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Wherein I babble about Sherlock because I'm still temporarily obsessed. Go ahead and mock.

I've read some good fics and some bad fics, and thought I'd pass along a few I especially liked.

Baskerville by

elapsedspiral. Based on "The Hounds of Baskervilles". Sherlock/John if you squint, but really more about the case. I'm not overly familiar with the original story to know how like it it is, but I really enjoyed this fic.

Contamination by laurajv on Dreamwidth. Warning: This fic is extremely graphic in violence. Think Silence of the Lambs graphic. Sherlock and John BFFs but mainly gen case fic.

The Affair of the Asphyxiated Acafan by AJHall. This is a unique one, told from Sarah's POV, which I really enjoyed. (Although I have to admit that Sarah secretly being into fandom and so on turned me off a bit.) But this had my favorite Sarah interpretation by far. (See below for my take on Sarah.)

John and Sherlock Make a Baby (From Stuff they Find Around the Flat) by

annlarimer. Complete Sherlock/John crackfic, and one of the most hysterical babyfics I've ever read in any fandom. Sherlock thinks a baby is the best idea EVER until he gets bored minutes later, and John is pretty much FML throughout. XD

The 15:06 to Totnes by

trillsabells. A fic told entirely through text messages between Sherlock and John. Extremely funny and pretty much sums up their relationship. XD

The funny thing about combing through lots of fic is that it's made me really zero in on what I do and don't like about the relationships in Sherlock, which also helps to show what I do and don't like to see in fic.

It's probably no surprise that I don't like fics that vilify a character for getting in the way of a ship. In this case, Sarah seems to be a popular target. I don't mind if an author simply ignores Sarah – she's not exactly the love of John's life (yet?) on the show. But turning Sarah into a simpering idiot so that John can immediately hate her, just so that she's not in the way of some Sherlock/John cuddling? Sorry, but WRONG ON THE INTERNET.

I like Sarah on the show. She's sort of the normal one who flits at the edges of John and Sherlock's lives, bringing the occasional voice of sanity to the outlandish things they do. My favorite interpretation of her was in that "The Affair of the Asphyxiated Acafan" fic. She obviously likes John, and respects Sherlock, but she also knows her boyfriend is in a co-dependent relationship with a sociopath. It both amuses her and makes her roll her eyes. She's sort of an audience insert in this way.

As far as Sherlock and John go, I've found that I like their relationship somewhere slightly past gen, but not cuddling and whispering sweet nothings to each other. Mainly because that seems wildly out of character.

On Sherlock's side of things, the show has made it clear that he's simply never cared for anyone before John. The thing is, I doubt he knows what to do with those emotions, much less funnel those emotions sexually. It's possible, I suppose, but he still wouldn't be schmoopy about it. He gets sulky when John leaves and crashes John's dates. (Fortunately for Sarah it seems like Sherlock doesn't find her 100% useless, otherwise he'd probably be tormenting her.) Basically he likes John around, which is a fairly huge thing for someone who hates people. So he's quickly become attached and a bit co-dependent.

John has his own co-dependency thing going on. Sherlock gives him everything he's been missing since the army. He's utterly loyal to Sherlock by the end of the series, killing for him and even willing to die for him. Those are some pretty hard-core emotions right there. However, he's still got Sarah. I don't think he's really in denial, I just think he doesn't really want a sexual relationship with Sherlock so he's getting that somewhere else. I sort of think it's why they've included the Sarah character in the show, and it wouldn't surprise me if she's the modern Mary that Watson ends up marrying in the original. (It makes for an interesting lopsided triangle.)

So bromantic, a bit UST-y and definitely a bit more than your typical guy buddy relationship, but still hanging back. Yeah, that's the stuff that makes me squee. :D

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You liked some of my crackfic recs! Yay! Actually both of those should be total crack except for the fact that they totally aren't.

I will never understand fandom's insistence that any close relationship must be sexual in nature. I mean, I have intense friendships with people of various genders, whom I have never had any desire to have sex with. I have never believed this to be abnormal behavior. When characters can seemingly only be truly close to each other with the addition of lust, it just cheapens the value of true friendship, in my view.

Sherlock is the posterboy for asexuality, dagnabbit. Right up there with Sheldon Cooper. Asexual can mean many things, but it most definitely does not mean "uninterested until the right person comes along, then going at it like rabbits." He has a brilliant mind and extremely underdeveloped emotional maturity, with a lack of understanding of feelings- both his own and those of others. The emotional maturity of a 9 year old boy, who doesn't want to share his toys and gets jealous when his best friend shows interest in being friends with anyone else, or engaging in activities he isn't part of.

John is fascinating, in that he's a deeply damaged person with a strong personal code of morality that may not always match that of society, but he looks the very picture of normal bloke. He's just so darn likable. Death in a cuddly jumper. I adore them both so very much. Their relationship is definitely co-dependant and fairly intense, but I personally don't see it as UST. Of course, as previously mentioned there is no sex in my Sherlock universe, ever. Babies spring up from cabbage patches, spouses sleep in separate twin beds. John "Three Continents" Watson tries it on with every attractive female he meets, but they all turn him down or make him sleep on the couch, it is canon.

I really like Sarah, because despite being a more "normal" person she still holds her own. Don't know if she'll end up being Mary, I suspect she may give him the boot after too much trauma and we'll meet another lady love, possibly a succession of them. But I think I would really like it if she did, she's a reasonably well balanced character. Plus she likes John, which shows she has very good taste indeed. If she is the new Mary, she may not survive very long.
Stopping before my comment goes longer than your post, I hope.

You liked some of my crackfic recs! Yay! Actually both of those should be total crack except for the fact that they totally aren't.

Uh huh. You could see it happening, scarily so. XD

I will never understand fandom's insistence that any close relationship must be sexual in nature. I mean, I have intense friendships with people of various genders, whom I have never had any desire to have sex with. I have never believed this to be abnormal behavior. When characters can seemingly only be truly close to each other with the addition of lust, it just cheapens the value of true friendship, in my view.

I think sometimes it's hard to separate love from sex. And that sex should be the ultimate form of expression of intimacy.

The emotional maturity of a 9 year old boy, who doesn't want to share his toys and gets jealous when his best friend shows interest in being friends with anyone else, or engaging in activities he isn't part of.

That pretty much sums it up for me. "John is seeing a movie with someone? But I've got a head in the freezer! D:"

Death in a cuddly jumper.

THIS. At first glance you think that John's the normal one, but he's really not.

Of course, as previously mentioned there is no sex in my Sherlock universe, ever. Babies spring up from cabbage patches, spouses sleep in separate twin beds. John "Three Continents" Watson tries it on with every attractive female he meets, but they all turn him down or make him sleep on the couch, it is canon.

:D :D

I really like Sarah, because despite being a more "normal" person she still holds her own. Don't know if she'll end up being Mary, I suspect she may give him the boot after too much trauma and we'll meet another lady love, possibly a succession of them. But I think I would really like it if she did, she's a reasonably well balanced character. Plus she likes John, which shows she has very good taste indeed. If she is the new Mary, she may not survive very long.

Yeah, I'm not sure if she is Mary or not. It wouldn't surprise me if she did finally decide she's had enough though. Sort of surprised me that she didn't after The Blind Banker. I guess that's part of what makes me like her. She isn't into that whole crime solving scene, but she isn't scared of it really. I mean, she was understandably scared when she was kidnapped, but she didn't run for the hills afterwards.

Edited 2011-05-18 18:39 (UTC)

Do you not have any other friends who are Sherlock fans, Michelle? What is wrong with your friends?!?!

Obvs you need to do massive picspam illustrating the pure awesome of Sherlock, John, Lestrade, and Sarah. The sweetness of Molly and Mrs Hudson. The fascinating eyebrows of Moriarty. (He is better without sound.) And the unmitigated creepiness of Mycroft.

AALLL BY MYSELLLLLLLF....

Not alone! I'm a big BBC Sherlock fan. Didn't comment earlier because I had no recs!

I have to admit to being a John/Sherlock fan, but only when their romantic relationship is just a slight extension of their canon relationship. I do like Sarah and think she would still be friends with John even if he did end up with Sherlock instead, and I could definitely see him having to sleep on her sofa a few more times after fights with Sherlock XD

I wasn't sure whether to flag up my own Sherlock/John fics since you mentioned you're not a big fan but, since I can promise that no one ever says
"Oh John, you're the most amazing PTSD suffering ex-Army Doctor on the planet, I've never loved like this before"
"Oh Sherlock I've waited to hear those words for so long, I love every emotionally scarred inch of you, let's make mad passionate love on this Union Jack cushion"
that I'd let you decide for yourself ;D So, links are here as usual nothing above PG and Commotion In The Classroom is actually Gen (and no Sarah bashing!)

and I could definitely see him having to sleep on her sofa a few more times after fights with Sherlock XD

Oh, the epic sulking that Sherlock would do. He really makes it into an art form. XD

links are here as usual nothing above PG and Commotion In The Classroom is actually Gen (and no Sarah bashing!)

:D Thanks! I'll have to check them out!

Arrgh, I wish I'd been able to get into the new Sherlock series. But I tried to watch the first ep and just couldn't swallow it. I was fine with Watson, but there was something about the portrayal of Sherlock that completely turned my stomach. :(

I honestly have no idea why it hooked me so much. I put off watching it just because it's not normally my thing.

I've only just become extremely enamoured with "Sherlock" so this post is perfectly timed for me. Recs, woo-hoo!

So bromantic, a bit UST-y and definitely a bit more than your typical guy buddy relationship, but still hanging back.

That's exactly how I see it. It's fascinating.

I've only just become extremely enamoured with "Sherlock" so this post is perfectly timed for me. Recs, woo-hoo!

I probably will even have some more soon. I know at least one I forgot to mention in this post. :D

That's exactly how I see it. It's fascinating.

It is! It's uniqueness is what I think attracts me so much.