Batjohn

Batjohn (also Bat!John) is a crack animal AU version of John Watson from the BBC television series Sherlock. The meme arose around January 2013 and saw a short, widespread period of popularity alongside other animal AUs like Fawnlock and Tunalock. The meme inspired fanart, fancrafts, and cosplay, but is perhaps best remembered for spawning an infamous piece of NSFW art.
==Origin and history==
The Bat!John meme seems to have arisen in late 2012 or early 2013. A Tumblr blog dedicated to the character was created by ivorylungs in late January 2013.Batjohn blog archive for January 2013 on Tumblr"my batjohn tumblr is up!" post by ivorylungs (reblog from batjohn) The meme postdates the emergence of Fawnlock, but preceded Tunalock, perhaps the most well-known Sherlock animal AU, by several months. 
Fan-writer Roane speculated in an August 2013 episode of the Three Patch Podcast that early opposition to Fawnlock may have spurred the creation of increasingly offbeat AU creatures:
Batjohn was typically depicted as a normal-sized brown bat with a human face and a tuft of sandy blond hair. Less-common depictions portrayed him as a human-sized creature with bat-like features (typically ears and wings).Batjohn Cuddles~ by DaintyMendax on DeviantArtBatJohn by Airafleeza on DeviantArt
==The Infamous "Q-Tip" Art==
===Commentary at the Time===
Sexually-explicit fanart featuring Batjohn in sexual scenarios emerged early in the meme's history.Archived reblog of NSFW art by antisepticbandaid on TumblrArchived reblog of NSFW art by katzensprotte on TumblrArchived reblog of NSFW art by docspocklock on Tumblr One particularly infamous piece depicted Batjohn being penetrated anally with the end of a cotton swab by an off-screen character implied to be Sherlock.Archived copy of an Imgur repost from 2017 (highly NSFW!) Such art caused controversy within Sherlock fandom at the time, prompting accusations of romanticizing bestiality and non-con. 
An example of a discussion concerning the propriety of Batjohn smut occurred on Tumblr in July 2013:Reblog post by johnnybooboo on TumblrReblog chain from thehappyfolk on Tumblr
Another heated exchange in July 2013 was provoked by Tumblr user situationally-studious's reaction to a piece of "batjohn porn" posted by ivorylungs:Archived thread on Tumblr
===The Aftermath===
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====2017====
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====2020====
====2022====
==Fanworks==
===Fanart===
* bat!John by 221bee (2013)
* Fawnlock by 221bee (2013 – with Fawnlock)
* Hold by 221bee (2013)
* Tried colouring Bat!John in on my Ipad by aflutterofwings (2013)
* BatJohn by Airafleeza (2013 – human-size bat!John)
* Bat!John the Vampire by Airafleeza (2013)
* Hissy Bat!John by Airafleeza (2013)
* My little batJohn by bassfanimation (2013)
* wanted to draw bulecelup’s batjohn/batlock/bathamish by bennyslegs (2013 – bat!Sherlock)
* I can’t get over how cute this paper is by blankinspace (2013)
* I got watercolor pencils today by by blankinspace (2013 – with Fawnlock)
* Batjohn needs his Doll by cherripuff (2013)
* Batjohn Cuddles~ by DainyMendax (2013 – human-size bat!John)
* Fawnlock and Batjohn Cuddles by by DainyMendax (2013 – with Fawnlock)
* Vampire Batjohn by DaintyMendax (2013)
* batjohn is out of jam by fauxvol (2013)
* Didn’t know Bat!John was still a thing evaholderart (2013)
* I finally drew Bat John by hattedhedgehog (2013)
* More Bat!John, at last by hattedhedgehog (2013)
* Because seriously, the Batjohn AU is the CUTEST one by hellobeggingyourpardon (2013)
* batjohn, for manna! by inchells (2013)
* Little batjohn found a severed thumb by iriarty (2013)
* On my list of things I probably shouldn’t be doing today by ivorylungs (2013)
* Batjohn <3 by jenovasilver (2013)
* Damn bats. Always gettin' in the washing. by jillandsarah (2013 – red pants meme)
* last one, I swear by johnnybooboo (2013 – with Fawnlock)
* Alright, who gave him the sweets? by lamariann (2013)
* I really hate baths by lamariann (2013)
* Tales of 221B by letsdrawcats (2013 – with Fawnlock)
* Well… Why not? by letsdrawcats (2013)
* I couldn’t resist and jumped on the bat!John bandwagon by littlenimart (2013)
* batjohn snuggles for tonight by lovelynobody00 (2013 – with Sherlock)
* i hate coloring but here by lovelynobody00 (2013 – with Sherlock)
* BatFawn… Um, BatJohnFawnLock… by milamiya (2013 – with Fawnlock)
* Sleepy bat!John by oddthesungod (2013 – with Sherlock)
* lil doodle by pyromancing
* My first little bat!Jawn~ by puszkin-san (2013)
* Batjohn! by sesshyfanchick (2013)
* Batjohn chatting with a Bumblebee by sincerelywrong (2013)
* Tragedy in three parts by sincerelywrong (2013 – with Fawnlock, hurt/comfort)
* a tiny kiss by shootbadcabbies (2013 – with Fawnlock)
* I tried to to jump on this bandwagon by space-cushion (2013)
* Art by thinkintrixxter (2013 - with wolf!Moriarty)
* Catlock and BatJohn (Halloween 2018) by stephdrawsjohnlock (2018)
* too cute i can’t stop by wendl-a (2013 – with Sherlock)
* Let me hide behind mum's wings by Zashache (2013)
===Cosplay===
* Found these two cuties <3 photo by morfiantra (2013 – cosplayers unknown)
===Fancrafts===
* Batjohn! by buneesi (2013 – plush)
* Batjohn On His First Adventure by FutureCarrotLab (2013 – crochet)
* Bat!John and Bat!John!!! by oddsterinJpan (2013 – crochet)
* Batjohn plushie and And now there are TWO by sincerelywrong (2013 – plush)
* BatJohn! by stitchnik (2013 – plush)
==Resources & Links==
*Batjohn and Bat!John tags and on Tumblr
*Bat John Watson at Archive of Our Own
==References==
Category:Fanon Characters
Category:Sherlock
Category:2013 Memes
Category:Scandals