#wr info

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

I hope you don't mind this question, is Irene a trans woman?

I don’t mind at all!

I’m not actually sure what Irene is, tbh. Irene doesn’t want to be classified as anything in my head. Referring to Irene as either he or she happens often when I’m drawing him/her. And the character that lives between my ears doesn’t care if they’re called he or she. Irene is just Irene. Sorry I don’t have a better explanation!

Irene will appear differently later in the story, as well. They dress in both masculine and feminine clothing. I asked the Irene in my head if they were gender fluid and she smoked a cigarette and said, “I do what I want.”

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

bologna?

Saying, “Bologna.” was a way of saying, “Nonsense.” I keep forgetting to add little notes about slang!

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

Idk if this has been asked before, but why is Irene bald and always wearing wigs🙈?

Irene shaves her head because it’s easier to wear all the different wigs she wants that way.

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

Maybe I'm confused or maybe I don't remember oraybe I interpreted the wrong way, but, have Sherlock and John kissed before?

They have kissed twice before. Once when they first met and once when they met again after four years apart.

They are bad at talking about things so the importance of their third kiss is that they’re both on the same page. That they both want more and are interested in a relationship.

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

Wait, is Kitty indirectly misgendering Sherlock here? Is that what’s happening? WHAT THE HECK, KITTY.

No, she’s not. She’s just very jaded and clumsy with her words, but she means well. She has a rough back story that will be revealed later. Though, it’s nothing new if you’ve read the short stories. <3

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

Hi! Love your work! Just started reading WR and I am just a teeny bit confused. Is Sherlock a girl? Because I did notice in the chapter "The Rat of Sumatra" that he has scars on his chest, so I assumed there were because of surgery? Care to explain? Hehe xx

Sherlock was born a woman. At some point in his life (and even I’m not sure at this point--Sherlock keeps secrets even from me), he chose to live as a man. He refers to himself as a man. He did not change his name.

When I first started WR, I had discussions with trans people in fandom about how best to portray his transition on the page without making the whole story about him being trans. Whatever Remains is a story about characters who happen to be a certain way while the story itself isn’t about the way they are. Stories where trans people go through trials and tribulations are important, but I also think trans people need...just a story. So that’s how WR was born. 

Initially, I was going to draw Sherlock binding. That would have been the most likely scenario at the time. While hormone therapy and what we now call top surgery did exist, it wasn’t anywhere near as accessible, as I’m sure you can imagine. 

After coming to the conclusion that drawing Sherlock binding might inadvertently portray dangerous binding methods, the few people I talked with and I decided that top surgery (or a bilateral mastectomy) was the most responsible way for me to illustrate Sherlock’s transition. 

In Whatever Remains, Sherlock will not experience any notable dysphoria. He doesn’t mind wearing a dress or makeup for a disguise even though he prefers his suits. He will be shown doing vocal exercises and lifting weights to maintain his physique. John will see these things and think nothing of them.

I hope this helps!

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

Hi! I started to read your Johnlock comic a few days ago thanks to a pinterest image, but I been reading the beginning over and over and still don't get why they didn't see each others for five years, what's the deal with John's watch and what's code M?

Code M is still a mystery! You’ll have to keep reading to find out. 

John’s watch is a nod to the original stories. The original Watson had a watch and Sherlock deduced that it belonged to his brother. This will be relevant later. As for why John’s watch was even a thing, John was able to bribe one of Sumatra’s muscle to let him inside with the promise that he could have the watch if he lost his match. John won the match so John got his pocket watch back. 

John went to war and that’s why they didn’t see each other for so long. While John was in the trenches, Sherlock was elsewhere. “Detained”, he said. That’s also still a mystery. 

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

I'm curious about what kind of research you do to get the dress and lingo down so well for whatever remains?

A lot of Googling. 

I’m sure much of it is incorrect, but there are random things in WR that are startlingly accurate. 

Like how Mary drinks tea with a tea bag and how John thinks it’s gross. That wasn’t a thing that Brits did in the 20s (from what I’ve read). It was more popular in America and later became popularized in Europe. 

Which is revealing info about Mary!