Alone on the Water

Alone on the Water is a John/Sherlock fic by Madlori. The story is rated G. Written after the first series had aired, the story focuses on the aftermath of Sherlock's diagnosis with an inoperable brain tumor, and John and Sherlock's responses to it. It is one of the most well-known fics in the Sherlock fandom and has spawned numerous pieces of fanart and vids, as well as its own TV Tropes page., "Fanfic: Alone on the Water", TV Tropes.
Summary:
Alone on the Water has come to be considered a rite-of-passage for new Sherlock fans, who post their distraught responses.
==Author's Notes and Requests==
The story was posted to the author's LiveJournal page on April 16, 2011 with several author's notes and requests.
* "Author's Note: Well, I don't normally write this much angst. For real! Usually I write romantic plotty adventurous happy fluffy things. But what can I say, this was the first plot bunny that came a-biting. I hope you enjoy it in all its AngstWhoreness."
* "I highly recommend you listen to the song by The National from which the title and opening epithet is taken. It captures very well the mood of this story."
* "AUTHOR REQUEST: I really appreciate all the people who've recommended this story to others and perpetuated it by word of mouth. The fact that you enjoyed it enough to pass it along is great, and makes me feel I've done something right as an author. But I'd like to request that you NOT tweet this story, or any other fanfiction of mine, to anyone involved in the show. I prefer for fanworks to remain within fanspace. Thank you very much for your cooperation."
* "Author's Note: I continue to be somewhat overwhelmed by the response to this story. Typically I try to respond to every comment I receive; however with 200+ comments and more coming in, it's gotten away from me a bit. Please know that I see and read and greatly appreciate every comment that I receive, and I thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. If you have a specific question I will do my best to respond. Thank you all very much."
* "A note about translations: I receive many requests to translate this story into other languages. Please consider this blanket permission to translate into whatever language you wish; you do not need to contact me directly to ask. You may post your translation where you like as long as my original authorship is preserved. I'd advise you to Google it first; many translations have already been done."
==Emotional Fan Responses and a Comment by the Author ==
Many fans post their distraught responses to the fic on Tumblr, LiveJournal, and other platforms. This is something the author reluctantly commented on in April 2018: 
==Sample Reviews & Reactions==
===Archive of Our Own===
It was posted June 12, 2011 to Archive of Our Own where, as of September 2019, it has 1175 comments and 9878 kudos.
===Goodreads===
The oldest Goodreads reviews are dated May 19, 2012, where it has 78 reviews.
===LiveJournal===
It was posted April 16, 2011 at LiveJournal where, as of September 2019, there were 719 comments about this story. See Alone On the Water, one-shot.
===FanFiction.Net===
It was posted April 17, 2011 at FanFiction.net where, as of September 2019, there were 5,561 comments about this story. See FanFiction.net.
===Tagged Reactions on Tumblr===
See the #aloneonthewater tag on Tumblr.
==Works Inspired by "Alone on the Water"==
* Vids
** Alone on the Water | Sherlock BBC by Deductism
** Alone on the Water by TonightsADangerNight
** Alone on the Water by Kirsten Simkiss
** Alone on the Water → Sherlock + John - ♪ 'Sorrow' by Amy Kinley
* Performative Works
** Podfic by PodficsGalore (Hannah)
** AOTW: The Audioplay, currently on hiatus due to technical issues.
** Jen Reads: Alone on the Water
** Live Reading in Cosplay by Death-Frisbee Productions.
* Fanart
** Book cover by blanketforyourshock.
** Alone on the Water by magicbear.
** Alone on the Water by inklou.
**Cover for Alone On the Water by Letha.
**Cover Art for Alone On the water by Gwendolynnfanart.
** by ughbenedict
*Parody
**A noot on the water: A Parody by Alicethepotato
==Further Reading==
*When fanfiction gets so popular, it spurs its own fandom (and babies) syfy.com article by Kristina Manente, which mentions Alone on the Water, along with several other fanfics that have spawned their own fandoms
==References==
Category:Slash Fanfiction
Category:2011 Fanfiction‎
Category:2019 Featured Articles