Not as shippy as I wanted it to be, sorry anon… but hopefully the gist of it is there.
John feels as if he is under the earth, inside a collapsed mine shaft. The semtex vest stands in for the weight from a thousand tonnes of rock and sand, the sniper watching him serves the fear, and the sight of Sherlock - that provides the claustrophobia. Before, when he was led blindfolded into the smell of chlorine and the squeak of his shoes on tiles, he still felt in control, like a miner running for the exit shaft, convinced his feet will carry him those last twenty metres as the tunnel shakes around him. Now that Sherlock is here the parameters have changed. The tunnel is blocked. John's survival training is as much use as a shovel under a mountain.
They are both, as Lestrade would say, shit out of luck.
The radio in his ear speaks, and John signs to Sherlock, a parody of an interpreter. Evening. This is a turn-up, isn't it? Bet you never saw this coming.He knows from the look on Sherlock's face that he has taken the bait (and Lestrade
( ... )
At last Sherlock acknowledges him, Are you alright?
The slick voice is suddenly right behind John's head, a ghoul's whisper in the shadows of the collapsed mine, "You can talk, Johnny boy. Go on."
John gives only a nod. The man - Moriarty, he must give him his name, he is not a ghoul - is standing in front of John and speaking again. But his hands move too quickly, sliding as easily as silk over flesh, and John cannot keep up. Surely Moriarty did not learn this language solely for Sherlock's sake? Up until now, John had been childishly proud of his progress with signing. Sherlock can speak when he wants to, but these days he refuses to vocalise his deductions whenever John is there to interpret. It makes John feel special, the familiar swell of brotherly camaraderie, the knowledge that his presence is necessary for Sherlock's work. He likes being a tool for Sherlock to tinker with the world. And now he has suddenly become not only obsolete but visually deaf to the conversation
( ... )
Re: Syncretism (2/2)
anonymous
May 17 2011, 13:21:06 UTC
op again XD
and I said the word fill like three times in that comment, but that's okay! I'm definitely going to be reading this over and over again. :D If you ever write any more in this verse, I will be the first one there!
Re: Syncretism (2/2)
anonymous
May 27 2011, 04:05:47 UTC
Aw, the reason I normally don't read Moriarty/Sherlock is because it seems to me that John gets left in the cold. This was heartbreaking and sort of scary in that we don't even know what Jim said to convince Sherlock to follow him. Very beautiful fic, especially for its brevity.
Sherlock! John says uselessly
Utterly irrelevant, but I am burning with curiosity as to what Sherlock's name sign is. If it was ASL I would guess an S from the head for 'clever.'
Re: Syncretism (2/2)
anonymous
July 27 2012, 05:53:14 UTC
BSL tends to use visual descriptors for the sign-names, rather than ASL's combinations. For example, my sign-name in ASL is "dizzy" in the kay handshape, for my initial. But in BSL I've been called "grey", for my eye colour.
Perhaps the sign for "scarf"? It's simple enough that it's not a problem to sign quickly, even for people who are inexperienced, and it's a sign that comes to mind quickly, thinking of his appearance. I do quite like the ASL version you've thought up, though.
Re: Syncretism (2/2)
anonymous
May 27 2011, 23:08:18 UTC
D: There's something very sad about John not being able to call after him. Kind of underlines how (in canon) John is never going to get into Sherlock's head the way Moriarty has done.
Re: Syncretism (2/2)soulfightersuJune 7 2012, 20:16:02 UTC
This actually hit me like a punch to the gut, and I feel so sad alongside John. And I'm really wondering why Sherlock seemed disappointed with John. Was he not interesting enough? I know the short length of this helps make it so emotionally powerful, but I want to know more about Sherlock's POV, or even Moriarty's.
Can we get some deaf!Sherlock/Other (Lestrade? oh god, Moriarty?)
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John feels as if he is under the earth, inside a collapsed mine shaft. The semtex vest stands in for the weight from a thousand tonnes of rock and sand, the sniper watching him serves the fear, and the sight of Sherlock - that provides the claustrophobia. Before, when he was led blindfolded into the smell of chlorine and the squeak of his shoes on tiles, he still felt in control, like a miner running for the exit shaft, convinced his feet will carry him those last twenty metres as the tunnel shakes around him. Now that Sherlock is here the parameters have changed. The tunnel is blocked. John's survival training is as much use as a shovel under a mountain.
They are both, as Lestrade would say, shit out of luck.
The radio in his ear speaks, and John signs to Sherlock, a parody of an interpreter. Evening. This is a turn-up, isn't it? Bet you never saw this coming.He knows from the look on Sherlock's face that he has taken the bait (and Lestrade ( ... )
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The slick voice is suddenly right behind John's head, a ghoul's whisper in the shadows of the collapsed mine, "You can talk, Johnny boy. Go on."
John gives only a nod. The man - Moriarty, he must give him his name, he is not a ghoul - is standing in front of John and speaking again. But his hands move too quickly, sliding as easily as silk over flesh, and John cannot keep up. Surely Moriarty did not learn this language solely for Sherlock's sake? Up until now, John had been childishly proud of his progress with signing. Sherlock can speak when he wants to, but these days he refuses to vocalise his deductions whenever John is there to interpret. It makes John feel special, the familiar swell of brotherly camaraderie, the knowledge that his presence is necessary for Sherlock's work. He likes being a tool for Sherlock to tinker with the world. And now he has suddenly become not only obsolete but visually deaf to the conversation ( ... )
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This is an amazing fill! I didn't even dare hope someone would fill my prompt as Sherlock/Moriarty, but you did and it's wonderful!
John's POV is really great here, and your Moriarty is fantastic.
Thank you so much for the fill!
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and I said the word fill like three times in that comment, but that's okay!
I'm definitely going to be reading this over and over again. :D If you ever write any more in this verse, I will be the first one there!
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Sherlock! John says uselessly
Utterly irrelevant, but I am burning with curiosity as to what Sherlock's name sign is. If it was ASL I would guess an S from the head for 'clever.'
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Perhaps the sign for "scarf"? It's simple enough that it's not a problem to sign quickly, even for people who are inexperienced, and it's a sign that comes to mind quickly, thinking of his appearance. I do quite like the ASL version you've thought up, though.
//end year-late ramble of a Deaf girl
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And I'm really wondering why Sherlock seemed disappointed with John. Was he not interesting enough? I know the short length of this helps make it so emotionally powerful, but I want to know more about Sherlock's POV, or even Moriarty's.
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