In which fandom gives me the wiggins

[neadods]

What is it with this sudden fashion for gender-switch Sherlock stories? I swear, a good third of what's showing up on the newsletter randomly changes John or Sherlock into a female as opposed to writing them as chicks with dicks.

That just baffles me, though. What freaks me out is that I've run into two stories in as many days in which John is property. AUGH! I agree with Moffat and Gatiss; the underlying attraction of Holmes and Watson isn't the crime fighting, it's the instant friendship between them, be it written as platonic or sexual. Making one of the people in that relationship a slave to the other is a whole different, infinitely uglier dynamic no matter how much 'ship ends up slapped on top.

Also... John is not that helplessly submissive. Who did we watch kill at least two people in the show? (This is why I love the crackfic "Submission" because it sporks this trope so nicely.)

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I just don't get it. Crossovers I can see, and playing with AU like the supernatural stories - that's all adding something, a new viewpoint. Whether I agree with it or not, it's something added. I honestly do not understand what is being added to just swap genders, or how it's supposed to illuminate the characters in any way.

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

I've seen those, too, and just rolled my eyes at both tropes. Srsly, ppl? And thanks SO much for pointing out the prevalence of frot. I'd kind of noticed it, but hadn't really realized what I was seeing until you and MustangSally put it into words. Now I can't unsee it. It all puzzles me, because the fan community for the show doesn't seem *that* young. Or maybe it is and I'm just missing it.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Now I can't unsee it

YANA. We can both thank MustangSally for that.

On the other hand, I don't mind all the frot because I still think it makes a rather nice change from "all buttsexx0rs all the time" which seems to sum up the slash I've read in other fandoms. There are so many ways to Do It that picking just one seems silly.

[sadbhyl.livejournal.com]

I think that's why it didn't really register at first, beyond a "Huh. That's something you don't see a lot of." Until I realized I was. Fandom. So wacky.

You can call me

[mustangsally78.livejournal.com]

Frot-Spotter.

It's my new Native American name.

Re: You can call me

[neadods.livejournal.com]

*giggle*

[wheresmycow.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm concerned the only good thing to come out of this rash of insane and frankly disturbing fic tropes is the sheer surprised pleasure I get at finding a fic that is actually sensible, well-plotted, genuinely interesting, and in-character. And then I cling to those authors like a limpet.

I've stopped making little shrieks of horror when I scroll down the anon!meme. Now I just heave a tired sigh and move on.

Edited because "in" is not "is" and I haven't had my morning coffee yet.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

the sheer surprised pleasure I get at finding a fic that is actually sensible, well-plotted, genuinely interesting, and in-character

Yes, yes, yes! I'll bend standards for something that makes me think, and I'll forgive much for something that makes me laugh, but at the end of the day, the point is to read more about characters who are recognizably Sherlock, John, et al and not complete OCs with their names slapped on.

I have yet to actually scroll through the kinkmeme or the kissing meme. I'm now terrified of the first and getting wary of the latter.


Edited because anonmeme != kinkmeme. Esp after what anonmeme has come to mean in Who.

[wheresmycow.livejournal.com]

anonmeme != kinkmeme. Esp after what anonmeme has come to mean in Who.

Ack! That's what I meant. Now THAT was another Chamber of Horrors...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

True!

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

I've read almost none of the fanfic, but making John "helplessly submissive" reminds me of the versions that make Watson a bumbling idiot, such as Nigel Bruce's version. Watson had a medical degree from Edinburgh; he wasn't a jackass. Allowing him to be an intelligent and perceptive man, yet still outclassed by Holmes, demonstrates how brilliant Holmes is. There's nothing noteworthy about out-thinking a dolt. When Jeremy Brett could out-think Edward Hardwicke, that was impressive.

[tacnukesoul.livejournal.com]

Which allows me to link these comics:

http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=210

and

http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=264

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I hadn't seen the second one!

What I'm really hoping for is that the Richie movie and Sherlock kill the witless Watson trope for a good long time. Now if only fanfic would follow suit...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It's like all fandoms - some great stuff, but lots of Sturgeon's Law.

No version of Holmes would really tolerate a stupid person. So why LIVE with one?

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

WRT the one I mentioned last night, one of the reasons I'm not (yet) hopelessly squicked out by it is that I'm hoping for the civil-rights issue to be a major plot point. If it turns out just to be window-dressing for a story that revolves mostly around bondage kink, it will completely reverse my initial reaction.

Which was, more or less, "Ghod, the slavery thing is creepy and disturbing, and she's writing it very well, let's see where this story goes." Properly done, it could have the serial numbers filed off and turn into a nice piece of non-Holmesian urban fantasy. So clearly I'm reading it with other priorities in mind than the ones you're using.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

If it were an original story I might be interested, but I can't get past - and feel too protective of - the original characters.

Different strokes. I hope it turns out to be what you want it to be.

[themis1.livejournal.com]

I am heartily relieved I have you to identify the fic worth reading, as I don't have the patience to wade through all the stuff that wouldn't have been seen by anyone except the author in the days before internets. (Grumpy old woman? Probably!)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

You're not the only grumpy old woman... It's not cosmically different than any other hot fandom, really, in terms of volume & Sturegon's law, but it's a pisser when all i want is a good new story!

[havocthecat]

I'd bet it's the influence of some of the fans who have descended upon Holmes fandom as The Newest Big M/M Fandom. Slavery fic and genderswap fic have a long and storied history in, say, Stargate m/m fandom. And genderswap's big in Supernatural too.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

That would make a lot of sense - especially as Supernatural crossovers are showing up and there's a growing amount of little-s supernatural fic showing up - John and/or Sherlock as werewolf, warlock, ghost, empath, fey, etc. People tend to move between fandoms in herds, so I wouldn't be shocked to hear that there is a huge Supernatural fandom slop-over.

But still... there've been a couple body-swap stories (which always show up in SF sooner or later) and I have a lot easier time wrapping my head around that concept than simple genderswitch. It's catty of me (but if you can't be catty in your own LJ, where can you be?) -- anyway, it's catty of me, but I wonder if some authors are just THAT bothered by M/M, or simply can't write two men as two men. (Says the person who once recced a fic in which John and Sherlock both acted like 12-year-old girls. But it made me laugh.)