Fic Rec: Smile Like A Paper cut

[swissmarg]

Title: Smile Like A Paper Cut
Author: J_Baillier
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Length: 37,708 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: Many serial killers are capable of leading outwardly normal lives, hiding in plain sight as husbands, wives, scout leaders, doctors, policemen, soldiers and employers. What if Sherlock is one of them? And what if John discovers his secret?

Reccer's comments: I’m going to need to read a lot of fluff after this to re-calibrate my Sherlock sensors back to the not-really-a-high-functioning-sociopath setting. Because boy, does this present a chilling and convincing picture of the Sherlock from Sally Donovan’s initial warning to John. It is scary how easy it is to imagine a Sherlock like this, and the author has done a fantastic job of making him an object for both sympathy and horror.

The story is excellently told from alternating POVs of an OC policeman and John, and paradoxically, the fact that we know (more or less) what is going to happen only makes the whole thing more suspenseful as you wait for the final shoe to drop. This doesn’t have a happy ending, but there is no major character death, and although it’s not slash, somehow the depth of John and Sherlock’s connection is even more profound here than if they were having sex on every surface of the flat.

This is truly a masterpiece of a psychological study, and well worth the wade into the dark places.

fic rec: Working on the Edges

[verdant_fire]

Title: Working on the Edges
Author: earlgreytea68
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 56089 words
Rating: Mature
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: No matter where you put Sherlock and John, they click. Including the Winter Olympics.

Reccer's comments: Happy International Fanworks Day!  Here is one of my favorites which, shockingly enough, no one has recced here yet, but I think it's one of egt68's best.  I adore this AU; it may be set on the ice, but the warmth and sweetness of this fic make it a pure pleasure to read, without ever tipping over too far into the saccharine.  Who doesn't love seeing Sherlock and John overcome the odds (and with the added bonus of figure skater!Sherlock)?  This is one of my go-to feel-good fics; reading it never fails to lift my mood, and that's no small thing.  It's a pure joyous leap of a story.

(Not a fic rec, but related: earlgreytea68 also wrote a great IFD guest post about the power of fanfic over here.)