Call for reccers!

[tanpopo03.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone!

We still need more volunteers for November. If you'd like to contribute to the comm then please head over to the sign-up post . :)

ETA: November is all filled up, thank you! But feel free to sign up for December, too.

Open Recs Post

[unovis.livejournal.com]

You're welcome to leave recs in comments to this post. Any version of Sherlock Holmes is eligible, and any fan work of fic, art, vids, or podfic. Please feel free to recommend WIPs as well. We'd rather have individual recs than links to external rec lists, however. If you have any questions, please comment or PM one of the mods.

Fic: your bones i let go and the dream did subside, by timeforbees

[unovis.livejournal.com]

Title: your bones i let go and the dream did subside
Author: timeforbees (AO3)
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/OFC (Irene Adler)
Length: 2228
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: After two days without sleep, he could smell her perfume, see shadows in the corners of the room that moved like her. ...
Reccer's comments: Contains references to suicide attempts, self-harm, and drug use. Set before Holmes meets Watson.

It's hard to find readable Elementary fic. This, I think, is convincing for this version of Holmes, who is more self-destructive, drained, emotional, and bleak than most incarnations.
This is a sketch of Holmes torturing himself through want, supposedly for a woman, a chimerical figure whom he admits, even in the depths of his craving, is a side effect rather than a cause. She's more convincing as metaphor than fact.

 It's well written. It's the first I've read where I can picture the character saying and doing what's described. It's a cutting representation of addiction and pain and irrational gut-level need. It's a good bit of backstory for Holmes and another sliver of reinterpretation for The Woman.

Fic: The Way We Look Like Animals, by Moranion

[unovis.livejournal.com]

Title: The Way We Look Like Animals
Author: Moranion (AO3)
Pairing: Gen; Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson
Length: 2327
Rating: Mature
Warnings: none
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: Holmes adores death, misses London, plays his violin and persuades Watson to show him her claws.
Reccer's comments: This is from the  Mendeleev series. It stands well on its own.

Yes, another well-written Elementary story, and one in a series at that.

I'm torn over Elementary, especially resistant to the m/f pairing of the immortal duo and to the replacement of canonical Watson with Joan. No lie, I love the actress and the character and her interaction with this very intriguing and human version of Holmes. But, but, fic may elevate and change all that. This Joan, Watson or not, is a brilliant character to write, grounded over rivers of sadness. This Holmes, darker and more pained, more openly wracked by his addiction and past, might just rise above the angst to show some growth.

This begins after the second episode, when Holmes plays his violin. It's all from his point of view, as he contemplates Joan against the background of his current life. Joan is convincing, with some depth. Holmes pulls a bit of her past from her, a story that's believable. The interior depiction of Holmes is also spot on, and the dialogue rings true to what we've seen so far. They're both teetering, but find a certain steadiness in each other. The series as a whole (three short stories, so far) contains light bondage in the rest, but the characterizations are as fine. I'd like to see this author tackle Gregson.

***
A little taste, of Holmes on Joan:
( Read more... )

Another taste, of Holmes on London vs. New York:( Read more... )

Fic Rec: Every Star in the Sky Knows Your Name

[oreganotea.livejournal.com]

Title: Every Star in the Sky Knows Your Name
Author: jaune_chat
Pairing: Gen
Length: 15,093
Rating: Teen
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Mal's latest pair of passengers slowly reveals they have more of a connection to the crew than anyone would have thought, when Simon discovers that Sherlock and his sister had been in the same government program over a decade and a half apart. Sherlock's friend John, his rescuer and keeper, tells the crew the story of living a life on the run, something that is both less and more familiar than anyone expects.

Reccer's comments: A sometimes funny, sometimes painful, always captivating John-and-Sherlock story set in the Firefly universe. It's told partially through flashbacks detailing their mutual history and their evolving relationship, and partially through their present-day interactions with the Firefly crew. (Said crew serves mostly as an active audience, and I think there is enough background detail provided to keep those who haven't watched Firefly from getting lost, but then I did watch it. So you know. An entirely objective opinion that is not.)

Excerpt:

“I’d come home after dark, hot and exhausted after helping tend to injuries after a cattle drive, wanting nothing more than some food and sleep, and Sherlock would have every edible thing in the house in use in a mold-growing experiment and had disassembled my bed to use as a drying rack outside.” John sighed deeply. “Some days I just wanted to give up.”

“Why didn’t you?” Simon asked.

“Frankly I don’t know why he stayed. He had no real obligation towards me. You, on the other hand, have that familial guilt connection to deal with your sister,” Sherlock said.

Fic Rec: The Empty Station

[ruth0007.livejournal.com]

Title: The Empty Station
Author: ivywatcher
Pairing: Gen
Length: 17,153 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC Sherlock
Author's summary: In the wake of the Reichenbach Fall, Greg Lestrade confronts a life that is often complicated, never easy, and not even entirely in order. Here's the thing: Sherlock Holmes was no killer, but he always was a liar. Novella-length, non-linear, and character-heavy. Spoilers for...everything. This is one of my favorites.

Author's Note: Thank you in advance for your reading time! I'm glad to have you here. Nonlinear storytelling turned out to be quite the challenge, and as always, the characters of Sherlock turned out to be fantastic material to work with. As always, your comments, thoughts, and criticisms are gratefully accepted, and entirely appreciated. The title comes from the first stanza of Pablo Neruda's Poem, "Don't Go Far Off":
"Don't go far off, not even for a day, because --
because -- I don't know how to say it: a day is long 
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
 when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep."

Reccer's comments: This a primarily a Lestrade character study beginning from the moment Sherlock jumps in Reichenbach Falls. You are in the hands of a master storyteller. Trust her and Lestrade and take this journey with them. (Although there are no pairings per se, John's grief and strong feelings for Sherlock are featured prominently.) The reader follows Lestrade through the next several months as he pieces together what happened and tries to right his career.

Through his interactions with John's mourning, Mrs. Hudson’s concern, Mike Stamford’s honesty, Mycroft’s reach, and an original character, Sergeant Leigh Hopkins’s earnestness, Lestrade’s strengths shine and his determination grows. There are many strong moments that linger in my mind’s eye, but one of my favorites involves Lestrade, John, and Mycroft at St. Bart’s sitting on a hallway floor and leaning against the wall. The author’s personal challenge to reveal the story in a nonlinear structure is powerful, and I can’t imagine reading it any other way. This is a “treat” I hope you’ll savor.