221b_recs | Entries tagged with content: post-pool

Title: A Real Deal
Author: toyhto
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 10K
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major character death
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: Please be real, he thought and pulled Sherlock closer.

Reccer's comments: I’m honestly not sure whether I’m more horrified or comforted by the direction this fic went. It takes a huge detour off the beaten path and tries to answer the question: Is it better to have loved and lost, or never to have loved at all… or maybe there is a third option? One that will get under your skin and stick with you.

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: The Shawl of Sherlock Holmes
Author:

luchia13
Pairing: Gen
Length: 2,000 words
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: John's a Weaver, capable of channeling the abstract into fabric. After meeting Sherlock, his abilities are put to the test more than ever.

Reccer's comments: This is a beautiful and haunting magical realism fic that always carries the feeling of October for me. It's about a special kind of witchcraft woven with thread and intention, and the way John tries to heal and protect with sometimes reckless abandon. I love the way the story cleverly plays with details of the BBC series, like Sherlock's scarf and John's endless jumpers. Written in 2011 before the second series aired, it diverges quickly from what has since become canon, but it maintains a perfect, understated grasp of the main characters and the depth of their concern for each other. I love this fic for its prose, its imagination, and its delightful mixture of melancholy and warmth.

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: Light Our Own Fires
Author: BlackEyedGirl
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 7,800 words
Rating: M
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sherlock won't give up looking for Moriarty; John is losing patience. Neither of them are coping as well as they would like. (Post episode 1.03, The Great Game)

Reccer's comments: This is another of the first stories I read in the BBC fandom, and I still find it wonderfully emotionally complex and intriguing. Like many authors in the hiatus between S1 and S2, BlackEyedGirl imagined a scenario in which the bomb at the end of The Great Game did explode -- Sherlock and John each emerge alive and to some degree traumatized, but the fact that they shared the same inciting experience does not mean that they understand one another's reactions to it. They are each aware that the other is hurting, but they don't know how to talk about it and they misread one another repeatedly while still doing their best to protect each other.

John, in particular, is very worried about Sherlock's seeming obsession with catching Moriarty, and he thinks it is a sign that Sherlock is captivated by the challenge he represents even though it is likely to get both John and Sherlock killed. The truth, of course, proves to be more complex than that.

This is an insightful character study, an ambiguous but beautiful romance, a journey through the aftermath of trauma and a story that kept surprising me the further I read. There were a few lines and turns of phrase that felt like they swept a rug out from under me.

(That being said, the story is unbetaed and there are a few SPAG errors, if that kind of thing bothers you. But it really is cleanly and cleverly written, and I encourage you to give it a try.)

I hope you'll enjoy it.

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: The Traffic Lights series, consisting of two stories, Traffic Lights for the Colour Blind and The Sky for the Reaching
Author: lavvyan
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 14,600 words for the two stories combined
Rating: T
Warnings: suicidal ideation
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: 1) Traffic Lights for the Colour Blind: In which it's not the war John is missing, Sherlock needs to find new ways to hang on to his flatmate, and Moriarty tries to get himself a pet of his own. Features also: guns, tea, the reason Sherlock Holmes won't take the tube, cell phones, a budgie, and one obnoxious older brother. 2) The Sky for the Reaching: In which John isn't quite living in a war zone, Sherlock experiments, and Bill Murray (not the actor) wants to get laid. Features also: pins, sponges, the question of whether or not Sherlock Holmes likes to cuddle, nightmares, a case, and seventeen steps.

Reccer's comments: This story series begins in a dark place but ends in amazing light. It was written after Series 1 and portrays John as being a little too in love with danger and as quietly managing a persistent death wish. Sherlock is still wedded to his self-image of high functioning sociopathy, and his early management of John's risky tendencies is cavalier at best. But the stories chronicle the ways that these men begin to find their peace as well as their war in one another. Though the series is not long, it manages to include vintage BAMF John and a few words and gestures from Sherlock that simply took my breath away. The second story in particular becomes an asexual and dazzlingly unconventional romance. This series never fails to make me happy.

I also love the author's writing style with its many casually insightful turns of phrase. Lavvyan hits so many lovely character notes, the familiar domestic scenes feel fresh. (I believe English is not lavvyan's first language, which makes their elegant prose all the more impressive). A lovely series.

frozen_delight

Title: All Over the Street
Author:

lealila
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 1,500 words
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: In which John almost drowns and the boys talk about affection. Though, in not so many words.

Reccer's comments: In this gorgeous little fic, John almost drowns and Sherlock really, really isn't okay with that. Like so many other stories set after The Great Game, Sherlock is forced to acknowledge just how important John is to him and that he does indeed have a heart. What sets this story apart from other post-pool H/C and Getting Together fics is the narration. For the most part it's a relatively free stream of consciousness which envelops events of past, present and future in a very creative swirl of imagery and which beautifully corresponds with John's barely conscious, drug and pain addled state.

I really love how this story emphasises that Sherlock and John are always there to save each other from falling, drowning, despairing, not just in the physical sense. Also, I simply adore how Sherlock and John talk about their feelings here - it's so abashed and taciturn and awkward, and yet it manages to be incredibly tender and romantic, leaving you with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

frozen_delight

Title: Green Improbable Fields (also on AO3)
Author:

parachute_silks (evadne on AO3)
Pairing: Mary Morstan/John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (friendship)
Length: 2,100 words
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Sherlock works out what he needs to be happy. But he knows he doesn't deserve it, and he certainly never expects to get it.

Reccer's comments: This gorgeous little story was written after Season 1 and shows Sherlock and John as platonic soulmates through the years, starting from their traumatic experiences at the pool. Sherlock understands quite soon that all he wants from life is John's companionship; it takes John a little longer to realise that this is what he really wants too. In that it's a quiet and understated but perfect little love story. The line between friendship and romantic relationships is drawn very fluidly here, so that everybody can read into Sherlock and John's relationship what he wants to.

What I particularly like about this story is the many little nods to themes and motives that were introduced in S1, the authentic and sympathetic portrayal of both Sherlock and John, the tranquil, slightly melancholy mood that pervades it and the slightly removed, timeless atmosphere. There is something nostalgic and sweet about it, and in its essence this story still rings true. Even though it neither incorporates S2 nor S3 canon, it still feels like something that might happen to Sherlock and John as the show progresses through the years.

frozen_delight

Title: Adequacies
Author: AJHall
Pairing: None
Length: 2,500 words
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Nightmares, dilemmas and an invisible leopard in the house.

Reccer's comments: This is another amazing post-pool story which beautifully highlights Sherlock and John's friendship through the lens of John's PTSD. It's told from Sherlock's POV and AJHall does a really superb job with conveying Sherlock's frayed, scared and confused state of mind as he's trying to help John while at the same time presenting us with lots of observations and deductions the way Sherlock would obviously make them all the time, no matter what state he's in. It's a brilliant mixture of a Sherlock who can be both clever and emotional, both a caring friend and a small, helpless child.

However, if that were even possible, John's characterisation is even better. Naturally, he's struggling a lot with himself, but at the same time he's still this one solid entity in the universe that Sherlock can always hold on to. He's humorous, definitely not stupid, infinitely kind and full of surprises - exactly the sort of man who passes for ordinary at first glance, but who seems extraordinary to Sherlock and rightly so. Accordingly, in this story we don't just see Sherlock trying to save John, we also see John saving Sherlock. There's a mutual give-and-take and understanding to their relationship which makes it immensely moving to read.

Furthermore, the metaphor of the leopard in the house which pervades the entire story is one of the most memorable ideas I've ever come across in Sherlock fanfic. And if that isn't already enough reason for you to give it a try, then there's still this small, sweet fact which will invariably melt your heart: John gives Sherlock his jumper.

frozen_delight

Title: Lashkar Gah (also on AO3)
Author:

sjames_centre (Susan on AO3)
Pairing: None
Length: 4,600 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: The dream is back. It’s a nightmare that’s been following him since Afghanistan, crossing countries and time zones with him. It will go away for months, and then every night for three weeks straight, it'll shock him awake with a gasp and a jolt. Sometimes a hollow scream.

Reccer's comments: This fabulous story is set post The Great Game and explores how John is fighting with his PTSD after being wrapped up in Semtex and how Sherlock helps him deal with it. It's perfect in so many ways that I don't even know where to start praising it properly. Here's just a couple of things:

- The topic of John's PTSD is handled beautifully. The way we're shown how he slowly gets better is absolutely convincing without ever reading like a psychologist's dissertation on the subject.

- The characterisations of both Sherlock and John are marvellously in character. Even though we're shown a John who is at his lowest, he's still undeniably John. The same thing goes for Sherlock: He takes care of John in his own unique fashion because he sincerely cares for his friend, but at the same time there's also a slightly experimental approach to his treatment of John, because naturally he finds him an intriguing object of study. Accordingly, the friendship between Sherlock and John rings true too with all of its complications and contradictions, brilliantly reminiscent of the whole first season and the delicate way it was handled there.

- The dialogue is simply spot on and often manages to be incredibly witty despite the serious themes the story deals with. Again, this is beautifully in line with the first series of Sherlock I think.

In sum: A must-read for all those who love to read a good gen fic with a strong focus on Sherlock and John's friendship as well as for those who miss the good old days of Season 1.

radialarch.livejournal.com

Title: Staying Alive
Author: InsaneTrollLogic
Pairing: none
Length: 1612
Rating: not rated, but T-ish
Warnings: no comm warnings apply
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author summary: It starts in a swimming pool. (Or maybe that's how it ends.)

Reccer's comments: A gorgeous take on the events of series 1 & 2; the fic manages to blur the lines of what's real and what's not, perfectly catching the frantic pace of Sherlock's thoughts.

marta-bee.livejournal.com

Title: A Yellow Wood (AO3)
Author:

pipmer1
Pairing: John/Mary, John/Sherlock
Length: 3,674 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: none, really
Verse: BBC Sherlock
Author's summary: She had heard stories from those who knew them best, tales about an epic friendship rarely found anywhere other than literature and cinema. Surely that was all she was seeing, evidence of what had been described to her ad nauseam. It couldn’t be anything more than that….could it?

Reccer's comments:

Some days, in the aftermath of HLV, it seems like the BBC corner of the fandom is rather preoccupied with the big questions of that fandom. Not unreasonably so -- those are some big questions! -- but what I love so much about this story is the way it looks at the way Sherlock and Mary each present a challenge to the other's relationship to John, even before we get into questions of dark pasts and secrets. It's a compelling story that gives everyone a bit of dignity and shows quite nicely how much of a monkeywrench Sherlock's "death" was for everyone involved. It was quite refreshing to see everyone behaving like adults suffering from a really unapologetically bad situation where no one was completely wrong and no one completely right.

chapbook.livejournal.com

Title: The Madness of Angels
Author: ayalesca
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 87,457
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Canonical and Minor Character Deaths
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Urban fantasy AU. In which John Watson is a war sorcerer recently invalided home from Afghanistan. In London he meets Sherlock Holmes, the world’s most irritating urban sorcerer and only consulting detective. There, John finds himself and Sherlock suddenly under attack by a mysterious and malevolent power—and drawn into a mystery that may tear London apart. A fusion with the Matthew Swift series by Kate Griffin, but no prior knowledge is needed.

Reccer's comments: No S3 Spoilers

This impressive work is one of my favorite BBC series fics.

The bare facts: it is a fusion (with crossover elements consisting of cameos from two urban magic series) that requires no knowledge of the originals to steal your breath, squeeze your heart, and cause you to pound the nearest surface in amazed delight. The vivid, sharply realized settings and the stunning way in which John, Sherlock, Mycroft, and Irene just fit as their IC selves into the dangerous and fantastic landscapes of the City of London is truly remarkable. Let me not leave out the brilliant dialogue, the skillfully re-imagined S1 and S2 cases, and the plot twists so gorgeously done that my sole desire (aside from thanking the author) was to find the other enraptured commenters and hold a joyously raucous re-reading party.

I'll be honest: This fic reminds me exactly why I fell deeply, madly in love with the BBC series in 2011.

Excerpt:

“What are you exactly, John?”

“Washed-up RAMC,” John says lightly.

“Oh, no, I think there’s rather more to you than that,” Sherlock breathes.

He grabs John by the elbow and yanks him to a stop; John nearly stumbles. He gets his footing back and has his mouth open to swear at Sherlock when the iron-like grip loosens, shifts, and then Sherlock takes John’s hand in his own with surprising gentleness. Their eyes meet, dark blue to an ice blue so intense that John has to remind himself to breathe. Then John feels a softly glowing warmth in his hand, and in the next instant all of London thrills through John’s body and his heart suddenly jumps, resets its rhythm, palpitates, and then pounds in the rhythm of cars stopping and starting at thousands of traffic lights. His head fills with the laughter and sorrow of eight million souls; his lungs fill with the air they inhale and exhale. John closes his eyes and allows himself to exist within every footstep on every cobblestone, every raindrop falling on every roof, every spark of electricity burning through every streetlamp in London.

Sherlock pulls away and his gaze is challenging, his lips mocking.

Silently John reaches into his pocket and takes out the shell casing belonging to the bullet that is currently lodged in a dead serial killer’s heart. Sherlock’s face opens in a grin and John is absurdly pleased by Sherlock’s smile.

He reaches out for Sherlock’s hand.

The shell casing firmly fixed in his mind, John clears the London fog from their eyes and shows them both the clear starry night skies above a starkly beautiful desert. He fills both their lungs with the rush and roar of air during a parachute jump. He makes their hearts step in time with the inexorable march of conquering soldiers down through thousands of years of history. Then he presses the shell casing between his and Sherlock’s hand. He feels the sharp, desperate struggle between life and death imbued into the metal; he can feel the tiny thing pulsating as if it were the heart that it had stopped so recently.

And he sends a thrill of power into Sherlock’s body, filling him with the hot roar and spray of blood that the bullet remembers and will always remember.

“You’re a war sorcerer,” Sherlock says the words like a spell that is new to him: feeling the words for their hidden powers, tasting and feeling them for secrets and nuances. His eyes are scanning over John, studying every molecule of him, sniffing out every tendril of magic that is awakening deep inside John’s blood. “How can you be this powerful in London?”

“Because you are a battlefield,” John whispers, and with that realization his world blurs, reels, and then snaps into razor-sharp focus again.

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: An Experiment in Empathy
Author: belovedmuerto
Pairing: Gen
Length: 62,397 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: In which John is an empath, Sherlock is Sherlock, and an epic bromance happens. In the aftermath of The Great Game, John creates an unexpected bond between himself and Sherlock. Now they have to learn how to deal with it. John is better at this than Sherlock is.

Reccer's comments: I could not believe that this author hasn't been recced before, especially this series. It's a series of thirteen stories, all dealing with empath!John and how he and Sherlock wind up with an accidental psychic bond between them. The main part of the story starts out in the aftermath of The Great Game, and was written pre-season 2 so it diverges from canon at that point. In order to save Sherlock's life after the encounter at the pool, John inadvertently creates their aforementioned bond. This causes problems for both Sherlock and John, although it's not without its benefits. This is epic bromance at its finest.

The author also has a second series connected to this one, called "An Experiment in Apathy", in which the bromance steadily becomes full-on romance, but never losing the uniqueness of the Sherlock/John connection. Both have angst, but the second one is even angstier. There are also other fics that are connected to both series and yet are not included as part of either. Do yourself a favour and read ALL of them.

hajimebassaidai.livejournal.com

Title: Say My Name
Author: etothepii (Stochastical)
Pairing: John Watson/"Anthea"
Length: 4360 words approx.
Rating: Teen and up/PG-13
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: After the Pool Incident, as she's been mentally calling it in her head, Mycroft assigns her to monitoring his brother's website, which is how she finds herself reading through his boyfriend's blog.

Reccer's comments: Entirely from "Anthea"'s point of view this is a good humoured, totally believable story of how John and "Anthea" get together. Starting at the end of the events of "The Great Game" they keep encountering each other through kidnappings and emails! This "Anthea" is so much fun and this story has what is probably the best and most interesting explanation I've seen for her reactions to John during "A Study in Pink" and the fake name. Her relationship with the Holmes brothers is also fun to read!

Excerpt from "Anthea"'s blog:

like rumpelstiltskin but better (saymyname) wrote,
oh god i'm going to get fired
I just put sleeping pills in my boss's tea. He's snoring on his desk now (I moved the papers out of the way so he won't drool on them).
I am so fired....
crisis averted
M slept for 14 hours and when he woke up he had an ~epiphany~, and after he finished making phone calls and dictating notes and everything he said to me, "Thank you, Victoria. That was quite refreshing."

antfarmponies.livejournal.com

Trying to Find the In-Between series by NoStraightLine:

Length: 75,885
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Rating: Explicit
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Warnings: None
Author's Summary: DI Lestrade said Sherlock Holmes was a great man, and one day, if they were very lucky, he might be a good one. John Watson is many things, but lucky isn't one of them.

This is the story of how the impossible happens.

Reccer's Comments: So. Here's a first time author that's managed to put together a series that's hot and angsty and (believe it or not) edges into the unbelievable goodness that is The Paradox Suite. Really, it's that good. The series follows the BBC episodes before dealing with Sherlock's return. The beginning of the first story is a little bit confusingly paced, but seriously, if you know what's good for you, keep reading. Sherlock here is more than a bit not good and John is so CaptainBAMFIUnderstandSherlockBetterThanAnyone John Watson, it's almost hard to take (in a good way). The series alternates between their point of views and nails both of them. The sex is really hot and explicit and occasionally makes A Cure for Boredom look pretty tame, but also has a massive emotional wallop. Additionally, not that you need any more reasons to read this series (really, why are you still even looking at my comments), the series addresses the post-Fall issues with as much of a unique perspective as you can get with the thousands of fics out there. Amazing. Fantastic. Sherlock learns to use emoticons. What more do you need?

Excerpt:

He has PTSD. Sherlock is a sociopath who risks his life to prove he’s clever. The flat positively reeks of mental instability. Neither one of them lives well in the between times.

He comes home after an eight-hour shift in clinic once again unable to cope with the automated teller. Sherlock lies on the sofa, fingers tented under his lips, utterly unaware of John’s presence. The thought rises through the black, oily smoke in John’s mind that he misses affection. He pinballs between the mundane and the singular, with none of the daily contact that strings the two together. Conversation while he cooks. A text along the lines of thinking of you rather than Pick up small intestine at Bart’s. A kiss goodbye or hello.

He’ll have to initiate it. John has survived firefights. He can do this.

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: Transcript 72.Sherlock/John Watson
Author: UpperEchelonDork
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 19796 (around 6,000 for the chapter in question)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: While traveling to Paris, John texts Sherlock.

Reccer's comments: I am reccing this, despite it being an unfinished WIP (last updated 5/5/2012), because the first chapter can be read as a solid stand-alone one-shot. This chapter is entirely (except for the last few lines) a text conversation between Sherlock and John, while John is on a train to Paris and Sherlock remains in London on a case. I am a sucker for texting fic, and this chapter is the best I've seen in the Sherlock fandom. It is funny, sad, heartwarming and subtly flirtatious. The story starts out with a misunderstanding between Sherlock and John that results in John taking Sarah with him to Paris to attend a friend's wedding. Sherlock gets involved in a case and takes to texting John details and ideas as he works to solve it. Their conversation drifts back and forth between the case, light-hearted banter and serious heart-to-heart discussions. They invariably work their way to more personal revelations, some that are just on this side of unspoken, unacknowledged sentiments.

The author gives the story a mature rating, although what's been written so far doesn't go beyond a 'teen'. Remember, this is a WIP, but I would seriously recommend only reading the chapter I refer to here, otherwise you might just go insane waiting for something that hasn't updated in several months.

the-hobbet.livejournal.com

Title: The Autumn Moon is Bright
Author:

barrowjane or on A03
Reader:

lily_wordsmith
Podfic: The Autumn Moon is Bright podfic
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 23935 words
Rating: Mature
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: John has two secrets he keeps from Sherlock - he manages this, he thinks, only because Sherlock would find the idea that John is attracted to him just as unlikely as the idea of John being a werewolf. He's not sure what it says about his life, that love and lycanthropy are considered equally impossible events.

Reccer's comments: I was amazed to discover this fabulous fic hasn't been recced here.

John was born a werewolf. It saved his life in Afghanistan and again when Sherlock exploded the bomb at the pool. Later, when Sherlock goes missing, know-it-all Mycroft enlists John's special talent to save his missing brother. Still, Sherlock doesn't know until John is forced to shift in front of him to save his life once again. But Moriarty knows ("people do get sooo attached to their pets").

This is a clever, exciting episodic story told with wit and sharp observation. If you like BAMF!John or werewolf fics, don't miss this one.

( Read More... )

the-hobbet.livejournal.com

Title:Cadence to Arms
Author: mad_maudlin
Pairing: gen
Length: 4826 words
Rating: teen
Warnings: Violence
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: "When you walk with Sherlock Holmes you see the battlefield."
Reccer's comments: Many stories written after the cliffhanger at the end of The Great Game and before the beginning of series 2 start with Sherlock shooting the bomb vest. The bomb explodes, Sherlock is injured, and John flashes back to Afghanistan, weaving past and current events together in his confusion. But always, John is a soldier and a doctor, dedicated to protecting his patient.

( Try a sample... )

chapbook.livejournal.com

Title: Fearful Symmetry
Author:

irisbleufic
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 20,500
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Of nightmares, family, and forgiveness.
Reccer's comments: If you have been searching for a fic that features Harry Watson as a nuanced character rather than a stereotype or a plot device, then here you will find one marvelous example. John and Harry's troubled relationship is explored, with both siblings portrayed as flawed but ultimately able to use the love they share to forgive each other. John's developing relationship with Sherlock is treated with equal care. Iris demonstrates the tremendous courage it takes to forgive and to love without making the ust and brother-sister conflict melodramatic.

Excerpt: “John, what are you doing here?”

The question hung in the air between the four of them, inescapable.

John wiped his mouth and blinked at her, forcing himself to smile in an attempt to stave off the fierce, sudden anger that rose in him. She'd been gunning for an argument all evening, hadn't she?

“Let's see, Harry,” he began, “what am I doing here? Well: first, there was the part where you collected me at the airport smelling of gin, cider, and God knows what else. Then, there was the part where, instead of having the whole tearful-reunion-and-catch-up thing that all my mates had―the ones who made it home, anyway―I spent the next forty-five minutes navigating both you and my luggage through the entire bloody underground just to find the place they'd sorted out for me in the meantime, and you were mostly asleep on my shoulder any time we weren't walking, and oh, by the way, you didn't even mention the cane. Not once.”

Mrs. Hudson was staring down at her plate, and Sherlock was listening intently, his head tilted ever so slightly in John's direction. Harry, on the other hand, was biting into her lower lip so hard that she'd probably draw blood if she didn't stop soon.

If John didn't stop soon.

It was the brush of Sherlock's hand, again, under the table, that snapped him out of it.

Harry took a shuddering breath and opened her mouth to speak. “John, I―”

“No,” John said. “I'm the one who's sorry. Believe me.”

Harry lifted her head and gave him a hard, defiant look.

“For what, John? Which part of it?”

girlonadragon.livejournal.com

Title: Empty Skies
Author: Verasteine
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 5431 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Really, what he's left with in the end is a leg with a mind of its own, and it doesn't take kindly to being exploded at in a swimming pool. Or, how near-death experiences can change your life.

Reccer's comments: This is a character study of John, mainly taking place after the pool confrontation at the end of season one. It's beautifully atmospheric, as the author takes the time to focus on the little details, like the sounds of the city and the smells of chlorine and gunpowder. John's thought patterns are well realised, and there's a certain restraint and a subtlety that gives the whole piece an achingly poignant tone.

Excerpt
Then his arm is around Moriarty's neck and he's settling for his own death in exchange for Sherlock's, and he doesn't wonder, at all, about sacrifice and love and why.

A heartbeat later, he knows he's lost, lost the round, lost the game, lost this game, and sacrifice and love and why are startlingly clear as he thinks a second time, how could I have been so blind?

chapbook.livejournal.com

Title: I Meet You There, And We Go
Author:

irisbleufic
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: ~7,000
Rating: R
Warnings: Major Character Death(s)
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sherlock doesn't believe in second chances, but a last one will suffice.
( Links to Parts 2-4 here )

Reccer's comments:
This tragic yet hopeful series has haunted me for months. The prose is spare and understated, at times poetic, befitting Sherlock and John's metaphysical experience in IMYTaWG and IBTAfY. Their relationship has a beauty that is as strong and as indomitable as their souls. Irisbleufic's interlacing of "here" and "there" gives the first part a powerful dramatic impact. "There", explored further in IBTAfY, is both mystery and miracle, fragile and (im)perfect. In THOW and the epilogue of this series, unlike most examples of the genre, we see how most of the cast is affected by the death(s). The characterization is excellent; even in the throes of shock or grief the characters, whether Anderson or Molly, Sally or Mycroft, remain true to themselves. A respectful and moving group portrait.

Excerpt from "I Meet You There":
John is already there, arms strong and sure around him.

Covering him as debris rains down, his breath harsh and frantic against Sherlock's sweat-slicked cheek. It's familiar (shouldn't be, they've never), somehow disarmingly sweet. Warmth blooms, no, burns in Sherlock's chest, seeps out between stuttering pulses: his heart and then John's, his heart and then John's, his heart and then John's.

Excerpt from "The Half-Open Window":
Suddenly, Harry's wine is on the floor, and she's sobbing on Mrs. Hudson's shoulder.

"Hate him a little," Mrs. Hudson murmurs. "If it makes you feel better, I suppose. It's an awfully foolish thing he did. Both of them did, really."

"Sod that," Harry hiccups, and, to Mrs. Hudson's surprise, she's laughing. "How can I bloody well hate my own brother for having fallen arse over teacup for some brilliant wanker who made him feel more alive than he'd felt in years?"

Mrs. Hudson cradles her, rocks her like a child.

"You can't, love. Forgive me. Neither can I."

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221B Recs

A Sherlock Holmes Recs Community

Entries tagged with content: post-pool

Fic Rec: A Real Deal

Fic Rec: The Shawl of Sherlock Holmes

Fic Rec: Light Our Own Fires

Fic Rec: Traffic Lights series

Fic Rec: All Over the Street

Fic Rec: Green Improbable Fields

Fic Rec: Adequacies

Fic Rec: Lashkar Gah

Fic Rec: Staying Alive

Fic Rec: The Yellow Wood, by PipMer

Fic Rec: The Madness of Angels

Fic Series Rec: An Experiment in Empathy

Fic Rec: Say My Name

Fic Rec: Trying to find the In-Between (series)

Fic Rec: Transcript 72. Sherlock/John Watson

Fic and Podfic Rec: The Autumn Moon is Bright

Fic Rec: Cadence to Arms

Fic Rec: Fearful Symmetry

Fic Rec: Empty Skies

Series Rec: I Meet You There, and We Go

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