Fic Rec: Guided by the Beauty of Our Weapons

[amindamazed]

Title: Guided by the Beauty of Our Weapons
Author: cjmarlowe
Pairing: Gen
Length: 11690 words
Rating: T
Warnings: N/A
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: Even for Holmes and Watson, some of the most important things in their lives take place in between cases, and adjusting to the new status quo is going to take some work on both sides.

Reccer's comments: A study in the life of a bored consulting detective and the effect that dealing (or not dealing) with his boredom can have on his partner. Gregson hasn't called with a new case in weeks and Holmes isn't taking it well. Set toward the end of season one, Joan juggles increasingly bizarre investigative training activities with Sherlock's anxieties about the lack of work. Interspersed are stray observations from outsiders and friends who jump to a wide range of conclusions (some accurate, some not so much) about what exactly is going on between them. This fic is replete with clever dialogue, beautiful moments of insight, creative and amusing activities, and a few fun facts about obscure ways people have died.

"Do you actually have an encyclopedic knowledge of the ways in which people die?"

"Encyclopedic might be overstating," said Sherlock, "but it's hard to think of another word that suffices. Ask me about the perils of cheerleading some time. Or ice cream. Terribly lethal, ice cream."

Series Rec: Complicated

[amindamazed]

Title: Complicated
Author: NyxEtoile
Pairing: Gen, Joan/Sherlock
Length: 50,000 words
Rating: T to M
Warnings: N/A
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: [No series summary provided. Six stories cover friends-to-lovers developments after season 1 through multiple cases. The series is listed as not complete, but nothing has been added since October 2013, and it reaches a satisfying conclusion as is.]

Reccer's comments: I love the slow build of this series, a mix of case-fic and personal moments with a subtle but consistent weaving of character development and history. There's not a lot of case-fic for Elementary, but the first two longer installments of this series include some of the best. One with faint echoes in this reader's mind of the X-Files' "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," and another more explosive case, so to speak. The third long fic, which is also the last installment, brings back a familiar villain. Joan plays a central active role in working and solving all the cases. The three shorter pieces each bridge a transition from one level of relationship to the next. Both partners experience physical and emotional hurt over the course of the series and offer corresponding comfort to each other.

“I mean it.” She put every ounce of fear and worry and panic she’d felt in the last few seconds into those three words. “That is the last time you tell me to run and leave you behind.” His fingers flexed against hers, but he didn’t respond.

“This thing between us. The complicated. It’s strange and a little scary. But I want it. I want to see what we’ll become. Even if it’s never more then this. Even if it fizzles out in a year. Whatever happens I want to know. But it needs both of us to get there. So from here on out whatever happens we do it together. If I’m running then you’re running with me. If you’re standing and fighting then I’m right there next to you. That’s the only way this is going to work.”