![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Sherlock recs
Oh, boy! Between![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
astrogirl2 asking for Sherlock fics and discovering that I had a hard time finding again those fics that I'd liked in that fandom, I began keeping track of some that I really enjoyed. I have been saving these up for a while, dumping them in an entry for my eyes only until I had a chance to clean up and better annotate them. Now I have made an attempt organize them. I haven't reread them all to make this post public, your mileage may vary, and other standard warnings apply (including: “she" is my default pronoun in fandom; please correct me if I’m wrong about anyone!)
A few are on the Kink Meme. I find a surprising number of fills there don't fit what I think of as "kink" (which is kind of how I got there in the first place, because I read very little of what I do think of as "kink"!). Warning, especially to my gen friends: if you go from these and read around in the Kink Meme, as I have done, you should make sure you have already invested in brain bleach. There's some good stuff there. There's also some where my eyeballs started bleeding just from reading the prompts.
I'm followingcaffeinekitty in separating fics into Gen, Squint, Pre-Slash, and Slash. My eye might be a little inaccurate, so you've been warning. "Squint" is where I think you can take a story as gen, pre-slash, or even slash. (If I say "squint," I'm taking it as gen but aware that I'm ignoring or giving some elements a twist.) I've also categorized by something approaching genre.
You might also visitcaffeinekitty's rec entries—especially if you're more interested in slash. I haven't even read some that she has recommended in that category because I'm just not that into slash, but judging from her recs in Gen and Squint, I bet they're good.
ardenteurophile has a huge list of recs here; I found it a bit of a mixed bag, but it has several good ones.
HUMOR
Gen
for the prompt "John and Mummy Holmes get along so well that they're practically best friends. Mycroft and Sherlock are horrified." This might perhaps be a little out-of-character, but I enjoyed it so much I'm not sure; I can pretty much see the characters doing this.
"The Improbably Horrible One (Dr. Horrible/Sherlock (BBC))" bycaffienekitty. Short and funny—made me giggle.
Twilight movie night blog: John invites Molly to movie night at the flat; she brings Twilight. Sherlock feels compelled to comment.
This story is perhaps a little mean, but I could not help but think that it could be redone for virtually any fandom (Stargate comes immediately to mind; you'd have to change a few bits, but I just have to think about it and can hear Sherlock's voice in my head responding to it, and its fans).
Sherlock doodle bycolour_me_troll, with a big tip of the hat to Hyperbole and a Half: Dog. The link takes you to the prompt, which makes some sense of the doodle. (The other bit to know is that in the ACD books, Watson &/or Holmes had a dog named Gladstone.) Very, very silly. (I laughed inexcusably hard.)
John won't let Sherlock bring home a second head
Second response to same prompt here
"Secret Santa" by bwblack at AO3 finds Sherlock and John drawn into Secret Santa with Lestrade and his team. It's mostly silly but with some very nice character touches (and good silly!).
"The Four Paw Problem" by AJ Hall: this is utter crack involving a cat. Read it, but not while eating or drinking.
"How To Accidentally Summon a Demon" bypatster223: The title gives you the main plot. Sherlock gets in a bit over his head, and John is John. Some great lines.
"A Brief Account Of Life With Zombies" by Silver Pard. Don't be frightened away by the fact that it's on fanfiction.net. Utter crack, and I loved every moment of it. John is awesome, Mycroft is hilarious, and Sherlock is petulant.
"The Case of the Unwelcome Owl," by Pandarus and featuring art, at Dreamwidth. I was skeptical about a Sherlock/Harry Potter crossover until I read this and fell in love. I laughed out loud, repeatedly.
"Quick Like a Bunny" (Sherlock/Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) (PG-13, gen) byinnie_darling. This story features the US Queer Eye, and I enjoyed it tremendously despite never having seen that show. Mrs. Hudson figures out a way to get the flat redone at no cost to herself, John must cope with the Fab Five, and Sherlock, amazingly enough, doesn't actually kill or injure anyone.
Gen?? Slash?? I have no idea where to put this one. When you read it, you’ll see why. (Gen readers, don’t be afraid.)
Fictional people writing RPF. Short & sweet.
FICLETS AND FLUFF
Gen
"I’m Stuck with a Valuable Friend" bystella_polaris. Originally written for this prompt: “I'd love to see something negating or contradicting the "high-functioning sociopath" line. (Frankly, I must admit I'm a bit dismayed how what I thought was a throwaway witticism has been adopted as fact.)" This ficlet gives a few moments in John and Sherlock's relationship when it is fairly new; sweet without being syrupy.
"Catharsis" byvelvet_mace features Sarah and Molly after "The Blind Banker," passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors, and gave me a very unexpected laugh.
"Whither We Wander" by o2doko. Author’s description: “Sherlock Holmes appears to have a penchant for attracting strays. [Unapologetic fluff piece.]" Honestly, Sherlock is about the last person I would think about attracting strays, but the writer makes this work.
DRAMA, ETC
Gen
"John's Midnight Garden" by Anonymous. Strange story, oddly charming. For as long as he can remember, John has dreamed of a garden. A specific novel has influenced this story heavily. Oddly, though I haven’t read that novel, I felt like I saw the influence of another one (probably the original inspiration).
"In Vino Veritas".lavvyan gives us a brief set of scenes in which John shares a pint or two with various detectives; lovely characterization. (I enjoy some of her other stories, too; see her Sherlock Holmes tag, though I haven’t read them all.)
"The Three Stages of Friendship" bystarjenni. Note: I’ve linked to the tag so you get all three parts, but obviously they’ll appear in reverse order. I recommend starting with the first.
"It’s All Fine" byflawedamythyst: Sherlock is asexual; Sally and John handle this fact very differently.
"Green Improbable Fields" byparachute_silks is a lovely friendship piece that really captures how I see Sherlock and John and their relationship and where I hope their relationship would go in the long term. Author's notes include "minor character death" and "Pairing: None - well, it's almost like Sherlock/John. But not." I can’t improve on her notes.
Gen? Squint? I had trouble deciding about both of these:
"Sheep's Clothing" byinnie_darling: Sherlock observes John and his jumpers; John is clueless. Great Sherlock snark mixed with possessiveness. (Note: I totally disagree with Sherlock, and with most of the commenters, about John's jumpers. I think John's jumpers are great. I must not be the only one, because someone has gone to the trouble to produce the pattern to the one I think he wore most often, complete with a picture of John wearing it.) This one is almost in the humor category because it’s so darned funny, but I think it would be a disservice to stick it in Humor and ignore the other elements.
"It Would Have Been Enough": John finds himself unexpected at a Holmes family Seder.
Implications of Het
"Masquerade" byinnie_darling: Sally makes mistakes, but she learns from them.
MISSING SCENES & EPILOGUES
Gen
"Pedestrian" by vegarin.
A missing scene from “The Great Game"; let’s just say it involves John and comes before the final scene. All else is spoilers.
“Molly Hooper: The Aftermath" by seven_ccd. Molly tries to work through the aftermath of “The Great Game," with a little help from friends.
Squint? Pre-Slash? Slash?
"Faint Like a Heartbeat byflawedamythyst: what happens immediately after the screen goes black at the end of “The Great Game." (Author labels it “Gen, but could be pre-slash or squintable Sherlock/John.") I think this is my favorite version of what happens; many alternatives seem wildly improbable, but this one is quite believable, both in terms of physics and in terms of the characters.
Pre-Slash to Slash
? The author labels this “M/M"; if she didn’t, I would call it “Squint" at most. Clearly your results will depend on the strength of your slash goggles. Read it whether you prefer totally gen or totally slash.
"The Hour of Separation" by vegarin. This epilogue for “The Great Game" is all from John’s perspective. John is doing his best at coping. It’s hard. Excellent characterization of several characters, and a great ending.
"Of Disadvantages and Benefits" (in four parts, with part one at this link), byflawedamythyst. Sherlock has realized what John means to him and has to decide what to do about that, all while (barely) tolerating Mycroft’s protection and unwanted advice.
"The Adventure in the Smuggler’s Cave" byflawedamythyst. I will let the author’s summary and notes speak for themselves: “ Caves, secret passages and smugglers. What more could a boy want? Oh, right, a snog from his best mate. A/N: I feel there should be a mild crack warning on this - it's not completely ridiculous, but there are rather too many Enid Blyton references for it to be taken seriously."
Slash liek woah
If you want serious slash, read the stories byverityburns I somehow got hooked on “The Road Less Traveled" (link is to Part 1; she’s good about linking to the next bit; about a dozen parts) before I realized quite what I was getting into, which led to some embarrassment on my part and some skimming of bits (because I’m really not comfortable reading, well, porn). But I couldn’t not finish this story (well, except the last chapter, which turned out to be ALL gratuitous sex). Then I read "The Heart in the Whole" (link is to part 1 again; she has posted 18 of 19) and can’t say that I didn’t know what was coming.
I’m afraid it’s a terribly backhanded compliment to say I read her work despite the slash, but I find her writing compelling. Her versions of John and Sherlock seem to me not quite canon (even BBC canon), but they also seem very real and believable in their own right. (If I were a real slasher, I think I’d be recommending these wholeheartedly, with no caveats whatsoever.).
Read her descriptions and warnings for the stories.
MYSTERIES
Gen
"Bricoleur" by Innie (innie_darling. Author's summary: "A loose retelling of 'The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton' in which Harry, newly separated and struggling to get sober, is the one who's being blackmailed for a drunken hit-and-run. John needs Sherlock to solve the case, but not if he's going to prove Harry's guilty. Set a few months after "The Great Game," while the boys are still recovering. ('Bricoleur' means 'one who uses all that he has to do what he has to do.')" This story really hits the spot for me: a real mystery with John and Sherlock friendship (which is, of course, fraught, not easy). I also enjoyed meeting Innie's versions of Harry and Clara.
"Major Pieces" bylindentreeisle: 6 chapters plus prologue and epilogue. This long fic gives us a proper mystery, with excellent (gen) characterization of Sherlock and John. Author's warnings: "Chapters 1 and 2 contain gory crime scenes. Trigger warnings for discussion of (off-screen) sexual assault and violence against women." Don't disregard: the crimes are very disturbing. I persevered and felt well rewarded for getting past the first two scenes, but you should know what you're getting into before you decide to read it.
Pre-Slash to Slash
"Cu Sylvatica," at AO3 or at the author's LJ. This novella has both compelling plot and excellent characterization. Mostly pre-slash with some outright slash at the end, but not really graphic and not slash-focused. Sherlock denies that he needs to talk to anyone about the pool, the police seem to think it's only a matter of time before he joins Moriarty, and John . . . well, John continues to be John, who is wonderful. The original characters in the mystery are very well done.
"A Very Cold Case" bysagestreet is a longer story (eight parts plus introduction and coda) with puzzles and gorgeous writing. Motifs of music and poetry run throughout the whole. I thought I'd had enough of John Watson having a crisis about his orientation, yet the crisis is both believable and kept in perspective.
Author's summary: "Violin music, 19th-century poets, and a string of puzzles presented to Sherlock by an enigmatic client (or adversary?), who prefers to stay in the shadows."
RELATED ITEMS
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman interview: These guys are fun together. Had to drag Brilliant Husband away from his work and over to my computer to read this one with me.
Floor plans for 221b. Sadly, they do not include the bathroom or bedrooms. (Yes,bentleywg and joonscribble, I never tire of this topic.)
I just spent way more time than I thought it would take fleshing out my comments, editing, and trying to be sure I had the links right. If anything is broken, please tell me! I can't find mistakes any more at this point!
Oh, boy! Between
astrogirl2 asking for Sherlock fics and discovering that I had a hard time finding again those fics that I'd liked in that fandom, I began keeping track of some that I really enjoyed. I have been saving these up for a while, dumping them in an entry for my eyes only until I had a chance to clean up and better annotate them. Now I have made an attempt organize them. I haven't reread them all to make this post public, your mileage may vary, and other standard warnings apply (including: “she" is my default pronoun in fandom; please correct me if I’m wrong about anyone!)A few are on the Kink Meme. I find a surprising number of fills there don't fit what I think of as "kink" (which is kind of how I got there in the first place, because I read very little of what I do think of as "kink"!). Warning, especially to my gen friends: if you go from these and read around in the Kink Meme, as I have done, you should make sure you have already invested in brain bleach. There's some good stuff there. There's also some where my eyeballs started bleeding just from reading the prompts.
I'm following
caffeinekitty in separating fics into Gen, Squint, Pre-Slash, and Slash. My eye might be a little inaccurate, so you've been warning. "Squint" is where I think you can take a story as gen, pre-slash, or even slash. (If I say "squint," I'm taking it as gen but aware that I'm ignoring or giving some elements a twist.) I've also categorized by something approaching genre.You might also visit
caffeinekitty's rec entries—especially if you're more interested in slash. I haven't even read some that she has recommended in that category because I'm just not that into slash, but judging from her recs in Gen and Squint, I bet they're good.ardenteurophile has a huge list of recs here; I found it a bit of a mixed bag, but it has several good ones.HUMOR
Gen
for the prompt "John and Mummy Holmes get along so well that they're practically best friends. Mycroft and Sherlock are horrified." This might perhaps be a little out-of-character, but I enjoyed it so much I'm not sure; I can pretty much see the characters doing this.
"The Improbably Horrible One (Dr. Horrible/Sherlock (BBC))" by
caffienekitty. Short and funny—made me giggle.Twilight movie night blog: John invites Molly to movie night at the flat; she brings Twilight. Sherlock feels compelled to comment.
This story is perhaps a little mean, but I could not help but think that it could be redone for virtually any fandom (Stargate comes immediately to mind; you'd have to change a few bits, but I just have to think about it and can hear Sherlock's voice in my head responding to it, and its fans).
Sherlock doodle by
colour_me_troll, with a big tip of the hat to Hyperbole and a Half: Dog. The link takes you to the prompt, which makes some sense of the doodle. (The other bit to know is that in the ACD books, Watson &/or Holmes had a dog named Gladstone.) Very, very silly. (I laughed inexcusably hard.)John won't let Sherlock bring home a second head
Second response to same prompt here
"Secret Santa" by bwblack at AO3 finds Sherlock and John drawn into Secret Santa with Lestrade and his team. It's mostly silly but with some very nice character touches (and good silly!).
"The Four Paw Problem" by AJ Hall: this is utter crack involving a cat. Read it, but not while eating or drinking.
"How To Accidentally Summon a Demon" by
patster223: The title gives you the main plot. Sherlock gets in a bit over his head, and John is John. Some great lines."A Brief Account Of Life With Zombies" by Silver Pard. Don't be frightened away by the fact that it's on fanfiction.net. Utter crack, and I loved every moment of it. John is awesome, Mycroft is hilarious, and Sherlock is petulant.
"The Case of the Unwelcome Owl," by Pandarus and featuring art, at Dreamwidth. I was skeptical about a Sherlock/Harry Potter crossover until I read this and fell in love. I laughed out loud, repeatedly.
"Quick Like a Bunny" (Sherlock/Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) (PG-13, gen) by
innie_darling. This story features the US Queer Eye, and I enjoyed it tremendously despite never having seen that show. Mrs. Hudson figures out a way to get the flat redone at no cost to herself, John must cope with the Fab Five, and Sherlock, amazingly enough, doesn't actually kill or injure anyone. Gen?? Slash?? I have no idea where to put this one. When you read it, you’ll see why. (Gen readers, don’t be afraid.)
Fictional people writing RPF. Short & sweet.
FICLETS AND FLUFF
Gen
"I’m Stuck with a Valuable Friend" by
stella_polaris. Originally written for this prompt: “I'd love to see something negating or contradicting the "high-functioning sociopath" line. (Frankly, I must admit I'm a bit dismayed how what I thought was a throwaway witticism has been adopted as fact.)" This ficlet gives a few moments in John and Sherlock's relationship when it is fairly new; sweet without being syrupy."Catharsis" by
velvet_mace features Sarah and Molly after "The Blind Banker," passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors, and gave me a very unexpected laugh."Whither We Wander" by o2doko. Author’s description: “Sherlock Holmes appears to have a penchant for attracting strays. [Unapologetic fluff piece.]" Honestly, Sherlock is about the last person I would think about attracting strays, but the writer makes this work.
DRAMA, ETC
Gen
"John's Midnight Garden" by Anonymous. Strange story, oddly charming. For as long as he can remember, John has dreamed of a garden. A specific novel has influenced this story heavily. Oddly, though I haven’t read that novel, I felt like I saw the influence of another one (probably the original inspiration).
"In Vino Veritas".
lavvyan gives us a brief set of scenes in which John shares a pint or two with various detectives; lovely characterization. (I enjoy some of her other stories, too; see her Sherlock Holmes tag, though I haven’t read them all.)"The Three Stages of Friendship" by
starjenni. Note: I’ve linked to the tag so you get all three parts, but obviously they’ll appear in reverse order. I recommend starting with the first. "It’s All Fine" by
flawedamythyst: Sherlock is asexual; Sally and John handle this fact very differently."Green Improbable Fields" by
parachute_silks is a lovely friendship piece that really captures how I see Sherlock and John and their relationship and where I hope their relationship would go in the long term. Author's notes include "minor character death" and "Pairing: None - well, it's almost like Sherlock/John. But not." I can’t improve on her notes.Gen? Squint? I had trouble deciding about both of these:
"Sheep's Clothing" by
innie_darling: Sherlock observes John and his jumpers; John is clueless. Great Sherlock snark mixed with possessiveness. (Note: I totally disagree with Sherlock, and with most of the commenters, about John's jumpers. I think John's jumpers are great. I must not be the only one, because someone has gone to the trouble to produce the pattern to the one I think he wore most often, complete with a picture of John wearing it.) This one is almost in the humor category because it’s so darned funny, but I think it would be a disservice to stick it in Humor and ignore the other elements."It Would Have Been Enough": John finds himself unexpected at a Holmes family Seder.
Implications of Het
"Masquerade" by
innie_darling: Sally makes mistakes, but she learns from them. MISSING SCENES & EPILOGUES
Gen
"Pedestrian" by vegarin.
A missing scene from “The Great Game"; let’s just say it involves John and comes before the final scene. All else is spoilers.
“Molly Hooper: The Aftermath" by seven_ccd. Molly tries to work through the aftermath of “The Great Game," with a little help from friends.
Squint? Pre-Slash? Slash?
"Faint Like a Heartbeat by
flawedamythyst: what happens immediately after the screen goes black at the end of “The Great Game." (Author labels it “Gen, but could be pre-slash or squintable Sherlock/John.") I think this is my favorite version of what happens; many alternatives seem wildly improbable, but this one is quite believable, both in terms of physics and in terms of the characters.Pre-Slash to Slash
? The author labels this “M/M"; if she didn’t, I would call it “Squint" at most. Clearly your results will depend on the strength of your slash goggles. Read it whether you prefer totally gen or totally slash.
"The Hour of Separation" by vegarin. This epilogue for “The Great Game" is all from John’s perspective. John is doing his best at coping. It’s hard. Excellent characterization of several characters, and a great ending.
"Of Disadvantages and Benefits" (in four parts, with part one at this link), by
flawedamythyst. Sherlock has realized what John means to him and has to decide what to do about that, all while (barely) tolerating Mycroft’s protection and unwanted advice."The Adventure in the Smuggler’s Cave" by
flawedamythyst. I will let the author’s summary and notes speak for themselves: “ Caves, secret passages and smugglers. What more could a boy want? Oh, right, a snog from his best mate. A/N: I feel there should be a mild crack warning on this - it's not completely ridiculous, but there are rather too many Enid Blyton references for it to be taken seriously."Slash liek woah
If you want serious slash, read the stories by
verityburns I somehow got hooked on “The Road Less Traveled" (link is to Part 1; she’s good about linking to the next bit; about a dozen parts) before I realized quite what I was getting into, which led to some embarrassment on my part and some skimming of bits (because I’m really not comfortable reading, well, porn). But I couldn’t not finish this story (well, except the last chapter, which turned out to be ALL gratuitous sex). Then I read "The Heart in the Whole" (link is to part 1 again; she has posted 18 of 19) and can’t say that I didn’t know what was coming.I’m afraid it’s a terribly backhanded compliment to say I read her work despite the slash, but I find her writing compelling. Her versions of John and Sherlock seem to me not quite canon (even BBC canon), but they also seem very real and believable in their own right. (If I were a real slasher, I think I’d be recommending these wholeheartedly, with no caveats whatsoever.).
Read her descriptions and warnings for the stories.
MYSTERIES
Gen
"Bricoleur" by Innie (
innie_darling. Author's summary: "A loose retelling of 'The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton' in which Harry, newly separated and struggling to get sober, is the one who's being blackmailed for a drunken hit-and-run. John needs Sherlock to solve the case, but not if he's going to prove Harry's guilty. Set a few months after "The Great Game," while the boys are still recovering. ('Bricoleur' means 'one who uses all that he has to do what he has to do.')" This story really hits the spot for me: a real mystery with John and Sherlock friendship (which is, of course, fraught, not easy). I also enjoyed meeting Innie's versions of Harry and Clara. "Major Pieces" by
lindentreeisle: 6 chapters plus prologue and epilogue. This long fic gives us a proper mystery, with excellent (gen) characterization of Sherlock and John. Author's warnings: "Chapters 1 and 2 contain gory crime scenes. Trigger warnings for discussion of (off-screen) sexual assault and violence against women." Don't disregard: the crimes are very disturbing. I persevered and felt well rewarded for getting past the first two scenes, but you should know what you're getting into before you decide to read it.Pre-Slash to Slash
"Cu Sylvatica," at AO3 or at the author's LJ. This novella has both compelling plot and excellent characterization. Mostly pre-slash with some outright slash at the end, but not really graphic and not slash-focused. Sherlock denies that he needs to talk to anyone about the pool, the police seem to think it's only a matter of time before he joins Moriarty, and John . . . well, John continues to be John, who is wonderful. The original characters in the mystery are very well done.
"A Very Cold Case" by
sagestreet is a longer story (eight parts plus introduction and coda) with puzzles and gorgeous writing. Motifs of music and poetry run throughout the whole. I thought I'd had enough of John Watson having a crisis about his orientation, yet the crisis is both believable and kept in perspective. Author's summary: "Violin music, 19th-century poets, and a string of puzzles presented to Sherlock by an enigmatic client (or adversary?), who prefers to stay in the shadows."
RELATED ITEMS
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman interview: These guys are fun together. Had to drag Brilliant Husband away from his work and over to my computer to read this one with me.
Floor plans for 221b. Sadly, they do not include the bathroom or bedrooms. (Yes,
bentleywg and joonscribble, I never tire of this topic.)I just spent way more time than I thought it would take fleshing out my comments, editing, and trying to be sure I had the links right. If anything is broken, please tell me! I can't find mistakes any more at this point!
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Thank you for writing such good fic!
From:
no subject
Good recs, sweetie!
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Don't worry, others will boldly go into Pornville. Or so I've heard. ;)
Had this post parked in memories until I had a chance to get caught up with all the fic tabs I already had open. Took a bit. Now more reading time is all I need.
From:
no subject