked her way through throngs of travelers on her way to her departure gate. The airport thrummed with holiday excitement that was impossible to ignore, try as she might. She passed underneath arches of garland strung from the terminal's high tunneled ceiling, bright red bows and white fairy lights contrasting beautifully against deep green.

Nicole hitched her messenger bag higher on her shoulder and quietly hummed along with George Michael singing Last Christmas on the loudspeaker. She was early for her flight. Perhaps too early. She had been unable to sleep a wink the night before, nerves too wired with eagerness and trepidation. Eventually, she had given up with trying to catch elusive slumber and went straight to the airport.

She paused underneath a globe sculpture illuminated like a massive Christmas ornament, staring at one particular spot on the North American continent-a place Nicole had avoided for over 20 years. A place she would set foot in once again after four hours by plane and an additional hour by car.

She knew it might be a bad idea. Hell, who was she trying to fool? It was a bad idea. Her logical side, the one now sharply honed by years of legal practice, screamed at her to turn around and go back home.

But she couldn't.

Not with the wedding invitation from Waverly Earp tucked snugly inside her bag. Not with the whisper in her heart telling her that getting on the plane meant that she would finally be going home for the first time in a long time.

Before she could dwell on it further, something collided with her legs. Something fast. Something small. Nicole glanced down at a little girl, about 3 or 4 years old, clinging to her leg and looking up at her with wide hazel eyes. She wore a bright red puffy coat and dark green mittens.

"Hey there," Nicole greeted with a gentle smile. "You okay?"

The girl nodded, but said nothing. Only stared at Nicole, curious and unafraid.

"Lily!" A voice shouted. It came from a harried-looking woman rushing up to them, dreadlocks swishing behind her, bangles jangling on her wrists. "I'm, like, so sorry. I swear I turned around for a nanosecond and she took off."

"It's not a problem," Nicole replied. "I think maybe she just wanted to admire the globe too." She winked at Lily, who smiled in return.

"I'm going to California!" Lily shouted suddenly, pointing to the western coast of the United States..

"California?" Nicole bent down and rested her hands on her knees. "I love California! Are you going wine tasting? That's my favorite."

Lily giggled. "No, that's silly. I'm going to Mickey's house with grandma!"

"Mickey's house!" Nicole exclaimed. "That's amazing!"

"She loves Disneyland," the mother supplied, pushing up her black, cateye frames higher on her nose.

"For my birthday," Lily added.

"It's your birthday?" Nicole asked. "Happy Birthday!"

"Not today," Lily corrected her with a shake of her head. "Christmas!"

Nicole felt a sharp pang in her heart even as she continued to voice excitement. "Wow!" She straightened up and smiled at Lily's mother. "A Christmas baby. That's pretty special."

"Yeah. Our little miracle." She ruffled her daughter's blonde curls then took her by the hand. "Okay, monkey, let's go find maman. Say goodbye to…"

"Nicole."

"Say goodbye to Miss Nicole."

"GOODBYE MISS NICOLE!" Lily waved a mittened hand.

"Bye Lily! Have a happy birthday and merry Christmas in California!"

"And thanks again," the mother said. "My wife totally would have killed me for not keeping track of her."

"No thanks needed." Nicole waved her off. "Have a safe trip and happy holidays."

"Ditto." She nodded with a toothy grin and lead Lily away.

Nicole watched them walk away, a bittersweet melancholy aching inside her chest, which squeezed even tighter when Lily ran into the arms of another woman who shared the little girl's blonde curls. The tall woman scooped up the toddler and kissed both of her cheeks, holding her with one arm while she laced the fingers of her free hand with the shorter woman's. They continued walking together as a family.

That could have been me, Nicole thought, ignoring the sting in her eyes. Me and Waverly.

Nicole took a deep breath and continued to her gate, unable to stop the memories from flooding back into her mind. Memories she successfully kept at bay most of the time, but couldn't resist at this time of year. Memories of going to her apartment after a grueling string of 12-hour days plus extra overtime with Black Badge. Nicole had been exhausted, all the energy sapped from her bones.

  It was just after 7 on a Friday night in early February and Nicole was heading home to freshen up before going to pick up Waverly in about an hour. Even though they spent nearly every night together, she already missed Waverly. Missed the way her small frame slotted perfectly with her own, the smell of sweet wildflowers on her sheets. Missed the sound of her voice and the gentle smile she reserved for Nicole, and only Nicole.

They'd had a busy few months, discussing the possibility of marriage and starting a family, all on top of revenant hunting and the mundane grind of their day jobs. But despite her body's aching desire for rest, Nicole wanted nothing more than to be with Waverly, to have a quiet dinner together at a nice restaurant and not worry about anything else.

Nicole's keys jangled in the lock as she pushed the door to her apartment open, expecting to be welcomed by a purring ball of fluff. But Calamity was nowhere to be seen and, instead, Nicole was greeted by the heavenly aroma of baking bread

Brow furrowing and mouth watering, Nicole cautiously shut the door and approached the kitchen, relaxing only when she heard Waverly's humming over the soft sounds of chopping. Nicole turned the corner and smiled in surprise, chest warming at the scene before her. Waverly stood at the counter, still in her Shorty's shirt, hips swaying slightly to the song she was singing as she scooped up carrots and placed them in a salad bowl. Calamity laid next to Waverly's feet, sprawled out on the laminate floor, the tip of her tail thumping contentedly.

"I didn't know Shorty's made house calls," Nicole drawled, a lazy grin spreading on her face as Waverly and Calamity both startled.

"Oh!" Waverly pressed a hand to her heart while Calamity glared at Nicole through slitted eyes. "I didn't hear you come in." She wiped her hands on a kitchen towel hanging from the dishwasher and stepped over Calamity to wrap her arms around Nicole's neck and kiss her. "Hi."

"Hi," Nicole repeated against Waverly's lips, hands resting in the dip of Waverly's waist.

"Welcome home."

Nicole loved the way that sounded, coming from Waverly. Would love to hear it for the rest of her life, if she was lucky enough.

"What's all this?" Nicole asked. "I thought we were going into the city tonight."

"I know." Waverly smoothed her hands down to Nicole's shoulders. "But after everything, I figured we could use a night in."

"To bake?"

"Yeah." Waverly bit the corner of her lip. "Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Nicole rubbed circles along the small of Waverly's back. "Just what are you making? It smells amazing."

"Go investigate for yourself, officer." Waverly winked and wiggled out from Nicole's grasp.

"Well all right then," Nicole drawled as she walked toward the oven.

She flipped the switch for the internal lights, bent down, and peered inside where a single tray of hot buns were turning a beautiful shade of golden brown.

"Buns." Nicole turned her head back toward Waverly, who watched her expectantly.

"Yes."

"Great." Nicole straightened out and clapped her hands together. "When do we eat? I'm starving."

Waverly visibly deflated. "That's it?"

"What?"

"That's all you have to say?"

Nicole wrinkled her nose. "Um… I'm sorry, honey, thank you? I appreciate all your hard work."

Waverly covered her face with her hands and chuckled. "Wynonna might have to take back what she said about me finally picking a smart one." She slid her eyes back down and looked at Nicole with warm exasperation. "Try again."

"O-kay," Nicole said, drawing out the first syllable.

"What am I making?"

"Buns."

"And where am I making them?"

"In the…" Nicole's eyes widened. "You've got…" Her heart stopped. "Holy shit, you're pregnant!?"

"No! Oh my god!" Waverly facepalmed. "Jesus, I'm not the Virgin Mary, Nicole."

"Then what…?" Nicole was so confused.

"I'm trying to tell you that I'm ready, you goofnut!" Waverly threw her hands up in the air.

"You're ready?"

"To start a family. With you," Waverly shook her head affectionately, "though I'm starting to think twice about it now."

Nicole let out a relieved laugh. "For a minute there I thought... nevermind what I thought." She took a tentative step forward. "But what about the revenants? The curse?"

"I don't care about any of that." Waverly stepped forward and cupped Nicole's face between her hands. A beautiful, but nervous smile broke out across Waverly's face, wide and bright. "We can do anything together. That is, if you want."

"If I want?" Nicole scooped Waverly into her arms. She twirled them both around, and Waverly laughed in delight. "I want nothing more."

"So we're doing this," Waverly said as she pulled back, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Really doing this?"

Nicole answered her with a kiss, elated beyond words, her own cheeks wet with happiness. She felt like she was floating straight up into the stratosphere.

But oh, how quickly one could fall back down to earth, Nicole thought as clouds streamed past her window. The flight had taken off on time and without a hitch-a small miracle for the holiday season. One of the attendants pushed her trolley past and stopped next to Nicole.

"Care for some refreshments?" The perky blonde asked. Her name tag read: Zoie.

"How 'bout a martini?" Pulling down her tray, Nicole smiled even though she already knew what the answer would be.

"We don't carry vermouth, unfortunately. Or olives. But I do have vodka and gin."

"A vodka tonic would be fine, thanks Zoie, on the rocks."

"Not into tradition, huh?"

Nicole's brows knitted. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm assuming you'd want vodka in your martini instead of gin, the more traditional choice."

Nicole chuckled. "I guess you could say I can be pretty unorthodox."

"Unorthodox huh?" Zoie licked her lips, "I like that in a woman." She scooped up some crushed ice into a small plastic cup, which she set in front of Nicole on top of a square napkin. She poured one small bottle of vodka into the cup. "Here ya go, gorgeous." She slipped one extra bottle into Nicole's palm with a wink, thumb skimming Nicole's fingers, before continuing down the aisle.

Nicole lifted her drink, the napkin shifting slightly to reveal a business card underneath. She took a sip to cover her flattered smile; she was only human after all, and it'd been so long since an attractive woman had flirted with her. So long since she reciprocated. Would it be so bad if she gave Zoie a call…?

The sharp taste of the alcohol snapped Nicole back to just where she was going and who she was about to see. In all honesty, she used to enjoy the taste of gin and its pungent pine cone flavor. But ever since she left Purgatory, the taste only reminded her of what she had lost.

The evergreens scattered around the Homestead were particularly fragrant in the early spring, before wildflowers and tree blossoms overpower the fresh pine scent. But Nicole hardly paid the joys of nature any mind as she tried to catch her breath, coming down from a blissful, heart-pounding high. Waverly, equally breathless, curled against her. A light breeze chilled their bare skin and Nicole gathered the extra blanket they brought on their picnic and tucked it around their naked bodies.

"We were supposed to eat you know," Waverly murmured into Nicole's shoulder.

"We will." Nicole pressed a kiss to Waverly's forehead. "Nothing wrong with workin' up an appetite."

Waverly hummed, content, the rays of the afternoon sun filtering through the branches overhead and flickering across her face. "It's finally getting warm again," she said, lazy and slow. "And when winter comes back, we might have a baby. Can you believe it?"

"No," she said truthfully.

"Me neither." Waverly peered up at her, a shadow of uncertainty passing over her features. "Sometimes… sometimes I think… what if something happens? What if…"

"Nothing's gonna happen," Nicole reassured her, even as a now familiar spike of anxiety cut through and tempered her excitement. "Everything's gonna work out. You'll see."

"You don't know that."

"No, I don't," Nicole admitted, tenderly brushing Wavelry's hair behind her ear. "But everything will work out the way it's supposed to."

"You really believe that, huh?"

"I do." Nicole nodded. She couldn't let on about just how worried she was. They both knew the chances of implantation were low, and the chances of making it to a live birth even lower. But there was no reason to upset Waverly and trouble her about things neither of them could control. All they could do was focus on the positive. "You, me, and Nicole Jr.? We're gonna live happily ever after."

Waverly giggled and swatted Nicole's chest. "For the last time, we are not naming our baby Nicole Jr."

Nicole opened her mouth to reply.

"Or Nicholas," Waverly beat her to it. "Can you imagine being born on Christmas with that name? He'd never hear the end of it."

Nicole chuckled. "Fine, fine. Then what names do you like?"

Waverly grew quiet for a few moments, eyes shining with thought and mirth. "Okay… Wendy, Wilma, Wanda, Wilson, Walter…"

"Good gravy. You Earps and your W names, I swear." Nicole shook her head.

"It's tradition."

"Tradition isn't always a good thing."

Waverly pushed herself up onto her elbow and leaned over Nicole. "It is to me."

Nicole could hardly ever say no to Waverly, and she was especially weak when Waverly looked so beautiful, hair mussed, lips swollen, and cheeks flushed from their lovemaking.

"Okay," she caved. "How 'bout…I don't know... Whitney?"

"Whitney," Waverly repeated, turning the name over in her mind. "I'll think about it."

Nicole stared at the wedding invitation, fingers tracing the laced edge, thumb brushing over black ink on pearl white cardstock. It read:

Ms. Waverly Earp Solicits the Honor of Your Gracious Presence At the Marriage of Her Daughter Whitney Earp To Jesse James Saturday, the Twenty-First of December, Two Thousand and Forty High Noon At The Earp Homestead Reception to Follow

Nicole took a deep breath. Whitney. The name echoed in her mind as she wondered again if she was making a mistake. She probably was. But by now it was too late. The pilot came over the loudspeaker to announce that they were making their final descent into Calgary.

[dcnativegal]

I miss Black people

A tall Black man came into the office in Christmas Valley last week to introduce himself as a social services worker for parts of Deschutes County and north Lake County, too.  My door and my fellow therapist’s door were open, and we introduced ourselves and chatted amicably. When he and I discovered we had both lived in DC, I became Chatty Cathy, waxing poetic about Ethiopian Food. It became clear that he wasn’t that familiar with it, couldn’t remember the word ‘injera’… but that was okay. I was talking to a Black man who knew DC.  I’m pretty sure I embarrassed myself. My colleague was friendly and professional. I was irrationally glad to see him out of all proportion to the occasion.

He probably left thinking to himself, white people are weird. Guilty as charged.  

I am one of those white people who study Black people. Their experience, history, personalities, and the systemic, systematic way in which they’ve been imprisoned in one big internment camp called the United States of America. Everything about them, with the possible exception of current music beyond a superficial point. My kids listen to nothing but music made by Black people, so we, as a family, have that covered.

Formative books: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The Color Purple. Beloved. Also, Why do all the Black kids sit together in the Cafeteria, and When Race Became Real. Between the World and Me is the most recent.

Formative movies: Sounder (with music by Taj Mahal).  Anything by Spike Lee (with the possible exception of Inside Job, which is excellent, but not about Black experience.) Moonlight. Daughters of the Dust.  I am Not Your Negro is the most recent. Anything by Ava DuVernay, most recently, 13th. (I dare you, white reader, to watch it, on Netflix, and not have your mind blown.)

Music: Otis Redding. Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. Early Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five. Tracy Chapman. India Arie.

I could go on and on… Perhaps I’ll stop with this link to 100 Woke Black women to follow: http://www.essence.com/news/woke-100-women

“Study” does not mean to keep at arms-length. I have been a marshmallow in a sea of cocoa since I can remember being alive. And since, many times, in different schools and neighborhoods, I was one of the few white kids, it behooved me to observe how we are similar and different. When you are the minority, you study the majority.

Little differences, in hygiene practices (Black women are more fastidious), in pronunciation (Andrea is pronounced An DRE uh by Black folks, AN dreeah by white. Darrell is DaRELLE for Black people and DAR rul for white.)  In Happy Birthday songs: Black folks sing the Stevie Wonder version. In mythical secret jokes. Some Black people think that white people smell bad when wet. I’m serious. Based on how stinky the white men were when they came across the Atlantic to kidnap Black people. I mentioned this one day to a church friend, a PhD in Math, descended from Jamaicans, and she gasped! How did I know?! (I read it in a book, silly.)

I notice how much African American Vernacular English is used by white people. “You go, girl.”  “24/7.” “I’m down.” “Word.” White folks don’t necessarily notice. I do. I try not to use AAVE. For fear of being scolded by my daughter. But also, because it is not appropriate. I struggle with this appropriateness thing. Because it’s the right thing to do. I keep learning how much culture has been stolen from Black Americans. Elvis Presley is just the tip of the iceburg. White people have stolen from Black people for millennia, and not just culturally. I look for examples of this, and find it, daily.  I look out of long habit, so that I can give credit where credit is due.

It is absolutely true that Black people have transformed my life again and again. A Black 10th grade English teacher told me I was a good writer and should check out the Urban Journalism Workshop. I did, I applied, I got in, I learned to write, and the article I wrote earned an honorable mention from the Robert Kennedy Journalism awards. It was about the gentrification of Mount Pleasant, a neighborhood in DC. In 1976.  I’m pretty sure I got into Oberlin College because of the Urban Journalism Workshop. Because I had zero extracurriculars besides running away from home. Thank you, Mrs. Feely.

I spent 40 years in the grooviest episcopal church on the planet (IMHO) because of a Black seminarian I almost married. He was 9 years my senior, I was 17, when we met. St Stephen & the Incarnation became my spiritual home because he was assigned there. And after I realized I was too young to marry, it stayed my parish home until I moved to the Oregon Outback in August 2016. Thank you, Eddie.

I miss my Black friends. Gay and straight women, with a few gay Black men in there, too. I know a lot of wonderful straight Black men, but I can’t say I’d call any of them in the middle of the night to take me to the emergency room. (One of my criteria for being a real friend. I’m sure they’d take me; I would just be so embarrassed.)  Each of my friends is amazing. Of course, that is also true of my white friends. I’ve been mulling over the difference between my white and Black friends.

I’m reminded of something I read years ago about being friends across the racial chasm: the Black woman’s advice to her white friend was, “Forget I am Black. And, never forget that I am Black.”  The zen koan of being friends with a Black person.

I feel lucky when a Black person will deign to be my friend. They could so easily reserve their precious energies for other people of color, especially people of the African diaspora. Out of self-care. (deign: verb, do something that one considers to be beneath one's dignity.  "she did not deign to answer the maid's question" Archaic condescend to give [something.]  "He had deigned an apology.")    When I am hanging out with my Black friends who are activists and seemingly tireless in their work for justice in all kinds of situations, I am amazed that they have time for me. I know in fact that they are tired. And I do my best to be someone they can relax with. Even though I am white.

I have a Black friend who grew up in Crown Heights Brooklyn, where my son lives now in an apartment with many roommates. Her parents were from Guyana, an African-Caribbean country. Crown Heights is gentrifying, but it seems to still hold a special mix of Caribbean immigrants and Hasidim. S is a little younger than I am, and also has 2 kids, one in college (same one as my daughter) and the other graduated (as is my son.)  My kids’ dad and I met their family when we each had only one baby in diapers and one parent each were home, and craving adult conversation. Play group in Brookland DC used to meet once a week until the community-organizing father of my children got hold of it, and then it met 3 times a week.

Our oldest boys were friends. We had second children. We developed a tradition of going to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a week every summer and sharing an old beach house that was right on the water, one family per bedroom. We’d have 4 families give or take, and take turns cooking, looking after munchkins, and going on field trips to the Wright Brothers Museum, Walmart, and movies.

When it was time to figure out where to have the oldest boys go to school, our two families combined forces. In DC, finding a decent public school requires a strategy. We got pretty elaborate: what are our criteria for excellence? How much did each value weigh in the decision?  We teamed up, with S and I spending the night in her car one icy January to get on the list for a popular bilingual Spanish/English immersion school (Oyster Elementary). My kids’ dad and her husband hit a number of schools that were apparently much less popular but still made our list. My kid got into Oyster, and S, who was right after me, did not. We decided that our boys would go to a DC public Montessori program instead of risking separation.  

By the way, S met a nice Jewish young man from Iowa when they both attended Harvard, and married him. After many years, she decided to convert to Judaism, and both boys had bar mitzvahs, which were very cool to attend.

Both families switched to another DC public Montessori program when the original one seemed in steep decline, and enjoyed that community for a while. It became clear that my son wasn’t doing as well in that context, so I got him on a waiting list for a phenomenal charter school that uses the Expeditionary Learning model (affiliated with Outward Bound.)

We remained friends as families, going to the beach, joining the pool just over the DC line that many Brooklanders belonged to. Our boys grew apart, but we still hung out. One amazing bit of fate is that it was S and her son who introduced my boy to film-making at around 6th grade. He now makes his living as a filmmaker and is a Tisch film school graduate.

S is one of those women who is rather butch, and also straight. She is not femme: never wears make up, keeps her hair very short for minimum of fuss, and never wears skirts or dresses (except in her wedding.)  I taught her to knit on one of our beach weeks, and she’s gone on to become expert and imaginative. I figured out at one point that I had a crush on her, but I stomped that out, and we have had a great 20+ year friendship.

When my marriage ended, S and her husband extended dinner invitations to both me and my ex, separately, but only I responded. My ex is introverted, and for some reason he let his connection to these folks wither. I was grateful to hold onto the friendship, and enjoyed coming to their house for amazing food prepared by Ed, the son of the Iowan baker. Lots of far ranging conversation. We’d solve the problems of the world, and then I’d go home. We also share a love of movies. I had to call Ed once to get me to an emergency department, and he did with calm kindness.

Neither S nor her husband are on Facebook much, which is where I keep in touch with most of my social connections from DC. I’ll have to actually write them a letter, which I used to do routinely.  I miss these people very much. Maybe I should just call them up. How novel.

S was my friend first, and Black incidentally.

B became my friend and her Blackness was way more prominent. Whereas S never uses AAVE, B uses it a lot, and with her I feel like I can say “GIIRRRRRLLLL” in greeting.

 B is from a large African-American Catholic family, originally from Florida. Old school Black, which is to say, ancestors enslaved and brought to the mainland United States, then reared here after Emancipation, and always in the minority. Whereas Island folks, from what was formerly known as the West Indies, were also enslaved, they freed themselves from colonial power, and became majority Black countries. B taught me that some Caribbean folks look down on the old school Black folks. I learned a lot about hierarchies within Blackness from Brigette.

We met at a card game for women in our neighborhood. Her son was a year older than mine, and she lived within a block of us. I started to pursue her as a friend; we attended a Black-taught “all sizes welcomed” yoga class in the neighborhood, and would walk there and back every Saturday morning. On those walks we got to know each other.

She is so accomplished; a law degree, an all but dissertation PhD drop out, an author, a management consultant, a philanthropist. I was honored to be the one white person present for a discernment committee she gathered, Quaker style, to help her make a decision.  She influenced me a great deal. I hope I was a good friend to her. She was, probably still is, extremely busy, always, involved in one justice-promoting effort after another. I felt like a slacker in her presence. And she was not judging me. She simply lived every waking moment as an opportunity for social change. I also know there is pain underneath that activity, not just ‘post-traumatic slavery syndrome.’  Our sons are out in the world making art. She is making change. I miss her.

There are many others… Imani, D, Isaiah, Fern, Paulette, Liane…and powerful Facebook friends... Claudia, Alan, Reuben, KM

When I see a Black person out here in Oregon, I am riveted and try not to stare. Black people in white places are used to this, it is the ‘white gaze’, just like women are conscious of the ‘male gaze.’  For the observed, this vigilance is automatic and barely conscious until there is a perceived danger. Is that man (of whatever color) following me down this street? Is that white woman following me in this store?  I regret that I am adding to this vigilance for people of color in Oregon.

In Eugene Oregon at a huge hippy extravaganza called Country Fair, I took to counting Black people. Less than 20. I follow the SURJ-Eugene Chapter on Facebook. It’s the closest chapter to where I live. (Standing up for Racial Justice is a white person’s organization that hopes to support Black Lives Matter efforts. White folks can ask other white folks to call each other out and help each other grow. This is not the job of Black People.)  Oregon is a very white place. 

I am an anti-racist organization of one. Which is not to say I am the only one who cares about racism against Black people, systemic and individualized here in Lake County. I have not yet met anyone as steeped as I am, but it’s always possible. (Where are you?) Anybody out here willing to start a book club to read Witnessing Whiteness? It’s for white people who want to reveal and counteract the racism that lives within all of us.

From the context of my upbringing, and my choice, the collective and multi-hued Black American World is my north star. The Black/white conversation, the current animosity, the centuries-long history, is my cosmology: “noun, the science of the origin and development of the universe.” My social universe. The foundation upon which I build my politics, my theology of justice, my self-image. My corrective. Also, my joy.

I am a white person who works on her racism. Even when there are no Black people in my Oregon Outback world, except a phlebotomist, one former client, and the girlfriend of another. My moral universe is constructed around the fact of the injustice of slavery and its current unjust sequelae. (Noun. se·que·la. a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease or injury.)  Part of the post-slavery curse is the anti-government bias that is ripping further the tattered safety net. It is hard work to help white folks in mostly white contexts to see how anti-Black racism seeps into every bit of politics and also harms them individually. I’m working on this. I find it exhausting when the occasional conversation starts with “I don’t have a racist bone in my body.” I was so spoiled in D.C.

Yes, I believe in reparations. TaNehisi Coates’ work on this in The Atlantic is a paradigm-shifter.  (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/)

I only recently read a book on the native American experience, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s epic, “An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States.” Now I can include the injustice wrought against native peoples into my cosmology. Except I did not grow up as a white person in a majority First Nation context. A whole new arena to familiarize myself with. First Nations are deeply relevant to life out here due to water rights.  (You can watch Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz read from the book here: https://youtu.be/Pn4QTS6S3WU.) And you can read about water rights and the Klamath Nation here: (https://www.rotary.org/en/rotarian-helping-klamath-river-dispute)

I will continue to be a Black-identified white woman living in Whitelandia. I will try not to be obnoxious when I hear something flatly racist, although I will counter it. Someone said something about Black on Black crime early on. I said something, and now she knows I’m a ‘liberal.’  I share about Black experience on Facebook because I rejoice at the artistry and profound accomplishments of people who Overcome, every day. Maybe my new friends in Oregon will have a couple of stereotypes dashed by following my Facebook posts. Maybe not.  Some of the clients at our mental health center are white ex-offenders with Aryan nation tattoos. Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

My job is to enlighten white people, somehow, with humility, because i know next to nothing. I need to tell the truth, but tell it slant, as Emily Dickinson wrote, so the truth will dazzle gradually. My job is to live with integrity wherever I am, as inclusively as possible, mining my own deep veins of ignorance (see, Native American History, also, the racist history of Oregon vis a vis Sundown laws, et al.) Counteracting the deep ignorance of the public discourse about the roots of our current politics in my own thinking. And praying to know how to be a bridge builder.

Written on the immensely tall wall of the Lincoln Memorial are words from the 2nd Innaugural address. To quote Wikipedia, “Lincoln suggests that the death and destruction wrought by the [Civil] war was divine retribution to the U.S. for possessing slavery, saying that God may will that the war continue "until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword", and that the war was the country's "woe due".’  What I believe is that the great Civil War in the USA right now is the price we are paying for the sin of slavery, the divide of have and have not, early white immigrant/imperialist versus newer immigrant especially from South and Central America, the disconnect of white republican voters-for-trump and the fact of their deep dependence on the government. My cousin, President Lincoln, (4th cousin, 5 times removed) was more right than he knew.

I will be an ally no matter where I am, however (deeply) imperfect. I can’t help it.

[lovequotescom]

10+ Best Australian Dating sites 5 reasons why you should provide online dating sites A Red Hot Go

10+ Best Australian Dating sites 5 reasons why you should provide online dating sites A Red Hot Go

Among the best parts about online dating sites is the fact that it eliminates all that embarrassing stress, nervousness and pressure.

You are able to hit up a discussion with someone you’re interested in without permitting most of the excuses that could ordinarily hold you right right straight straight back, stop you. Internet dating throws every one of those excuses out of the screen because every dating internet site has you fill a profile out once you join so that you have actually a lot of items that you can make use of to begin a discussion.

Listed here are five reasons why you should offer online dating sites a red hot get!

It’s Simpler To Meet New People On The Web

Online dating sites offers you an alternative that is quick introduces one to a lot of solitary individuals in your town you will probably have never met otherwise. Not only this, however you realize that all of them are really on the market looking somebody. This means you don’t need certainly to run the risk of approaching someone who’s already taken and obtain refused.

Can you allow your teenager manage to get thier septum pierced or anywhere similarly extreme?

For a scale of just one to 10.

Women i’d like some feedback from those of you that are 166cm high where is your weight that is happy have actually lost plenty of fat thus far but nevertheless got some to loose.

The amount 1 concern to inquire about in moms and dad instructor interviews

Moreover it makes the procedure of fulfilling people a lot easier and lot less nerve-wrecking.

AND… if you’re a moms and dad, you understand how difficult it really is to have fubar com away and socialise – you’re time poor – and this is a superb option to satisfy like minded people!

Online Dating Sites Saves Time

Many people are busy and it will be very difficult to get time and energy to head out and fulfill brand new individuals. Online dating sites provides you with the chance to satisfy brand new individuals at your convenience. Whenever obligations stack up in the office or house, it is simple to be consumed by everything taking place and place your life that is social on, and undoubtedly your dating life.

Thanks to online dating sites, you will no longer want to do that. It is possible to set a profile up on a dating website and look around and answer e-mails if you involve some time on your own arms. Can be done it early in the late at night or even during your lunch hour morning. It certainly does not matter.

Internet Dating Makes It Possible To Meet Like-Minded Individuals

The part that is best about online dating sites, lots of people state, is the fact that you are able to get a fairly good clear idea of whether you’d actually have a link with some body before fulfilling them. Your web profile provides you with a way to show your self, exactly just what you’re exactly about and exactly what you’re in search of.

Online Dating enables you to prevent the Bar and Club Scene

Internet dating provides you with a way that is alternative satisfy brand brand brand new individuals outside the typical club and club scene. Therefore you’ve been looking for if you secretly dread going out to loud bars and clubs on the weekends, online dating may just be the answer.

Online Dating Services Help You Save Money

Not just will internet dating it’s actually dirt cheap compared to every other form of dating save you money but.

Now I’ve physically never ever gone to a singles dinner or even a rate event that is dating We have buddies who’ve and I’ve heard which they range anywhere from $60 to $100 bucks every night. Night and that’s just one. just exactly exactly What you really connected with that night if you don’t meet anyone? Will you drop another hundred dollars the next week-end?

Or simply you’ll just venture out up to a club or a club another evening and get a number of overpriced drinks that are ten-dollar. Being mindful of this, you could spend less with internet dating.

You will get an account to a site that is dating significantly less than just just what you’d usually devote to one particular date. Numerous have free trial offer durations.

So which Australian on line site that is dating top to make use of?

eHarmony

eHarmony is a dating that is online designed particularly to complement solitary gents and ladies with one another for long-lasting relationships. I love they can match you by age along with your area. They will have a specific area for seniors. How they match partners is perhaps all science-based and therefore are so effective they will have patented the technology. 11,000 people have actually hitched through conference on eHarmony.

Anybody shopping for a relationship that is serious wedding and young ones.

Hukup

Hukup is really a matchmaking engine and dating app in one single. It caters to all or any genders and all sorts of orientations therefore you’ll meet lots of definitely interesting individuals. The options of getting a ‘mate’ is endless! Simply opt for a requirements become served with pages that match your decision.

Couples and individuals hunting for hook-ups aged 18 yrs . old and above.

Elite Mate

Wherever you will be throughout the world, Elite Mate has thousands and thousands of interesting, hip, appealing solitary guys and ladies to pick from. It fits according to social practices. Has more matching features then any kind of dating agency.

Young adults attempting to hook up.

Zoosk

Zoosk had been known as the dating that is best App of 2016. This matchmaking web web site is renowned for personalisation and fits you to definitely your ‘perfect match’ through an algorithm that will be believed to deliver better matches in realtime. Additionally it is for sale in 80 various nations and happens to be translated into 80 languages. Therefore if there was a soulmate into the globa globe – they will certainly ideally discover that match for your needs.

20 – 30-year-olds hunting for severe relationships

3. Loads of Fish

An abundance of Fish (POF) Has over 3 million active daily users worldwide on POF, and provide free communications. It offers a little of a reputation to be a tad seedy though…. But hey, if seedy is the thing, here is the location for you personally!

35 – 50-year-olds searching for hook-ups

4. Swindr

Swindr is where to go after alternative lifestyle relationship. Into Swinging? Desire to fulfill other partners which are enthusiastic about ‘Saucing Up’ their wedding. Then Swindr may be the App for you personally. It discovers other like-minded individuals in your neighborhood for meet-ups and much more.

Hitched Couples and Long Termers looking to Spice Up the connection

Gay Matchmaker

The key dating internet site for homosexual, bi, and wondering guys. It really is a men’s online dating site. Gay guys need love too!

Urban Personal

Urban Social places singles that are together sociable like-minded individuals together. Its liberated to subscribe and you will immediately browse other Australian singles which are in your area.

Is liberated to subscribe

You can easily search via age or area

All singles hunting for severe relationships.

8. RSVP

A differnt one associated with reputable, bigger organizations in Australia. Includes a selection that is good and is strict on users. Nevertheless, it does price to speak to individuals and also this can definitely mount up!

25 – 35 years to locate severe relationships.

9. Oasis

Oasis claims become Australia’s no. 1 complimentary dating internet site, with 100% able to chat and contact along with other members. It’s over 1.6 million users and it is dedicated to younger more that is‘upwardly mobile.

Adult Matchmaker

Adult Matchmaker is Australia’s largest online adult dating site for singles & partners shopping for love or something like that a small bit sexy! They will have cheeky adult personals, cam talk rooms and look for to connect members that are like-minded for casual intercourse. Liberated to join.

Partners in search of other partners (yep, swingers)

Just Senior Singles

For the over 50’s set – a really antique, user friendly web site that appears priced well. It really is absolve to join, but to gain access to all extra features, you will have to be a member that is full.

Over 50’s interested in companionship and relationships that are long-term.

Elite Singles

When it comes to fancy set. Option prices it extremely as a reputable web site. Elite Singles use a ‘Smart Profiling System’ to offer the match that is best feasible

Educated 30+ olds looking for serious relationships year.

Tinder

Tinder is just a ‘Location Based’ App that fits you with individuals nearby. By swiping left (for no) or right (for yes) – the software will match partners that both swiped appropriate. Tinder has gotten some bad press in yesteryear, more for the 18 – 25 market.

18 – 24-year-olds hunting for hook-ups.

Other Dating internet sites or Hookup Apps to Cons >Coffee suits Bagel

Coffee matches Bagel can be an App that is around since 2012. This App centers on the fact Both women and men approach dating in extremely other ways. There is certainly a #ladies option function which provides women more control over their dating experience.

Bumble

Bumble is comparable to Tinder for the reason that you swipe left or right that it is a location-based App. A good thing about Bumble, rather than Tinder, is you don’t simply have to make use of it to find a night out together, then this is for you if you just want to find a new friend, grow your social network or just meet someone for coffee!

Happn

Happn is definitely an App that finds the social individuals you’ve got met along the cafe, passed away in the pub or came across when at a work function. After the Happn App happens to be installed, and also you meet another person in Happn, it’s going to ask you with them again if you want to cross paths.

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[jensjammery-blog]

Montreal in Quebec, Canada is a thriving city that continues to embrace its rich history which is evident in that majority of Québecois are French speaking. You can easily spend a week in Montreal as there is so much to see and do but even if you only have a long weekend you can still get a good feel for the city.

I recently had the chance to do just that with my good friend and amazing travel companion Law. Here’s our jam-packed itinerary with a combo of hidden gems, local favorites and popular attractions you should be sure not to miss. I include some fantastic places to eat and drink. You can also check out my Instagram story “Montreal” @jensjammery for the highlights.

When to visit: Year round

Montreal is  a year round destination and features four distinct seasons. Most people prefer summer, especially if you do not enjoy the cold weather. The winter will reach below freezing temperature with unreliable weather conditions, however with the appropriate attire, it is not only doable but even enjoyable. In this case, we had arrived just days after the Polar Vortex landed in Montreal. Many locals we spoke with did say that the summer can be uncomfortably hot but there are many festivals and activities happening all around the city, making it a fun time to visit.

Winter attire essentials: ear muffs, gloves, thick scarf

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Accommodation

Where we stayed: Sofitel Montreal Le Carré Doré (Golden Mile)

This is luxury hotel is conveniently located in downtown Montreal with a metro station within a stone’s throw away and 5 minutes walk to St. Catherine Street W where many shops and restaurants are located. McGill University is just a few block down from the hotel and is a beautiful campus to walk through.

Window view from Sofitel Golden Mile

Alternate recommendation: Fairmont Le Rein Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth)

This iconic property is most famous for John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-Ins for Peace. The hotel recently reopened after being closed for a year of renovation. We only walked through the beautiful lobby which included a market place with local goods, treats and souvenirs as well as a cafe (the coffee was delicious). The lower level has a fun interactive video that projects onto the walkway. See how it works on my Instagram story “Montreal”. 

Transportation

We mostly walked in Montreal as it is the best way to see the city. Uber is widely used, taxis are easily accessible in addition to the metro – STM. I recommend doing a rough calculation to determine the number of times you plan to ride the metro to see if the unlimited day pass is worth it. The STM ticket allows unlimited usage within 2 hr timeframe, however within that 2 hr timeframe, you can only ride the metro once. Weekend evenings also offer a lower priced unlimited evening pass that could be worthwhile. The metro is fairly straight forward and gets you to many popular destinations. You can easily spot a metro stop entrance by a blue downward arrow.

Communication

As noted, most Quebecois speak French as their primary language, therefore, I recommend learning a few basics such as hello (bonjour), thank you (merci) etc..before your visit. Most times you will be greeted in French before English and locals will appreciate your attempt to communicate with them in French.

Tip: Duo Lingo is a fantastic free app to help you learn a new language.

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Long Weekend Itinerary in Montreal

Day 1: Arrival / Golden Mile (Downtown)

Getting to the hotel

You can take a taxi or Uber to downtown Montreal. Depending on traffic condition, you can get to downtown in about 25 minutes or so.

Dinner and live music: House of Jazz

We absolutely loved House of Jazz from the moment we walked in. From the outside, the establishment looked questionable with gold statues out front but the inside was a different story. It is reminiscent of the roaring twenties (or thirties) with mercury glass, chandeliers, even the staff were in 20’s attires. Every seat in the restaurant has a view of the stage up front. The performance on our night was spectacular and we stayed until the very end. There is a mandatory coat check of $2 and a cover charge of $10/person. The cover charge applies regardless of food/drink order, which we still thought was worth it. You can check out the line up on their website.

House of Jazz – reminiscent of roaring 20’s

The only thing we would do differently is get dinner somewhere else beforehand. The food at House of Jazz was just ok especially for the price.

Tip: the latest reservation they take is 7:30 but we didn’t see anyone coming in after 8pm having to wait for a table.

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DAY 2: Old Montreal / St. Catherine Street West / Notre-Dame Basilica + AURA

Brunch: Olive et Gourmando

This popular local spot in Old Montreal was recommended to us by the hotel’s concierge. We along with many others waited 45+ minutes for a table. Lucky for us, the starving masses they have a coffee bar with to go pastries. I got a Sticky Bun with Valrhona Chocolate – yes it’s as good as it sounds. When we finally got our food, it did not disappoint! I had the menu staple of O+G Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Raclette and Gouda cheese. Law had the Oeuf Coquette from the weekend brunch menu. It is poached eggs served with tomato, chickpeas,  homemade Toulouse sausage, avocado and a few more ingredients plus grilled flat bread. The restaurant has a rustic, homey feel to it. We had a window seat and watched the horse drawn carriage go by several times.

Window seat at Olive et Gourmando

Walk Around Old Montreal

After lunch we walked around Old Montreal taking in the architecture and cobblestone streets. Between the buildings and the francophone (French speaking) that surrounded us, it felt as though we have been transported to a European city. One of my personal favorite store was Le Petit Dep – Dépanneur & Café.  It has the most stunning store front I have ever seen. The word “dépanneur” means a small shop/convenience shop. It was a small space with a captivating set up that is inviting. This store was both a cafe and a shop featuring a range of products from candies, to craft beer to local jams and honey. It was really fun walking through Le Petit Dep and discovering unique and local products.

Shopping at St. Catherine St. W

After walking around Old Montreal, we headed back up to St. Catherine Street West*. This is a shopping paradise with stores upon stores upon stores. Being a Canadian living in the US now, I miss seeing Canada born retailers like The Hudson Bay, Indigo and Roots. Another one is La Maison Simons, aka Simons, a well known fashion retailer in Quebec. I specifically had this store on my list as it’s only available in Quebec. They offer simple, classic yet fashionable pieces at an affordable price.

If you only have time for a few stores, I recommend checking out the ones noted earlier. All three have stores across Canada. The Hudson Bay company is a large department store featuring home goods, clothing, beauty etc.. Indigo is a big book store with the addition of home décor, stationery and unique gift items. Indigo was always my go-to for gifts when I lived in Vancouver. Roots Canada features quality women’s, men’s and children apparel as well as leather goods. One of my favorite travel boots is from roots and it has lasted me years.

*A note here about St. Catherine Street. This is a really long street in Montreal and it is divided into West and East. St. Catherine Street West is where the shopping is with many well known stores on this strip. St. Catherine Street East on the other hand is the Gay Village with many restaurants, bars and night clubs. The two areas are distinctively different. We learned the hard way when we thought we were going to St. Catherine Street EAST only to end up in St. Catherine Street WEST

Notre-Dame Basilica + AURA

This is the first church of the Gothic Revival in Canada. Located in Old Montreal and rich in history, visiting Notre-Dame Basilica is a must. Since it was located in Old Montreal, we could have included as part of our walk through Old Montreal earlier in the day, however, we got tickets for “AURA” in the evening so we saved it for then. AURA is a multimedia light show in the Notre-Dame Basilica and is broken down into two parts. First 20mins is a self guided walk through to look at several paintings that come “alive”. Second part is a seated show of lights and music which highlights the intricate craftsmanship of the basilica. It was a fun way to see and experience the basilica. This is suitable for visitors of all ages. For more information or for tickets, click here.

Dinner: Portus 360

This Portuguese restaurant is walking distance from Notre-Dame Basilica. Located at the top of the EVO Montreal building, the restaurant offers a spectacular 360 view of Montreal. The restaurant rotates slowly through the evening so that you get a full panoramic view. They do serve lunch and dinner and I’d imagine the view during the day would be just as spectacular if not more. Reservations recommended. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

DAY 3: Fairmont Le Rein Elizabeth / Marche Jean-Talon / St. Laurent Bvld / Gay Village

Breakfast at Fairmont Le Rein Elizabeth

Both Law and I work in the hotel industry, therefore, we had to check out the iconic Fairmont Le Rein Elizabeth. We walked through the public spaces, checked out the interactive video walkway, the market place and got breakfast at the lobby cafe. The market place had some exquisite treats such as marzipan expertly shaped into a variety of beautiful fruits, preserved candie pears etc. I really enjoyed my cappuccino from the lobby café. They also serve pastries and sandwiches.

Newly renovated lobby at Fairmont Le Rein Elizabeth

Marche Jean-Talon (Jean-Talon Market)

There are several public markets in Montreal and Marche Jean-Talon is one of them. Established back in 1933, this market is one of the oldest in Montreal. The market features a wide range of fresh produce alongside a diverse list of vendors from the butcher shop to a tea shop to a flower shop to a cheese stand. This is a great place to pick up maple syrup, maple butter (we got ours at Ferme Lussier) or other local artisan products. The market also houses food vendors making it a true one stop shop.

Montreal bagels and Mile End

Mile End is a hip local neighborhood with boutique shops, restaurants as well as home of the two oldest bagel shops in Montreal. Montreal bagels are unique in that they are sweeter and smaller. The sweetness comes from the dough being poached in honey water. St-Viateur and Fairmount Bagels are the two most well known (and oldest) bagels shops and are open 24/7. St-Viateur have other locations available in Montreal in addition to the flagship in Mile End.

We went to Fairmount Bagel and it is a small, old school shop with standing room only for less than 10 people. Locals bought bagels by the DOZENS! I tried the sesame bagel and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

I would also recommend checking out Drogheria Fine next door. It’s a small shop that sells only gnocchi with tomato sauce in to go boxes.  It was pipping hot and delicious, perfect on a cold winter day!

Drogheria Fine serving pipping hot gnocchi with tomato sauce

Tip: Fairmount Bagel is cash only!

St. Laurent Bvld.

After we got our bagels and gnocchi, we worked our way up St. Laurent Bvld towards Sherbrooke. St. Laurent is one of the main streets in Montreal and has many restaurants and shops along the way. Our favorite was Un Monde de M which has an eclectic collection of home decor and furniture. If you need a break (or a place to warm up), Boulangerie Hof Kelsten, adjacent to Un Monde de M, have really delicious pastries and coffee.

Dinner: Imadake Izakaya

Imadake on St. Catherine Street W is delicious. They serves Japanese Izakaya and ramen alongside a expansive sake menu. The restaurant is conveniently located in downtown. I had Takoyaki and Grilled Miso Black Cod with rice and it was perfection!

Law enjoying some hot sake at Imadake Izakaya

Drinks in Gay Village

Our last stop of the day was checking out the Gay Village (St. Catherine Street East). Being that it was Sunday, not much was happening. We did have plans to check out the drag show at Cabaret Mado but ended up getting drinks at a bar instead. The locals were very friendly and welcoming.

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DAY 4: Cafe Parvis / Parc du Mont-Royal / Au Revoir

Breakfast at Cafe Parvis

Located in downtown, Café Parvis embodies a cool, bohemian vibe filled with greeneries. This was by far my favorite meal in Montreal. Not only did I love the space but I also fell in love with the food! We arrived in the nick of time to order from the breakfast menu. I got the Sourdough toast with whipped ricotta, served with sunflower seeds, apple butter and drizzled with sage honey. Café Parvis services Kittel Coffee which is a local Montreal coffee roaster.

Parc du Mont-Royal

We saved the best for last! Located on a hilltop in the heart of Montreal, Parc du Mont Royal is a large park with a lookout point offering a panoramic view of Montreal. From the Mont Royal Chalet, you would take a short walk to the lookout point. In the winter, you see people cross country skiing, jogging and biking in the park. The key is to dress warm and wear snow boots!

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Au Revoir – it’s time to say goodbye! 

Taxis from downtown to the airport is a set rate of $40. Leaving in the mid-afternoon, it took us about 30 minutes to get to the airport.

Even though our time in Montreal was short, we had an amazing time. The city is full of character and everywhere you turn you are surrounded by history. I hope this will inspire you to visit Montreal, be it for the first time or a subsequent visit. I am already thinking of a return visit in the summer with Mr. Jam. I would love to hear your favorites in Montreal, let me know below or reach out via the contact form. You can also follow me on Instagram @jensjammery for updates.

Bon Voyage!

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Montreal is a vibrant city with rich history. If it's not on your bucket list yet, you need to add it. Check out my travel guide and itinerary for the perfect long weekend in Montreal. Montreal in Quebec, Canada is a thriving city that continues to embrace its rich history which is evident in that majority of Québecois are French speaking.