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simplyclockwork · 4 years

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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!

#simplyclockwork fic rec #fic rec #alternate universe #au #Sherlock #Sherlock bbc #BBC Sherlock #Sherlock Holmes #John Watson #Johnlock #fixing my fic rec list #please stand by #fan fiction

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officialotakudome · 3 years

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New Post has been published on Otaku Dome | The Latest News In Anime, Manga, Gaming, Tech, and Geek Culture

New Post has been published on https://otakudome.com/reviews/yakuza-like-a-dragon-review/

Yakuza: Like a Dragon Review

Yakuza returns with a new leading man in Ichiban Kasuga for Yakuza: Like a Dragon. A kind-hearted man who wants to help people and become a hero. Loyal to a fault, Ichiban is shocked to learn that his old Patriarch had joined an enemy Yakuza clan. Ichiban had taken the fall for a crime one of his fellow Yakuza committed on behalf his Patriarch’s request. Years later, following a reunion he searches for answers after his attempted murder by his Patriarch.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a 2020 RPG game, it is developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios and published by SEGA. It is currently available on PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X.

Editor’s Note: A Playstation 4/5 review code for Yakuza: Like a Dragon was provided by SEGA in support of this review. Medium spoilers for Yakuza: Like a Dragon may be present within this review. I want to point out that moving forward for titles like Yakuza: Like a Dragon I’ll be using medium spoilers. This is due to me believing that any title with a major shift in direction should be experienced first hand.

Yakuza goes from beat’em up tp turn-based RPG in ‘Like a Dragon’.

Sometime has passed since Kiryu Kazuma left the Yakuza. Opting to disappear into the shadows for the safety of his friends and family his legendary run continues to be told. New lead Ichiban, as the title suggests is a lot like Kiryu. While he may be a member of the Yakuza, his heart is more often than not in the right place. Freshly released from prison Ichiban searches for answers after several changes have taken place in his former clan.

Character leveling and stat increases are important in Yakuza 7.

THE GOOD: Ichiban Kasuga is enjoying his life as a member of the Yakuza apart of the Tojo Clan’s Arakawa Family in 2001 Japan. One day, Ichiban is shocked when he is asked to take the fall for a murder he didn’t commit by his Patriarch Masumi Arakawa. The murder is committed by Jo Sawashiro, Arakawa’s right hand whom Ichiban never really liked. Due to his loyalty and love for the family Ichiban agrees and spends 18 years in prison aspiring to be a hero for Arakawa. Upon release Ichiban is disappointed that no family member is there waiting for him. Only to be greeted by ex-cop Koichi Adachi who begins grilling him on why he took the fall.

Adachi tries to warn Ichiban that things have changed immensely since he was incarcerated, but Ichiban refuses to believe him. Adachi takes him to a funeral which Arakawa & the family are attending. There he gets into a fight with Arakawa members who don’t recognizes him and calls out to his old Patriarch who seemingly ignores him. Adachi tells Ichiban that following the death of Arakawa’s son he betrayed the Tojo Clan and joined & later became the leader of the Omni Alliance. Disheartened by the news, Ichiban again refuses to believe Adachi and he plans to reunite with Arakawa. The two work out a plan to invade an Omni Alliance meeting where Arakawa will be attending.

Ichiban meets Jo after having been separated since his time in prison. Initially Jo is as cold as ever to Ichiban, but following his defeat in a fight he too tries to warn Ichiban over Arakawa’s changes. Arakawa greets Ichiban and the two have a conversation, but Arakawa shoots Ichiban with intent to kill. Three days later Ichiban awakes from being unconscious with his bullet wound being healed in a community of homeless Japanese citizens. There he meets former nurse Yu Nanba who helps him get back on his feet. He makes contact with Adachi again and they along with Yu work together to learn the truth of Omni Alliance & Arakawa.

As Yakuza grows it’s audience it successfully evolves as a franchise.

Ok so let me get this out of the way. People are going to have a love-hate relationship with this game. Doesn’t matter if you’re a Yakuza fan or an RPG fan somethings are going to be off putting. They were for me and it took me months of on and off gameplay to really get into it properly. I’ve been enjoying the Yakuza franchise since the release of 0, so I thought I knew what to expect from the franchise. RGG Studio told me to hold their karaoke mini-game, because Yakuza still has plenty of tricks up it’s sleeve.

There’s a lot to go over in regards to the new mechanics so buckle up. Let’s start with the combat since it’s one of the main draws of the series. It’s good, really good for what it is. You cycle through a menu that has your items, support and damaged based attacks, and special moves. Each party member can have items equipped to them such as weapons which increases their stats like attack and defense attributes. There’s also an option to run, because it’s an RPG so of course there is. After winning each battle you level up which further increases your states and there’s also tag team finishers that have unique purposes.

Here comes the part where people may get lost. Beyond the combat, there’s the rest of the RPG elements that at times can be overwhelming. Keep in mind while ‘Like a Dragon’ isn’t a traditional RPG it very much so is in a sense that newcomers to the genre who are Yakuza fans will get confused (and possibly scared) by it. Like any other RPG you have to use strategy to beat certain enemies like bosses. This means learning how to use support moves to lower attack and defense for example. While it’s not necessarily impossible to get the hang of general fans of Yakuza may not enjoy the extra work needed to make progress from within the game. As I mentioned above you also have to do a run down of the right equipment for proper stat gains from weaponry & gear. Oh yeah, fun fact the combat originally started as an April Fools joke that the team ended up liking as a real concept {yes, really).

Something else to keep in mind with the new mechanics is that enemies also have levels. This is also important because there will be instances where you’ll encounter high level enemy characters with no control of your own. And they will end you very quickly. Bosses also have levels and as expected are far stronger than regular enemies. Meaning they can and will end you in a few hits if you haven’t taken to take care of your party stat wise you won’t have a good time.

Believe it or not this game also has character classes in the form of jobs. While the jobs themselves are mini-games in certain instances the real purpose is to give the party an edge in combat. Jobs in addition to equipment as well as taking time to gain XP can make or break your run early into the game. Yakuza trademarks such as sub-stories and the arcade are also back. And kart racing makes it’s debut in the franchise as well.

In regards to the story it’s more or less what you’d expect from the series. Full of camp with some seriousness in it’s tone as it progresses. I like pretty much all of the main characters. And Ichiban while a more comedic relief version of Kiryu, he differs from him in that he’s willing to get his hands dirty for his goals. Kiryu was more altruistic in contrast with his desires. I wouldn’t mind if Ichiban stuck around as lead protagonist for awhile. But with reports of the next entry being a spinoff rather than a main title it seems we won’t be having a true protagonist for quite a bit.

Like a Dragon takes it’s role as an RPG 100% seriously.

THE BAD: I can see people finding it hard to look past the RPG aesthetic of the game from it’s design and mechanics. If you don’t like RPGs, but recently found yourself loving Yakuza it’s gonna be a rough ride. Even myself who enjoys both found some stopping periods where I had to put the controller down for a bit. The changes can be a bit overwhelming coming from the more simplistic beat up era.

Despite the changes Yakuza 7 never loses it’s trademark spirit.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Yakuza: Like a Dragon took a ton of risks and I really enjoy it when storied franchises go for that. It’s a double-edged sword unfortunately though. For every fan who loves it there’s probably twice as many who think it’s a poor imitation of an RPG. Or fans who think Yakuza is quickly losing it’s way. I think the change compliments the series as it’s never been made to be taken 100% seriously no matter how dark the story gets. Gaming is in this weird place where some publishers are changing things for the worst. But then you have publishers like SEGA and Capcom who are changing franchises, but doing so with genuine interest & heart for the fans put into it.

It’s why I wanted to take my time with Yakuza 7 instead of rushing out the review (about five months of gameplay on and off). Granted you won’t always nail it your first try, but I think the devs for Yakuza 7 should be proud of what they’ve. done. There’s a lot of gimmicky stuff you can do with Yakuza. SEGA actually has done so a bit including a zombie game and a casino like game. The important thing to remember with taking a fan-favorite franchise into some refreshing territory is to not insult the original fans while giving something to newcomers. And I think that Yakuza: Like a Dragon has certainly accomplished that.

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sheilacwall · 5 years

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The Return Of The Purple Tape: Raekwon’s Classic Sequel Turns Ten

“Got me behind the pot again”

The odds were stacked against him.

His prior two albums had been decent, but both had paled in comparison to his debut.

His crew, the likes of which had never been seen before, was more than a decade removed from its astronomical height.

The music — the culture — was in the midst of a seismic shift to a new look and sound.

Sequels to rap albums very rarely live up to their name — or hype — and the expectations for this one had been building for more than ten years.

Thus, when Raekwon announced that he would be releasing the long-awaited continuation to his stellar debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, everything was set up for disappointment.

“Tell a friend, it’s that symbol again, that W”

By 2009, the Wu-Tang Clan was no longer seen as invincible.

After storming onto the scene with their kung fu sound effects, chess imagery, and street tales on 1993’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the group had a half-decade run of dominance of five solo albums that ranged from excellent to great, ultimately culminating in the grandiose double album Wu-Tang Forever.

One of those solo albums was Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, Raekwon’s solo effort that featured partner-in-rhyme Ghostface Killah as a guest star as the two embark one final score before leaving the streets behind. With its mafia-infused cinematic rhymes — and aliases — over RZA’s layered soundscapes, it influenced albums by other greats of that era, specifically It Was Written, Reasonable Doubt, and Life After Death, and was the greatest album in a year that boasted several classics.

Following the completion of what the Clan’s de facto leader, RZA, had designed as a five-year plan, which had taken the group from the slums of Shaolin to the top of the Billboard chart in the summer of 1997, the group began to drift, both from each other and from its place atop hip-hop.

RZA no longer held dominion over everyone and everything, and the members’ newfound freedom led to every Clansman aside from Masta Killa dropping a solo album between 1998 and 2000. The results were, at best, mixed and the Wu logo lost a bit of its luster, both as a group and from a personal perspective.

By the end of the first decade of the new millennium, Staten Island’s swordsmen were in the limbo — they were no longer at the forefront of the culture but they had not yet transitioned into their legendary elder statesmen status that leans on nostalgia in a Showtime documentary, a scripted Hulu series, and anniversary concerts.

For Raekwon, one of the Clan’s sharpest swords, his experience matched that of the group as a whole with two uneven projects — 1999’s Immobilarity and 2003’s The Lex Diamond Story — that featured only two Ghostface appearances and zero RZA and were considered to be letdowns by most.

While anticipation for a second Cuban Linx… disc was high, expectations were guarded.

“Cuban Link Dynasty has emerged”

It had been anticipated — and promised — for years.

The Chef began talking about it in 2005, a full decade from when the original had been released. Immediately, speculation began to swirl about who would — and would not — be involved.

It’s going to come out on Aftermath with plenty of Dr. Dre beats and be executive produced by Busta Rhymes!

It’s going to be completely produced by RZA!

Instead of Ghostface, Inspectah Deck and GZA are going to be the co-stars!

And on and on.

Such rumors remained rampant as the years crept by, promised release dates came and went, and Raekwon continued to fine-tune the album while skeptics pointed to the delay as proof that it was an impossible task. From time to time, Rae would give an interview vowing the project was nearly complete, but interest in the mythical album would truly spike only when music was heard like in 2007, the RZA-produced “State of Grace” and the J. Dilla-backed “Baggage Handlers” leaked online. Both tracks, which featured audio from Scarface, not only sounded but felt, like Cuban Linx cuts. Finally, there was proof and, for the first time, it felt like fiction may finally become fact.

It would take another two years, during which time most fans went from a feeling of optimism to one of resigned disappointment that it would never see the light of day.

Finally, on September 8, 2009, fourteen years, one month, and one week after its predecessor had hit the streets and changed the game, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II was unleashed. It was more than worth the wait as the incredibly high expectations were not only met but exceeded.

The original reached legendary status not only because of the music but also due to the cassette’s unique purple tinting. Raekwon said he “wanted his album to stand out against the typical pile of tapes that collected on the floors of people’s cars,” and making it purple would differentiate it.

Of course, cassettes were no longer standard in 2009, but Rae was still able to reference his classic choice by making the artwork on the actual disc a purple tape — with the hole in the CD serving as one of the cassette’s holes.

Whereas the first purple tape was a “loose narrative about rising through the urban criminal ranks,” part two is “a loose narrative about a now-middle-aged drug dealer struggling with, but ultimately celebrating, his hard-bitten survival.”

Picking up exactly where the first one ended, Pt. II even utilizes the end of the final song on the original (“North Star [Jewels]”) as the start of the sequel (“Return of the North Star”).

From there, it kicks off with a bang in the form of “House of Flying Daggers,” which finds Deck, Ghostface, and Method Man spitting over a relentless marching synth that immediately took its place among the greatest Wu posse cuts ever.

“Pyrex Vision” finds the Chef back in the kitchen again and though it is under a minute long, it still resonates. “Black Mozart” brilliantly — and appropriately — interpolates The Godfather soundtrack; Rae delivers a compassionate tribute to his late comrade Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Ason Jones”; “10 Bricks,” featuring Ghostface and Cappadonna, feels like it was recorded in ’95; and “New Wu,” along with the dual closer of “Mean Streets” and “Kiss the Ring” are all vintage cinematic Cuban Linx tracks but delivered in the relaxed manner that comes with age and maturity.

It is very much a family affair as every living Clansman aside from U-God appears at least once, but whereas Nas was the only emcee outside of the group invited to the original, Rae opened up the second journey to several more non-Wu members, each of whom bring their own brand of potency. There’s Beanie Sigel’s introspective verse about being locked up on “Have Mercy” to Jadakiss and Styles P. bringing their asphalt aesthetics to “Broken Safety” to Busta Rhymes and the legend Slick Rick being their serious yet playful selves on “About Me” and “We Will Rob You,” respectively.

The combination of featured guests shows how Rae was attempting to look both backward and forward at the same time, revisiting the first one while also appreciating the growth that had transpired over the years:

“The whole main purpose of the album is to make you reminisce. But at the same token, you still gotta show some kind of growth, and we did that, too. My mind is thinkin’ in both directions at the same time — on makin’ a classic album and still managin’ to make it sound like how we was feelin’ when we made music way back when.”

Even more than through the rhyme spitters, this duality was achieved through the lush, atmospheric backdrops that came from the roster of producers that ranged from excellent (Scram Jones) to legendary (J Dilla, Pete Rock), from Shaolin veterans (RZA, Mathematics, True Master) to those new to the Wu sound (Marley Marl, Dr. Dre).

Each one kept not only the same sound, but also the same vibe and feel of the original, channeling vintage RZA without biting him or compromising their own approach: “The myriad of producers didn’t work together, but somehow they all managed to end up on the same page.”

All of it — rhymes, beats, imagery, even the cover art — came together to create another perfect mixture:

“Everything about Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II demands worship and solidifies Raekwon as one of history’s best with a continuation that exceeds his original debut in every way imaginable.”

“When I step inside, kiss the ring”

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 — and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart — both matching the highest chart placements of the original. Moreover, it was the number one downloaded album on iTunes for the first three days following its release, a significant accomplishment, particularly when considering it had been six years since Rae had released an LP and that one had not even cracked the top 100 of the chart, not to mention where the Clan stood in the minds of most casual rap fans.

The album was included in dozes of best-of-year lists. Both The Source and Hip Hop DX crowned it the album of the year and Complex ranked it as the fifth-best album of 2009. Accolades came from outside hip-hop as well, with Pitchfork also choosing it as the fifth-best album of 2009, PopMatters slotting it seventh, and Slant placing it eighth. It was even praised by the likes of Time (seventh-best album of the year) and The New York Times (eighth).

In total, it was the sixth-highest rated album of the year across all genres and the top hip-hop entry on the list by a wide margin.

By returning to his greatest accomplishment, Raekwon also reclaimed his spot among hip-hop’s best lyricists, even being crowned emcee of the year by HipHopDX and lauded by Time: “Raekwon is a poet of grime, a storyteller who understands that rap is less about an easy hook than the collision of carefully chosen words.”

It was rap’s equivalent of The Godfather Part II — a sequel that not only lives up to the original while also standing on its own merits but, when experienced together as part of a duology, brings even more impact to the original.

After a decade-and-a-half of anticipation, promises, false starts, and disappointments, Raekwon ultimately defied the odds and created a classic that is also the greatest rap sequel of all time:

“With a heavy dose of Ghostface, flawless sequencing, tremendous cohesion despite the range of producers, and age-defying lyrical performances from Raekwon himself, Pt. II matches the magic of its originator without trying to recreate it.”

Republished from THE PASSION OF CHRISTOPHER PIERZNIK

Christopher Pierznik is the author of nine books, including The Hip Hop 10 and Hip Hop Scholar, all of which are available in paperback and Kindle. In addition to his own site, his work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, and many more. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

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billydmacklin · 6 years

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The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition!

At some point in the past couple of years, I got a little…stuck with my own house. I know for a lot of people this feeling might not be especially out of the ordinary, but to me it was novel. The house itself was going through a decidedly “rough patch” in the course of this whole renovation/restoration madness, and to some extent my mental health followed suit. My ability to make decisions and actionable plans seemed to evaporate, which of course made everything feel worse. I’m not sure if I was looking for answers, or trying to remind myself that beautiful things do, in fact, still exist, or just to try to un-block something in my brain, but I found myself looking more and more to visual inspiration.

I’ve had the inkling for a very long time that too much “inspiration” can actually produce the opposite result. I’ve seen this with various clients over the years—they’ll send me a Pinterest board they’ve assembled over some time for a given project, hoping that each image might in some way be represented in the final product. The trouble is that most people aren’t only attracted to one particular aesthetic: they’re attracted to lots of them. It’s much easier to recognize what we think is beautiful than it is to create it. So then, armed with too much inspiration, we try to devise a way to incorporate all these things into a given space, which is usually not possible. Or at least not possible if the goal is to produce a beautiful result. So then we have to start making sacrifices, but now we’ve fallen in love with all of these disjointed elements, all generally done by other people who are really good at this and have lots of money, and we don’t feel confident in making those calls, or even know which calls we have to make, and then we’re paralyzed.

Then, seeking clarity, we bury ourselves in more “inspiration,” as though the image that will make all of this come together could be just the next click away. This, of course, is not especially productive, but it feels like it is.

Being somewhat aware of this, I’ve never used Pinterest except when a client gig required me to. This seemed like a good way to avoid this issue for myself, but I think I failed to appreciate the extent to which the Pinterest mentality has really permeated so many other spaces. The Inspiration Overload is everywhere—Instagram, Facebook, other blogs—and this crept up on me a bit. Soon all of my own work felt so small and shitty and lame, and making simple decisions became an extended exercise in self-doubt and insecurity. Each project in my house became an opportunity to create something amazinggggg but then only if I could remove the very real limitations of time and budget. When it came to my laundry room, I got so caught up in all these things I could see doing: beautiful and spacious custom built-in storage, a sink-to-end-all-sinks, a gorgeous tiled floor, and of course something more interesting for the walls than just painted plaster. Right? I wanted it to look fresh and original and like nothing I’d seen before, while at the same time wanting it to look just like a thousand things I’d seen and bookmarked or screen-capped or otherwise “pinned” without the benefit of organization that I suppose Pinterest provides.

Naturally, once these ideas entered my brain, it became impossible to dispense with them. The floor tile would have cost about $1,000 I didn’t have, but felt so essential to the very premise of renovating the laundry room that I couldn’t see a way around it. Since about half the room would be taken up by the machines, the sink, and storage, I thought maybe I’d compromise and save the expensive tile for the visible part of the floor, but then I’d need the sink and attending cabinetry to be installed first, which of course would mean buying or making those, which I also didn’t have the time/money for. I also really wanted to get the laundry done before being completely occupied with the much more involved kitchen renovation, but in order to do that I’d have to actually start working on it, which would mean finalizing these decisions, which of course I couldn’t do. This all rolled around in my mind for months while my washer and dryer sat useless in the spare room.

I guess when I started this whole renovation “journey,” I felt like the only logical path forward was escalation. Bigger projects. More advanced DIYs. An ever-expanding collection of tools and technical skills that I’d use to create the most amazing spaces I could dream of, because otherwise what’s the point? Putting this much time and effort and money into something should not yield mediocrity.

And then it hit me. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last, but I’m really trying to actively keep it in mind: Not. Everything. Has. To. Be. The. Very. Best. It. Can. Be. IT REALLY IS OK. A lot of things can be improved and changed down the line, when the time and money materializes. It doesn’t all have to happen in one take. At the end of the day, this laundry room has to accomplish one thing: wash my dirty clothes. Everything else is bonus. Also, it’s JUST A LAUNDRY ROOM.

And then something happened: I FELT SO LIBERATED. Without realizing it, and largely out of necessity, I took away the pressure of perfection and replaced it with the momentum of just GETTING IT DONE. Added to this was the challenge of doing it as inexpensively as possible, because the goal was no longer incredible beauty but instead just getting to a place of very basic functionality—and still being able to afford a kitchen stove.

And then another thing happened: in spite of my best efforts, the room actually turned out kinda cute, if you’ll permit me just a little bit of self-congratulation. Because I actually do like my stuff. I actually am generally happy with the decisions I make about my own living space. I actually am capable of making those decisions if I just lighten the fuck up a little and stop freaking out about having the coolest laundry room that my brain can conjure, and creating it in one shot.

Because only a monster would post an after image without a before, here’s the now-laundry room way back when I bought the house! It was one of the first rooms I really tackled, trying to get my renovation sea legs, and I turned it into this office:

I loved that little office, but for various reasons it eventually made way more sense to make this little space into the laundry room. It was sad for a while. Out came the desk, down came the obsolete chimney, in went new electric and plumbing, and up went new drywall and a couple fresh coats of paint annnndddddd…

Laundry room! With a utility sink! And a pink floor! I ain’t mad about it!

By the way, YES. It feels very weird/kinda embarrassing to now have “after” photos of the “after” photos from 4 years ago. I’m also 100% positive that there are those among us who will view this as a downgrade rather than an improvement, but in the context of the whole house I SWEAR this is so much better. Second floor laundry with all this natural light is such an insane luxury. My clothes are literally cleaner because I can see stains and stuff so much more easily, so my pre-treatment game is now ON POINT. I feel very on top of my laundry situation generally and it’s a great feeling.

ALSO, due to my chronic condition of over-sharing—here is the room like a day or two before I snapped the “after” photos. And honestly this is more of what I had in mind when I was all “I HAVE NO NEED FOR CUTE I ONLY NEED CLEAN UNDIES,” but then I sort of liked the additional challenge (/let’s be honest, procrastination) of trying to dress her up a little and add some storage without spending a dime. So I spent the next day just puttering around the house and hanging things up and messing around and it got kind of nice while I wasn’t looking!

Anyway. Point being, that little bit of extra effort was totally worth it and made me feel like I don’t have to really mess with this room for a long time. It also got some of my shit out of indefinite storage and put to good use!

The single biggest new purchase in this room was this cheap plastic utility sink. Various commenters were gravely concerned about this sink choice when I first mentioned it, encouraging me to go with something higher-quality/prettier/ceramic/stone/fireclay/stainless/vintage/antique BUT honestly even trolling Craigslist for some amazing $100 antique soapstone sink STILL involves trolling Craigslist, going to pick up the thing, overcoming the lurking fear of getting Craigslist-murdered, getting it home, cleaning/restoring it, getting it upstairs, probably special-ordering various parts to hook it up, maybe needing to enlist a plumber who wouldn’t show up anyway…SO WHILE I APPRECIATE ALL THE SUGGESTIONS, I am also so very happy that all I had to do was give $95 to Lowe’s and it wasn’t some whole production. When the perfect sink shows up, all the plumbing is there waiting for it.

I still spray-painted the legs black, because I can’t help myself.

Regarding the sink, it is exactly as mediocre as you might expect. It is decidedly un-fancy. It’s very lightweight and therefore doesn’t feel solid or substantial, although I did screw it right into the wall to keep it stable. It stains REALLY easily and stubbornly. It’s also HUGE and was so cheap and I LOVE IT SO MUCH, UNAPOLOGETICALLY. But like, get something nicer if you can swing it. Tell me all about it.

The plumbing under the sink isn’t so great looking either, so I spent 10 minutes making it a little modesty skirt. It’s just a tea towel folded in half with some velcro pinned to it, so it’s all easily removable and the tea towel is intact whenever I want it to be a tea towel again.

Maybe I’ll make a bunch of them so I can change the sink’s outfits seasonally. Hawt lewks for my stained plastic tub sink.

I hung up an old mirror just behind the sink to provide a little backsplash. Problem solved! I kinda love those little plastic clips that hold it up—they were a couple bucks at the hardware store but feel so 60s kitschy. Like not something you should be able to still go buy.

I put up a shelf! My pal Anna gave me like six of those IKEA brackets when she moved and they’ve just been cluttering my basement since. They were white and I spray painted them black and hung them up with some brass screws. Cute! I don’t think IKEA still makes these exact ones, but these are really similar.

The wood came off of the house at some point over the course of renovation, but I’m really struggling to remember what it did in its former life. I guess it doesn’t matter. I gave it a quick sand and a few coats of shellac and BOOM, shelf.

On the shelf is an assortment of things I have accumulated in my short but hoard-y lifetime. The yellowware bowls are antique—one holds detergent pods and the other holds those Affresh tablets that are supposed to rid the washing drum of that swamp smell in the summer. This is to prove once again that I will decant anything.

Tucked into the mirror frame are my two Laundry Idols, my mother below and my grandmother above. My grandma’s favorite task was laundry, and she passed much of her wisdom on to my mother, and I feel some grave sense of duty to, like, not ruin my clothes and bring shame on the family. So they watch over the goings-ons in this room.

I’m sorry I’m not sorry for loving that portrait but I can’t help myself. Her expression is SO GOOD. I bought her at an auction (I think I paid ten actual American greenbacks for that!), and then they told me the staining was because someone was storing her in a laundry room and she got bleach spilled on her. So it seemed right to carry on the grand tradition of this poor little old lady getting stuck in the laundry room, but maybe with a little more respect this time around.

I love my little hooks! These just came from various closets and stuff around the house, I don’t know. The long Turkish towel hides the supply lines which are hooked up under the sink.

Here we find a small sampling of my childhood collection of dog figurines. I’ve gotten rid of most of them, but some were actually kind of cool and maybe I’m pulling it off and maybe I’m not but I don’t care. It’s sort of fun seeing these guys again.

OH RIGHT, THAT HUGE SLAB OF MARBLE. So here’s the deal. Craigslist, $300. It’s a little over 5’x3′, and I bought it with the intention of it being my kitchen island (and therefore not considering it part of the money spent on this room). It’s 2″ thick and came out of this contractor’s garage, where he’d been storing it for the same purpose for the last 30 years. He got it out of another contractor’s garage who’d also been storing it for 30 years, also for that same purpose! The original contractor had pulled it out of a Victorian-era candy shop that was being demolished—can you imagine that?! So ANYWAY it’s huge and probably weighs 400 pounds and I needed to put it SOMEWHERE since custom-kitchen-island is still a ways away, so I just put it right on top of the machines.

I recognize that this sounds like a very bad idea, but I figured….hey. If the washer can stack on top of the dryer, SURELY it can handle a 400 pound slab of natural stone, right??? So I did it, and it’s been three months, and it hasn’t budged, and the machines didn’t collapse, so obviously there’s nothing to worry about here. Lol. If I ever need to call LG out for service, let’s keep this between us OK?

The marble is COVERED in 100 years worth of dings and scratches and pitting and I think that’s pretty perfect, personally. I’ll likely want to seal it with SOMETHING but I’m not super concerned about it continuing to age and patina.

I bought those two big hooks years ago, and it turned out they they make a good rack for the ironing board and iron! For the ~2 times per year that I use them.

There wasn’t really a great spot in this laundry room to hang the drying rack I had in my old laundry room, so instead I put up my Eames Hang-it-All! Anything that needs to dry flat can go on the marble, and anything that needs to be hung can go on a hanger off of this. I love my Hang-it-All and it’s so nice the be using it again after it collected dust for a few years!

It’s hard to get a good picture of, but that little tiny closet under the stairs is my new cleaning cupboard! Those stainless steel shelves used to hang in Anna’s kitchen in Newburgh—they were part of the GRUNDTAL series at IKEA but I’m not sure they still make them. The red bucket has all the cleaning basics so I can carry it around from room to room when I clean and it feels SO ADULT I can’t even stand myself. A cleaning caddy of my very own! Talk about peak experiences.

I mentioned this before, but I re-painted the floor from white (WHICH MADE ME INSANE) to this soft Farrow & Ball pink called “Setting Plaster.” I love it! Painted floors do show a lot of dirt and dust no matter what, I think, but shifting away from white makes it much more manageable. And the rug! I have a weird soft spot for old braided rugs—they just feel so homespun and sweet. I think this one was $10 a while ago and it happens to be the PERFECT size for this room.

OH! And this is neither here nor there, but I did want to circle back on the now-painted-white-but-originally-PURPLE XP drywall I used in this room! This is the Soundbreak XP, which is recommended for rooms you want to contain noise in (or keep it out of), and it’s GREAT. My bedroom is on the other side of this wall, and I really can’t hear the machines when they’re on at all. Cars just driving down the street are louder! I do get a bit of structural vibration during the spin cycles, but nothing dramatic. Everything I was worried about with moving the machines upstairs has thus far turned out to be completely fine. Better than fine! Because I have laundry again!

And it’s sorta cute, IMHO.

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition! published first on https://carpetgurus.tumblr.com/

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interiorstarweb · 6 years

Text

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition!

Laundry room! With a utility sink! And a pink floor! I ain’t mad about it!

I still spray-painted the legs black, because I can’t help myself.

Maybe I’ll make a bunch of them so I can change the sink’s outfits seasonally. Hawt lewks for my stained plastic tub sink.

I love my little hooks! These just came from various closets and stuff around the house, I don’t know. The long Turkish towel hides the supply lines which are hooked up under the sink.

I bought those two big hooks years ago, and it turned out they they make a good rack for the ironing board and iron! For the ~2 times per year that I use them.

And it’s sorta cute, IMHO.

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition! published first on https://novaformmattressreview.tumblr.com/

0 notes

simplyclockwork · 5 years

Text

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.

A Moment’s Surrender - anchors

Mature. 64,272 words. 10 chapters.

Love or What You Will - miss_frankenstein

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

Two Two One Bravo Baker - abudantlyqueer

Explicit. 114,574 words. 27 chapters.

The Jewel in the Tower - PoppyAlexander

Explicit. 207,079 words. 39 chapters.

* 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.

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.

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.

Summit Fever - J_Baillier

Mature. 78,867 words. 18 chapters.

The Last Companion - standbygo

Explicit. 34,101 words. 14 chapters.

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.

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.

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.

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.

(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.

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.

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sheilacwall · 5 years

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The Return Of The Purple Tape: Raekwon’s Classic Sequel Turns Ten

“Got me behind the pot again”

The odds were stacked against him.

His prior two albums had been decent, but both had paled in comparison to his debut.

His crew, the likes of which had never been seen before, was more than a decade removed from its astronomical height.

The music — the culture — was in the midst of a seismic shift to a new look and sound.

Sequels to rap albums very rarely live up to their name — or hype — and the expectations for this one had been building for more than ten years.

Thus, when Raekwon announced that he would be releasing the long-awaited continuation to his stellar debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, everything was set up for disappointment.

“Tell a friend, it’s that symbol again, that W”

By 2009, the Wu-Tang Clan was no longer seen as invincible.

While anticipation for a second Cuban Linx… disc was high, expectations were guarded.

“Cuban Link Dynasty has emerged”

It had been anticipated — and promised — for years.

The Chef began talking about it in 2005, a full decade from when the original had been released. Immediately, speculation began to swirl about who would — and would not — be involved.

It’s going to come out on Aftermath with plenty of Dr. Dre beats and be executive produced by Busta Rhymes!

It’s going to be completely produced by RZA!

Instead of Ghostface, Inspectah Deck and GZA are going to be the co-stars!

And on and on.

It would take another two years, during which time most fans went from a feeling of optimism to one of resigned disappointment that it would never see the light of day.

Picking up exactly where the first one ended, Pt. II even utilizes the end of the final song on the original (“North Star [Jewels]”) as the start of the sequel (“Return of the North Star”).

All of it — rhymes, beats, imagery, even the cover art — came together to create another perfect mixture:

“Everything about Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II demands worship and solidifies Raekwon as one of history’s best with a continuation that exceeds his original debut in every way imaginable.”

“When I step inside, kiss the ring”

In total, it was the sixth-highest rated album of the year across all genres and the top hip-hop entry on the list by a wide margin.

After a decade-and-a-half of anticipation, promises, false starts, and disappointments, Raekwon ultimately defied the odds and created a classic that is also the greatest rap sequel of all time:

Republished from THE PASSION OF CHRISTOPHER PIERZNIK

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billydmacklin · 6 years

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The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition!

Laundry room! With a utility sink! And a pink floor! I ain’t mad about it!

I still spray-painted the legs black, because I can’t help myself.

Maybe I’ll make a bunch of them so I can change the sink’s outfits seasonally. Hawt lewks for my stained plastic tub sink.

I love my little hooks! These just came from various closets and stuff around the house, I don’t know. The long Turkish towel hides the supply lines which are hooked up under the sink.

I bought those two big hooks years ago, and it turned out they they make a good rack for the ironing board and iron! For the ~2 times per year that I use them.

And it’s sorta cute, IMHO.

The Laundry Room, 2018 Edition! published first on https://carpetgurus.tumblr.com/

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