Alex's Corner

To celebrate the Fandom Fic Rec Days on 10th,11th and 12th (see this), I’ve decided to create my own Adlock Fic Rec. Well I’m not exactly new to Sherlock fandom and adlock yatch in general. But I’m not a veteran either, since I’ve only been in this fandom for a year (since february 2015). Tbh, I’ve been a professional shipper for 4 years in other fandoms, I’m also a fanfic enthusiast. I have to admit, Adlock is one of the ship that has some of the greatest fics that I’ve ever had a chance to read in my fangirl life and some of the best fanfic authors I’ve ever seen. Without further ado, I would like to introduce to my fellow adlockers my Adlock Ficrec

***Warning: this list is based on my personal preference, so there will be a few that are left out. I call this list my adlock fic recommendation. Feel free to add your own favorite ones!

1. There are authors who frequently write about adlock, whether they write ficlets, drabbles or a whole series with the length of a real-life book series. To start, here is authors of adlock ficlets and short fics that I like: @ebdaydreamer, @randombiochemist @sorrowsflower(queen of short fics imo) @i-am-adlocked lyrangalia @throughtheparadox @captnandycalavera (if you want fluff and romantic, sweet adlock) and Del(goddessdel) (if you want to read smut)

2. Must read: The first thing I do when I enter a new ship is search for fanfics about them on ao3 and fanfiction.net. And this list contains fics which I highly recommend you to check out if you’re new to the yacht:

• Neither A Soldier Nor A Gentleman by  Francesca_Wayland: The very first adlock fic that I’ve read. A closer look at what happened after Sherlock’s rescue in Karachi and what followed.(you can check out the sequel Sui Generis and other fics written by her)
• Come Attrition,Come Hell by @tales-of-inkinc: Sad, angsty, melancholy, might leave you heartbroken but just read this! It’s worth all the pain if you want to explore this side of their relationship
• The Price Of Retrouvailles by @akajustmerry: If you want an in -character expression of love and and tenderness between our favorite geniuses and a good mystery, then this fic is what you need.
• What He Likes and sequel The Way the Heavens Go by solojones: Sherlock’s struggle with drug habit through the eyes of Irene. Very detailed and well written but unfortunately, the author haven’t update the sequel for a long time :(
• The W Hypothesis by @elinorx : I admit, for a historical romance trash like me, this fic is like a dream comes true. I mean, adlock + victorian era + badass female characters + a thrilling case that contains layers of dark secrets? Count me in! And the narrative is so addictive, intriguing, seductive with the secretive and tragic air will leave you wanting for more! (status: on hiatus in definitely…)
• Death Takes A Holiday series by @lyrangalia: What happened if Sherlock and Irene met during the two-year-hiatus? A holiday with blood, sex, violence, BDSM mixes with heavy sentiments, lies and constant deny of feelings. A memorable holiday that change both of it participants forever. Super long but extremely satisfying
• A Very Different Level by SorrowsFlower: A series by @sorrowsflower-queen of short fics :) Update when the inspiration hit. For more adlock content, check out her tumblr.

And finally, I give you my no.1 adlock series: Sherlock & The Woman with its sequel The Good,The Bad and The Woman by Ibaraz: When I first came to Adlock yacht, I only looked for their fics on ao3, but due to the limited number of adlock fics on the site, I move to ff.net for more. That’s how I discovered these gems. The first time I read the fics, I was impressed because of how Sherlock-y the narrative was, but back then I kind of didn’t like the way the author wrote Irene. I’m sure some of you would have the same thought like me when you read the 2 fics the first time. But wait! Let me tell you this: we barely know anything about her, are you sure this Irene is OOC? Well to me after at least 10 times re read these two, I can say Irene Adler of this fic is absolutely my favorite. I mean, the reason this series is a true masterpiece to me is not just in the way each chapters is like a Sherlock episode itself (the clever and thrilling plot smart dialogues, the way the characters act stay so true to their canon versions) but how the author has created, portrayed and explored the love-hate relationship between Sherlock and Irene in a way that will leave you stunned. Ibaraz has describe Sherlock and Irene’s relationship especially with all the odds and heartbroken aspects. With the minimum amount of romantic scenes but maximum the feelings and heartfelt meaning in each line of dialogues, not to mention a tons of well set up details that when everything is uncover is will make you surprise. And last but not least: This series is so so angsty and painful and sad but so good. Each time I read is each time I discover some new layers behind all the beautifully written words. The emotions hit me every time. I have like TOO many thing to say about this series but It’s best if you go and read it yourself (maybe I’ll have a post only for this one hell of a fanfic series). Seriously, this series deserves more attention and mentioning from the yacht! (and I’m shamelessly promoting it right now) 

Side notes: she is writing the third part of the series:  A Tale of Three Brothers and The Woman (edit: this story is no longer existed…)

3.Other mentions:

*ASiB/post ASiB/Hiatus fics

• Moondust
• The Science of a Downfall
• Welcome to Karachi 
• The Love Affairs of Ghosts
• When the sun is still low
• In The Desert
• You Needn’t Think of Me
• Brevity of a Moment
• broken hearts,like broken bones
• Their game
• Windmills Of Your Mind 
• A Very Palpable Hit 
• Life, the Afterlife, and Whatever’s in Between (in-hiatus fic)
• This is Not A Safe House and  This is Not a Safe House, Part II 
• The Unfortunate Truth
• In the Dying Days of Summer 
• Dining with Frogs 
• Body Of Proof
• Let’s Have Dinner and the sequel  A Scandal in Burleith 
• Almost 
• Every atom of your flesh (highly recommended, Sherlock and Irene have to face an unlikely challenge during hiatus when Irene is diagnosis with cancer, very well written)
• The Irene Adler Files and  The Science of You 

*S3/post S3/canon divergence 

The Empty Hearse and sequel The Sign of Three

For you and for myself and sequel Il M'a Dit, Elle M'a Dit

This is Not a Safe House, Part III

Ships in Glass Bottles

The Conundrum between Fire and Ice

 (WIP)

A Very Affirming Relationship

In the Morning Sun

Nero Wolfe Series

*AU fics

A Scandal in Hogwarts (Harry Potter crossover) (WIP)

The caretaker (WIP)

The Broken Tango

Philophobia

Here Be Dragons (in-hiatus)

pearwaldorf:

softness-and-shattering:

turbozarky:

halo-magicmoon:

softgaycontent:

biblioprincessdalian:

Applying for jobs is a hell designed specifically to torment autistic people. Here is a well-paying task which you know in your heart and soul if they just gave you a desk and left you alone and allowed you to do it you would sit there and be more focused and enthusiastic and excellent at it than anyone else in the building. However, before they allow you to perform the task, you must pass through 3-4 opaque social crucibles where you must wear uncomfortable clothes and make eye contact while everyone expects you to lie, but not too much (no one is ever clear exactly how much lying is expected, “over” honesty is however penalized). You are being judged almost entirely on how well you understand these very specific and unclear rules that no one has explained. None of this has anything to do with your ability to perform the desired task.

It is hell! I want to acknowledge that the original point of the post is NOT fixed by my providing solutions (the way jobs are filled makes no sense), but also I want to leave some notes for folks struggling with these unspoken rules. 

Some brief notes on the correct kinds of “LYING”:

Always use “I” expressions, instead of “we”:

1. eg “I created a solution to a recurring problem by doing [x].”, even if it was really you and two others in a group
2. If you LED the group (or did project-management), you can say, “I led a team to create a solution to a recurring problem by doing [x].”
3. This is because employers like to know that YOU can do, and they also value team-leadership. If you say “we”, they may stop you and ask what You did specifically. You can avoid this by just saying “I”.

Someone asks if you have experience in a program (like excel):

1. If you feel confident using it:  “Yes, I am very proficient.”
2. If you have used it a few times, and could at least google what to do next: “Yes, I have good experience.”
3. If you don’t have any experience: “I have used it before. I generally pick up programs very fast, and I’m a quick learner.”

Mistakes (some interviewers may ask about a time you made a mistake, or a weakness of yours):

1. Good answers are those with solutions.
2. Bad answer examples:  “Sometimes I don’t catch mistakes before sending things.”  OR  “I don’t like working with other people”
3. Good answer examples:  “I had a problem catching typos, so I implemented steps that force me to check my work.”  OR  “I prefer to do things on my own so I know it’s done right, but I’m working on trusting my teammates to take on pieces as well.”

Someone asks if you’ve ever led a team / managed a project:

1. Try to say YES to this question (even if it is a lie)
2. If you have, say yes, and say how many people were on the team. 
3. If you haven’t, but you played a large role in a group of people, say yes, and talk about your primary role on the team. 
4. If you haven’t, but you worked solo on something that needed input from other people, say yes, and say what the project was about. 

Additional:

Misc Rules

1. You can ask people to repeat interview questions
2. You can write down interview questions while they’re asking (write the basics of the question down for yourself, like the top things you have to answer). People will wait for you to finish writing, you don’t have to answer Immediately.
3. Try to keep your answer to questions somewhere between 30 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds. You don’t have to time it, but if you find that your answers are taking 3 minutes, you might lose interest.

Have a list of projects / bragging points to talk about in advance

1. Try to make sure they at least answer the core question asked, don’t just bring up a completely unrelated topic
2. Example: if you are really excited to talk about a program you wrote, and someone asks about balancing projects, you can say you are good at AUTOMATION, and an example is this program you wrote

“Do you have any questions for us?” (A question asked at the end of most interviews.)

1. “What has been your favorite part of working at [company]?”
2. “What’s been your favorite project to work on?”
   
3. People like talking about themselves

Thank you emails

1. Some employers care if you send them a thank you “letter” (email). Sometime by the end of the day (you can do it right after the interview if you think you’ll forget), send a thank you email like this (you can look up other templates, or ask a friend for help):
2. Subject Line:  Thank You
3. “Hi [interviewer name],
   It was great speaking with you. Hearing more about the role, as well as what you said about [their answer to a question you asked them] has made me even more excited for this opportunity.
   Thank you for your time today,
   [Your Name]
   

Good luck!!

Im gonna need this in 2 years!

Honestly the “applying and interviewing for a job” is harder and more stressful than actually doing the job 999% of the time for me. I hate it so much.

Wait they ask about mistakes and weaknesses because they want to hear about solutions?! That makes so much more sense! Why dont they just verbalize the solution part!

An interview technique that has become popular is the STAR method. It’s used at Amazon and a lot of other tech companies, probably other industries (but I don’t work in them so idk). It’s an acronym for what you need to include:

• Situation: Set the scene and give the necessary details of your example.
• Task: Describe what your responsibility was in that situation.
• Action: Explain exactly what steps you took to address it.
• Result: Share what outcomes your actions achieved.

The article linked above has more information about how to prepare for interviews and questions that will require elaboration in the STAR format. Have these stories prepared, ideally tailored to the job or industry. Practice with people! Getting a job is a skill like anything else, and you have to work at it before you get better,

(via sorrowsflower)

ao3commentoftheday:

Forgive yourself for what you didn’t do today. Love yourself for what you managed to get done. Give yourself permission to try again later, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. You don’t have to do it all now. You just need to forgive yourself and try again. You’ll get it done, someday. ❤

(via ao3commentoftheday)

kingwilliamv:

The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour flypast. — 17 June 2023

mahgnolias:

jameslloydcole

(via poirott)

girljeremystrong:

Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot in THE MENU (2022)

witchrenna:

Luis + Ashley watching Leon at the shooting range

(via raccoonscity)

fiannans:

Beautiful YCH style commission of Chris and Jill dancing by dear @ashalle-art.  Thank you so much for drawing them for me again! ♡

(via chirikalovesjill)

delta-breezes:

Daniel Casson 

(Source: instagram.com, via poirott)

einaudis:

the queen’s gambit » episodes

↳ six: adjournment

blackwidowhub:

natasha + braids

Black Widow (2021)
dir. Cate Shortland

(via marveladdicts)