I am not a fic-writer, fan artist, meta-writer. But I am a consumer of all these things. I don't even live in the country where my fandom originated. English isn't even my first language. All this is to say is, I love my stories no matter where they come from.
So, Caitlin Moran, take it from a fan from afar who is unashemedly passionate, fuck you.
I have always loved Holmes and Watson. The entire collection was one of my first English readings. I was reading pastiches as soon as I got on internet. You know pastiches? Fanfictions. Know how long they have been around? DO. YOUR. RESEARCH.
I got sucked into the modern fanfiction phenomenon in Harry Potter fandom. Because I was tired of going through forums, over 500 pages of a single thread to find out what theories people are discussing. I came to fanfiction just for those theories. What I found was characters. Stories. I spent a long long time devouring them. Then I thought, I was wasting my time. Because, this is just idle reading, not the real reading, isn't it. So I weaned myself off of it.
I got into Sherlock fandom after series 2. After Reichenbach. To soothe my angst. I wasn't even into slash at that point. I, too, thought, 'God, why people do this! Just let them be friends!' What I found here was not just stories, not just characters, but the same insanity that I shamed myself for while reading HP fanfics. The same passion. It was a fanfiction that led me to slash. It was fanfiction that led me to my community. It was fanfiction that led to social justice debates. It was fanfiction that led me to have my own blog so that I could keep learning. Keep on enjoying, keep on talking ad infinitum. Which led me to scrap the shame that my internal voice tried to keep on piling on me for reading 'inferior material'.
Because if you think fanfiction is 'inferior', think again.
And if you think I will feel ashamed because of my passion, think again. You call those who are passionate about this particular show as virgins. And show's crew (in this case David Arnold, the composer) happily plays along with it. Seriously? Seriously?? The cast members sure have been put in awkward position. But it doesn't give them the right to call the passion of fanwork creation to be ludicrous or calling those people 'not a real fan of the show'.
I don't tolerate fandom policing from my own fan community. If you think an outsider can tell me how to be a fan, think again.
Overall, Moran, just think. This goes for you, the cast and crew as well. Don't tell me you don't adore the level of attention this show gets from the fans like me. Your network thrives on it. It's getting real old being constantly called a 'rabid fan'. You do know how it feel being hounded by press so that you keep watching every word so that it's not taken out of context? You do right? Then stop inflicting the same on me. I don't want to be hounded any more by the media.
To the fanworks creators. Please, for the love of everything you hold dear, do NOT stop creating. I love fanfics, fanart, fanvids, fan-meta, everything. Please please continue. You have made my life so much richer! I wish I had better words to say to you, to tell you how much your creativity, your intelligence astounds me. I cannot thank you enough for how much time you put in this endeavor for the main reason of your own love for the show (or books whichever they might be).
So, no, I am not a fic-writer, fan artists, meta writer, a vidder. I am a fan audience. And I hope no Moran or no cast/crew of a show will stop you from creating more and more fanworks for me to devour.
