My sherlockmas rec-list
After giving you my holmestice rec list the day before yesterday, now all sherlockmas gift fics have been posted as well and I have again spent the best part of yesterday and today to carefully (re-)read all the entries and compile a small collection of my favourites to share with you. Again, this makes no claim of being complete, but I hope you enjoy it anyway:
- "A Christmas Miracle": an adorable Christmas kid!fic. Mummy Holmes is trying her best to give her boys a loving childhood, yet clearly a little overwhelmed with her two sons - especially little tyrant Sherlock who is furious about (apparently) not getting the Christmas present he wanted. Luckily Mycroft is there to have "Very Serious Talks" with Sherlock and keep the upper hand. This fic is not only cute, adorable and funny, but also very much in character for both Mycroft and Sherlock!
- The Most Wonderful Day of the Year: a hilarious Christmas story. Sherlock doesn't want to celebrate Christmas - John on the other hand does. So the living room is separated into a sulking-side and a Christmas-side. Further on, the moral of A Christmas Carol is questioned, various songs are inspected in their capacities to be become modern classics and we learn why John's Christmas choir really got a donation from Sherlock. This all makes a very fun, light and thoroughly enjoyable read!
- Water in the Desert: a very amazing update of Mary from ACD canon. Here she is a soldier in Afghanistan where she meets John due to being injured while saving her fellow soldiers in an attack. This Mary is wonderful and awesome (stubborn, loyal to her comrades, brave and entirely able to make her own decisions) and her relationship with John is completely believable and as sweet as it could possibly be in the middle of a war zone. She loves being with her family and John, obviously, but would never put her personal happiness over her sense of duty.
- The Second Most Dangerous Man Eligible Bachelor in London: a very clever Watson vs. Moran scenario (warnings: female John). The story is really creative: Moran and Watson meet during speed dating under false identities - or rather Moran is convinced he is tricking her. Moran himself is a surprisingly hilarious narrator, I was very amused by his inner monologue and his trying to keep enough self-control to not just kill everyone. But the best thing was the interpretation of Jack as the female Watson: she seems great fun to be with and such a badass!
- Arch-Enemy: a very thrilling case!fic! It starts with John being convicted for killing Sherlock and as the story progresses features non-linear storytelling, lines from Macbeth (♥ !!!), clever buildups, surprise twists and on top of all a very scary and evil Mycroft. Go and read this now!
- Bandit Queen: an amazing and thrilling exploration of "Anthea". Not only does she get a backstory, but a character, a motivation and a proper profession! In this fic, she seems very strong, always focused on her goals, loyal only to her work and to herself and able to easily adept to all possible circumstances. Seeing her interact with Mycroft and Jim (and work for both of them! - or do they work for her?) at the same time was very intriguing. A chilling and engaging read!
- It's the Thought That Counts: a very painful analysis of what Sherlock will do for John and how much he doesn't care for other people in the process. When Harry is in the hospital in the need of a liver transplant, Sherlock offers his help... This fic really captures Sherlock's cold and completely logical thought process and his complete ruthlessness in all things that do not concern John. It is creepy and disturbing, but beautifully written!
- A Most Uncomfortable Parallel: a very poignant comparison between John's relationships with the two addicts in his life: Harry and Sherlock. The evolving and slowly changing relationship between John and Harry is very well handled and portrayed very realistically (but sad). Sherlock is very much in character - watching and observing, without ever getting engaged with other people. A very gripping and thought-provoking read.
- The Tree and The Voice: a very powerfully written variation of the "Don't go into the light!" motive, set in the fragile balance between life and death. The writing style is beautiful in its sparseness - very much to the point and still engaging and transporting the longing for piece and quiet versus going back into a world of pain and agony.
- The Family You Choose: this is the gift fic that was written for me! :-D A very sweet story about an unexpected Christmas dinner with everybody we love. Various childhood memories of family Christmases (that involve lots of baking) are shared and the secret of Sherlock's Christmas presents in the year of great disillusionment ia revealed... A cute Christmassy read.
- Not what is said, but what is whispered: a hilarious meta-fic told exclusively through e-mails and text messages. There are tons of fanfics written online about John and Sherlock and their rumoured relationship. What if the Yard and consequently John and Sherlock themselves found out about them? And is Sherlock as innocent as he pretends to be? A very fun (slightly slashy) meta-read.