Fic Rec: The Remarkable Worm

[frozen_delight]

Title: The Remarkable Worm (also on AO3)
Author: marysutherland
Pairing: None
Length: 4,000 words
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: A French decathlete's had a breakdown, but Sherlock has a match-box that may explain it all.

Reccer's comments: Inspired by the matchbox case that was mentioned in The Sign of Three, this is a well thought-out, original little casefic featuring good Sherlockian deductions, a glowing worm and interesting, if also disgusting insights into the high performance sport industry.

What made me fall for this story immediately is that it's narrated in the first person, with John as a spectator, commentator and narrator at the top of his game. If you have a thing for snarky John, this is your fic. The way he takes everything that's thrown at him in his stride, with boundless humour and a high tolerance for the absurd, is too precious for words. Besides, the contrast between John's dry wit and Sherlock's purely scientific focus on the case at hand, i.e. the glowing worm in the matchbox, makes for excelllent comedy:

"Genetically engineered bioluminescence, obviously. The worm itself, from a superficial look, is probably Lumbricus rubellus. Unfortunately, we don't have time for me to investigate its DNA thoroughly."
Just what we needed: a worm with a deadline.

Last but not least, there's an interesting break at the end, something which I certainly wasn't expecting, which in hindsight adds a fascinating layer to the entire story.