Picking the Brain of hopeforastalemate

Since we're talking about Carlisle this month, I figured we should hear from hopeforastalemate. She has two extremely dark and captivating fics featuring Darkisle. The first is Breaking and the second is the sequel, The Scarlet and the Gold. Both are extremely well written and portray Carlisle in an fascinating way. If you truely want to explore the darkest realms of this character, check these fics out. I'll do full reviews on them along with her oneshot The Arms of Darkness later this week.

Here's what she had to say when I asked her to explain the inner workings of the dark doctor...

Why Carlisle? What is it about this particular vampire that does it for you?

Carlisle and I are natured a great deal alike. I identify with him more than any of the other characters. He's quiet, reserved, repressed, and has an overwhelming need and drive to take care of other people. While I have no children myself, my career is one in which I take care of other people, and I find myself constantly seeking out opportunities to do that even when I am not working. He constantly puts others' needs before his own, to the point where he ignores himself, something which I do far too much for my own good. I understand him. It's always been suggested that you write what you know, and he is what I know.

 What makes him dark for you?

Carlisle is a dark character for me, though not dark in the same sense as the Volturi. Carlisle's darkness comes from repression. Any form of repression is inherently dark, as it represents something being held back from expression. Due to the time in which Carlisle was raised, his repression has become ingrained. He represses his natural instincts for human blood, for aggression, for passion, for the full expression of his emotions. As a result, he is exceedingly reserved. However, repression does not eliminate more savage tendencies, it simply restrains them. Given the right circumstances, it is absurdly easy for more primitive instincts to surface. That is the idea that I work with in my Carlisle stories

In Breaking and the Scarlet and the Gold, you tackled some pretty dark issues for Carlisle. How did you come up with some of those ideas?

When I was looking for ideas for the issues that Carlisle has to face, I had to look at Carlisle as a person. Who is he as a person? What is his personality? His upbringing? What issues would be the most direct and transformative challenge to that upbringing? In Breaking, those issues boil down to issues of control (what it means to take it and what it means to surrender it), vanity (learning to love yourself), and morality (addressing, either symbolically or literally, incest, homosexuality, polygamy, and the view of humans as a food source). Now, it isn't until The Scarlet and the Gold that we really see the fruit of Carlisle's transformation. Carlisle is a new man. He publicly claims Eleazar and the relationship they share. He dominates Aro and uses him in a fashion that he would never have before (and he does not regret it). He surrenders control to Edward and allows him to see him vulnerable, accepting comfort from him. He expresses his rage at the rogue vampire, leading to the awakening of his volatile power. After Eleazar and Aro bleed him, he accepts their comfort and support. When Carlisle makes his decision regarding human feeding, he is finally making a choice based, first and foremost, on the satisfaction of his own need. Carlisle has come to embrace himself both as a vampire and as a man, and he makes his final choice at the culmination of the story on the basis of that.

Any plans for a future fic with our featured dark vamp?

Yes, I will definitely be writing more Carlisle stories. Most of them will probably be dark. I am considering several right now. One possibility would involve Carlisle and an accident at work that would lead him into more blood temptation than he has ever faced. The premise of that story would be the old adage, "Pride goes before a fall." I can offer no guarantees right now, but I am continuing to write. Stay tuned.

Thanks for indulging us. We look forward to whatever you come up with. Remember to check back later this week when I review hopeforastalemates intriguing fics.