Fic for scfrankles: Mrs. Hudson's Unique Tenants

[holmesticemods]

Title: Mrs. Hudson’s Unique Tenants
Author: piplover
Recipient: scfrankles
Pairing: None
Rating: Gen
Fandom: ACD Canon

Comments

[scfrankles]

Oh, crikey - this is wonderful. You have perfectly appealed to my sense of humour - you really have ^___^

Some favourite lines:

And let us not forget the horrible range of stragglers - er, clients - clomping up my stairs at all hours of the day.

One night, perhaps a fortnight ago, I came across Mr. Holmes in the kitchen, digging through the pantry at gone three in the morning, mumbling to himself about corsets and stockings. He was, somewhat unexpectedly, dressed as a woman.

And especially:

The tendrils of seaweed hanging off of one shoulder, however, marred his appearance slightly.

“Mrs, Hudson, Holmes has done it again! He’s gone and fallen into the harbor, taking nearly half of Scotland Yard and the dock workers with him.

*topples slowly over laughing, while giving a thumbs-up*

*attempts to pull self together to go on with the comment* (The giggling keeps bubbling up again ^_^)

I love how you’ve portrayed Holmes and Watson - two little (grown-up) boys having marvellous adventures, which is my favourite viewpoint of them. I love the close, affectionate relationship between them, and indeed the affection between all three of them.

I really admire what you’ve done with my prompt. The story written purely as a magazine article might have been a bit dry. I think leading with the writing and then segueing into further examples of what Mrs. Hudson has to put up with works so well. And I’m tickled that the articles are a regular thing for Mrs. Hudson - not because she needs the money but simply because she likes writing about her tenants. It’s so lovely to think of that parallel - Watson writing their adventures and Mrs. Hudson writing about their domestic life. It’s so sweet how proud Mrs. Hudson is of them and ultimately how tolerant she is of them, even though they send her up the wall at times.

I like how you’ve structured the story, moving from the delightful silliness into slightly more serious territory as we hear how Watson looks after the Irregulars and Holmes stands up for Mrs. Hudson. It is a home, and as with most homes, only the family within can truly understand. That’s such a moving line to finish on - a wonderful summing-up of the Baker Street household.

I think exchanges are always a double challenge: having to write a good story but also having to match your recipient’s tastes. And I have to say you’ve hit both targets bang on. Bang on. Thank you so much, mystery author! ^____^

[piplover]

Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! And thank you so much for the very kind review. I'm really happy that it was what you wanted.