First, he is shot in Afghanistan. Second, he wakes to a phone call in Chelmsford, Essex. Third is pain, fourth is normalcy, fifth is agony and sixth is confusion. By the eighth, he’s lost track. (John-centric AU)
This is a fantastic fic in which John wakes up in four separate lives each time he goes to sleep! It’s amazing because of the writing and because of the concept. John has two London lives, one in Afghanistan, and one in Chelmsford. I was totally surprised—in one of his lives he had never even been a solider, but John was still John. The story’s really emotional and crazy (as you would expect!) and John has a hard time keeping track at first, but he gets the hang of it. I think the most heart-wrenching thing in the fic is when John realizes he has six months left of his tour in Afghanistan, and it will take him two years to complete it. There’s also a sequel, which is just as good, where John has Sherlock help him outsmart…Sherlock. Hahaha.
Guest review by trivia-goddess.
Just wanted to add a bit to this one because I’ve been meaning to review it myself. I loved it, it was very interesting and really draws you into the story. At first it was a little hard to keep track of his different lives and how his days work but it was written well enough so that when John gets a hang of things so did I. It was a really clever and unique idea! There’s a lot of little things that broke my heart in this, John having to literally re-live Afghanistan was hard and , without spoiling anything, his Chelmsford life was heartbreaking when John finds out what happens when he isn’t there to save a life. When John does find out that he can save people in his other London I was impressed with how the author managed to handle the other possibilities. It had a good butterfly effect undertone. Make sure to read the second part because there’s a lot of really good parts in it. Some amazing parts for you shippers too! I really love the fact that John gives Sherlock the chance to figure out his secret before he tells Sherlock. It was clever and I enjoyed getting to watch Sherlock figure it out. Overall it’s one of my favorite AUs. Very well written and really clever! -Devin
Word Count: 31623
My Rating: A
Read it here, fic by bendingsignpost.
The inimitable bendingsignpost, ladies and gentlemen! If somehow you have missed this gem of a fic, this glorious mind-bending trip through alternate realities, this paragon of the writer’s craft, fortuitously scribed for us in the Sherlock fandom, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL READING ME GOING ON ABOUT IT.
The World on His Wrist, first installment of the Watches!verse, on Ben’s LJ.
The World on His Wrist on AO3.
BBC Sherlock rec: The World On His Wrist