Jun. 24th, 2012

swissmarg: Mrs Hudson (Default)
[personal profile] swissmarg
Special note: This fic was first recced in this community by [livejournal.com profile] iamshadow in the Open Recs post on 23 June 2012.

Title: The Fabric of Life
Author: [livejournal.com profile] holyfant
Pairing: John/Mary, John/Sherlock
Length: 156,380 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC Sherlock
Author's summary: The fabric of life rearranges itself around the re-emergence of Sherlock.

Reccer's comments: I'm calling it now, this is going to be a fandom classic. It is so epic and powerful and realistically addresses all of the emotions that would have come from Sherlock's fall at the end of series 2. At its most basic level, it is a post-Reichenbach return fic with some light casework thrown in. But as the first paragraph shows, it is so much more than that:

When Sherlock came back, John went into a shock that was like being underwater. His body felt like it was under siege, was being compressed, being forced in on its own boundaries. Pressure on his lungs, on his ears, a dangerous heaviness on the giving-in strength of his skull, a dull pounding the only sound that he heard, and his sight lined with a shifting blurriness that seemed to fit, in this moment where past and present crashed into each other with the speed of light.

The writing is so beautiful and eloquent, and expresses all the complex emotions and issues that come up with Sherlock's return in a way that makes them tangible in their heartbreaking reality. And this level of intensity doesn't let up for over 155,000 words.

Although it's almost a foregone conclusion that John moves back in with Sherlock when he returns, nothing comes easily. Both of them have changed drastically during the two years (not the usual three) they were apart, and finding their way back to each other is painful and by no means sure, even if it's the thing they both want more than anything else.

The slow reveal of just what Sherlock went through during his absence is done masterfully, and as the story is written from John's point of view, we struggle along with him to understand and to find a place for his own emotions and experiences while being overwhelmed with Sherlock's.

A very special and unique aspect to this fic is the presence of John's friends from his grief support group, who all come with their own tragic histories and black humour that injects necessary reality checks along the way.

This fic deals heavily with grief, death, survivor's guilt, PTSD, and suicidal ideation, so if these are sensitive areas for you, you will want to proceed with caution. Despite the subject matter and the large dose of angst, however, it's very life-affirming in the end, and just a wonderful story of love.
ext_3554: dream wolf (Default)
[identity profile] keerawa.livejournal.com
Title: Winter in London
Author: [livejournal.com profile] w_a_i_d
Pairing: Holmes/Watson
Length: 45,300 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Non-explicit rape scene and the emotional aftermath of rape. Mention of suicidal ideation.
Verse: ACD book canon
Author's summary: In response to this prompt, some liberties taken with the specifics. Watson tries to live with the memory of a terrible bargain in secrecy.
Reccer's comments: Holmes and Watson endeavor to save two young girls from being sold into prostitution. They are discovered, and when Holmes' life is threatened, Watson finds he will do whatever it takes to save his friend.

This is a classic hurt/comfort trope, but the author has done something extraordinary with it. The law that was passed in Victorian England to protect girls from being forced into prostitution is the same law used to punish any and all sexual contact between men, and the author makes full use of the unpleasant irony. Holmes initially has no idea what's troubling Watson; his struggle to deduce the root of his friend's low spirits, and his frustration with his inability to FIX anything, was beautifully in-character. Read this because sometimes bad things happen to good people, and this is the story of how two men found a way to live in the aftermath. There is also a particularly striking conversation between Holmes and Mycroft that is my new head canon for the two brothers and their relationship.

Here is an excerpt of the scene, from Holmes' POV, where this story first captivated me:

What I honestly want is not to order my thoughts but to be rid of them. What I want is the pang of the needle and and the flow of any blessedly transparent substance into my blood, anything that would sluice the horror of this out of me. And far worse, it is such an easy, instinctive skip of the mind to me, to imagine offering my friend the same relief. Here, I could say. Try this. Be out of pain –- for a while. And he might accept it from me now.

I am, as far as I can see, the only source of help he has. And on learning he needs it my first instinct is to endanger him further. That, it seems, is what being loved by me looks like. As if I had not already caused him harm enough.



Read ( Winter in London ).

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