Ok, I've done a search and haven't been able to find this fic recommended, so I will give it a go. Apologies if it's already here and I haven't seen it!

Collared by VelvetMace.

This is a very explicit and dark fic that can be disturbing. It deals with moral white, grey and black areas - mostly grey. It's set in an AU slavery British Empire setting. And, yes, I know that sounds ridicoulous. I've scrolled past this fic several time because I always deemed slavery settings as the most patethic attempt at creating a wank fic.

Oh, how I was wrong. This 13-chapter long gem is nothing short of magnificent. It won't be for everyone, but this is so far from a cheap smut fic that you can get. 

http://archiveofourown.org/works/485427/chapters/845377

Author's description:
In a world where the British Empire is still strong and slavery is her economic backbone, John has become a terrorist for the abolitionist movement. He is caught by Mycroft, enslaved, and given to Sherlock for training. The goal: To test a new kind of slave collar with the power to break even the strongest willed fighter. One that will make even John learn to love being a slave.

A whole bunch of tags and warnings, but this is high quality writing.



 

Last edited by Vhanja (December 19, 2014 10:43 pm)

Do not get me started on wordstrings. 
I love her fics so much but I have been waiting since June for the next chapter of "All the best and brightest creatures". So maybe I shall read the Paradox series again. 
And just in case you like Canon slash stories - as Katie Forsythe she has created a whole Canon universe right here which is brilliant:

http://liquidfic.org/katie.html
 

Don't worry. Like Susi pointed out, there is soooo much more to read from wordstring / Kathy Forsythe ...

Brilliant, isn't it? I really hope that she will finish it. It's a wip fot quite some time now, but she promised to come back to it. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

You should also take a look at the Kathy Forsythe page Susi has posted. It's breath-takingly brilliant. 

Ok.  You convinced me.
Downloaded The Paragox series.  
Will give it a try.

I've now read the last published chapter of "All the best and brightest creatures" and since it hasn't been updated in over half a year I will now promptly reread Paradox to put myself back in my happy place.

There is a reason why I usually only read fics that are completed.

Last edited by Vhanja (January 10, 2015 10:33 pm)

Not sure how to say this without spoiling anything, but... even though "All the best" is of course magnificently crafted and written, I like Paradox much better. "All the best" is just... too intense. Either everything is absolutely horrible, or everything is so intense that it is horrible anyway. In Paradox there is still the intensity, but there is laughter, fun, suspense, hilarity, adorablility (is that a word?) and a fantastic relationship. All the best is just... continous dread and very little else.

I do hope she will continue. I've put the fic on subscribe and will continue reading it if she updates it, but Paradox is still in a whole league of it's own in my view.

Last edited by Vhanja (January 10, 2015 11:20 pm)

The same author has started some kind of second version of the sequel.

What He Had Tamed[/url] (3063 words) by [url=http://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyvk]prettyvk

Alternate version of the events unfolding in part 2 of The James Holmes Chronicles.

This time, it is really Moriarty who contacs James, and the fic is written from his point of view.

I am not sure what to make of it, but I'll read on to see where it goes.

Sometimes I still discover Post-Reichenbach fics I did not know. This is a very good one with an interesting and likable Mary (yes, it is possible). Written before series 3. 

Shopping List[/url] (54336 words) by [url=http://archiveofourown.org/users/Moranion]Moranion
Chapters: 9/9
Fandom: Sherlock (TV), [url=http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Sherlock%20Holmes%20*a*%20Related%20Fandoms]Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms[/url]
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson, John Watson/Original Female Character(s), Harry Watson & John Watson, Mycroft Holmes & John Watson, Greg Lestrade & John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Mary Morstan/John Watson, Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade
Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Original Female Character(s), Harry Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Molly Hooper, Greg Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, Mary Morstan
Additional Tags: Pre and Post Reichenbach, POV John Watson, Pining, Angst, Smoking, References to Addiction, Grief/Mourning, Mycroft Being Mycroft, Molly Hooper Appreciation, Established Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade, I Believe in Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock's Coat, Sherlock Holmes Returns after Reichenbach, Sherlock Holmes & John Watson Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Developing Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, First Time, First Kiss, Slash, Shotgunning, Past Mary Morstan/John Watson, Reichenbach Feels, Reichenbach Theory, Reichenbach Angst, Post-The Reichenbach Fall, Pre-The Reichenbach Fall
Summary: 

Tell me about the dream where we pull the bodies out of the lake
and dress them in warm clothes again.
How it was late, and no one could sleep, the horses running
until they forget that they are horses.
It’s not like a tree where the roots have to end somewhere,
it’s more like a song on a policeman’s radio,
how we rolled up the carpet so we could dance, and the days
were bright red, and every time we kissed there was another apple
to slice into pieces.
Look at the light through the windowpane. That means it’s noon, that means
we’re inconsolable.
Tell me how all this, and love too, will ruin us.
These, our bodies, possessed by light.
Tell me we’ll never get used to it.

(Richard Siken, Scheherezade)

 

John Watson keeps on meeting people he can't manage to keep. Sherlock Holmes seems to be no exception to this rule.blue

Last edited by SusiGo (January 12, 2015 9:48 pm)