Fandom Friday

So -- Sherlock. Sherlock fandom hit me like a truck towards the end of May of this year, and considering a.) it stars Martin Freeman, one of my favorite people ever, b.) it stars Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the most lovely and intriguing actors I have ever seen, c.) it's directed by Steven Moffat, who had already broken my brain with "Doctor Who", d.) it is an innovative, gripping reimagining of a franchise I have always had at least a mild interest in, and e.) I had been hearing about it online and at various various conventions for months, the fact that I didn't see it until nearly a year after it's original airdate is clearly a travesty.

Of course, now we're all hearing rumors that the premiere of the second series is being pushed back to 2012. I still say "rumor," because, I'm sorry, a continuity announcer at the end of an airing of Sherlock is not, to me, the be and end all authority on this. The tweet that Sue Vertue posted that everyone seems to be pointing to as evidence of the delay also contains no indication that the delay is, in fact, a delay at all; rather, all she says is that the BBC aren't to blame, they don't know the air date yet, because they don't yet have the finished product. Completely, completely different.

Anyway, should this rumor be true, I've been keeping myself warm with Sherlock fanfic, something that's always been kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, but this time it's been a little different. This fandom, as I said, completely blindsided me, and it's been making me branch out in directions I'd never really gone in before. I had, for instance, never read trans*fic before, though I was intrigued after attending a panel on it during Muskrat Jamboree. However, lately I have become enamoured with fiction depicting Sherlock as female-to-male transgendered. There aren't a ton of stories out there in this genre, but here are the one's I've read and enjoyed:

There is a Crack in Everything, by inis_mor. Brief and lovely, a series of quick vignettes throughout Sherlock's life, capturing sensitivity and humanity.

;A Series of Inconsequential Events, by Kahvi, at AO3. Ostensibly a case fic, though mostly a wonderful little look at what makes a man, what defines a person, and what defines Sherlock and John's relationship.

Body of Evidence, by Ishmael, at AO3. Traces Sherlock's life from childhood through adulthood, and the struggle for acceptance, from both himself and those around him.

Her, Forever Dead, by hyperbolicsquid, at the sherlockbbc_fic kinkmeme. John discovers a photograph of a familiar young girl; Sherlock claims it's his dead sister. Short, but well done.

Seems so Easy for Everyone Else, by etothepi. A wonderful story following the journey of Charlotte-to-Sherlock Holmes, and has a particularly nice take on the relationship between Sherlock and Mycroft.

Again, I can't tell you why these fics or this trope has piqued my interest, but for some reason, for me, in this fandom, it works, and it works beautifully (note that it's not "head canon" for me or anything, but I can appreciate the "what ifs.") Partly, these fics explore a side of Sherlock that is confused, human, and vulnerable; showing him as something other than (or as something more than) the "high-functioning sociopath" he paints himself as being.

I've already read so many brilliant fics in this fandom and seen so many amazing fan projects, it is really, really difficult to limit myself thematically to one trope or one "thing" each week, but next week I already know I either want to do quirky fanvids, or unconventionally written fic; (fic written in the second person, in reverse chronological order, from multiple perspective, as lists, etc.) Also, the number of memes, remixes, filks, etc. that this fandom has come up with already is staggering. I'm looking forward to posting more about this; I've not been so enamored with a fandom (not just a show, but a fandom itself) in a long time.