221b_recs | Entries tagged with content: amnesia

Title: Wick-craft
Author: okapi
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 1900 words
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: One Hallowe'en, a tall, dark, handsome warlock walks into John's candle shop, Wax 'N' Lachrymose.

Candle Shop AU. Fluff. Crack. Post-Reichenbach Johnlock reunion.

Reccer's comments: This is, guaranteed, the least angsty Post-Reichenbach fic you'll ever read. Lighthearted, cracky, and Halloween themed, this short ficlet is a delight from beginning to end.

John is a witch doctor who runs a candle shop. Anyone who has worked retail will relate to his harried interactions with his customers, some more polite than others. Then a tall, handsome stranger saunters into the shop, and John forgets about everything else. Because there's something about this stranger -- or is he really a "stranger" at all?

( sneak peek )

pipmer1

Title: Sacre Coeur
Author: Mamaorion
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 127158 words (including appendices; actual story is around 95,000 words)
Rating: Mature
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Memories return. Old secrets are unearthed. Seven years of hidden love ignite. Who is behind the mind control, and how far back does it reach into Sherlock's past?

This multi-chapter patchwork fixit fic diverts from the path at season three and turns season 4 into a collage. This was the Johnlock I wanted. May it be healing for you, too.

Reccer's comments: This is marvelous storytelling, with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It re-imagines Season 3 in a whole new light, and therefore Season 4 -- well. I don't want to give away too much. But the tale involves memory loss, secret organizations, and a backstory that includes Sherrinford as the third Holmes sibling (and what a delightful, if flawed, character he is.) Mary is a marvelous villain here, done in a way that I wish the show would have done. There are flashbacks to Sherlock's teenage years, where *everything* begins, and connects neatly with all the events in canon up to, and partially inclusive of, Series 3.

And of course, at the heart of it all is the love between Sherlock and John.

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: I Need You To See Me
Author: Mssmithlove
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 12,625 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: After going back to war, John is yet again invalided home, this time with a broken ankle and a chunk of his memory missing, unable to recall the last five years he's spent being Sherlock Holmes' partner and husband.

Reccer's comments: Amnesia fic is one of my favorite tropes, and this one hit me right in the feels. So angsty and beautifully written, I felt Sherlock's pain so viscerally. It does have a happy ending, but *god* the journey towards it is so painful. Totally worth it, though.

From the beginning of John's diagnosis, Sherlock is convinced that the situation is hopeless, that John could never fall for him twice. Even when John starts to rejoin Sherlock on cases and expresses his happiness to do so, Sherlock cannot allow himself to hope that *his* John is not irretrievably lost.

And just when Sherlock has come to terms with the possibility that his John Watson is gone forever - then we get a beautiful resolution that both makes sense within the narrative and is emotionally satisfying.

( sneak preview )

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: Forget-me-nots
Author: artfulinanities
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 7972 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: After getting injured on a case, Sherlock wakes with no memory of the last ten years of his life. He's left in the care of one John Watson - his flatmate, apparently - and is forced to navigate the life of a stranger, discovering things about his current self that leave him feeling off-kilter and very much alone. Luckily, John is there to see him through it.

Reccer's comments: This is a beautiful story that, although it's an eventual romance, also does a brilliant job of highlighting the friendship and bond between Sherlock and John, emphasizing the love that's only possible when there's a strong foundation and shared history. And even though Sherlock doesn't remember that shared history, it still shines through in their interactions and in John's gentle patience.

The author does a wonderful job of describing Sherlock's confusion and frustration at not being able to even remember what sort of person he is, let alone having no memory of his friends and acquaintances, or even of his current occupation. It got me thinking how much we all take for granted with our memories, and realising how disorienting it must be to have an entire decade of one's life just suddenly wiped away. All the little things one learns and experiences during that time that help shape the person that you are. A very thought-provoking piece that ends in a good place and leaves the reader highly satisfied. Enjoy!

swissmarg

Title: Coventry (locked on AO3)
Author: standbygo (blogstandbygo on tumblr)
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 52,020 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major character death, attempted noncon
Verse: Sherlock (BBC)
Author's summary: A Sherlock/Dollhouse crossover AU. Previous knowledge of Dollhouse not necessary; no spoilers either.

Reccer's comments: This fic is absolutely incredible. Don’t be put off by the crossover aspect. As the summary says, it’s not necessary to know anything about Dollhouse; everything is explained in the fic… eventually. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. The twists and surprises are breathtaking, shocking, and absolutely scrumptious. There is a cunningly planned and executed case. There are minor characters who break their molds. There’s family and backstory and psychological exploration. And there is a beautiful, slow-burn romance that took my breath away, made me chuckle, and just made me feel like the universe was in alignment. The one thing I will warn for is that there is major character death… but it’s not the endgame, as such. ;)

( Excerpt... )

verdant_fire

Title: Names for the Galaxy
Author: evadne
Pairings: John/Sherlock, background Anthea/Mycroft
Length: 191102 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: N/A
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: Sci-fi AU. Sherlock Holmes is a recent arrival to 22nd century earth, and determined to find out who he is and where he comes from. John Watson has the unenviable task of teaching him how to be a normal human being.

Reccer's comments: I haven't read anything else quite like this story, fic or otherwise. The worldbuilding is phenomenal, and the treatment of the characters is so empathetic that I really felt what they were feeling as I read this. It also has some of the best plotting I've seen. The foreshadowing was very skillful; I went back and read through again after I got to the big reveal, and details that I didn't make much of at the time suddenly stood out in retrospect. I adore this version of Mary, and Mycroft and Anthea are quietly badass together. And of course, the Johnlock is excellent, both very hot and very moving. I don't understand why this fic isn't better known in fandom, but it certainly ought to be. (One reading note: one of the characters starts off the story mixing up their gendered pronouns, but it's not a typo; there's an in-universe reason for it and it only lasts a few chapters.)

swissmarg

Title: Murder in the Family
Author:

OTB221B
Pairing: John/Sherlock, John/Mary
Length: 50,374 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Post Season 3, Mary Watson goes missing, and John has been keeping secrets from Sherlock.

Reccer's comments: This is a post-series 3 fic in which Mary's past catches up to her and everyone associated with her when John sets out on a one-man mission to eliminate everyone who poses a threat to his family. One thing I particularly liked about this was that so often in fics, John has a reactive role, but in this, he actually goes out and gets in trouble without Sherlock and that ends up being the catalyst for everything that follows.

The fic is also full of awesome things like Sherlock getting Valentine's Day right, a badass clown/bodyguard, John using his gun the way it was meant to, a mid-story twist that takes us down a completely unforeseen path, Sherlock taking heinous advantage of the situation, and lots and lots of love. The unvarnished kind you see here:

( Excerpt... )

Despite all of that good stuff, it's really quite angsty and involves child endangerment. This fic also contains infidelity, but I thought it treated Mary fairly and redeems her by the end. Although, it's a bittersweet ending. Tissues might be good to have at hand. (No character death.)

rachelindeed.livejournal.com

Title: Give Me the Quiet Things
Author:

lady_t_220
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: It doesn't say, but I'd guess around 12,000-15,000 words
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: description of traumatic injury
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: John had never been afraid of asking "What's the worst that can happen?" He was pretty sure he'd already seen it.

Reccer's comments: In this story, John has amnesia in the aftermath of a terrible injury he suffered during a case gone wrong. I love that the story captures the strangeness of John's experience, his sense of frustration at the expectations of those closest to him who want him to be the person he was before, the way he feels like a stranger in someone else's body. Sherlock's reactions are so different from everyone else's, so free from expectation, with a low-level constancy that John comes to rely on without realizing it. He's restrained, just muted enough to be soothing when John finds most interactions uncomfortable and overcharged. Eventually, though, John sees that he is living Sherlock's nightmare more than his own, and begins to suspect that Sherlock's silence has more than one motive.

I can't put my finger on precisely what it is about this characterization of Sherlock that I love so much, but it feels very real to me. Also, I personally enjoy that the story pulls off the amnesia trope with no dub-con, and that Sherlock and John actually talk through a load of complicated issues, without wrapping everything up in a bow either. Probably my favorite hurt/comfort in the BBC 'verse.

hardboiledbaby

Title: Cups of Tea, and History
Author:

impishtubist
Pairing: Lestrade/Watson
Length: 9,338
Rating: Teen and up
Warnings: Major character death
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary:
Lestrade wakes in hospital with no memory of the past eleven months, and begins the slow process of reconstructing his missing year. But as the inconsistencies build, he starts to feel that he shouldn’t be asking what he’s forgotten, but who.

Reccer's comments:
This story will not be everyone's cup of tea *ahem* but for those of you who enjoy the unremitting anguish of a well-written deathfic, look no further than this heartbreaker.

I am loathe to reveal too much of the plot, because

impishtubist's writing is brilliant and masterfully done, and for maximum effect you will want to have the story unfold as the author tells it. Still, I can say that as clues are discovered one by one, you the reader will see the shape of what's coming; it positively looms and there's this incredible tension as you wait for the truth to be revealed. When it does happen, the realization is painful and devastating, just as you knew it would be. And yet you cannot stop reading.

Did I say how brilliant Imp is?

This does NOT have one of those "smile through your tears" kind of ending, just so you know. It is intense and haunting and stays with you. It's certainly stayed with me.

TL;DR:

impishtubist's "Cups of Tea, and History" = MY HEART IN A MILLION TINY SHARDS LET ME SHOW YOU IT

[Note: You must have an AO3 account to view this fic. If you don't have one yet and want one, submit your request here.]

pipmer1.livejournal.com

Title: Among the Secret Things (Remix)
Original Story and Author: Lacuna by coloredink
Author: Kate_Lear
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 26,073
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Sherlock would be the last person to describe himself as given to flights of fancy, but at the look on Lestrade’s face he could swear that something inside him curls up and dies.

Reccer's comments: My goodness, but this is intense, delicious, gorgeous and heart-rending. The author does a breath-taking remix of coloredink's wonderful amnesia fic, Lacuna, by cleverly integrating Dante's Nine Circles of Hell into the mix. Whereas the original story comes mostly from the point of view of John, the one suffering from amnesia, this remix explores Sherlock's perspective of the same events in a way that will make your heart ache. The author skillfully draws the reader into Sherlock's turmoil over John's memory loss in a way that plumbs his emotional depths while staying in character the entire time. When Sherlock makes a decision that is wrong on so many levels after John makes an incorrect assumption about the nature of their relationship, one can't help but continue to feel sympathy pains for him as he descends into a personal hell of his own making. As an added bonus, Mycroft is awesome in this, especially as a younger version of himself in the opening prologue.

( Excerpt )

le-froufrou.livejournal.com

Title: Unraveled
Author:

circa1220bce
Pairing: Holmes/Watson
Length: 10,600
Rating: R
Verse: ACD Canon

Author's summary: Holmes takes a knock to the head, and assumes he and Watson are together due to his friend's overt concern over said knock. When Holmes starts acting all touchy and loving, as one would with a partner, yet gets not much in response, he begins to worry about the state of the relationship he thinks he has with Watson. Cue Holmes trying to win back Watson's affections.

Reccer's comments: It is quite rare to find a story that is genuinely funny, sweet, hot, and to cap it off intriguing, but Unraveled delivers on all counts. The writing is very witty and engaging, even minor characters are beautifully fleshed out. Watching an overconfident Holmes piece together clues based on an entirely (?) false premise and foister his attentions on caught-in-the-headlights!Watson is wonderful and hilarious.

swissmarg

Title: These Things Were Promises
Author:

paperclipbitch
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 53,244 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: RDJ films
Author's summary: Watson has had to take a brutal course in being honest with himself so nothing Holmes says will ever be a surprise.

Reccer's comments: I don't come across many Ritchieverse fics, much less ones that stand out above the slough of BBC fics, but this is a real gem.

The story is set pre-Reichenbach, or in other words pre-Game of Shadows. There are cases, but they are relegated to the role of backdrops for the turmoil tearing through the fabric of Holmes and Watson's friendship, or better, disturbingly co-dependent relationship. They are both struggling with their own demons, while negotiating emotions that neither of them are equipped to handle. Holmes is destructive, manic, and brilliant, while Watson is desperately unhappy, helpless in the face of his addiction to gambling, and possessed of an inexhaustible capacity for forgiveness. I wasn't sure whether to root for them to make it together or clean up their lives on their own, but either way, I got a full serving of thrills and emotional involvement.

Excerpt:

“I need to borrow one of your shirts,” Holmes announces.

Watson has never got anything that he lent Holmes back, but he does not begrudge the loss of his belongings, though he suspects he should. He does not ask why Holmes needs his clothing; he is sure the answer will become evident in time.

“Go ahead,” he says, and listens to Holmes cross the hall to his bedroom before something occurs to him and he calls: “Not the blue one!” after him.

Early evening, when his hand is cramped from writing and his fingers are sufficiently ink-stained, Watson opens his wardrobe to discover all his shirts still hanging there intact except for, as he suspected, the blue one.
It is a problem, of course, that Watson cannot even bring himself to be angry about this.

The dialogue is spot-on, as are the staging and mannerisms. I could picture Downey and Law in every word and look. At the same time, the story lives beyond the movies, with a depth of character development that isn't possible amidst the special effects and explosions. It has humour, heartache, love, angst galore, and yummy, yummy smut. Even if you haven't seen the movies, this is a great fic to spend an afternoon with.

misplaced-exile.livejournal.com

Title: What Meets the Eye
Author: worldaccordingtofangirls
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 8 251 words
Rating: M
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Amnesia is just another case to solve. Piece together unfamiliar faces, reconstruct the old identity, the lost reality. A challenge that Sherlock could even enjoy. He can read people like books. The man with the silver hair is his boss. The tottering old woman, his landlady. The girl with the worried look in her eyes… infatuated. And as for John Watson? His husband. Obviously.

Reccer's comments: The premise of this fic is most excellent (and I am glad beyond words that someone decided to write a fic like this for the Sherlock fandom). Basically Sherlock gets amnesia, but instead of telling anyone, he treats it as the biggest deduction/experiment of his life. Not surprisingly, he manages to fool everyone. The meta-ness of Sherlock deducing his own life and the sweetly developing relationship between him and John; coupled with great descriptive imagery and portrayed emotions make this a brilliant read.

dessieoctavia.livejournal.com

Title: Amnesia Doesn't Make You Gay
Author:

grey_bard,

jmtorres
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 1251
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: "If it could be easily induced and temporary, I might quite like having amnesia," Sherlock mused. "What a challenge! What a mystery! Pity it's wasted on you, John."
(Contains absolutely no dub-con)
Reccer's comments: Hilarious. Teaser:
"Are you always this much of an insensitive wanker?" John asked.
"Well, since you don't remember me at all, I suppose I have to tell you yes, in fact."

pyjamapants.livejournal.com

Title: Give Me the Quiet Things
Author:

lady_t_220
Pairing: John/Sherlock (eventually)
Length: ~23K
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: amnesia, descriptions of injury
Verse:Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: John had never been afraid of asking "What's the worst that can happen?" He was pretty sure he'd already seen it.

Reccer's comments: The story is absolutely stunning. John awakens with amnesia from a coma after having been beaten during a case. His frustration and anger as he heals and tries to piece his life back together is palpable and gripping and grows more powerful upon re-reading. Lady_t_220 employs John's perspective beautifully. Sherlock's role in the story and the friendship between John and Sherlock is complex and nuanced and heartbreaking.

jordan-frog.livejournal.com

Title: Lacuna
Author:

wreathsandbells
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 15,600 words
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: God, it must have been terrible, to think that he would never have this again.
Reccer's comments: I love this fic, but fair warning, the basic plot is more than a little dark, even if there's lots of fluff involved too. That's to be expected in a fic in which John gets amnesia and Sherlock uses it to his advantage. It's absolutely brilliant though, and by far one of my favorites in this fandom.

nathcoelho.livejournal.com

Title:The Man by Any Other Name
Author:

mia6363
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 14,908
Rating:NC-17
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary:For this prompt that asked for a take on The Bourne Identity with Sherlock and John. John Watson wakes up and doesn’t know his name--- who better than to find it for him than Sherlock Holmes?

Reccer's comments: My last rec! omg! i already did 12 recs with this! so, i hope you all like my last!lol! this is a amusing story that i read just yesterday and get my attention! i hope everyone can enjoy! cheers for a BAMF!John! =* and a great April for you guys, and a awesome rec may for everyone! \o

Current Mood: bitchy
Current Location: my room

unovis.livejournal.com

Hi!
Just a few words on our tags and tagging your recs.

Tags are useful search tools for grouping the recs by categories: by pairing, genre, content, and sources for the stories or other fanworks.

We ask that reccers attach tags that are relevant to the works they rec. You don't have to add everything that applies-- for example, not a character tag for everyone who might appear in the story, or every theme or content. But if Molly has a significant cameo, say, that you think people searching for her might appreciate, then by all means list her in a tag. Likewise if you think this is the addiction story people should read, then use the content: addiction tag.

The required aspects to tag are pairing (if it applies), relationship genre (i.e., gen, slash, or het*), and verse (the source: ACD books, Sherlock BBC, Granada, etc.).

The easiest place to see all of the tags available is in this list of tags.

Tagging is enabled only for the author of the post and the mods. Only the mods can add new tags. We have a beginning list up now, anticipating likely categories and characters. We'll add more as recs are made, if characters and pairings, for example, aren't covered already. You can request a new tag to be added by commenting here or by contacting one of the mods. Keep in mind, again, that we'll be adding character tags as additional characters appear in recs.

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have been abbreviated as SH and JW in pairings and some other places (e.g., content: sick jw). Since this recs comm is open to all versions of Sherlock Holmes, it seemed the simplest way to identify the characters. Lestrade, Gregson, and Dimmock are listed as "inspector" following ACD book canon, and Moriarty is listed only once by his (their) surname alone. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is abbreviated throughout as ACD.

*We won't add a category for "slash-if-you-squint" or similar invitations for the reader to see subtext in a story. If the author hasn't labeled her work as slash, then it's genre: gen or genre: friendship.

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221B Recs

A Sherlock Holmes Recs Community

Entries tagged with content: amnesia

Fic Rec: Wick-craft

Fic Rec: Sacre Coeur

Fic Rec: I Need You To See Me

Fic Rec: Forget-me-nots

Fic Rec: Coventry

fic rec: Names for the Galaxy

Fic Rec: Murder in the Family

Fic Rec: Give Me the Quiet Things

Fic Rec: Cups of Tea, and History

Fic Rec: Among the Secret Things (Remix)

Fic Rec: Unraveled

Fic Rec: These Things Were Promises

Fic Rec: What Meets the Eye

Sherloc fic rec

Fic Rec: Give Me the Quiet Things

Fic Rec: Lacuna by Wreathsandbells

The Man By Any Other Name by mia6363

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November 2018

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