BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Sherlock fan fiction tropes about food, sleep, and injuries

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 21, 2014 9:27 pm

I am so obsessed about this show that I have delved into fan fiction. There is some scary stuff in the deep end of that pool.

I am noticing three tropes in the stories I've read that make me wonder if I'm watching the same show as everyone else.

Let's start with Sherlock and food and stick to BBC show canon, which is not ACD's stories and the unaired pilot (which I wish was canon since its the only glimpse of Sherlock's pants we ever get, but I digress). Why do people seem to think that Sherlock doesn't eat?!

The only basis for that that I can see is that he says he doesn't eat when he's on a case and we see that he doesn't eat when he's depressed. The first comment was said to Molly and could have been very well an attempt to get out of having lunch with her. I wouldn't take it as more than a tongue in cheek comment with a grain of truth to it. Working around death does put you off your feed and have you ever attended a post-mortem? You smell like death for a week after; not very conducive to a healthy appetite.

Sherlock definitely has an interest in food. I've known people who have no interest in food whatsoever and consider it just fuel. But Sherlock recognizes good food from bad (Chinese, chips), and has a more sophisticated palate than the stereotypical British diet of beans on toast (pasta with olives, for which he snuck out of a hospital!). There are plenty of scenes that show him having breakfast and his favourite breakfast is very hearty (fried egg, chips, ham, and pineapple!).

I see Sherlock is one of those people who doesn't eat if he isn't hungry, not as someone who is borderline anorexic. The absolute only thing I can see in BBC canon that makes me think that Sherlock only eats as much as he needs is his body shape. Smoking and caffeine are huge appetite suppressants and every excessive coffee drinking smoker I know is rail thin and doesn't each much.

Saying that Sherlock doesn't eat because we don't see much of that going on on screen is like saying that John doesn't pee because unlike Sherlock, we've never seen him wash his hands after using the loo or actually gazed upon his urine ().

Next is sleep. I am definitely not watching the same show as most of these writers. I can't figure out where people are getting the impression that he doesn't sleep, especially after TSOT aired where it's made very clear that he has a regular sleeping routine. That one night in TBB does not an insomniac make.

Finally, there are a lot of stories about Sherlock getting injured on a regular basis. I had to think really hard about whether Sherlock got hurt before series 3. There's lots of roughhousing and at least one really near death experience (getting strangled in TBB), but no stabbings, torture, shootings, or even bleeding except a little from John's punch in SIB. It wasn't until series 3 that we saw a truly injured Sherlock.

Excluding series 3 (because most of the stories I'm thinking of occur during series 1 and 2), Sherlock has been in mortal peril maybe four times in as many years. I think the writers just like beating him up...

Are there any fan fiction writers out there who follow these characterizations of Sherlock? I really want to hear where you're getting your canon from!

Mary

**Posted by Wholocked** May 22, 2014 12:22 am

Hi Mary - I moved this to the Fan Fic forum as it's probably more relevant there.

In answer to your questions - there is "canon" and then there is "fanon" and Sherlock not eating / not sleeping has become "fanon" even if it's not entirely canon.

The eating thing comes from his comment to John in ASiP at Angelo's when he tells him that he doesn't eat whilst on a case because "digesting slows him down". Some fic writers have taken that to mean he doesn't eat whilst on a case unless the case goes on too long and others have taken it a little further to the extreme.

As for the sleeping, I guess it became fanon when he worked through the night on TBB and showed no ill effects, whereas John was exhausted.

The injuries is based around their lifestyle and the fact that John is a Doctor, I think, rather than canon. It's a plot device.

Part of the point of fan fiction is that it allows you to put the characters in situations you won't see in canon. It also allows you to explore tropes and themes that interest you or have relevance to you, personally. Some writers, for example, who have experienced some kind of trauma may use fan fiction as a way of working through some of that - put the characters in a similar situation and help them work through it, thus helping yourself.

Fan fiction is quite a complex little world and both writers and readers get different things out of it at different times.

Don't mistake fanon for canon though - that way lies dragons!

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 22, 2014 2:08 am

Sorry about putting it in the wrong category. I saw character analysis and thought this was a good fit. Thank you for the answers. Fanon can be very strange and very depraved!

Mary

**Posted by Wholocked** May 22, 2014 6:38 am

Meh, it's all good. That's what we have mods for

maryagrawatson wrote:
Fanon can be very strange and very depraved!

Truer words were never spoken - but it's a slippery slope! Now that you're in there you can NEVER GET OUT! muahahahahahahahah*cough*

**Posted by nakahara** May 22, 2014 7:48 am

The „non-eating Sherlock“ myth is partly based on the ACD canon, I think. The authors of BBC Sherlock have taken the statement that Sherlock doesn´t eat while on cases and that his body is just a „transport“ from one of ACD´s short stories.

And yet, as you correctly noticed, the fans have overexaggerated this feature of original stories too much. I remember a short story where Sherlock pauses his case to partake in a hearty portion of beef and beer because he has been running through the town all day and is hungry like a wolf. The final scene of „Naval Treaty“ has Sherlock, John and their client participating in a hearty breakfast. The many of short stories end with Sherlock inviting his dear Watson to some lavish dinner in a fancy restaurant, because their case was successfully finished and Sherlock needs some nourishment after his long fast.

BBC Sherlock seems to shun food because we almost never see him eating in restaurants he and John frequent sometimes, while John always eats there. And yet after he throws the man out of a window in SiB, the first thing he does after he enters the flat of Mrs. Hudson is that he robs her fridge and starts eating with gusto. (Which is logical – his own fridge is full of human etrails and very likely infected, but the fridge of Mrs. Hudson is "safe" ). Similarly, the myth of Sherlock fasting is entirely broken in series 3, where we see Sherlock eating on many occassions, even on a case.

So you are right, Sherlock eats quite normally.

What I find funny is also the stuff Sherlock and John eat in fanfictions. Their diet consists entirely of Chinese and Thai takeaways and toasts (I am yet to find the fanfiction where they ate something different). With such eating pattern they would both die of scurvy and vitamine deficit in no time!

The „non-sleeping“ Sherlock, on the other hand, is not just fanon – this is something rooted in ACD´s stories either. Many scenes in those stories and in various film adaptations of SH adventures depict Sherlock mulling over his cases all night while Watson is sleeping and coming with a solution of those cases with the first light of dawn. Watson is often roused from his sleep in the morning to the sounds of his friend crying out loudly in excitement over some revelation.

Fanon Sherlock being randomly beaten and tortured trope annoys me to no end. Canonical Sherlock is a strong boxer and fencer and he has a knowledge of japanese martial art called bartitsu. BBC Sherlock is strong and quick enough to stand his own against some Chinese fighters in TBB and vicious enough to beat some man senselessly in SiB and to throw him out of the window. What´s more, his intellectual properties enable him to avoid such conflict altogether and to trap his enemies before they have a chance to lay a hand on him. So he is hardly the weak individual depicted in most fanfictions who is easily bullied and duped by criminals. To be fair, there are some skilled authors of fanfiction able to write hurt-comfort Sherlock story without ignoring those parts of his character, but those are in a minority.

The other annoying fanon myth is „Sherlock as a patient from hell who bullies his doctors, behaves childishly and petulantly in hospital and treats gaping wounds like scrapes“. Yes, Sherlock is sometimes reckless and displays some false bravado, needlessly endangering himself, but as we saw in HLV, he behaves very rationally and cooperates with doctors who want to save his life when facing the real threat of death. From all fanon myths this one is probably the most cliched and most OOC for Sherlock. And fanfiction writers just keep coming with this old stuff as if they were completely unable to avoid this cliche and to engage their fantasy a bit....

**Posted by Zatoichi** May 22, 2014 9:15 am

nakahara wrote:
BBC Sherlock is strong and quick enough to stand his own against some Chinese fighters in TBB and vicious enough to beat some man senselessly in SiB and to throw him out of the window.

And he´s apparently trained in Judo, he has a Judo certificate with his name in Japanese (シャーロック・ホームズ) over his bed.
http://www.sherlockology.com/props/sherlocks-bedroom-pictures

Last edited by Zatoichi (May 22, 2014 9:16 am)

**Posted by nakahara** May 22, 2014 9:51 am

Zatoichi wrote:
nakahara wrote:
BBC Sherlock is strong and quick enough to stand his own against some Chinese fighters in TBB and vicious enough to beat some man senselessly in SiB and to throw him out of the window.
And he´s apparently trained in Judo, he has a Judo certificate with his name in Japanese (シャーロック・ホームズ) over his bed.
http://www.sherlockology.com/props/sherlocks-bedroom-pictures

Perfect observation!
And one more proof that Sherlock wouldn´t be beaten nor subdued so easily!

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 22, 2014 12:07 pm

nakahara wrote:
What I find funny is also the stuff Sherlock and John eat in fanfictions.

We get some glimpses of what's in the fridge (besides body parts) a few time and there's also a glimpse of John's shopping in BBC. There are, *gasp* vegetables and fruits. Remember that lovely bowl of apples in TRB? And John apparently cooks (I get the impression he made the risotto in TGG and there's an allusion to his doing so in the speech in TSOT). And speaking of the risotto, John assumed that Sherlock would be looking for dinner in TGG.

The „non-sleeping“ Sherlock, on the other hand, is not just fanon – this is something rooted in ACD´s stories either.

That's what I thought, but it's not what we see in this incarnation.

Fanon Sherlock being randomly beaten and tortured trope annoys me to no end.

I am glad to see someone else is watching the same show as me. The scene in TBB where he gets kicked of the stage, lands hard, tries to get up, and fails because he's so winded is definitely an exception. How he disarms Mrs. Hudson't attacker in SIB with the cleaning spray (LOL) is much more typical Sherlock.

The other annoying fanon myth is „Sherlock as a patient from hell who bullies his doctors, behaves childishly and petulantly in hospital and treats gaping wounds like scrapes“.

Yes! That's another one of me pet peeves, too, but my post was long enough.

Yes, Sherlock is sometimes reckless and displays some false bravado, needlessly endangering himself, but as we saw in HLV, he behaves very rationally and cooperates with doctors who want to save his life when facing the real threat of death.

Well, except for the part where he climbed out a window shortly after getting shot, but I guess the circumstances were exceptional.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Mary

**Posted by TeeJay** May 22, 2014 12:36 pm

maryagrawatson wrote:
Finally, there are a lot of stories about Sherlock getting injured on a regular basis. I had to think really hard about whether Sherlock got hurt before series 3. There's lots of roughhousing and at least one really near death experience (getting strangled in TBB), but no stabbings, torture, shootings, or even bleeding except a little from John's punch in SIB. It wasn't until series 3 that we saw a truly injured Sherlock.

Well, that's not just a phenomenon in the Sherlock fandom, you have these often called "whump" stories in most fandoms. I'm not sure you can rationally explain it, but there are certain people (me included) who enjoy reading stories with a hurt/comfort theme.

When I think about it rationally, I find it highly illogical to get pleasure out of reading how someone is injured. Cause somehow that's cruel, isn't it? But for me, it's usually not the part about the injury or illness that I get a kick out of, it's the comfort part -- when there's relief and emotional support.

One theory I have is that it's a way of vicariously experiencing intense situations without having to go through them yourself. The journey without the physical pain. Win/win.

I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I know that I'm not alone with the craving of h/c themese in fanfic. In the White Collar fandom, there are whole communities who write and share whump or h/c stories. One of the White Collar h/c LiveJournal communities even has a list of all the White Collar stories where either Neal or Peter were injured/hurt, sorted by illness.

I guess it's all just a matter of personal preference. There are people out there who will completely ignore canon and force two same-sex characters into a relationship, even though in canon both are clearly heterosexual. (And I don't specifically mean Sherlock, where I admit the Johnlock thing has always been a bit of a grey zone and might be considered semi-canon.) That's one thing that I don't understand. But I will accept that some people get enjoyment out of it, so why not let them? The human psyche can be a strange thing indeed.

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 22, 2014 1:19 pm

TeeJay wrote:
Well, that's not just a phenomenon in the Sherlock fandom, you have these often called "whump" stories in most fandoms. I'm not sure you can rationally explain it, but there are certain people (me included) who enjoy reading stories with a hurt/comfort theme.

I've found some really good stories in that genre that use it to explore character relations. I've got one in mind that was brilliant, with Sherlock getting stabbed and Donovan doing the first aid and the two gaining more understanding, and respect for each other. Just brilliant. It's called 'Triage' if you want to look it up.

But torturing Sherlock (or anyone else for that matter) just to torture? That is depraved. I thought I'd seen it all in my line of work, but some of this fan fiction is more disturbing than any case I've ever worked on!

I guess it's all just a matter of personal preference. There are people out there who will completely ignore canon and force two same-sex characters into a relationship, even though in canon both are clearly heterosexual.

I don't want to go too deep into this, but I've seen this in other fandoms (like Star Trek). Sometimes, I see where the inspiration comes from, but in this fandom, I really don't. I just don't feel that particular chemistry between John and Sherlock.

I did come across one story that I loved where they were platonically married and I felt that this was a much truer interpretation of their relationship and the kind of love they have for each other. Let's just say that I read the warnings on stories before proceeding with extreme caution.

Mary

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 22, 2014 1:28 pm

And I have to add one more thought in regards to 'whump' fic. I'm not a doctor, but I was a first responder for a number of years, which was just a notch above being a paramedic in a rural/back country environment where the hospital was at least an hour away, and some of the first aid and even doctoring on John's part in stories makes me want to cry it's so bad. Kind of like the lame attempt to resuscitate Sherlock in HLV makes me roll my eyes (hint: CPR is very violent; broken ribs for the patient, nearly dislocated shoulders for the treater).

Mary

Mary

**Posted by TeeJay** May 22, 2014 1:57 pm

I will definitely look into the "Triage" story, sounds like just my cup of tea.

Just torture for the sake of torture without a resolution isn't really something I'm fond of either. I like the occasional angsty story, but only if there's some form of happy ending. One aspect of using Sherlock as the victim is that I think there's a certain allure to putting him in that role. It may be his lack of showing emotions, and something like torture making him vulnerable enough to show the emotions he'd normally push aside.

Many people might also peg Sherlock for being a lot physically weaker than he actually is. Benedict has that wiry thing going, where he's slim but not scrawny with trained muscles in all the right places. (I hope you know what I mean...) I think when I comes down to it, both he and Sherlock have ample physical strength, but Sherlock seldom shows it, and many fans might mistake the lack of evidence as physical weakness. Which makes him an easy target to be put in an underdog position.

And now I need to stop psychoanalizing this, cause I'm starting to feel weird about it.

Even though I'm not a medical doctor, I know enough about medicine that one of my pet peeves is when they revive patients by shocking a flatfline. And in 99% of TV cases, it works and brings the patient back to life. I always wanna scream, "That's BS!" at the screen when I see it. At least in HLV they got *that* part right.

Last edited by TeeJay (May 22, 2014 1:57 pm)

**Posted by nakahara** May 22, 2014 2:09 pm

I kinda understand that doctoring thing - the true medical procedures would be too brutal onscreen, or wouldn´t look dramatic enough. They are not aiming for a reality there. (Similarly, when you are looking into a real microscope it never shows you things Sherlock sees in it in a show, but the true thing would be uneffective for dramatic purposes).

I have nothing against the good hurt-comforts story if it respect the characters we know from the show. But what´s the point of creating a fanfiction story in which the original characters are distorted beyond recognition? Wouldn´t it be better to write about original characters then?

Last edited by nakahara (May 22, 2014 2:17 pm)

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 22, 2014 2:23 pm

TeeJay wrote:
Many people might also peg Sherlock for being a lot physically weaker than he actually is. Benedict has that wiry thing going, where he's slim but not scrawny with trained muscles in all the right places. (I hope you know what I mean...)

Indeed. Just look at him in 'Little Favour' in the tank top/vest. OMG Those muscles. *pauses to drool*

I think when I comes down to it, both he and Sherlock have ample physical strength, but Sherlock seldom shows it, and many fans might mistake the lack of evidence as physical weakness. Which makes him an easy target to be put in an underdog position.

What I don't get is the psychological aspect in some of these stories. He either is a complete wimp who breaks under torture or he is like Kahn and a super robot who doesn't show pain, no in between. We know from canon that when he's hurt, he shows it (thinking especially of HLV at Baker Street while with John and Mary and his not particularly dignified moaning and groaning and maybe even whimpering), but also that he can take a lot without breaking (torture in Serbia) emotionally.

Even though I'm not a medical doctor, I know enough about medicine that one of my pet peeves is when they revive patients by shocking a flatfline. And in 99% of TV cases, it works and brings the patient back to life. I always wanna scream, "That's BS!" at the screen when I see it. At least in HLV they got *that* part right.

Yes! Thank goodness for small mercies.

Mary

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 22, 2014 2:30 pm

nakahara wrote:
I have nothing against the good hurt-comforts story if it respect the characters we know from the show. But what´s the point of creating a fanfiction story in which the original characters are distorted beyond recognition? Wouldn´t it be better to write about original characters then?

I think these writers are creating a version of the character they wish existed on screen. Either that, or they are self-projecting. I do know about Mary Sues!

Mary

**Posted by nakahara** May 22, 2014 2:40 pm

maryagrawatson wrote:
nakahara wrote:
I have nothing against the good hurt-comforts story if it respect the characters we know from the show. But what´s the point of creating a fanfiction story in which the original characters are distorted beyond recognition? Wouldn´t it be better to write about original characters then?
I think these writers are creating a version of the character they wish existed on screen. Either that, or they are self-projecting. I do know about Mary Sues!

Mary

Or maybe they aren´t skilled enough to really get into a character and to describe it realistically?
Because I cannot imagine anybody projecting into that childish, insufferable, whining wimp they create of Sherlock sometimes.

**Posted by maryagrawatson** May 22, 2014 2:55 pm

nakahara wrote:
Or maybe they aren´t skilled enough to really get into a character and to describe it realistically? Because I cannot imagine anybody projecting into that childish, insufferable, whining wimp they create of Sherlock sometimes.

That Sherlock makes me cringe! So maybe that's how they want to see him? Why, I have no idea.

Mary

**Posted by Kerkerian** May 22, 2014 3:03 pm

nakahara wrote:

What I find funny is also the stuff Sherlock and John eat in fanfictions. Their diet consists entirely of Chinese and Thai takeaways and toasts (I am yet to find the fanfiction where they ate something different). With such eating pattern they would both die of scurvy and vitamine deficit in no time!

I think a lot of writers use the Chinese takeaway for example to create a kind of closeness to the show, as though wanting to prove they know their stuff (which is not the same as doing research, mind), by referring to the original BBC stories. It also puts them on the safe side: if the characters eat it in the show, they must like it, ergo, it's something one can't do wrong. Which is very interesting, in my opinion, since there are so many liberties being taken otherwise that it hardly seems to matter what they eat.
(I have them eating different stuff in my stories, by the way. )

As for the h/c: one reason why it's so appealing to many of us (including me, admittedly) is that it provides a substitute for being close to the person one is putting into peril by projecting one's own emotions/desires/concerns etc. onto the caring person in the story (usually), be it subconsciously or not. It makes the "victim" more accessible because they are vulnerable and sometimes helpless to a certain degree whereas they usually show strength and independency (because they are known to be indestructable, as they like to point out ), while the one who takes care of them gets to be close to them and is virtually essential for their recovery in one way or other.

I've once read a very interesting article about the matter (I didn't find it anymore, sorry, otherwise I'd have inserted the link to it), which correctly pointed out that the romanticisation of h/c only goes so far, since no one would want to read about someone needing to be helped in the toilet, for example, or about the hero to be covered in unbecoming pustules.

Last edited by Kerkerian (May 22, 2014 3:04 pm)

**Posted by Kerkerian** May 22, 2014 3:06 pm

maryagrawatson wrote:
nakahara wrote:
Or maybe they aren´t skilled enough to really get into a character and to describe it realistically? Because I cannot imagine anybody projecting into that childish, insufferable, whining wimp they create of Sherlock sometimes.

That Sherlock makes me cringe! So maybe that's how they want to see him? Why, I have no idea.

Mary

I hate that as well. I stop reading immediately the first time a sentence includes terms such as "pouting" or "whined".

**Posted by SusiGo** May 22, 2014 3:15 pm

Kerkerian wrote:
As for the h/c: one reason why it's so appealing to many of us (including me, admittedly) is that it provides a substitute for being close to the person one is putting into peril by projecting one's own emotions/desires/concerns etc. onto the caring person in the story (usually), be it subconsciously or not. It makes the "victim" more accessible because they are vulnerable and sometimes helpless to a certain degree whereas they usually show strength and independency (because they are known to be indestructable, as they like to point out ), while the one who takes care of them gets to be close to them and is virtually essential for their recovery in one way or other.

I've once read a very interesting article about the matter (I didn't find it anymore, sorry, otherwise I'd have inserted the link to it), which correctly pointed out that the romanticisation of h/c only goes so far, since no one would want to read about someone needing to be helped in the toilet, for example, or about the hero to be covered in unbecoming pustules.

I agree, being a h/c fan as well. Just wanting to add that I have read fics in which a character has to be helped to the toilet but usually is left there alone.