Because I think what welovethebeekeeper on Tumblr has done is a good idea, I follow:
I’ve been in fandoms – various, many of them – for more than 15 years. I started writing fanfics at approximately the same time as I first came in contact with the internet – in 2002.
Since then, I’ve written more than a hundred stories – 111 says FFN at the moment. I love writing fanfic, it’s for me a way to channel real life in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone; it gives me a good feeling and has helped me a lot in the past years. I have this quote on my wall that says, “Fanfiction – because it’s cheaper than therapy.” And it is.
All those years, I was always strictly a het shipper. I never had a problem with slash, even if I didn’t ship them, although I have to admit that certain slash pairings I never understood (wisely not naming any examples here – if you wanna know and discuss, ask me ;)).
My first encounter with Sherlock Holmes was through the RDjr movies. I love those, and enjoyed them immensely – though more because of RDjr (and his great chemistry with Jude Law) than anything else. I had heard of SH, but was otherwise not really familiar with it (yes, that’s possible).
Nevertheless, and despite doing my best to not see any subtext, I couldn’t help but notice this interesting relationship between Holmes and Watson that somehow went beyond your standard friendship – at least in my book.
People kept telling me to watch the BBC show. It’s fantastic, you have to watch it, they said. But I didn’t want to – not another show, I thought. It took me till this year’s August to finally get around and watch it.
At first I saw John and Sherlock and friends and flatmates. Then came ASiB and I very much wanted to ship Sherlock with Irene. I looked up fanfics – but for some reason, it didn’t…click. The more I got into the fandom, the more I was confronted with Johnlock, and with the ACD background. How those two have been shipped almost as long as the novels exist, how numerous interpretations and analysis go into that in detail, because it’s not just a fantasy or idea of a few, but an actual fact. I began reading ACD’s novels and it hit me how true all this is. I rewatched the episodes, and I started to see (and observe ;)).
And then I had to realize – oh my God, I’m actually shipping two men. My first slash ship. What has happened?! Those two are obviously only meant to be friends, puns and running gags notwithstanding.
Being as old-fashioned as I am (and having been brought up the way I was), I was never before comfortable reading about or seeing love stories between two same sex persons. Rest assured, I’m in no way opposed to it – I just didn’t need to, well, visualize it.
When I started shipping Johnlock – tentatively shipping them – I didn’t gave a second thought to fanfic. When I finally came to the point of actually reading (harmless, kid-safe) fanfic about them, I still steered clear of anything with a higher rating. When I very carefully tiptoed around my first adult-rated Johnlock story, I never thought I’d ever be able to write them, no matter the rating.
But apparently – and this is no news, not to the people on this site at least – love is love, and as a shipper, when you see love, you want to explore it. Shippers explore their ship and its love by writing fanfic and creating fanart.
Shippers and fans create their own extension of something they – we – just can’t have enough of. Shippers expand and correct and add and tweak where they are not entirely happy, because no show, movie, book, or whatever it may be, can ever fulfill ever fan’s wish. BBC’s Sherlock, as great and perfect and fantastic it may ever be, certainly can’t. Which is okay. Because we have fanworks. We can go and write it the way we want it.
And all of a sudden, I did the same. Still do.
Hi, my name is Liz. I write slash fanfiction. And I’m proud of it.
Leave a Reply