"I love you all but I've got to sleep" - Martin Freeman

This time, I’ll be reccing a fic I read today, because it’s so effing great.

Dance With Me by Silvergirl

An unexpected encounter with Sally Donovan offers Sherlock an opportunity for exercise and for an elaborate push of John towards where they seem to be heading but where John keeps missing the bus for. Outstandingly romantic and insightful and full of perfect quotable moments, this is a sensual and fun story told in three fascinating POVs and a very compact read at 12 chapters, some of which are relatively short. John’s hesitation for taking the final step is realistic and complex, kudos for that. This has been my favourite Sally Donovan characterisation to date. Sherlock’s carefully-kept-in-check bitterness over how long they’ve waited and how he’s had to watch John date others is also delectable.

Quotes:

“waiting outside his closet door for him to figure out that he wouldn’t explode if he walked out of it”

“I knew what it did to Sherlock when I shut him out, or subjected him to my ruthless straighty-matey routine: it killed something in him, every time”

“You’ve done nothing but sigh since the film started. It’s like sitting in a wind tunnel.”

This fic is 11 chapters of decorous fluff with one epilogue of unrepentant smut.

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from simonmeets on Instagram

fandom (trumps hate) love post

art by @johix

5 years ago today I started posting Ride On (10/10 ch.; 39k words).

It was my second Fandom Trumps Hate fic for Anyawen, whose prompt was precise enough to inspire me and fluid enough to let me to head straight for the land of Self-Indulgently Including Everything I Ever Wanted in BBC Sherlock Plus 20 Of My Favorite Songs So There.

@Anyawen, most creative and generous of humans, also beta’ed the story as it was emerging from my fevered brain, or rather, from the space between our two fevered brains.

Podfixx started making the [Podfic] Ride On around Ch. 5, or perhaps had recorded 5 chapters before mentioning it to me, aware that I’d want a @podfixx treatment on ANYTHING I ever wrote including my least successful job application letter ever. I haven’t read Ride On since I posted it, but have lost count of the times I’ve listened to the podfic, which is infinitely better.

In Praise of "Ride On" by @k2ntwo is a paean to the fic and to the podfic, and periodically I clutch it to my heart.

The Cover for Ride On by bluebellofbakerstreet makes me squee every time I see it and I bet I'm not alone; @johix's art takes us to Caherdaniel in the midst of a very public reunion, in Ch. 4.

The comments, oh my dear gods the comments. Readers and listeners and tumblrinas have spoiled me rotten with the comments and bookmarks on Ride On. It's the story (of mine) readers have kudos'd most; their interaction with it has often restored my flagging spirits in the truly grim timeline we’re inhabiting.

I wrote two epilogues to Ride On (chapters 9 and 10) and final epilogue (Ch. 11), set in a retirementlock decade, is in the drafts folder. Let’s just say that no one will be surprised at where it’s set.

TLDR: no fic is an island; it takes a fandom; no fic of mine is ever finished; and I don’t have words to thank those who’s loved this story. Also: thanks for reblogging!

art by @bluebellofbakerstreet

(Have I listened to the podfic endlessly? You do the math 🧮)

It's been a while since I've done this. 😬 Time to rec!

I've been going through my (nearly 2k) bookmarks recently, and have also read/bookmarked some really good fics lately, so here we are. I love that there are new authors popping up, and I love that I'm still finding authors from before Series 2 that I am just now reading.

I also feel the need to acknowledge the inspiration I take from reading and rereading many authors. ❤️ Thank you so much for giving your stories to the fandom!

A Going Concern (2026) by @skedazzle : ACD Holmes/Watson. When Holmes abruptly decides to end their partnership and ask him to leave 221b, a devastated Watson must pick himself up from the rubble of his life and come up with a new plan for his bleak, Holmesless future. But he can't stop himself from wondering about the real reason has Holmes abandoned him. Why now? Whatever did he do to deserve such treatment from his trusted partner — not to mention the great love of his life and his closest companion? ❤️ Now complete! I love an over-thinking Holmes throwing out a baffled Watson, who then must reason out why this has happened. Wonderful characterisations, happy ending, and inspiration for several stalled ACD fics in my WIP folder.

East of the Sun and -- (2011) by Anonymous: John rather thinks he might have been something else before he was, well, John. A discarded coat, maybe, worn through at the elbows, frayed and stained; or some bright-eyed bird or mammal; or a few inky, smudged sheets of newspaper; or a handful of rich, red clay. ❤️ I read this one when I was writing Nowhere Man. I can't resist a fairy-tale retelling, and this one was such an uncannily atmospheric story. Happy ending!

After (2016) by Susan: Sometimes late at night, when all I hear is the sound of Sherlock’s steady breathing beside me, I wonder if the life we have now is my reward for surviving everything that went before. But then Sherlock cries out in the dark, his body sweaty and tangled in the sheets, legs kicking out against some imagined villain, and I wonder how my reward can also be his punishment. ❤️ Post-apocalyptic johnlock is one of my favourite things, and this is beautiful. It speaks to the undying nature of their love for one another, even when they've lost so much. They're okay, even in this burnt-out world where a few people barter for supplies and you never have to wait in line. I read this first when I was writing Long for the World.

Evermore (2018) by Hope_Austen: Sherlock, just before John's wedding: So he does the only thing he can think of and mentally sits down on the cold Palace floor, crosses his legs and lets the memories and emotions all wash over him — the takeaways and the quiet nights at home, the chases and the crime scenes, the arguments and the laughs. He feels giddy yet angry. Melancholy yet hopeful. / And as the dust begins to settle around him, he feels robbed of what could have been, yet grateful for what was —The chance to share just a part of his life with the bravest and kindest and wisest human being he’s ever had the good fortune of knowing. ❤️ I didn't know I needed another wedding fixit; maybe that's something I'll always need. This one takes place at the eleventh hour; it's perfect.

Meanwhile The World Goes On (2025) by @raina-at : It's just past midnight in December 25th, 2009. John is in the middle of a staring contest with the abyss when he meets a mysterious stranger who proves to him that life is far from done with John Watson. ❤️ I will always need another first meeting, especially when it has lines like this: “Kevin, let me tell you a story,” John says, crossing his arms over his chest. “At Sandhurst, one of my instructors used to say he loves to teach self-defence to doctors, because they can name every bone in your body while breaking them. And granted, I’m a bit out of training, but I’m sure I’m still good for a sprain or two. Now hand over the phone like a good lad, and go about your business before you make me do something you’ll regret.”

Thank you for reblogging! ❤️

from jazzfmuk on Instagram

Martin with Emma Rawicz🎷

from sosister on Instagram

More from Martin's appearance on The One Show.

art by @helloliriels for FTH 2025

Ch. 13 Saturday early evening: allegro pomposo

*

We enter the Huntington to a delighted gasp from an elegant older woman being welcomed by a fading celebrity, the Library’s (Gawd help us) “brand ambassador.” Introductions all round, in the universal order of importance—the criteria for deciding this are a bit complicated, in this environment. Wealth, fame, institutional relevance, talent, looks: Sherlock, of course, comes out on top everywhere but in the first.

“Mr Holmes! I’d no idea you’d be here! Are you going to play?”

“Oh no, I’m not here to play. I’m John’s date.” That voice. Calling me his date. It feels … fantastic.

“Ooh, lucky man,” she says, looking at me with a smile.

Without missing a beat, Sherlock corrects her: “I am. I know. I’m glad we’ve met again, Mrs Chandler. Amy. The last time we spoke, you were looking for a…” he steers her away, his hand on her elbow, turning up the wattage. I wonder which deserving cause he’s going to hit her up for.

I’ve been lost in a vivid memory of last night when I hear a sweet and very familiar voice, and turn gratefully to see Mrs Hudson,  looking floral and ruffly and a bit more bejewelled than usual. (A far cry from the YouTube video I’d stumbled on—by sheer chance, as in her exotic dancing days she used a stage name.)

“Mrs H! I was hoping to have you to myself for a moment. That is, I want to introduce you to this week’s guest artist, Sherlock Holmes. Careful, or he’ll charm the Louboutins off you, for a good cause.”

*

Thank you for reblogging! That's such a help.