Oh dear, I am very very sorry, I brought up the discussion The idea of guessing the author just made me curious if a foreign author would be recognizable for a native speaker. I didn't meant to judge any writings (I am the least one that should do so!) and it was never my idention that anybody felt offended by this topic.
Maybe just let's go back talking about all those wonderful fics we got this year.

Yeah, exactly, Susi. Me for example. 
IMO everybody who took part in this challenge deserves respect no matter which country they come from or how their language skills are. To have an idea and to be brave enough to publish something even it's only in this forum counts for me.
I do my speculations in private, enjoy the stories and just wait for the announcement at the end.

And I still have to read 1 fic. Shame on me.

Last edited by gently69 (December 22, 2014 6:30 am)

I only responded to Susi's last post. That's it.

I think I am quite impartial because I have not been included in the speculations, so this is my point: It would be better to guess in private or exchange ideas via PM if you wish so. Pairing members with stories because of their respective language skills might be hurtful or unpleasant to them. It is quite brave for some to write a story in another language and present it here to make someone happy and it should not be dissected afterwards on such a basis. 

I participated in last year's Secret Santa and I cannot remember something like that happening. We can do a competition for professional fic writers anytime who know what they are letting themselves in for and analyse the results afterwards, but this is not the place for it. 

 

Oh, what have I done. Please, please, please, that wasn't my intention! When I asked this stupid question I wasn't thinking about that foreign authors could be recognized because of any mistakes. I thought of something like style or text structure, things that are different from language to language but not wrong. And I was just curious, there was no ulterior motive behind that. I am so sorry, I brought this up. We have without exception wonderful stories so far and I didn't want that anybody felt insecure or bad (which I do now).

Why does nobody guess where all the pics are from?
Native or non native speakers? 

Mattlocked wrote:

Why does nobody guess where all the pics are from?
Native or non native speakers?

Stay serious, dear.

Btw, the last pics are brilliant again. To get these ideas ... LOL
 

I fully agree. Well done, unknown artist. 

Thank you. As I said, this is just not the right place for this sort of analysis. 

Last edited by SusiGo (December 22, 2014 11:05 am)

Billy, psychopaths and stupid idiots
 
I absolutely loved the humorous, tongue-in-cheek atmosphere of this little fic. The authors of Sherlock prepared a very pleasant surprise to me when they introduced Bill Wiggins into the show (as a nice nod to canon), so I´m also very glad that we have at least one story here which centers on his character and that it manages to do it in such a light-hearted yet clever manner. His interactions with John and Sherlock were witty and silly and amused me to no end.
 
I also liked how a drama that took place between Mary and John was revealed to us only through the secret administrative report to Mycroft. It made the fact of Mary´s demise real and believable and yet it didn´t cloud the humour of the rest of the story with bitterness and darkness. I must confess, dear unknown author, that if such drama should really occur in the show itself, I would very much prefer if the authors went your way and wrote in in a similar manner.
 
Sherlock ingenious plan of how to find a nice female psychopath for John was a blast and I laughed heartily when reading it. Then the next scene, about the realisation of Sherlock´s plan through Bill Wiggins and about the devious Tessa, was even funnier and topped its precedesor with ease. The final reconcilliation and the beginning of romance between Sherlock and John beautifully turned the tide after that and managed to give us a heartfelt, satisfying touch of things to come, the real heart and soul of the relationship between our boys. The playful and witty style in which this story was written made it a delight to read and its contents really made my day. Thank you, dear author.
 
Play it again, Sherlock
 
A Johnlock story of incredible sweetness. From the very first moment it had that evocative, touching, charming aura that simply held my attention and refused to let me go until I reached the very last word. I was enchanted by the beautiful characterisation of Sherlock and John in this. Their thoughts and dialogues and their behaviour rang very true to me and they lent a great emotional resonance to the story as a whole.
 
Every single scene was quite memorable and powerful – from the ride in the taxi, through little domestic of our boys, Sherlock´s wonderfully sincere kiss and the little miscommunication between Sherlock and John, up to the John´s discovery of the music sheets and their final harmonious reconnection. It was a thing of beauty how the story weaved an utterly romantic theme and yet carefully managed to avoid all the high pathos and drama which would make this fic sound unconvincing. Once again, I liked how the fate of Mary was neatly resolved through her disappearance – thus making her return as an antagonist or an ally possible, but removing her from the picture as an obstacle for the Johnlock romance. (I wouldn´t mind this solution to the Mary problem in the show either).
 
The idea that Sherlock makes his love to John known through his music was fantastic. Sherlock is an unsentimental kind of person and would have a big problem voicing those sweet nothings that belong to love inseparably. While music, the universal language that speaks directly to the soul, would came naturally to him (as to an artist) in such situation. The quiet, peaceful way in which John accepted both Sherlock´s music and his love was also very touching and crowned this story with an incredible feeling of belonging and fullfillment. You really played my heart as a violin with this story, dear unknown author.

Last edited by nakahara (December 22, 2014 6:58 pm)