BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Secret Santa Fic Exchange 2015

mrshouse · December 11, 2015 9:28 pm

silverblaze wrote:
@mrshouse:
And happy birthday

Thanks.

kgreen20 · December 12, 2015 12:14 am

Oh, my! What a story "Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Body Snatchers" turned out to be. (Impossible to see the phrase, "body snatchers," without thinking of a certain horror movie!) I feel sad for those homeless kidnap victims who may as well have been just straight-out murdered, given the way events turned out.

nakahara · December 12, 2015 10:45 am

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Body Snatchers

Wow, what a thrilling and absorbing case-fic, full of exciting detecting and the chase after the most foul criminals! And what an enthralling writing style! As soon as I saw the words „mollifying the nerves of the tempestuous natural phenomenon that lay sulking on the sofa“, I knew that I would like this story and it did not disappoint. It was equally suspenseful and amusing.

The interactions between Sherlock and John and their light banter were sheer perfection as well as Sherlock´s many tricks. I am still chuckling over „urology“ and the like. I loved it immensely how you captured Sherlock´s unruly nature accurately and yet you preserved his genius and his talent in detective work, not robbing him of his dignity and style in the process. You even brought a Doyle-Canon touch into your narrative by having Sherlock act in his many disguises. Hats off!

And the Sherlock as a golfist… hmmm. Hot! Can we have it in the show some time in the future, Mofftiss, please?

John was his most lovely self here, endowed with wry humour, very down-to-earth, voice of normalcy and yet a great support to Sherlock, fully prepared to aid him whenever it was possible. Wonderful characterisation!

The case, on the other hand, was chilling and incredibly dark. That cruel, downer ending worked as a bucket of ice-cold water on me, the character of the crime was inhumane and monstrous to the extreme. I was a bit miffed that we didn´t get to see the capture and the punishment of the mastermind behind this. Those gorillas with rifles and the Romanian cronies certainly weren´t the main perpetrators. Sherlock, the man who threw a virulent snake at the murderer in ACD Canon to repay him the murder of his step-daughter and the man who shot CAM to the head in BBC Canon to wipe out his cynical, senseless cruelty, would not stop in this stage of the case, I believe. But of course, that´s just my opinion.

All in all, this was a captivating tale with a great fuse of humour and an admixture of horror in it. Absolutely worth reading and enjoyable, althrough a bit scary at the end.

nakahara · December 12, 2015 11:38 am

Of Christmas, love and Lego dragons

Even the mulled wine cannot be sweeter, more Chrismasy, more delicious than this little Johnlock tale.

I loved every moment of it. Sherlock´s scare and agitation during the telephone conversation… his gentle, tender behaviour in the hospital crowned with a most romantic kiss and John´s lustful promise… that subtly erotic atmosphere in the living-room, aah…

And suddenly Mycroft had to spoil this soft slide into ultimate carnal pleasures, aaargh! Curse that man, he really is insufferable! And Mrs. Hudson… she is letting these people in on purpose, I swear! She is a secret sadist, for sure!

However, the fantastic scene in Molly´s cottage more than made up for this little „detour“. A very skillful reference to the photograph, Sherlock´s worry and John´s wonderful confession… I just melted. And smiled from ear to ear at that mention of the dragon at the end.

This was a tender caress of the soul I desperately needed today. Thank you so much for this, dear author!

silverblaze · December 12, 2015 9:05 pm

Sherlock Holmes and the adventure of the body snatchers

What a fantastic casefic! It's exciting, properly creepy and it all comes to a satisfying conclusion but what I was most impressed with were the use of language and the characterisations.

The case was intriguing at first and then it quickly turned dark. I did work out the true intent of the body snatchers when the medical clinic was mentioned, but that only added to the suspense and absolute creep factor. The Morris Minor was hilarious, I googled it right away. Nice touch of absurdity, and of course very convenient plot wise.

The characters: wow, all of them are so IC with their distinct speech and mannerisms. I loved the fact that Sherlock completely fools John over and over again, just like in ACD canon, and of course he's a master of disguise. It's just totally believable that he knows how to play golf and how to pull off the perfect posh frat boy attitude. So funny that Sherlock being normal would totally freak John out.

LOL at the Great White. Though surely, Mrs Hudson's herbal soothers must be smoked, or am I imagining an entirely different thing?

SusiGo · December 13, 2015 9:29 am

The Adventure of the Body Snatchers

I very rarely read non-Johnlock stories so this was something different for me.

I liked the light start, Sherlock working himself up and John resorting to Mrs Hudson's verbal soothers. And the case of the alarming tea cosy and the dangerous drive in the Morris Minor were nice touches.

The climax was eery and I loved how Sherlock - and even Mycroft got really emotional over their discovery.

A well-written gripping case fic. Thank you very much, unknown author!

SusiGo · December 13, 2015 9:36 am

Of Christmas, love, and Lego dragons

This was my bedtime read last night and what a wonderful read it was! It had exactly the right mixture of angst and fluff.

The beginning was not what I expected from the title. John in hospital, Sherlock in panic, not very Christmassy at all. Then we get a momentary relief with them going to the Christmas party after all and then - I really loved what came then - turning up the angst once again. The scene with Sherlock and John out in the garden really moved me because it was so in character: Sherlock being insecure about his feelings and regarding himself as inadequate and unfit to make someone happy. And John being the rational one here and getting Sherlock back from the brink.

Kudos, dear unknown author, for this lovely read.

stoertebeker · December 13, 2015 9:58 am

Of Christmas, love, and Lego dragons

Thank you, unkown author, for this wonderful little christmas present. I had no ideas or expectations regarding my story but what I got now was really really great. I love this little scenes with an insecure Sherlock who he doubts himself and his ability to be in a relationship. And as I generally see John as the steady and strong part of their bond, you captured the perfect story setting for my taste. Thanks! Oh, and I really like a little bit of John whump from time to time, nothing to drastic, just a little hurt that made Sherlock rushing at his bedside. So once again, thank you for matching my favorite reading themes so well. A lot of kudos to you for the way you included my prompts in the story (hospital, river, photograph, dragon, Lego). Especially the two latter ones weren't easy I suppose, so my appology for giving you a hard time. But you solved it splendid. Not only that these five words appeared in the story, no, everyone has an important meaning in it. Wow, that was impressive and wonderful written. I loved the scene between Sherlock and John outside the house, the bitter-sweet dialogue and slightly angsty atmosphere, I really could feel Sherlock's desperation. And I loved the linguistic images you created: the river, the photograph as Sherlock's breaking point and of course the Lego dragon. Especially that last one made me smile a lot, as this metaphor was brilliant. With enough willpower and imagination you can achieve everything. I second that.

I skipped a few stories but I wanted to read and comment on "my" story quickly. I will leave my comments on the other ones as soon as possible.

SusiGo · December 13, 2015 10:39 am

Oratorio in D-death

Wow, two connected case fics, an aborted re-wedding, and Johnlock becoming Canon all wrapped in one story.

Great idea about using the fentanyl patches on a healthy person as poison. And I had a real "noooo, not again" moment with John asking Sherlock to be his best man once again. And Sherlock, the idiot, not being able to express his feelings once again. Clever use of David as connecting piece between the two cases.

At the end I had only one wish unfulfilled - hearing Sherlock play some Bach. Thank you for this nice Sunday morning read, unknown author.

Last edited by SusiGo (December 13, 2015 12:10 pm)

silverblaze · December 13, 2015 11:38 am

The Adventure of the Mechanical Turk

What a beautiful beautiful story. Is it just me or is this professional quality? Every sentence just lives and breathes the Victorian era; what a wonderful use of language. I envy you. It's so ACD, the case, the twists, the red herrings. It also reminded me of some of the Basil Rathbone films, especially the darker atmosphere.

ACD usually had something conceptual at the heart of his stories and the mechanical Turk: wow, what a great idea! I'd never heard of it before but apparently they really existed? It made me think of some of Derren Brown's earlier work, but of course he was heavily influence by that type of Victorian spiritualism too. I loved the references to the spiritualist movement; I assume this also refers to ACD's argument with Houdini. Clever touch!

The mechanical Turk is properly scary; what a wonderful descriptions and handy use of the first person POV. I did think it couldn't possibly really work, but I didn't work out at all how it could be connected to the case, thanks to your clever red herrings and supplot. So it just became this big mystery, I suspect that's exactly the effect you were aiming for.

The case and the plot: it totally made sense and yet it was surprising at every turn. Watson being mislead by the red herrings was very clever and of course ACD's invention, but it works really well. The romantic supplot felt natural and IC and from a non-shipper like me that's a huge compliment.

silverblaze · December 13, 2015 12:02 pm

All good things

This was strange for me because I've never read a retirement fic before but I enjoyed it. The prose was beautiful; it just flowed so easily, and there's somethng really interesting about seeing those characters in a totally different phase of their lives. The baby no longer a baby but a fully grown woman who's now pregnant. The two men arrived in a calmer part of their lives, dealing with the difficulties of old age, but nontheless staying the same people.

The flashback scenes were a nice addition though for me personally it wasn't needed to explain how everything in their lives happened so that they ended up where they were. They were some great scenes though. The one that stuck the most to my mind was the separation of Mary and Anna; that was just heartbreaking. I liked that even though Mary is a villlain in this version, she's also a person and a mother who loved her child. Villains don't think of themselves as villains and this was a nice example.

Mycroft taking Anna to the Shakespeare was hilarious; he must have mellowed a bit since Les Mis.

Last edited by silverblaze (December 13, 2015 12:03 pm)

SusiGo · December 13, 2015 12:19 pm

So, I have to get something off my chest.
I know we are all living in very busy times. Not every fic is to everyone's liking and it is fair enough not to write anything instead of writing something negative. Some fics are very long and time-consuming to read.
But we have 21 participants and the most-commented-upon fic has nine commentaries so far, not even half the number of participants which is a bit sad. And, moreover, everyone is invited to comment, not just those who wrote a fic themselves.
Fanfic writers exist on comments and kudos as we all know and people have invested a lot of time and work and imagination. So, please, do your best to read as many fics as possible and comment if you liked them. (And, one last remark: it goes without saying that you should thank the unknown author who has gifted you with a fic.)

stoertebeker · December 13, 2015 1:18 pm

I second that, Susi. The decreasing amount of comments is bothering me as well for some time now. Especially for writing beginners is the lack of feedback very disappointing. I know I myself haven't comment on each fic yet, but I promise I will.

SusiGo · December 13, 2015 1:22 pm

As I said, nobody should feel obliged to comment everything but so far the feedback has been quite thin. For some of us it is their first try and being nervous and then not getting much feedback can be quite discouraging.

dioscureantwins · December 13, 2015 2:17 pm

Oratorio in D-death

What a smart casefic with David as the lynch-pin between the two crimes that were committed. The unfaithful husband had a very ACD-feel and the snow globe added a nice Christmassy touch.

Well done, anon author.

dioscureantwins · December 13, 2015 2:19 pm

SusiGo wrote:
As I said, nobody should feel obliged to comment everything but so far the feedback has been quite thin. For some of us it is their first try and being nervous and then not getting much feedback can be quite discouraging.

Hear, hear. Thank you Susi for mentioning this. Every fanfic is a work of love and deserves kudos and comments.

dioscureantwins · December 13, 2015 2:21 pm

Of Christmas, love and Lego dragons.

Having read this fic I really want it to be Christmas already. I'm so happy for Molly finding someone who suits her at last.

Schmiezi · December 13, 2015 2:55 pm

All good things

Dear not so unknown author,

I have thanked you per pm already but really need to thank you again publicly. (Sorry for being late.)

Your fic made me cry several times. The long goodbye from Baker Street, Mrs Hudson, Sherlock's stroke, it all hit a nerve - in a good way of course. It was written so emotionally. I loved being sad because of it.

Anna is such a wonderful character. And married to an Arthur. I like to believe that you made a little nod to CP here.

The flash backs were woven into your tale masterfully. They show how much thought you put into your fic.

The hint at Hamlet was very clever. Lucky Anna. I wish I had an uncle like Mycroft. (Well, at least in that respect. I am not so sure otherwise.)

The relationships in this fic are all developed very well. I am so happy for Lestrade!

I am so grateful for getting such a great fic. Thank you!

gently69 · December 13, 2015 3:05 pm

I promise, I really promise, to read and comment on more fics, But at the moment I'm extremely busy at work because I'm alone at the office and I had to prepare an event for 60 participants for tomorrow. And in the evening I'm glad just to sit in front of the telly and do things which don't require any thinking.
I hope after that passed it becomes quieter. I'm glad that I managed "my" story already. Here we go.

The Adventure of the Mechanical Turk

Wow, that's mine?
I'm so glad that it's mine.
I just love fics with a proper case and tender Johnlock. And that one exactly hits my taste. As it was mentioned before I think it is extremely professional written. I can imagine every single scene of it, pictures in my mind so clearly... The dark Victorian atmosphere of it... And the well designed plot which felt absolutely convincing to me. Also looked the Turk up.

Fantastic idea of using it.
Dear unknown author, I am so satisfied with this SSFF. Excellent work!!!

mrshouse · December 14, 2015 1:28 pm

The adventure of The Mechanical Turk

Slowly, slowly catching up. What great reads this year! And I find it very enjoyable how the prospect of the Victorian Special approaching has influenced the prompts and the creativity of the unknown authors.
I finished this very long fic today and was overwhelmed. Wonderful language, wonderful scenery in my head, a crime truly worthy of Conan Doyle. It read as if taken straight from the original books. Overall it felt more like a reference to the Granada series rather than the BBC, but since I liked that very much as well I'm perfectly fine with that personally.
Very warmhearted love story between the men, I always enjoy the slow approach to admitting their feelings. And I would just die to know if the Persian language is known to you or a result of thorough research, as well as the Mechanical Turk (which I had to google as well...).
Kudos and thank you for the read, dear unknown author!