something queer going on

I've now listened through episode 84, "Possessive." Please don't spoil me for anything after that, even if my speculations are either exactly right or ridiculously wrong.

( Some thoughts, definitely spoilery through 84 )

I somehow managed to forget that the last episode of series 4, "Yverdon-les-Bains," aired on Wednesday, and I didn't listen to it until today.

It's seemed clear to me for several episodes where the show is going: ( spoilers for aired episodes and speculation about the future )

1) It's mildly depressing to stumble across an extensive recs list for a small fandom (seriously, the recs list includes about 1/3 of all the fic available for this fandom on the AO3) and discover that your own fic is not included on it.

2) Less self-pityingly, let me tell you some of the things I've researched lately: the licensing system for commercial pilots in the UK; the location of Wokingham and the names of its secondary schools; whether there's actually a town in England named Fitton (as far as I can google, there's not); where Fitton would be if it existed, given that it's 200 miles from Ottery St. Mary and part of the drive involves taking the A46 (somewhere around Nottingham, I've concluded); Armenian names; and the least prestigious role it's possible to have as a commercial pilot on a multi-crew aircraft.

On the whole, research is a lot more fun than writing. Especially when "research" mostly involves Google and Wikipedia. As always, I am in awe that anyone ever managed to write anything before the internet existed.

3) I've also listened to the commentary for Sherlock 1x03, "The Great Game," done by Mark Gatiss, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Martin Freeman. From this, I have learned that Mark Gatiss is funny and rather adorable, Benedict Cumberbatch can use phrases like "chromatic scales" in conversation, and Martin Freeman thinks John Watson's clothes are stylish. Only the latter was a surprise--I honestly thought the show was deliberately dressing John badly as a contrast to Sherlock. Oh, and Gatiss and Cumberbatch are apparently feuding over who gets to marry Andrew Scott (who plays Moriarty). I don't blame them one bit.

Hmm, I need a Mycroft icon. Mark Gatiss = my other new crush. How could I not love a man who, when talking about how he met his husband online, mentions that what first attracted him was his husband's good grammar?

I raced through the BBC radio show Cabin Pressure and am now 2/3 finished with my second listen. (This, I have discovered, is what mp3 players are for: listening to radio drama in bed at night.) It's always funny and sometimes bittersweet in just the right way; I think the best comedy always has a measure of sorrow in it.

If, like me until a few days ago, you are tragically unacquainted with the show, do give it a try. Its BBC website is here and the first two series are available to download via this link at what I think is a very reasonable rate. And did I mention the fannish associations? Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the stars, and in series 3 Anthony Head has a recurring guest role. You can listen to a free S1 episode on the BBC site, by the way.

/promotion

So, as is my wont, I looked for fanfic.

Oh, dear.

There is a weird dearth of humorous fic, considering the show's a comedy. Instead, there are a billion schmoopy woobified romance fics, the majority being m/m slash, but with crossover het and Mary Sues original female characters making a strong running. Worse yet, there's an inexplicable fanon trope that ( spoilers )