QuiteExtraordinary wrote:
"The best man", according to John. Personally, I don't like fics that focus too much on changing Sherlock's personality for the "better". Just because somebody is different that doesn't necessarily mean they have to adapt and become like everybody else. I don't like the moral of that.
A lot of fan fic is written by children (teens), and IMO they don't have the life experiences or wisdom to really know how to handle a complex character like Sherlock. Some do, I suppose, but I think most of the good stories are written by people who have been around the block a couple of times-- you know, they've seen them come and they've seen them go, and not only do they "get" Sherlock, they know how to reproduce him in their stories.
Technically, if an author messes with the characters' appearances, personalities, ways of speaking, ways of being, that's not really fan fic. If they want to write their own original characters, they should name them Joe and Henry and just write their story. Even in AU or AR, it's important to keep Sherlock recognizable as Sherlock and John as John. They must look like them, sound like them, act like them, have the same basic foibles and wants and needs. After that, an author can play with them like she would paper dolls all she wants, but for fan fic to be that-- fan fic-- the characters have to be recognizable from the original movie, TV show, or book.