fic rec: Arcana

[verdant_fire]

Title: Arcana
Author: rosa_acicularis
Pairing: Sherlock/John, Sherlock/fem!John
Length: 46159 words
Rating: Mature
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: Sometimes, her grandmother has said, in the simplest, strongest of magics that’s all that’s required – a sacrifice and an intent. Her blood, and his words: I want to forget.

In which Joanna Watson is a witch, Sherlock Holmes is himself, and every spell has its price.

Reccer's comments: I really have never read another fic like this one.  The descriptions of magic and the feel of it in this fic are truly astonishing; it's one of the best magical stories I've read anywhere, published or not.  The language is frequently so beautiful that it stole my breath (as did the UST!), the razored loveliness of the emotions and relationships cuts like mirror-glass, and the worldbuilding is indelible.  It makes my mouth fall open in wonder every time.  It's a stunningly beautiful piece of storytelling, and I remain a bit gratefully in awe of it.

Warning: this is a WIP and hasn't been updated since June 2013.  rosa_acicularis hasn't forgotten about it, but please don't let its status put you off; the current chapters stop at a natural pausing point, and while there's no true resolution yet, there's no cliffhanger either.

Comments

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

This is one of my favorite fics in the fandom, bar none. Lovely to see it recc'd here.

[verdant_fire]

I'm gratified you like this one too! I don't know why it doesn't have a zillion hits. I come back and re-read it periodically, and it still amazes me every time. <3

[ficklepig.livejournal.com]

There's always a smart, low-key, original writer who somehow doesn't put themselves forward enough to get their name out there. Finishing more fics would be one way ... but I'd hate to pester her into disappearing entirely!

[verdant_fire]

There are definitely a lot of sadly underappreciated fics, but I wouldn't go so far as to suggest a lack of hits is the author's responsibility. Some of the fandom-famous fics really are fantastic, but I've also seen a lot of incredible fics that never quite got off the ground in terms of hits. Given that fic is mostly done out of love of writing and/or the subject and is not-for-profit, I don't think it's really the author's job to try to recruit people to read their work. If the author isn't already established or famous in fandom, there's a large element of luck involved in whether or not their story ever becomes popular. It may not be fair, but all one can do is write and hope for the best. Or at least that's my philosophy, based on a ton of fic reading and periodic pondering of the vagaries of virality on AO3.