Fic for blueonblue: The Tracing of Footsteps

[holmesticemods]

TitleThe Tracing of Footsteps
Author tweedisgood
Recipient blueonblue
‘Verse ACD canon
Rated G
Word count 3287 words
Pairing Holmes and Watson friendship

Notes: with thanks to the patient and encouraging mazaher for beta reading and helpful suggestions. I must here admit that both the plants mentioned in this story are wholly made up. I plead a certain milk-drinking

Comments

[laurose8]

Thank you for this very rich fic. There's so much in it, the nature of the ghost is only the crowning touch.

The Holmes/Watson scenes are great. Just to start with: colour coding the reference books, and Mary's ghost! And you've treated Collins and Dickens as well as you have Doyle. I did like Doyle being a character, too.

With extra kudos for the framing twenty first century dialogue.

[tweedisgood]

Thank you! I don't often venture into the 21st century these days :-)

I have a set headcanon in playing The Game, in which Holmes and Doyle only speak to each other because of Watson...

[saki101]

What a treat! What a wonderful mood and brilliant tempo as back and forth we go between the rational and the supernatural. The case, the poisonous pollen, the ghost of that which had never been, but had come close enough to become real and to last!

[tweedisgood]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it. Pretty preposterous, but I think, as I say in my notes, that I'm in good company.

[wirral_bagpuss]

I only have one complaint. Why did I not think of this wonderful plot bunny!!! It is a lovely story, and one that Sir ACD himself would have enjoyed. Please do keep writing more SH stories. You write very well indeed. :)

[tweedisgood]

Thank you. With more than forty tales under my belt already, and plenty of stored notes, I think it's fair to say my ACD fic career is not yet ended.

[blueonblue]

Thanks for such a wonderful story! I love how you play with the nature of spirits and the different kinds of ghosts, ones that could be real and ones that could be chemically induced. The solution to the case is delightfully ACD and fits in well with a world that has dairy-addicted snakes. :)

Watson and Mary, and Holmes and Watson both broke my heart a little - grief possessing a tangible presence.

The contemporary framing worked well to divide the different levels of reality, Doyle the literary agent vs Doyle the actual author. I think Actual Author Doyle would appreciate a good ghost story like this one.

[tweedisgood]

I'm so pleased you liked it. I've read a few of ACD's own ghost stories (recommended, by the way) but to mix up his Holmes and my own ideas on a ghost tale was quite the challenge :-)

[cathedralcarver]

That last line was just beautiful! Very compelling story. Well done!

[tweedisgood]

Thank you :-) Ghosts don't always have to be utterly tragic and hopeless in my book.