By My Blade...

"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.