Art Rec: Battle Wounds

[nathaniel-hp.livejournal.com]

Title: Battle Wounds
Artist: SirLemoncurd
Pairing: Gen
Length:n/a
Rating: G
Warnings: n/a
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Artist's summary: There is so much that can be said about this, idek.

So, the idea of Sherlock being FTM (female-to-male transgendered) first came to me from a piece by ~Daakota ([link] ), and I really couldn't shake it.

So, months later, here is this.

There is a lot of genderbending going on in this fandom, drawing the male characters as females, and I thought... Well, what if he's already genderbent?

Reccer's comments: Yes, what if? :)

I love this little pic so much. Seems so simply and yet there's so much to it.

A pic that shows us John's and Sherlock's battle wounds in ghastly pink that immediately catches the eye. I also love how the two pics are the same colour-wise, but also opposites.

Drawing a parallel between the very different battles these two had to fight works so well. I don't mean to say that fighting in a war and transitioning are at all alike. Personally, I'd have surgery and deal with coming outs and shrinks and shit from random people in the streets any day before going to fight in Afghanistan. But both are battles in their own right.

And looking at these two next to each other, the different way in which they regard their scars is illustrated very well. John fought for someone/something else, Sherlock for himself.
Is John ashamed or annoyed? I'm not sure.
But Sherlock's defiance - the way he looks directly at you, the way he seem to dare you to comment - is really beautiful to me.

Comments

[bowl-of-glow.livejournal.com]

Such a simple image and yet so powerful. I love how much it manages to convey.

I don't mean to say that fighting in a war and transitioning are at all alike. Personally, I'd have surgery any day before going to fight in Afghanistan.

But it doesn't just boil down to that, does it? Not that I have any first-hand experience so it isn't really my place to say, but Sherlock's scars don't just stand for 'a surgery' - they are a symbol of all of his emotional journey, the fight to be recognized and accepted for who he was, the pain and grief he's been through, the obstacles he's overcome through sheer force of will. It takes an impressive amount of strength. He's no less of a fighter and a survivor than John.

Anyway, thanks for the rec! It is a beautiful piece.

[nathaniel-hp.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your comment.

I completely agree with you and see how I phrased that a little awkwardly. I didn't mean to say that transitioning is merely a surgery and then it's over and done with. I know that it isn't (and still I'd rather do that again than fight in a war).
I'll rephrase my post to avoid misunderstandings.