#listen....everything is gay if u try hard enoguh

[acdfan-blog]

I love your headcanons!!!! Is it okay to ask some more about it? Like how did you come up with them and anything else you'd like to share? I'm really curious!

@jeremyholmes

Hell yeah!! I’m really glad you like them thank you!! A lot of my headcanons come from stuff I noticed while reading the stories to be honest. I’m gunna break this into two sections just so I don’t confuse myself, one about Holmes and one about Watson.

Watson headcanons 

Okay so my headcanon that Watson is bi is pretty standared. He’s obviously attracted to women for example Mary, but the way he writes about Holmes is also extremely romantic. There’s barely a story where Watson isn’t talking about Holmes’ sparkling eyes, his lean figure, his expressive hands, his brilliant mind etc, so this one seemed to come pretty naturally.

As for Watson experiencing PTSD and depression, I feel that this can be seen quite early on in a Study in Scarlet when Watson says: 

 “I laughed at this cross-examination. “I keep abull pup,” I said, “and I object to rows becausemy nerves are shaken, and I get up at all sorts ofungodly hours, and I am extremely lazy. I haveanother set of vices when I’m well, but those arethe principal ones at present.” 

Watson himself admits that he is unwell, and while he might be reffering to his physical health, the things he lists as his “flaws” seem to also imply some kind of mental health problems. Laziness could easily be a reference to the apathy and complete lack of energy that comes with depression, as could Watson rising at “ungodly hours.” If this is meant to mean late in the day (which I think it is, given that Watson mentions a few times that he’s a late riser) then again, it implies the apathy of depression. If it refers to Watson waking up at various points in the night this could be problems sleeping which come with both ptsd and depression. 

“I object to rows because my nerves are shaken” to me implies ptsd following the terrible things Watson would have seen in the war, as does Watson saying earlier on in the same chapter that he’s had enough excitement to last a lifetime. Given what his experiences in Afghanistan were likely to have been, I think ptsd is a pretty reasonable assumption.

It’s also implied a couple of times in the books (Holmes’ keeps Watsons cheques locked away, Watson refers to spending a lot of money on the horses) that Watson has a gambling addiction, which again would point to him having mental health problems. The fact that the Richie films straight up gave Watson a gambling addiction is one of my fave things about them tbh. 

Holmes headcanons 

Okay so! My headcanon that Holmes is gay comes in part from his complete rejection of women. All throughout the stories Watson is constantly like “oh yeah and Holmes didn’t love women, he really didn’t have any attraction to women, gosh what an automaton because he didn’t find women pretty, have I mentioned recently that Holmes never once had any feelings anything like love towards a woman?” even in Scandal in Bohemia Holmes is shown to be impressed by Irene and have a lot of respect for her, but Watson once again emphasises that he had absolutely no romantic feelings for her. 

On the other hand, the way Holmes interacts with Watson is very romantic. He holds his hand when they’re in dangerous situations, he’s constantly touching him for seemingly pointless reasons, he whispers in Watson’s ear, he watches him sleep, he wakes him up gently, and of course we have the infamous “qucik man, if you love me!” line in dying detective, and The Scene in the three garridebs. Also in Hound of the baskervilles, Holmes express worry about sending Watson to the moors and says that he’ll feel much better when Watson is safe at Baker Street again. For a man supposidly immune to the softer emotions, these all seem pretty loving and romantic to me, thus leading me to believe that while Holmes certainly never had any romantic feelings towards woman, he did have them towards men, and especially Watson. 

I believe Holmes to be autistic due to his extreme focus on science and criminal law etc. I definitely think Holmes’ “single minded devotion” can be read as him having a special interest and fixating on it due to autism. Also, while Holmes is often very soft and understanding to people, he does sometimes interact with them in ways that seem strange and says the wrong thing. He sometimes snaps at Watson or insults his writing, but given the rest of Holmes’ character I find it hard to believe that these actions are outright malicious but rather coming from Holmes struggling to navigate social interactions and social queues, due to having autism. 

And finally, Holmes as a trans man. There’s arguably less evidence for this one, but still enough that a few people have picked up and written theories on it. It’s obvious from the get go that Holmes is an extremely isolated person, other than Watson he doesn’t appear to have any close friends, barring maybe his interactions with Scotland Yard. Holmes has also cut all ties with his family except his brother, and even then it’s not until after years living together that he even lets Watson meet Mycroft. We, as readers, are never given any explanation for Holmes’ separation from, and silence about, his family. We’re not told if his parents are dead, or if he’s estranged from them. As previously touched upon, Holmes is constantly rejecting femininity, and is constantly disdainful of things deemed to be feminine. Despite this however he also seems to be isolated from most men. This to me, and others, seems to imply that Holmes is attempting to distance himself from femininity, and yet there his something (such as him being trans) which stops him from interacting with and fully fitting in among other men. Holmes’ separation from his family could also easily be as a result of Holmes being trans, and feeling the need to remove himself from people who perhaps wouldn’t except that, and who would dead name him and use the wrong pronouns. 

The ways Watson describes Holmes can also support the idea that he’s trans. Throughout the stories Holmes is described as being slim, as having a relatively high pitched voice, as never having any facial hair and in fact having a “smooth face.” While it isn’t much, I think when considered with the previous points it deffo provides a solid foundation for headcanoning Holmes as a trans man. 

Aaaah sorry this got super long and I probably didn’t make much sense, but I hope that explains why I have these headcanons!!!! If you have any more questions/want to chat about all of this I’d love to!!!