Fic Rec: Before I Come Home

[swissmarg]

Title: Before I Come Home
Author: TooSelin
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 36K
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: Sometimes you need to reopen old wounds before they can heal. Sometimes you need to get away before you can come home.

Reccer's comments: I raced through this breathlessly, both eager to see what would happen next and wanting it to be much longer. The most recent addition to the “couples therapy” trope, this is one of the very few that doesn’t involve a fake relationship. Instead, John and Sherlock attend the sessions with the specific intent of recovering from the events in series 3 and 4 (disregarding TFP and Eurus) and strengthening their relationship. I especially liked that there are no easy answers, but that both Sherlock and John are committed to each other from the get-go, regardless of whether they remain platonic best friends or allow the love they both feel to find its expression through romance and physical intimacy. (Check the tags to see which route they go…) This is also a Parentlock fic, with Rosie an integral part of the story and the family unit. With lots of delicious UST, quiet domesticity, heart-wrenching confessions, a day at the beach, a wise old woman, and all the time in the world to get things right.

Hello, July

[unovis]

Welcome to ancientreader , our reccer for July! Bring on the heat, bring on the fireworks.

Our delighted thanks to our June reccers:discordantwords , swissmarg , and tripleransom . Thank you for volunteering and keeping our community alive.


We're still accepting reccers for July and reccers for August. You can sign up here and General Information is here. Experienced and new reccers or members are all welcome. You only need to make four recs a month, for works created for any version of Sherlock Holmes, as fic, art, vids, podfic, or meta.

Please spread the word about the new comm location!

Fic Rec: The Lying Detective (alternative)

[swissmarg]

Title: The Lying Detective (alternative) 
Author: 221b_hound
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, past Sherlock Holmes/John Watson/Mary Morstan
Length: 20K
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: Mary was the bridge between them. Without her, is there still an 'us'? Perhaps, if John and Sherlock can survive the guilt, the grief, the game.

Reccer's comments: This is part of an AU series 3 & 4 that takes the basic plot of the episodes, adds Johnlockary, and changes a few other things, some minor and some more major. I’ve found it surprisingly engaging despite not being a Johnlockary fan and generally disparaging fics that re-hash the aired episodes in much detail. I also admit I haven’t read all of the parts, but you can dive in at any point, really, if you are familiar with the episode in question.

This one is a terrific slog through the depths of grief and despair in the wake of Mary’s death, made more painful and eviscerating by the fact that the Mary in this was genuinely likable and the three of them were involved in a loving and happy polyamoric relationship. (We only see one brief and sketchy flashback scene of the three of them in bed together, which is easily skipped if you are only here for the Johnlock.) At the same time, the Culverton Smith plot is revamped to work more authentically, a far cry from the broadcast “go to hell/save John Watson” scenario that viewers were confronted with.

The characters are all treated with respect and depth, with a marvelous ensemble cast involving several secondary characters in meaty and important roles. Harry Watson in particular is a shining star of an OC with a potty mouth and a heart of tarnished gold.

I really encourage anyone who was unhappy with series 4 – and especially the whiplash treatment of Mary’s character and gutting of John and Sherlock’s friendship – to give this series a try. It’s gutsy and bold, drawing on real emotion rather than flash and showmanship, and truly allowing the characters and their stories to touch hearts.

Fic rec: "The Giant Rat of Sumatra, for Which the World Is Not Yet Prepared," by tibididim

[ancientreader]

Title: The Giant Rat of Sumatra, for Which the World Is Not Yet Prepared
Author:  tibididim
Length: ~2300 words
'Verse: BBC
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Rating: R (the author says T, but I say the brief sex scene is a bit more explicit than that)
Author's summary: "I don't think you should write about this one," said Sherlock.

Reccer's remarks: Oh, gosh. Remember the dear dead days when you could write comedy BBC John Watson/Sherlock Holmes without ignoring canon? *sighs wistfully*

This gem dates from the 2010 (inaugural!) Holmestice exchange, and I present it as an amuse-bouche for the beginning of this month's reccing stint. How shall I describe it? Once upon a time there was a coypu, that is to say an animal of the species otherwise known as a nutria. Never you mind how it got to Sumatra, or exactly by what means it then traveled to London; but, naturally, having arrived in London, it went on to a rendezvous with Sherlock and John. As fans of Arthur Conan Doyle will already suspect, the story is TOO HORRIBLE TO TELL, except to a certain select audience. Spoiler: the coypu has gone to join the choir invisible.

 

Excerpt:

"People like this sort of thing,” John said, studiously tapping out three more words. “Slight urban legend element, bit of disgustingness, happy ending - a man facing down a coypu -”

“They’re also known as nutria,” Sherlock said.

“Armed with nothing but a vastly superior intellect, man versus beast,” John continued.

“You’re starting to convince me, John,” said Sherlock, thoughtfully, “It seems much more dramatic now.”

Read on the AO3.