#That being said: this is why Etoiles is my favorite guy LMAO man is so unbothered

[royalarchivist]

Etoiles: Okay, so you don't have 100% trust on your leader?

Badboyhalo: Do you have 100% trust in any of your teammates to win any fight?

Etoiles: Yeah, because they are my teammate, because I believe in them.

Badboyhalo: So you think they could beat anybody? Anybody on your team, you think could take on anybody?

Etoiles: Yeah, exactly.

Badboyhalo: Okay, then you're a fool for thinking that.

Etoiles: Exactly. I'm a fool, but I've got big heart, so it's okay.

[evandearest]

The Garden of Eden Explanation

Series Masterlist: The Garden of Eden Series

Warning: Read After Part Two: Reflection!! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Hey guys, it’s Emilie (@evandearest)! So I’ve just decided to pop in here and make a post about my current James March x reader series, The Garden of Eden. This is just something that I’ve decided to do just to clear things up, both for any readers and for myself <3.

This series was requested by @etoile-writings , who is now one of my good friends here on tumblr :). This post will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t read part one and two I suggest you do! After I finish writing the entire series, I will do a separate review post to explain the symbolism and references in depth with the entire story. This post will just contain an explanation for the concepts and symbolism in the events so far.

JUXTAPOSITION:

The original request was juxtaposition, which is basically just an idea: the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect. It’s just simply a comparison - a contrast between two objects. In this story’s case, the two things are the reader and James. The contrast is revealed as the story goes, but it’s basically the fact that the reader constantly looks at everything in a religious view, while James is completely against religion, as we’ve seen in the show. This will get more prevalent in part three, which at this point in time is still being wrote.

READER’S DARKNESS:

As the story goes on, this will be revealed further, but there has already been multiple instances in which the reader has seemed passive towards violence/physical hurting, the seriousness of the situation seeming to go over her head; no empathy shown. This occurred in two instances: when James killed her husband, and when the man in the hotel was in pain. As I said, this will be explored further, but is to be kept in mind, as it ties in with the juxtaposition concept.

WHITE ROSES:

Now let’s talk about the flowers, which were included as part of the request as well. They mainly tied into the whole “Garden of Eden” biblical concept, which we will get into next. I specifically chose white roses as the flower of interest because of their symbolism:

“ White roses often represent purity, innocence, and youthfulness. White roses are sometimes referred to as bridal roses because of their association with young love and eternal loyalty. White roses can also symbolize a new beginning and everlasting love. ”

In part two, you find out the origin of James’ and the reader’s love; how it all started in the garden, with the roses. However, the roses are very prevalent throughout the entire story, as well as what the owner of the garden said about them:  “if you kill the rose, the rose no longer profits you.” (keep that in mind) 

They are what is known as a motif of literature.

The first and simplest symbolic thing about them is the fact that they are the readers favorite flower, which is explained in the flashback in part two. Since they symbolize purity and innocence, it’s only right for them to be the reader’s favorite flower, as she is the same symbolic representation.

So far, they have briefly appeared in part one when James arrives at the reader’s house, and then again throughout most of part two.

To recall to part one:

“ Before you knew it, the man you had dreamed of for so many years was standing before you. You gasped as your eyes met his, the same dark brown framed by his sharp masculine features. It was as if you had seen the sun after years in the dark. Your eyes took in his features before shifting to look at the object in his hands. A bouquet of white roses lay clasped between his hands; your flowers. He had remembered. He really had come back for you. Finally, you had your James again. “

Since white roses symbolize a new beginning and everlasting love, I thought it important and fitting to include them as a symbol of just that. James and reader have always loved one another; everlasting love. James has come back for reader and they are starting their relationship again; a new beginning. The new beginning symbolism also applies to when the reader and James first met, or began.

BIBLICAL REFERENCE:

Now here’s where ideas collide a little bit. The Garden of Eden idea intertwines both of the previous topics into one another. First I want to establish what the real Garden of Eden story from the Bible is for anyone who doesn’t know. (Disclaimer: There are many many many interpretations of this story, and I just tried to find the simplest one.)

The Garden of Eden was essentially paradise. God placed an innocent Adam and Eve in the garden and tells them that they can eat freely from all of the trees in the garden, except of a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When they are coerced by snakes of evil and eat the fruit, they gain the knowledge, and God banishes them from the garden as punishment for disobeying him. They were both sent down to Earth as God’s representatives. In some interpretations, Earth is often thought to be hell. So in a way, they were sent to hell.

That being said, here is how that fits into the story. James and reader meet in a white rose garden when they are young, which implements both the roses as a symbol of youthfulness and the innocence that is said to come with that, as well as a comparison between James & reader and Adam & Eve. When James and reader get older and gain more knowledge, they are forced apart, are no longer together in love, and their paradise is lost. This compares to Adam and Eve’s banishment to hell, when their paradise was lost. So in a biblical way, James and reader have been forced apart (losing paradise) to live in hell (which is just living without one another) as a punishment or consequence for gaining knowledge, or getting older. (Read that a few times to process it lmao)

As a side note, reader’s mother had also warned her of this. In the flashback, reader recalls her mothers words, “One day when all the distractions of young age are gone, you’ll realize why you need to be prepared.” You can assume that she had known that reader would be married off by her father, signifying that the same thing happened to her (it was common in the time), which ties into the “cycle of life“ concept (more about that down below). This is also basically saying that when you get older and become no longer oblivious (gain knowledge), you won’t live life the same carefree way. You loose your inner child. Reader’s mother was just trying to prepare her for that.

GOD CONCEPT:

Now we get to the reader and James’ new beginning, where all James wants is to recreate that paradise for the reader. The reader in turn views James as a God because of multiple reasons: he saved and freed her from hell, returned to her, he’s always been the one she can rely on and always loved (chose) her, made her feel like she was invincible when by his side, and also the fact that he went from being a poor boy to a rich man and built an empire (the hotel) on it.

And from here I’d like to talk about just a few more things; first being the last little bit of part two. I just feel like I need to explain the meaning of that part’s ending in conclusion to everything, to wrap everything up.

To recall once again:

“ You smiled once more at his words, thinking back to that day in the garden once more, and to your mother’s words. The feeling you had now was a reflection of the feeling you had then. He’d always made you feel so incredibly self-assured. You felt like no matter what happened to you and James, nothing could break you at this point and time. And your mother had been right: gaining the knowledge was important.

Now that you’d ate the fruit of the garden and survived hell, what could possibly stop you?

You felt invincible, so long as he was by your side. You no longer feared the past or the future; you were completely centered present, all cycles broken. And it had took James less than a day to make you feel this way. Your excitement soared as you thought about your future with James. You knew that so long as you had him, you were unstoppable together. You were gods.

You didn’t need the garden, after all. Paradise lost stood no match to you, because with James, you could survive anything. “

I’m going to specifically talk about the bold parts. Okay, so “eating the fruit of the garden” means gaining knowledge, as we’ve discussed, and for James and reader that represents their separation when they got older. So it’s basically saying that now that the reader and James have survived everything (from being separated to surviving without one another {hell} to then finding their way back to each other), what else could they possibly face that would break them?  And the last line is similar: the reader realizes that they have survived so much already, and feels that they can take anything. They don’t need to “go back” to anywhere; they can survive in any circumstance; they do not need the garden or paradise.

More about the god concept: since the reader views James as a god, and then feels invincible by his side, she feels as if they are now gods together.

CYCLE OF LIFE:

The cycle of life idea was not apart of the request, but upon approaching part one, I just kind of threw it in, as it added to the story quite a lot. The cycle of life ties straight into the whole reflection part of the story, with the reader having flashbacks to the past events that seemed to almost mirror the current events. This happens mainly in the two situations in which it was pointed out: when the reader was being abused by James father in the past and her husband in the present, and the feeling the reader had when she first met James being the same as she feels for him now in this new beginning. It’s a repetition. In the beginning of part one, it also begs the question: do the lessons we’re really meant to learn in life recur without us noticing?

END NOTES:

And that’s it! I hope that cleared some things up if you were confused! Let me know any questions you may have and I will certainly reply as quick as I can! I’m so unbelievably excited to finish part three! Thanks so much to everyone for the support <3. Happy Holidays if you celebrate! Sending love to all~ xoxo