Ack, what a place to leave off! This is really well written and I can't wait for more!

Oh, wow. What a character study! Do continue!

Oh wow. This is excellent! I love stories about Holmes and Watsons' younger days, but this one has to be one of the best I've ever read. I mean, the quality of this story is truly fascinating. You're so gentle and descriptive with your words, and phrases. The way they all work together and form such clear pictures is...beautiful. I suppose that sounds rather odd when the majority of the story is told from Holmes' 'blind' point of view. :) I can't wait for part two, I really can't.

Rarely have I fallen so in love with a chapter. This was pure gold. I love the realistic and taut way you deal with Holmes' injury, and his observations about both Watson and himself are nuanced and fascinating. I really like the idea that Watson is a mystery to him: "I have never held modesty to be among the virtues if for no other reason than because a modest man is the hardest of all to decipher." Lovely line.

I also enjoyed Holmes' reflections on his instinctive deference to Watson as an *authority*; someone who has traveled, who has suffered, who has proved himself in a way that Holmes, for all his brilliance, has not yet found opportunity to match. There's only a few years' difference in their ages, but you make a convincing case that those years mattered, especially in their early acquaintance.

Finally, I am interested in your observation that Watson's absolute isolation in London is quite a conundrum - being without family is unavoidable, but his reticence to contact friends, schoolmates, and fellow doctors is odd. I had always assumed he was embarrassed by his own broken health and meager finances, and chary of contacting friends who might try to offer him charity, or worse, assume he was looking for it. But I'll be interested to see how you interpret the good doctor's idiosyncrasies :) I love the way you write him as a doctor - calm and steady under fire, but frayed and fighting for control when he slows down long enough to let his emotions begin reacting to the stress. I can't wait to read more! Thanks for sharing this.

Wow...Doyle himself couldn't have done any better. The eye operation was making me wince...been there done that. But the idea of Holmes having to rely on his other senses...and Watson as his eyes...is an intriguing one. Keep going please.

Oh this is simply wonderful!
very descriptive, in character, an interesting mystery...
*favs* and *alerts*

This was sheer genius! I look forward to the next part!

(sigh) Oh, Holmes! Why can't you take this as an opportunity to try to solve a mystery without sight? Corneal scratches are nothing to mess around with.

But yay! I was right about the bog person!

*whistle of admiration* Boy oh boy, how I love that. A sightless Holmes is almost more observant than a seeing one, the way you write him. Brilliant characterisation, simply brilliant - of both Holmes and Watson.

But poor Holmes, he's got a good while to go before he feels better...

there are not enough words in the dictionary for me to tell you how much i love this. can you publish it separately from 'decidedly so'? because i want to fave it.

let's see...i love holmes's vocabulary. i love the way you write him. all perfectly IC. i love the way he describes watson. i love the way you write watson. again, perfectly IC, as is lestrade. your attention to detail is fantastic. i love how pictoral the writing is. i could see every scene clearly.
and i must compliment you on writing holmes as sightless, yet still investigating. and still, the pictoral-ness of it all, with him temporarily blind, is amazing. this entire fic is pure genius. please publish it separately so i can fave it.

oh, there was one typo; you used 'a' instead of 'an' in one place. the following word began with an 'e' but i couldn't find the specific spot.
and the paragraphs being in large blocks decrease readability and make it difficult to focus. perhaps change that?

Wonderful!

I like the way you decided to finish this part, and I really can't wait to see how Holmes' eye is. Part two soon, please?!

lovely! quite lovely indeed. i was very much impressed with your protrayal of the three of them. few people do it well.

This was just wonderful -- the conversation and feel of gleeful familiarity and unspoken affection between Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson just makes me glow inside. Lovely, lovely. They are such a family :)

If it were up to me, I would guess that the timing of this vignette was sometime after the Last Bow, as Watson returns from WWI service. But it may be something else entirely -- AU, perhaps? Thanks so much for sharing it!

This was great and very well done, but I'm confused as to when in the canon or fanon this is supposed to take place...or is it just a random tale?

Great job...write more please!

Wonderful! Everyone's back where they should be!

I'm so glad to see you writing again.