Fic Rec: the grand tour of Europe

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Title: the grand tour of Europe
Author: falling_voices
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 6,500 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: In the afternoon of May 20th, 2015, Sherlock Holmes starts down the steps of the British Museum and walks neatly into the arms of a dead man. Reversed!Reichenbach, based off of the ACD!canon storyline — no spoilers for S2.

Reccer's comments: I find this story haunting and beautiful and odd. It feels like it should be exactly those things, because it's really a story about Sherlock grieving, and his grief is as unique and extraordinary as he is. He finds his emotional burden both tiresome and seductive; his ways of remembering John are sensual and abstract at the same time -- the smell of smoke, the trajectory of injury, the light of a magic lantern set spinning in his mind.

This is a story that has stayed with me.

( Read an excerpt... )

Fic Rec: A Devil's Foot

[frozen_delight]

Title: A Devil's Foot
Author: blod1tatws
Pairing: None
Length: 11,000 words
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: A mysterious case comes to Sherlock and John in a small village in Cornwall. Quiet and simple murder? Or is it supernatural? Modern update of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Devil's Foot.

Reccer's comments: This is a charming new take on the classic ACD story, told through a number of blog posts - including one super cute contribution by Sherlock who's desperate to show John that he really knows how to write up a case. But, in my private opinion, he also ends up romanticising things. Not that he manages to do that for long, though, because as soon as Sherlock goes off on a tangent about his experiments John wrenches the laptop away from him to finish the post himself, leaving Sherlock to sulk off to the kitchen to start a new experiment just to annoy his blogging flatmate... In short, both are being a bit immature and thoroughly adorable and it's a joy to watch, i.e. read.

Additionally, there are comments to each of the blog posts similar to those on John Watson's official blog in which everybody we know is allowed to step up and say hi and elicit a few laughs from us. Also, the comments feature an interesting twist involving a minor character I love very much which has made it straight into my headcanon for said character.

What I really like about this story is how the circumstances in which John narrates the case are constantly brought to our attention - John being busy at the clinic, Sherlock dragging him away from the laptop because they have a new case, Sherlock buying the wrong milk and other sweet little domestic problems at 221B, and everybody else constantly speculating over whether or not Sherlock and John are a couple. I felt transported right back into the good old Season 1 days when I was reading this.

Fic rec: Collared

[dioscureantwins.livejournal.com]

Title: Collared
Author: VelvetMace
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: approx. 83,000 words
Rating:Explicit
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Rape/non-con
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: In a world where the British Empire is still strong and slavery is her economic backbone, John has become a terrorist for the abolitionist movement. He is caught by Mycroft, enslaved, and given to Sherlock for training. The goal: To test a new kind of slave collar with the power to break even the strongest willed fighter. One that will make even John learn to love being a slave.

Reccer's comments: The author added an additional warning at the beginning of the fic which reads thus: This is a very morally messy story, with a lot of relativism, nuances, conflicting philosophies, needs and world-views. If you like things black and white, or aren't forgiving of characters with moral faults, you probably aren't going to enjoy this.

Well, that is most certainly true. This fic poses a lot of questions like What is freedom? What is terrorism? Do we have the right to sacrifice people unknown to us in the name of the greater good? Who are we to define that ideal? Is it morally justified to make one person suffer in the hopes of saving thousands of others?

The story is told from John’s POV and in the beginning the answers to these questions appear so simple. Especially as both Sherlock and Mycroft are shown to be totally reprehensible human beings, when viewed to his eyes. Gradually John’s impression of Sherlock changes, but while reading one keeps wondering whether this is the effect of John getting to know Sherlock better or the mind numbing effect of the collar that’s literally enslaving him. And what is Mycroft’s role, what great game is he playing?

This is an extremely dark fic, those warnings certainly aren’t excessive. But the author has an excellent grasp on her material throughout. Add to that a wonderfully rich language and you’ll likely be enslaved reading this story for a good many hours.