On the ninth day of Sherlockmas ... "Jim, who still scares me," a gift for katemacetak

[musamihi]

Author: elanorofcastile
Title: Jim, who still scares me
A gift for: katemacetak
Characters/Pairing: Jim Moriarty, Sebastian Moran; minor Jim/OMC
Category: Mostly gen
Rating: R
Warnings: Implied violence against people and animals, including one mention of abuse, implied underage sex, allusion to canon minor character death
Summary: Five people Jim Moriarty frightened, and

Comments

[musamihi]

Wow, the language here is really gorgeous - you have an awesome command of detail and imagery that makes this piece really beautiful. There are so many wonderful, expressive, graceful phrases here: He is learning how to be a scholar of people, a musician of nerves and jealousy. I especially love flashes of a bright smile in fire-filled nightmares, and his is the wolf's again, and Matthias is but an eager lamb, gamboling into his reach. I think Matthias' section is my favorite; you've managed to make him a full character, and his fascination with (and suspicion of) Jim mirrors the reader's and works really well to sketch him out as a developing mastermind. And the way you trace Jim from a troubled kid who was kind of abandoned by the only people who might have had a desire to help him to a self-sufficient man who pulls in everyone around him is fantastic. I love the backstory you've created for him, it's realistic but just over the top enough for someone like Moriarty. Fantastic!

[katemacetak]

*squees* Thank you so much! I loved reading this and I'm happy you enjoyed writing it as well. Lovely snapshots of his childhood...the image of his mother finding his bloodied jacket, the fire, "the weight of his empty eyes." The wolf/raven metaphor is perfect, and I also love "I'm the Pied Piper, do you really want to be one of my rats?" Those are just a few of the great details. I keep reading it over again and picking out more wonderful lines! Also, I love the Irishness of it, and Jim being in the RUC. Thank you again for a fabulous gift! <3

[xtinethepirate]

I love the backstory that you've created for Jim here, the slow but inevitable evolution from a kid setting fires and torturing animals to blackmailing his schoolmates (and repaying Carl and then some for not returning his friendship) to being in the IRA to becoming Moriarty. The IRA thing was an especially nice twist, IMHO -- it's so very Jim, and yet I don't think I've come across it before in fic.

I love the mixture of third party perspectives you bring in throughout the fic as well, displaying different facets of an already familiar character. And I do love that Sebastian isn't at all afraid of him. :D

[scandalbaby]

Moriarty is probably my least favorite character in the series but I was intrigued to see what kind of backstory you'd give him. I'm now making this part of my personal headcanon because it was absolutely brilliant. I wish I had your skills.

[missyvortexdv]

I really love how you careful craft the fear in each of the others, so that he's not outright scary in the beginning but slowly all signs point to it. Really enjoyed this.