On the tenth day of Sherlockmas... "Best Left Alone," a gift for alafaye (Part 2 of 2)

[goldvermilion87]

Author: [redacted]
Title: Best Left Alone
A gift for: alafaye
Characters/Pairing: Sherlock/John, OCs a-plenty
Category: Slash
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Murder (nothing explicit), briefest of allusions to domestic violence
Summary: A case where all the suspects are dead means John finally gets to meet the family. He very quickly begins to regret this.
Author

Comments

RE: Best Left Alone, Part 2

[disassembly_rsn]

I like the way you've left the ending; very well done. Also good that John doesn't just cave when Sherlock takes a stand, and that it's acknowledged that their relationship wouldn't work if he did.

Using the honey as a clue was a very good idea; I don't think I've seen anybody use that sort of clue before, about the taste of honey (and other such products) being affected by the diet of the creatures that produce it, and therefore being something you can pin down by location.

Having the cops just leaving the bodies lying all over the landscape instead of taking them away and doing proper forensics - Mycroft's right, the local cops aren't very good.

[talimenios79]

I really loved this.

[special_schizo]

I wish I could take the credit for the honey clue, but that was actually one of the prompts I was working from.

I think it's more that he scared them off the moment he knew Sherlock was coming - either that or it's narrative convenience, shh.

Thankyou!

[xtinethepirate]

I always enjoy a good case fic, and you wove this one with personal details of the Holmes family wonderfully. I'm torn between loving and being frustrated (in a good way) by the ending -- I really, really want to know if Sherlock looked and what he might have discovered if he did (because I can think of a few ways to interpret the wordless conversation between him and his mum), but on the other hand I really enjoy stories that don't spell everything out explicitly. But yes, excellent fic! You created a very interesting and believable cast of characters (and I loved all of their very Holmesian names. :))

[special_schizo]

Thankyou! I'm ridiculously glad that you enjoyed the OCs - I spent so much time working on them and then panicking that nobody would actually care. And the names were so much fun to come up with.

I'm actually kind of proud of that ending, as far as ambiguity goes, so it's brilliant to know you had that reaction to it!

[alafaye]

This is...

Well, I do know I have to reread it because one reading does not do it justice.

The extended family and glimpses into Mycroft's and Sherlock's relationship, a hint of Mycroft/Lestrade (did I get that right?) and Mummy and a side of the family that does not belong and there's mystery and murders and...

Amazing. Thank you so much :)

[special_schizo]

You're very welcome! And yes, that was a hint of Mycroft/Lestrade squeezed in there - so glad you picked up on it! And thankyou for some really interesting prompts!

[alafaye]

Thank you for writing them so well :)

[special_schizo]

Thankyou!