Comments of chapter undefined of Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
JasmineJosef
Chapter comments72
Skender needs saving, before the destroyer takes him wholly! And don't listen to that other voice in your head. The destroyer wants you to rely on him but there is the defender side in you and the you that William likes. There should be a difference to all three. Skender in the middle should be the one to balance it out. I hope Rayven and fellow demons try to understand him more. As for what transpired between him and Marie...thats Skender right there (not the destroyer nor the defender) and tbh I didn't feel any deeper connection between them✌️ (which I'm relieved,lol😅) which for me means there is another human (or whatever creature that is) for Skender... hasn't appeared yet perhaps.🤔 Someone who'd challenge him and make his heart beat again, someone whom he'd fight for and this time around, that love will be reciprocated. But first things first, Skendz gotta help himself. Thanks Jazzy💕
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JasmineJosef
Oh man, the destroyer side is trying to take control and push everyone away from the Skender side. Hopefully all the Lord's along with William and Angelica realize this and fight to save the good side. I think what William was saying hit a nerve on the destroyer so he came out strong towards him. You can't give in Skender remember who you were not what everyone says you will be.
Rayven, William and Angelica need to be very careful around Skender. Seems like the destroyer is slowly taking over. Rayven protecting William was letting Skender know that he will protect what's his. Marie likes Skender and knows about him but will she help bring out the defender in him before it's too late.
Hmmm it seemed like Marie didn’t know that Skender could turn into a destroyer. I still am unsure about her. I am glad Rayven was quick to come to Williams aid but it isn’t enough for me. He needs to go help Skender now. That’ s what I want anyway’s but I trust Jasmine will turn things around, I am just impatient.
Maybe it is for the better to distance and have a different outlook on things. I only hope he will find himself in the end, rather than running away from everything and everyone. He is possibly afraid to let his bad side out, because his good side is now broken. In order to have the needed balance, he needs to truly let out both of them....
1.4 On the Skender/Destroyer duplicity. We are very complex creatures, humans. These things happen to us, and we don’t even have actual demons, least of all demons that have been cursed… Skender loves William, but he’s terrified of that feeling and of holding hope in his heart. If he didn’t want to hold those hopes and those thoughts regarding William before because he felt unworthy, just imagine now… He wants to isolate himself. He’s so torn that he wants to root out every shred of his kind caring and “weak” nature. That’s why the Destroyer (aka his power acting on a subconscious desire) intends to “destroy him first”. It is like a spiral going down. First, he alienates everyone from his life, then he grows colder, an alienates some more and so on…. The colder and loner, the stronger the “destroyer” trait will become. It is a vicious circle that can only be overcome by awareness, acceptance, integration, and love. He will need to face all of his emotions and desires, even the unspoken ones, accept them and understand them, process them to be able to move on. “I am you and you are me”. “You need me as I need you”. “You lack balance”. This is what the whole thing is about. With this as well will we get a U-turn. He’ll have to go through all the process to be able to come back to this and realize it was right. It will take him some time, though, so we will be suffering for a while… William of course will fight for him. Even more so after this. So will Rayven, he owes him that. But he was right to protect William. Hopefully Angelica will be understanding. One thing I know, though, they won’t be willing to let him see him. But I guess Lucrezia will see to that…? She might use him at some point…. There was great meaning to the words he shared with Marie and his thoughts. Looks like she tried to warn him without putting her people in the middle. The problem is that though everything she’s saying regarding the Defender is reasonable (and one might even consider it foreshadowing as I suppose he could risk his life again at some point to save William) and sensible “You have to start caring about yourself”, knowing as much as she seems to do… she doesn’t seem to understand that he’s torn. His words were extremely painful. “Yes. I get it. It is fine if I die as long as I save as many people as possible. I get it”. It’s like it is always about the defender that he is, or he is not. The people who are his to save or protect and those who are not. He can’t win. He gets blamed all the same. And about him, who cares? I know that that is not true as at least William cares. Not saying that the others don’t. But not in that kind of way that changes everything. Maybe Marie, too cares (and I know I talked a lot about it before but here I am being colder). But it is both too soon to tell and if she does, I guess it is also too soon for her to go doing crazy things for him when he shows no care for her… I don’t know. Maybe I should just forget about her. Anyway, times to come will be challenging, we better brace ourselves. On a completely different note. I’ve been wondering for a while. Can Skender read the other demons’ minds now?
1.3 On the Skender/Destroyer duplicity. What makes us who we are, what’s Skender and what’s not? As humans, the only duplicity we have (unless we are schizophrenic or have bipolar disorder were the psychic structure is fragmented) is that of our thoughts and emotions and of our actions and our words. What makes us who we are is how we choose to act on them, how we respond and how we react. The merit does not lie in not feeling anger, or envy or having bad thoughts. It lies in what we choose to make of that. The demons’ case is trickier, but the logic is still the same. Man and demon are the same but it is the man (or woman), who is supposed to make those choices and is supposed to be in charge. From how it is written, the demon appears as the raw and more instinctive part within, the power, who, though more prone to sin, is neither good, nor bad. If the man who “owns” the demon isn’t principled (like Demos was and probably Vitale) he’ll use it wrongly and if he is emotionally unbalanced (like I presume Blayze is) or mentally weak, those powers will take control. When it comes to Skender, everything gets more complicated though. From what I’ve gathered, Defenders, apparently have a natural tendency to protect. If I’ve inferred correctly, while common demons may be either neutral or more prone to sin, a defender’s demon, his inner power, is naturally inclined to protect and defend. Could it mean that the power that they possess can’t, by default, used to harm except when strictly necessary in order to defend? That thought makes me wonder about the exact nature of the curse. If the destroyer has actual destructive tendencies or if what is destructive about it is that it is an unbridled power, too raw, too great, devoid of any restraint…? Although the demons within these Lords don’t appear as particularly intelligent creatures but rather emotional and instinctive ones instead, I guess the Destroyer could turn out to be a very intelligent demon that can deviously plan and device… But somehow, I doubt it. Psychologically speaking, I just don’t find it very convincing. To me, what makes more sense is that the destroyer is smart because Skender is, and that he’s acting on what Skender would like to do but would never allow himself. So far, for the good and the bad, it acts not as a Defender but as Skender’s defender. First it embodies his will to live which is good, a will he’s not fully aware off. Second, it defends him from those who mock him, betray him or not take him seriously, which can go either way, and finally, and this is the worse part, it also defends him from those who are or try to get close to his heart. Let’s no forget that the decision of distancing himself was not one that the Destroyer made… When it says “Now you have no one but me”, we think that the Destroyer is a separate entity speaking when in reality the most likely though twisted possibility is that there is a part within Skender that desires that. He went after all, to say goodbye… Being close to people, holding hopes can be heart shattering and he just can’t go through that anymore… The greater the emotion or the fear, the greater the reaction… He reacted to William as he’s the one with the greatest hold on his heart and he reacted to Rayven because his betrayal was a stab to his heart but he didn’t react to Blayze’s taunt (though I’m sure he will soon enough, but you get my point)… The fact that he’s “losing time” only reinforces my idea that the whole Skender/Destroyer duplicity is a manifestation of his inner conflict and that he just blacks out when acting on some unconscious desire that he would never otherwise allow.
Of all the parts that render the deepest impression and highest significance in any story is ITS CHARACTERS' GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT; in which we all are much invested and in what we all highly anticipate to come forth in a different perspective. As I had experienced to be part of the reader-reviewer committee in the recently concluded WSA 2021 awards; I could say it wasn't bad at all to be pegged for the novels under the ML category but it turned out so much refreshing and rewarding; just as you're reviewing novels with FL's. Just like in this Author Jasmine's book, I will be highly anticipating more highlights or milestones in each in all of our characters' individual growth and development, especially with the seven demons representing each of the seven deadly sins; bcs this is where mostly the STORY DESIGN and DEVELOPMENT EVOLVES. I have much confidence in our dear Author Jazzy that she will be able to pan this out brilliantly and impeccably. 😊 As for Skender who's the highlight in today's chapter, he is starting to get cautious with his proximity with/for the other demons and to Angelica and William as well; bcs he's aware of his Destroyer's nature that can be unpredictable at times just so to avoid any damage to them or inflicting harm upon them. I could only hope that his Destroyer side would not overwhelm more of his Defender side. As for his deal with Marie, I think it's just temporal. The woman destined to be his partner is yet to come in the future; in all of these, we have to let Author Jazzy take charge. 😊
