Fic Rec: Hope
Title: Hope
Author: lifeonmars
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 3,500 words
Rating: not rated, but I would say PG-13
Warnings: character death
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: In the end, John will have died for Hope. The universe has such a charming sense of humour.
Reccer's comments: To tell you the truth, I usually avoid stories that involve the death of a main character; I am not often in the mood for tragedy. However, I tried this story because I admired the author's other works, and I am so glad that I did. It made me cry actual tears of joy, because I find its themes to be so full of love and connection and comfort.
This story takes off on a tangent from "A Study in Pink" -- in this version of events, the medical condition that defined the villain in ASiP transfers instead to the hero. John's bullet wound gave him more than a discharge from the army -- it gave him a brain aneurysm. He is a walking dead man, aware that any moment could be his last. Being John, he exhibits both a mordant sense of humor about this, and also a self-effacing concern for others that leads him to avoid contact as he tries to unobtrusively wait out the rest of his time. Then he meets Sherlock Holmes, who quickly puts paid to that.
John thought his life was basically over, but instead he finds the very best of it is right there for the taking. So much so that he can't bring himself to admit the truth of his condition to Sherlock. The delicate, unspoken tension between John's secret and Sherlock's perception runs through the story, and its resolution is as full of hope and love as it is of sorrow.
I find this a deeply moving and life-affirming story, and it reminds me of Shakespeare's hopeful lines: "The setting sun, and music at the close, / As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last."
Author: lifeonmars
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 3,500 words
Rating: not rated, but I would say PG-13
Warnings: character death
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: In the end, John will have died for Hope. The universe has such a charming sense of humour.
Reccer's comments: To tell you the truth, I usually avoid stories that involve the death of a main character; I am not often in the mood for tragedy. However, I tried this story because I admired the author's other works, and I am so glad that I did. It made me cry actual tears of joy, because I find its themes to be so full of love and connection and comfort.
This story takes off on a tangent from "A Study in Pink" -- in this version of events, the medical condition that defined the villain in ASiP transfers instead to the hero. John's bullet wound gave him more than a discharge from the army -- it gave him a brain aneurysm. He is a walking dead man, aware that any moment could be his last. Being John, he exhibits both a mordant sense of humor about this, and also a self-effacing concern for others that leads him to avoid contact as he tries to unobtrusively wait out the rest of his time. Then he meets Sherlock Holmes, who quickly puts paid to that.
John thought his life was basically over, but instead he finds the very best of it is right there for the taking. So much so that he can't bring himself to admit the truth of his condition to Sherlock. The delicate, unspoken tension between John's secret and Sherlock's perception runs through the story, and its resolution is as full of hope and love as it is of sorrow.
I find this a deeply moving and life-affirming story, and it reminds me of Shakespeare's hopeful lines: "The setting sun, and music at the close, / As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last."