4. Which has the most “you” in it, however you’d define that?
In terms of me as a writer, probably Two of a Kind due to the fact that it’s set in a fantasy world I built entirely myself. The fantasy genre is very close to my heart and I greatly enjoy molding worlds.
In terms of me as a person in general, probably The Eccentric and His Loyal Accomplices. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into it. I have and will continue to weave elements of myself and my life into the story, because not only does it help me cope with shit, but it also contributes to the vividness of imagery and emotion that I try to create.
6. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?
Oh gosh, so many. I’ve often wanted to do a Marylolly Post-Apocalyptic AU fic and I even started it once, but I couldn’t decide on how I wanted to tell the story and I had too many conflicting ideas, so I ended up deleting it.
20. Go nuts, and talk about writing.
Well shit. I’m not sure what to talk about. I guess I could talk about my goals behind a few of my fics, since it’s often the case that I’m not only trying to tell a ripping good yarn, but also actually attempting to explore or express an idea.
Two of a Kind honestly started out as just a fun story about Sherlock in a fantasy world, but then it morphed rather spectacularly into a tale about self-empowerment and true love. The story begins with a definite power imbalance between Sherlock and Molly- he’s a powerful knight and she’s his quiet assistant. As things progress, they experience changes in their perception of themselves which bring them into balance. For Sherlock, it’s about being honest with himself and accepting who he is. For Molly, it’s about learning to take initiative and see herself as an active player, equal to others, and not as background noise. These paths of growth intertwine and meet at the point where they bond as soulmates.
With Nexus, I knew right away that I wanted to tell a story that addressed dehumanization. Ableist people often talk about Sherlock in terms of how this or that “humanizes” him as if his detached behaviour makes him “inhuman” or “a machine” somehow. Hell, John says these exact sort of things throughout canon. I’ve always found that kind of disgusting, so I used this fic to attack it. In the story, Sherlock, as a human, has his sense of self tortured out of him by Magnussen and is treated like a machine and taught to act like a machine. Molly sees him and the others like him as people. Even when he literally becomes a machine, she continues to insist that he’s a person and that his humanity is inherent, regardless of his emotional detachment.
War Bonds is essentially the in-depth exploration of a romantic relationship between an asexual and an allosexual.
The Shade of Hudson Hall is me fixing everything I don’t like about the Phantom of the Opera and showing the development of Molly being independent.
