#anti-tjlc

[aveline-amelia]

Tw: mentions of non-canonical character death (as in, discussion of theories about a potential death of Mycroft Holmes and theories mostly before series 4 aired) also spoilers for a character death in CW's The 100.

I don't usually do callout posts. But this I am willing to make an exception for. I do not hate Johnlockers or TJLCrs. This is not even strictly a thing only they did - but it was mostly them. And that was constant speculation about Mycroft's death. That a lot of people started to believe and get worried and upset over.

A lot of people believed he would die. To be clear, I am not saying they all wanted him to die. Plenty of people feared he would die and were looking for any signs of reassurance. These people got a lot of fandom concerned over something that wasn't nearly as certain as they all claimed it was.

As far as I know, it was the scene in TAB when Sherlock tells TAB!Mycroft when he is going to die and the "I will always be there for you" comment, which they saw as foreshadowing his death. Curiously, though, Sherlock makes a similar vow at the wedding to John, Mary and Rosie yet no one claimed this foreshadowed his death. -_- and I obviously don't want Sherlock to die. But it is hypocrisy.

Critics will say Sherlock could have shot John, but use the word kill with Mycroft. They view him as expendable. Not as important. Holmes' brother Mycroft, as though he is the lesser Holmes. As though he is not also a Holmes, or doesn't deserve the privilege of the name despite having it before Sherlock did.

A sizable amount of people proclaimed they will stop watching if Mycroft is killed off.

One person said that Mycroft is LITERALLY THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE STILL ALIVE.

There is a difference between "this character's death will be very sad, I will cry a lot and get emotional and then move on, it will be so awful..." vs "this will give me a mental health crisis, push me into a deep depression and possibly make me suicidal". And let me tell you, do not wish for it and hope for it if you have only experienced the former while others will experience the latter.

Maybe this person was being hyperbolic. But I will tell you when you have that level of dedication to a character, saying they should die is like saying you should die too. That you might as well. That you deserve to.

There is a reason that people sent each other suicide hotlines when Lexa died. People related to this badass lesbian and when she was killed off, right after she was finally happy, the rug was pulled from under them. It felt cruel. They felt hopeless.

And yes, some people saw and still see Mycroft as representative of various identities, either sexualities (or a lack of being sexual) or neurodivergence. Or they just relate to him for other reasons! He matters to them, but be honest, he doesn't matter to a lot of you. Not really.

Some TJLCrs see Sherlock and John as People, but everyone else is just a Plot Device. A Metaphor. Some straight up admitted that to them only Johnlock is real. They don't care about anything else.

One person seriously argued over that childhood clip of a young Sherlock hugging a young Mycroft saying "they don't see any resentment there". Because seven year old Sherlock and almost forty year old Sherlock are obviously The Same... and that one honestly makes me really sad? Like, how do you see something that pure and that is your only thought?

They love to project all the traits they dislike about Sherlock onto Mycroft. In their mind, Mycroft was born already a fully formed adult human, in a three piece suit and an umbrella in his hands and his first words were "Caring is not an advantage". I mean, it's not like in canon he only says that to Sherlock to make him feel better or something?

It's fine. If you only like John and Sherlock, only those two characters and only relate to them, fine. Write fic about them. Make fanart about them.

But be aware there are people out there who do not share that sentiment.

And yesterday I saw someone basically hoping for a scene in season 5 where they get their wish fulfillment dramatic Mycroft death scene. As if they were owed that.

And God did that make me mad. I hate using this word but that is such entitlement. If you want that scene, write it yourself. Share it amongst friends and mutuals. Write fanfic! Tag it accordingly so that people don't have to see it.

I saw that art of Sherlock crying over his brother's dead body twice already, which is two times more than I ever wanted to see it. I still sometimes see it when I close my eyes.

It's one thing to want your ships to be canon. It's another thing to want a character to die solely to fulfill your fantasy when that will hurt real life people who it matters to that he stays alive.

We deserve a happy ending too.

[lesbostomping]

okay so after the whole james somerton situation i ended up watching a few more videos from hbomberguy, including his sherlock one and... i'm sorry but he fuckin ate?? like i've seen the thumbnail pop up several times over the years but always assumed it was just some right wing asshole dunking on the latest thing that's popular with women. it is most definitely not. i recommend it for all y'all ex-tjlcers' healing journeys

[scriptscribbles]

Sherlock Tumblr war flashbacks

[musclesandhammering]

Actually still seeing people say stuff like “maybe the adlockers & sherlollies were right about sherlock being hetero-“

BOY. When did we say that? Who the hell is saying that?? Cause from where this adlocker’s sitting, sherlock is the most bisexual character on the show. He’s queer as hell. Man’s straight as a slinky. As bi as a bicycle.

…….Oh but I forgot that doesn’t actually count, because the only queer identities that are queer enough to count in their minds are gay men they can ship with other men without female interference. Right. My bad. Silly me thinking women had any place in the equation.

[moriarty1234]

T*LC Refutation (but decidedly NOT johnlock refutation)

[Note: I love and ship johnlock because I saw it for myself in the show when I watched it and was part of the general audience in the past. I even want it to become canon in some Holmes adaption in the future. But T*lc needs to get sucked into obscurity and forgotten. Other fandoms like Good Omens, etc., are following the same rhetoric in their "meta" posts, and that needs to go. This is crucial for our basic critical thinking skills and objectivity.]

Read Part - 3 : Everything wrong with "subtexts" and "symbolisms" here.

Part-4: The Harmful Aspect of T*LC:

Let's move on to some more serious issues, or why we (Kim and I) don't believe for even a second that hardcore t*lcers (the ones who're rabid about this theory) ever cared for any type of representation, or even johnlock in itself for that matter.

I say hardcore t*lcers because the normal ones simply believe in t*lc and keep that shit to themselves. I'm even mutuals with them on Tumblr (although I know that when the show was on air, hardcore, insufferable, and deeply problematic t*lcers were in the majority).

1.) The very definition of t*lc : The general idea of t*lc is that johnlock has been planned since 2010 (right from the first episode of S1), this whole show is essentially a love story between Sherlock and John, the cases are not so important, and that johnlock is going to be the endgame canon ship. When the writers deny anything related to johnlock in their own show, they're lying to keep their elaborate plan under the wraps. When Sherlock and John kiss on screen, it'll be a rug pull moment for all the non-believers, their love story will be groundbreaking queer representation in mainstream media, and BBC Sherlock will become a culturally iconic Holmes adaptation. Because sometimes, the queer characters can be the heroes of the story.

All this sounded so nice and fancy to me when I was new to shipping johnlock. Because BBC Sherlock was my first fandom that I ever participated in. Johnlock was (and is) my first ship. I used to be a non-shipper before this, because I'm not exactly a Romance-genre fan in published fiction.

Now I don't like the general idea of this at all. Not because I don't want johnlock to become canon in some version (I really do), but there are so many flaws in the very idea of t*lc.

a.) They didn't even plan what they were going to do with Rosie Watson in S4. They just introduced the pregnancy subplot to raise the stakes in HLV. Only for shock value purposes. This was Mark Gatiss' statement (now I can't find the link but I've seen an article about this before). To think they'd planned an entire romance storyline, but it was just under the wraps the whole time, is unrealistic.

b.) While it's true that showrunners or directors do lie to their fans before a work is published to maintain an element of surprise, Moffat and Gatiss had denied anything related to johnlock too many times, and almost vehemently for most viewers to believe that they're just lying. One can only lie too many times, after all. And something needs to be there in the actual show for (maximum) fans to catch on that they're indeed just lying. There wasn't enough evidence for that. Too many of those scenes just came off as gay jokes instead of anything of real substance. That wasn't a good look.

c.) The third part is really what gets me the most here, and one of the main reasons why Kim and I began to actively despise t*lc, even though we're both still pro-johnlock. These people really thought the ultimate rug pull moment for the entire audience should be... that John and Sherlock are in love? Really? That's it? That's highest standard you have for supposedly groundbreaking queer representation? That doesn't sound right. Queer representation really shouldn't be used for shock value. As if we're not marginalised and isolated from most people already. Especially in my country. That just sounds as though you want to place these two characters in a museum as though they're some exotic beings or something. That's the opposite of a healthy queer rep.

d.) Even if johnlock were canon, it would've hardly been groundbreaking for the purposes of queer representation. Even in the 2010s. Because shows like Breaking Bad (a show from 2008, i.e., before BBC Sherlock, in which a very significant character is canonically gay and black), Elementary (where Mrs Hudson is canonically trans, Joan Watson is a well written character even as a poc female lead, Jamie Moriarty is also properly characterised when mainstream media doesn't have a lot of well-written female villains to begin with), London Spy (which is also a BBC show from 2015), Money Heist (which also features a significant canonically gay character), etc., still existed. I'll even list The Irregulars as an example, even though the first season of that show was aired in 2021, because that was still before the Sherlock Holmes franchise entered the public domain. Watson is canonically gay and black in that one.

e.) This is a detective show you're talking about. Cases aren't important? You kidding me?

2.) Rabid t*lcers were hypocritical as hell. They used to demand canon johnlock for "representation", but they were all sorts of bigoted people themselves.

a.) They made racist comments about Lucy Liu.

(From Sarah Z's video) :

They've called slurs to fans of colour in the fandom (I can think of one fan specifically right now) for not shipping johnlock.

b.) Characterising Sherlock as a twink, gay baby, or "smol" is fetishistic. It's just homophobia indirectly.

c.) They went rabid about the bisexual Sherlock headcanon, Instead of simply disagreeing with it for whatever reason. You're not doing the queer community any favours by h/cing John as bisexual just for your johnlock shipping, only because he has canonically shown attraction to women.

See this:

Stop playing the victim card right after perpetuating biphobia lol. You need to rewatch the show if you think mere fascination was all he felt for Irene. Also, even if he genuinely didn't show any attraction to any woman in canon, fanon can still be its own thing. Not everything has to be strictly canon compliant.

One more:

Stop straw manning and assuming real people's sexuality. Stop ship bashing. Enough with the biphobia.

This person is a johnlocker and "The One" obviously means johnlock here. No, not everyone is uncomfortable because of johnlock for bigoted reasons. People are allowed to have preferences.

Another one (probably my favourite) :

Talk about hypocrisy. The title of this post sounds so positive to bisexuality, but then OP goes right ahead to frantically claim Sherlock is 100% gay and not anything else!!! 1!!

Sherlock is heavily queercoded in the show, I agree. I don't even care whether that was the authorial intent or not at this point. That's what a non-insignificant amount of people took away from this show.

But his canon sexuality was never specified. People are allowed to interpret his sexuality however they want. You are nobody to state your own headcanons as facts.

More hypocrisy.

d.) The acephobia was rampant in this fandom mostly because of these people. It's a well-documented fact.

e.) The misogyny in this fandom was ugly. The kind of outlandish metas they write trying to disprove adl*ck from the show... jeez. If adl*ck definitely doesn't exist in this show, why would you need to disprove it so many times through your meta posts?

Can't erase something that really isn't there, just saying.

"Irene is just a personification of Sherlock's libido for John." Seriously? Do you even listen to yourself?

Don't get me wrong. I blame Mofftiss equally as much for not writing women properly in general, Irene Adler in particular. They butchered canon Irene Adler (a queen) way too much in their show. But the fans' response to her was almost worst.

It's understandable if the show's version of Mary doesn't sit right with you for whatever reason. People are allowed to have preferences. Personally, I'm quite neutral about Mary Morstan in this show.

But these people used to take their hate for her too far. These people have never been as mad at Moriarty, or even at Culverton Smith, as they all were at Mary for shooting Sherlock. Again, this is a crime drama show. Not all characters are going to be sunshine and roses.

3.) Rabid t*lcers hardly ever tried to explore johnlock in other versions. If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, you'll be at least curious about different adaptations that exist out there. Why did they hardly ever posted about The Irregulars when it was aired? An adaptation in which Watson is canonically in love with Holmes? I've been around in the johnlock fandom enough to know that the rabid t*lcers (NOT ALL T*LCers) never really cared about the possibility of johnlock in some other version after it ultimately didn't become canon in BBC Sherlock. They only care for johnlock as long as Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are associated with it.

... Yup.

(ACD canon Watson was in his early thirties in the first novel. That's not middle aged. Joanlock didn't even become canon - something that was specified since Day 1 - in Elementary lmfao. Also, Lucy Liu was in her forties when Elementary aired. Get your facts straight.)

All these three points are enough to conclude that what t*lcers usually posted about was obviously not "demand for representation", but rather a demand for some extremely specific fantasies acted out on screen with an even more specific choice of actors.

I even joked to Kim about this: The stuff they demand for is so extremely specific that it sounds like a Starbucks order lol.

Part: 5 - Conclusion:

I want johnlock to become canon in some version of Sherlock Holmes adaptation. But I want t*lc as a theory to be completely forgotten and obscured. T*lc is definitely not the way to go about it. Other fandoms (namely Good Omens) have started to write "metas" with the exact same rhetoric in them, and now it's completely unacceptable. It's 2024 now. Let it go.

Some interesting links Kim and I found that are very insightful and relevant to this post:

About cults and the followers

Cult psychology

Conspiracy theory psychology

Science vs pseudo-science

Science vs psudo-science - 2

Conspiracy theory psychology - 2

Signs someone is a pseudo-intellectual

One explanation why even otherwise sensible people seem to believe in t*lc

PS: Not every dark haired character/ blond character is a Sherlock/John mirror respectively. That's not how character-mirroring works. Experts would know this.

T*LC refutation (but NOT johnlock) refutation master post.

[ladymelisande]

You see the known Sherlock fandom tactics in Loki. I see the same, only from the Supernatural fandom perspective. Same kind of vocabulary, terms, accusations, unhinged analyses. You're absolutely right to call them migratory, they seem to be pulling the same shit in every fandom they're in.

The thing about them that disgusts me the most is that now they are painting some narrative around those fandoms as if they were the poor victims that were 'humiliated' by the evil writers.

“Oh, these writers forced us to invest ourselves in this and it didn't go how we wanted! It's their fault our feefes are hurt!” Like? Did they hear themselves? You know who I blame when I invest myself in a bad show? Myself. Last year I was like that with HOTD, the writing was so bad a child could make it better, but it was my own fault for thinking HBO would actually hire someone competent when they didn't bother the first time. So I stopped watched... and that's it. End of the story, not watching Season 2.

These people acted like complete pieces of shit! Maybe they have deluded themselves into thinking they're poor victims, but getting a jockey 'RIP' from Mark Gatiss after you tweeted him that you'll die if your stupid ship doesn't become canon, doesn't paint you as some little martyrs, but as crazy idiots that couldn't cope with a narrative they don't want to accept.

I swear is like fandoms now forget how fucking nasty these people were to cast and crew and other fans. I remember quite well how they harassed Molly's actress after Season 4 because she shared some script notes on twitter and acted as if they were the poor victims and she didn't understand their 'pain' like... Give me a break.

And yes, same tactics in the Loki fandom: Threatening the actors (remember when they say they would share Tom Hiddleston address and then they kept and keep being shits about Sophia Di Martino), threatening directors (the whole mess with Kate Herron) and the writers like... They literally haven't matured in fifteen years, they are stunted in their pathetic victim complex.

But yeah, keep saying how the writers 'traumatized you'. Honey, you were always like that. The difference between you and the writers is that they have actually moved on like the adults they are.

[rey-jake-therapist]

It's very fucked up thing that I should apparently identify and block strangers on Tumblr just to avoid seeing some weird stuff I really don't want to see.

For example yesterday, "according to my likes" Tumblr decided I wanted to see a post from someone I didn't know, that not only shipped David Tennant and Michael Sheen, but also claimed that Neil Gaiman shipped them too! So it gave me a free block list of people because, see, one thing I REALLY don't do is shipping real people especially when they're happily married and with kids, and this stuff makes me uncomfortable. And when these people need to involve a respectable man in their delusional fantasies, it just drives me off the wall.

And don't get me started on all the TJohnLocker metas from the Sherlock years that also keep popping up on my dash at least once a day. Last time was a bit of "my fault" because I mistakenly followed a TLJCer, but most of the time it's out of my control. I don't want to see this stuff, let alone get the piss because I find 90% of these theories absurd, delusional when not misogynistic, slightly homophobic and very bi-phobic.

I don't know how Tumblr's algorithm works, but maybe instead of focusing on our "likes" it should rather concentrate on what we reblog?? Our even better, what we tag? I keep unfollowing/soft block/block people I know regularly post things that I personally find annoying to avoid being annoyed by them, I mute all the right tags, and yet........

[derseprinceoftbd]

I know that (BELIEVES, WANTS) (DOESN'T BELIEVE, WANTS) and (DOESN'T BELIEVE, DOESN'T WANT) all existed in the space of the whole Sherlock TJLC thing... but do you think they ever managed to convince someone who thought they worked better as friends and was like low key mad about it and dreadwatching until the last episode (if not later; I like to imagine this person fucking loved Apple Tree Yard)

[ladyofthelake]

LOL people really saying that GO was QB when they are CANONICALLY IN LOVE and CANONICALLY QUEER they literally just had a stupid argument and are gonna spend time away before they realise what the fuck they’ve done. Their endgame is together the actual writer has told us the ending. 

Its so funny to me that it comes from batshit shippers (like not normal shippers ship whatever you want lovelies) but the ones that attack cast and crew and genuinely try and force their ship as canon reality like I’ve just seen two sherlock posts rise from the dead saying how GO is the last QB show its over

and I’m like um Jan, tell me you wouldn’t have KILLED to see John and Sherlock kiss like we just got? But you believed that elephants and tea meant something (seriously if you haven’t heard of the tjlc look it up its insane lmao) and they’re just so bitter and jealous. Our CANON couple are just going through a rough patch and are also idiots. They end up happy together and thats their story. Maybe just focus on your ship instead of gatecrashing another.

[cipher-fresh]

Mutual #1: Ruby is DEFINITELY Missy’s daughter guys

Mutual #2: I wish 15 had condemned cops or something when Ruby asked why the TARDIS looked like that

Mutual #3: CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON. CHRIS. CHRIS COME BACK BABY

Mutual #4: She Charley on my Pollard till i Scherzo

Mutual #5: I hate that Moffat is returning to write an episode. Can Steven Moffat kill himself please

Mutual #6: I love that Moffat is returning to write an episode. Can RTD kill himself please

Mutual #7: What if we kissed in front of Ianto’s shrine in Cardiff and we were both girls

Mutual #8: Chibnall’s episodes outside of his era are some of his better ones. I think for every cool thing he does there’s law of conservation of energy applies and the next episode he makes sucks

Mutual #9: I really do not mean to TJLC but i think the Doctor is going to realize he’s in a TV show this season. Bc i don’t know what to do with the death of RTD’s subtlety in foreshadowing

Mutual #10: I’m not misogynistic but I just hate everything about the 13th Doctor era and I just think it doesn’t have a single redeeming quality.

Mutual #11: You are literally an anti-feminist if you hate anything about the 13th Doctor era

Mutual #12: Spydoc are pegging each other rn in my Google docs

Mutual #13: Guys I’m getting a tattoo of the 8th doctor should it say “autism” or “lesbian” underneath in impact font

Mutual #14: It’s so sad that Simm!master turned into a puppygirl. Oh well I must comply to canon

Mutual #15: Was Thasmin queerbaiting? No nuance pick one

Mutual #16: Everybody listen to the TV movie soundtrack NEOWWWWWWW

Mutual #17: Tegan and Nyssa would have the Monkees on their sex playlist

Mutual #18: I just wish 14 got a whole season, you know? Or maybe two. Or three. Who needs 15 anyway?

Mutual #19: If David Tennant steps foot on a Doctor Who stage again I will kill him with my blade

Mutual #20: Link to pirating big finish in reblog. everybody please come to 6th Doctor land with me

[thealogie]

logging on early to BBC iplayer with a vpn and catching just random BBC programming is making me feel like it's 2017 and I'm waiting for tjlc to come true... not the news coverage of striking rail workers only airing anti-union/anti-worker interviews though :/

And maybe when no bisexual Michael Sheen tonight we can tune in next week for Apple tree yard

[aveline-amelia]

On sexuality assumptions in Sherlock (part 2)

So, I literally forgot this was supposed to be a two-parter and what I was even going to write about in part two, but then I remembered. This is about examining some TJLC/Johnlock evidence that is potentially actually problematic and regressive if taken as fact. Not all of them are ProblematicTM, some are just... weird. These are in no particular order and some are possible stretches, but hey, I am allowed to have meta fun too.

Number 1: Mycroft making the sarcastic comment about John and Sherlock's engagement is proof Sherlock is gay.

The reason why this feels regressive to me is because it implies that you can only make quips about your brother dating a man if your brother is gay. But... why? Why is it only acceptable to make this comment if the men in question date other men? It's not a joke about the concept of homosexuality itself.

The 'joke' is "You have been very close to my brother, moved in with him, and are spending a lot of time with him. What's next, marrying him?" That's the point of the comment. It has nothing to do with anyone being gay.

Mycroft doesn't mean they are actually a couple. I fully believe that if Sherlock had a female flatmate, he would have made the exact same comment. All this tells us is that Mycroft doesn't think being gay is a big deal or possibly that being gay in this world isn't that big of a deal.

First of all, let's entertain the possibility that Mycroft believes or knows that Sherlock is gay. If this implies that Sherlock is gay, isn't telling that to John, whom Mycroft just met, and can't be certain that they ever even discussed the topic, basically outing Sherlock to his flatmate?

Now I talked about the fact it's very possible Mycroft made this comment and the later one hinting about possible John/Sherlock sex in the future (which is much better evidence, but people focus much more on the first one since it's more apparent) is testing the waters to see how John feels about gay people and how he feels about being mistaken for a couple with another man or being accused of having feelings for a man.

If John reacted in a very defensive and/or homophobic manner, it's possible Mycroft would have made sure John stayed far away from his little brother. This in itself doesn't have to mean Mycroft believes Sherlock is gay, just that he is being cautious because bigots are unsafe to be around (let alone live with!) for anyone who isn't a bigot themselves.

Number 2: If Sherlock isn't gay, why doesn't he ever correct the people who think he is or that he's dating John?

Because he doesn't care what they think of him. Related to number 1. It's okay to wish people not to mislabel you. Not wanting people to think you're gay if you're not is not homophobia. But Sherlock just doesn't care. This is in contrast with John, who does correct people and doesn't want newspapers calling him a confirmed bachelor.

Number 3: Sherlock got a case wrong and accused a gay man of being a murderer because he was feeling bad about his Unrequited Gay Love for John, who was dating someone else at the time and he thought gay relationships were doomed to fail (this is about a case on John's blog)

This one is just... why. Sherlock is the Great Detective. He's the world's only consulting detective. Why would a man's sexuality influence his decision solely because he's hoping for a gay relationship for himself and is salty about it? Gay or not gay, there's no indication sexual orientation plays any factor in how he views or treats people. This assumption is just straight-up homophobic. I can't see it any other way. Sherlock thinking a man is a murderer because he's gay... is homophobic. Even if you believe Sherlock is gay, internalized homophobia is a thing. It would also make him look quite incompetent, unprofessional, and just straight-up Bad at his job, the one thing he is unquestionably Good at.

Now we get into the weaker ones, at least according to me.

Number 4: Sherlock knowing purple apart from lilac or making serviettes makes him Camp Gay.

I think this is just Sherlock being Sherlock. He knows the color because he knows and notices the things others don't while ignoring those he deems unimportant. As for the serviettes? Why? Because planning a wedding is a gay stereotype? Sherlock is most likely hyperfocused on the wedding because he's nervous about things changing.

Number 5: John was definitely about to make a Move on Sherlock during the stag night and that was the perfect time to do it

I sincerely hope this idea only extends to fiction (because I don't want to be one of these "if you support this in fiction you support it in real life too!!! people) but if it does not, hopefully none of these people ever become someone's Best Person at the wedding if they think seducing the groom right before a wedding is a good idea. Do they think John was about to make a move and if it didn't work just Mary marry anyway as a consolation prize? Do they think that's what happened in TSO3? We or John had no idea she was an assassin yet, so that would be really shitty.

Number 6: John lied about being bisexual

He didn't. The only way this would be true is if someone asked John if he's bisexual and he said no. Unless you think John being closeted and potentially hiding the truth about his sexuality and being purposefully vague about it is lying. It's not.

Number 7: Mycroft believed Sherlock was about to kiss John in front of Mary when asking for time alone

This one is just strange. A confession is one thing, especially if you are not directly confessing. But why would Sherlock do this? He was going to his death and had nothing to lose? Why would he do it in front of Mary? And Mycroft? And the other agents who I think were also still there? Why? Was he sure John would kiss him back? Did he even care?

Miscellaneous: John didn't want Sherlock looking at his laptop because he has a bunch of Gay Porn there

Or... because it's an invasion of privacy? This one isn't Problematic, it's just a stretch.

[jaskierx]

Sorry to be another anon in your askbox doing this, but yeah, the Izzy stans have genuinely ruined parts of the internet for me. There's a forum I just can't go to anymore because describing Izzy's canonical actions (getting the crew to pressure Ed, trying to kill Stede repeatedly even when Ed said no, sending Jack after him, having Ed "released into his custody", insulting and threatening Ed while Ed was in a breakdown) was enough to get accused of hating him, even though I do not. I got dogpiled for saying that Izzy's words to Ed at the end of season one were more than just mean. And I like Izzy. I cannot state this enough and frankly shouldn't have to keep repeating it. I do not think any of this makes him irredeemable (If you even want to redeem him. I love far worse characters like Hannibal and don't want to redeem him for instance.) but the fans have gone so wild that doing anything more than calling him *grumpy* is hate, and you either have to prepare for a fight every time you want to talk about him or just leave those spaces entirely. It's sad, and it's pathetic that they're acting like this. Meanwhile, some of them are building TJLC-style cult behavior but you shouldn't bring even that up because they're not all responsible for those nutjobs so it's not fair to the normal fans or whatever. Well then why the hell am I responsible for whatever perceived anti-Izzy crusaders you ran into somewhere else, huh?

sorry anon i saw this first thing this morning and thought ‘i’ll reply to this in 5 mins when i’m less sleepy’ and then instantly forgot

but yeah you’re right about everything basically. the woobification is out of hand. people will swear over and over that ed is izzy’s abuser and izzy never did anything except love him loyally and unconditionally

and the double standard with being ‘guilty by association’ is so obvious. none of them want to hear about izzy fans being ableist or harassing the writers even though that is definitely happening. but if you breathe a word about izzy in the tag that isn’t glowing praise then you’re just another anti

[scriptscribbles]

What's tjlc?

"The Johnlock conspiracy." A large contingent of BBC Sherlock fans who wrote incredibly shit analysis of the show to argue that every accidental minor detail was thematic foreshadowing of the fact that John and Sherlock were in love and would inevitably get together, despite immense textual evidence against that. The entire production team consistently saying "No, we didn't do that" was also taken as evidence that they were lying to hide the big reveal. People were harassed online and in person, both fans and crew. It was insanity.

My queer ass frequently got called homophobic for pointing that out, I might add.

[musclesandhammering]

Pro tip for antis: if their profile picture is the character you’re arguing against, just.. don’t even try lol.

[moriarty1234]

T*LC Refutation (but decidedly NOT Johnlock refutation, because that definitely was a thing.)

Part- 1: Introduction.

[Note: I love and ship johnlock because I saw it for myself in the show when I watched it and was part of the general audience in the past. I even want it to become canon in some Holmes adaption in the future. But T*lc needs to get sucked into obscurity and forgotten. Other fandoms like Good Omens, etc., are following the same rhetoric in their "meta" posts, and that needs to go. This is crucial for our basic critical thinking skills and objectivity.]

Alright, folks. Let's talk about the logical fallacies, and how most of the t*lc metas are flawed to their core.

Not to beat the dead horse here, but I entered the fandom in late 2021 (after having watched BBC Sherlock a year ago). I'd started to ship Johnlock as soon as I entered the fandom (because that's what I saw on the show independently, as part of the general audience in the past, even though it was on a subconscious level at first).

I discovered T*LC in December, watched and read metas about it, became a T*LCer myself (albeit briefly - for like a month or two), and then I grew out of it.

I grew out of T*LC because while the meta posts were seemingly clever, I always thought there was something off with most of them. I didn't have much vocabulary related to critical thinking skills back then (because English is not my first language), so I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was wrong with them.

I reluctantly and falsely assumed they must be right just because I couldn't come up with effective counter-arguments then (what a flawed way of thinking). I just thought that this thing (t*lc) was not my cup of tea (ha!).

I continued to ship Johnlock though. I still do it wholeheartedly. I'm no longer part of the BBC Sherlock fandom, but I do still ship Holmes/Watson enthusiastically in various other Sherlock Holmes adaptations.

In the meantime (i.e., from when I dropped the idea of t*lc like a hot potato to the day I decided to exit this fandom for good), I did a lot of research.

Research related to what the fandom used to be like throughout different eras when the show was still on air (through sources such as old posts on Tumblr/other social media platforms, Sarah Z and hbomberguy's videos on t*lc and the actual show criticism respectively), and also research about how the rhetoric of most conspiracy theorists looks and sounds. I've read about articles on science vs pseudo-science as well (I come from a science background myself, so those articles were helpful as a refresher for me).

I also read a lot about cult psychology and how it can be used effectively to lure anyone in.

T*lc checks all the boxes of flawed ways of thinking, various logical fallacies used to prove or disprove something, pseudoscience, a typical conspiracy theorist's rhetoric, and a cult group's way of thinking in real life.

When I use these terms, I do not throw them around lightly. I've read a lot about this along with my friend, let's call them Kim. For context, Kim also comes from a science background. They ship johnlock too.

I know the comparison of T*lc with a religious cult in real life has been done to death, and same is the case with the comparison of t*lc with any other outlandish conspiracy theory out there. It's just that I've been bottling up my thoughts and feelings on this thing for way too long. I can't do that anymore. Just bear with me if you find something repetitive.

Kim and I read about all these things on the internet, had a lot of long discussions for months altogether, and now I've personally decided to share our conclusions with anyone out there who stumbles upon this post.

This blog is a few days old, and I'm the only person behind this, so I don't have many followers just yet. I'm not even expecting anything from anyone. If you see this post, I just want you to read it with an open mind and act according to your judgement afterwards.

Now that we have the whole context with us, let's begin.

Part- 2 : What's wrong with their actual meta posts?

T*LC (but NOT Johnlock as a whole) refutation master post.