Fic for Almost_Clara: Long Distance II

[holmesticemods]

Title: Long Distance II
Recipient: almost_clara
Author: brighteyed_jill
Characters/Pairings:Sherlock/John, Mrs. Hudson, Lestrade, Mycroft
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: discussion of illness

Author's note: A text-only version of this story is available here, and will be available on AO3 after the reveal. Thanks to [redacted] for the last minute beta, and Tony Harrison for the title inspiration, from his poem. I owe an obvious debt to Arthur Conan Doyle.

Summary: While John is out of town, Sherlock contracts a mysterious illness.

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End.

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Comments

[goddessdster.livejournal.com]

Love it! Love the format and the way you incorporated the ACD canon. Fantastic!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was definitely fun to play with the formatting.

[swissmarg]

Oh, brilliant! Both the format and the story itself. I like that this can be read as friends-only or more. It's amazing how much of their personalities come through with just the dialogue and no further physical cues such as one would have in a narrative. Well done!

P.S. The text-only link doesn't work. ;)

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! It's always a tricky line to tread, making sure the subtext comes through in a format like this, but I'm glad it worked for you.

I like that this can be read as friends-only or more.
It used to be a bit more shippy, but in editing, I decided to make it a bit more ambiguous. Glad that worked for you.

And the text-only link is now fixed!

[catko]

"You can't die where I can't get to you. Never again, understand?" "I understand. Never again."

Sigh.

Great story, love the format, it really works.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I definitely see the dying thing as being a point of contention post-fall. I'm glad the format worked for you!

[sra-danvers.livejournal.com]

Great! Sherlock fooled everybody! Me too ^^ I loved John at the end...

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Heehee. Yes, that Sherlock is a tricksy creature. Thanks for reading!

[tzulocked.livejournal.com]

Absolutely delightful! I loved every word of this. :D

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! I had a great time putting it together.

[fabelschwester.livejournal.com]

Very lovely!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Very clever - and fabulous ACD adaptation. Well done indeed!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I had a great time playing with the ACD story!

[ms-soma.livejournal.com]

Fabulous and so much fun!! Poor John, so worried!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! Yes, John was definitely going crazy with Sherlock's "illness." Glad you enjoyed!

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

That was brilliant! I loved it.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much!

[what-alchemy.livejournal.com]

LOVE this retelling of the Dying Detective. I think the formatting really worked for it, too. I have a hard time reading epistolaries, but here it seemed really natural. Poor John.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for giving this a chance, despite not being a fan of epistolary stories. I'm glad the formatting and the retelling worked for you!

[almost-clara.livejournal.com]

Lovely.
This is so, so clever - Sherlock does the Dying Detective in a thoroughly 21st century format (and with a rather more convincing plot)! I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to communications, so I'm really impressed by the format. My phone just does phone calls. When I remember to switch it on. Poor Mrs Hudson - body parts in the fridge, bullet holes in the wall and now suspected plague in her upstairs flat. Her personality really comes through in her texts (of course Mrs H can text!). I love the rising concern and frustration for Sherlock coming through John's efforts to sort things out from a distance - especially at Lestrade's attempts at Internet diagnosis (I recall a hilarious passage in Three Men in a Boat, when J goes to the medical books to look up some slight ailment and emerges hours later, a broken man, having acquired the symptoms of every possible malady apart from housemaid's knee)! Mycroft is especially in character, I think - not fooled for one minute by his brother's antics. I love the way you ended it: "Yes, John" - Sherlock really knows he's overstepped the mark!
This sort of format gives such room for the imagination; you just drop a few subtle clues and you can hear the voices, read between the lines and fill in the feelings - which come through so strongly in this story (especially at the end!).
Fabulous! I am a very lucky recipient!
Thank you so much.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! The Dying Detective is one of my favorite ACD stories, so I'm glad the updating and the format worked for you. I had a great deal of fun integrating everyone's different personalities via their use of technology, and I'm so pleased the character voices came through. I'd forgotten about that passage from Three Men in a Boat! How appropriate here!

"Yes, John" - Sherlock really knows he's overstepped the mark!
Indeed! I think he won't be making that mistake again.

Anyway, I'm so happy you enjoyed this! Happy Holmestice!

[mildred-bobbin.livejournal.com]

This was brilliant! Clever format and great retelling of the canon story.

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! I had a great time playing with this format, and ACD is always a great source for retellings. Glad you enjoyed!

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

SQUEE!!!! Oh this was a brilliant retelling of DYIN and the epistolary format was perfect! I confess, despite having watched the Granada adaptation of the story recently, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize what this was- exactly as long as it took for everybody's credit cards to stop working (at which point, my brain screamed "Mycroft's case!"). I can't stop grinning- the characterization was so perfect. John mothering Sherlock from afar to help keep himself sane amidst a family Christmas was delightful, Sherlock was wonderfully awful telling John off in a futile attempt to keep him away, and Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade were fabulous as supporting irrational!Sherlock handlers. Just a delight from start to finish. Brilliant work, Anon! I enjoyed every word! Bravaaaa!!!!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you so much! The Dying Detective is one of my favorite ACD stories, so I'm glad it worked for you here without being too obvious-- always a fear when updating a canon story. I had a great time working characterization into their texts/e-mails, so I'm happy that aspect came through for you. Holmes telling off Watson is my very favorite scene in DYIN; so painful to read, so I'm glad it was appropriately awful here, too.

Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade were fabulous as supporting irrational!Sherlock handlers.
One can never have too much help in wrangling irrational!Sherlock!

Thanks for reading, and for your comments!

[blue-eyed-1987.livejournal.com]

Late to this, but this is wonderful! Lovely retelling of the ACD story, and the epistolary aspect was great :)

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! Glad you liked this adaptation.

[bergamotandbone.livejournal.com]

That's was marvelously fun - a nice twist on one of my favorite ACD stories!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I love The Dying Detective, too, so I'm glad this version worked for you.