Playing It Close

What a lovely story. I like how you usd music for so many things - the Coldplay concert as a background, the reminiscences of John's and Harry's childhood and youth, and finally as a way for John to reassure Sherlock that he is not going to leave. 
As Lily said, it was also wonderful to see John and his sister getting along with each other, he giving her the concert as an incentive to stay sober. And her discreet way of stealing away in the crucial moments. 

Thank you very much for this lovely story, dear unknown author. 

Please, Sherlock, shouldn't you know by now that people shouldn't drink Windex?

He must have watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and the father's philosophy went to his head.

Here we go, guys. It's been a brilliant selection this year. Here are my reviews/thoughts on the first ones.

God Rest You, Dr Watson
I enjoyed this short little ficlet as a) it didn't take me too long to read and b) it had a wonderful Christmas theme to it, and put me in a festive mood. I liked the fact that Mycroft was actually being helpful and caring. It's unusual to see, but you really got his human side over very well. He does care, deep down. Kinda like his brother. I'd enjoy a sequel where they adopted the huskie.

Tunalock
Basically like the whole of the Sherlock series in one ficlet. Brilliant and made me chuckle. Nice interlude.

A Singular Gentleman
I do believe the mystery author of this one is something of a canon fan. It had a wonderful old fashioned and traditional Holmes feel to it. I kept on imagining how Benedict and Martin both look in their Sherlock Special outfits. I like the way you called them Holmes and Watson in the text too and I love the horseriding scenes. Very charming fic and very gay. I hope the Special is as gay as this tbh xD

Letter From The Past
I squealed when I read Victor Trevor. I honestly love Victor, and wow, John was so damn jealous when he found out, it cracked me up. Like, it was worse than Irene. I wasn't sure whether they were actually together as a couple at the beginning, but as I was reading through, I realised that they most probably were, which was sweet, so John's jealousy came from insecurity as much as anything. Well written, nice stuff.

The Advent Calendar
Great characterisations. You really captured Sherlock & John very well and I could hear their voices as I read. Again, loving the Christmas theme with this one. Made me feel in the Christmas spirit. Love a good case fic too. Great descriptions. Well written stuff. Snappy dialogue a bit like a script. I feel like you could adapt this into a script and it would work very well, it's very visual. Exciting mystery and kept me guessing.

(All) Good Things
Omg, this is incredibly feelsy. It was like Mr Holmes all over again tbh. I love the fact that John and Sherlock are married and have a child and this beautiful life together, it makes my Johnlock heart all warm and fuzzy inside. I was sobbing fairly early on in this story and pretty much continually throughout, so good job on breaking my heart and warming it at the same time. Wonderful stuff.

The Adventure Of The Mechanical Turk
The canonical style in which this was written literally pleases me so much you have no idea. It's like reading ACD all over again. You did a really really good job on taking off what can be a difficult genre and style to write in, and you made it your own at the same time as giving us an interesting and exciting case to work with. Great job, truly.

[b]Of ships, horses, and trains or How idioms can go wrong[/b]
Very believable characterisation of John and the fact that he still hasn't managed to express how he really feels about Sherlock even after all those chances life has thrown at him. I enjoyed the references to previous episodes of Sherlock, as it made me feel nostalgic, and the Doctor Who references were nice too. The way John attempted to woo him with the Venice moveis was amusing, heartbreaking and sweet at the same time. Glad they finally got it together. It was pretty hot at the end, tbh. I easily could have read the sex scene, but I imagined it fairly well in my mind.

Sherlock Holmes & the Adventure of the Body Snatchers
Incredibly descriptive and well written. Nice references to familiar items and tropes from the Sherlock universe. Wiggins!! Love a bit of Wiggins. Great case. Exciting stuff and pretty realistic. Believable.

Of Christmas, Love and Lego Dragons
Awesome title! Their relationship is SO SWEET from the offset. Just the way Sherlock is so incredibly protective and desperately in love with John, it's adorable. It totally works as well. You pull it off and make it believable that Sherlock would be that kind of partner, which not everyone can do. Sherlock's insecurity is truly heartbreaking.

Oratorio In D-Death
OK, this one was written for me, so first off, I'd like to say thank you dear unknown author. Even though I didn't ask for Christmas, I got it anyway, which is wonderful, cause I love Christmas! You gave me everything I asked for and more. The case was wonderful...and you even got a bit of clothes porn in there with references to what they were wearing and even Sherlock's shampoo. I actually really like the idea of him using a coconut one, mmmm. The attention to detail like that made this fic really enjoyable for me to read. The snowglobe thing was ASDJGKLJKLJ so cute and I'm so glad that Mary got what she deserved and that Sherlock & John had their happy and romantic ending. I feel like full on Johnlock would surely be to follow, which pleases me greatly. Thank you so much, again, I really enjoyed it.

Hover Through The Fog
Damn, this was well written. Like, I don't know who you are but you should be making money from writing if you aren't already. Just really beautiful sentence construction, choice of words and really well put together. Wonderful characterisations and dialogues. Top notch case. Lovely piece of work.

Jam tomorrow?
Ahh this was a really fun fic and great to read. I like the way the cooking intertwines with Sherlock's memories and the things from his past. It was a clever way to do it and made it interesting. I really like what you did with Victor. And just the idea that Sherlock can actually cook, is really really awesome. Because most fics have him as an absolute useless cook who burns things etc. It's great to see that turned on its head.

Play H For Murder
This fic had two of my favourite thngs - Victorian Holmes & Watson, and Hamlet! Yay Hamlet! That made me so happy. And the part where Holmes is all happy because something genuinely exciting happened at the theatre, not just a play. It was very Sherlock. You got your characterisations spot on and it was an amazing mystery, really super cool.

Mammals
John's diary was great. I used to keep one of those when my little one was a baby so can hardcore relate. His entries were hilarious and perfect, and really easy to read, and to imagine those things happening. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. The pay off at the end was really sweet too and so glad they finally got it together. The image of Sherlock half naked holding a baby And John's thoughts, "God I want that man." Amazing, ahaha.

Christmas Is ForGiving
I feel so sad for John stuck with his psychopathic controlling wife so I was quite glad when she upped and left, although obviously sorry for him having to suffer through it all. This is actually how I'd like things to pan out in Series 4, tbh. I know it hurts for John, but with Sherlock's help, he'll get over it. And wow, in this fic, Mary turned out ot be even more evil and messed up than I imagined, which was BRILLIANT. I love evil Mary. The ending made me tear up a bit.

More reviews to come soon. Loving the collection so far!




 

"And When All is Said and Done, Only the Tardis Can Hear You Weep"

I haven't had time to comment this year yet, but I aim to add my other comments when the fics are up on A03. What a fantastic group of fics this year!
Just wanted to say a massive thank you to my Christmas angel who wrote me an emergency fic. I absolutely adored this little crossover. It was so well written and I loved how it played with the reader, getting us to guess who and what was happening throughout. I am a very lucky girl !

Last edited by NotYourHousekeeperDear (December 25, 2015 10:16 am)

Oh my god, Viagra!! Lol!

I also like the cracker one. Thanks for the Christmas jokes, Shmiezi!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Oh dear!
XD
The Blue one...!
Hilarious!

Happy holidays, everyone!!

We're all dying to know!

lol I have a slight suspicion of who wrote that one, but I could be wrong.  Still funny, though.  
Even though we don't know what's in the red box, I have to say it's obviously disappointing for John, whatever it is.

Schmiezi wrote:

Sorry.

I am really annoyed right now - with myself for messing up again and with the fact that I need to post the jokes at all. It takes so much time. I wish I simply had the last fics to post. :-(

I won't have time to repair it until tomorrow. Sorry. :-(((

Please don't be annoyed, and don't worry about it. I know you care about this exchange but you shouldn't stress too much about - we understand and we all think you did an amazing job. xx
 

Schmiezi wrote:

Sorry.

I am really annoyed right now - with myself for messing up again and with the fact that I need to post the jokes at all. It takes so much time. I wish I simply had the last fics to post. :-(

I won't have time to repair it until tomorrow. Sorry. :-(((

Don't be! - xxx