Fic Rec: Mistletoe: A Yuletide Myth
Title: Mistletoe: A Yuletide Myth
Author: radial_symmetry
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Harry Watson/Clara
Length: 5,671
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: In which John Baldr has bad dreams, Frigg is drunken yet persuasive, and Loki finds a better use for mistletoe than killing. (A retelling of the Death of Baldr, in an AU fusion between Sherlock and Norse mythology.)
Reccer's comments: There are so many things to love about this fic. First of all, the fusion between Sherlock and Norse mythology is really well done. radial_symmetry did a masterful job adding in mythical details--from character names to the style the story is written in. Harry as Frigga is wonderful, intermittently charming and frustrating as she sets things in motion. radial_symmetry does an amazing job giving life the world that these beings inhabit; the language and word choice are top-notch and interesting throughout. A great example of this is John's various nicknames (John "Nine Realms" Baldr and, as Sherlock refers to him, "the foremost man-whore in all of the Nine Realms"). There are little moments like these throughout that always make me stop to appreciate when something is so perfectly crafted.
I really enjoyed the plot itself, as well. At it's core it's a familiar story--a first time, getting together, love at first sight sort of fic--but the details, including Harry traveling all the realms to extract promises from everything (and then later bragging about it), and John's dream/nightmare to kick the fic off, are so expertly executed that it feels like reading something brand new. I've probably read this fic four or five times and it's so wonderful that I'll find myself thinking about it at times and having to go re-read it yet again.
The characters are really well done, as well. They walk the line between the demands of the story (and the characters the myth is based on), while still recognizably being the characters we know and love. Sherlock, especially, is crafty and clever while being totally blind. And the tag at the end is a moment of pure gold.
The tone, despite the myth that the story is based off of, is humorous, but it never veers into crack fic. There's real heart and fluff in here that keeps it sweet and lovely without turning it into a complete joke.
Author: radial_symmetry
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Harry Watson/Clara
Length: 5,671
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: In which John Baldr has bad dreams, Frigg is drunken yet persuasive, and Loki finds a better use for mistletoe than killing. (A retelling of the Death of Baldr, in an AU fusion between Sherlock and Norse mythology.)
Reccer's comments: There are so many things to love about this fic. First of all, the fusion between Sherlock and Norse mythology is really well done. radial_symmetry did a masterful job adding in mythical details--from character names to the style the story is written in. Harry as Frigga is wonderful, intermittently charming and frustrating as she sets things in motion. radial_symmetry does an amazing job giving life the world that these beings inhabit; the language and word choice are top-notch and interesting throughout. A great example of this is John's various nicknames (John "Nine Realms" Baldr and, as Sherlock refers to him, "the foremost man-whore in all of the Nine Realms"). There are little moments like these throughout that always make me stop to appreciate when something is so perfectly crafted.
I really enjoyed the plot itself, as well. At it's core it's a familiar story--a first time, getting together, love at first sight sort of fic--but the details, including Harry traveling all the realms to extract promises from everything (and then later bragging about it), and John's dream/nightmare to kick the fic off, are so expertly executed that it feels like reading something brand new. I've probably read this fic four or five times and it's so wonderful that I'll find myself thinking about it at times and having to go re-read it yet again.
The characters are really well done, as well. They walk the line between the demands of the story (and the characters the myth is based on), while still recognizably being the characters we know and love. Sherlock, especially, is crafty and clever while being totally blind. And the tag at the end is a moment of pure gold.
The tone, despite the myth that the story is based off of, is humorous, but it never veers into crack fic. There's real heart and fluff in here that keeps it sweet and lovely without turning it into a complete joke.