I am particularly excited about this podfic because I got to act as intensive care consultant and beta for the story. Heartbreaking Johnlock, medical suspense, action, adventure and outstanding characterisation — what more could a reader want?

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Forgot I used to do mood boards like this one.

Crossover, fusion or AU or all of the above...?

Fandom is full of overlapping and difficult-to-define terms. The differences between crossovers, fusions and AUs is one conundrum that keeps on interesting me.

An AU we can all recognise, right? Let’s take an example: the spectacular Gimme Shelter by @sincewhendoyoucallme-john. John and Sherlock are not in London, it’s not the year 20XX and they are not a consulting detective and his blogger. It’s an AU – easy peasy. But, looking at the tag list we find: “Blue Crush fusion if you squint really hard”. In this context I assume it means that a setting, or some other worldbuilding elements may have been inspired by/borrowed from Blue Crush, but we don’t have Blue Crush characters showing up or the story of the film being repeated. What is the difference between writing something inspired by a thing, and a story being a fusion of two things?

Let’s take another example: Skeletons by flawedamythyst. I don’t want to offer any hints as to which universe it borrows from (you should all go read the story, it’s wonderful!) but I will mention that there are characters from that universe showing up. In the story, John and Sherlock also literally visit that other world. Would this, then, make it a crossover? 

Could it be that all crossovers could be described as fusions, but not all fusions are crossovers?

Third example: The Grating Roar by @engazed (which has me completely hooked at the moment). Original premise, future setting, nothing borrowed from anyone else’s works (except for BBC Sherlock, of course). An AU with no fusion elements, amirite? Not a crossover, not a fusion.

In a future fic project, I am borrowing a world created by others, and mentioning characters from it,  but also using OCs and a settings the types of which have been featured in this original world but which do not specifically exist outside of my fic. The borrowed canon characters do not meet our leading gentlemen. Crossover, fusion or both?

I would be fascinated to hear how people define these things.

Does it really matter what it’s called? All fan fiction is actually AU because it involves things that didn’t happen in books or on the screen. Fusion- the merging of two different stories would apply to all fan fiction written using that character on Spongebob’s screen above- because it’s a fusion of the original ACD canon and a modern day setting of Mofftiss.  Cross-over? I suppose when Thor and Doctor Steven Strange start showing up in a Sherlock story…  I used to think I would only write Canon Sherlock- but (as pointed out above) my whole writing opus is actually an AC because it isn’t Victorian. And a lot of it BECAME AU when Mofftiss threw in the weird wonders of Series 3 and 4, after I had written a more ACD compliant backstory for the Holmes Brothers.  

@7-percent but did it become AU, or just canon divergence? If the basic elements of the BBC universe are still there and you haven’t thrown in, say, wizards, I wouldn’t call it AU. Unless (as you pointed out) we want to start calling everything AU that isn’t just an episode transcript.

I like semantics, so I semanticise. (that’s not even a word, is it?) I gotta know so I can tag correctly.

Oh, good discussion, I’ve wondered myself about this too. I think “fusion” is an umbrella term, perhaps used when the limits are hard to define. I called The Darkness Within, So Close a crossover because it has characters from two different universes interacting (Sherlock x Broadchurch). But the action is set as a continuation of canon (from both shows), albeit with some divergence from canon - but not enough to warrant a proper “canon divergence” label (although maybe I should tag it, now that I think of it). I definitely classify Skeletons as a crossover for this same reason.

For me, an AU is when your characters take over the roles in another universe. If Sherlock and John had become Alex and Ellie in TDWSC, then it would have been an AU. Taking the characters from their physical context in canon and placing them in another universe is what constitutes an AU, I would argue. So, The Grating Roar and Gimme Shelter are clearly AUs (even if in TGR Sherlock is still a consulting detective). I’m writing an AU where characters from The Bodyguard are replaced by those from BBC Sherlock (guess who gets to be Whitney Houston). So, a clear case of AU. DSMT is an AU because it’s a different first meeting and also complete, utter crack.

Then, canon divergence is, in its most simple to identify version, those stories where fanfic writers said ‘screw this, I’m doing it differently’ but don’t alter the basic premises of the canon - John is still a wounded army doctor back from Afghanistan, Sherlock is still a consulting detective, they solve cases in London, and everybody else is, well, themselves. If it’s divergence, it must diverge from something that is already established, right?

Of course, the difficulties arise from the in-between. And the definition of what canon is. @7-percent​ writes backstories compliant with ACD’s canon and (as much as possible) BBC Sherlock’s while Mofftiss throws curve balls at the universe, so at some point it becomes canon divergence from BBC Sherlock’s but not necessarily from ACDs (because the latter is a closed process and therefore easier to write and explore, while BBC Sherlock is still evolving within a living fandom - who the hell could predict Eurus?). So, some stories might not be canon divergent until a new series comes out (actually, a lot of stories are like this).

So, what to call @jbaillier​‘s future story? The ‘fusion’ umbrella term might be a good one, but consider: are John and Sherlock taking over roles that belong to characters that existed in that universe? That would fall under AU. Or do they keep their basic roles as consulting detective/army doctor from canon but interacting with characters from another world (regardless of if they exist in the original story or if they are OCs - they still belong to that universe, not BBC Sherlock’s)? Then I’d be tempted to call it a crossover. Given that it’s placed in the future, I’d be less tempted to call this a crossover, though - depends on how the backstory is written, I guess. Then, I think fusion is actually a good term, since it’s a concoction using elements from different worlds in a way that is not clear-cut crossover or pure AU.

Good grief, what a long rambling, sorry about that. Probably didn’t help one bit, lol.

Are you kidding @shiplocks-of-love this is extremely helpful in that I am seeing the logic behind these different interpretations much better now. I agree with your definition of crossover; if I understood you correctly, in its purest form it would be changing essentially nothing about the two canons while bringing them together. In other words, crossovers might be very canon-compliant, if the two original sources happen in the same time and setting (Broadchurch and Sherlock certainly do; modern-day Britain with no speculative elements).

It might be a good description of @7-percent‘s genre conundrum that she tries to canon but Mofftiss keep shoving her off the road. So yes, I’d say her verse could be considered AU (or at least canon divergence since the foundations of those stories are very much what the canon used to be) post-season 3.

To conclude this, I want to add that I am totally on board with this Bodyguard AU and The Darkness Within, So Close is on the top of my reading list bc I love Broadchurch and your stuff.

Re: my upcoming project (which is, quite literally, a future story): they are, indeed, taking over roles in which characters of this borrowed universe have had, although Sherlock starts from a rather canonical situation of living in London as an aimless drug addict. John is an army doctor at the start, but his background is  a bit different, and this sure ain’t the British army. So yes, AU, and a fusion one at that, since there are two worlds colliding. Characters from that other world will be mentioned but not shown, and lots of new things have been thrown in and some things altered so crossover may not best describe it.

Because I have the flu and thus I’m bored and because I am a public service-minded individual, I have made this horrible infographic to illustrate the definitions that are emerging:

Suddenly this old post is getting a lot of attention. Dunno why. But I still stand by these graphics.

by Uldis

@jbaillier

Fanfiction Authors: HEADS UP

(Non-authors, please RB to signal boost to your author friends!)

An astute reader informed me this morning that one of my fics (Children of the Future Age) had been pirated and was being sold as a novel on Amazon:

(And they weren't even creative with their cover design. If you're going to pirate something that I spent a full year of my life writing, at least give me a pretty screenshot to brag about later. Seriously.)

I promptly filed a DMCA complaint to have it removed, but I checked out the company that put it up -- Plush Books -- and it looks like A LOT of their books are pirated fic. They are by no means the only ones doing this, either -- the fact that """publishers""" can download stories from AO3 in ebook format and then reupload them to Amazon in just a few clicks makes fic piracy a common problem. There are a whole host of reasons why letting this continue is bad -- including actual legal risk to fanfiction archives -- but basically:

IF YOU ARE A FANFIC AUTHOR WITH LONG AND/OR POPULAR WORKS, PLEASE CHECK AMAZON TO SEE IF YOUR STORIES HAVE BEEN PIRATED.

You can search for your fics by title, or by text from the description (which is often just copied wholesale from AO3 as well). If you find that someone has stolen your work and is selling it as their own, you can lodge a DMCA complaint (Amazon.com/USA site; other countries have different systems). If you haven't done this before, it's easy! Here's a tutorial:

HOW TO FILE A COPYRIGHT COMPLAINT FOR STOLEN WORK ON AMAZON.COM:

First, go to this form. You'll need to be signed into your Amazon account.

Please share this information with your writer friends, keep an eye out for/report pirated works, and help us keep fanfiction free and legally protected!

NOTE: All of the above also applies to Amazon products featuring stolen artwork, etc., so fan artists should check too!

UPDATE: Plush Books still exists on Amazon and on Goodreads under the pseudonym "J.D. Geraghty" where the fanfics are also listed. They also have a list of cookbooks that are without a doubt AI written (the descriptions for the books are repetitive nonsense so god forbid what exists inside).

From what I can see on Amazon, most of the stolen fanfics have become "Unavailable." This entity likely operates under more than one name, so it isn't safe to assume crisis averted. Numerous bad actors are posting AI written works to Amazon, which just means plagiarism slurry with a side of potential danger (like the autogenerated mushroom identification books).

oh ffs. shared.

@apliddell @prettyvk @marsixm @cupidford @dduane @hudders-and-hiddles @jbaillier @jon-lox @loudest-subtext-in-tv @navydream @pens-swords-stuff @rowanthestrange @inevitably-johnlocked @xiranjayzhao @vaspider

If i've forgotten your name,i'm sorry amd i didn't mean it, now go check your fics!

I painted this watercolour in 2019/2020 - on paper. Now, for the first time, I digitally edited/painted over an almost finished 'analogue' work. I think it works well.

This is a giftwork for @7-percent. An illustration for both of the following works, which can be read on AO3. The series are amazing, feel free to check them out.

I am flattered if you reblog, but do NOT post my art on other sites/social media or use in any other way without my written permission.

PSA: bot comments are taking over ao3

The above examples have been provided with the authors' permission to demonstrate what these look like.

Basic rundown:

Please spread the word about this so authors can filter comments and report them accordingly

There has been some speculation about why this is happening at all, and the best guess is that this is a feature that AI-training story-scraping tools are implementing to try and make their browsing traffic look legitimate

Pining - Part 2 : John - (2023)

Pining [pɪnɪŋ] :  to feel very sad because one wants (something) or because one is not with (someone). To suffer a mental and physical decline, especially because of a broken heart.

“I think I heard noises upstairs. No, I’m not ‘imagining things’, dear. THEY ARE TALKING! AT LAST!!”

- Mrs. Hudson, crying of joy, certainly.

CLICK HERE FOR "PART ONE : SHERLOCK"

A big thank you to @vegetadaily for taking care of the beta in both posts. 💗

The Skull - (2023)

Today, I bought an app called Rebelle 6. It emulates in a beautiful way oils and watercolors. This is not going to help me get through my "fine fabrics, embroideries and 19th century painting" phase but still, I love it. 😁 Here is my first work using this app.

Listen. If you think writing fanfiction is cringe please know that I am currently pursuing my Masters degree in Creative Writing for fiction and I want you to know that most of the people in my graduate program either read fanfiction, write fanfiction, or do both. I promise you: cringe is dead. Write whatever you want. Do whatever makes you happy.

Rebloging to add that on one of the first days of film school, one of our teachers said: "Raise your hand if you've ever written fanfiction."

More than half of the class raised their hands. And to the people who hadn't raised their hand, she said: "Okay, the rest of your are liars."

YES!!!!!!

Finished some already made drafts before I hurt my hand.

Little touch ups had been possible with one hand and some half useless fingers.

I'm still waiting for new material so this is all I could do.

The last parts are dedicated to @jbaillier and @elldotsee and their story:

" Proving a point " see link.

If you haven't read it yet and you want to avoid spoilers please stop reading now.

Pic 1. Sherlock

Pic 2/ 3 London

Pics 4, 5, 6,7 and 8 are dedicated to the story.

Sherlock sad and only an empty shell.

Empty Baker Street.

Musgrave Hall, more prison than home for Sherlock including my idea of Tallie.

John arrives and with him some hope.

Return to Baker Street including...Arthur:)

Thank you for all your support!!!

It means the world to me.

@jobooksncoffee @a-victorian-girl @discordantwords @rey-jake-therapist @gaypiningshit @gaylilsherlock @lostinsherlock44 @lisbeth-kk @totallysilvergirl @7-percent @starrla89 @peanitbear @bewitched-bullet @helloliriels @missdeliadilisblog @johnlockficclub @inevitably-johnlocked @whatnext2020 @colourfulwatson

Gosh, so beautiful!!

I really enjoy your scrapbooks, sweetie ♥️

@a-victorian-girl

Thank you Darling.

That's so kind of you 💜

We meet the doctors for the first time.

And Dr. Holmes certainly made an entrance.

Not that kind of " wow what a guy " kind of entrance but more the " what the f..." kind of entrance.

But we first meet John, a thing I love and prefer in stories because he is always the best entry into a new story.

Like a really good supporting act on a festival right before the more interesting but arrogant superstar arrives.

John is a warm up who makes you feel cosy and secure and together you wait for the storm.

And the storm arrives indeed.

Dr. Sherlock Holmes new medical superstar a patent already made and sold, is he the new neurosurgeon and within weeks he has a reputation for being rude, difficult and brilliant.

The brilliance is as obvious as the arrogance and John is equally surprised and annoyed.

But he is also a tiny little bit fascinated and is not quite sure why...

They work and clash in the OR one day and while others are intimidated by Sherlock’s behaviour is John simply annoyed and says so.

In a contest of getting the upper hand John is our winner.

We getting glimpses of the real Sherlock a bit later when he proceeds towards John again and ask for help.

Here we see a shy and insecure man who is obviously wrestling with a truth he keeps very well hidden, and we see the huge amount of trust in John approaching him in that matter.

A very moving part and what I call 

a man child moment.

Because Sherlock is a very sensitive person and John is obviously the only one he can go to which makes the moment precious and yet sad.

Sherlock’s confession being on the spectrum is groundbreaking.

For Sherlock, John and the story.

Sherlock is clearly ashamed and telling John this because he needs his help to make a medical failure accusation going away is a huge deal for a man who likes to be seen cold, talented and untouchable.

I love that all the thoughts we readers might have are in John's head too.

John is our conscience, our bond to Sherlock early knotted but unbreakable already.

Together they go and investigate a little to help Sherlock’s case, a case I won't go into detail because if you haven't read the story yet I'm not going to spoil the fun for you.

But the help John offers comes with a payback.

That's at least what Sherlock thinks and acts accordingly and much to John's surprise I might add and to mine:) 

Here we see a first behaviour of Sherlock that seems unusual and inappropriate but it also seems he simply doesn't know better and he doesn't have these natural social skills that forbid us to act in such a direct manner.

No right or wrong or any judgment coming from my side.

This is just what I observed.

And so did John luckily and doesn't give up on Sherlock, although after certain events Sherlock is back at his usual cold self with a brick wall around his emotions.

But good old John finds a way and he also realises that he finds himself attracted to the new neurosurgeon star.

And slowly but constantly they find a way towards each other because Sherlock opens up for the first time and John sees behind the mask of arrogance and indifference.

This first piece sets the standard and the curiosity for more.

I was lucky enough to discover the series after Jill completed it.

So I didn't have to wait lol.

Reading this first part and knowing there will be more makes you wonder what will happen and how this story will heading and you know for sure that you are in for a ride:) 

Link to the series here:

@inevitably-johnlocked @7-percent @jbaillier @totallysilvergirl @keirgreeneyes @discordantwords @lostinsherlock44 @8redskittles @axl-is-stoopid @jobooksncoffee @johnlockiseverywhere @kettykika78 @cvdiee @manyofnine @jazzthecat00 @pucketdog @deelaundry @neinknives @helloliriels @dizzyone55 @thetimemoves @bewitched-bullet

A magisterial, captivating series. Thank you @sabsi221b for the stagelight!

THANK YOU ALL for reblogging, comments and thoughts 🙏

It means so much ❤️

Misc. XIXth century Johnlock Illustrations - (2023)

Sherlock wearing a kimono, amongst other works. I explained this precise head canon of mine in this video HERE. (Note: Drawing n°2 was the first version of Drawing n°1, that's why I used the same reference picture for the head)

@petite-madame

This is beyond amazing.

Absolutely wonderful and so unique.💜

My first ever try to do a scrapbook page.

Of course I started with @jbaillier and her Johnlock doctor AU.

It was great fun and I have already lots of other ff in mind.

Not a very artsy person but it calms me down.

@keirgreeneyes @7-percent @totallysilvergirl @inevitably-johnlocked @bewitched-bullet @a-victorian-girl @suejeffries @sussexlavender @jellykinfanlover @gh-0-sties-blog @grace-in-the-wilderness @jelly-of-many-ships @reallystrangeanchor

@meetinginsamarra @gaypiningshit @gaylilsherlock @bene-batch @bencdaily @benedict-1976 @ben-cumberblog @discordantwords @etherealenchantress @gingersnapbandersnatch @holmesianlove

Look at that!! I loved it!! 😍😍

@a-victorian-girl

Awww that is so nice!

Thank you 🥰🥰🥰

Halloween Fic Recs

First of all, a couple of lists I’ve already made:

Sherlock or John is a ghost

Sherlock wears a disguise

Horror (with romance)

Demons

Plus these which aren’t on any of the above lists:

Awkward Moments, Sexy Vampires, and a Halloween First Kiss by 221b_careful_what_you_wish_for (3K, M, Johnlock) John and Sherlock are helping Molly decorate for a Halloween party, but underneath their banter they‘re both suffering from Desperately Unspoken Mutual Pining. An embarrassing comment, locked storage room, and erotic vampire tale ease the skeletons out of the closet.

For the First Time and the Thousandth Time by 221b_careful_what_you_wish_for (22K, M, Johnlock) Injured in a mysterious shooting, Sherlock is sent to a safe house to recover while Mycroft tracks down his assailant. The house, hidden deep in the countryside, is old and drafty, and – according to rumors – haunted by a English solider wounded in World War 1. A series of strange events soon has Sherlock questioning his firm disbelief in the supernatural, past lives, and true love.

He’s Coming to Us Dead by Vulgarweed (13K, E, Johnlock) The war is ending and the troops are returning. They do not always mean well. Their loved ones are not always glad to see them. A case straight out of an old folktale has deep repercussions for Sherlock and John.

Lightning and Sea Glass by 221b_careful_what_you_wish_for (18K, E, Johnlock) The mad Professor Moriarty and his reluctant assistant John Watson have reanimated the dead – and the results are beautiful. At least John thinks so. When Moriarty rejects his creation, John disappears with the creature to protect it, sealing their fates together. (Loosely inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein)

The Master of Latham Hall by Kryptaria (47K, T, Johnlock) Ten years after meeting Sherlock Holmes, John Watson has successfully kept only one secret from the world’s only consulting detective: the most important secret he’s ever had.Now, drawn into an impossible web of murders at Latham Hall, John learns the terrible price a man must pay for keeping certain things secret.

Obsidian and Moonlight by PenelopeWaits (11K, T, Johnlock) John and Sherlock make a detour on the way home from Baskerville.  The question is, which is more inexplicable, the rites of human violence or the depths of human love?

One Good Scare by blueink3 (17K, M, Johnlock) Mummy invites Sherlock, John, and Rosie to the country for her birthday, which just so happens to coincide with the annual Harvest Festival, an event Sherlock loathes. With John seemingly making the wrong move at every turn and with ghosts hiding in each of their closets, what will it take for their (Halloween) masks to finally come off?

Penumbra by Saki101 (46K, E, Johnlock) In Maine, there was Collinwood and the three centuries of history that were woven into its walls.  In London, there is Holmeswood Manor (or the Manor on Baker Street as the urban legends have it), tucked now into a city street when once its oak woods rolled from the heath to the river.  John’s grown up with its stories of ghosts and wizards and things that hunt in the night.  They are certainly not going to keep him from interviewing for a residential post at the Manor because he cannot afford London on an army pension and there could not possibly be any truth to the tales.

Skeletons by flawedamythyst (57K, T, Johnlock) Sherlock’s refusal to talk about his past hides far more skeletons than John could ever have guessed at.  Halloween-esque AU.

So Closely Allied by j_baillier (10K, T, Johnlock) She has always been a part of his life but now, she needs to leave.