"I vowed I would not let any harm come to her.
Promised her she is mine to protect for as long as I am here fro as long as I
can. So my blade never falters against her enemies because it was forged to
protect her name and so it will. If the death of many is the necessary evil I
must commit in order to fulfill this task then I accept that truth with a heavy
heart and give my prayer now for the lives that must come to rest at my feet to
prevent any harm befalling her."
Unconditional, that word can be heavy when
paired with another, love. I am a person who strongly believes in the strength
of love but unconditional is a bit...more...tricky. I love humanity, under
certain conditions. Yes, there are hokey or cliché phrases like love overcomes
all and love saves the day, but I draw my limits. Consider what unconditional
can stand for if not properly applied. What if you love someone more
than they love themselves? What if you begin to stalk this supposed love? What
about an unconditional love that results in the magnification of ones own
darkness?
I recently watched Jessica Jones on Netflix and was introduced for the first time
to the Purple Man played by one of Dr. Who's many reincarnations *drumroll
please* David Tennant. Now imagine a man who has literally controlled you for
so long (you know, with powers because this IS a Marvel show) and none of your
actions have been your own. What if there is a moment, a split second, when you
could be free, do you take that chance?
Some people leap at the opportunity. Others see it as giving up on what
could be a good thing. The latter, that stubbornness, is sometimes their
downfall. It’s said that relationships are toxic and when you don’t recognize
the poison it can wreak havoc. So I consider and reflect, how would writing a
story like this go? Presenting unconditional love in such a dark manner yet
still keeping such a level of awe at the commitment that you love the darkness they have embraced. That is the challenge.
So to conquer this task I am using a technique that was initiated while
working on a script (another current project). This technique is based on
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a
Thousand Faces. The process is like
working with opposites: ordinary world (limited awareness of a problem) vs.
approach the inmost cave (prepare for a big problem) or call to adventure
(increased awareness) vs. ordeal (attempt a big change). So in a story of out of control unconditional love that goes unrequited how do you apply this? Maybe the limited
awareness is that the protagonist doesn’t realize how much they love the other.
So how to counter this? One possible answer is after the realization of this
love the protagonist finds a way to prove this affection.
Well these will be fun questions to answer and so we shall see how this
goes. To my readers I leave you with this: If you capture someone’s heart consider what
lengths that person would go to protect you because they love you
unconditionally. Yeah, Stockholm syndrome on any level is a bitch.
