Fic Rec: Lepidoptera, by Saki101
Title: Lepidoptera
Author: Saki101
Pairings: John/Sherlock
Length: 17,950
Rating: NC-17/Explicit
Verse: BBC Sherlock and the world of A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author's Summary: Mike introduces John to Mrs Hudson, who has a room to let. Sherlock resides in Regent's Park when he's in London. It's only a short flight to Baker Street.
A stand-alone AU of the Sherlock universe crossed with A Midsummer Night's Dream written for the Spook-Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon 2015 in response to the prompt: dark faeries.
Author's Warning: Strange things ahead (blood-drinking moths, for example)
Reccer's Content Note: The drawing of blood (see "Author's Warning") plays an important role in the magic and sensuality here. If blood-drinking moths don't squick you then I think you're good to go even if bloodplay does.
Reccer's Comments: Ah, I don't have words for how beautiful and strange and spooky and original this story is. Something I love about Saki101's work as a whole is how the writer takes a theme (maybe the theme) of BBC Sherlock -- how John accepts, as if it were perfectly normal to do so, Sherlock in all his unusual splendor, or splendid unusualness -- and explores that theme in varied and richly delineated settings. There's so much art in Saki101's stories, and I mean that in every sense of the word "art."
Also, before I get too lit-crit and hoity-toity here, let me add, hastily, that this story is also funny (note the excellent dry Mycroft in the excerpt below) and sexy and, oh, just magic.
An Excerpt:
“Bored,” Sherlock growled from a branch high above Mycroft’s head.
Mycroft drew a thorn across a flattened rose petal. He pressed a fresh leaf over the fine design left behind, and rolled the two into a scroll.
“Bored,” Sherlock repeated, dropping down a branch. It swayed as he landed, glossy leaves rustling. He reached for a cluster of berries.
Mycroft tied a strand of bark around the scroll and held it up. From under a root, a beetle scuttled. It stood on its hind legs, clasped the roll to its abdomen and buzzed away.
“So soon after the uproar in the theatre?” Mycroft asked. He sucked the rose flesh off the tip of the thorn. “You might try to be a little more discreet.”
Sherlock chuckled. “What’s more discreet than one more fairy among the fairies?” He slipped down several branches, disturbing not a leaf.
“One that doesn’t fly about a theatre that has no roof,” Mycroft replied. “’Inexplicable stagecraft wizardry’, ‘Midsummer magic stronger in the autumn’, ‘An evening of enchantment’, or words to that effect headlined the media coverage, which was far more extensive than a post-season charity performance should have garnered. You will note a certain trend in their word choices.”
Read on the AO3.
Author: Saki101
Pairings: John/Sherlock
Length: 17,950
Rating: NC-17/Explicit
Verse: BBC Sherlock and the world of A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author's Summary: Mike introduces John to Mrs Hudson, who has a room to let. Sherlock resides in Regent's Park when he's in London. It's only a short flight to Baker Street.
A stand-alone AU of the Sherlock universe crossed with A Midsummer Night's Dream written for the Spook-Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon 2015 in response to the prompt: dark faeries.
Author's Warning: Strange things ahead (blood-drinking moths, for example)
Reccer's Content Note: The drawing of blood (see "Author's Warning") plays an important role in the magic and sensuality here. If blood-drinking moths don't squick you then I think you're good to go even if bloodplay does.
Reccer's Comments: Ah, I don't have words for how beautiful and strange and spooky and original this story is. Something I love about Saki101's work as a whole is how the writer takes a theme (maybe the theme) of BBC Sherlock -- how John accepts, as if it were perfectly normal to do so, Sherlock in all his unusual splendor, or splendid unusualness -- and explores that theme in varied and richly delineated settings. There's so much art in Saki101's stories, and I mean that in every sense of the word "art."
Also, before I get too lit-crit and hoity-toity here, let me add, hastily, that this story is also funny (note the excellent dry Mycroft in the excerpt below) and sexy and, oh, just magic.
An Excerpt:
“Bored,” Sherlock growled from a branch high above Mycroft’s head.
Mycroft drew a thorn across a flattened rose petal. He pressed a fresh leaf over the fine design left behind, and rolled the two into a scroll.
“Bored,” Sherlock repeated, dropping down a branch. It swayed as he landed, glossy leaves rustling. He reached for a cluster of berries.
Mycroft tied a strand of bark around the scroll and held it up. From under a root, a beetle scuttled. It stood on its hind legs, clasped the roll to its abdomen and buzzed away.
“So soon after the uproar in the theatre?” Mycroft asked. He sucked the rose flesh off the tip of the thorn. “You might try to be a little more discreet.”
Sherlock chuckled. “What’s more discreet than one more fairy among the fairies?” He slipped down several branches, disturbing not a leaf.
“One that doesn’t fly about a theatre that has no roof,” Mycroft replied. “’Inexplicable stagecraft wizardry’, ‘Midsummer magic stronger in the autumn’, ‘An evening of enchantment’, or words to that effect headlined the media coverage, which was far more extensive than a post-season charity performance should have garnered. You will note a certain trend in their word choices.”
Read on the AO3.