Archived fic rec - In Some Way, I'm There With You

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: In Some Way, I’m There With You

Author: An Anon at sherlockbbc-fic

Fandom: Sherlock

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: implied Sherlock/John, Donovan/Anderson

Warnings: some violence

Other notes: kink meme fill, post-Reichenbach, case fic, outside perspective, multiple PoVs

Length: Unknown

Summary: His eyes widened and he felt like his heart had stopped. Dokter and inspekter in danger. Canning Killer tuk them, the message read. He knew there was only one doctor the homeless would contact him about.

 

Coincidentally, I was looking for fics I could write a quick rec for, and, when I read this one, I suddenly remembered, oh, yeah, I was gonna do that week of case fics in April, and isn’t this a case fic?

I decided to put this one first because it’s both an easy read and shows off some of the things I’m gonig to be discussing with the genre this week. This is a case fic, and puts more emphasis on the investigation side of things. I’ve noticed to big trends in how people write case fic–you can make an interesting case, with deductions and clues and an interesting criminal; or you can make a case that directly affects the characters investigating. The latter tends to be a bit more popular. I think, in general, fanfiction tends to prize character interactions that most. I’m not saying there aren’t intricately plotted fanfics, fanfic with great world building, and the like, but there’s a big emphasis on character development and relationship development. Think of how many short, sweet fics you’ve seen just exploring a character, or how many fics have the romantic relationship as the main plot.

Anyway, this is a fic that uses a case–in this case, a serial killer–to paint this wonderful relationship between Sherlock-in-exile and reluctant-ally Donovan. These are two people who do not like each other, who barely have a grudging respect for each other, suddenly forced to work together. And by the end, they’ve grown to like each other more.

I’ll admit I wasn’t a big Donovan fan at the start. I don’t hate her, like some fans do. At the same time, it wasn’t until other people began to point out all the understated aspects of her character that I got more respect–she’s a woman in a male-dominated profession, and she’s aggressively normal. Hers is the voice of reason, when the audience is sort of expected to get sucked in by Sherlock, despite his stunning lack of normality, and, on occasion, sanity. And here, she’s the one who can keep Sherlock on task–not the way John would, with praise and awe and unquestioning loyalty–but with her own brand of toughness and logic and cut-the-crap. It’s lovely.

Although… I have to admit, it’s finally been drilled into my head: cops in the UK don’t use guns. I hear that Brit-pick all the time, and it jumped out at me while reading this fic. But Donovan gets to be the bad-ass hero, so whatever.

 

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Originally posted on tumblr on 04/01/13