Sherlock Recs
For amise, in case she finds them helpful.
Basically, I pulled up the Sherlock Homes/John Watson tag on AO3, then ordered it by Kudos, then started reading, skipping things that didn't sound like my taste. Link to kudos list on AO3 here.
However, the best of this very good lot, in my opinion, roughly in order of how much I liked them, though I'm bad at ranking things and big chunks of them are probably tied with each other.
Amenable - classic angst + porn + happy ending, Holmes/Watson style.
The Real Meaning of Idioms - a very sweet texting romance where John gets hit by the clue bus.
Two Coffees, One Black, One with Sugar, Please - Sherlock convinces John to do a sleep study with him. End result, John and Sherlock end up sleeping together. Sleeping. That's it. John's realization that he's accidentally become Sherlock's boyfriend is a thing of beauty.
Indecorous - This is actually a threesome with Mary Morstan, in which Sherlock is in love with John, and extremely interested in his sex life with Mary, but also asexual. How they work these two (three?) relationships together. I love this one, can't believe I left it off my first draft.
Let me Kiss You (So Sweet and So Soft) - Sherlock just starts kissing John and John can't figure out what the hell is going on. I love this one.
and stand there at the edge of my affection - Sherlock asks John to help him write a love letter. Short and adorable.
Shadows on the Wall - John is psychic, and living with Sherlock is quite difficult for a lot of reasons.
DNA - This might be my favorite SH/JW story, except for the unbelievability of the premise. Everything else about it is perfect, including Sherlock's reaction when they finally get together.
Lab Book - Sherlock seduces John. He's been studying how.
A Finger Slip - John and Sherlock "meet" when John is studying for his A-levels and he dials a wrong number when texting Molly. This is mostly friendship, with a growing overtone of romance. Cute, suitable even for The Barbarian, if I edit some of the cursing. Told entirely in dialogue. And I will spontaneously laugh about the Beyonce thing for no reason just… "John? What does this mean?!" :D This is WIP, on chapter 21, but I would say you could go ahead and read it. It's not stopped in a terribly cliff-hangery spot or anything.
Just a Kiss - I like this one especially for the second kiss. HE DELETED IT! *snickers*
What to Do When Your Flatmate is Homocidal - Fantastic Sherlock voice in this. And JOHN is the homicidal one. Hilarious, but it goes on and on and there are places where it begs believability, but it is *supposed* to be ridiculous, so sometimes maybe our senses of humor clash. It is WIP, but most of the chapters are really stand-alones, especially as you get deeper in, so I doubt that you'll get to chapter 30 and feel like you are in the middle of a story that got left behind.
And Hell Followed With Them - I found this independent of the kudos list. I put it here because I liked it, despite its many obvious flaws. Zombie apocalypse fic. John Watson WALKS BACK FROM AFGHANISTAN (apparently the Chunnel was a real bitch, what with the zombies), with Commander James Bond, a tech specialist (read Q), and John Porter. They meet up with Sherlock Holmes, an agent of the last remnants of the British government who is trying to root out a slave trader - Moriarity. This is most definitely WIP, and I await future chapters with baited breath.
Two Two One Bravo Baker - I rec'd this recently in its own post. Mycroft sends Sherlock to Afghanistan to investigate a particularly horrible atrocity of war. Capt. John Watson becomes Sherlock's liaison and his unit is Sherlock's escort in country. Abundantyqueer is a great writer, with her own special quirks, but I definitely rec this story. Biggest problem with it, in my mind - there is LOTS OF HOT SEX, and the pillow talk is UTTER FAIL. I love her take on John's military service - she has a whole separate two-part essay on AO3 explaining and justifying her decision to not make him a doctor, but a soldier.
Evidence of Human Life - John goes overboard, Sherlock follows him, they make it to an island, where Sherlock proceeds to go insane with boredom. Unique premise, interesting execution, believable behavior by both John and Sherlock.
Ones I don't know how to rank, because I read them so long ago:
Off on the Wrong Foot - Stamford hooks John up with an apprenticeship with Molly Hooper, rather than a flatshare with Sherlock Holmes. They get in a fistfight over a body in the morgue, Sherlock steals John's wallet, and it is ON.
Left - a story where everyone has a special ability except left-handed people. I remember liking this but not much more about it.
The Whore of Babylon was a Perfectly Nice Girl - I remember liking this one, but not a lot about it. The flipped version of BBC Sherlock. He's NOT a virgin. Definitely not.
The two I'm not sure how to rank, because I don't usually do sick-fic, and have very mixed emotions about it:
Synthesis - Sherlock receives a serious head injury and almost completely loses the ability to communicate. I liked this story a lot, because it has not-only the hurt-comfort component, but the characters are both still clearly there, working through the problems of Sherlock's new handicap together, and there's actually a decent case in the background of the recovery story. I also loved the way the writer chose to end it.
Electric Pink Hand Grenade - Sherlock has unusual, stunningly severe migraines. I liked parts of this. I suspect it is so highly ranked on AO3 more because it is a migraine story than because of the quality of it. I don't know. But I did like it.
Crossposted at "http://brainofck.dreamwidth.org/352508.html"
Basically, I pulled up the Sherlock Homes/John Watson tag on AO3, then ordered it by Kudos, then started reading, skipping things that didn't sound like my taste. Link to kudos list on AO3 here.
However, the best of this very good lot, in my opinion, roughly in order of how much I liked them, though I'm bad at ranking things and big chunks of them are probably tied with each other.
Amenable - classic angst + porn + happy ending, Holmes/Watson style.
The Real Meaning of Idioms - a very sweet texting romance where John gets hit by the clue bus.
Two Coffees, One Black, One with Sugar, Please - Sherlock convinces John to do a sleep study with him. End result, John and Sherlock end up sleeping together. Sleeping. That's it. John's realization that he's accidentally become Sherlock's boyfriend is a thing of beauty.
Indecorous - This is actually a threesome with Mary Morstan, in which Sherlock is in love with John, and extremely interested in his sex life with Mary, but also asexual. How they work these two (three?) relationships together. I love this one, can't believe I left it off my first draft.
Let me Kiss You (So Sweet and So Soft) - Sherlock just starts kissing John and John can't figure out what the hell is going on. I love this one.
and stand there at the edge of my affection - Sherlock asks John to help him write a love letter. Short and adorable.
Shadows on the Wall - John is psychic, and living with Sherlock is quite difficult for a lot of reasons.
DNA - This might be my favorite SH/JW story, except for the unbelievability of the premise. Everything else about it is perfect, including Sherlock's reaction when they finally get together.
Lab Book - Sherlock seduces John. He's been studying how.
A Finger Slip - John and Sherlock "meet" when John is studying for his A-levels and he dials a wrong number when texting Molly. This is mostly friendship, with a growing overtone of romance. Cute, suitable even for The Barbarian, if I edit some of the cursing. Told entirely in dialogue. And I will spontaneously laugh about the Beyonce thing for no reason just… "John? What does this mean?!" :D This is WIP, on chapter 21, but I would say you could go ahead and read it. It's not stopped in a terribly cliff-hangery spot or anything.
Just a Kiss - I like this one especially for the second kiss. HE DELETED IT! *snickers*
What to Do When Your Flatmate is Homocidal - Fantastic Sherlock voice in this. And JOHN is the homicidal one. Hilarious, but it goes on and on and there are places where it begs believability, but it is *supposed* to be ridiculous, so sometimes maybe our senses of humor clash. It is WIP, but most of the chapters are really stand-alones, especially as you get deeper in, so I doubt that you'll get to chapter 30 and feel like you are in the middle of a story that got left behind.
And Hell Followed With Them - I found this independent of the kudos list. I put it here because I liked it, despite its many obvious flaws. Zombie apocalypse fic. John Watson WALKS BACK FROM AFGHANISTAN (apparently the Chunnel was a real bitch, what with the zombies), with Commander James Bond, a tech specialist (read Q), and John Porter. They meet up with Sherlock Holmes, an agent of the last remnants of the British government who is trying to root out a slave trader - Moriarity. This is most definitely WIP, and I await future chapters with baited breath.
Two Two One Bravo Baker - I rec'd this recently in its own post. Mycroft sends Sherlock to Afghanistan to investigate a particularly horrible atrocity of war. Capt. John Watson becomes Sherlock's liaison and his unit is Sherlock's escort in country. Abundantyqueer is a great writer, with her own special quirks, but I definitely rec this story. Biggest problem with it, in my mind - there is LOTS OF HOT SEX, and the pillow talk is UTTER FAIL. I love her take on John's military service - she has a whole separate two-part essay on AO3 explaining and justifying her decision to not make him a doctor, but a soldier.
Evidence of Human Life - John goes overboard, Sherlock follows him, they make it to an island, where Sherlock proceeds to go insane with boredom. Unique premise, interesting execution, believable behavior by both John and Sherlock.
Ones I don't know how to rank, because I read them so long ago:
Off on the Wrong Foot - Stamford hooks John up with an apprenticeship with Molly Hooper, rather than a flatshare with Sherlock Holmes. They get in a fistfight over a body in the morgue, Sherlock steals John's wallet, and it is ON.
Left - a story where everyone has a special ability except left-handed people. I remember liking this but not much more about it.
The Whore of Babylon was a Perfectly Nice Girl - I remember liking this one, but not a lot about it. The flipped version of BBC Sherlock. He's NOT a virgin. Definitely not.
The two I'm not sure how to rank, because I don't usually do sick-fic, and have very mixed emotions about it:
Synthesis - Sherlock receives a serious head injury and almost completely loses the ability to communicate. I liked this story a lot, because it has not-only the hurt-comfort component, but the characters are both still clearly there, working through the problems of Sherlock's new handicap together, and there's actually a decent case in the background of the recovery story. I also loved the way the writer chose to end it.
Electric Pink Hand Grenade - Sherlock has unusual, stunningly severe migraines. I liked parts of this. I suspect it is so highly ranked on AO3 more because it is a migraine story than because of the quality of it. I don't know. But I did like it.
Crossposted at "http://brainofck.dreamwidth.org/352508.html"