What makes viewers even more infatuated than the endless witty banter (read bickering) of "Johnlock" - and of course the latent homosexual undertones - is the fact that the dreamy Benedict Cumberbatch plays Sherlock while the equally dreamy (don't deny it) Martin Freeman aka Bilbo Baggins is John Watson.
One True Pairing; when two characters should absolutely be together romantically and are an audience member’s definite favorite. Ex. Johnlock, the two leads from the BBC series Sherlock.
A preponderance of JohnLock shippers romantically ship John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, producing an astounding amount of gay fiction/fanart.
2013, Bertha Chin & Lori Hitchcock Morimoto, "Towards a theory of transcultural fandom", Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2013, page 104:
In the fan art of self-described Mainland Chinese fan Zjackt, she discerns specific points of affinity between the slash pairings of Harry/Snape and John Watson/Sherlock Holmes (‘Johnlock’) of the BBC’s Sherlock series; […]
2013, Amanda Rodriguez, "Sherlock Inspires Mystery, Tumblr Erotica", The MQ (satirical newspaper of John Muir College, University of California, San Diego), Volume 19, Issue 6, 1 May 2013, page 10:
They solve mysteries every week, and there have been hints that they are also a gay couple (I have a couple of examples on my Johnlock blog […]
Sherlock fanatics love their fan-fiction. There are the romantic fantasies: Sherlock with Molly (portmanteau name: “Sherlolly”), Sherlock with John Watson (“JohnLock”) and Molly with Moriarty (“Molliarty”).
As for the ships, currently the three most popular on AO3 are “Johnlock” (Sherlock Holmes/John Watson from Sherlock), “Destiel” (Dean Winchester/Castiel from Supernatural) and “Sterek” (Stiles/Derek from Teen Wolf).
2013, Jessica Bickford, "Fangirl: taking it back", The Carillon (University of Regina), Volume 56, Issue 6, 26 September - 2 October 2013, page 15:
Yes, it may take affection into unheard levels sometimes, but what exactly is wrong with loving something intensely, whether that something is StarCraft, or Johnlock fanfics?
For Karen the most exciting thing about the comeback is the reunion between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman: “I ship Johnlock!” Karen enthused.
2013, Pragya Parmita, "Fandoms: Too Powerful?", The Bottom Line (Associated Students, UC Santa Barbara), Volume 8, Issue 5, 6 November - 12 November 2013, page 8:
Across the pond, writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss often place characters Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in situations that suggest a relationship between them, even though the series establishes Watson as heterosexual, to placate the fans that “ship Johnlock” in the BBC series “Sherlock.”
2013, Anne Jamison, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World, BenBella Books (2013), →ISBN, unnumbered page, published 26 November 2013:
In this way, "Johnlock" as a romantic pairing often lives up to, albeit in a different configuration, Thackeray's dream of "middle-aged" romance.
For example, one offshoot of Johnlock, known as Fawnlock, imagines Cumberbatch as an ethereal deer, complete with graceful antlers and a speckled coat — and of course his lover, Watson, cradled in his forelimbs.
