Holmestice Ends and FFM Begins
holmestice has come to a close, so I thought I'd just do a few recs. And looking at the fics I've picked, they all seem to have as their underlying theme an examination of friendship.
First of all, there's my own gift fic Five Times Kincaid Encountered a Dog with Disastrous Consequences to All and Sundry, and One Time It Went Slightly Better Than Expected, Do Wipe That Smug Smile Off Your Face, Watson by language_escapes. This is set in the Without a Clue 'verse, and contrasts how that 'Holmes' (Reginald Kincaid - the actor Watson hires to play the part of Holmes) feels about dogs, with the canon Holmes' more positive feelings. Which is done by rewriting the canon adventures that feature dogs with Kincaid as Holmes instead. And it's both hilarious and rather touching - because in the end the fic is really about the friendship that lies underneath Kincaid and Watson's awkward relationship.
I myself wrote a Without a Clue fic for the previous Holmestice, after getting horribly stuck for an ACD idea. So I had rewatched the film on YouTube after a gap of about 20 years, and I rather fell in love with it. When I first watched it all those years ago, I think I was probably watching it mainly for Lysette Anthony. It sounds odd when you're talking about a film that also stars Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine, but she was the member of the cast whose work I was most familiar with and who I had the most affection for. Certainly her storyline was the only part of the plot that had stuck with me. To be honest, if I hadn't seen a clip of WaC in
sanguinity's excellent Something Good (Will Come From That) vid, I'm not 100% sure I would have remembered who played Holmes and Watson before seeking the film out. But this time, older and wiser, I really enjoyed the Holmes & Watson partnership.
From the outside it can seem like a simple role reversal film: Kincaid/Holmes is the traditional bumbling Watson; Watson is the brilliant Holmes. But like all good comedy, there is something a bit more complex going on. In WaC, as in our world, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ is a fictional character. Well, of course he is - no-one as wonderful as Holmes could ever really exist. But this doesn’t mean that his intelligence and deductive abilities don’t exist - Watson has those. It’s just that Holmes is the one with the charisma and all the respect. So Watson in this ‘verse represents the canon Watson, as a writer and former Army doctor, and he represents the canon Holmes, with his intelligence and detective skills. But he also represents Arthur Conan Doyle. Who was the real Holmes - the one coming up with all the clever puzzles and solutions but who got overshadowed by the imaginary man he gave all those clever lines to. WaC is a story about Watson and Holmes eventually acknowledging their friendship but it’s also a nod to ACD perhaps learning to accept his most famous creation and his importance to others.
Two Shoes for a Hat by rachelindeed: This is Rachel writing in a new ‘verse for her - Ritchie ‘verse in fact. An inspired and very, very funny look at Holmes and Watson’s first meeting(s), with a wonderfully original Stamford. It’s quintessentially Rachel in that the fic appeals equally to heart and head, and is full of fresh ideas. Before reveals, I did manage to guess which was Rachel’s fic (it appears to be an innate ability. Bit of a specific superpower but a pleasing one to have nonetheless ^^) and it was partly the unknowing enthusiasm of my own comment that reassured me I had made the right choice ^_^
The Question by trobadora: I perhaps wouldn’t have expected to enjoy this fic - I prefer to keep away from Moriarty and Reichenbach as much as possible. But this is such an impressive and moving meditation on the power of friendship. And the writer is evenhanded about Moriarty - though this is a fic that examines his positive aspects, the writer never ignores the fact he is a terrible man. At the end of it all, I was left feeling some sympathy for Moriarty - which is something I had definitely never expected.
Nostoi by sanguinity: This is set in the New Russian Holmes ‘verse, and is a crossover with ACD’s The Lost World. Firstly, it’s a marvellous adventure involving Holmes and Watson trying to get the last European pterodactyl back home to South America. But it’s much more than that - it’s a deeply moving look at the renewal of Holmes and Watson’s friendship after Reichenbach.
The Case of the Six Marmalades: This one is also by
sanguinity, and is set in the Whitehead Holmes ‘verse. Charming, lighthearted, captures the characters so well and is so funny ^__^ Holmes likes Watson so much he wants him to share in his pleasures, but then he goes too far…
And I think everyone has seen it by now, but I wrote the other Whitehead Holmes fic this round: The Case of the Deceased Marmalade Thief. Which hilariously involves sliding a corpse down a staircase. I think I may have attracted the attention of karma for this because on Tuesday night I lost my footing on the stairs at home and slid down myself. Luckily I was already halfway down and fell backwards, so I escaped with a thumped upper arm and a bruised bottom. But I can’t help but wonder if this is the late Ormesher’s revenge from beyond the page ^^”
So one challenge ends and another begins. Flash Fiction Month starts tomorrow on DeviantArt, so I will pottering off to embrace original fiction once again. I’ll be putting links in my journal as usual in case anyone wants to have a look. And I won’t be abandoning the world of fanfiction of course - this July will also involve thesmallhobbit and me completing our stint at sherlock60 before handing over to alafaye. End of an era, but I am looking forward to having a bit more free time. I must admit I’ve been neglecting holmes_minor, and I haven’t had time to get involved in other comms.
To be honest, I haven’t really felt enthusiastic about writing at all in about a year. But I’m reluctant to let it go because it’s such a positive part of my life. So hopefully FFM will get me back into the swing of writing every day - and more importantly, coming up with new ideas every day. And then once I’ve come to the end of co-running sherlock60 (I’ll still be reading and commenting), I can look around for other things to rekindle my enthusiasm.
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