#Johnlock Meta

[lightning--bug]

[221b-johnlocked-1895]

I was rewatching "The Devil's Foot" from Granada Holmes and I thought something. Since I've never read anything about it, I decided to write it here.

Holmes decided to let Sterndale return to Africa, despite the fact that he had killed a man.

(For those who don't know or don't remember, Sterndale killed Mortimer Treggenis, because he killed his sister Brenda Treggenis, with whom Sterndale was in a romantic relationship)

Holmes himself says that he didn't get him arrested because he would have done the same. In fact, later in the story he says: “I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end, I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done. Who knows?"

Well, we know, thanks to what Holmes himself said in "The Adventure Of The Three Garridebs": "If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive.".

I think that it's quite clear that the "woman" in question, or better, the person who Holmes loves, is Watson.

[gregorovitch-adler]

The codependency in Johnlock-

I was thinking about this today.

In Many Happy Returns, John says, "I can tell you what to do. You can stop being dead."

He's drinking a lot and he still hasn't moved past the 'please stop being dead' thing since TRF. Everyone else has moved on with their lives but John is still stuck at that point. He's still grieving deeply even after two years.

If Sherlock hadn't returned to London, if he'd actually died, John would've been fixated on that thing for the rest of his life. Sure, he started dating Mary and was going to propose to her in that restaurant but I really don't think he would've been quite invested in that relationship with her

(He's not invested in that relationship with her even in Sherlock's presence but still. You get my point.)

If Sherlock had died, he would've just drunk a lot, with sleepless nights, self blaming, survivor's guilt, etc and his suicidal tendencies would've returned.

He would've married Mary, life would've continued normally (on the surface) and at one point John would've come to about Mary's criminal record. He would've still got to know about that even in that situation because of CAM (or through some other source).

Double heartbreak. John would've been completely alone in this whole world.

He doesn't get along with Harry, he doesn't mention his parents at all- probably they're not in the picture- and he doesn't have any other friends apart from Sherlock. Mike tried to reach out him in ASIP but John's response, in turn, was quite cold.

He wasn't quite keen on continuing his profession as a GP (we'd seen that much in The Blind Banker). He would've gone to his new clinic for some time but he would've done his job in a half-arsed way.

He didn't have any other hobbies either. He'd stopped updated his blog after Sherlock's supposed death.

I believe if Sherlock had died for real with no possibility of coming back, it's quite a high possibility that John would've committed suicide, eventually.

The same thing happens in Series 3. John gets married. Sherlock's drug addiction has relapsed.

J-What kind of case would need you doing this?

S-I might as well ask you why you’ve started cycling to work. (X)

This theme is surprisingly carried over to S4 as well even if that season doesn't feel connected to the rest of the show.

John abandons Sherlock after Mary's death. Sherlock is high out of his mind, weeks away from death, he's going crazy in 221 B.

John is at his own place in The Lying Detective, drinking way too much once again, clearly not okay. He's just this 👌🏻 close to dying as well. (He's grieving for Mary but lack of Sherlock's presence is also a contributory factor).

John has pushed Sherlock away himself and he's actively hating on him in this episode but he even in that state he obviously needs Sherlock (he'd never admit it but it's quite clear that he does).

John's desperation was obvious in the beginning of His Last Vow too.

J-Is it Sherlock Holmes you're looking for? Because I haven't seen him in ages.

M- A month.

He's visibly angry and frustrated at literally everyone who's NOT Sherlock. He's dying to meet him even if it's only been a month since his wedding day.

So what I'm trying to say is, as much as I love Johnlock, I can't overlook this unbelievable amount of codependency in their relationship. It's unhealthy but fun to have a close look at.

You try separating them from each other, they'll become physically miserable and they will throw themselves in front of fatal danger which would eventually lead to their death in quite a short period of time.

I used to think that 'I can't live without you' was supposed to be a cliché. Just an exaggeration that people say to their significant others.

Apparently that's not the case with Sherlock and John. It becomes quite literal when these two are concerned.

Conclusion- If you write a Holmes adaptation or a story, you don't ever seperate Holmes and Watson from each other. You do that and you watch them die (for real, this isn't even an exaggeration).

D'you know what's actually frustrating?

It's the fact that the creators of this show already knew about this. They were the ones who wrote their version of Holmes and Watson like that and the above mentioned subplots are taken from their show. They wrote it in that way themselves. The codependency and everything.

And yet they did exactly that. Separate Holmes from his Watson, that is (in TST and TLD).

They broke the rules of their own show and that's why here I am, ranting about the show even in 2023 lol.

[notyourmom4]

I just stumbled upon this article by Cinema Blend. Is this legit?

[221b-johnlocked-1895]

From "The Creeping Man" (Sherlock Holmes (1984))

From "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" (The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes)

In Granada Holmes, they didn't make an episode about "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" but they chose to use Holmes' last words (of the book, thus of the canon) in another episode, that is "The Creeping Man".

I think that they knew the real meaning behind those words and that's the reason why they wanted Holmes to say them.

Holmes is apparently referring to the fact that he was the one who had solved the mystery, but it doesn't make much sense. In fact, the readers of Watson's stories already knew that Holmes had solved many cases for which the police took the credit. I mean, Watson wrote and published the stories; it wasn't a secret!

Therefore, what's Holmes really talking about? What's the "true story"/"entire truth" that Watson couldn't write about in those years?

I think we all know very well what it was.

Today, we can and we must talk about their love. We owe it to them. We owe it to Doyle. We owe it to all the people who had to hide their love.

[winterdaphne2]

I think a lot about the fact that Sherlock looks so much older in S3 than he did in S1-S2. Even if it's just Benedict Cumberbatch aging naturally, within the universe of the show it's really like Sherlock aged so much during those two years away from John. He would have missed John so much and endured so much while he was gone. And visually, it's like we can even see in Sherlock's face that when he returns to London and to John, he's a different person. He's more willing to show the parts of himself that are gentle and wise, and he's finally ready to reveal a little more of his heart. If only John had been ready, too.

[topsyturvy-turtely]

“That’s not a sentence you hear every day.”

You’re right, John, it isn’t.

We’re all very familiar with the sort of cringe-worthy yet sweetly honest scene in TEH where Sherlock and John have this little exchange (and thanks again to Ariane DeVere’s transcripts):

SHERLOCK: See you’ve shaved it off, then. JOHN: Yeah.  Wasn’t working for me. SHERLOCK: Mm, I’m glad. JOHN: What, you didn’t like it? SHERLOCK (smiling): No.  I prefer my doctors clean-shaven. JOHN: That’s not a sentence you hear every day!

Sherlock outs himself as a gay man to John.

John is surprised and focuses on the sentence rather than the meaning, the format instead of the content, as the viewer is supposed to do too.

Keep reading

[helloliriels]

LIRI CELEBRATING 150 WORKS!

I passed a milestone last month with May is for Limericks! I now have 150 works on AO3 and 525+ op posts on Tumblr! All since July 2020!

💜💜💜 tysm to everyone who has commented, shared, or said hi!! And the few I've been lucky to meet or write to irl!! ily sm xoxo ☕️ 💜💜💜

Edit: No plans to do anything, just wanted to freak out a bit!!! 🙃😄 haha

[inevitably-johnlocked]

do you have any recs for full-series rewrites? ideally ones without the Mary storyline or John lashing out?

thank you for all that you do!!!!

Hey Nonny!

OH Gosh, ah... This is a tough one because like technically "episode specific" and meta-fics can work for this. Check them out:

Pre-ASiP fics

Season 1 Fics

Season 1 Fics Pt 2

TGG Related Fics

TGG: Pool Scene

ASiB Fics

THoB Fix It Fics

THoB Fics Pt. 2

Post-TRF Divergence

Post-TRF No Mary (Jan 2023)

Reverse Reichenbach

Reverse Reichenbach Pt. 2

Reunion and Other Post TRF Fics

Reunion and Other Post TRF Fics Pt. 2

Reunion and Other Post-TRF Fics Pt. 3

John Finds Out About Hiatus

John Joins Sherlock During Hiatus

Johnlock Against the World

Sherlock Returns from Hiatus Injured 

Serbia / Aftermath of Hiatus Fics

The Empty Hearse-Related Fics

TSo3-Related Fics (Updated Sept 2023)

Post John’s Wedding Fics

Gay Bar Scene

Stag Night

HLV Fics

After the Gunshot (HLV)

Tarmac Scene

Post S3 Fics

Long S3/Post-S3 Fics (20K+ w.) [Apr 2020]

TABlock (Apr 2020)

TLD Fix-Its / Aftermath of TLD

TFP Is Canon

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 2

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 3

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 4

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 5

S4 Rewrites / MetaFics

S3 / TAB / S4 [FIX IT] Fics (March 2019)

Post S4 and Mental Health

Unseen Moments (Updated Sept 11/23)

=====

I wish I could help you out beyond that, and I'm pretty sure I'm misunderstanding exactly what you're looking for, but I hope these help you out <3 I'm working on an S3 No Mary list, so one day that will be done LOL.

If anyone wants to suggest their own fic or a fave fic, please do <3

[buckingham-ashtray]

Hello just a friendly reminder that Eurus used a bomb to make Sherlock say “I love you” to a John mirror and Sherlock also using a bomb to make John “say something nice”.

have a wonderful day xx

[a-victorian-girl]

I'm crying like a babyyyyy, jeez!!!

If you're... looking for baby names

There have been many metas written on the famous tarmac scene, analysing all of the implications the one line presents. Sherlock is actually a girl’s name. It has become a famed unspoken love declaration, I suppose there are no doubts about that. However, in this meta I would like to elaborate on what particularly this one sentence means, taking into account everything that has happened, Sherlock’s and John’s body language during the scene and the parallel scene in “A Scandal in Belgravia.”

Warning: If you don’t ship johnlock, you will probably want to stop reading now.

Let’s begin.

Keep reading

[topsyturvy-turtely]

HOLD TF UP FOR A SECOND-

so we all know john couldn't find sherlock's pulse because of this "ball under an arm" trick, right?!

but-

WHAT IF JOHN HAD NEVER TRIED TAKING SHERLOCK'S PULSE AT HIS WRIST BUT HIS THROAT?!

[asherlockstudy]

What do you think of the line "I imagine John Watson thinks love’s a mystery to me, but the chemistry is incredibly simple and very destructive." Particularly the first half-

The following metas provide the context for an easier interpretation of this scene.

Why was Sherlock so emotional in the last scene with Irene? Why Sherlock isn't really sexually oblivious What did Sherlock feel for Irene?

With this phrase Sherlock sort of provides the answer to the mystery: what made him miscalculate and fall for Irene's / Moriarty's trap. Throughout the whole episode, Sherlock was observing John and secondarily Mycroft worry about his emotional state. They both considered him an amateur victim of the very experienced dominatrix, who fell for her straight away. John was asking Mrs Hudson about his romantic history, then in his secret conversation with Irene he was worried that he was a person completely inexperienced in romantic matters who immediately fell in the deep waters and was tricked by Irene, he considered him oblivious about how others - such as Molly and himself - felt. He scanned the whole house to check for drugs in case Sherlock relapsed due to Irene's seeming death. John was not understanding Sherlock. He thought he was new to love and entirely vulnerable to it because of the Woman.

Sherlock, however, who is not anywhere near as amateurish or oblivious as John likes to think he is a) had picked on all the concerns John secretly had and b) had figured John had completely misunderstood how he felt.

His speculation "I imagine John Watson thinks love is a mystery for me..." is proven true a little later when John tells Mycroft he doesn't think "Sherlock feels things this way". John wavered between two interpretations; that Sherlock was vulnerable because of the Woman or that he didn't feel love at all in a conventional way.

We and Sherlock both knew that John was wrong either way. Sherlock WAS vulnerable but it was because of John. He unintentionally betrayed Mycroft's plans to Moriarty in his rush to impress John and not Irene.

(GIF Source: deducingbbcsherlock)

Sherlock, hurt due to another evidence of the danger of loving yet determined to not disclose his weakness to Mycroft and Irene, continues: "... but the chemistry is incredibly simple and very destructive." He is now the cold chemist again, breaking down emotions to their substantial fundamentals, the love hormones; dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins etc. But just like Irene couldn't resist the rush of excitement in keeping a Sherlock related password in her most prized object under Sherlock's nose, Sherlock could not resist the dopamine rush once he left John speechless with his skills and brilliance again. This is tragically totally a mystery to John and even to the two other people in the room. But we the viewers were told to look for the proof, when he brought up John seemingly out of nowhere:

"I imagine John Watson thinks love is a mystery to me but the chemistry is incredibly simple and very destructive" AKA

John thinks I don't understand love but I understand it all too well and it's because of it that I nearly destroyed my brother's career.

[gregorovitch-adler]

The Sign of Three: A wedding in which at least three people are in love with John.

[iheardyou]

Oh wow 🤯

NEW DISCOVERY FROM TSOT❔❕

A few questions:

Is that Sherlock’s mum?

If it is, what is she doing here at her son's best friend’s wedding which he isn’t the husband?

If it isn't, why did they put someone of such conspicuous resemblance to Sherlock’s mum at John's wedding?

Why is she mirroring Mrs Hudson in such a blatant manner? (the hat? seriously??)

Could this mirror mean anything important further than indicating the maternal qualities of Mrs Hudson to Sherlock?

*May apologies for the repetition if anyone has pointed this out before, but I did notice this detail on my god-knows-how many-times-who’s-keeping-count rewatch a few days ago.

[221b-johnlocked-1895]

I was rewatching TEH and I noticed something. Probably, it was already clear to everyone but I realized it only today.

When John realizes that they're going to die, he gets angry and the first thing that he says is:

"I wanted you not to be dead."

In that moment, he didn't care about himself. He didn't care about Mary or anyone else either.

He was wrecked because the worst thing that could happen was going to happen; Sherlock was going to die. That's the only thing he could think about in his last moments.

In my opinion, that's the demonstration of the purest form of love.