Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2022: Week 34

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"Line drawing of a thin round can with 221B and a smiley face across the front. Two faces are visible: one is John Watson with his eyes closed, and one is Sherlock with curly hair and a scarf, looking off to the right side. Each face has two small flippers on either side, overlapping the upper edge of the can, and each face has a fish tail visible sticking up behind them."
Tunalock in a can! with puffer fish John by villain-in-training (2013). Most likely the original and earliest example of Tunalock.

Tunalock is the name given to a trend from BBC Sherlock fandom of creating fanworks in which Sherlock Holmes is a tuna fish. It has given rise to a variety of different works across different mediums and genres, including crack, fluff, humor, porn, memes, and more.

The trend started in 2013 in the break between seasons 2 and 3 of the series, and was sparked off by a Tumblr post created by villain-in-training. Inspired by a joke during a livestream by katzensprotte, villain-in-training drew a piece of fanart featuring Sherlock and John as a tuna and puffer fish respectively, accompanied by a crack backstory. This inspired other fans to create their own takes on "Tunalock".

According to some members of the fandom, Tunalock was a satirical response by disgruntled fans to the pushback around alternate universes starring Johnlock, as well as the backlash towards Sherlock fans generally occurring around the same time. Notably, Tunalock formed part of a larger trend in Sherlock fandom of making fanworks in which Sherlock and/or John Watson are portrayed as animals, such as Fawnlock and Otters Who Look Like Benedict Cumberbatch.

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