These are stories written by Basser, the Monkey who keeps this house, mostly between 2012 and 2015, with an earlier curiosity and a later experiment. They live here as plain Markdown files: no tags, no author notes, no archive chrome, just the stories.
Twenty-seven works and half a million words cover an unruly teenage Sherlock, a family history that predates Baker Street, and a boarding-school sandbox. Open a file in a browser, an e-reader or a language model and it simply reads.
- For people: click any title and read it in your browser as plain text.
- For e-readers: download the Markdown files. Each begins with a small YAML header (title, author, summary) that pandoc reads as book metadata, so pandoc file.md -o file.epub makes an e-book.
- For language models: start at index.md for a plain-text directory, or library.json for machine-readable metadata. Each work is one URL.
- For the whole verse at once: one file, with a work map and a chapter index with stable IDs (for example CRV-02-C05).
Can't Rewind Verse
The Willow Shelf
Twelve works and about 324,000 words about Sherlock Holmes's past: a childhood estate, a brother, a boy called Eric and a doomed romance, addiction, and eventually John Watson meeting what is left. In these stories the willow is where a boy hides on the grounds, and later the quiet place in his head when the world is too loud. Read them in series order. Some are brief missing scenes; three are novel-length.
The whole verse in one file, 1.9 MB (Markdown, with a chapter index)
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CRV-01 · part 1
Internet Killed the Video Star
Teen and upno warnings apply9,330 words · 3 chapters · 2012–2014
The Yarders discover some old photographs while investigating a crime scene. "Good lord, he was in a band."
The author's tags
Sherlock's Past, mentions of drug use, Embarrassing Photos, Mentions of Homosexuality, Not a crack fic, Title Means Nothing, Humour, Friendship, Somewhat Fluffy, guitar playing, Bands, Indie Music, Old Videos
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CRV-02 · part 2
Can't Rewind Now We've Gone Too Far
MatureGraphic Depictions Of Violence; Rape/Non-Con112,100 words · 9 chapters · 2012–2013
At age nineteen, Sherlock Holmes dropped out of university to become a drug addict.
The author's tags
Angst, Drama, Family, Drug Addicton, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Non-Graphic Sexual Content, coarse language, Alcohol, Implied Child Abuse, Unintentional Chemistry Lesson, Badly-Rendered Cockney Accents, Holmes Brothers' Childhood, chain-smoking
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CRV-03 · part 3
Rabbit Song
Teen and upno warnings apply17,500 words · 10 chapters · 2013–2023
Sherlock smelled of cigarettes and chemicals, of borrowed soap and fabric softener... and still, faintly, of strawberries. Missing scenes and snippets from Can't Rewind Now as told from the point of view of Eric Crenshaw. The angst-ridden fluff of a doomed romance.
The author's tags
Fluff and Angst, Drug Use, Drug Addiction, POV Original Character, Drabbles, A Bit Romantic, Junkie Sherlock, Missing Scenes, Marijuana
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CRV-04 · part 4
The Trapeze Swinger
Explicitno warnings apply5,780 words · 2 chapters · 2023
Missing scene from the Can't Rewind Verse series. The 'other night' referred to by Eric in the line "... and if he don't do it then I'm gonna start repeatin' every dumbarse thing he said the other night when I got him stoned to hell and we-".
The author's tags
Eric Crenshaw, Can't Rewind Verse, Young Sherlock, Drug Use, guitar playing, being way too stoned, sexual relationships with junkies can get complicated
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CRV-05 · part 5
Running Like A Wildfire
Teen and upGraphic Depictions Of Violence6,040 words · 2 chapters · 2012
Missing scene from Can't Rewind Now, can be read as a standalone. Sherlock is picked up from rehab by his father. Things do not go well. Later, a young army medic on holiday leave finds himself trying to reassure a panicking teenager outside a London tube station.
The author's tags
Drama, Angst, Child Abuse, mentions of drug use, Mentions of Homosexuality
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CRV-06 · part 6
And All For One
Generalno warnings apply4,980 words · 2012
When Sherlock was twelve, his best friend was a cat.
The author's tags
Sherlock's Childhood, Kittens, Angst, Inevitable Tragedy, Mycroft is Not Emotionally Supportive
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CRV-07 · part 7
Lion's Teeth
Teen and upno warnings apply9,150 words · 3 chapters · 2013–2014
A fourteen year old Sherlock tries to nick money from his father to buy cigarettes.
The author's tags
Angst, Drama, Referenced Child Abuse, Underage Smoking, Depressing, Teenage Sherlock, Siger Being Himself, Overdose, Underage Drinking, Suicidal Thoughts, Sherlock/John Banter, Epilogue
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CRV-08 · part 8
Shot Birds, Falling Fast
Teen and upGraphic Depictions Of Violence14,700 words · 4 chapters · 2014–2024
Sherlock doesn't adjust particularly well to living with his brother. Mycroft doesn't either. But then no one ever said escaping home would solve anything.
The author's tags
Angst, Family Issues, Holmes Brothers, Teenage Drama, Climbing Buildings, Damaged People Damaging Each Other Further, Child Abuse, Bullying
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CRV-09 · part 9
Treasure
Generalno warnings apply3,080 words · 2015
Wherein a boy and his brother look for pirate gold.
The author's tags
Family, Fluff, Kidlock, Holmes Brothers' Childhood, looking for pirate treasure, not actually finding any, Mycroft being an okay big brother, some french
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CRV-10 · part 10
We'll Keep Running For Our Lives
Teen and upGraphic Depictions Of Violence86,500 words · 18 chapters · 2013, still being written (last update 2025)
Following the events of Can't Rewind Now, a wandering Sherlock finds himself in Florida. He soon discovers not all is as it seems in the lives of an elderly couple named Hudson.
The author's tags
Drama, Mystery, Swearing, mentions of drug use, Depression, Children, Florida, Smoking, sherlock doggedly ignoring serious injuries, Spy Stuff, Child Abuse, Holmes cousins - Freeform, child espionage trauma
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CRV-11 · part 11
Though We Went Our Separate Ways
Teen and upno warnings apply49,900 words · 13 chapters · 2013–2024
Whoever this freckled bloke was he'd certainly cornered the market on eliciting uncharacteristic reactions from Sherlock Holmes. John Watson, meet Eric Crenshaw.
The author's tags
Fluff, Friendship, Bloke from Sherlock's past, Can't Rewind Verse, Eric Crenshaw, Ex-Boyfriends, silliness, Past Rape/Non-con
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CRV-12 · part 12
Constant
Teen and upno warnings apply4,510 words · 2012
Sherlock has a cocaine relapse. No one really notices.
The author's tags
Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Relapse, Cocaine, Depressing, Angst, sherlock POV
Elsewhere in the fandom
Other Sherlock
Standalone pieces, missing scenes, and an alternate universe where John and a teenage Sherlock cross paths years ahead of schedule.
Only Intelligent
An unfinished alternate universe in which a teenage Sherlock living rough meets John Watson years before 221B Baker Street, plus its companion piece.
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OI-1
Only Intelligent
Teen and upGraphic Depictions Of Violence71,000 words · 32 chapters · 2012, unfinished (last update 2014)
John Watson is a respectable medical student in his early twenties. He has a nice flat, a good job... and he's best friends with a drug-addicted teenage street rat by the name of Sherlock Holmes. AU in which our heroes met many years earlier.
The author's tags
Teenage Sherlock, Parental John, Angst, Drug Use, Drug Addiction, Homelessness, Alternate Universe, Eventual Series Rewrite, coarse language, Implied Neglect, Friendship, Sherlock's a Huge Brat, alternating pov, Detox, Smoking, Hormones, Not Slash, Haphazard Mystery Solving
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OI-2
Only Us
Generalno warnings apply3,760 words · 2 chapters · 2013, unfinished
The Holmes family fractures in bits and pieces, leaving the children to support each other. Mycroft isn't sure he's cut out to be a parent. Companion piece to Only Intelligent.
The author's tags
Angst, Fluff, Family, Neglect, Parental Strife, Holmes Siblings
Series Three
Five missing scenes and episode tags written around the third series, filling gaps between the televised ones.
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S3-1 · part 1 of S3 Sherlock
Extraction
Teen and upGraphic Depictions Of Violence2,750 words · 2014
Mycroft smuggles his little brother out of Serbia. A short missing scene from The Empty Hearse.
The author's tags
Angst, Drama, Episode: s03e01 The Empty Hearse, Missing Scene, Serbia - Freeform, Torture, Interrogation, Brotherly Love, Spy Stuff, Mycroft Pretending He Doesn't Care, Holmes Brothers
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S3-2 · part 3 of S3 Sherlock
Will-O'-the-Wisp
Teen and upGraphic Depictions Of Violence2,290 words · 2014
As he left the reception solitude seemed to settle over him like an old, familiar blanket. Episode tag for The Sign of Three.
The author's tags
Angst, no seriously angst, PTSD Sherlock, Episode: s03e02 The Sign of Three, Episode Tag, Did I say angst?
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S3-3 · part 3 of S3 Sherlock
Smoke
Teen and upGraphic Depictions Of Violence2,980 words · 2014
"Sometimes it's so hard not smoking."
The author's tags
PTSD Sherlock, Episode: s03e02 The Sign of Three, Missing Scene, Extended Scene, Angst, making lighthearted scenes stupidly tragic
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S3-4 · part 4 of S3 Sherlock
The Smart One
Generalno warnings apply2,560 words · 2014
And this, Mycroft thinks, is why sitting vigil at his brother’s bedside was a terrible idea. A conversation in the hospital. Missing scene from HLV.
The author's tags
Episode: s03e03 His Last Vow, Missing Scene, In Hospital, Drugged Sherlock, Mycroft's smoking habit, Brotherly Sniping, Bonding Moments
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S3-5 · part 5 of S3 Sherlock
Of Monsters
Teen and upno warnings apply4,070 words · 2014
Between the gunshot and the end, there’s a moment between brothers. Missing scene for His Last Vow.
The author's tags
Episode: s03e03 His Last Vow, Missing Scene, Holmes Brothers, Angst, Drama, Fraternal Obligations, Conversations, Mycroft Being Mycroft, Sherlock being Traumatised
One-shots and studies
Four one-shots, from comic to bleak, and the Character Studies: thirteen short chapters from inside Sherlock's head.
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ONE-1
Chat-Up
Generalno warnings apply1,770 words · 2013
Molly's first conversation with the mysterious genius who hangs around the hospital labs quickly becomes unbearably awkward.
The author's tags
Humor, Awkwardness, Embarrassment, Awful Pick-up Lines, Prompt Fill
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ONE-2
Deal
Generalno warnings apply3,040 words · 2013
It takes John a day and a half to notice the bruising. To be fair, he's still rather concussed.
The author's tags
Episode Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Men Being Stubborn, Slight John Whump, Episode: s01e02 The Blind Banker, Friendship, concussion, Sherlock Worrying
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ONE-3
Nadir
Teen and upMajor Character Death3,460 words · 2013
Some things we aren't prepared to lose.
The author's tags
Angst, Tragedy, Suspense, Dark, Rather Depressing
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ONE-4
Putting Up Shelves
Teen and upno warnings apply4,020 words · 2014
Or, why the fish and chips man always gives Sherlock extra portions.
The author's tags
The Fish and Chips Man, One Night Stand, Gay Sherlock, kinda silly, Sherlock is not very suave
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ONE-5
Sherlock Character Studies
Teen and upno warnings apply25,500 words · 13 chapters · 2012, unfinished (last update 2014)
Scenes from the series as experienced by Sherlock. Rationalisation of his behaviour, why he might do the strange things he does... and most importantly, what on earth is he thinking?
The author's tags
sherlock POV, Scene Analysis, Character Study, Present Tense Internalisation, Drug Use, Moderate Coarse Language, Three Patch Problem, Drugs bust, Shock Blanket, Colleague, Expert, Strangled, Cold Turkey, Jim and Molly, Mental Breakdown, Defrocked, Episode: s01e01 A Study in Pink, Episode: s02e01 A Scandal in Belgravia, Episode: s01e02 The Blind Banker, Episode: s01e03 The Great Game, Episode: s02e02 The Hounds of Baskerville, Episode: s03e02 The Sign of Three, Stag Night, Drunken Shenanigans, Episode: s03e03 His Last Vow, Drugs, high
Before all of it
The Old Shelf
The oldest piece here (2007 to 2010) is not Sherlock fanfiction but an improbable crossover between Detective Conan and House, M.D.: an unidentified boy arrives at Princeton-Plainsboro with an aortic dissection. The Monkey wanted it kept.
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OLD-1
Casework
Teen and upno warnings filed36,600 words · 24 chapters · 2007–2010
A small boy with an aortic dissection, a concussion and no one to claim him turns up at Princeton-Plainsboro, and Dr. House cannot make the story add up.
Content notes
Mystery, Drama, Rated T for language, Early canon (before Foreman's dead patient and the new fellows), One-sided Chase/Cameron fluff
A sandbox, and what grew in it
The Bartlett Sandbox
A small boarding-school universe in the year 2000, in the same world as the Can't Rewind Verse: the same school, and some of the same boys. It began with The Bartlett Scrap, a short piece the Monkey wrote about fifteen-year-old Henry Bartlett going along to one of his father's off-the-books political meetings and finding a schoolmate on the other side of the room.
The novella Horse Signs is not his. It was written by Claude models (Opus 4.7 through 5.5) in conversation with him, as an experiment, and because Claudes turned out to be very good at Henry Bartlett. The Monkey supplied the world, the facts, the corrections and a few beats; the sentences are the models'. Through a children's pony manual, Henry works out that his difficult friend is hurt. The chapter numbers have fractions because chapters were slipped in as the timeline filled up.
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BART-1
The Bartlett Scrap
Teen and upno warnings filed7,710 words
January 2000. Henry Bartlett, fifteen, goes along to one of his father's off-the-books meetings and finds a schoolmate on the other side of the room. A scrap written in a few hours; the seed of everything else on this shelf.
Content notes
Schooldays, Henry Bartlett, Sherlock Holmes (young), Politics, Mutual gay panic
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BART-2
Horse Signs
Teen and upImplied teenage relationship; nothing explicit45,200 words · 23 chapters · 2026
Summer Half, 2000. Henry Bartlett works out, by way of an old pony-club manual, that his difficult friend is not difficult but hurt.
Written by Claude models (Opus 4.7 through 5.5), from the Monkey's world, facts and corrections. Not the Monkey's prose.
Content notes
Written by Claude models, Schooldays, Henry Bartlett, Sherlock Holmes (young), Teenage relationship (implied, nothing explicit), Trauma and recovery, Spycraft, Swearing