#jupiter-ash

Word count: 57,327 Chapters: 9/9 Fandom: Sherlock (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Previous John Watson/OMC Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternative Meeting, Dubious Consent, Dubious Morality, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Age Difference, Virgin!Sherlock, Uni!Sherlock, Older!John, Stockholm Syndrome, Mind Games, Unsafe Sex, Potentially Dark, At best morally grey, John is a Bit Not Good, Mentions of Suicide, Period-Typical Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Poor countryside etiquette, Terrible misuse of Gaelic and Scottish accents, Includes details from S4, Drug Use Series: Part 1 of The Low Road Summary:

Low Road - n. Behaviour or practice that is deceitful or immoral.

The last thing Sherlock remembers is shooting up in his university room in Cambridge. Now he's miles away, in the middle of nowhere, trapped with a man who wants to have sex with him. Where is he? What's going on? And more importantly, who the hell is John Watson?

The game is on.

But what happens when the other player seems to know you better than you know yourself?

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1) Do you like Queen? And if so, what’s your favorite song?

of course! I mean, who doesn't love Bohemian Rhapsody? We sang it in high school choir (which is, frankly, hilarious. especially after our choir teacher introduced it to the audience as a song about the life of Jesus....but anyways....). My favorite Queen song is also my favorite shower-singing song: Somebody to Love. Nothing better than singing emphatically into my shampoo bottle that "I just gotta get outta this prison cell..."

2) Do you watch TV only when you’re emotionally invested in the program, or so you also watch simply to pass the time?

I am totally a TV-to-pass-the-time watcher. Just chillin with House Hunters or Top Gear or How It's Made. The only shows that I watch obsessively ON TV are Doctor Who and...ummm....hmmm...mostly I DVR stuff and watch it later. Archer, Big Bang Theory, Castle, Colbert/Daily Show. (I watched Sherlock on the internet because I'm in America and I ain't waiting three weeks like a sucker). 

3) Have you ever stood on stage (for any kind of performance), or can you imagine doing so?

I grew up on a stage. Dance recitals, piano recitals, piano contests, community theater, giving speeches, singing solos, sporting events. It was fun as a kid. I gradually started getting stage fright as I got older because I started to realize the (imagined)  high expectations the adults in the room had of me. At my high school graduation I had to give a valedictory speech right after singing a duet with my best friend. Having to sing knowing that I still had to give a speech (that had to be good because I was supposedly the smartest person in my class) was terrifying. I could see my heart beating through my graduation gown. I wish I could be fearless like I was as a kid and performing was still enjoyable.

4) A quote or words of wisdom that have always remained true throughout your life so far.

My senior quote: "remember, today is the tomorrow that you dreaded yesterday." It's going to be ok. It will all work out.

5) A place/country you would NOT want to travel to.

India. It's a beautiful country with interesting cuisine and a rich culture, but the way women are treated there is definitely a deterrent. Even if the risk of getting kidnapped and gang-raped and murdered wasn't a threat, it goes a lot deeper. I have college friends who have traveled there for research missions, and they've said that you have to go everywhere with a man because no one will serve you or help you or pick you up in a cab if there are only women. 

6) A book or fanfic you’ve gotten really emotional over, and still do whenever you re-read it.

I'm pretty sure you're implying emotional in a sad way, but I don't really work that way. When something is sad in a way that's supposed to be obviously sad, I can kinda brace myself against it. The things that get me are the unexpected, and usually in fics it's unexpected happy emotions, and I bubble over with happiness. Pretty much any of earlgreytea68's fics do this to me, especially Nature and Nurture and Bang and the Clatter. I read Bang and the Clatter for the first time on the train home from work, and when Sherlock pitched his perfect game, I was so happy that I just started weeping. in public. on the train. Performance in a Leading Role does it to me too, especially when (SPOILER) John wins the Oscar and is giving his speech. I can't

7) Favorite means of transport (not necessarily something you use or can use all the time).

I quite like trains. I mean, the commuter train to work is annoying, but I took a train from DC to NY one time, and it was great. It's like flying, but you get more room and you're not treated like a criminal. And there's actually free wifi and you can get up and walk around. 

8) An invention you’re really thankful for (not talking lightbulbs and the like, but handy little tools that’s maybe not even common).

I don't know if it counts as an invention, perhaps it's more along the lines of genetic engineering and innovations in shipping, but do you ever realize how amazing it is that we can get fresh fruits in the middle of winter? Blueberries, in January. Not along ago, that was inconceivable. 

9) Something you dislike about one of your fandoms. 

I love my fandoms. They're full of so many clever and creative and wonderful people, and I feel a kindred connection with everyone. When I meet someone in real life who watched BBC Sherlock we both know that we're going to be friends. But there is a small subset of Sherlock fans who seem unable to separate fiction from real life. You know who I'm talking about: the people who tweeted death threats to Amanda Abbington when she was cast as Mary because she got in the way of Johnlock. Don't get me wrong, Johnlock is my OTP and I totally believe in the Johnlock conspiracy, but that whole incident was just so shameful.

10) Would you leave Tumblr if someone gave you 1000** (whatever is your country’s currency)?

$1000? Probably not. There are a lot of things about tumblr that annoy me, like the people who spread false information and people who get all butthurt over one careless comment, so sometimes I take some time away. But this is the new generation of people who are connecting with others worldwide. Who are having their eyes opened to feminist issues, gender identity and LGBT issues, worldwide humanitarian crises. This is the next generation of voters, and I honestly feel a bit honored that I'm here to witness this. We say "what a time to be alive" and we mean it in jest most of the time, but have you seen all the states in the US that are overturning gay marriage bans? They're falling like dominoes, and I think this type of social media is at least partly the reason. So I say, with all honesty, "what a time to be alive."

11) A fandom you never thought you’d once become part of, but now love?

You know, I thought I was going to be able to resist the charms of the Hiddles, but to no avail. I am helpless to his eheheehehee chuckle.

And now I write my own questions. muahahaha

1) What is your "strutting song"? When it comes on and you're walking somewhere, your chin lifts, you walk to the beat and feel like a badass as you part the crowd before you?

2) What Harry Potter house would you be in, and why?

3) Thunderstorms: love them or hate them?

4) Which vista do you prefer, Mountains or the Beach?

5) What is your ideal hairstyle, and are you currently rockin' it?

6) What is an unpopular opinion you have about one of your fandoms?

7) Do you play any musical instruments? (and yes, singing counts - your voice is the one instrument you can take anywhere)

8) Who is your celebrity husband and/or wife? What about them appeals to you?

9) What's your go-to take out food when you're craving some comfort food?

10) Sweet tea: most delicious drink ever or an abomination?

11) If you could give some input to the writers of your favorite show, what would it be?

Tagging (remember: only if you want to do it, and everyone who’s not tagged but wants to answer the questions is welcome to do so!): loudest-subtext-in-television, jupiter-ash, doctorpotter, hpdwsh, antietamfalls, it-is-a-3-patch-problem

A Study in Winning by Jupiter_Ash

John and Sherlock are professional tennis players and it’s Wimbledon. One is a broken almost was at the end of his career, the other an arrogant rising star tipped for greatness. It should have been a straightforward tournament. It really should have been. How were they to know that a chance encounter would change everything?

I barely even know where to begin with this.

Perhaps I'll first say that this is now probably one of my all-time-favourite fanfictions, for a variety of different reasons. AUs have a tendency to completely entrap me and steal my soul (Performance in a Leading Role, anyone? or John Watson, Bachelor? or AUs from any fandom, really. [Crown & Consort, and Stardust, for Merlin]). This one, however, has taken things to a whole new level.

This, ladies and gentlemen, was combining two of my very favourite things and passions: sport and Sherlock.

I say sport, because while this verse is of our favourite two male characters engaged in tennis, I myself am not a player of tennis, nor even a casual spectator of the sport (barring the odd tournament I catch on TV [Rogers Cup]). I'm an archer. That's right. Bow and arrow sort, yep. So for me, the joy of reading this wasn't solely based in the characterization of the two (Sherlock's French accent/spoken French, backstory, etc), but in the expression of the sport.

As a participant and spectator of what is easily labeled as a fringe sport (certainly not a professional one for recurve archers), I often forget that there are many other sports that also don't involve the "team-mentality", as so many do. Archery is almost exclusively an individual sport, barring the team round which is hard to execute in a club setting (i.e.: it's not the focus of people's practices). As such, in competition you are relying solely on yourself, one arrow at a time. No one else to blame but you, and no one else to congratulate. You are the one who is in control, who must push for every gold (centre shot).

This series is one of the best I've ever read in fiction to explore into a bit of that mentality. Perhaps it's just because I'm able to sympathize with every volley, every match that occurred in this series. I know what it's like to stand (on the line, in my case), and face someone you know is so very much better than you. It's demoralizing. It's hard. It's hard standing on a court, field, wherever, with someone you know can beat you. Nerves can be the most difficult, but also the most strange of things. Sometimes a deep breath is all that's needed, other times they never truly leave you. Regardless of all that, the point, especially, that I took out of A Study in Winning was the reminder that one can forget how to win.

Seems a bit ridiculous, but I know that feeling intimately. I've been struggling with it for years. The drive, the love for the sport just isn't there. You're coasting, hanging on, because oh-god-what-the-fuck-are-you-still-doing-here? There are times when you have a great shot (in the case of this story, a volley? A shot? Sorry, not all that great with the tennis terms yet.), and you think, "Yes. Yes. That's it. That's what you know you can do." Then, the rest of them are crap. You want to give up, but then where the hell would that land you? A whole portion of your life, wasted. It's better to fail and continue in the sport, than to quit and move on. Moving on is frightening. Downright scary. What do you have after quitting? At least while competing you have some sort of result. Perhaps not great ones, but it's something at least.

Perhaps my point to writing this is to say that I identify so very strongly with John in this fic that it was one of the most gratifying reads of my life to be carried through this section of the journey with his character. For once reading a John/Sherlock story wasn't about their relationship (though that was well written and damn right adorable/gratifying), but it was about "the case". The game. My heart was pounding along while reading each paragraph about the match (written in the format of the commentary of two or three announcers/broadcasters), because I could imagine the pressure, the joy, the nerves... Everything. 

Definitely a recommended read, especially for us archers. Or anyone who's involved in competitive sports. We all need that reminder sometimes, and this fic? Well it combines the reminder with a truly wonderful fiction.