fic rec: Applied Linguistics

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Title: Applied Linguistics (Ao3)
Author: what_alchemy
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson.
Length: 4834 words.
Rating: R.
Warnings: No warnings given.
Verse: BBC!Sherlock.
Author's summary: "He wants to shake John by the shoulders, wants to open his mouth and swallow John whole. Wants to marry him." Sherlock searches for the right words.

Reccer's comments: what_alchemy's Sherlock stuff is among my all-time favourites in this fandom. I've always loved stories that have to do with language, and this is beautiful not only in the way it treats it thematically, but also linguistically; the first two paragraphs especially are very striking in terms of style and description. The writing itself is precise and beautifully detailed, and Sherlock's characterization, especially, is spot-on — his and John's relationship sounds clear and true, and even if they misunderstand each other and nearly break each other along the way, they always find a way to make each other and themselves better.