#john's bisexuality

[inevitably-johnlocked]

soo Irene can't be into Sherlock because she said she's gay... but John CAN be despite saying "I'm not gay" (also, what are your opinions on Adlock?)

(referencing this post)

Hey Nonny

I’m going to presume you weren’t being rude, just curious to my thoughts which could be construed as contradictory, so I’m going to once again point to the meta linked in the post talking about their sexualities: I read John as bisexual, and so does a large chunk of other bi people in this fandom. That post and this one here will have all the relative links you will need to understand why John is bisexual and why “I’m not gay” doesn’t necessarily mean “straight”. My favourite is this discussion here with actual life-experiences from fandom bisexual people. Hopefully it will help you understand our view :)

As for adblock, I’ve actually talked briefly about this before: I see them more as gay besties than ever being a couple. If you ship it, have at it, but I just don’t see it and it personally is a big notp for me.

Cheers, Nonny! Have a good day! <3

[pastelcolorsandrain]

My second time through watching The Blind Banker, something finally struck me as odd: John’s anger. Our first glimpse of John in the episode is of him fighting with the chip and pin machine while trying to get groceries. When he gets back to the flat, he’s very out of sorts. He’s obviously feeling a certain amount of financial strain, and seems bitter toward Sherlock for not trying to help make life easier by running some errands himself.

So, that’s easy enough. Of course John is upset. But I don’t think it’s as simple as the monetary aspect of things. John has to swallow his pride and tries to ask Sherlock if he might borrow some cash. I think this is getting closer to the source of John’s discomfort: he’s getting uneasy at the idea that he and Sherlock need to function as a unit. That’s hitting a bit too close, considering that John feels an attraction toward his friend that he doesn’t know how to handle. 

As evidence, I present their first crime scene, and John’s out-of-character reluctance to dive in and do what needs to be done to help Sherlock:

Sherlock is surprised, and irritated. He also knows this is out of character for John.

Hmm. Defensive. 

Sherlock’s expression changes briefly to this, before he steamrolls over the moment by sticking to the facts of the scene:

And then, later. There’s no reason for this moment, unless it’s meant to highlight how uncomfortable John is with the idea of any sort of brewing intimacy between him and Sherlock. Sherlock ends up at the bank with John, and he introduces him to Sebastian--who knew him at school--as his “friend.” Sebastian is clearly surprised at this--either that, or he’s purposely trying to rankle Sherlock, which he does continually every time he’s on screen (for someone who hired Sherlock for his observational skills, he sure does put him down for it a lot, taking every opportunity possible to make Sherlock feel like a freak). John is very quick to correct Sherlock:

John almost regards Sherlock with an expression of...well, I hate to say it since I love John, but it’s almost a “take that” moment:

Just as the handshake ends, we catch *this* supremely skeptical look on Sebastian’s (someone who knew him years ago and who remembers god only knows what) face: “Friend.” Yeah;

I truly, truly hate Sebastian. And more, I hate that he succeeds enough in making Sherlock feel insecure that, at the beginning of their face-to-face meeting, Sherlock pretends he discovered Sebastian’s recent travels through his secretary--just to downplay his supposed freakishness.

This is someone I would really have enjoyed seeing John punch in the face.

[castlesbyrs]

I have a question. I almost believe in tjlc, but there is one thing that is really bugging me. Why would John be in the closet about being bi? Since Harry is gay, I doubt that his family is homophobic and I don't see why he would keep it a secret.

Hi! I have two theories about this, so let’s see how this goes:

1. I think that exactly because of the fact that Harry is gay, John’s family might be homophobic. Perhaps back then when Harry came out of the closet while John hadn’t identified himself as bi, the repercusions were big. We don’t know much about John’s family, except that Harry is an alcoholic, so I think there’s somehow a direct relation between Harry coming out of the closet and her drinking. Maybe I’m wrong, but if I see how my parents react at my sister being gay and that makes her become an alcoholic, I would do anything at my reach to hide that from them.

According to John’s blog his parents are dead, so why hiding it now? I honestly think that it left a huge mark on John, and he still wants to hide it from the rest of the people because he feels judged. I think that the ‘I’m not gay’ discourse is so deeply stuck in his mind that it’s turned into his defense mechanism, so as soon as he feels like he’s giving the wrong impression, he automatically says ‘I’m not gay’. Aclaration: that does not mean that John fights against it, he just doesn’t want people to believe it.

2. My second theory is that John’s past experiences ended up hurting him in some way. John always shows himself strong and in control, but John has really serious problems he constantly denies, and this is one of those. Perhaps a past situation (yes, I’m thinking about Sholto), might have hurt him in a bad way and led him to believe that it was better not acting upon those feelings than doing it so and ending up hurt. 

(*Sherlock’s voice* “I’m you, ain’t I?”). John does share that with Sherlock, they create coping mechanisms, and as well as with the homophobia thing, I think that John’s way to avoid getting hurt or falling in love with another man is by saying ‘I’m not gay’. It’s a simple solution: he doesn’t give the wrong impression and he doesn’t have to overthink about his feelings towards another man.

That’s another important thing: what happened after Irene’s confrontation at Battersea? That was the last time John said ‘I’m not gay’ before the fall. And then he didn’t say it again until TEH, why? because he was confronted with his feelings, he couldn’t use that quote to escape from it, Irene pushed the subject so John had to think about his feelings for Sherlock, and that’s why this scene is so important: because John realizes. 

After the realization, he doesn’t say 'I’m not gay’ because he’s no longer avoiding the thought of having feelings for Sherlock, but he still cares about what people think (”now people will definitely talk”), soooo once again, John feels pushed to hide it because of something. Whether it was pressure from his family, or a past experience that broke his heart, we don’t know. 

I would rather go for the family theory, just because the other theory (about having his heart broken from past experiences *coughs* the fall), might be probematic for tjlc purposes.

So those are my thoughts! I honestly think that this ‘I’m not gay’ thing only makes tjlc stronger. (Plus, never forget he’s never said he’s straight)

[multifandom-madnesss]

Angelo tells Sherlock anything is free "for you and your date." And Sherlock never says a word to refute it. John says, "I'm not his date," which he isn't. Note that John doesn't say he's not gay, which is a bit off if he's heterosexual, because yet again Sherlock seems to be going along with it. 

It makes perfect sense if John is bisexual and doesn't want to shut down the possibility, however. 

- LSiT, Subversion in Sherlock: A Study in Pink

Silence from Sherlock, part 2 (part 1)