221b_recs | Fic Rec: I, 221 (Reply)

Title: I, 221
Author: dogpoet
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 4189 words
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: I’m something like a skull, housing the minds of my people — their voices, their thoughts, their sadnesses, and their joys.

Reccer's comments:
This is a remix of

what_alchemy's Battle Stratagem for the Domesticated British Male, which was previously recced on this community here. It's worth reading the original story, but you can still appreciate this one without prior knowledge.

It's a reflection on Sherlock and John's relationship over the course of many years, told from the perspective of two houses - 221B, and their post-retirement house in Sussex. It may sound a bit strange, but it works perfectly. The slightly removed narrational voice means that the Sherlock and John scenes stand as evocative vignettes. It feels like you're peeking through dusty windows at private glimpses of the course of a life, or rifling through old photos. It's beautiful and haunting and sweetly melancholic.

At heart, this fic is about memory, change, and the inevitable progression of life. It's a thought-provoking meditation on the places that are important to us, the memories we take with us when we leave them, and the traces we leave behind. I'm sure most of us would agree that 221B is as much a character as any of the people in the canon, and it's lovely to see her get a chance to shine.

Excerpt
“I miss 221B,” John whispers a long while later.

Immediately, I know that this must be their old house. 221B. So that’s her name. The place I smell in their clothes and their dishes, their furniture and their books. She must be lovely — they were together a long time. 221B. It’s a nice name. Not fancy or pretentious. It comes off the tongue like percussion. 2. 2. 1. B. And if we could meet, I’m certain I would like her.