Fic: Bel Canto - 8b/16 (BBC Sherlock)

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Comments

[call_me_ishmael]

I alternatively want to hug or shake them. The balance between Holmes and Vernet is so well done, how the reader can see and John can't.

Even with the sweet (and frustrating, oh John) scene with Vernet I am still convinced this will end up 100k of pining.

[bendingsignpost]

Thanks! The balance between those two was probably the most stressful aspect of writing, so I'm seriously relieved.

It's about 125k total now, so that sounds about right.

[illereyn]

Oh, John. How devastating.

And I can only imagine what's going on in Sherlock's mind during this chapter. Oh, the hidden shades of meaning evident only to one or the other of them!

[bendingsignpost]

Thank you!

[rifleman_s]

”Rough and solid, the motion knows only desperation before John eases it into tenderness. Vernet’s mouth is soft and warm. His lips taste of cold air and a startled gasp. His tongue tastes of tinned peaches.”

What a quite remarkable description . . .

”Vernet seems fit to break apart beneath his hands and lips, his confidence given way to something tremulous and tender.”

How wonderful you managed to incorporate those last few words.

”“I want to live with you,” John says. “I’m tired of a quiet house. I know you come with noise and I want that.””

Now that’s definitely being sure!!

”If this was what Vernet had trapped in his mind for a month, John can and readily does forgive their earlier spat.”

Oh the joy of hearing that music - you described it so movingly that I felt like John ~ ”As his heart pounds, John slowly remembers how to breathe.”

And then, such a shock, such a cliffhanger . . .

[bendingsignpost]

I wanted to allude back to the tins of food Vernet has in the backroom, just as a reminder to the living conditions. Holmes had tinned peaches with him in Hound of the Baskervilles when he lived out on the moor, I think, so it seemed appropriate.

Thank you!

[bendingsignpost]

Thanks! Silver fox became the weasel-faced man. Had to happen.

I love how people are assuming John has to be Christine. He'd got dead family and he's a muse, yes, but he's not the only character who's going to be Christine by the end of this. :P

[brighteyed_jill]

I am just enjoying the crap out of this. I put off reading this for a while, thinking, "'Phantom of the Opera' inspired, eh," but I was a misguided fool. Your world-building is exquisite, as always. I love the John you're showing us, walking this impossible tightrope between worlds, and not yet putting together the pieces about all the players. Seeing Sherlock and Vernet's anguish is awful (by which I mean wonderful).

[bendingsignpost]

I fully understand that it sounds like utter nonsense, but utter nonsense is my favorite thing to make terribly serious. Thanks for giving it a try!