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pennswoodsI just read through some recs on the reddit sub r/heatedrivalryfic which is where I am finding a lot of good recs (also on Instagram). I bookmarked a handful I would like to add to my To Read list before heading out on my short run and I started thinking about the tropes that are in HR fic that I didn't see in Sherlock fic. Some of this is a reflection of the story - Sherlock included more casefic than I've come across in HR. There's also a lot more high school or university AU in Sherlock. It's not that this does not exist in HR, but the characters start off as teenagers, so it's not as much of a stretch.
HR also does a lot of canon divergence at certain focal points as a way to explore the characters breaking up and working their way back together under different conditions. This makes sense in light of the fact that HR is a romance and Sherlock was NOT. For instance, a trope I've come across multiple times now involves a time loop where the characters relive a specific day (just like in Groundhog Day) until they get it right. I've read two really good examples that booth introduce a time loop right after the tuna melt scenario. Another trope involves a plane crash - this also reflects the fact that there is a plane situation in one of the later books in the series that I think is inspiring fic writers. I don't think I've come across a plane crash story in either Harry Potter or Sherlock fanfiction.
One really fun well-done HR canon divergence was an AU that basically had a zombie apocalypse beginning after one pivotal scene in Las Vegas. I really loved this fic because it was deeply psychological but light on the zombies and gore. At heart, one of the major plot points concerned Shane's fear of coming out and the repercussions this would have - basically it took the fall of civilization for him to come out of the closet. While this sounds funny to write down, it is so deeply sad. The fanfic makes a point that a society so toxic and damaging needed to make way for a better one, and a zombie apocalypse offered a do-over to build back better and more accepting.
When I think about what I am reading right now, I realized that a common theme across all the novel-length fanfic is the pain and damage of homophobia on Shane and/or Ilya. That is really the central conflict of Heated Rivalry and The Long Game (the two books that follow Shane and Ilya) and it is present in some way in so much of the HR fic. It leaves me feeling bittersweet and a bit melancholy
HR also does a lot of canon divergence at certain focal points as a way to explore the characters breaking up and working their way back together under different conditions. This makes sense in light of the fact that HR is a romance and Sherlock was NOT. For instance, a trope I've come across multiple times now involves a time loop where the characters relive a specific day (just like in Groundhog Day) until they get it right. I've read two really good examples that booth introduce a time loop right after the tuna melt scenario. Another trope involves a plane crash - this also reflects the fact that there is a plane situation in one of the later books in the series that I think is inspiring fic writers. I don't think I've come across a plane crash story in either Harry Potter or Sherlock fanfiction.
One really fun well-done HR canon divergence was an AU that basically had a zombie apocalypse beginning after one pivotal scene in Las Vegas. I really loved this fic because it was deeply psychological but light on the zombies and gore. At heart, one of the major plot points concerned Shane's fear of coming out and the repercussions this would have - basically it took the fall of civilization for him to come out of the closet. While this sounds funny to write down, it is so deeply sad. The fanfic makes a point that a society so toxic and damaging needed to make way for a better one, and a zombie apocalypse offered a do-over to build back better and more accepting.
When I think about what I am reading right now, I realized that a common theme across all the novel-length fanfic is the pain and damage of homophobia on Shane and/or Ilya. That is really the central conflict of Heated Rivalry and The Long Game (the two books that follow Shane and Ilya) and it is present in some way in so much of the HR fic. It leaves me feeling bittersweet and a bit melancholy
