Fic Rec: Nanti Polari

[scfrankles]

Title: Nanti Polari
Author: Iwantthatcoat
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 5,931 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: N/A
Verse: Rathbone Films
Author's summary: If my brother isn’t sleeping with Watson, why would he possibly wish to spend this much time around the idiot? They seem to work as a reasonably efficient unit, but, how? And why? We all want those very same answers, Mycroft. Hopefully this fic provides just that, with a bit of history thrown in the mix.

Reccer's comments: Watching the Rathbone films on TV was probably my first proper introduction to Sherlock Holmes. They’re best known for being set mainly during WWII, Watson seems significantly older than Holmes and… he’s a bit dim. That last one is difficult to get past once you’ve been introduced to the ‘real’ Watson in other versions—not least in the original ACD canon. Why on earth would Holmes want to be friends with the version Nigel Bruce portrays?

In this fic the author attempts to answer that question. Accepting Watson as he appears in the films but then digging deeper to show he is much, much more than a buffoon, and also taking the opportunity to examine Holmes’ personality and the relationship between the two men.

The story takes the time period seriously and doesn’t gloss over what a terrible time those war years were, but there is plenty of fun and humour too. And there is the added delight that the fic features a whole conversation in Polari. It’s all just fantabulosa!

Comments

[rachelindeed]

Thanks very much for recc'ing this, I enjoyed it and thought it had very interesting things to say. Nigel Bruce's Watson is one of the ones I find it hardest to watch, but I appreciated this story for accepting him on his own terms and pointing out that a man can be silly while also being respectful, honest, and warm.

[scfrankles]

This fic was one of the highlights of last Holmestice for me ^__^ Made me laugh, made me think, and made me look at Bruce's Watson in a brand new way. It's wonderful stuff.