#sherlockrarepairs

[sherlockrarepairs]

So here we are, at the end.  And it’s been wonderful.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to write this all week, and before anything else, I wanted to say thank you to everyone that’s messaged me, or submitted, or simply loved their rare pair!

The decision to end the blog hasn’t been an easy one, and it’s been some time in coming.  I’ve been very lucky to be a part of this fandom, and to have the chance to interact with people who are genuinely passionate about it... Thank you, and thank you again.

But all good things must eventually come to an end.  I’ll be letting the queue continue on two posts a day until it runs out, and then the site will be left up as an archive.  

Remember: be supportive.  Leave comments for the incredibly talented creators in your fandom communities.

Interact, and be active.  

And most importantly?  Be kind to one another.  

💚 Eloquated

[pennywaltzy]

secondhand -- Adcroft, please?

So this is short and quickly written and I’m only half awake with one cup of coffee in my system, so I hope it makes sense! Written to celebrate Adcroft being picked for showcase by @sherlockrarepairs !

From Something To Nothing And Back Again (An “In So Few Words” Story) - Mycroft ponders his curious relationship with Irene Adler over the years.

READ @ AO3 | SERIES PAGE | HELP ME SURVIVE? | COMMISSION ME? | BUY ME A KOFI?

The room where she entertained her clients was not her actual bedroom, he had learned many years after the fact.

He had been in the room where she entertained her clients a few times, usually tied to the bed and at her mercy. Later they would go to her parlour for aftercare sessions, him in his shirt and trousers, no waistcoat, no tie, no jacket, her in a silk kimono that he had seen in Japan and thought she would like. He was surprised at the sentiment, that she would use the gift at all, let alone in his presence, but he appreciated the sentiment, just that once.

Eventually, as he went higher into the government circles and she began playing her dangerous game of secrets, their sessions came to an amenable end. He cared for her, perhaps even loved her, in his own way, but there would be no more. Sentiment is a chemical defect, after all, and he was made of steel and ice.

But later...after her infatuation with his brother brought her back into his orbit, he found steel had become malleable and ice had melted. Oh, it would always be that way with Irene, he realized, much to his dismay. When she got herself into trouble in Karachi, certain hints and clues were laid at Sherlock’s feet to find her; he’d have gone himself if it wouldn’t have amounted to an international scandal.

Oh, he knew she was alive. He knew she still fancied Sherlock, that his own sentiment seemed to be much like a secondhand piece of furniture now: used with love until it was no longer needed, then given away to someone who needed it more, but there was no one who needed him and therefore he was alone. Always alone, even though he might like not to be.

And then one night, a car waited for him, one that was not one of his regular cars. And she was in the back seat, waiting.

Sherlock loved another, this was a thing they both knew now, but what it meant for them, he didn’t know. It started with a conversation, an honest conversation between two usually dishonest people, and ended in a room he did not recognize, where he fell asleep next to her and woke up next to her, her hair spilled all over the pillow, a smile on her face.

He’d been allowed into her inner sanctum, it seemed, and for that, he was pleased. He wasn’t alone after all.

[sunken-standard]

Sherlock Rarepair Bingo Fic #1: Decorations

(This is my bingo card from @sherlockrarepairs)

Ship: Mummy Holmes/ Daddy Holmes

A/N: No, they're not named in the fic. And Mummy does refer to her husband as Daddy, which is kind of gross and creepy to me, but also something I grew up hearing—a close friend of the family had six kids, all born in the 60s into the early 70s, and they referred to each other in conversation as Daddy and Mother even to people outside the immediate family.  It seems like a very midcentury thing to do, so I'm going with it.  Takes place during HLV.

*

They hadn't gone all-out for Christmas in years.  She always did some greens on the banister and the mantel and wreaths on the doors; lights, of course, but only just enough to be festive and still tasteful; a small tree with very generic, timeless ornaments and an antique mercury glass tree-topper that some Holmes toff generations before had nicknamed 'The Spear of Destiny' for its resemblance to a spearhead.  Dinner was never anything special, usually a nice joint from the butcher's (turkey was nice, but too much for just the two of them), mash, sprouts, mince pies from the baker in the village, box wine.  No gifts; they were coming up on fifty years and there wasn't anything either of them wanted that could be wrapped up under the tree.

This year was different.  They were getting a present in the form of their adult sons (and friends!) coming home for Christmas dinner.  It had been over a decade since they'd been together for a holiday; she supposed there was always something about Sherlock when he was fresh out of rehab that made him long for the comforts of home and family.  Or maybe his brush with death had made him re-evaluate things a bit, made him realize he wouldn't have that much more time with them.  And of course he had a bit of an ulterior motive, too, he always did; John (who they'd only just met when Sherlock was in hospital, despite having heard so much about him) and his wife Mary were going through a rough patch, first-time parenthood looming, and Sherlock thought maybe they'd have some sage advice.  After all, he'd said, they'd managed to stay together after everything he'd put them through (and oh, how that broke her heart; she hoped she lived long enough to find a way to apologize to him for letting him think his problems were of his own making), so they must have some wisdom they could share.

Honestly, it didn't matter why, only that everything had to be just so.  A fire in every fireplace, candles, a full spread on the table, fairy lights and ribbons and green everywhere.  Proper Christmas.  

Daddy helped her bring all the boxes down from the attic, including the box.  The one that had been stashed in the sluice room and forgotten (we'll take up to the attic at the weekend, but the weekend was always busy), one of the few things to survive the fire when photos and school papers and baby blankets were lost.  It went with them from house to house, overseas and back, every move until they'd finally retired.  The boys didn't know it existed (well, maybe Mikey did, he was always a snoop) and it would always stay that way.

Most of what was inside was nothing special, just tinsel garland and paper cut-outs that had been taped to windows, but it held the most precious treasure, too.  

She pulled out a wreath made by Mycroft, aged 10, little squares of green and read tissue wrapped around a pencil eraser, dipped in glue, and meticulously stuck to bristol board—he'd done it as a project with Sherlock, who had wanted to make a star, instead.  Sherlock's tissue paper star was next to it, chaotic and irregular, without regard for neatness or color composition, completely average for an almost-four year old that couldn't sit still long enough to pick his nose.  Below that, a tempera paint, crayon, and glitter rendering of a reindeer that Mummy had made with Eurus—the antlers were her handprints, the face scribbles.  Mummy flipped it over, Christmas 1980; two and a half. Such tiny hands.  Hands that never got the chance to get much bigger.

Next was a perspex photo frame shaped like a Christmas ball and with a loop of silver thread for hanging; inside a picture of all three of them sitting in front of the tree on Christmas morning, surrounded by wrapping paper and new toys.  1981, at a guess.  Someone else's family, Mummy thought, looking at her husband.  

He was turning something shiny over in his hands and oh.  The sword.  Sherlock had made an angel for the top of the tree that last Christmas ('83); he didn't care so much about the symbology, he just wanted to make the wings from feathers he'd saved from years of nature walks (always a packrat, the state of his flat was never surprising).  Eurus had taken it upon herself to make a sword, because angels always had them in church windows and paintings.  She was so diligent with the cardboard and tinfoil and they hadn't been thrilled when she'd somehow got ahold of matches and melted a red crayon to make it bloody (because it was a smiting angel like in the paintings) but it was creative and constructive and she was doing something with Sherlock for a change, so they let it slide.  

And then, the next morning they found the animals.  Well, the pieces of them, scattered in the tree like ornaments.  Bones, for the most part, cats and squirrels; bits of a mummified bird; and the mice.  Fresh, the blood still tacky.  They'd been scared, then, properly scared of her, not just for her. When asked why, she said she was using her collection like Sherlock had used his.  Hers was better, though, since Sherlock only found his feathers by getting lucky, she'd made hers herself.  Why didn't they like her surprise?

Terrible memories and the heavy press of old grief left her winded, dizzy for a moment, and then Daddy was methodically repacking the box, sealing it up, taking it back upstairs.  They didn't have the heart to throw it away, but some things were best left buried.

[manynarrators]

@sherlockrarepairs my entries for the bingo are over here!

[mollyappreciationweek]

The First Annual Molly Hooper Appreciation Week Holiday Bingo!

So this is totally a low key thing I’m going to run, and it doesn’t matter how many people want to participate, but one of my favorite things of last year was @sherlockrarepairs Holiday Bingo, and I was thinking maybe it would be fun to do one with Molly being the main or supporting character in the fics/artwork. There will be tropes (both regular and holiday-themed), other characters/pairings to use, and at least one Molly-centric pairing for you to focus on that you pick yourself. If you’re interested, send an ask to @mollyappreciationweek  with characters/pairings you are willing to write (including at least one Molly-centric pairing) and one trope you love, and I will make you a bingo card and post it here. It’s your card to answer for as many or few squares as you want, and you have all the way until January 1st, 2020 to answer them.

The only rule I have is that if you post it to AO3 you please add it to the archive (alt: MollyHooperAppreciationWeekHolidayBingo2019) and tag @mollyappreciationweek as well so I can reblog it here. But that’s it! Any ratings, any art or fic works as long as Molly is either the main character in the work or a major supporting character.

[decrstalker]

It's my first blogiversary! Okay, I’m a little late, I actually made this blog on April 1st, but this post isn’t something for Fool’s Day. I made this blog on April Fool’s Day as a literal joke thinking that I’d abandon it in two weeks, if not sooner, but it’s kept up (somehow) for a year now. Even though sometimes I have other things going on in life, I always try to come back to this blog because I’ve grown so much in my writing & adore writing with all of you! I hope this blog survives a few more years, but thanks to everyone who has ever written with me (now and through the very poor writing I started with), plotted with me, &/or talked to me (period, sometimes I’m a lonely soul). x

CLIENTS (in alphabetical order) -- these are people, old and new, who I love to talk to, plot with, & see on my dash! Some of these people I know incredibly well & others I’ve only talked to a few times, but no matter the case, I greatly admire to them & they have positively impacted my time in the rp community. Honestly, this is just a few of them too, because it’s way too hard to tag every single mun I’ve written with, so I may have missed a few.

@akasupergirl / @wearenotthesameasyesterday | @amanandgoodatit |  @consultingsister | @feminaadler | @governmentofficial | @harknesstm | @jemmaagentofshield | @londontigress | @manynarrators | @mollythepathologist | @narrativecrime | @notyouraveragesecretary | @obituarics | @ofmagicandpcwer | @patiencetaught | @plantagenetking | @poxsonmenace | @rwtsn | @spidcrwomen | @venosum | @vxctorx | @watsonofagun | @wonwars | @wtsns​

ADDRESS BOOK -- some of you may recall that Sherlock has a rather bare address book, but he does keep some of his good friends in there. These are people who deserve awards for dealing with me so much. I absolutely adore them & because I put them in the ‘address book”, yes, these are the people who I would fake my death for.

@thewxman​

Sophie, let me reiterate our IMs, I bloody  L O V E  you. I love your portrayal of Irene & I especially love the chemistry between our muses. Honestly, Sherl’s never been so in love until he met your Irene. Thank you SO much for screaming with me in our IMs, doting on our children, making me a better writer (rise up!), & reviving my dead muse so many times over. Also those texting threads in our IMs actually make my day-- they’re just so pure??? AND ALL THE BLOODY LETTERS. That was one of my favourite threads ever. Dropping those subtle (or not so subtle) Hamilton references on the adlock yacht. This is getting long, so I’ll just end it with this-- Sophie, I like you a lot <3

@eloquated

Britt, it’s been way too long & I’m well aware that you’ve stopped rping (or at least put it on pause), but we plotted for FOREVER together so I can’t just leave you out of this. I adore you so very much & I’ll honest that I was iffy about my Sherlock ever falling for a Molly until he met yours. Also, Britt, I was so in awe of your character development (esp Mycie’s)! Thank you for plotting every detail in our long novella threads (the future sherlolly children’s middle names, even) & inspiring me so much (with your lovely edits), I miss you! ( @sherlockrarepairs​ )

@braveheart-watson / @ironifiicd / @thelegendofemrys

SHURLEY-- wow, what would this post be without my sin bin friend? I miss writing with you so much, but I know that you have a million blogs, so I’ll wait patiently for the John muse to resurrect. I love talking to you about our sons (& how badass Mary Watson was, especially), I love that we once had a conversation in all Chuck Shurley gifs, & I love your undying Canadian patriotism. Thank you for writing IMMENSE amounts of angst with me & dragging me (kicking & screaming) into the sin bin with you.

@crownjeweledspider

Tori, you’ve been with me since the very start. You’ve somehow stuck with me this long even with my rubbish writing & flaky muse. Gemlock was the very first invested ship I had on this blog & a part of my Sherl will always love your Gemma. Between our random muse vc to our randomly dark convos (with our terribly morbid senses of humour), I love talking to you. <3 you so much other half of lyri -squeeze- ( @bxnnxrxd )

[mousedetective]

Question!

So before it went to being an archive, I submitted a ton of headcanons to @sherlockrarepairs and some of them are pretty popular, so would anyone mind random Sherlock (and maybe other fandoms) headcanons being posted here from time to time? Like I’ll open up requests and you can give me a ship or character and I’ll give you a headcanon? I think that would be fun.

[wastingyourgum]

Fic Rec Friday: What He Likes by Mazarin221b

"I know a policeman. Well, I know what he likes." - Irene Adler

Mention of Lestradler on @sherlockrarepairs recently had me hunting through my tag for this overlooked little gem (only 85 kudos!)  - it’s more a business relationship than romantic but still a scorching hot little fic!

(Mature, BDSM but no explicit sex, no warnings apply)

[sherlockrarepairfic]

#not dead

Still happy to take your rare pair fic rec submissions, friends! Lots of tiny ships here--let’s build them up! <3

[sherlockrarepairs]

⬡  This blog is an archive.

Be aware that this blog is no longer being updated.

But please, come in.  Make yourselves at home.

Share the love of Sherlock rare pairs, and enjoy!

💚

[pennywaltzy]

So this Setlock picture of Louise Brealey inspired yet another fic from me, a melancholy answer to another prompt from my Holiday Bingo card from @sherlockrarepairs with the “Anthea/Molly Hooper” prompt. This is sad but I do hope you all enjoy anyway.

Grasping Happiness - Molly is woken up early one Christmas with the news there's been a murder, and her life, she finds, changes significantly that day.

Read @ AO3 | Help Me Survive? | Commission Me?

It was three in the bloody morning on Christmas Eve. Or rather, Christmas Day now, she supposed. The insistent knocking at her door was irritating and had pulled her out of a lovely dream involving Tom Hiddleston being at her beck and call, and she was rather grumpy. She pulled on her red jumper with the white flowers shaped somewhat like snowflakes as a nod to the day and made her way downstairs to the door.

It was with some surprise to see Andrea there. She was known to most everyone as Anthea, of course, but over the years that Sherlock had been gone and Mycroft had kept his distance, it had been the woman in front of her who had kept her fears at bay regarding Sherlock and been a rather good shoulder to lean on when the practice of keeping his secret got to be too much. Andrea had her own secrets to keep, so she understood.

“Is there an emergency of some sort with the Holmes brothers I need to dash off to?” she asked.

Andrea was staring at her, or rather the top of her head. “Not...exactly.”

“Bedhead is bad, isn’t it?” Molly said.

Andrea nodded. “A bit.” She handed Molly a paper cup of coffee and she briefly wondered how Andrea had gotten coffee from Starbucks before most of the chains had opened for the day. “There’s been a murder.”

“It’s bloody Christmas,” she said with a groan.

“Their sister,” Andrea said quietly, and Molly instantly regretted her piss-poor reaction.

“I’ll get my coat.”

---–

She had never met Eurus; in the time it took for her and Sherlock to try at a relationship and fail and fall back into friendship, he had never taken her to Sherrinford to meet the woman who had wrenched such a painful confession from her. And she supposed it was only right they now meet on her turf, so to speak, but she hadn’t wanted it to be like this.

It had been tough as Sherlock wouldn’t leave the morgue as she did the post-mortem. His eyes were raw and red-rimmed as though he had been crying, and he watched over her shoulder like a hawk until she gently forced him into her office to wait. She did the most thorough job she could and by then Mycroft had joined his brother in her office. When she was done delivering the results she saw Mycroft give Sherlock a cig and she knew it was time to leave, but not before telling Sherlock to have his smoke in her office.

She was still wearing the jumper she’d put on as she got back to her flat, wanting only to crawl into bed but instead finding a full English waiting for her and Andrea sitting at the table, waiting. “How did you know when I’d be back?”

“I didn’t,” Andrea admitted. “I started cooking once you left. There are a few dozen biscuits cooling on the racks. You have good bakeware, good cookware.”

“Thank you,” Molly said, sitting down to tuck in. It wasn’t too cold but she could tell it had been sitting for at least a little bit. “They didn’t take it well. Do they have any idea--”

“Not really,” Andrea said, picking at her own plate. “This will break Sherlock, won’t it?”

“It might,” Molly said with a touch of reluctance. “But it would be far worse if it had been Mycroft.”

“I know.” Andrea sighed then and pushed the plate away. “I don’t know why I stayed. I’m not a personable person, even with you.”

“Because you need comfort, because you’re worried,” Molly said. “It’s alright to worry. Mycroft is important to you.”

“Just as a friend, and a mentor, and my boss, though,” she said.

“I see,” Molly said. “I thought you two were...more.”

“His proclivities run to the opposite gender,” she said with a small smile. “He and the Queen’s secretary have been dancing around whether they’re really an item or not ever since Sherlock went to the palace in a sheet.”

For some reason that made Molly laugh a bit, and the tension in the air seemed to dissipate. “Well, good. I’m glad there’s someone there. I worry Sherlock won’t have anyone, but it’s good Mycroft has someone.”

“He has you,” Andrea pointed out.

“Not that way. Not anymore. We love each other, but relationships just aren’t our forte. Or at least a relationship together, I suppose.” She tilted her head. “I should find a way to contact Irene. He still cares for her. She could be good to have around.”

“I already texted her. She’s on her way to Baker Street, I believe, or wherever they had their trysts.”

“Good, good. He needs her.”

“He needs you too,” Andrea pointed out.

“I can’t give him what she can. I never could. And that’s alright; Sherlock can love more than one person in more than one way. It’s what makes him the way he is now.”

Andrea tilted her head. “You’re remarkably understanding.”

“I know life is fleeting, far better than most. I deal with death on a daily basis. Not just homicides, but all sorts of death. Even though I’ve gone back to research studies, for the most part, Sherlock knows how good I am at what I used to do. But I surround myself with death and I know...you should take what happiness life gives you and hold it dear, however you can for however long you can.”

Andrea nodded and got up, moving over to her. She hesitated a moment, then bent down and pressed her lips against Molly’s. The kiss was soft but Molly didn’t hesitate before she reached up to pull Andrea in closer, deepening the kiss. Breakfast would be forgotten for a bit as, perhaps, the two women grasped a chance at happiness neither had expected, but both desperately needed.

[lexxxwasniahc]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Sherlock (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Greg Lestrade/John Watson, Greg Lestrade/John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/Greg Lestrade Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Greg Lestrade, John Watson Additional Tags: Barebacking, Condoms, Anal Sex, d/s dynamics, fictional gender politics, Bisexuality, switch - Freeform, References to Sexual Harassment, Coercion, john is a sub, John is a BAMF, Questioning, Threesome, OT3, Mourning, Jealousy, honest discussion of relationship issues, Collars, Marking, safeword usage, Post-Reichenbach, only we can say what's right for us Summary:

D/s verse, post-Reichenbach. Greg needs a place to stay and moves in with John while they both mourn. They find their own way to heal, but Sherlock complicates matters--even more so when it turns out he isn't dead.

This is actually one of my favourites. I really do love the world-building in it, and it may have affected the way I see Greg and write him.

[sherlockrarepairs]

⬡  Important Announcement - Please Read!

Due to lack of interest, we will not be having a Eurus Holmes rec list for this week.  

However, as this will be the last rec list for the SRP?  I would like to announce a last-minute theme change.  (Because this has been on my wishlist since I started this blog, and has always gotten shuffled to to the bottom of the list).

Gen Fics.

We have 48 hours to collect a list of your favourite Gen fics in the Sherlock fandom.

Think we can do it?  I do!

The deadline is Friday, March 15, 2019.

@noregretsnotearsnoanxieties @vulgarweed @lord-of-nerdy-art @i-blame-this-on-sherlock @iamjohnlocked4life @astudyinsnoggy @the-sign-of-tea

[sherlockrarepairs]

⬡  Poll!

From the beginning, the SRP has tried to reach as many people as possible-- something that’s become much more of a challenge after Tumblr’s decision to jettison all common sense.

Currently Tumblr is our main site and archive, and for the foreseeable future that won’t change.  However, we do cross-post announcements and updates to Twitter as well. 

Unfortunately, I’m still hearing a lot of “I didn’t see the notification!”.   (And a lot of “Oh, I don’t read announcements”, but that’s a different problem entirely!)

So, I’m polling all you!  When you’re not on Tumblr, where are you checking these days?  If we do decide to expand to a new site, where should we go?

vote now!

[sherlockrarepairs]

⬡  Sadly...

Due to lack of interest and involvement, the queue for the site will officially run out tomorrow.

The SRP only survives on submissions, and without your interaction we have no content to post.

If anyone has any suggestions, please send them in.  

Thank you 💚

[sherlockrarepairs]

Just a little housekeeping!

Welcome to 2019, all my rare pair fans!  Just a quick update on some of the things that are happening on SRP right now.

　 ⬡　We’re collecting fics (for any rare pairs) for the Roulette (more info here)  Right now we have several Mycroft centric ones, so other ships would be very appreciated!

　 ⬡　We’re also (ironically!)  collecting fics for this week’s Mycroft-themed rec list.  When submitting fics, please remember to mention which list (or both!) they’re for.

　 ⬡　If you’re looking to connect with other SRP’ers, we have a Discord server (here)  and a Twitter account (@sherlockrares, or here).

　 ⬡　Lastly, I will be posting more character questions, so make sure to send in your answers!

Thanks so much everyone, and have a wonderful day!