Fic Rec: The Cleverness of Me

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Title: The Cleverness of Me
Author: Solshine
Pairing: Gen, focuses on Mycroft and Sherlock
Length: 4,500 words
Rating: not rated, I would say T for minor character deaths
Warnings: minor character deaths including a child
Verse: Sherlock BBC fusion with Peter Pan
Author's summary: Sherlock has always been incredible, has always been cocky, has always been childish. He just wasn't always Sherlock. This is the story of how Peter Pan left Neverland.

Reccer's comments: J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan is the perfect fusion for Sherlock: Peter canonically crows compliments to himself ("O the cleverness of me!"), dashes from adventure to adventure (most of which involve pirates), constantly forgets/deletes everything and everyone that fails to hold his attention, and takes terrible risks without any understanding of real life consequences. Neverland is an ageless, immortal Boys Own Adventureland where Peter gets to endlessly boss everyone about.

This story introduces Mycroft into that world. Dubbed "Brolly" by an absent-minded Peter who finds his umbrella more memorable than his name, he becomes the fiercest and most inscrutable Lost Boy because he is the only one who truly understands the dangers of Neverland and of the real world. He appoints himself Peter's protector, and ensures that his childish captain continues to emerge unscathed from -- and incomprehending of -- all the perils surrounding him.

But Mycroft can't protect Peter forever.

I find this a breath-taking reimagining of both Peter Pan and Sherlock; it captures the magical, melancholy tone of the original work as well as its clean elegance of phrasing. I have rarely loved Mycroft more.

( Excerpt... )

Fic Rec: Nature and Nurture

[swissmarg]

Title: Nature and Nurture
Author: earlgreytea68
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 203,273 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: The British Government accidentally clones Sherlock Holmes. Which brings a baby to 221B Baker Street.

Reccer's comments: Well, this obviously has to have a rec done for it. This is currently the most popular Johnlock fic on AO3 based on kudos. So what makes it so great?

For anyone who doesn't know the story, the premise is that Sherlock has been cloned without his knowledge, and the baby ends up in John and Sherlock's care. What might have been a cracky premise turns out to be one of those fics you just want to crawl into and curl up inside and never leave.

One thing that made this fic attractive to me was the fix-it aspect. Sherlock basically gets to relive his entire childhood - well, babyhood and toddlerhood anyway, which is as far as the story takes us - but this time, everything gets done right. The way he would have wanted it. The way that would have made him happy. And if that wasn't enough to tug on your heartstrings, John is right there being his champion every step of the way, defending all of Sherlock's somewhat unorthodox choices.

( Excerpt... )

Then there is the lushly gorgeous relationship development between John and Sherlock. Have you ever seen one of those videos of the dog greeting his master when he comes home from military service? That's how reading every interaction between John and Sherlock in this fic made me feel. Like bursting with happiness at how perfect it is, and maybe a bit choked up.

And of course there is a case. Because where exactly did Sherlock's clone come from in the first place? And... don't those people want him back?

Throughout it all is the astonishing little Oliver, who's both entirely normal and entirely Sherlock, and both John and Sherlock aim to keep him that way.

It's funny, it's heartwarming, it's wistful, it's touching, and most of all it's a feel-good fic of the first order.