So, yes, the Cumberbatch fandom—now extending beyond the reach of Sherlock—is closely intertwined with love of the show, which has its own distinct lexicon. The Badger of Baskerville Tumblr has a good primer on the various inside jokes. For example: "The Purple shirt of Sex - Is a seductively deep purple shirt that made it’s [sic] first appearance in “The Great Game”. It’s not hard to understand why it became a sensation. Just look how hot Benedict/Sherlock looks in it ;) (Link to a photo here)" (See photo at right.) Another Tumblr has a FAQ to read up on.

And then of course there's the fact that Cumberbatch is, well, attractive. In a weird way. His face is leonine and oddly smooth, but somehow it works. Here is a helpful essay explaining his sex appeal. Whatever the exact point of attraction is, it's powerful. "You also should know that Benedict Cumberbatch isn't a man," one Meghan O'Keefe wrote for the Huffington Post in 2012. "He's a situation that me and most of my friends are all having."

The Name

If you hadn't realized, Benedict Cumberbatch has a funny name. Thus, the Internet enjoys playing with it. (Out of love, for the most part.) Baritone Gingerbatch is a popular morph. Some mad fan has even created a Benedict Cumberbatch Name Generator, which comes up with names like Wellington Charizard. (Now is not the time to get into Pokémon fandom, but that's a thing too. A big thing.) Despite how genuinely devoted Cumberbatch's fans are, "silliness" is accepted. Alexandra Sokoloff told the Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon, who wrote about the fan community, that "it’s part of Sherlock, too. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. To be a Cumberbitch you want to have that level of self-awareness about how ridiculous you’re being."

The Fans' Name

Oh, yeah, as you may have just noticed, the fandom name that initially stuck was "Cumberbitches." Alas, Cumberbatch has expressed disappointment in the name. In August 2012 he told InStyle that he has concerns "about what it says for feminism, it’s quite a pejorative term." He told Moran: "I won’t allow you to be my bitches. I think it sets feminism back so many notches. You are… Cumberpeople." Hence, other names have been floated, including Cumberbabes and Cumberbunnies. The Cumber Collective is what Cumberbatch himself seems to be currently supporting. When Jimmy Fallon brought up the Cumberbitches during a recent Cumberbatch appearance, Cumberbatch said they are "slowly turning it" into "something a little more PC."

The Slash Fic

This is the Internet, so of course there's sexy fan fiction. Reddit even has an entire subreddit dedicated to "Johnlock," the shipping of Cumberbatch's Holmes and Martin Freeman's Watson. Hence, GIFs like this arrive.

One conscientious Cumber Tumblr person has curated a list of their favorite stories, should you be interested in delving into the Cumberbatch fan fiction realm. This, for instance, is a passage from a story about Cumberbatch and Freeman (the real guys, not Sherlock and Watson) taking on the zombie apocalypse: "There were drinks (a few too many) and laughs (countless laughs, and still there were never enough). Benedict was well-practiced in ignoring the things he adored about Martin and there was plenty to ignore that night: the way Martin liked to lick his lips and the way he idly twirled the cocktail straw with his tongue or the way his entire face seemed to glow with mirth every time Benedict said anything even remotely amusing."