Beautiful Death

[Brainstorming notes to consider while making revisions in the next draft. Some themes and elements need more work to cement them into story.]

Why a butterfly? From the beginning, the blue-black butterflies have been powerful images for this story. I knew butterflies from the very beginning. Why, though?

It goes back to her father. The years in his research lab, when she was his princess and he was the brilliant genius who could save anybody. Save the world. Did he collect them? Did he tell her a story about them? Something. It became HERS though, over time. Her signature. Perhaps something tied to her mother's death. I've often seen butterflies about dead animals, a beautiful yet gruesome picture. She could consider it some kind of sign, though. She feels guilty about her mother's death, but her strength at that time defined her. She became BEAUTIFUL DEATH because of that first mercy killing.

So I think the butterfly is tied to her mother, not her father. I think that makes it more powerful. The royal-blue color was from her father -- it matches their eyes. But the symbol itself is tied to her mother's death.

It needs to carry through the story, though. At another dark moment or moment of death, she needs to see the butterfly, or recognize it in some way.

Also, there's something about Icarus. How did he know about the butterfly? It's likely something she told him, and he latched onto it as a trademark for her personality in the Cities. I've long been playing with the idea that he's betraying her somehow. That he gave or continues to give Zeus information about her. Then when Zeus began his manipulation via the virus, he created her trademark wings in her power. But why would he do this if the butterfly sign came from her mother? Not really sure yet. Keep thinking. The pieces will fall into place eventually.

From dream interpretation:

A dream of a butterfly could be telling you to settle down and not to flit from person to person or it could have to do with social situations.. The bigger and more beautiful the butterfly, the more of an impression you will make on society, or at a special function that you must attend. Use the other symbols in your dream to get you on the right track. Link

More: (emphasis mine)
A butterfly within a dream often symbolizes the onset of a period of transformation
Symbolic of a life cycle
Learning to release the past and embrace the new
Living in the present
A need to slow down and reflect on your growth thus far
Beauty, lightness, freedom, sensitivity
A disfigured butterfly may symbolize having outgrown your present situation or cycle
Failure to commit or invest time in something, flitting around
Someone who is unable to stick to one interest, place or occupation for a reasonable period of time
Butterflies in the tummy are indicative of nervousness, anxiety, worry or stress
A person who never settles with one interest or in one place for long
The colour of the butterfly may provide further interpretational clues.
Link

More (ignoring the stuff on infidelity)
butterfly is a symbol of changeability. It may imply that you are going through an inner change like caterpillar transforms into a butterfly! And this change is going to be positive. Link

I don't even remember where I got the Archetypes Storytelling Cards link. Perhaps from Paperback Writer's Monday ten? Anyway, I updated my site today and added a few new links. I decided to check this one out. Something had snagged my attention about it, but I'd never spent time going over it.

Now I love web tarot. Some funky things have happened the few times I've played with it. The Archetypes site is sort of like standard tarot, but it's specific to character. Since I've been in a bit of a funk with Isabella and BD in general, I thought about her. Where is the story going? What do I need to accomplish? Am I on the right track?

Here's what I got from the 3-character spread.

The Past: The Noble.

Injustice, reward without merit, nepotism

Basic Interpretation:The Noble sits upon a throne, basking in his riches and blind to the suffering of those who hold him where he is. He is unaware (or possibly unconcerned) with the price paid by others to maintain his unearned position and wealth. He simply feels entitled to his lofty lifestyle.

This is totally Isabella at the beginning of the story. She's living in Athens, which she believes to be a paradise, while people die outside. Locked outside for many reasons, not just the virus, all for Zeus's grand scheme of the perfect human race. By her blood tests alone, she would have been excluded from Athens in the first place. But because she's Zeus's daughter, she was accepted without question.


The Present: The Judge

Justice, consequence, judgment, seriousness, lack of humor, absolute definitions of Right and Wrong, dogma

Basic Interpretation:Seated between icons of life and death, the Judge peers sternly and disapprovingly upon the convicted. He is the protector of the status quo and uninterested in new ideas. He passes judgment conservatively and dispassionately; no humor is allowed in his court.

Again, this is spot on. When the story opens, Isabella is First Marshal, executioner for the Pantheon. She believes she's executing justice. She hates the monsters without question. There is no room for middle ground -- anyone who's contaminated should be exterminated. Then, of course, her own contamination drives her out of her paradise, out of her comfort zone into the real world, where she begins to see the dark, ugly truth. She begins to see the monster she was all along.


The Future: The Knight

Structure, service, loyalty, fidelity, follows rules, responsibility

Basic Interpretation:Dedicated to his superiors and the oaths he has taken, the Knight stands ready to joyously serve. The Knight's loyalty and fidelity are beyond question. He has earned the honor other bestow on him by his skill and loyal service.

So this one I need to think about and work on some more. She's to the dark moment, the realization that she has killed many innocent people. That many innocent people suffered and died because of her grand Cities' exclusion policy. She starts to believe she's no better than Hera's Keres. Her loyalty to Athens is broken, but she hasn't established loyalty to anyone else yet. She still doesn't believe in Hades. But loyalty and trust in him is what will pull her through, help her defeat Zeus in the end. I need to make her worthy through loyalty and fidelity.

Someday I need to buy me a set of these cards.....