All I can think is that he's looking very decorative himself.

I'm just so glad to see him again 

Mattlocked wrote:

gently69 wrote:

Mattlocked, what are you doing???

 
Bad conscience.

Oh, wouldn't it be lovely if SOMEONE would make him a clay John?

Schmiezi, as far as I'm concerned, you do it the way that works best for you, and I'll be happy about anything that pops up at any time.

Are we less participants this year than last year? Would account for the smaller number of comments. Maybe the fics are longer than last year, too? I know I'm a bit behind right now solely because of that...

It can't seriously be the quality of the stories!!!

Last edited by La Jolie (December 12, 2014 3:44 pm)

I haven't read all the fics yet but yesterday I read "Something Precious."

It was lovely.  All the motivations and emotions felt very real.
I was so moved.  Not only was it one of the most perfect little fix-it's I've ever read but it hit me in a very personal way.

This quote:  "I should like to bury somethingprecious in every place where I've been happy and then when I was old and ugly and miserable, I could come back and dig it up and remember."

This stopped me in my tracks.   Induldge me a moment to tell you why?

I have always been very proud and fascinatied by my Irish roots.  Spent many years wishing to travel there but still had not made it by my early 30's.   My best friend had been there twice and I was very jealous.

In 1995 my grandmother that helped raise me died.  It was my first major loss and it really made me think.  I called up my best friend and told her "I don't want to wake up one day at 60 and still have never been to Ireland.  Start planning our trip."

I tell you that to tell you this.

An idea formed in my mind.  I went to my mom and ask her for some small token that beong to my grandmother and also a token from her.   I also choose a small token to represent myself.   I put them all in a little velvet bag and took them with me on my trip to Ireland.   One afternoon we were hiking on the cliffs outside of Howth.  I found a spot and said this is the place.  I burried that velvet bag there by the side of the Irish sea and left it there.

Reading that story and that quote immediately took me back to that place.  I felt the wind and the sunshine and I dug up that bag of precious things and held it close to my heart. I cried, but  my tears were tears of happiness because, corny as it sounds, it comforts me to know that parts of these people I love so much are together forever in the land of our ancestors.

And this is one reason why fan fiction should not be rediculed.  It's not just about rabid fangirls who want John and Sherlock to shag.  Fan fiction can touch us and transport us just like any other work of art and even when it's not "great" the authors still deserve respect for their effort.

Ok.  Didn't expect to go on like that but...............................thanks for listening.

Tonnaree, that was an incredibly sweet and touching post. 

Well, time to  catch up on commenting
The Taste of Cornish Wines
Dear author,
you have been a lot kinder to Mary than I usually am in my fics. You allowed her to sacrifice herself for the safety of John and Sherlock. There is no more selfless act than that.

I liked the way Grandmere's funeral frames the story.

Extra kudos for including someone drinking port.

OMG it’s my turn!
 
*bounces up and down excitedly*
 

How Sherlock Holmes met Greg Lestrade

I totally loved this! Loved the characterisation for both of them. Sherlock as a full-blown junkie really is disturbing, but only realistic. Muddy parks and seedy public toilets. Nasty nasty nasty. Gotta love/hate “Lockie”. You can tell what a wreck he must have been to tolerate that! I also love that he tries to look neat but totally fails. In need of a dry clean indeed, not just the coat!
 
I love how it isn't “love at first sight” between Sherlock and Greg, but merely an arrangement for mutual gain, at first. I thought it was very clever and very IC how Sherlock sees through Greg's attempt to force him to cooperate straight away, and turns the tables on him with all those clever deductions about Greg's work situation and marital trouble, making it look as if it's really Greg who depends on Sherlock's goodwill, but then Greg turns the tables on him again by making it a condition for their cooperation that Sherlock stays clean, and there's absolutely nothing Sherlock can do against that, because Greg is simply RIGHT. Very cleverly plotted, and made me want to cheer Greg on!
 
We all agree that John deserves endless praise for keeping Sherlock right (including clean) all the time, but it makes me really happy to see the man who kept Sherlock alive until John ever came along get some credit, too!
 
And I really want to hug Greg and slap that awful wife of his. How can you possibly be married to Greg Lestrade and not realise how damn lucky you are???
 
I totally loved the deductions. It’s not so hard to come with unexplained ones (like the notorious lower third of the doorhandle of a Chinese restaurant), but it’s REALLY hard to write explained ones that actually stand up to their explanation, and these ALL do. Amazingly well done!
 
 
Favourite lines? Difficult, so many to choose from!
 
“Jesus Christ.” - “No. Sherlock Holmes.”
- LOL!
 
“Jesus Christ.” - “Nope. The window cleaner.”
- LOL again!
 
and basically everything else when Sherlock is being so wonderfully, annoyingly immodest.
 
“Yeah, why doesn’t that surprise me,” Lestrade sighed, rubbing his eyes. “God, I can’t believe I’m even considering this. Why am I even considering this?”
- That's just so Greg!
 
And my absolute favourite:
 
“Those things’ll kill you, y’know.”
- because this is such a lovely touch, to make that line in TEH an echo of the first thing Greg ever said to Sherlock, all those years before. Goosebumps all over!
 

I totally agree with Silverblaze that I don’t want it to be over – I’d love to see their relationship develop into the mutual esteem and affection that we see later on.  There’s already a hint of that famous closing scene of “Casablanca” in this, with the police officer and the cynic in the long coat celebrating the beginning of their beautiful friendship, but they don’t walk off into the sunset together in this, not yet, and I’d love to read what it took to make it work. Any chance of a sequel???
 
So, to conclude, unknown author, thank you for a LOVELY take on a classic (I know the prompt wasn’t terribly original). I don’t mind telling you that I’ve read quite a few fics with the same scenario, and most of them have drugs and deductions, but none of them have even come close to what I really wanted to see. Well, no need to go on looking now! You’ve just given me a wonderful new piece of head canon for Christmas. Thank you again!

How Sherlock Holmes met Greg Lestrade

That was a very good version of their first meeting, unknown author. Both very much in character and I was laughing out loud at the above quotes. And I like their deal which is beneficial to both of them. Definitely the way it could have happened. 

They're funny. Very well done. 

BTW, has everyone stopped reading at this point? C'mon, everyone worked so hard on their story.