Welcome to June!

[tanpopo03.livejournal.com]

Our reccers for this month will be numberthescars, keerawa, chapbook, swissmarg (welcome back) and misplaced_exile, who's doing a double shift. :)


As always a big thank you to our volunteers from last month, wakemexsoftly, aprilleigh, allonymity (and misplaced_exile of course)!

Also to everyone who made use of our open recs days. Hope you all enjoyed what was posted!



Sign-ups for July are now open. Head over to the sign-up post if you're interested.

Fic Rec: Staircase Wit

[swissmarg]

Title: Staircase Wit
Author: splix
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 42,033 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC Sherlock
Author's summary: L'esprit de l'escalier - Sherlock never suffers from it, which isn't to say he doesn't suffer for it. Five times he took a beating, and one time he got away.

Reccer's comments: This set of six vignettes follows the development of Sherlock's character and skill set from the age of thirteen to thirty-four. There are also a handful of cases, including the seminal ones where Sherlock meets Lestrade, the Hudsons, and Moriarty (although he doesn't realise the last one). I particularly liked seeing Sherlock and Sebastian at university, where Sebastian was really almost likable. The author also has a wonderful eye for detail, setting scenes from Sherlock's dorm to Miami to the National Gallery, and a sharp ear for dialogue, making the exchanges biting, quick, insightful, and honest.

There are a few humorous moments (Sherlock disguised as a dancer is a scream), but mostly this is a story of a man fighting hard to keep himself intact by building walls and following only his own dictates, no matter the cost to himself or others. There is quite a bit of graphic violence, including torture, that may not be easy to read. The ending is sweet and healing, though, without degenerating into fluff.

Series Rec: The Weight of Words

[numberthescars.livejournal.com]

Series Title: The Weight of Words
Author: dorothydonne
Pairing: John/Mycroft

Length: 18,333 words

Rating: T through G

Warnings: None

Verse: BBC Sherlock

Author's summary: (for the first story in the series, Two Words, Ten Letters) Written for this prompt on the kink meme: In a universe where men can get pregnant, one of our fine gentlemen goes out for a drink and sees a sign warning against drinking while pregnant. He takes a second to think about it--almost shrugs it off--and then realizes that he is actually pregnant. Bonus for angst and fluff.

Reccer's comments: MPreg, rare(ish) pairing, kidfic, angsty fluff...this series hits so many "whoa, slow down there tiger" speed bumps it's almost unbelievable. And yet. And yet it is one of my all-time favorite pieces of writing in this fandom. Why you ask? Well, first of all there's dorothydonne's hiliarious sense of humor. Here's a little taste:

John pushed open the door to the loo, but before it even had time to close behind him, he had backed out and stood in front of it, practically turned to stone as the sign posted just below the little male icon caught his attention for the first time.

GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, men and women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.

Below the posting, it reminded the pub patrons to drink responsibly.

John swallowed and read it again.

Pregnant? No. I can’t be pregnant. He pushed the door open and leaned against it when it closed. I’m just reacting terribly to a sign on a door. So what if I’ve never paid it mind before? There are no symptoms. None. Well, the nausea. But that’s the flu. People get the flu. Everyone gets the flu. I don’t get pregnant.

Yes, the prompt asks for angst, and you get it, but the flipside of angst is comedy. John deals with the shook of an unexpected pregnancy in a surprisingly realistic manner: hysteria mixed with snarky banter, and a heaping side of FML gallows humor. It's one of the best depictions of John I've read, and takes what might have been a difficult to swallow concept (ie. male pregnancy) and turns it into a test of character that reveals John's true strengths and weaknesses.

This brings me to my next point: world building. The world building in this story is great in that dorothydonne doesn't waste time worrying about the physics of it all. In this world, both men and women can get pregnant. End of story. No long, invasive explanations of forming a temporary uterus or what have you (*cough* Omegaverse I'm looking at you). Now, I'm not saying more detailed explanations don't have their place, but in this case the simplicity of the world building works perfectly, because it allows the story to move right along into emotional territory. 

And so, my final point: John/Mycroft. Personally, I have always found this pairing interesting, because it creates an instant triangle dynamic (not necessarily in a sexual way--there's such a thing as friend jealousy too!). But even if you're not a Johncroft shipper, you'll appreciate the skillful way in which dorothydonne explores how Sherlock would fit into both John and Mycroft's lives as they begin a relationship together. The final story in this series in particular will give you Sherlock lovers the warm fuzzies. But Sherlock isn't the only thing getting in between John and Mycroft; this story actually  deals with the demanding nature of Mycroft's job. The realism of the argument--who hasn't experienced/witnessed a relationship in which one or both partners are too overworked to spend time together?--brings this story into a whole new realm. And the final solution is lovely in that it does not pretend to be magic: compromise is the only way forward. But it's worth it in the end. :)

The Weight of Words Series (all links to AO3):

1. Two Words, Ten Letters
2. Four Little Words
3. The Little Person's Nickname