The Hanged Man · 3:55am Dec 11th, 2017
Not an overly important blog
I pay attention to what you all say in the comments and after this last chapter I have seen some concern regarding the ending of chapter 46.
Hating when things are too convoluted to understand, myself, I'll go into the scene and explain the purpose, the meaning, and the necessity of the act.
Now, suicide is serious and should always be treated with its due respect and solemn seriousness. The story sees him commit this because it's, at its core a violation of nature, at least to me. He is haunted by one choice he made and has this shadow looming over him and now hes saddened to do it again. The opening to the story wasn't the status quo for much of the HIE where the opening is just an excuse to get to Equestria; not taking shots, just stating my observation.
Now, to address the elephant in the room. He is special among the Spirits because he is the only one to die by his own hand (technically.) People complain about having a special protagonist, but I think that's silly to have a plain jane going to pick up eggs. Something must be different to set events in motion. I'm aware that some stories are of the average joe rising to the task, but thats not this one. Also, we recognize stories are all different and there's no strict template to follow.
But why be hanged twice? Skyfall must do so because to cross borders into the Makers realm without her power, you have to die. She is powerless as stated in the prologue, even the chapter's title references this. The time of her having no sway over Equus is here. She is weak and there's no mcguffen to fix this. There's no power ranger power up, no senzu bean recovery, no cheatcodes to get to her and be like "hey, you rang?" To do so ruins the severity of the situation and just cheapins it all.
Yes, but why hanging? The hanged man is rooted in mythology and in tarot cards. It represents the concept of self sacrifice and of being a traitor. There is a wisedom root in norse mythology but I am targeting the first two meanings. He betrays himself willingly to reach the Maker, having gone through it once and having lived 40k years it isn't much in regards to the character, it just holds a severe meaning to him at this point cause it's cruel yet needed. It almost takes away his ability to choose like he felt when he was human. (Self recognized) He isn't a character for sacrificing often, but he does for those he cares about. During the hanging he pulls out a picture that appeared when he touched the noose. He is slowly being reminded of who he was, so then it becomes a battle of is-was. Picture wasnt placed there by the Maker, the picture, amd aome other secrets in the story, are from the same person earth works for.
Could he have pink panthered his way around the baddy? No. I mean, that's more in the realm of parody.
Most of this is better when it is potrayed in story flow. Personally, explaining story elements is enjoyable to me but sometimes explaining too much makes it feel propped up instead of organic. Crazy, I know.
Most of writing (and life) is prep and since the beginning I've tried to have reason for things, even if at times things happen because of the "shit happens" mindset. Mythology is fun for me because they're old stories, so I've incorporated them in, either directly or inspired. I refer to many things from tarot cards to old books.
If you ever have a plot questions or are wondering about the direction of the story, please pm me or comment (pm is easier for me) I love talking about this stuff.
This marks the beginning of the end of the first major arc. I'm excited for it to wrap up and have certain secrets and background mysteries come to light. As a writer I hope you all enjoy what I make. If at any time you want to talk about it or just talk, talk to me. I'm on Discord, Arctikfox #9983.
I can be also found on the Reviewer's Cafe server. If not, I'll just go and cry in the corner at 3am listening to my chemical romance circa 2003 
I think that's all I can say now. Off to freeze my butt off.
And yet i can't help but think that his father had a hand in his first death
Continuity vs. Change. Like Pull vs. Push, Harmony vs. Discord. I enjoy the common themes employed through the story.
Also congratulations on approaching the close of the first arc. Do you know how many there will be/ how long the story will be? I sincerely hope there will be much more— this is a great story.
4745933
Harmony is Order and chaos put in one huge bundle that works
so it would be Order Vs. Chaos
4745916
Dreams Shouldn't have to mean unless there a vision that was given by a mighter Being
4745960
Dreams can be influences by experiences in real world, so I suppose you’re half wrong
I knew the meaning of the chapter's subject was deep, but I didn't think it was going to relate to mythology and tarot as well! I am pleasantly surprised!
Way to leave your readers hanging man.