Fic Rec: Sparks Fly Upward
Aug. 17th, 2015 09:46 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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221b_recsTitle: Sparks Fly Upward
Author: VizardMask
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 6,344
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: “I play the violin, sometimes I don’t for talk for days. Oh, and occasionally I spontaneously combust.” Sherlock has an inconvenient habit of bursting into flames. Fortunately, John has a theory to explain it.
Reccer's comments: This fic first stuck in my head because of the beautiful descriptions of the flames—they appear in different colours and different forms depending on the circumstances. I’m not a terribly visually minded person but I can absolutely see them as I read. But there’s more to this story than Sherlock having this strange involuntary ability. The flames are also a subtle metaphor for the way the canon Sherlock views feelings.
The fic deals with Sherlock and John’s developing relationship, and Sherlock’s fear of John coming to harm because of him. It’s an elegant example of the magical realism genre—apart from Sherlock bursting into flames, this world is matter of fact and recognisable, which just goes to make the magical aspects feel even more so. And after a very sweet ending, the writer tops things off by giving us a wonderfully disarming author’s note.
Author: VizardMask
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 6,344
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: “I play the violin, sometimes I don’t for talk for days. Oh, and occasionally I spontaneously combust.” Sherlock has an inconvenient habit of bursting into flames. Fortunately, John has a theory to explain it.
Reccer's comments: This fic first stuck in my head because of the beautiful descriptions of the flames—they appear in different colours and different forms depending on the circumstances. I’m not a terribly visually minded person but I can absolutely see them as I read. But there’s more to this story than Sherlock having this strange involuntary ability. The flames are also a subtle metaphor for the way the canon Sherlock views feelings.
The fic deals with Sherlock and John’s developing relationship, and Sherlock’s fear of John coming to harm because of him. It’s an elegant example of the magical realism genre—apart from Sherlock bursting into flames, this world is matter of fact and recognisable, which just goes to make the magical aspects feel even more so. And after a very sweet ending, the writer tops things off by giving us a wonderfully disarming author’s note.
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no subject
Date: 2015-08-18 04:28 am (UTC)“I’d ask you to consider the fact that I am the one who was responsible for your being on fire in the first place.”
John considers, as requested.
I just really like the Sherlock of this story. He's someone I would want to know.
Thanks for the great rec!
no subject
Date: 2015-08-18 10:28 pm (UTC)Quietness... That's rather what I like about this story. It's paradoxically down to earth and in the end there's no great angst to it. And there's no--if you'll excuse the expression--magical solution. It takes effort on Sherlock's part to change. I rather love though that he doesn't become "normal" - he gets to keep the flames but they don't control him any more.
And I would agree that this is a particularly thoughtful and lovable version of Sherlock.