Fic Rec: Practical Johnkeeping

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Title: Practical Johnkeeping
Author: what_alchemy
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 4,300 words
Rating: M
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sherlock predicts nectar flow the same way he deduces a murder, but he harvests the honey like John coddles the dog.

Reccer's comments: My favorite retirement fic, although it's definitely not smooth sailing. Sherlock is going through a difficult time, struggling with deep-seated fears about John's health, powerful insecurities about John's faithfulness, and magnificent irritation about John's bloody bulldog. (I thought it was inspired to pick up that throw-away line from A Study in Scarlet about Watson's "bull pup" and make it into an ongoing source of conflict at the other end of their lives). Sherlock in this story is, by turns, stroppy, frantic, achingly tender, painfully vulnerable and at a loss, but ultimately this is the story of a love that stands the test of time. No relationship, no matter how long established, is easy, but it doesn't have to be easy to be beautiful.

September reccers sign ups open

[unovis.livejournal.com]

Sign ups are open for volunteers to rec for September.
As always, we take the first five who sign up for the month. All are welcome, though you must be a member of the comm to make posts. We ask that reccers make between four and twelve recs for the month, and wait three months before volunteering again.

We welcome recs for old and new completed fic, vids, art, podfic, and meta, for any version of Sherlock Holmes.

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Fic Rec: Green Improbable Fields

[frozen_delight]

Title: Green Improbable Fields (also on AO3)
Author: parachute_silks (evadne on AO3)
Pairing: Mary Morstan/John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (friendship)
Length: 2,100 words
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Sherlock works out what he needs to be happy. But he knows he doesn't deserve it, and he certainly never expects to get it.

Reccer's comments: This gorgeous little story was written after Season 1 and shows Sherlock and John as platonic soulmates through the years, starting from their traumatic experiences at the pool. Sherlock understands quite soon that all he wants from life is John's companionship; it takes John a little longer to realise that this is what he really wants too. In that it's a quiet and understated but perfect little love story. The line between friendship and romantic relationships is drawn very fluidly here, so that everybody can read into Sherlock and John's relationship what he wants to.

What I particularly like about this story is the many little nods to themes and motives that were introduced in S1, the authentic and sympathetic portrayal of both Sherlock and John, the tranquil, slightly melancholy mood that pervades it and the slightly removed, timeless atmosphere. There is something nostalgic and sweet about it, and in its essence this story still rings true. Even though it neither incorporates S2 nor S3 canon, it still feels like something that might happen to Sherlock and John as the show progresses through the years.