Fic Rec: The Woman, in Portrait

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Title: The Woman, in Portrait
Author: Cobalt
Pairing: Irene Adler/Kate, Irene Adler/Sherlock Holmes
Length: 605 words
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: What Irene wants, and what she has.
Reccer's comments: In my opinion there is a crippling lack of good Irene fic in the Sherlock BBC fandom, especially stories that also incorporate Kate the maid. This story is so incredibly short you'll spend mere minutes reading it, but the mastery of it lies exactly there: it manages to paint an Irene the reader can feel, can hear in their heads, and can try to understand. Kate makes an appearance that is nearly as brief as her screen time during the show, and yet she comes out of this story as a more developed character whose relationship with Irene has a distinct flavour. I am always in awe of people who manage to give the reader a glimpse of three-dimensional characters in few words, which means I am incredibly an awe of what cobalt does here. This is also an instance of very successful use of the second person singular - I'm generally not much of a fan of stories that seem to be addressing me, but here it is delivered elegantly and deftly. A real gem.

Excerpt

You know that games are only fun when everyone involved wants to play, and besides, your subs control you as much you control them. The rules of the game are set beforehand, and you always play by that unwritten book. You are controlled, too, by your desire to fracture your subs like diamonds, and watch the reflections in all the new facets so revealed.