#direct from devin
Sherlock Masturbates the night before John’s wedding.
Now don’t get too excited, this may be about masturbation but you’re not going to feel much like masturbating after this one! This was good, I truly felt the shame and regret rolling off Sherlock here. It made sense that Sherlock would have a background where he felt sex and masturbation was a dirty, shameful thing. I think it fits in well with the shows characterization but doesn’t get tropey. I love love love the addition of Irene and Mary in this (no spoilers) which is a very rare thing to find in a Johnlock fic but fits Sherlock so well. Obviously this work is explicit, however I wouldn’t describe it as raunchy. If very intense sexual themes aren’t for you, you may still like this one. This isn’t a happy story, it’s pretty sad and lonely to be honest, but if you have a weak spot for pining Sherlock you’ll hate to love it.
Word Count: 4,354
My Rating: B+
Sherlock and John met seven years earlier than canon and fell in love. When John dies, Sherlock is introduced to the concept of alternate dimensions and given the opportunity to visit a different universe where he can have a second chance with a new John Watson. A love story across alternate dimensions.
Alternate dimensions! Always a fun AU, and this is no exception. I think this was a very well written story with interesting characterization but to be up front it ended up not exactly being my personal cup of tea. I want to put that out there before I get too far because I think the author wrote exactly the story they wanted to tell and many many many people will love it even though I’m not the biggest fan.
One of the best things about this fic is characterization. I thought it was amazing, the way the different universes shaped the characters bring on subtle changes and shows you a Sherlock that never pretended he didn’t have a heart. It was great and anytime I thought something might be OOC it was justified within the narrative. I particularly loved the characterization after the season 3 timeline. It fit so well with the show’s canon while having excellent backstory to what was really going on! That was great.The story is interesting too, a lot of planning went into it and it paid off big time. There’s no clumsy reveals, all the big twists and turns were always a part of the story. However for me, the story got a little too fanciful particularly when we get to Mary’s story line. It wasn’t for me. I want to stress that this is personal opinion though, it’s nothing wrong with the writing. Constructive criticism wise though, I think the very end tail of the story wasn’t as nicely paced as the rest. A bit awkward and rushed, so much happened in such a short time I didn’t have much time to adjust to the major game changers happening. Overall all though I’m impressed with the amount of planning that went into this story and I think it was a very good fic that a ton of you will love.
Warnings: Major Character Death
Word Count: 95,334
My Rating: A-/B+
After John is seriously injured, Sherlock struggles to figure out how to help him, keep himself sane, and maybe, just maybe, get their life back to the way it’s supposed to be.
A minute later and John was asleep again. Sherlock wanted to wake him up and grab him by the shoulders and shake him and demand that he try to wiggle his toes, kick his legs, stand up and walk. He wanted to weave his hands into John’s hair and kiss him until they both couldn’t breathe. He wanted to crawl into bed next to him and cry himself to sleep. Instead he just settled back into the moulded plastic chair, leaving his fingers wrapped in John’s, waiting, waiting.
Well, hello! It’s a bit awkward trying to remember how to write a review!First off let me say that this fic is perfect for people like me, people who were strong into fandom pre-season 3 and have now fallen away from the Sherlock fandom. This fic is reminiscent of fanfics published before the airing of season 2. Back when Moriarty and Mary weren’t huge plot devices that had to be worked in. In fact this story makes no mention of Moriarty or Mary even existing! Unless I missed an author’s note my interpretation is basically that nothing past The Blind Banker happened in this story. So if you’re looking for a Johnlock fix without drama this is the one for you! Now, on to the story!
In this fic, John has been paralyzed. If you are uncomfortable with hospitalization, rehab, depression, and other injury related topics maybe it’s best to skip this one. I however find these types of stories fascinating, and this was an excellent read! I felt John’s injury and the boy’s reaction to it believable and in character. There are of course very out of character moments but they are intentional and part of the story. Our boys are very romantic and sweet to each other, which I personally wasn’t feeling at first but grew to love and respect this characterization when I realized that the canon completely veered from what I was used to. If the characterization and plot hadn’t been this excellent I wouldn’t be writing up a review for it now. It was pretty damn good. Personally, I feel the story could have used more nitty gritty (to the point of embarrassing) descriptions of John’s recovery. More description on the messy side of hygiene, sex, and using the bathroom would have helped to add some gravity to the situation and make the reader feel the shame John was feeling. There are descriptions but getting even more graphic (medically) I personally would have liked better. The only true negative of this fic was the removal of Molly! Where is she? I miss her! I would have loved to have her in this but I’ll get over it.
Overall I thought this was an excellently written fic in both characterization and plot. A great welcome back to fanfiction. I want to reiterate what I believe is this fics greatest asset, this fic deviates completely from the canon after TBB. If you’re unsure about how this author handles Sherlock’s return or Mary or some other aspect of the show where people disagree on, don’t worry about it! It’s not relevant here. I should point out that this was at least partly written after season 3 aired so you will get a canon supported Mummy and Dad Holmes and various other canon additions. So canon without canon problems? Yay! I’m honestly happy I read this and I’m actually going to go read some more fanfic now because this was such a positive experience.
Word Count: 117,628
My Rating: A
