#thumbs-up

Clara's American father is the ambassador to some such territory that Great Britain probably used to own, but she (and Harry’s undying love for her) is the reason John is getting on a flight at 12:30pm, flying across the second largest ocean in the world, and pretending to be in a perfectly happy, healthy relationship with an undoubtedly perfectly coiffed stranger.

See, Clara is not only American (and wealthy to boot), she's also best friends with John’s ex-fiancee. Whom she's placed in the wedding party. As Maid of Honor.

And John just happens to be Best Man.

Bloody brilliant.

Sherlock. 36k. AU. John/Sherlock. past John/Mary. Harry Watson/Clara. Family gatherings. Weddings. Angst. Romance. Fake Relationship. Explicit.

John engages Sherlock to accompany him to his sister’s wedding. And emotional chaos ensues.

People are loving their signed copies of The Great Nations of Rendaraia, the first fantasy art book in the Children of Gaia universe from @oneshipress! Thanks, Lou, for the thumbs-up!

Maybe that was why: you only get the one miracle.

Sherlock. 34k. John/Sherlock. Past John/Mary. Post-TSoT-AU. Not HLV-Compliant. Stillbirth. Grief. Angst. Hurt/Comfort. Friends to Lovers. Explicit.

John returns to Baker Street after the birth of his stillborn daughter and Mary’s departure. And this is the story of how he and Sherlock struggle through grief, regrets, guilt, hurt and misunderstandings towards love and acceptance.

It’s the small things that tug on your heart, like the way Sherlock’s empty grave becomes the memorial place for John’s nameless daughter whose body was donated to science, like the various bouquets of flowers finding their way there, like Sherlock grieving right along with John, like the stuffed bumblebee Sherlock had wanted to give to John’s daughter, like the little mementos of her existence finding their way back to John. John never saw his daughter alive, but still she’s a part of his life, not to be locked away. And that is beautifully done here.

Just as beautiful as John and Sherlock’s romance, Sherlock denying John’s advances for fear that he’s just the consolation prize after Mary’s gone, his being damaged by his time away just as much in body as in spirit and the slow realization in both that something they’ve both wanted for so long (but denied themselves) could be within their grasps.

Sometimes you need to reopen old wounds before they can heal. Sometimes you need to get away before you can come home. 

36k. Sherlock. John/Sherlock. Post-Season 4. Parentlock. Rosie Watson. Retreat. Therapy. Healing. Mature.

On Mycroft’s recommendation Sherlock decides to spend time at a retreat to sort of “find himself” again. John and Rosie join him. Through therapy and lots of late-evening talks, Sherlock and John find their way towards each other again, dealing with their issues instead of ignoring them.

There’ve been quite a few “therapy”-fics post-season 4, but this one I especially enjoyed. Maybe because there’s no attempt to kind of fix season 4 or push any kind of reset button, on the contrary it continues on from where season 4 left us. This fic addresses quite a few of the issues, namely Sherlock’s low self-esteem and his tendency to go all in regardless of what that means for himself, and of course John’s trust issues and violent tendencies. And it incorporates Rosie in a believable way and doesn’t just shove her aside (or make her vanish into thin air) like quite a few other fics do. One tiny criticism: The final chapter could have been a bit shorter.

I also enjoyed that the author focused on John and Sherlock getting to know each other again, on their doubts, regrets and love, rather than merely treating this as a means to arrive at the end, i.e. hot steamy sex scenes - of course, there’s snogging and kissing but there’s no smut which I appreciate very much because often what authors ignore is that for a sex scene to work they need to invest a bit of time for characterization and plot as well.

After the events of series 4, Major Sholto invites John and Sherlock to lunch one day. It nearly proves to be too much for their tenuous relationship as the past haunts the present, putting the future that Sherlock so desperately wants at risk. 

15k. Sherlock. Sherlock/John. past John/Sholto. Post Season 4. Parentlock. Family. Rosie Watson. Major Sholto. Puppies. Angst. Romance. Mature.

A visit at Major Sholto’s threatens to put out into the open what Sherlock tries to keep hidden, his love for Rosie, his regarding her as his daughter, and, of course, his love for John and yearning for him to finally come back to Baker Street. But he won’t ever say that out loud for fear of alienating John.

Renowned Shakespearean actor Sherlock Holmes has finally burned all of his bridges in the theatre industry save for his constant director, Greg Lestrade. John Watson has made a name for himself in the musical theatre circuit, but age and injury are working against him. Can they reinvent themselves for an all-male Macbeth without killing one another?

120k. Explicit. John/Sherlock. AU. Theatre-AU. Broadway. Musicalstar!John. Shakespeare!Sherlock. Macbeth. Evil!Moriarty. Semi-evil!Mary. Tony awards.

This is more or less “Performance in a Leading Role” transferred into the world of theatre and Shakespeare. There’s perhaps a bit more angst, more revelations of shady/hidden pasts courtesy of Moriarty, but ultimately it’s a story of falling in love heads over heels, getting past insecurities and finding your “happily ever after”.

Irene Adler as Sherlock’s agent is pure gold, as is Harry Watson and Greg Lestrade, and a few of the original characters surrounding the theatre production.