Newest recs since last major update are at top, all others are sorted alphabetically into categories below, ♥ indicates particular favorite. Pairings noted where applicable.

NEWEST RECS

Captured by mad_maudlin
John/Sherlock. John used to sketch, and Sherlock finds some of his old sketchbooks. John takes it up again, and Sherlock asks John to draw him. This fic was very well-written and I particularly liked the slow process of John getting back into his old habits.

The End is a Fraud by aslipperysloth
John/Sherlock. Okay, for some reason this is the saddest fucking thing I have ever read, more depressing and upsetting than any character death fic or infidelity fic or apocalypse fic. I also can't really say what it's about without spoiling it. If you like heartstring-wrenching things, go read this.

First is the Worst, Second is the Best by miyazaki_a2
John/Sherlock. Cute little fic about sleeping together, both platonically and not.

Gone Is My Past by cyerus
Gen. TROPE: transformation. John is an army bomb dog who has been turned into a human. This sounds like a really weird premise, but the story is quite well-done and interesting.

In the Land of the Blind by entangled_now
John/Sherlock. TROPE: apocalypse. This story has terrible science but is fantastic science fiction, which is sometimes the best way for scifi to be. I almost wish this weren't fic, because I would read and enjoy this just as much if it were published in an anthology. I love Sherlock's inability here to accept that there are problems in science that can't be solved. Also I would forever love this story no matter what just because of this line: "Particle physics, John, not the sort of thing you can study as a hobby."

♥ Lead Me to the Truth by lavellington
John/Sherlock. This is an excellent story about John readjusting to life in London, with a unique and interesting take on Harry.

Like Leaves & Kings (All Things Must Fall) by gyzym
John/Sherlock. Sherlock is an absolutely terrible flatmate, but at least he's never boring. This story made me laugh quite a bit.

Love Letters by clarasteam
Multiple pairings. This is a lovely look at moments in the lives of some of the characters in the show, both major and minor, revolving around love letters. I particularly love Anthea's part of this story.

Measuring the Size of the Human Voice by lotherington
John/Sherlock. TROPE: enforced silence. This is a short crossover with a poem in which people only have a certain number of words they can say per day. This story is gorgeous and a lovely take on the characters.

♥ Of Men and Things by mazarin221b
John/Sherlock. This is a wonderful story that takes an element of ACD canon, Sherlock's index of notes on past cases and possibly useful things, and expands on it perfectly.

♥ Parallel by brbsoulnomming
John/Sherlock. This is one of my favorite stories in this fandom. It's a long, well-plotted casefic with an interesting twist -- during the course of the case, John and Sherlock meet a pair of female university students who are very much like they themselves were at that age and who want to help out with the case. The two students' interactions with one another lead John and Sherlock to some realizations about themselves. I'm really not doing this story justice in describing it, you should stop reading this and go give it a try.

Prelude by entangled_now
John/Sherlock. TROPE: bathing. Sherlock bribes John into sticking around in the bathroom and washing his back in exchange for being told the resolution to a case John has been dying to know about.

Serving Time by yalublyutebya
John/Sherlock. AU where shooting people actually has real life consequences, and John serves time in prison for shooting the cab driver in A Study in Pink. This fic is a little sad but very well done, and the way Sherlock and John handle themselves throughout is very in-character and a joy to read.

Waking You Up by brbsoulnomming
John/Sherlock. John dies and Sherlock can't cope. He starts having dreams that John is alive and is trying to tell him something. This story is quite well-written and I love this particular plot and how the author handled it.

Complicit by lola
VID. Gen. This is a fantastic vid about Soo Lin and her role in the series.

OLDER RECS

Acts of God (Sherlock) by thehoyden
Mostly gen. Cute, short fic about household finance management (or the lack thereof).

Almost Always by ivyblossom
John/Sherlock. Thinking he's about to die, John writes a final blog post longhand. Aside from the unfortunate beef broth simile, I actually liked this quite a bit. This author is very good at building up John's emotional turmoil in the situation without making it at all over-the-top.

Anthea and the Faceless World by catslyn
Gen. Anthea in this story suffers from amnesia and prosopagnosia after an accident. Interesting take.

Any Amount of Sense by preromantics
John/Sherlock. Five times people thought John and Sherlock were dating, and one time they didn't. I love Mycroft and the wrap-up in this story.

Apologies for Large Feet by blackeyedgirl
John/Sherlock.

Available Evidence by lamardeuse
John/Sherlock. After The Great Game, Sherlock distracts himself from the futility of trying to track down Moriarty by instead trying to figure out John's motive for being willing to die for him. This was very well-written and subtle.

Busy Work by inelegantscrawl
John/Sherlock.

But Love Is a Voice on the Wind by Snow
John/Sherlock. Mycroft uses text messages and the sheer power of being annoying to herd his brother into correct courting methods.

The Chinchilla War by ptelefolone
John/Sherlock. Sherlock somehow acquires a chinchilla. Chinchillas are not actually all that much like this, but this was unbearably adorable.

Coincidence by valderys
John/Sherlock. Sherlock is an expert at analyzing the reactions of everyone but himself.

♥ The Daily Diary of Mr. Mycroft Holmes by dragonsquill
John/Sherlock. Docufic. Does what it says on the tin.

Drowning Man by irisbleufic
John/Sherlock. Fun, romantic post-The Great Game adventure fic. An enjoyable read.

Endgame by AJHall
Gen. Interesting story from an external point of view. Sherlock plays chess with a child who is the only available witness in a case.

First Kiss by movies_michelle
John/Sherlock. Short, entertaining PWP.

Five Things Sherlock Will Never Admit Out Loud by raina_at
John/Sherlock. What it says on the tin. I really liked the characterization of Sherlock in this.

Five Times Dr. John Watson Surprised Sherlock Holmes + Two Minor Occasions wherein Sherlock and John Deeply Disconcerted Mycroft by likeahurricane7
John/Sherlock. Fairly well-done get-together fic. Has some issues, but I enjoyed it a lot otherwise, largely because of poor Mycroft's reaction.

For What It's Worth by severa
John/Sherlock. Nice post-The Great Game wrap-up, has some editing mistakes, good otherwise.

G by thirdbird/thirdbird_fic
John/Lestrade.

Handle With Care by nestra
John/Sherlock. John has lots of conversations in which people point out things to him that he really already knows.

Here, Our Minutes Grow Hours and Until the Second Hand Stops by the_arc5
John/Sherlock. Very well-done get-together fic. I love the initial conflict in this, the author writes their emotions and concerns very well.

♥ Hold on Hope by notkerouac
John/Lestrade. I've been looking for fic of this pairing lately to give to a friend, and this one was perfect. It has everything I could have possibly wanted from it - awkward talking around subjects, watching football matches, Sherlock being interfering to exactly the right extent.

Home by Resonant
John/Sherlock. Sherlock kicks John out for reasons he doesn't explain. As much as this fic upset me, it tugged at my heartstrings in the greatest way.

honey bees, come build in the empty house by coloredink
John/Sherlock.

Horse and Carriage by flawedamythyst
John/Sherlock (asexual Sherlock). Sherlock proposes. John thinks the whole idea is ludicrous.

The Hour of Separation by vegarin
John/Sherlock. Very interesting post-The Great Game fic about one way Sherlock could have handled ensuring both of their continued survival in the face of Moriarty's. Good characterization of John.

♥ I Prefer to Text by ellie_hell
John/Sherlock. Sherlock is not so great at actual human interaction, so he resorts to texting as a more predictable means of communication. John goes along with it. I love the idea of this story and I love where the author went with it. The characters are exactly the right amount of socially awkward. Also, this fic made me crave risotto intensely and I made a ton of it for a weekly get-together as a result. Good things all around!

Inroads by emungere
John/Sherlock. Cute, involves clothes-sharing and is sort of the opposite of hypothermia fic.

♥ Interrogation by cat_77
Gen. Sally is fucking amazing in this and I would rec it out my ears.

Kissing John Watson by misslucyjane
John/Sherlock. Sherlock has a new obsession.

Landlady, Housekeeper, Matchmaker by i_know_its_0ver
John/Sherlock. Mrs. Hudson plays an endearing matchmaker.

Let You Kiss Me (So Sweet and So Soft) by out_there
John/Sherlock. John figures out that Sherlock is trying to date him, but he can't figure out why.

Like Bad Wallpaper by flawedamythyst
John/Sherlock. At Harry's second wedding five years down the road, John and Sherlock have some realizations about one another.

Matchmaking For Dummies, Adventuresses, Sociopaths, Ex-Soldiers, And Other Subspecies by nekomitsu
John/Sherlock. Irene in this is kickass and plays matchmaker.

Meeting the Family by kate_lear
John/Sherlock. Harry vets Sherlock as a partner for her brother and gives him what-for.

♥ Monster by moony
John/Sherlock. Sherlock concludes that in order to catch a monster, he's got to play one. This fic is definitely not for everyone, since it's pretty dark. However, even though I am generally over-sensitive to things like that, the writing and gradual buildup and reveal in this fic really does it for me. It's really excellently laid-out. I've probably reread this half a dozen times just for the way the tension is developed in it.

Needing is One Thing (Getting is Another) by ladyflowdi and mirrorskippy
John/Sherlock. Long, plotty post-The Great Game action/adventure fic. Wraps up a little too fast for my liking but good otherwise.

Not Even Half Time by lantean_drift
John/Sherlock. Immediately post-The Great Game wrap-up story. I just really liked the way this was wrapped up, particularly the very end.

On Lestrade's Flawed Heart by thirdbird_fic
John/Lestrade. This is not a pairing I had ever read before, but I just found this really cute. I don't even know. It's full of H/C and misunderstandings and other things that tug my heartstrings.

Only Human by irisbleufic
John/Sherlock. I can't even say what it is I like about this, it's just cute heartwarming get-together fic.

The Perils of Urban Warfare by phantomjam
John/Sherlock. Sherlock thinks John needs a new therapist. John's therapist thinks John needs to move out.

The Plan by blind_author
John/Sherlock. I avoided reading this every time I saw it because the summary put me off, but I eventually read it because I liked some of the author's other work and I found this funny.

Reasons by irisbleufic
John/Sherlock. Post-The Blind Banker, John and Sherlock have domestic squabbles and Sherlock airs his jealousy. Also, Mycroft is meddling.

Senseless by nishi_shinji
John/Sherlock. Cute, short get-together fic.

Seventeen Letters by out_there
John/Sherlock. Cute short fic about computer passwords.

The Shape I Found You In and Lay Me Down by irisbleufic
John/Sherlock. Docufic (first story). WARNING: serious discussion of suicide (second fic). Through long-distance texts and emails and attempts to solve a case in another country, John and Sherlock come to realize something about their relationship to one another.

A Secret About a Secret by flecalicious
John/Sherlock. This has an interesting, airy style that actually works well for it. Sherlock takes up photography.

Signs of Attachment by lady_t_220
John/Sherlock. Get-together fic where John is a little oblivious at first, but slowly catches on. Very slowly. There's some sort-of-public sex, if that's not your thing.

Traffic Lights for the Colour Blind by lavvyan
John/Sherlock. John has a death wish. Sherlock puts a stop to this, for reasons he refuses to elucidate. Then Moriarty forces the situation.

Transport by thisprettywren
John/Sherlock. WARNING: BDSM elements, sort of dubcon. This story is hot, well-characterized, and believable. I don't usually read all that much fic that's straight-up porn, and I don't usually rec it, but this is definitely a worthy exception.

The Trick Is to Make It Look Easy by paperclipbitch
John/Sherlock. A story about John's hesitance to write about Sherlock in his blog and his eventual realization of why. Get-together fic.

Thought Experiments by entangled_now
John/Sherlock. Cute, well-written get-together fic, I liked the slow buildup.

When Harry Met Sally (and Then Sherlock Holmes) by etharei
John/Sherlock, a little bit Harry/Sally. This story is from Harry's point of view, and the author's development of secondary characters is excellent. I loved her Sally particularly. It's heartwarming and the author is very good at subtly showing, not telling, the points she wants to make about the characters.

♥ Wherein There Is a Case, Several Mysteries, John Coming to the Rescue, and an Old Folk Saying by parsnips
John/Sherlock. Sherlock is a secret ginger, AKA everything I ever wanted from a fic.

The Whore of Babylon Was a Perfectly Nice Girl by out_there
John/Sherlock. Solidly-written, long fic. This story has a lot of really good moments of working out a relationship and figuring out how to fit another person into one's life.

You Can Imagine the Christmas Dinners by ardenteurophile
John/Sherlock. John attends Christmas dinner with Sherlock's family, wherein he discovers that everyone else thinks he and Sherlock are a couple and he's forced to keep up appearances. (Not a WIP despite appearances - complete.)

TROPES, ETC.

A Priori by rubberbutton
John/Sherlock. TROPE: vampire AU. Modern-day Britain is a society where vampires are the ruling class and humans exist solely to work in factories, at other menial tasks, and to provide blood. The world-building in this is pretty interesting. It's not a WIP, but it is an ongoing set of stories that the author appears to be in the process of writing a sequel to.

Ain't Seen the Sunshine by emungere
John/Lestrade. TROPE: kidfic (Sherlock and Mycroft as kids). Mrs. Holmes hires John as a caretaker for her two young sons. This is incredibly cute and funny. Unfortunately the author does not link parts at the end of the chapter, but everything is under the tag and the story can be navigated pretty easily this way. If you like this pairing, it's absolutely worth a read.

Aptronyms by elapsedspiral
Gen. TROPE: modern AU. What if this John Watson and Sherlock Holmes were, in fact, just two unfortunate people named after their Sir Arthur Conan Doyle counterparts?

Astronomy by parachute_silks
John/Sherlock. TROPE: genderswap (John, Sherlock). I didn't like this one quite as much as the other lesbian genderswap by the same author, possibly because it was less serious, but it was still quite good. A fun vacation tale.

♥ Categories by parachute_silks
John/Sherlock. TROPE: genderswap (John, Sherlock). I fucking love all lesbian genderswap fic, obviously, and I loved this.

Getting Better by onedergirl29
John/Sherlock. TROPE: kidfic. I have a weakness for kidfic, okay? I really did not think kidfic could possibly be done anything other than horribly in this fandom, but I found this one cute and charming.

♥ Give Me the Quiet Things by lady_t_220
John/Sherlock. TROPE: amnesia. This kind of amnesia fic hits all my literary kinks, and is full of lovely UST and secret-keeping and all the other stuff about angsty fic I not-so-secretly love.

♥ Harry Watson Investigates by orange_crushed
Gen. TROPE: school AU. This is a companion piece to the author's boarding school AU, which is also good. Harry in this is absolutely adorable and I love her earnestness and determination and her peripheral observations about her older brother.

Home Is Where You Let Me In by bedamn
John/Sherlock. TROPE: supernatural/fairy tale AU. When he is ten, John rescues a bird. Many years later it repays him the favor. This is a charming and well-written story.

♥ In Arduis Fidelis by mad_maudlin
Mostly gen. TROPE: genderswap. Lovely story about how Joan Watson comes to accept her newfound life with her new flatmate.

♥ It Feels Like Home When I'm With You by etothepii
John/Sherlock. TROPE: ghosts. Gorgeous, well-told AU story where John died in Afghanistan and now he haunts his old flat, 221B Baker Street. Sad, but in the best way, and with a happy ending.

John and Sherlock Make a Baby (From Stuff They Find Around the Flat) by Phosfate and Rosencrantz
Gen. TROPE: kidfic, crack. Sherlock gets it into his head that he wants to raise a child. This, obviously, does not go as swimmingly as he expects. When I say this is crack I mean it.

♥ The Left Hand of Summer by Jenwryn
John/Sherlock. TROPE: genderswap (John, Sherlock). It's high summer and apparently wearing very little clothing is the way to cool off. Hot, adorable lead-up to the start of a relationship.

A Mile in His Shoes by mamfidd
John/Sherlock. TROPE: bodyswap. Pretty good standard bodyswap fic. The sex kind of weirded me out, but I think that's more because of my own lack of interest in reading explicit gay sex than anything else.

Murderous, Co-Dependent by rageprufrock
Gen. TROPE: uh, they're cats? I don't know what to name this. Lestrade adopts a pair of cats for his daughter. The cats are, in the words of Mrs. Hudson, "not to be separated." I love Lestrade in this - he's the perfect combination of resigned and adoring of his daughter, and I love the way the divorced but amicable family dynamic is portrayed.

No Request is Too Extreme by moony
John/Sherlock. TROPE: aliens. This is a cute, funny story about human fascination with the possibilities of science. It's full of references to some of my favorite movies, and it made me nostalgic for the wonder I felt as a kid, looking up into the night sky. Also, Mycroft in this is hilarious and perfect.

Reader by liberateourtime
Gen. TROPE: superpowers. Interesting AU with telepathy/telekinesis.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics, The Art of Negotiation, The Definition of Insanity, The Rules by entangled_now
John/Sherlock. TROPE: hypothermia. Well-done series examining John's inability to control the fact that when he gives an inch, Sherlock takes a mile. (Does not actually misuse laws of physics just because they sound cool. Thankfully.)

Shadows on the Wall by arasigyrn
John/Sherlock. TROPE: psychic abilities. John has a limited ability to see the future, or at least possible futures. This is one of my favorite tropes, and I love the way it's done here. It's a little choppy because it was written on the ficmeme, so originally it was in comment form, but it's definitely worth reading. I love the way the author described John's ability and his methods of coping with it.

A Silver Sixpence by doodle_writes
John/Sherlock. TROPE: marriage of convenience. There is a case where married couples are being targeted and murdered, and Sherlock convinces John that they should get married in order to use themselves as bait to help solve the case. This is an engrossing read, and the details of the case are actually thought-out and interesting rather than just being trappings for the sake of the plot device.

Sisterly Duties by Ayries
John/Sherlock. TROPE: genderswap (Sherlock, Mycroft). Cute get-together het fic with meddling text messages.

♥ They Tell Me Their Secrets (Will You Tell Me Yours Too) by etothepii
John/Sherlock. TROPE: psychic abilities. John has always been able to hear what inanimate objects have to say. Very excellently done.

When the War Fires Fade by snowdarkred
John/Sherlock. TROPE: magic AU. The dystopia setup in this was interesting in its handling of the everyday influences of magic (apparently it's based off of the setup in a book I've never read). I liked the treatment of John's magic - I have a fondness for that sort of sweeping, superhuman moment in a story.

Wool Over Your Eyes by alaceron
John/Sherlock pre-slash. TROPE: clothes-sharing. Cute, decently-written story about Sherlock stealing John's sweaters because it's cold. (Or at least, that's why he does it at first.)

♥ You Can Tell by the Scars on My Arms That I'm Not the Carefullest of Girls and What If This Storm Ends by postcardmystery
John/Sherlock. TROPE: genderswap (John, Sherlock, Mycroft). I love all always-a-girl stories and this one is no exception. This one's style is a little different but I enjoyed myself so much while reading it.

♥ ((U+C+I) x (10-S))/20 x A x 1/(1-sin(F/10)) by anonymous
Gen. TROPE: alien abduction. No, seriously! Mycroft gets abducted by aliens. This is actually pretty much the most amazing thing ever. I was so hesitant to read it because the trope/prompt put me off, but I loved it.

CROSSOVERS

The Almost Empty House by rachelindeed
Crossover with Harry Potter. Gen. John and Sherlock as students at Hogwarts - Sherlock is determined not to fall into house stereotypes. I was wary of this because of the premise of a main character being "special" and having their own house and how awfully that's generally written, but I was absolutely charmed by this. I loved the little snapshots and how Mycroft was written and I found the whole thing very endearing.

The Case of the Unwelcome Owl by pandarus
Crossover with Harry Potter. Gen. Sherlock is invited to a wedding by his cousin Luna Lovegood. He's not particularly inclined to participate in any family gatherings. Luna, however, is insistent.

Getting Away with Murder by irisbleufic
Crossover with Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. Mostly gen. Mycroft asks Sherlock to pay a visit to someone he suspects of very creative tax fraud, one A. Fell.

♥ Highly Intelligent, Observant, and Destructive When Bored and Feels Like Drowning by etothepii
Crossover with His Dark Materials. John/Sherlock, second story Mycroft/John/Sherlock. Really fantastic and slightly creepy, very well-written.

♥ I Used to Live Alone Before I Knew You by etothepii
Crossover with Good Omens. John/Sherlock. Absolutely brilliant AU where Mycroft is an angel, Sherlock is a demon, and John is just John.

♥ The Magic of Deduction by writingispurdy
Crossover with Harry Potter. John/Sherlock. This story follows John and Sherlock through all seven years of education at Hogwarts, after they are both sorted into houses their families are not expecting and do not approve of. It's an excellent adaptation of the series to this world, and the cast of secondary characters from the show is rich and well-developed.

Paper Chase by sam_storyteller
Crossover with White Collar. Gen. When high-profile artists start getting murdered by a very elusive serial killer, the FBI calls in an art consultant from another unit, and then a consulting detective from another country.

Sherlock Holmes and the Wicked Windbourne Wasps by nekomitsu
Crossover with Harry Potter. John/Sherlock. Post-War, John and Sherlock are students at Hogwarts. I love the way this draws parallels between John and Sherlock and Dumbledore and Grindlewald.

These Shadows Keep On Changing by onedergirl29
Gen. Short, funny fic with an unexpected crossover.

AUTHORS, ARTISTS, ETC.

These are authors whose work I particularly like in general:
etothepii
irisbleufic
entangled_now (libraryofsol)
blind_author
mesmiranda

These are artists whose work I particularly like in general:
unicornempire


If you have any suggestions for things I ought to read or ways I can improve this reclist for you, please feel free to let me know. And for further reading, here's a directory of other reclists for this fandom.

LAST UPDATED: Saturday 2 July 2011 @ 1141
PREVIOUS UPDATE: Saturday 16 April 2011 @ 1354

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