I am extremely happy that you left your master list link on the Sunday Recs tag, because I would not have found this brilliant fic otherwise (yes, a little self-promotion pays off now and then). This really scratches the itch for an in-depth post-Reichenbach study of Greg, and I love how subtly it handles friendship grief. There are plenty of good pairing fics out there, but very few that delve so well into the unspoken side of male friendships, or give Lestrade's bereavement the weight it deserves.
I admire the kaleidoscope effect of the non-linear structure, which creates a different sort of build (and also effectively conveys the aftershocks of grief, the start-and-stop moments). The "eureka" moment is gorgeously earned and completely IC. And although the story stands very elegantly on its own merits, I long to know what comes afterward, which is never a bad thing.
Icon entirely inappropriate. I plan to delve into the rest of your list when I can.
I'm rereading because this just showed up in 221b-recs, and I'm horrified that I don't seem to have left a comment here the first time! I think I may just have been too stunned after my first reading.
You do an excellent job at depicting grief, both Lestrade's and John's even more devastating sense of loss. The story hurts just to read, even though I know what will eventually happen. It can't happen soon enough; they have to suffer through. I feel for Molly, torn by a different kind of grief so that she can't quite share theirs but can't admit. Mrs. Hudson seems more practiced at grief, but still suffers it-both for Sherlock and for John. I can hear all the dialogue in their voices, and the narration is very much inside Greg's head. Excellent characterization.
I love Hopkins. People sometimes do things completely without the permission of Mycroft Holmes, much as that may surprise him! She's a good complement to Lestrade.
The flow of the story works very well, its looping chronology more like memory than anything else.
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That sentence was brilliant! :)
I loved the fic. I couldn't stop reading! I totally adored your Lestrade, and I thought your characterizations were perfectly in canon! <333
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I admire the kaleidoscope effect of the non-linear structure, which creates a different sort of build (and also effectively conveys the aftershocks of grief, the start-and-stop moments). The "eureka" moment is gorgeously earned and completely IC. And although the story stands very elegantly on its own merits, I long to know what comes afterward, which is never a bad thing.
Icon entirely inappropriate. I plan to delve into the rest of your list when I can.
Reply
You do an excellent job at depicting grief, both Lestrade's and John's even more devastating sense of loss. The story hurts just to read, even though I know what will eventually happen. It can't happen soon enough; they have to suffer through. I feel for Molly, torn by a different kind of grief so that she can't quite share theirs but can't admit. Mrs. Hudson seems more practiced at grief, but still suffers it-both for Sherlock and for John. I can hear all the dialogue in their voices, and the narration is very much inside Greg's head. Excellent characterization.
I love Hopkins. People sometimes do things completely without the permission of Mycroft Holmes, much as that may surprise him! She's a good complement to Lestrade.
The flow of the story works very well, its looping chronology more like memory than anything else.
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It is a very unique piece and one of the best I've read recently.
Exceptionally well done.
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