221b_recs | Entries tagged with character: sally donovan

Title: Happy Now?
Music Title & Artist: "Hope You're Happy Now," The Sounds
Vidder:

franzeska
Pairing or Character: Sally Donovan
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Link: AO3 (better streaming); Critical Commons (vidder's commentary)
Vidder's Summary: A Defense of a Hated Character

Reccer's Comments: Oh, Sally Donovan! No matter how much the show invites us to hate her, I'm always uncomfortably aware that I -- and presumably a good chunk of the fandom -- am a Sally Donovan, just one of the many trying our damnedest to do our jobs without the special preference or allowances that comes of being a personal friend of the boss. I love this vid for being firmly committed to Sally's point-of-view, as well as to the proposition that her pov is reasonable.

I also admire the vid from a purely technical standpoint: the show gave us very little footage of Sally (this was made after S2, without the benefit of the additional S3 footage), and

franzeska demonstrates just how well such scant pickings can be used. Watching this vid was a revelation, in terms of my understanding of how little footage one really needs to make a strong vid, and what kinds of games might be played to make every bit of that footage count.

verdant_fire

Title: I'm Not His Date
Author: objetpetita
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 17,029 words
Rating: Teen
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: AU. John's finally got his career as a writer off the ground, Harry's having a giant Christmas Eve wedding in America, and some arsehole named Holmes won't leave John alone.

Reccer's comments: I can't believe I'd never seen this fic before, but it's a charming, very well-written fake-relationship story set at Christmas, with an excellent writer!John. Its funny, involving antagonism-to-romance setup reminded me of the classic rom-coms, but it has an effervescence all its own.

verdant_fire

Title: Hello You
Author: weeesi
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 20,944 words
Rating: Not Rated (I'd estimate it at Teen)
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: John kind of can’t believe he’s doing this and kind of can’t imagine doing anything else. He dips his head, heart pounding.

Reccer's comments: This fantastic alternate first meeting fic starts off with one of my new favorite iterations of the Fake Relationship trope and then continues on to a delightful comedy of errors, with great banter, believable bumbling, and a very satisfying ending. This reminded me of the early glory days of the show; there's a sense of unfettered joy about it that's really wonderful.

amindamazed

Title: Transports
Author:

ancientreader|

ancientreader
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 136K
Rating: explicit
Warnings: childhood sexual abuse, show-typical violence, character death (not John or Sherlock)
Verse: BBC
Author's summary:
[part 1, Curriculum Vitae] How to become a consulting detective.
[part 2, The Beginning of Knowledge] Jim's lessons are hard to unlearn.

Reccer's comments:
This AU examines Sherlock's troubled relationship with his "transport" and with self-acceptance by having him grapple with the effects of sexual trauma and progressive physical disability. (To clarify, those two life events have entirely independent origins. Sherlock deals with both, but they had nothing to do with each other at the outset.) Although the fic has the "Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings" tag, the author provides notes and content warnings at the chapter level. It's a roller coaster ride of angst to be sure, but there's wisdom, warmth, and humor throughout. And a happy ending. I actually thought I'd found it via rec here, and I was surprised to discover I was mistaken.

( Read more... )

( And here's a non-random sample )

rachelindeed

Title: Dark Things Happen at the Turn of the Year
Author: Odamaki
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (or can be read as gen); Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade; Molly Hooper/Greg Lestrade; Sally Donovan, Philip Anderson
Length: 7,200 words
Rating: T
Warnings: character death
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Collection of short fics written for Halloween 2016. See chapter notes for details of contents.

Reccer's comments: This is a wonderful Halloween anthology made up of five short stories, each with very different tones and pairings. Both of the Johnlock vignettes start out scary but wind up sweet, and the wonderful descriptions have a stylistic hint of Bradbury's October Country about them. The Mystrade story of a frustrated genie and his reluctant master is out-and-out charming; the others are more haunting and tragic. A vividly imagined and strikingly written collection of treats that will sweep you away this witching hour! :)

vulgarweed

Title: The Magnificent Division
Author: gardnerhill
Pairing: Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade
Length: 9,186
Rating: Teen
Verse: BBC + Elementary, also crossover with Cabin Pressure and a stealth Doctor Who nod
Author's summary:If you want something talked about, get a man. If you want something done, get a woman.

Reccer's comments: Lestrade doesn’t know where to turn when his partner Mycroft Holmes is kidnapped and Sherlock is under house arrest - until a very steely and competent Mrs. Hudson hooks him up with well, a monstrous regiment of women, all with terrifying personal skill sets (and who have a special and hilarious method of subduing male opponents). Well, females: not all the members of this brilliant strike team are human, technically. There’s an American doctor, a charter plane owner, a team leader who drives like James Bond, a tough police officer who works for a mysterious black-ops agency, a cadaver expert, a ruler among her own species (and her followers too),and a not-really-dead assassin and mom.

This is a cracking good adventure tale, fast-paced and thrilling and very funny, and with a lot of wise things to say about women, emotional labor, and ways of devaluing and underestimating women’s strengths both subtle and obvious.

Lestrade gets his Mycroft back alive and he also learns some valuable lessons from his experience as the secondary character in someone else’s action story.

The story focuses mostly on the rescue mission and the teamwork - but the little emotional sting between two women and a child at the end still burns a bit when the tale is done.

Excerpt: Martha Hudson hugged Greg as he got up to go. “He’s a reptile. But he’s your reptile. We’ll find him.”

Mycroft had once called him a goldfish. Goldfish, reptile – they were a proper menagerie weren’t they?

Greg realised that he was actually exhausted enough to sleep properly now. He pondered the whirl the night had been as he gave the cabbie the address and sat back. Six of them all together – seven if you counted the Queen. And his job in the team of commandos was to make the sandwiches and worry about his missing lover.

He smiled a little. So this is what it feels like to be The Girl in an action film.

sanguinity

Music Title & Artist: Dixon's Girl - Dessa
Vidder: stardust_rain
Pairing or Character: Joan Watson, Sally Donovan, Soo Lin Yao, more
Verse: Elementary, Sherlock BBC
Warnings: fast cuts; canon-typical violence against women; blood, corpses, autopsy
Link: Dreamwidth announcement post
Author's summary: You gotta be big to treat pretty girls bad. A kinda-sorta crossover. (or: Breaking the fourth wall with Joan Watson and Sally Donovan.) A meta-vid.

Reccer's Comments: Joan Watson occupies a unique position in film-and-screen Holmesiana, being both a Watson and a woman of color. I've seen meta about how she fits into the long, long history of Watsons, but "Dixon's Girl" positions her as an heir to other female characters of color in Holmesiana: in this case, Sally Donovan, Soo Lin Yao, and General Shan, all from Sherlock BBC, one of the vanishingly few Holmesian adaptations with named women of color.

There are many layers of discussion in "Dixon's Girl": references to the backlash against Lucy Liu's casting; a takedown of the argument that Joan should not to be celebrated because she is 'just' a Watson; a critique of some elements common between the two shows...

...but it's also very much a vid about longing and hope. About rooting for Sally Donovan and Soo Lin while longing for a thing that you feel like you'll never have, and the hope that with Joan Watson, you might finally, maybe, get to have it.

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: Albion and the Woodsman
Author: Glenmore
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 54,437 words
Rating: Not Rated (I would rate it Mature)
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Post Series 3. Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world ...and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.

Reccer's comments: If you are the type of reader who, like me, generally avoids first-person storytelling, then do yourself a favor and make an exception for this one. It's one of those rare fics that successfully paints Sherlock Holmes as a devoted single parent. The story is in turns funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming.

It is told from Sherlock's POV, and begins post-series 3. It starts out after Sherlock has been shot for a second time by Mary Watson, an event that leads to her arrest and to John needing to disappear for awhile in order to get his head together. He leaves for a year-long walkabout around the world, leaving Sherlock devastated and returning to drugs. Of course he cleans himself up, only to be confronted several months later by a pregnant stranger claiming that Sherlock is the father.

We get to watch Sherlock fall immediately in love with his son Albion, and then take to single fatherhood like a duck takes to water. As Sherlock grows into his new role, he continues to pine for John and wait for his eventual return. The way Sherlock refers to John in his absence by different epithets such as 'eleven jumpers Watson' and 'Three pairs of brogues Watson' kept me delighted and laughing throughout.

We are introduced to several OC’s, not the least of which is Albion himself. His nanny gives soldier!John a run for his money (once he returns), and even the mother who abandoned him manages to turn her life around and gain at least a smidgen of our respect.

There are struggles and lessons to be learned, not the least of which that 'happily ever after' does not mean what all the fairy-tales claim. Reality is much more complicated, but all the more rewarding because of it.

( sneak preview )

venusinthenight

Title: Sally Donovan in watercolour
Artist: naturalshocks on Tumblr
Pairing: None
Rating: G
Warnings: No warnings apply
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Artist's summary: Watercolour and white gel pen on Hahnemühle Britannia. 14 x 14 cm.

Reccer's comments: Oh my god, this painting of Sally is so beautiful. I love how the artist added constellations in her hair, the whole ethereal vibe this gives off.

write-out.livejournal.com

Title: The Frayed Edge

Author: hyacinth_sky747

Pairing: Sherlock/John

Length: 3,155

Rating: Teen

Warnings: None

Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Lestrade deals with the aftermath of the fall.

Reccer's comments: Told from Lestrade's POV, this is his story of how he had his own fall after Sherlock's. It was written well before S3 aired, so it's not remotely canon, but the opening scene with Sherlock's return is one of the most moving I've read. We see Lestrade struggle with guilt and forgiveness over his role in the fall and we learn how he perceives his friendships with both Sherlock and John. This is Lestrade's story, but he is incredibly insightful when it comes to Sherlock and John's evolving relationship and we are witness to that through his eyes. Mary has a slight presence here; her departure falls more in line with ACD canon. I love everything this author has written and this is no exception. It's intense, sad, maybe even a little grim in spots when we see Lestrade at his lowest, but there is a thread of hope and optimism throughout. When Lestrade bursts into tears at the end, after John asks him an important question, I want to as well. Just a very lovely, moving story.

chapbook.livejournal.com

Title: Untitled Sally Donovan
Artist: sheeponmars
Pairing: Gen
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Inktober 5. Inspired by Joe Whyte.

Reccer's comments: Lovely ink portrait of Sally taking a little breather at work. She's usually on the go, thinking, working, sprinting, but even she needs a bit of time for herself...

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: A 2015 Sherlock Advent Calendar
Author: Odamaki
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson; Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade; Sally Donovan/Molly Hooper (implied); Sally Donovan/Philip Anderson; James Sholto/John Watson; Mycroft Holmes/Molly Hooper
Length: 35,000 words
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Posted on Tumblr for the 25 Days of Fic-mas challenge. As many Christmassy Sherlock ficlets as I can manage between now and Christmas, based on the tags as follows: Shopping for gifts, Hot cocoa, Winter wonderland, Christmas cards, Ghost of Christmas past, Naughty and nice, The Nutcracker, Baking, Making a Christmas list, Scrooge, Mulled wine, Ugly Christmas jumpers, Warming up by the fire, Trimming the tree, Christmas party, Family traditions, Christmas without you, Mistletoe, Christmas songs, All wrapped up, Christmas movies/specials, Snowed in, All I want for Christmas is you, St. Nicholas, Christmas morning. Completed.

Reccer's comments: I feel very lucky to get the chance to rec this month, as I have been reading so much wonderful fic thanks to all the holiday fests and challenges recently. This anthology by Odamaki was one of my favorite stories to follow this December -- I was stunned by the richness, poignancy, and variety of these vignettes.

Every chapter was rewarding, and I was especially touched to read about Lestrade struggling to find a way to reconnect with his adolescent daughter; James Sholto approaching Christmas with a determination to surpass the limits placed on him by physical disability and emotional isolation; and an absolutely breath-taking magical realism AU, running across multiple chapters, which followed Sherlock and John through an intricate, absorbing and unique rendition of the Nutcracker fairytale.

I hope you enjoy this lovely collection as much as I did, and if you like, the author has devoted the final chapter to providing easy navigation links identifying the pairing and main characters of each chapter and also marking the magical realism chapters so that you can easily seek out or avoid whichever vignettes suit your taste. A beautiful wintery gift to the fandom from a very talented author.

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: Everybody Knows
Author: Susan
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 44488 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: As if John and Sherlock don't have enough problems already (that whole Sherlock getting shot by Mary thing), now there's a cold case detective from Canada snooping around asking questions about Moriarty.

Kate took her time, wanting to give him time to get settled. When she returned, John had cleared away the tea and Sherlock was sitting in the leather chair wearing sweat pants and a faded white t-shirt under a blue silk bathrobe.

She didn’t know men still wore silk bathrobes.

Thinner than his pictures, paler too. All cheekbones and unruly dark hair. Blue eyes dulled by the pain meds. Needs to shave. Bare feet. Holds one arm against his chest. Like he’s literally trying to hold himself together. Is he aware that he’s doing that?

Reccer's comments: Apologies for my absence this month, time has gotten away from me! I offer up this story by the same author who gave us the brilliant Skip Code. It takes place during HLV and beyond, mostly during that missing gap between Sherlock being shot and Christmas at the Holmes's. It manages to be a Series 3 fix-it fic while also remaining completely canon compliant. It's a testament to the author's skill that they manage to do this in a believable and satisfying manner.

This story is set apart from other fix-it fics by the inclusion of a fascinating female OC, Kate, a character who has her own relationship issues that she's juggling as she gets caught up in a cold case that somehow has to do with Moriarty. We mostly see the Sherlock and John relationship through her eyes, when she shows up at 221B to interview Sherlock - who is still recovering from the gunshot wound that Mary gave him.

There are so many twists and turns in this story; every time clues seem to point in a certain direction, new evidence pops up that indicates something else entirely. How Moriarty and Mary are linked, if there even is a link... if Mary's baby is John's or someone else's... and Kate has her own personal mystery she's trying to solve at the same time. And through it all, John's love for Sherlock is obvious and yet he's still emotionally tied to the idea of wife/marriage/baby.

A brilliant read!

lijahlover.livejournal.com

Title:State of Flux
Author: Atiki
Pairing: Johnlock
Length:24655
Rating:Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC,
Author's summary:John’s marriage is over and he is finally back home (i.e. at Baker Street, where he belongs).
Sherlock is awfully insecure and John is awfully hesitant, and they're both awkward idiots, of course, but they figure it out. Many First Times happen.

Reccer's comments:This is so romantic every word perfect. Everyone deserves to be loved like Sherlock loves John. This story is so beautiful and gives me all the feels. If any two are soulmates and fated to be together it is Sherlock and John.

Sherlock has some insecurity and John has steadfastness both very ic. You feel like they both have respect and care for each other. The buildup is slow and satisfying I love all the little detail she weaves into the story.

I will share just this paragraph with you......."Sometimes moments of recognition just happen when you least expect them. And right now, with John completely safe and at ease in his arms, Sherlock understands. He understands that he and John cannot be apart, and they never will be. He understands that one day, he will have a cottage in Sussex and bee hives and his curls will be greying, and he will need reading glasses, and he understands that when that happens, John will still be here."

Awwwwwwwww so sweet so do yourself a favor and read this gem or re read it. :)

lijahlover.livejournal.com

Title:The Measure of a Gentlemen
Author: i_ship_an_armada
Pairing:Sherlock/John
Length:67094
Rating:Eplicit
Warnings: AU...That may need a warning not sure.
Verse: Sherlock BBC,
Author's summary:Summary:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a partner.
Less universally acknowledged is that a single man in possession of very little in the way of fortune may be in want of a partner as well, but John Watson had little time or energy to devote to his own wants or needs...
Enter one Mr Holmes...

Reccer's comments: I adored this story to pieces it is brilliant. She did an amazing job with the manner of speech and such a great writing style. John and Molly are so cute as friends and the story is just charming.

I do love all the retellings of Pride and Prejudice and in this verse it's wonderful. Her fic is original and delightful. I also love how there is no period homophobia...love who you want and live how you want.

Sherlock and John were perfection together so sexy. The sex was on fire and it was fluffy as well. It is worth reading or re reading. :)

dioscureantwins.livejournal.com

Title:The Case of the Engineer's Petard
Author: AJHall
Pairings: none
Length: approx. 7,800 words
Rating: teenage
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sherlock is called to a suspicious scene, but there are more things going on than he dreams of.

Reccer's comments: There’s something rotten in the Royal Borough of Kensington, smelling distinctly fishy and Sherlock is having the time of his life while unwittingly playing a huge part in uncanny background machinations.

Meanwhile John is kept busy with the fall out of interesting storylines in soap operas.

Fast, furious and packed with so many laughs your ribs will be hurting by the time you reach the end the punchline is bound to leave you gasping.

Anything more will spoil your fun. Just hurry over and have the time of your life reading yet another marvel from one of the best writers in this fandom.

biswholocked.livejournal.com

Title: The Very Unlikely Existence of a Flightless Bird in a Tuxedo
Author: cwb
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 8829
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's Summary: none given

Reccer's Comments: Humor in the Sherlock fandom is always an interesting venture, depending on how cracky you like your fic. cwb always manages to balance the dry humor found in the show with the crack, which is really awesome. John and Sherlock find themselves at a zoo during the course of a case, which leads to some super-adorable moments between Sherlock and the pengwings. The ending, too, is super fluffy (and hot) and makes you want to smile.

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: That's not my name! - women of bbc sherlock
Music Title & Artist: "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings
Vidder: justacrosshair
Pairing or Character: gen; Irene Adler, Kate, Kitty Riley, Beryl Stapleton, Soo Lin Yao, Sally Donovan, General Chan, Sarah Sawyer, Jeanette, "Anthea," Molly Hooper, Mrs. Hudson, Ella Thompson
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Link: Note: I was not able to find the vidder on LJ, tumblr, or DW, so this link is to YouTube: That's not my name vid

Reccer's Comments: This vid offers a fun, punchy, sharp and somewhat angry commentary on the limited character development and screen time provided for the women of BBC Sherlock (note that this was made before S3, so it does not feature Mary or Janine). Entertaining, catchy, cleverly edited, and a fierce piece of meta to boot. It gave me fresh appreciation for the investment so many fine actresses have brought to the show and the ways that they used what opportunities they had to create moments in which their characters could live and breathe.

cherrytide.livejournal.com

Title:Our Division
Music Title & Artist: "Like A River Around A Rock" by Marco Beltrami
Vidder:

indrikhole
Pairing or Character: Lestrade, Sally, Anderson, Molly, Sherlock, Moriarty & Irene (gen)
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2002413
Vidder's Summary: Lestrade, Donovan, Anderson, Molly vs Evil

Reccer's Comments: Lestrade, Molly, Sally and Anderson are investigating a series of suicides but something very strange and frightening is going on... you are as safe as you want to be. The video combines clever editing, a fast pace and will make you wish there was a fic based along these lines. It's a lot of fun to see the Yarders, and notably Lestrade play a heroic role, and the adaptation of canon footage is very skillfully done. There are definitely some moments that will make you jump.

Just to be aware there is some mild horror imagery including spiders, just for those who have problems with such things.

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: Art of the Reasoner: Lime Green (Moriarty), Gold (John), Pastel Violet (Molly), Purple (Lestrade), Maroon (Sally), & Sepia (Irene)
Artist: NPCbot
Pairing: gen series of individual portraits
Rating: not rated, I would say G
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: (there is no summary for the whole series, but each portrait has interesting notes. Here are some excerpts from the artist that summarize what they are doing): I read this nice piece of Sherlock fanfiction (yes, they exist among the crap) the other day, called Art of the Reasoner. It's AU where Sherlock Holmes directs his massive intellect and observation skills into creating visual art instead of solving crimes. Among other things, in the fic Sherlock lists people into his phone as colours...I don't usually use reference pics but here I did, because the whole point of Artist!Sherlock is that he OBSERVES and never draws from imagination.

Reccer's comments: I love it when one work of fan creation inspires others, and this is a wonderful illustration of that. Fanfic author Tellytubby101 wrote an AU story, "Art of the Reasoner," in which Sherlock channeled his observational genius into art as a way of organizing and purging the constant inflow of information he saw around him (the fanfic was recc'd on this comm back in 2011, the rec is here). Having read and enjoyed the story, fanartist NPCbot was inspired to create paintings of most of the characters mentioned in the story in the style ascribed to Sherlock. This style combines realistic portraits, often centering on the face, with scribbled observations scrawled so thickly as to be largely illegible. Another detail of the story is that Sherlock organized his caller ID on his phone by assigning people colors rather than names, and the artist uses each character's address-book color as the dominant palette of their portrait.

The results are very interesting, and I personally find both Maroon (Sally) and Sepia (Irene) to be jaw-droppingly beautiful. Sally's portrait captures her smile and surrounds her with deep, warm color, while Irene's striking face stands out against a background of musical notes rather than words, and somehow the translucence of her throat suggests to me that Sherlock sees her, like himself, in terms of pure intellect and esoteric artistry. The Lime Green (Moriarty) portrait, on the other hand, is delightfully creepy and looks almost noir-ish to me, and the artist took the time to hand write every line by or about Moriarty in The Reichenbach Fall and scrawled them -- largely illegibly -- around the image.

This is a really interesting portrait series, and a tribute to the collaborative creativity of fandom :)

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221B Recs

A Sherlock Holmes Recs Community

Entries tagged with character: sally donovan

Vid Rec: Happy Now?

fic rec: I'm Not His Date

fic rec: Hello You

fic rec: Transports

Fic Rec: Dark Things Happen at the Turn of the Year

Fic Rec: The Magnificent Division, by gardnerhill

Vid Rec: Dixon's Girl

Fic Rec: Albion and the Woodsman

Art Rec: Sally Donovan in watercolour

Fic Rec: The Frayed Edge

Art Rec: Untitled Sally Donovan

Fic Rec: A 2015 Sherlock Advent Calendar

Fic Rec: Everybody Knows

Fic rec-State of Flux

Fic rec-The Measure of a Gentlman

Fic Rec: The Case of the Engineer's Petard

Fic Rec: The Very Unlikely Existence of a Flightless Bird in a Tuxedo

Vid Rec: That's not my name!

Vid Rec: Our Division

Art Rec: Art of the Reasoner Paintings Series

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November 2018

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