The Dynamic

The Dynamic refers to a set of archetypes, the Sweaterboy and the Absolute Nightmare, through which different ships are viewed. It was developed by a group of fans tied to the creation of The Niche blog. 
A "Sweaterboy" is generally characterized by being stable and giving, but quietly unhappy. An "Absolute Nightmare" has flagrant disregard for social norms but is quietly lonely under their facade. The Dynamic consists of a SB and AN pair. It is purported by supporters to be a sort of ideal of peak compatibility in a ship which emerges in different relationships throughout fiction.
According the official guide to The Dynamic, What is, "The Dynamic," Anyway?, written by Peyton (beachdeath):
The Niche began posting about The Dynamic in early 2017, and it was previously discussed on Tumblr in the circles of a number of Niche writers. The Dynamic has its roots in Sherlock Holmes/John Watson and specifically the Johnlock/TJLC fandom of Sherlock BBC.
==History & Development==
The Dynamic was developed by The Niche, a blog run by a group of people, and the friends of that group. 
* Anonymous: so could you provide us, like, concrete definitions of the Dynamic and the people involved? by onetruedynamic, April 14 2017
*Quiz: Which Half of The Dynamic Are You? July 13 2017
* What is “The Dynamic” Anyway?, March 23 2018
===Relation to Johnlock===
Many, if not all of the creators of The Dynamic were involved in The Johnlock Conspiracy, a long-running fan theory which asserted that the writers of Sherlock (BBC) were secretly planning to make John/Sherlock the canon endgame pairing. The Sherlock Holmes/John Watson ship has been repeatedly called the essence of The Dynamic. The theory originated with idea that the dynamic of Holmes and Watson's relationship remains consistent throughout adaptations and reimaginings of the original Sherlock Holmes, and that stories often replicate this ship dynamic.
Absolute Nightmare was originally known as the Holmes Archetype and Sweaterboy as the Watson Archetype. They were still referred to as such in onetruedynamic's April 2017 post.
In the What is “The Dynamic” Anyway? article, the term "absolute nightmare" is said to have "originated in a comment on The Toast (a defunct website with feminist and satire writings) about whether or not Sherlock Holmes would enjoy pegging." Said comment stated, "BBC Sherlock - pillow princess, sub, 100%, absolute nightmare." However, graceebooks, who coined the term "The Johnlock Conspiracy," has called herself "originator of the term absolute nightmare,"April 19th, 2019 by graceebooks so it is likely that this commenter was gracee.
The term "Sweaterboy" comes from Sherlock BBC's John Watson's penchant for wearing sweaters.
The Dynamic can also be understand as related to TJLC through the fandom backgrounds of contributors to the concept, as well as its treatment of subtext and standards for what makes a ship canon. See Criticism for more.
===Spread===
According to Thealogie:
Reports that The Johnlock Conspiracy evolved into The MacDennis Conspiracy can be connected to the fandom migration of TJLCers who went on to contribute to The Dynamic. MacDennis is cited a one of the ships integral to the development of The Dynamic.
The onetruedynamic tumblr was created in April 2017. What is “The Dynamic” Anyway?, a more concrete explanation of the concept, was published by beachdeath in March 2018. 
The Dynamic was mentioned in Aja Romano's article Fandom’s new “ship dynamics” meme is all about our fave romantic tropes in April 2019. The article tracks different uses of ship archetypes in fandom and the Ship Dynamic meme's rise to virality (Note that Thealogie has called this description inaccurate.):
==Definition==
Thealogie has said, "an AN (absolute nightmare) and SB (sweaterboy) are the two halves of the Dynamic (a specific dynamic….the best one imo…that occurs in a number of usually textually unfulfilled ships throughout literary history).June 4, 2019 by Thealogie
Sweaterboy: 
The manifesto included, "Note that 'Sweaterboy' is a gender neutral term — Rory Gilmore is a Sweaterboy, as is Abbi from Broad City, but you can definitely say 'Sweatergirl' or 'Sweaterperson,' or whatever." In practice, "Sweaterboy" is used almost exclusively regardless of gender.
Absolute Nightmare: 
Another aspect is that "a Sweaterboy is a top who’s down to bottom and an Absolute Nightmare is a bottom who’s not down to top."Anonymous: "omg anon is on... i have a question abt the dynamic --- is an absolute nightmare the usual top and a sweaterboy the usual bottom or is completely dependent on the specific couple?? sdghjss this is a dumb ask but i've been wondering and i know ur connected to the invention of the dynamic so!! thanks" by beachdeath, Mar 20 2018Anonymous: "ok... i have a question... is AN always bottom and SB always top? or is AN at least usually bottom and SB usually top??" by onetruedynamic, Dec 6 2018 A term often used by those discussing The Dynamic is "They." If a couple fits The Dynamic, they are "They." (e.g. Q: Are Sherlock/Moriarty They? A: No they are not The Dynamic. Only Sherlock and John are They.)
The AN and SB are said to be able to swap certain characteristics so that a ship counts as The Dynamic, even if they do not fit the defined archetypes. This subjectivity and fluidity of criteria is one of the main points of criticism of The Dynamic. The creators have generally maintained that there cannot be a good relationship between two SBs or two ANs.what would a relationship comprised of two sweaterboys be like? by beachdeath, Mar 25 2018 There are also said to be subcategories of the archetypes based on more specific patterns across fiction.
Much discussion of The Dynamic involves determining if a ship "is Dynamic" by fitting each half of a ship into the Sweaterboy and Absolute Nightmare archetypes. The onetruedynamic Tumblr blog and originators of The Dynamic frequently post about how the AN and SB can be distinguished.further questions to consider by beachdeath, Apr 25 2017 The onetruedynamic Tumblr is mostly answers to questions about whether or not a certain ship is The Dynamic.
===Example Ships===
All iterations of Sherlock Holmes/John Watson and specifically Johnlock of Sherlock BBC are ships described as integral to the development of the dynamic.
Other ships mentioned in early posts about The Dynamic include:
* House/Wilson of House M.D.
* Mac/Dennis of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
* Chloe/June of Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23
* Frog/Toad of Frog and Toad
* Frankie/Grace of Grace and Frankie
*Mark/Eduardo of The Social Network
* Paris Geller/Rory Gilmore of Gilmore Girls
* Jack/Rose of Titanic
* Bert/Ernie of Sesame Street
* Enjolras/Grantaire of Les Miserables
* Jessica Jones/Trish Walker of Jessica Jones
* Kanye West/Kim Kardashian
* Abbi Abrams/Ilana Wexler of Broad City
*Aziraphale/Crowley of Good Omens
=== Other examples ===
* Riley Matthews/Maya Hart of Girl Meets World
** Cory/Shawn in the parent series subverts this; Cory has selfishness as a flaw while Shawn becomes more openly emotional over time
* Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius of Fire Emblem: Three Houses
* Arnold/Helga of Hey Arnold!
==Criticism==
Criticism of the dynamic is often related to it being too vague or general, being reductive in its focus on top/bottom dynamics in gay relationships, being a Queer Het lens of analysis, and its roots in the TJLC community.
The AN and SB are said to be able to swap certain characteristics so that a ship counts as The Dynamic, even if they do not fit the defined archetypes. It is argued by supporters that what matters is that the overall essence and balance of The Dynamic preserved. This subjectivity and fluidity of criteria is one of the main points of criticism of the concept. Critics allege that the creators of The Dynamic are simply changing the definition whenever it suits to so that ships they like are The Dynamic and can be argued as superior, and any ships they don't like are locked out of the club.
The explanation that being The Dynamic is both a subtextual indication of non-canon romance and makes a ship essentially canon has been connected to the concept's roots in the tinhatty TJLC community. TJLC involved both theories on how Johnlock was being set up to become canon and elaborate analysis of perceived symbols in order to prove that the ship was already canon, and that the perceived subtext made the relationship inarguably canon.
The Dynamic has been compared to the Tobin Structure from How I Met Your Mother fandom, another lens of analysis created by fans that posits that there are patterns of writing and relationship dynamics that appear throughout media, and that ships that fit the structure are superior to others.
==Further Comments==
* analysis of absolute nightmare playlist by jace-lightwood, Dec 4 2018
==Meta & Further Reading==
==References==