#borrowed ghosts

[discordantwords]

For the fic writer asks, could you share 26 for Borrowed Ghosts?

26. Share your favorite detail?

I think my favorite detail in Borrowed Ghosts happens right in the first chapter. Post-TLD, John fails to show up for his expected shift sitting with Sherlock at Baker Street, and Sherlock realizes that he's never coming back. Distressed by his absence, he visits his mind palace and attempts to speak with his own version of John.

There was a room in his mind palace where John lived, a John who was both quick-tempered and quick-witted, who offered praise when warranted and guidance when necessary. Sherlock went there, now, trailed his hand along the wall as he moved through the familiar corridors. The door was locked. There was a shop sign hanging from the door, swaying gently against the wood. CLOSED, it proclaimed in bold white letters against a red background. Beneath it, in smaller print, it read: HOURS 6:00 - 10:00. He touched the sign, ran his fingertips along the print. The neatly lettered hours flaked away, crumbling and drifting towards the ground, leaving nothing in their wake but an expanse of smooth red. CLOSED, the sign now read. It seemed a more permanent proclamation. The door remained locked. He blinked back to awareness, looked up at the ceiling of his bedroom. His eyes stung.

I just really like the imagery in this scene, the way that Sherlock internalized the idea that John was only visiting him in dedicated shifts out of a sense of obligation and responsibility, and how once John stopped showing up even the faint promise of those assigned hours faded away and left him permanently closed off.

Fic Writer Asks!

[khorazir]

Inktober 2020 #30: “Snowed in” Ink and watercolour illustration inspired by the brilliant fic Borrowed Ghosts by @discordantwords

[thepetulantcat]

I‘ve just finished Borrowed Ghosts by the great @discordantwords . This fic drove me crazy more than once and in several ways. As always when this author creates magic, everything is absolutely in character and strong and feels bloody real.

Beneath the thrilling story (couldn’t sleep well after some chapters, thanks) the description of depression is very moving. Almost every chapter leaves me stunned on the sofa because I can’t believe that there’s anyone in this world who can express depression in such true, raw, perfect words.

It‘s great, beautiful written, but, oh, after all this angsty hurt I need more comfort. Pleeease, give me more pages of fluffy comfort. It was way too little for my miserable heart...

[discordantwords]

can i say, i love how you write molly? i kind of hate how she was used as sort of a punchline at times and especially the stuff in tfp, given that she's also someone that sherlock trusted enough to fake his own death w and like is a whole ass doctor herself. especially in borrowed ghosts, i really just — love how she's empathetic but also tells john what he needs to hear

Thank you! That makes me so happy to hear, because I absolutely adore Molly.

Molly was integral to the plot of Borrowed Ghosts. The story I had in mind simply would not have worked without her. IMO, she's pretty solidly Sherlock's friend, not necessarily John's. Though she obviously cares for them both, her association with John comes about primarily through her friendship with Sherlock.

So her anger at John in that fic came from feeling that he was 1) taking advantage of their association, something she was more than willing to forgive for a while because of the horrible circumstances, and 2) avoiding facing up to his own actions and using her to hurt Sherlock by proxy, which she was absolutely not going to abide.

Once she saw that John was trying to atone, and when he reached out to her--not to ask her for something, but to simply reestablish a connection for Rosie's sake--she softened towards him considerably.

I like to think, in that universe, John and Molly remained close. I think she was pleased by how things turned out between him and Sherlock, and that she probably found a quiet moment during the birthday celebration to tell him as much.

[discordantwords]

Your fics made me buy the Mary ghost thing. I think it’s actually a good storytelling device to have her be John’s ghost, but the show executes it kind of poorly. You incorporate it in a way that it really makes it seem like John is kind of at war w himself

Aw, thank you!

I really liked using Mary's ghost as a way to dig into John's innermost thoughts in Borrowed Ghosts. John was such a wreck in that fic, and it was never going to be easy for him to choose to be kind to himself.

There were so many things he was not quite ready to admit to himself or anyone, and having his version of Mary there as a buffer let him process those feelings out loud without having to face them head on. He was able to argue with himself a little bit but still maintain the emotional distance he needed to protect himself.

[discordantwords]

sunday six

A few lines from the upcoming final chapter of Borrowed Ghosts:

"What you said. Yesterday." 

Sherlock swallowed, looked away. "I said a lot of things, John, you'll need to be more specific." 

"About. Um. Kissing you." 

[discordantwords]

six sentence sunday

I was tagged by @a-different-equation to share six sentences from a WIP. Thanks!

Here are six sentences from the still-in-progress next chapter of Borrowed Ghosts:

"Is that enough?" he asked, his voice overloud in the quiet bedroom. "Is that the confession you've been looking for? That it was my fucking fault?" 

He opened his eyes, let his arm fall down against his side.

The bedroom was empty. His unwelcome visitor was gone.

If anyone else out there is working on something you’d like to share, consider yourself tagged!

[discordantwords]

progress!

My draft chapter 9 of Borrowed Ghosts is currently at just over 6k words. Just a little bit more to go.