So I have a huge arranged marriage kink. I need the first time Sherlock meets John to be on their wedding day.
At first everything is super awkward. John thinks that Sherlock's standoffish attitude is because he doesn't want to be married, and Sherlock can't figure out why John won't just kiss him already, but is too proud to admit that he wants John to.
Eventually after much angst and confusion someone is like “You know what? We’re /married./ We don’t really have to follow all the crazy dating rules.”
And so they have hot surprisingly intimate sex and fluff abounds :D
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8dpennin_inkMarch 13 2011, 23:24:23 UTC
Likely, but remember that John and, indeed, a good portion of the wedding guests are, for lack of a better word, "commoners". It's very likely that those rules would apply to one of the fancy galas or charity events the Holmeses host, but this is a much less aristocratic event.
Beyond that, I'm American and know virutally nothing about etiquette. I also doubt Sherlock would bother with it. Even so, I'm gonna have to pull the old, tired and vaguely annoying excuse of "It's an AU, so the rules are different".
Thanks for the information, though. I'll probably use it in another fic if I have to drag Sherlock and John to a non AU formal gathering. Also, don't scurry! I need concrit peoples! Stay, please!!!
(And if I could figure out how to edit these posts I'd totally change it, anyway.)
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8d
anonymous
March 13 2011, 23:55:57 UTC
As long as you are accepting concrit...
As much as I love the scene of John resenting Mycroft using his umbrella like a gratuitous cane, I doubt that Mycroft would be carrying his umbrella with him at a formal, indoor event like a wedding reception.
A formal wedding (and often even informal ones) has a reception line where the bride and groom (or groom and groom) (and parents?) greet each guest. At a large reception like this it would be long and tedious and both John and Sherlock would absolutely hate it, but I don't see how it could be avoided when the entire event is built around tradition. It's used precisely to avoid any guests being overlooked; it's one way to ensure everyone has a chance to speak with the couple.
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8dpennin_inkMarch 14 2011, 00:05:03 UTC
None of the weddings I've been to have had that. But then, they all tended to be back-yard affairs.
I know I should have looked more into wedding traditions, but in all honesty I didn't want to dwell on it. It would be boring to experience, and boring to read, so I skipped it. There was probably something like that before this point, but it would've been dull to read about.
Well, I probably could've gotten in some good dialogue and had some fun with Sherlock sniping, but I was impatient to get through the ceremonial part and just get to Sherlock and John being married already. So I cut a lot of corners. Sorry if it's jarring you out of the story, though.
(I know it's weird, but I simply couldn't separate Mycroft from his umbrella. It felt wrong, like unnecessary surgery, so I let him keep it.)
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8d
anonymous
March 14 2011, 07:28:11 UTC
Ah, okay, I understand that reasoning, but the reason I mentioned the whole "eating-with-fork-in-left-hand-is-oh-so-high-brow" is because you mention that John is left-handed. I assumed that the reason Sherlock's elbow hits John's is because Sherlock eats with his fork in his right hand during the reception.
Even considering the fact that Sherlock doesn't like social convention, the emphasis one's parents (and I'm betting Sherlock's mum, too) put on this sort of thing means that this training would become second-nature very young. With my family, as soon as I and my siings started using cutlery, we were made to hold the fork in the left hand. There is literally no time for a child who can still be considered a toddler to complain, especially when the kid is young enough that handedness isn't yet concrete.
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8dpennin_inkMarch 14 2011, 07:32:29 UTC
Is there a time like that? Man, I can't remember a time when I wasn't right handed.
This is fascinating. I honestly knew absolutely none of this. (You'd be surprised at how little of Anthropology focuses on modern Western Europe. It's basically a footnote after you finish with Chinese Footbinding and African Female Husbands. And then it's basically just bashing Norman Rockwell. Le sigh.)
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8d
anonymous
March 14 2011, 08:23:29 UTC
Yeah, children usually start preferring a certain hand around three. I was completely ambidextrous until around seven, when I switched over to my left hand. I still throw a ball and play tennis with my right, though. My sister, however, has always been right handed, ever since she was little.
I'm not sure about the entirety of Western Europe (I''m of Lebanese descent and raised in East Asia before being moved to the US, and then Europe, but the lifestyle in which I grew up was quite European, so I'm basing a lot of my own experience and what I know of others), but my friends who were from Western Europe in international school ate the same way I did, with the fork in their left hand and knife in their right. When I first came to the US, I was blown away by that fact that people actually switched their silverware around while eating. All these little cultural differences are, as you said, fascinating.
(But African Female Husbands! That's infinitely more interesting than how one holds a fork!)
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8dpennin_inkMarch 14 2011, 08:27:15 UTC
True.
Alas, I fear my American is showing. Other than that, though, I think it's a fairly decent attempt for a fic lacking any Brit-picking. Though I'm probably missing dozens of errors. Every time I think I have British/American discrepancies down, I discover a whole new layer of "bzuh?".
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8d
anonymous
March 14 2011, 08:44:48 UTC
FAIRLY DECENT? FAIRLY!
Bah. I absolutely love this fic. Don't let my random nitpicking of forks get to you (that was another Anon talking about meeting the guests and whatnot). Don't worry about your American showing. I grew up on three continents with English as my third language. I now speak English with an American accent, and British pronunciation and a random assortment of Americanisms and Britishisms. I thought manoeuvre and maneuver were completely different words for YEARS.
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8d
anonymous
March 15 2011, 00:27:57 UTC
Well, I'm swedish and here everyone eats with the fork in their left hand and the knife in their right. I've only ever met one person who did it the other way 'round, and I know she's worked hard to try and get used to the "normal" way, because people kept asking her why she hold her cutlery wrong. I'll admit, I was a little surprised when reading the scene and realising that John held his fork in his right hand (I don't really think he would), but since it led to such lovely loveliness, I just leapt right back in :D
Re: Fill: Bound in Gold 8dcassieingabenApril 20 2011, 03:07:50 UTC
Not only the story is fascinating, the discussion too (sorry if I am chiming in so late, I just found it. I just wanted to add, left-handedness is complicated: some people are partially "lefties", for example my dad was left-handed but the "corrected" him and now he is right-handed but still left-footed. Also, the degree of preference varies. I am told my parents figured out I was left handed before I was 1; they gave me a rattle in the default right hand, and I just refused to hold it that way, and I switched it to my left. And of course, most utensils are built for the right hand: scissors will only work that way, so I and the other lefties have to learn to use them that way. I also play guitar right-handed, as it was too much of a pain to have to reverse instrument and chords and instructions. (Good excuse for playing badly, LOL
( ... )
Fill: Bound in Gold 9apennin_inkMarch 1 2011, 05:56:26 UTC
It wasn’t jealousy. It wasn’t. Sherlock simply didn’t fancy being made to look foolish at his own wedding. If nothing else, it would make mummy unbearable for the next six months. He was prepared for an argument, and already spinning scenarios in his head, trying to figure out how best to present it to the press
( ... )
Fill: Bound in Gold 9bpennin_inkMarch 1 2011, 05:57:02 UTC
“Oh.” John was quiet for a long while, and Sherlock led him into a gentle sway in time to the music, for appearance’s sake. After a time, John looked up at him again. “Let’s go.” He said
( ... )
At first everything is super awkward. John thinks that Sherlock's standoffish attitude is because he doesn't want to be married, and Sherlock can't figure out why John won't just kiss him already, but is too proud to admit that he wants John to.
Eventually after much angst and confusion someone is like “You know what? We’re /married./ We don’t really have to follow all the crazy dating rules.”
And so they have hot surprisingly intimate sex and fluff abounds :D
Reply
Beyond that, I'm American and know virutally nothing about etiquette. I also doubt Sherlock would bother with it. Even so, I'm gonna have to pull the old, tired and vaguely annoying excuse of "It's an AU, so the rules are different".
Thanks for the information, though. I'll probably use it in another fic if I have to drag Sherlock and John to a non AU formal gathering. Also, don't scurry! I need concrit peoples! Stay, please!!!
(And if I could figure out how to edit these posts I'd totally change it, anyway.)
Reply
As much as I love the scene of John resenting Mycroft using his umbrella like a gratuitous cane, I doubt that Mycroft would be carrying his umbrella with him at a formal, indoor event like a wedding reception.
A formal wedding (and often even informal ones) has a reception line where the bride and groom (or groom and groom) (and parents?) greet each guest. At a large reception like this it would be long and tedious and both John and Sherlock would absolutely hate it, but I don't see how it could be avoided when the entire event is built around tradition. It's used precisely to avoid any guests being overlooked; it's one way to ensure everyone has a chance to speak with the couple.
Reply
I know I should have looked more into wedding traditions, but in all honesty I didn't want to dwell on it. It would be boring to experience, and boring to read, so I skipped it. There was probably something like that before this point, but it would've been dull to read about.
Well, I probably could've gotten in some good dialogue and had some fun with Sherlock sniping, but I was impatient to get through the ceremonial part and just get to Sherlock and John being married already. So I cut a lot of corners. Sorry if it's jarring you out of the story, though.
(I know it's weird, but I simply couldn't separate Mycroft from his umbrella. It felt wrong, like unnecessary surgery, so I let him keep it.)
Reply
Even considering the fact that Sherlock doesn't like social convention, the emphasis one's parents (and I'm betting Sherlock's mum, too) put on this sort of thing means that this training would become second-nature very young. With my family, as soon as I and my siings started using cutlery, we were made to hold the fork in the left hand. There is literally no time for a child who can still be considered a toddler to complain, especially when the kid is young enough that handedness isn't yet concrete.
Reply
This is fascinating. I honestly knew absolutely none of this. (You'd be surprised at how little of Anthropology focuses on modern Western Europe. It's basically a footnote after you finish with Chinese Footbinding and African Female Husbands. And then it's basically just bashing Norman Rockwell. Le sigh.)
Reply
I'm not sure about the entirety of Western Europe (I''m of Lebanese descent and raised in East Asia before being moved to the US, and then Europe, but the lifestyle in which I grew up was quite European, so I'm basing a lot of my own experience and what I know of others), but my friends who were from Western Europe in international school ate the same way I did, with the fork in their left hand and knife in their right. When I first came to the US, I was blown away by that fact that people actually switched their silverware around while eating. All these little cultural differences are, as you said, fascinating.
(But African Female Husbands! That's infinitely more interesting than how one holds a fork!)
Reply
Alas, I fear my American is showing. Other than that, though, I think it's a fairly decent attempt for a fic lacking any Brit-picking. Though I'm probably missing dozens of errors. Every time I think I have British/American discrepancies down, I discover a whole new layer of "bzuh?".
Reply
Bah. I absolutely love this fic. Don't let my random nitpicking of forks get to you (that was another Anon talking about meeting the guests and whatnot). Don't worry about your American showing. I grew up on three continents with English as my third language. I now speak English with an American accent, and British pronunciation and a random assortment of Americanisms and Britishisms. I thought manoeuvre and maneuver were completely different words for YEARS.
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I'll admit, I was a little surprised when reading the scene and realising that John held his fork in his right hand (I don't really think he would), but since it led to such lovely loveliness, I just leapt right back in :D
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I'm really enjoying this, I'm super excited that there's more!
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