Fic Rec: Commentadore

[tripleransom.livejournal.com]

Title: Commentadore on the AO3 or on cox_and_co here in 2 parts
Author: cognomen
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 15,835
Rating: M
Warnings: Major character death (sort of)
Verse: ACD books
Author's summary: The first perjury I committed to paper, as a method originally of self-placation and comfort, was on the eve of that darkest day of my life - that lie that many have undoubtedly read and believed within the text of The Final Problem, as that 'adventure' came to be titled when finally I had wrung from it most of my desperate emotion to make it suitable for publication.
Reccer's comments: Don't be scared away by the character death tag. Sherlock Holmes is very much present in this fic and it is very much about the relationship between him and Watson. (It is also a rather ingenious casefic, by the way.) The description of Watson's anguish after Reichenbach is vividly drawn, Lestrade is there, puzzled as usual, and Holmes himself is as incisive as always. The dialogue is wonderfully done and the ending, though not quite what one might wish for, is nonetheless satisfying. Cognomen evidently wasn't sure about how good this fic was. She needn't have worried.

Fic Rec: To Perceive is to Suffer

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Title: To Perceive is to Suffer
Author: wraithwitch
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 42,853
Rating: T
Warnings: none
Verse: Ritchie films
Author's summary: It has long been known, Watson is an unreliable narrator. What he wrote in The Strand about the adventure at Reichenbach however was an outright lie. The truth rests here.
Reccer's comments: Everybody has to tackle Reichenbach sooner or later. This is Wraithwitches take on it. She know Londons in and out and has a wonderful command of canting slang also, which lends an air of authenticity to the fic. She has written a series of works which can be found on FF dot net, of which this is the second or third. It stands alone, but the others are worth reading also. This one has an intricately woven story, well-constructed OCs, and a highly satisfactory ending. It's an unusual fic, but give it a try.

Fic Rec: A Slight Case of Misunderstanding

[tripleransom.livejournal.com]

Title: A Slight Case of Misunderstanding
Author: taleya
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 7,366
Rating: M
Warnings: none
Verse: ACD books
Author's summary: Kinkmeme prompt! Watson is in love, Holmes is an ass and Watson throws a snit.
Reccer's comments: This is a thoroughly traditional fic which explores that beloved trope, the first time, but with a difference: the emotions portrayed are convincing, the setting is period appropriate, and our heroes don't immediately produce a bottle of lube and go at it like rabbits. All these things transcend the cliched subject and make me like this fic very much, but the fact that it's well-written and the ending is simply exquisite tipped me over the edge into recommending it.

Fic Rec: The Smart One by Basser

[tarimanveri.livejournal.com]

Title: The Smart One
Author: Basser
Pairing: gen
Length: 2546 words
Rating: general audiences
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: And this, Mycroft thinks, is why sitting vigil at his brother’s bedside was a terrible idea. A conversation in the hospital. Missing scene from HLV.

Reccer's comments: Following Sherlock's second hospitalization in His Last Vow, a heavily-medicated Sherlock deduces that Mycroft has been smoking, and the brothers have a short, revealing conversation about self-medicating. A delightfully plausible missing scene that beautifully conveys Mycroft's caring and anxiety for Sherlock, while suggesting new depth to the two canon scenes in which we see Mycroft smoking.

Fic Rec: This is how the fall begins by dogandmonkeyshow

[tarimanveri.livejournal.com]

Title: This is how the fall begins
Author: dogandmonkeyshow
Pairing: gen
Length: 14,268
Rating: teen
Warnings: no warnings
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: What happened between the gunshot and the good-byes?

Mycroft gets busy, John gets angry and Mary's cunning comes to the fore. Featuring political manoeuvring, unstable alliances, and Sherlock on the psychiatrist's couch.

Reccer's comments: This is the prologue to dogandmonkeyshow's fantastically plotty Unforgiveable Things series, which I highly recommend. In itself it's also an interesting and plotty take on what might have happened behind the scenes in His Last Vow after Sherlock shot Magnussen, full of complex strategizing, verbal duels, and political maneuvering - all sparsely and subtly written such that part of the pleasure of reading the fic is figuring out for yourself what's going on under the surface. I particularly like dogandmonkeyshow's take on Mycroft (never too much His Last Vow Mycroft) and his (mostly) iron control of itself, but it also features excellent versions of Mary and Lady Elizabeth Smallwood. Finally, if you want to whip yourself up into a lather of curiosity about the Moriarty video, in both this universe and in the show, this is definitely the fic to do it.