Aless Nox

Today’s challenge states:
In your own space, share a favorite memory about fandom: the first time you got into fandom, the last time a fanwork touched your heart, crazy times with fellow fans (whether on-line or off-line), a lovely comment you’ve received or have left for someone. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

One time when I really felt a part of fandom was when I answered a challenge made offhand by an actor.

In 2013 there was an interview on Reddit with Benedict Cumberbatch. ( https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1o8l5f/i_am_benedict_cumberbatch_ama/ )
During it someone asked this silly question:

Do you, Matt smith, and Tom Hiddleton have cheek bone polishing parties?

He replied.

We like nothing better than buffing our Zygoma. And imagining a horny time traveling long overcoat purple scarf wearing super sleuth nordic legend fuck fantasy. Get to work on that, internet.

And so I did issuing a challenge on
ffnet and
AO3 for works based on that prompt.

Then I wrote a fic. Here is an excerpt.

"Hello!" Benedict said.

"Hi," the man said back nodding slightly. Benedict instinctively leaned back to avoid the huge horns.

"Nice costume," he said.

"You too," the man returned. "Did you enjoy the movie?"

"Immensely, and you?"

"Yes," he said smiling, "but don't tell my agent... I mean, if I had an agent."

The two of them began to laugh uncontrollably as they realized that they had both had the same idea. They stopped as they noticed a crowd of women turning to face them, their heads coming together as they asked each other if what they were seeing was real. One pulled out a phone, and was about to take a photograph when Tom pulled on Ben's shoulder and said, "Want to get your face painted?"

"Yes," Benedict said turning his head just in time to make the photo blurry and inconclusive. They rushed over to a table where children were getting their faces painted with hearts and rainbows and other pony marks. The man in the chair before him was joking with a little red headed girl who was sitting beside him.

"No", the man said, "Daleks come from the planet Skaro, not from the moon, and they are no relation to the nightmare pony. Hello!" he said as he noticed them behind him. "Do you need this chair? I'm just finished. Debating whether or not to do the other cheek. The rainbow is quite nice don't you think so? You should try it, although there are so many choices."

Benedict could just see the women searching the crowd for the two of them, so he sank down into the chair that the man in the bow tie had just vacated.

The woman behind the counter smiled at the three of them warmly. "Oh what great costumes! It's so good of the fathers to get into the spirit of the thing. Before I can paint your face though, you'll have to clean off your cheeks. Here are some makeup cloths."

Benedict looked over his shoulder and could see the women coming in his direction. He reached out for a cloth and covered his face. Tom followed his lead covering his and the women walked right past them. The man with the bow tie smiled then and leaned over the chair to look at their faces.

"Alright, if you two are willing to have a go I suppose that I can get the other cheek done." He took a cloth and began wiping his cheek along with the other two men.

Complete work here;
Benedict's horny, time-traveling, long overcoat, purple scarf wearing, super-sleuth, nordic-legend, fuck fantasy adventure

Ffnet https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9762101/1/Benedict-s-cracktastic-adventure

AO3

Day 12
In your own space, rec at least three fanworks that you think would make a good intro into XYZ fandom. Rec a fandom overview, a introductory picspam, stories that define and shape the fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Although I feel my humble efforts are poor faced with the enormity of the genre, I thought that I'd start by expanding on a post that I wrote earlier for a friend writing her first Johnlock story. Here we go...wish me luck.

AN INTRODUCTION TO JOHNLOCK

1. It's Sherlock (Bloody) Holmes!

Who hasn't heard of Sherlock Holmes? The stories of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have been fan favorites since they first came out in the 19th century, but lately there has been a plethora of stories showing these two characters as being romantically involved. These fan fiction stories are collectively called JOHNLOCK ( an abbreviation of John/Sherlock) and the reason that these stories have exploded recently is because of the new BBC television show SHERLOCK that has a younger Holmes than is normally portrayed, and is set in present day London.



In the first episode, Sherlock Holmes meets retired Army Doctor John Watson and they move in together. Their friendship is rapid. The chemistry is electric, and it is an excellent example of a 21st century Bromance (a close non-sexual relationship between two (or more) men[wikipedia]).

So why the interest in writing John/Sherlock fiction now?

Well first off, the actors are gorgeous. I mean just look at them. Second, John Watson in this show is not written as a complete idiot as he normally is. He is actually quite impressive, a doctor and an ace marksman. Very lickable. It doesn't take long for certain impressionable minds to start to wish for reasons to imagine them with their clothes off.

But the real reason is that the characters as drawn in the show have a certain fragile dependency. They are both introduced as slightly broken men. They are talented, but flawed. When they get together, they make a whole greater than its parts, and considering how great they were before, this is saying something! Their friendship is so compelling that it leaves many people wanting more.
2. Why Johnlock?
The point of JohnLock is simple. Take two complex and beautiful characters and somehow get them into bed with each other. This can be quite challenging as the show is quite clear that they are NOT sleeping with each other and that John is NOT gay. Show canon also says that Sherlock is a virgin, and Arthur Conan Doyle canon says that he is basically asexual, therefore making us believe that they would ever have a sexual relationship is difficult. This is part of what makes this genre so compelling. Only the bravest and best writers can succeed at this task, and when they do. It is wonderful.

Lazy Johnlock authors solve this problem simply by saying that all of the facts above are a lie. Sherlock is often portrayed as promiscuous and John as openly gay. This is cheating, but it is fairly common.

A good Johnlock author must make us believe that either we or the characters themselves are mistaken about these facts. Then, we can get them together. The elaborate dance is one of the greatest joys of Johnlock, and many solutions to this problem have been made, some more successful than others.

3. What in the hell are they talking about?
First lets get some vocabulary out of the way,

FIRST TIME

A first time Johnlock is a story that conveys either a first kiss or a first sexual encounter between the two. This is most of the stories I think. Like I said, this is the hard part. Once you get them together you are mostly home free.

So how is this FIRST TIME usually accomplished?

EXPERIMENT

This is a story where the initiator of the romance is Sherlock. He convinces John to do increasingly more intimate acts by saying that it is an experiment.

WOKE UP GAY or WE'RE NOT GAY; WE JUST LOVE EACH OTHER

These are stories where John realizes that he is NOT as heterosexual as he thought when he starts having sexual thoughts about Sherlock.

Some common plot lines include:

• UNNATURAL CAUSES These are where John and Sherlock are drawn together by some unnatural event. For example, maybe John is a werewolf or were-velociraptor and Sherlock becomes part of his pack and therefore drawn to him.
• EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES They are about to die (not that uncommon), and one of them admits feelings for the other. They have sex. They may not both be gay, but they want so much to please the other person that they do it anyway because of their strong feelings for each other.

But most Johnlock begins with the affection that the characters already show for each other in the series. There are enough dangerous situations in their everyday life to push the characters into a confession. Because the two are already friends, their greatest fear is usually that a romantic relationship will ruin their friendship and cause them to separate. This is a real fear, and a good Johnlock writer must make us believe that things are better. Writing good Johnlock is a challenge.

The best JohnLock is slow. It is a war of attrition where their defenses are worn away little by little until they can't help but be together. It is a very specialized and interesting form of romance, and after such a build up, you have to have the sex, or (as Moriarty said) "What is the point of this?"

I lie a bit because there are many CUDDLEFICS out there. In these, John and Sherlock have a romantic relationship, but mostly this is shown through cuddling. Most often cuddlefics are ACE!Sherlock. That is John likes Sherlock romantically, but Sherlock remains asexual so cuddles and kisses are as far as he's going to get. As you will see, the Sherlock fandom is a vast sea.

4. Not that I'm homophobic, but why should I read this?

Because Johnlock has some of the best writing on the internet, hands down. The Sherlock fandom is highly educated. Excellent writers flood this genre, and when you have characters as interesting as John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, it draws them like a moth to a flame. Also, the stories vary from incredibly sweet, to extreme Angst, to stories so hot that you think they'll set the mouse on fire. You don't want to miss this stuff. It's Fantabulous!

5. Johnlock recommendations

Here are some stories to start with.
WARNING! - Johnlock stories often deplict graphic homosexual sex including anal sex. If this shocks you be cautious of this genre.

The Perils of Urban Warfare
by phantomjam

Words: 7300

A WOKE UP GAY, FIRST KISS story in John's point of view.

Podfic:
podfics temporarily down.Archive of our own links.
Mediafire link to mp3: Here (67.64 MB)
Mediafire link to m4b: Here (60.86 MB)
EQUILIBRIUM
by augustbird

 

Words:  12,351
FIRST TIME story with EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES. ANGST!

Podfic: mp3  mp4

Alone On the Water

by Madlori
Words: 8,210

Classic JohnLock with existing relationship. Warning: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH

 Almost Always and Carte Blanche

by Ivy Blossom

Words: 3480 AND Words: 6877 RESPECTIVELY

PODFIC: mp3     mp4
Way lighter than the previous two recommendations. FIRST Romantic KISS (not first sexual encounter).


FIRST NIGHT OUT
BY VERITY BURNS

Words: 3267

PODFIC

Short and cute. Existing relationship. "Coming out" holiday fic.

Here is my response to the snowflake challenge DAY 1  All of these works are based on the BBC show SHERLOCK.

DAY 1
In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

HAUNTING MOLLY - PODFIC
http://soundcloud.com/aless-nox/haunting-molly

This is my first attempt at a podfic. It began as a single 221B written for Halloween, but it didn't want to stay so small. It grew into 23 chapters each a 221B and since each chapter was a little bite sized bit of story, I decided to try my hand at making a podfic of it. This is a horror, suspense, romance. The main character is Molly Hooper.

The story: After Sherlock's "death", Molly finds that someone is leaving black roses on her bed. The person most likely to make such a gesture, James Moriarty, is dead. Is his ghost haunting her, or is there someone else?

MOVING
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8284344/1/Moving

Revised version on AO3.

Moving is my first JohnLock story. This was my first attempt at a mature writing, and is probably the most controversial of my works. My comments include both glowing praise and those that say that they hated the story. Even though I still have some typos that I need to go back and correct, I still like this story very much. It was reviewed by barbrat.

The story: John tells Sherlock that he is moving out of the apartment. Sherlock decides that he would do anything to make him stay, even if it means having sex. A post-Reichenbach Sherlock / John story with humor, dirty tricks, and true love. Warning: Strong emotions!

HOMELESS MADDY
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8535138/1/Homeless-Maddy

I was thinking about the homeless network and what a shit Sherlock was to use these poor people, giving them only pocket change for their efforts, so I decided to write a story from the point of view of one of Sherlock's agents. By writing it, I found that my assumptions about Sherlock were wrong. This story creates an original character that other people have told me that they like very much. Her worldview and attitudes have given me a chance to explore some of the assumptions of the Sherlock universe and the people that they just don't see.

The story: If you sit in the right place, you might meet the guy in the long coat and make a little money. Maddy meets Sherlock Holmes planning to make a pound or two, but gets far more than she expected.