As you know I love your fic rec lists. (And your fics) I'm always thrilled to find "older" Johnlock fics--from 2010 to 2014--and wonder whether you have already made up a list of classic favorites. I've seen the top-26 list, for example. Just wondered if you had ever focused on the early Johnlock. Thank you so much for all your generosity.
I must start by saying HOOO BOY is there alot of great fanfic from the early years. I am putting together a hit or miss selection of fics I enjoyed from older words in the fandom, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. Whenever I try to put together a “classics you should have read” list someone yells at me. ;)
JOHNLOCK - THE EARLY YEARS
TheBlog of Eugenia Watson by Mad_Lori,95 k, gen. John and Sherlock are an adorable old married couple raising John’steen-aged daughter along with his ex-wife who lives in the flat next door.Stellar characters, plot, and romance.
TheGreat Sex Olympics of 221B byXistentialAngst, 58 k, explicit. John and Sherlock have a bet on who knows moreabout sex and devise a contest with people they find online willing to play.PWP. Truly one of the hottest things ever written.
Faithful Compass series byKeelieThompson1 (4 works) Uni!lock. Sherlock meets a younger John while he isstill in college. We get to see the two mature together through John’s drinkingand troubled home life, and Sherlock’s drug use and shady dealings. Lots ofangst and violence, great plot and characters and smut. Some great newcharacters appear as John’s flatmates, particularly Andrew Harrison. Thumbs up.
TheFirst and Last Trilogy by Phyona. A night at the pub with drinking gamesleads to John waking up in Sherlock’s bed wondering WTF happened. A fever leadsto some sweet sick!fic and hot times in bed. A trip together helps them cementthis budding relationship.
TheParadox series by Wordstrings. Sherlock POV. Crazy!lock. A crawl throughSherlock’s odd brain as he and John connect. BDSM, blood sharing, kink and allkinds of crazy. Dream sharing. Brilliantand bizarre. Sweet in the creepiest of ways. What is sane, what is real, whatis love? This turns it all inside out in the most profound of ways. Wow.
TheRoad Trip series by stupid_drawings. Crack!fic – absolutely LMFAO, ROTFstuff. Sherlock and John go on a road trip to solve a crime with Lestrade, thenothers of the police force. The last fic ends with some pretty heavy angst butI just pretend that “what to do when your flatmate is homicidal” is a sequel.
What to do When Your Flatmateis Homicidal byhyacinth_sky747, 58 k, explicit. This work is divine silliness. Through astream of consciousness from Sherlock ostensibly writing in a diary, we see thelives of John and Sherlock as they build a relationship together amidst theinsanity that is John and Sherlock. Thiswork is sweet, weird, sexy, adorable and addictive with lots of fluff, butbeware the bit of angst slipped in.
The Progress ofSherlock Holmes by ivyblossom, 62 k, explicit. Sherlock POV well done. Sherlock and John fumble, andJohn leaves to marry Mary though Sherlock knows she will cheat. John and Marysettle on a rocky, open relationship, and slowly John and Sherlock find theirway back together. Feels so in character with love, sex, and angst, angst,angst.
ElectricPink Hand Grenade byBeautifulFiction, 67 k, explicit. Sherlock suffers cluster headaches that leadto synesthesia, and John nurses him through it. Snuggles ensue.
CooperativePrinciple by bendingsignpost, 56 k,explicit. Slight AU. A very angsty,mind-fuckery courtship between John, a teacher at St. Barts, and the elusive,cunning consulting detective who wants him. Some porn, and lots of angst. Did Imention angst?
The Road Less Traveled by verityburns, 56 k, mature. Mycroft inspires Sherlock to start ProjectRetention - make John fall in love with Sherlock so he doesn’t marry somestupid woman and move away. Much angst, but fluff and smut too. Very sweet.
NorthwestPassage by Kryptaria, 95 k, explicit. AU – John is retired from the Canadian armyliving in an isolated homestead. An oldmilitary connection, Mycroft Holmes, calls in a favor. He must house hisyounger brother Sherlock while he detoxes from drugs. BAMF!John, PTSD, hunting,flirting and sex – oh my.
There’sA First Time For Everything bykate_lear, 21 k, explicit. Wonderful background info on John andSherlock’s past as they negotiate a casual sexual relationship and tiptoetoward a committed one. Hurtfic and violence, romance and porn. Has a 3Garridebs moment as John bleeds in an alley. This is a GOOD one!
Maybe series by mildredandbobbin – 3 parts. Almostheartbreaking angst. Post Reichenbach. Sherlockat large checks in with Molly and hears that John’s pregnant wife Mary died ina car accident six months earlier. Sherlock realizes John is not okay, anddecides to return. It’s very believable as they pick up the pieces and build abeautiful life together. (locked to AO3 users)
TheCold Song Series (6 parts) by Eldritchhorrors. Edgy, BDSM, druguse, scary, amazing. Casefic. Much is explained about Sherlock when we find outhis childhood was shattered by a serial killer taking a family member. Now, thekiller is striking again, and Sherlock must deal with things long locked awayto solve the case. Sherlock only accesses his emotions through music, but aBDSM relationship with John that is moving from sex into love is healingSherlock in ways he can’t comprehend. Philosophy, Buddhism, knife play, operaas metaphor – a heady mix of crazy and sublime.
The Bang and The Clatter by earlgreytea68, 137 k, mature. DelightfulAU with John and Sherlock as baseball players. Sherlock is a hot young pitcher,and John is an old catcher on his last year before retirement when they findthemselves together on a new team. Some plot, great character development,romance.
Ease Your Way into OccupiedSpaces by joolabee, 11k , explicit.Prescient version of series 3 posted before the series aired. An angsty,pining, infidelity fic that is beautiful in its pain. Told from Sherlock’s POV.
Against the Rest of the Worldby SilentAuror, 151 k, explicit.Sherlock escapes a cell in Turkey to return to London before he manages todestroy all of Moriarty’s network. John is engaged, but choses to come with himto complete the mission. Pre-relationship to relationship. Feels like a spynovel, achingly romantic.
Lacuna by coloredink, 15 k, explicit. Lacuna means ablank spot or missing piece. John is back in 221B after an accident that leaveshim with amnesia. He and Sherlock deepen their relationship, as John strugglesto regain his memory from Before.
ImaginesMorti series (2 parts) by SwissMiss. Set in a magical AU inwhich people’s life experiences spontaneously appear as tattoos on their skin.John and Sherlock grow to know each other until Sherlock must fake his deathvia Reichenbach.
Beauty Shot byMazarin221b, 4 k, explicit. Sally discovers some of Sherlock’s old modelingpictures - including the ad he did for Calvin Klein back in the 90s. Johnrecognizes that ad, oh, does he ever.
Nothing to Make a Song About by emmagrant01, 36 k, explicit. When Sherlockreturned from his faked death, John could not forgive him for the deception andbroke off their friendship. Ten years later, John returns to London in searchof yet another new beginning. Sherlock, not surprisingly, is waiting.
The Speed of Objects in Motion by holyfant, 48 k word,explicit. This story is an exquisitemulti-year sweeping epic drama of John and Sherlock getting together, breakingup, but always orbiting each other in all that they do. So well written, with tons of angst, but light at the end of the tunnel. SO MUCH ANGST.
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