You and Sugar Plums

Title: You and Sugar Plums
Author: canolacrush
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Mummy Holmes
Warning: PG-13,
Length: Novella
Status: Ongoing


In which Sherlock reluctantly agrees to be this year's Father Christmas, John accidentally agrees to help, and both of them discover that there's a lot more involved in this Christmas thing than they ever imagined.


AO3

Sherlock is Father Christmas. No. No, I haven't got this wrong. He's not dressing up as Father Christmas. He IS Father Christmas. This story is lovely. Truly.

Predator

Title: Predator
Author: emptycel
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John, Sherlock
Warning: PG-13, mention of non-con, AU
Length: Novella
Status: Completed


John Watson just wanted a nice, peaceful year at Baker Academy, but when a sexual predator and serial rapist makes the school his hunting ground, John gets caught up in the crime solving whirlwind that is Sherlock Holmes.


AO3

A good case fic set in their school days. I don't rec school fics that often, so take my word. This one is good.

Same author:
The Six Steps of Courtship

The Letter of the Lore

Title: The Letter of the Lore
Author: Anonymous
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock, John, Mycroft
Warning: PG-13, murder (Sherlock), AU
Length: Short
Status: Completed

Sherlock is a half-faerie. It is not easy to live under ancient laws.

LJ

I really love the embedded fantasy elements. And how John reacts. You feel the love in there. The author truly loves BBC Sherlock.

Soldiering on Through Friendly Fire

Title: Soldiering on Through Friendly Fire

Author: Schmiezi

Fandom: Sherlock

Characters: John, Sherlock, Moran

Warning: PG-13, violence, suicide (Moran)

Length: Medium

Status: Completed

A shadow from Sherlock's past forces the boys to reunite after the fall.
Set directly after Reichenbach. John is not as unknowing as Mycroft thought, and not as easy to break as Moran thought. Sherlock might not be as unaffected by this caring thing as he thought himself.

AO3

I've taken the liberty to grade this as a friendship fic instead of pre-slash. While there are some hints, I cannot see it as more than the deep friendship John and Sherlock share in canon, too.

It's very interesting to see Sherlock have some history with Moran. Usually, John is the one who was in the army with Moran, or who gets to know him. Somehow, I like the chemistry. Sherlock and Moran were both graspable, and I could imagine it rather well. With all of Moran's obsession.

It's Complicated

Title: It's Complicated
Author: Mistress Scribbles
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John, Sherlock, past Victor/Sherlock
Warning: PG-13, mention of slash
Length: Medium
Status: Completed


A case leads Sherlock & John to a Holmes family friend's mansion, and to an event in Sherlock's past that he would rather not revisit.


AO3

A nasty Victor, beware. I really loved John and Sherlock's friendship. At the end, I wasn't sure if it wasn't more but for now, I'd interpret it as friendship. John really had Sherlock's back. Beautiful.

About Mary

 I've become very weary, though. That hatred within the fandom gets to me. It makes me sad to see people turn their back to the fandom because they feel unwelcome. I've never seen the Sherlock fandom claw at each other like this. I've got plenty of reasons why I would like Mary to leave the show. But lately, the most prominent of those is because she disrupts the fandom. This will sound strange but with every post about how people are reluctant to be honest, how people would rather not post anything and would rather turn their back to all of this... it makes me so sad. Before, people had fights. But they could relate to each other. Understand where they were coming from. There was no "superior" and "inferior" side to it. It was "I have my opinion, you have yours, but I like mine better." Now some people put others down. It's ugly. And it's not exactly a good prospect that this is still around, now that it has been months since the series has aired for the first time. I fear this will stick around. Like a stigma Mary put on the fandom. I even have found myself weary of posting. Usually, I've given my opinion but tried to reach out, to show that "all is fine." Lately, I've found myself accepting that there's no use. They don't take you seriously as soon as you state on "which side of that dividing line you are."

Fully second that.

A Slight Misunderstanding

Title: A Slight Misunderstanding
Author: Coragyps
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock, Moran
Warning: R, slash, murder (Sherlock --> Jim)
Length: Medium
Status: Completed


In which I, John Watson, manage to accidentally convince my flatmate I'm in love with him.


AO3

A fluffy fic in which John tells Sherlock that he loves him. Too bad Sherlock interprets it as romantic love. And John is not so sure if Sherlock isn't right...
Basically: John does a lot of soal finding, meanwhile Sherlock finds the balance in their relationship.

Her Eyes

Title: Her Eyes
Author: drachenmina
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Snape/Harry
Warning: R, slash, disability (Harry - blind)
Length: Medium
Status: Completed


 Severus Snape is the only one who can heal the injuries inflicted on Harry by a vengeful Bellatrix Lestrange.


AO3

The dialogue is especially well-done. The writing isn't dense but everything happens within a month. So in a way, it is a rather tight story. There are almost only scenes, not much flashbacks/descriptions/... .
I like drachenmina's works.

Spare Change

Title: Spare Change
Author: Ermerness
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock (switch), Mycroft, Jim, Mummy Holmes
Warning: NC-17, slash,AU, slash, marriage
Length: Novella
Status: Completed


The Holmes family is one of the richest and most powerful in England. Sherlock spends his time flying around the world on the family's private jet drinking a lot and shopping at expensive boutiques as a way of trying to alleviate his endless boredom. His mother decides it's time he settles down with someone powerful, wealthy and well connected. John Watson happens to be none of those things.


AO3


A nice AU with rich!Sherlock who is supposed to marry a dull person. Then John Watson happens. And Sherlock is no longer bored.

Arguing and Corpses

Title: Arguing and Corpses
Author: AggressiveWhenStartled
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock/John, Sally
Warning: R, slash
Length: Novella
Status: Completed

“You’ve stuffed an entire body into the fridge this time,” John accused. “What happened to the milk? The leftover risotto? My bloody jam?”

Sherlock opened his eyes at that. “As a doctor, it should be readily apparent to you that there is only a partial body in our refrigerator. Popular horror stories notwithstanding, it’s rare for an entire corpse to fit into one this size. I had to cut it up into several parts to pack it in, and there is still only seven eighths of it there.”

John stared at the ceiling. “That’s... not better.”

AO3

A hilarious work that focuses on John and Sherlock's interactions, as well as their budding relationship. I very much enjoyed it. It's clever, funny, and intriguing.

This Thing All Things Devour

Title: This Thing All Things Devour
Author: cypress_tree
Fandom: Sherlock / In Time
Characters: John/Sherlock, Mycroft, Molly, Sally, Lestrade
Warning: NC-17, slash, AU, crossover
Length: Novella
Status: Completed

 In 2169, time is money—literally. Humans are genetically engineered to stop aging at 25, when the numbers on their arm start counting down from one year. When that time is up, they die. The only way to get more time is to earn it, borrow it, or steal it.

John Watson lives day-to-day in the crowded slums of Zone 13. He never imagined living any differently—until he meets the practically-immortal Sherlock, and helps him on a case to track a local time-thief...

AO3

Brilliant story. I didn't know "In Time" but I think the main elements of the universe are very conflicting and dark. Putting Sherlock and John in there... yes, it works. It does.
I loved the general mood. You can feel "the time is running." You expect it to run out.

Curved Space

Title: Curved Space
Author: taylorpotato
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Lestrade/Sherlock
Warning: NC-17, genderbender, slash/het
Length: Short
Status: Completed

Things can be difficult when you don't fit into a neat little box of gender or sexuality. Some days, everything is fine. Other days, it feels like Sherlock has woken up in the wrong body. They cope with it as best they can, perhaps by drowning in an opiate high more often than they should. But there's always the work. Puzzles to solve. Ways to keep busy. There's also Greg Lestrade. Who Sherlock is definitely not dating. At least, not on purpose.



AO3


The gender issue is well-described, and I consider this important and educational enough to rec it. No, you are not bombarded with facts. It's more like an impression, a "human story."

Same author as:
Blank Canvas, Warm Bed

Fade to Black

Title: Fade to Black
Author: twistedthicket1
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John, Sherlock, Mycroft, Moriarty (John)
Warning: R, het, murder (John), illness (multiple personality disorder- John)
Length: Novella
Status: Ongoing

John Watson believes one day he'll just fade.

That he'll drown in the black spaces of his mind, and that one day he will no longer exist. It's always been like this, the dark spots marking out moments in his life he can't remember. Where for just a moment he's someone else. Having a Dissociative identity disorder, he can't even be entirely sure he's really who he says he is.
Then he meets Sherlock Holmes. A brilliant detective who when he looks at you can read your entire life story. John is immediately fascinated and afraid, half-wondering if maybe Sherlock can see the other personalities in him and half terrified of the thought of him finding out. Becoming his flatmate seems at once to be a wonderful and horrible idea. Yet as John's Blackouts become more and more severe and his other personalities begin to truly awaken and show themselves with Sherlock's help, the two soon discover that sometimes even the kindest person can harbour a demon best left untouched inside of them.
Because not all of John's other personalities play nicely. and some may be hiding secrets best left undisturbed.....

AO3

A very introspective work. The multiple personalities are John's weakness just as much as they are his strength. I abhor stories that either romanticize or dramaticize disorders. This one is a very good attempt at showing "what if."

This Is Where I Began

Title: This Is Where I Began
Author: dioscureantwins
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Mycroft, Sherlock, Daddy Holmes (Sherlock), OMC (John, Mr Talbot, Mr Mancini), John, Mommy Holmes
Warning: R, character death (Daddy Holmes, Mr Mancini), illness (Mummy Holmes), non-con (Sherlock), drug abuse (Sherlock)
Length: Novel
Status: Ongoing


The only evidence remaining is the expression on his face. Now he remembers it was different from his usual scowl of disgust at the utter dullness of the whole human race – with the exception of John of course. In fact it’s the expression that immediately crops up in his mind at the thought of Daddy’s face. A look of quiet benevolent fondness, not cast around without discrimination but almost always there while looking at his mother, Mycroft, himself.



AO3


There are too many great lines not to quote them. And I think they actually tell more about the quality of this work than any of my praise would do. It just... explains so much, and in so much depth about Mycroft and Sherlock.

“I do hope you will find a John of your own one day Sherlock, because we all need a John."

"He could have been so much more but he chose not to.”

“I … I know I should love him, I want to love him but he’s making it really hard for me. Why does he have to resemble you so much? He’s like a clone and sometimes I feel each day he lives he saps your strength. He’s going to make you die on me.” (Mummy Holmes to Daddy Sherlock about Sherlock)

 “You’re not him,” she says. “You’re nothing but an impostor."

 "I love you. I want to love you. But you’re making it so hard for me. You’ve always rejected me, right from the start. You didn’t want my milk … You squirmed away from my breast with a look of disgust on your tiny face. Your lovely tiny face. And whenever I bent over your cot to pick you up … you were just lying there … looking at me with his eyes … but no kindness … “ (Mummy Holmes to Sherlock) 

 The loss of Mycroft. That’s what the school uniform signifies.

 That night he had crept into Mycroft’s bed to be close to a body he could trust to do him no harm.

 Sherlock wants to reach out to him, to lay his small hand on Daddy’s big long-fingered one to tell him it’s all right, he won’t tell Mummy what he’s seen.

 But it would help if you’d change your attitude, if only a bit. For Christ’s sake, Sherlock, I’m not yet sixteen. I’m nothing but a schoolboy myself and all these worries get heaped on my plate. Mummy is no help at all. She just tells me to arrange everything as I see fit.

 "That’s just stupid and you know it, Sherlock. Or you should ask Mycroft if you don’t. He could explain it well enough. In the real world one doesn’t choose the gardener over the estate. Those fairy stories only happen in novels.”

It is  very sad, a very detailed fictional universe. One of the best works I've ever read.

John and Sherlock's friendship has become inequal

I whole-heartedly second this. Quote by a user from sherlockforum.com named Zain:

I've been watching some fan vids ( god, I really waste a lot of my time on this show. Ridiculous...)
And I finally understand the exact reason why I find the idea of Victor so compelling. Dunno if anybody cares but maybe somebody recognizes that feeling? Because I've read more than once that others feel similiar about the third season.

In the past three seasons, we've seen a lot of different characters. It's a narrow set in comparison to other TV shows but there have been plenty of faces. While the show is about Sherlock, positive interaction rarely happens in his presence. Yes, he has got Mrs. Hudson, and Lestrade, and Molly, but I don't think he ever really laughed around them. We never get to see him happy around somebody but John. He's content, yes. But he never appears happy. To me, the most memorable scene is when John and Sherlock return to 221b in ASiP after chasing the cab. I don't think Sherlock ever shares something like this with anybody else.
John, on the other hand, seems happier throughout the series. Then, in season 3, it becomes even more pronounced when he has got Mary.
It's like Sherlock needs John around to be happy, while John is capable of finding that elsewhere. He misses Sherlock, yes, and I am sure he values their friendship. But in this regard, their friendship is not on equal footing. John doesn't need Sherlock as much as Sherlock does need John. It's why John says "Goodbye" instead of "Take me with you because I can't let you go a second time." And that in itself is perfectly okay. It would be stupid to criticize that John is happy. But to me, season three makes a point of showing how Sherlock and John have not the same priorities.
I suppose that's where the idea behind Victor Trevor gets in. I feel like Sherlock should have at least one true friend before John. Someone that made him laugh, someone that laughed with him. Since season 3, I feel like their friendship is very fragile. Not because Sherlock faked his death, but because it has become evident that John can do without Sherlock. He might not want to, but he could walk away if he wanted to. I don't think Sherlock could.
It makes me feel very sad for Sherlock. He reminds me of a raven looking for breadcrumbs. And the man who enjoyed feeding him has found another afternoon activity. The man might drop by sometimes, but he does no longer feel the inner need to be there every day at the same time. The raven, meanwhile, remains at the same spot. Hoping. Because maybe this day will be the day, the day when the man will drop in once again.
I feel uncomfortable with this. To me, their friendship was beautiful because it was equal, no matter how bossy Sherlock sometimes had been.

And I don't think you can repair this. Even if John lost everything else, Sherlock would now be just be "an option", not "the option." I have a hard time seeing how their relationship could be put on an equal footing once again. I feel like Sherlock needs another person that fascinates him, that draws Sherlock's eyes to them whenever there's nothing to focus on. Like the moment when you avert your eyes from the TV screen, just to make sure that the person next to you is alright. Just to check that they are still there. Because you couldn't do without them. I want somebody like this for Sherlock. Someone who looks at him, and someone Sherlock looks at.
 I believe that John and Sherlock's friendship can only get more equal when John realizes that it is inequal. When he sees it from the other side, when he's the third person, the one Sherlock is not looking at for confirmation.

And I believe this has got to happen in season 4. I cannot imagine another season with their friendship in utter ruins. Something has got to make them approach each other once again. It'll never be the same, but I really hate this inequality. 

Brother Mine

Title: Brother Mine
Author: Wind_Ryder
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Mycroft, Sherlock, OMC (Sherrinford), OMC (Kent)
Warning: PG-13, illness (Sherrinford - psychopathy), character death (Kent)
Length: Medium
Status: Ongoing

Mycroft Holmes knew there was something wrong with his older brother. He could see it in the way that he moved, the way that he smiled, the way that he spoke. To everyone else he was a perfect child: happy, grateful, and kind. But Mycroft knew better, and he would do everything he could to keep his younger brother as far away from him as possible.

Sometimes though, he fails.

AO3

A brilliant series which shows us a sweet little William who is very much in need of protection. The characters are believable, and it is a good interpretation of Mycroft's "the other one" comment in S3.
Definitely worth a read. There's a certain darkness lurking at the edge but it's not too uncomfortable. For now, PG-13.

Same author as:
Finally
Something New

Drowning

Title: Drowning
Author: Dayja
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock, John
Warning: PG-13, character death (OC - Sherlock's cousin)
Length: Medium
Status: Completed


Sherlock has never learned to swim.



AO3


I really like the uplifting epilogue. It's strange to talk about a story like that. The topic's not especially nice. And yet that epilogue makes me feel good whenever I read the story.
Sherlock moved on. I suppose.



Same author as:
Harry Potter of Baker Street

Harry Potter of Baker Street

Title: Harry Potter of Baker Street
Author: Dayja
Fandom: Sherlock/Harry Potter (crossover)
Characters: Sherlock, John, Harry
Warning: PG, childfic
Length: Medium
Status: Ongoing


Sherlock Holmes discovers family he never knew he had, and John Watson finds a child living in the cupboard.


AO3


A nice crossover. I love how Sherlock trains Harry like a pet to react to another name. It's just... really funny at times. And John's hilarious, the way he accepts this madness.

Same author as:
Drowning