BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Johnlock Fic Recs *warning

SilverMoonDragonB · June 9, 2013 3:26 pm

tonnaree wrote:
tobeornot221b wrote:
PIALR - my all-time favourite.
Good choice, Silver!
I keep hearing about PIALR also. But AU's are really not my thing. Should I give it a try anyway?

I felt the same way, I first read pretty much all non-AUs that interested me first and then started looking into the AUs...it can take a bit of getting used to, but there are now a few AUs I really REALLY love! The stories are great and reading different interpretations of characters and what they'd be like under different circumstances, it can be very interesting and I have yet to read an AU I didn't enjoy. I say give it a try and see what you think!

tobeornot221b · June 9, 2013 3:27 pm

I'm also not that much into AU - but PIALR is really well-done and very much in character.
Just give it a go.

Harriet · June 9, 2013 3:28 pm

Well, people here think differently, I tried and quit it. I'd guess 2 of 3 enjoyed it, 1 of 3 didn't.

SilverMoonDragonB · June 9, 2013 3:29 pm

tobeornot221b wrote:
I'm also not that much into AU - but PIALR is really well-done and very much in character.
Just give it a go.

Which is why I am enjoying this one in particular!

QuiteExtraordinary · June 9, 2013 4:32 pm

PIALR is good. Give it a try. I liked it very much up to some point in the middle where I stopped reading, but not because it wasn't well written. It was just that it turned into something I had read a thousand times before in a different fandom where that was the standard plot, so to say, and I was tired of that kind of thing.

ancientsgate · June 9, 2013 5:55 pm

SilverMoonDragonB wrote:
I've just started reading Performance in a Leading Role (on chapter 5 now), after having heard good things about I decided to give it a go. I wasn't sure at first, reading something so AU, but I am enjoying it very much! It's quite good so far

Best AU I've ever read, in any fandom.

Coming back to say that she did take an age and a half to finally get them together. I found the build-up kind of tiresome after a while-- I wanted to shake her and tell her to get to the point already! But one thing about it, by the time they finally did get in the same room and acknowledge what they were both feeling for each other, to each other, it was like stepping onto a beach blanket and getting my feet off the hot sand-- how do you spell relief?

Last edited by ancientsgate (June 9, 2013 5:58 pm)

Schmiezi · June 9, 2013 7:05 pm

I have just finished the Trying-To-Find-The-In-Between-series by noStraightLine:

http://archiveofourown.org/series/39652

It was very captivating, but I'm still not sure if I should recommend it or not. It can roughly be divided into three parts, pre-Reichenbach, post-Reichenbach and post-Reunion. There is a huge character developement on Sherlock's part, and the middle part was really enjoyable. The problem for me was just that I didn't like the Sherlock from the beginning (who is very in character, but not capable of loving John, just enjoying the sex), plus I didn't like the transformed Sherlock in the end (who is loving, but very out of character).

Now of course you can argue that every loving Sherlock is out of character, but IMO there are lots of fics that have both: Sherlock capable of loving John and still being recognisable. Take the works of Sideris or Wordstring for example.

Conclusion: It was interesting to read and very gripping in the middle, but I wouldn't read it again.

tonnaree · June 9, 2013 7:56 pm

Schmiezi wrote:
I have just finished the Trying-To-Find-The-In-Between-series by noStraightLine:

http://archiveofourown.org/series/39652

It was very captivating, but I'm still not sure if I should recommend it or not. It can roughly be divided into three parts, pre-Reichenbach, post-Reichenbach and post-Reunion. There is a huge character developement on Sherlock's part, and the middle part was really enjoyable. The problem for me was just that I didn't like the Sherlock from the beginning (who is very in character, but not capable of loving John, just enjoying the sex), plus I didn't like the transformed Sherlock in the end (who is loving, but very out of character).

Now of course you can argue that every loving Sherlock is out of character, but IMO there are lots of fics that have both: Sherlock capable of loving John and still being recognisable. Take the works of Sideris or Wordstring for example.

Conclusion: It was interesting to read and very gripping in the middle, but I wouldn't read it again.

I've only been reading Sherlock Fic for two weeks and I've already read that one! Agree with your assessment. There were moments I loved but in the end it didn't make the "Keeper" pile.

Wholocked · June 9, 2013 10:00 pm

Regarding AUs I was hesitant at first, but I've found the characters can work very well in AUs as long as the author stays true to character; and frankly there are some AUs where they are more in character than a lot of canonical fics. PIALR and Tennis being two that come immediately to mind.

Schmiezi I started that fic but it seemed to just be PWP (I tend to avoid explicit fics as they often have none or very little plot). I might keep reading and see how it develops.

SusiGo · June 10, 2013 6:13 am

No, it isn't just PWP. But like Schmiezi said, it is quite inconsistent. For me there are two big parts - before and after Reichenbach. I quite like Sherlock's character developement and to me it's not so very OOC. I I'm sure there are fluffier Sherlock's out there.
For me the real problem is the difference in mood between the first and the second half and the aspect of sexual violence which I don't like. But I really liked reading the second half and the language and style are very good.

Last edited by SusiGo (June 10, 2013 7:13 am)

ancientsgate · June 10, 2013 10:39 am

SusiGo wrote:
No, it isn't just PWP. But like Schmiezi said, it is quite inconsistent. For me there are two big parts - before and after Reichenbach. I quite like Sherlock's character developement and to me it's not so very OOC. I I'm sure there are fluffier Sherlock's out there.
For me the real problem is the difference in mood between the first and the second half and the aspect of sexual violence which I don't like. But I really liked reading the second half and the language and style are very good.

I haven't read this story you're discussing here, but I know the thing you're talking about, how one half of a story has a whole different feeling from another. Hate to say it, but that usually means there are actually two authors, collaborating and publishing under one name. Happens all the time in fan fic. So just a possibility.

Last edited by ancientsgate (June 10, 2013 10:40 am)

SusiGo · June 10, 2013 10:45 am

Thanks for the explanation. It's really quite noticeable in that one. One sentence I love:

"Sherlock appears at the top of the stairs, wearing a black apron over trousers and tailored shirt, with a lethally sharp knife in one hand a terrified tomato in the other."

So he must have learned something from that cooking programme.

SilverMoonDragonB · June 10, 2013 7:09 pm

I just finished reading Performance in a Leading Role...*sigh* There was much "awwwwing" and "squeeing" and "smiling" from me, especially from chapter 13 and onward . I love John and Sherlock in that one, a good and enjoyable story from Mad_Lori!

ancientsgate · June 10, 2013 7:24 pm

SilverMoonDragonB wrote:
I just finished reading Performance in a Leading Role...*sigh* There was much "awwwwing" and "squeeing" and "smiling" from me, especially from chapter 13 and onward . I love John and Sherlock in that one, a good and enjoyable story from Mad_Lori!

No one does forever love like her, I swear. I just bask in it, when I read her stories. And never a bit of sugary sweetness-- it all reads pretty darned realistically, like real people. And I also love how she writes her romantic pairings as "all for one and one for all". They're always a united team, even if they do have some troubles here and there. I dunno, but it works for me, for sure.

SilverMoonDragonB · June 10, 2013 7:28 pm

ancientsgate wrote:
SilverMoonDragonB wrote:
I just finished reading Performance in a Leading Role...*sigh* There was much "awwwwing" and "squeeing" and "smiling" from me, especially from chapter 13 and onward . I love John and Sherlock in that one, a good and enjoyable story from Mad_Lori!
No one does forever love like her, I swear. I just bask in it, when I read her stories. And never a bit of sugary sweetness-- it all reads pretty darned realistically, like real people. And I also love how she writes her romantic pairings as "all for one and one for all". They're always a united team, even if they do have some troubles here and there. I dunno, but it works for me, for sure.

Yeah...*sigh*

ancientsgate · June 10, 2013 7:41 pm

SilverMoonDragonB wrote:
ancientsgate wrote:
SilverMoonDragonB wrote:
I just finished reading Performance in a Leading Role...*sigh* There was much "awwwwing" and "squeeing" and "smiling" from me, especially from chapter 13 and onward . I love John and Sherlock in that one, a good and enjoyable story from Mad_Lori!
No one does forever love like her, I swear. I just bask in it, when I read her stories. And never a bit of sugary sweetness-- it all reads pretty darned realistically, like real people. And I also love how she writes her romantic pairings as "all for one and one for all". They're always a united team, even if they do have some troubles here and there. I dunno, but it works for me, for sure.
Yeah...*sigh*

Do you know she has a long sequel to PIALR that's almost finished? That means nothing with madlori, because she's been know to leave things orphaned when she moves on to a new fandom, but she's reported on her tumblr acct that she's almost done writing it, then it has to go to beta, and then she'll publish it in its entirety, not as a WIP, thank god. I'll believe it when I see it, but it sure is something to look forward to.

SusiGo · June 10, 2013 7:51 pm

That sounds very good. I missed a bit Moriarty's intrigues in PIALR, maybe there will be more of this in the sequel.

SilverMoonDragonB · June 10, 2013 7:58 pm

ancientsgate wrote:
SilverMoonDragonB wrote:
ancientsgate wrote:
No one does forever love like her, I swear. I just bask in it, when I read her stories. And never a bit of sugary sweetness-- it all reads pretty darned realistically, like real people. And I also love how she writes her romantic pairings as "all for one and one for all". They're always a united team, even if they do have some troubles here and there. I dunno, but it works for me, for sure.
Yeah...*sigh*

Do you know she has a long sequel to PIALR that's almost finished? That means nothing with madlori, because she's been know to leave things orphaned when she moves on to a new fandom, but she's reported on her tumblr acct that she's almost done writing it, then it has to go to beta, and then she'll publish it in its entirety, not as a WIP, thank god. I'll believe it when I see it, but it sure is something to look forward to.

She did mention that at the end of PIALR that she was working on a sequel of some sort, since the first was published nearly 2yrs ago I assumed that maybe she'd "orphaned" it, but she has mentioned that she's almost done writing it? And it'll be released in its entirety?....HALLELUJAH!

Last edited by SilverMoonDragonB (June 10, 2013 7:59 pm)

SilverMoonDragonB · June 10, 2013 10:14 pm

I think I'm gonna give the fanfiction "The Stars Move Still" a try, sounds interesting . Reading all these fanfictions is an attempt at keeping myself occupied until Series 3 comes out , if I run out of fanfics to read I may just have to bite the bullet and write my own ...I've never written fanfiction before though, I've only ever written my own original stories and novels. So, that would be quite the challenge, hm....might be fun! Certainly it's nice to know I'll have people to share it with should I decide to write a Sherlock fanfic

SusiGo · June 11, 2013 6:12 am

There's lots and lots to read but I'd be happy to read yours if you decided to have a go.