221b_recs | Entries tagged with content: tattoos

Title: Christmas With You
Author: MissDavis
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 23,000 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Watch Sherlock, John and Rosie over the years as they celebrate the season as only they can.

Reccer's comments: This charming series of ficlets was written for a 31-day December challenge, using specific prompts for each chapter. The ficlets do make up an entire story, but it is not a linear telling. It jumps back and forth through time, but there is a common thread throughout: how Sherlock, John and Rosie spend and celebrate Christmas together as they work towards forming a family unit. Some chapters take place before John and Sherlock are a couple, and some take place during their established relationship. No matter; it works in a delightful way.

Mary does appear in a couple of chapters, but only as a ghost and a memory.

Yes, I know it's almost May, but that doesn't mean we all don't need some festive cheer to get us through our days, now more than ever!

unovis could I have a Rosie Watson tag, please? Thank you!

swissmarg

Title: Sad Sholto
Artist: bluebellofbakerstreet
Characters: Major James Sholto, Gen
Rating: Not rated, mild nudity
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC

Reccer's comments: As a minor character, James Sholto does not have much fanart dedicated to him, and what there is, tends to depict him as a soldier, virtually to the exclusion of any other aspects of his character. In this beautifully intimate piece, the artist has approached James as a man first, his masculinity clearly on display without being tawdry or gratuitous. His scars are prominent, and he is turned away from the observer as if shy or even ashamed of them, yet his full-sleeve tattoos are proudly worn. Their vibrant colors draw the eye, and along with the intricate motifs of flowers and Celtic knots, rendered in the artist's typical painstaking, delicate brushstrokes, provide a stark contrast to the otherwise staid, understated image. All of the symbols surely give insight to the complex character who normally hides behind the uniform, here revealed for our perusal and speculation.

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: Cameo
Author: what_alchemy
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 8,300 words
Rating: T
Warnings: period-typical homophobia, some of which is internalized
Verse: ACD
Author's summary: Holmes and Watson become embroiled in a case Scotland Yard refuses to acknowledge. A soulmate AU.

Reccer's comments: I adore magical realism fics set in the ACD universe. Rare though they are, this story shows just how poignant and lovely they can be. It offers an inventive and particularly Victorian variation on the soulmate trope, with the silhouette of one's beloved appearing in a cameo frame imprinted on the skin. This makes it more difficult to hide one's orientation from the prejudices of society, and a violent criminal is taking advantage of that. Holmes and Watson are on the case. But, at its heart, this fic is about years of devoted pining at last finding their tender reward.

bluebrocade.livejournal.com

Title: Sherlock the Demon Hunter
Author: LadyRa
Pairing: John/Sherlock & Castiel/Dean
Length: 37,380 words
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC and Supernatural
Author's summary: Sherlock is in Massachusetts with John who is attending a conference. Sherlock finds Dean Winchester digging a grave, and the game is on.

Reccer's comments: Another fun crossover with an edge. Sherlock encounters Dean Winchester in the midst of digging up a grave to perform a standard 'salt-n-burn.' He's confused and delighted and quickly forces his way into Dean's world, but doesn't have sense enough to trust the experts. The world of the supernatural (small "s") is a dream come true for Sherlock--a new puzzle, something to engage his restless mind, something not boring. But Sherlock has to learn everything the hard way. He's a skeptic, and he won't believe anything until he's eliminated all the other possibilities. That may work in criminal or scientific investigations, but it doesn't work in Dean's universe. Sherlock's faith in his own intellect may well be his downfall. And he won't be the only one who suffers.

This is a serious fic but it has some great comedic moments. As with most crossovers, the fun of this fic is seeing the characters from different universes clash. Sherlock Holmes and Dean Winchester are oil and water. Dean can't comprehend why John--a solid, trustworthy bloke, someone you can rely on in a fight with a monster--is hanging around a dangerous twit like Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock can't understand how Dean can seriously believe in souls or that a Demon can take over your body or that Castiel is an Angel--such utter nonsense! And yet so very intriguing. Sherlock can't resist the siren call of the unknown. Mycroft, of course, already knows everything.

( Excerpt )

venusinthenight

Title: sorry i came to your party
Author: Rabbitt
Pairing: historic Irene/Sherlock
Length: 952 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Author chose not to use warnings
Verse: Elementary

Author's summary: A list of things Sherlock Holmes no longer misses: London, cocaine, Moriarty.

Reccer's comments: I love the experimental(ish) style of writing here. I love the poetry excerpt at the beginning. I love the descriptiveness. The erudition. The introspection. Just, everything about this is love. (Tagged "tattoos" and "drug addiction".)

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: Inked
Author: Regency
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 43025 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: John has tattoos. Sherlock has questions. Something like romance eventually blooms, but it's not without its complications.

Reccer's comments: The summary sounds a bit cracky, but the fic is not at all. It's actually a beautiful character study of both Sherlock and John and their relationship. I envy the writer's ability to write with such beautiful language and imagery.

It starts out on a light-hearted note, with witty repartee between Sherlock and John that had me smiling more than once. It then moves into more serious territory as the reasons why John has so many tattoos and yet hides them away from everyone, including Sherlock, come to light. Sherlock is desperate to get John to trust him enough to reveal all his tattoos and explain the meanings behind each one.

Throughout all this, Sherlock struggles with how he really feels about John. To help him come to the right conclusion, Mycroft and Irene both do what they can to help him along the way.

( Excerpt )

chapbook.livejournal.com

Title: Anisoptera
Author:

aderyn8
Pairing: Can be read as Sherlock/John or Gen
Length: 1,849
Rating: NR (I would say maybe PG)
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: “Anax imperator,” says Sherlock.
“Who?” says John.
"Emperor Dragonfly," Sherlock says.
*
“What do you expect me to do? “says Sherlock from the bed’s edge.
Not think about anything for two hours except the (iridescent) insides of your eyelids.
Stay.
Stop for a second; we may have days, months, years, but stop for minute.
Lie down.
Sleep. (Let nothing catch fire.)

Reccer's comments: Art and science married. Sumptuous prose. Subtly expressed emotions as the undercurrent that pulls me under unexpectedly. Sherlock and John chasing after a tattooed killer. That's the surface. Watch out for those unexpected depths. I feel like I've drowned in beauty only to be washed up on the Thames's flats, just revived, incoherently pointing to the gems, the bits of glinting wing, feather, shell, and bone. My sympathetic rescuers staring at me, uncomprehending (they don't yet detect the delicate framework binding those objects), until I shove them in that same roiling river.

Excerpt: “What kind of tattoos?” John says. Sherlock is already manic, ripping the curtains aside and flinging open the windows, letting the aerosphere in and out, stuffing his mobile into a too-close pocket, pulling it out again, pulling up images of shimmery flying gems (Azure Damselfly, Norfolk Hawker) and the sinuously curved winged things of Lalique and Mucha, holding his laptop in front of John’s face on the fly.

“Tattoos where?” says John. It’s not really the right question, but it seems important.

“Everywhere,” Sherlock says, “ DPhil in Chemical Ecology with a bit of a strange history. He killed his girlfriend and left her in a greenhouse."

“And we’re going to pick him up.”

“It’s all over but the weeping,” Sherlock says, and winks, hands John a set of crime scene photos and an Art Nouveau-style Calopteryx virgo he’s sketched on the back of a receipt.

In the photos (somehow badly lit) the bruises on the girl’s (Lila, Lila W.) neck look like wings. The world’s so tragically appropriate; we are what we are and we leave our traces, John thinks, and nips upstairs before they leave to slip Sherlock’s sketch into a drawer.

keerawa.livejournal.com

Title: In Flames: The Life and Death of Soo Lin Yao
Author: radial_symmetry
Pairing: Gen
Length: 8,289 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Canonical Character Death
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Yao Soo Lin has four tattoos, but only three of them belong to her.
Soo Lin wanted to live a worthwhile life, a life with meaning, but that has never been possible. She will have to settle for making her death mean something, instead.
Reccer's comments: Every person is the hero of their own life's story. Here, although Sherlock Holmes never deduced it, we find out why Yao Soo Lin is a hero to many.

I find 'The Blind Banker' problematic, partly because of the weak characterization of Soo Lin. But this story reminds me of why I love fan fiction by weaving between the few details we see in canon to turn a minor 'disposable' character into a strong and vibrant woman with a powerful story of her own.

teatotaller.livejournal.com

Title: Leave a Trail
Author: by

sirona_gs
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: ~5,300
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: John has a present for Sherlock; Sherlock definitely approves.
Reccer's comments: One of the best tattoo kink stories out there. You get a deliciously possessive (but not creepily so) Sherlock and a John who knows exactly what he wants. It all comes together nicely and leaves John, Sherlock and the reader quite satisfied!

unovis.livejournal.com

Hi!
Just a few words on our tags and tagging your recs.

Tags are useful search tools for grouping the recs by categories: by pairing, genre, content, and sources for the stories or other fanworks.

We ask that reccers attach tags that are relevant to the works they rec. You don't have to add everything that applies-- for example, not a character tag for everyone who might appear in the story, or every theme or content. But if Molly has a significant cameo, say, that you think people searching for her might appreciate, then by all means list her in a tag. Likewise if you think this is the addiction story people should read, then use the content: addiction tag.

The required aspects to tag are pairing (if it applies), relationship genre (i.e., gen, slash, or het*), and verse (the source: ACD books, Sherlock BBC, Granada, etc.).

The easiest place to see all of the tags available is in this list of tags.

Tagging is enabled only for the author of the post and the mods. Only the mods can add new tags. We have a beginning list up now, anticipating likely categories and characters. We'll add more as recs are made, if characters and pairings, for example, aren't covered already. You can request a new tag to be added by commenting here or by contacting one of the mods. Keep in mind, again, that we'll be adding character tags as additional characters appear in recs.

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have been abbreviated as SH and JW in pairings and some other places (e.g., content: sick jw). Since this recs comm is open to all versions of Sherlock Holmes, it seemed the simplest way to identify the characters. Lestrade, Gregson, and Dimmock are listed as "inspector" following ACD book canon, and Moriarty is listed only once by his (their) surname alone. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is abbreviated throughout as ACD.

*We won't add a category for "slash-if-you-squint" or similar invitations for the reader to see subtext in a story. If the author hasn't labeled her work as slash, then it's genre: gen or genre: friendship.

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221B Recs

A Sherlock Holmes Recs Community

Entries tagged with content: tattoos

Fic Rec: Christmas With You

Art Rec: Sad Sholto

Fic Rec: Cameo

Fic Rec: Sherlock the Demon Hunter

Fic Rec: sorry i came to your party

Fic Rec: Inked

Fic Rec: Anisoptera

Fic Rec: In Flames: The Life and Death of Soo Lin Yao

Leave a Trail by sirona_gs

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