I think it would be best to do the one thread because there are something like 16,000 Sherlock fanfictions on ff.net. One thread for each would get pretty cumbersome, even if we only discussed the quality ones.

Feel free to do shameless self promotion with the warning that I will do the same. Give me fic, I'll read and review.

Or even if you want to submit laughably bad ones. I won't tell the author. So, suggest a fic, we'll read, then we'll all discuss. You can go first.

I've been reading fan fiction for quite a while and I like this story. It well-written (as far as I can say being not a native speaker) and the characterization is well done. Of course it is always pure speculation to write about Sherlock's and Mycroft's past but this one is really convincing. The feelings between the three men are subtle but heartfelt and they capture the idea of a deep, non-sexual friendship between John and Sherlock really well.

@hepzibah: Don't forget the eyes!

I liked the story too... Sherlock's awakening was perfect, as was his jab at Mycroft as he left. If there had been an explosion at the pool I've no doubt John would have had the presence of mind to jump in the water.

I don't know enough about traumatic brain injury to know if Sherlock's character can be interpreted that way realistically, but it's a really interesting idea. I'm left wondering what happened.

Since I saw this thread go up I've been thinking about this story, which I read some time ago and which keeps coming back. It takes a premise that sounds frankly horrible, "Sherlock is a fairy," and turns it into something thought-provoking and beautiful and totally in character. It's worth reading!

http://sherlockbbc-fic.livejournal.com/2727.html?thread=6491815

Edit: hepzibah, not hebzibah. That will teach me to post from my phone.

Last edited by imane nikko (June 23, 2012 7:53 pm)

I'm glad people enjoyed the story I posted.   

What I liked about it was that it was well-written and also plausibly filled in gaps about Sherlock's background.  While I don't necessarily agree with the childhood posited for Sherlock in this story, the author presented the situations very realistically and made them believable.  I also liked the way Mycroft was portrayed although I wonder when the caring that he demonstrates here changed into the derogatory, dismissive attitude he has in the show.

I'd like to make a suggestion and would like to know what those of you who are reading this thread think:  In order not to get comments for one story mixed up with comments for other stories, which my comments have just done, and to give people in all the time zones the opportunity to post a comment if they want to, what say you that we have one story available for a certain number of days and then someone can post a link to another story to discuss.  I'm only throwing this out because I can envision this thread becoming confusing if people post stories and comments without much rhyme or reason.  What are your opinions about this idea???

Last edited by Sherli Bakerst (June 23, 2012 10:55 pm)

Smoggy_London_Air wrote:

You can just use the @ sign to refer to stories instead of replying to specific people, if that works for you.

That's a great idea!  So...we type the asterisk and then the name of the story?  I think that would work real well. 

(The @ comes from Twitter, yes?  I'm not on it so don't really know how it works.)

I'd like to read the story that imane posted a link for, but it's on the longer side so I won't get to it right away.

Thanks, Smoggy_London_Air for the info re the @ symbol:  Very interesting!  I've been on some fan message boards for four years and have never seen it used on those.  Must be the wrong fandom: They're for a show set in the 19th century, when typewriters barely existed; no wonder we don't use it!   

Sherli Bakerst wrote:

@The Letter of the Lore:

Just read this story.  You're right, Imane, the premise sounds ridiculous but the story does work.  The background info in the beginning did not endear me to it--I'm not into fairies (and to clarify, these are the non-human creatures being referred to here) so that part just washed over me as it didn't mean anything to me.  But once the plot got going, the story got interesting.  I think the writer did a very good job characterizing Sherlock, John, and Mycroft; their personalities in the story were true to the show.  The fairy elements were sometimes, imho, silly--for example, the scene at the oak tree--but the author did make everything believable if one accepted the premise of the story.  I liked how it built up to a climax and then Sherlock saved the day.  It's not a story I'd read again but it was a clever piece of writing so I thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Yes, I can see how the premise might not appeal to everyone. I like fairy stories of the scarier variety, so I was already familiar with a lot of the "Lore." The thing I liked so much about the story is how well it married two concepts -- ascribing logical reasons for all sorts of behavior to something that is almost antithetical to the rational, "real" Sherlock universe. The varying personalities of the two brothers, and their "hostility" to each other; Sherlock's simultaneous protectiveness/jealousy of John (it makes a lot of sense to me in either universe that the attachment feels much more possessive than sentimental).

And I loved John's unruffled calm through the whole thing, and the fact that he isn't fooled by Sherlock into giving his name, but offers it up willingly at the end. That's so much him... so much them.

I've got a real fondness for fic that combines things I thought couldn't possibly go together. But really, anything well-written makes me very happy. So if @The Letter of the Lore is too long, I'd love for someone to link to a shorter or different fic! This thread is too good to die!

Last edited by imane nikko (June 26, 2012 1:05 am)

I really enjoyed this fic. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8158036/1/The_House_of_the_Observant
For Harry Potter fans out there. It's kind of the perfect mix of CoS and Sherlock.