Hi all,
Well, this has been a bittersweet week. My sole
remaining mouse, Chai, passed away on Thursday. It's
hard to believe the "mouse era" is over. They were with
me throughout the pandemic and I'll miss Chai as I miss
Gussie, Jackie, Andi, and Rilke who went before her.
It's still kind of surreal sitting here without her and her
tank beside me.
On the plus side, I was finally able to finish "The
Advocate." If you'd like to check it out, you can find
it here:
http://www.miscjabb.onthisside.net/advocate.html
I'd welcome any feedback as I was dealing with some health
issues during the writing of it so if you notice anything
awry, please let me know.
This newsletter is comprised of things I'd partially written
and I don't think I ever sent. I hope I'm not
wrong. Whilst writing TA, I got really disorganized and
was writing stuff in random email drafts and then forgetting
to delete them once they were used. So... if any of this
is a re-run, my apologies.
God bless,
Jenni
Ask a JABB Co-Founder: The Catch-Up
Edition
What do you think is the biggest difference
between Yeshua and Joshua?
I don't think there is one truly. But I think the
level of knowledge causes them to behave differently. In
the stories, I take the kenosis hymn pretty literally.
("[Yeshua/Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider
equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness."~~Philippians
2:6-7) Yeshua didn't know what was going on with people
unless the Father told him. I think he had really great
intuition and empathy and maybe could suss things out on his
own, better than most could. But, for example, I don't
think he was being rhetorical when the hemorrhaging woman
touched the hem of his robe and he asked who had touched
him. I truly don't believe he knew and wouldn't have known
unless she'd identified herself or the Father identified
her. In contrast, Joshua's "live feed" is down when he
visits the Friends but he knows everything that happened to them
up until the moment when he showed back up. And his
intuition is probably even better than Yeshua's because he's
able to access all that history. But, say, if Andrew
whispers something to JenniAnn and Joshua sees, he doesn't
necessarily know what was whispered. The Father has to
tell him those sorts of things IF he actually needs to know...
and often he doesn't.
I think the second biggest thing is physical boundaries.
Yeshua's time and place were quite restricted in how men could
interact with women. Modern day America certainly has its
mores but, for example, in "Remembrance" Joshua and JenniAnn get
a hotel room together and no one cares. Strangers assume
they're a couple and don't care. The Friends know it's
more of a father and vulnerable child thing and also don't
care. But that would absolutely NOT be something Yeshua
woulda done in Nazareth. That woman would have been
ruined. Similarly, I don't think Yeshua was as physically
affectionate with the female disciples as Joshua is with the
female Friends. But that doesn't mean he didn't want to
be. He just had to be careful not to set any woman up for
trouble. So it's not that he's different. The times
are just different.
What are the actual statuses of Andrew's and
JenniAnn's children?
With the exception of Violeta, all four of the other kids are
legally adopted. Max and Shelby were adopted via adult
adoption. Belle and Avi were adopted within a few days of
their births. That being said, each adoption is treated a
little differently. Max regards Andrew and JenniAnn as his
only parents. His dad is still alive but jailed for his
abuse of women. Max has no relationship with him.
His mother abandoned him and while I wouldn't entirely rule out
her eventually resurfacing, they are unlikely to ever have a
familial relationship again.
With Shelby, Andrew and JenniAnn never treated her differently
from the others with the exception of not pursuing adoption
since her older brother, Asher, lives in the Tunnels and is very
much a part of her life. Since he remembers their parents,
they never wanted to offend him by formally assuming the role of
Shelby's parents even though they increasingly acted as
such. However, once Shelby got older and started traveling
more and interacting with the world beyond the Tunnels and
Asteriana, Asher asked Andrew and JenniAnn to adopt her
(assumedly after discussing it with Shelby) since he's lived
Below for his entire adult life and they would be better placed
to help Shelby if she got into any trouble given they haven't
sequestered themselves in the Tunnels. Were Shelby to ever
be incapacitated (I have no plans to have that occur but they
don't know that), Andrew and JenniAnn would be the ones to make
decisions for her but they would do so in consultation with
Asher.
Belle was adopted after being abandoned by her birth
mother. Because she's at least half Afghani, Andrew and
JenniAnn ensure that she learns about her culture, mainly from
Behnam and Isra as the former is her biological uncle.
Behnam is in touch with Belle's birth mother, his sister
Adila. 
Adila has never
confided in her brother or anyone in her family about having had
a baby. If she ever does, Behnam has Andrew's and
JenniAnn's permission to tell her that he knows and he also
knows that child is safe. When Belle asks about her birth
mom, she's given honest answers. She knows she's alive and
that Uncle Behnam is in touch with her. She knows that she
doesn't yet have her life on track. Once Belle turns
eighteen, all decision making will go to her. So, for
example, if Adila still never confides in Behnam by the time
Belle is eighteen and Belle decides she doesn't want her to
know, Behnam is going to honor that. I highly doubt that
happens. I only bring it up to say that Belle gets to call
the shots once she's an adult. Also, while the family is
obviously Christian and Joshua's presence in their lives pretty
much assures Belle is going to remain Christian, I do think
Andrew and JenniAnn would make a point of ensuring Belle learns
about Islam since she was born into a Muslim family. I
don't know that Behnam and Isra would want to take that on since
they have a complicated relationship with their former
religion. More likely that teaching would come from
Ibrahim, Raheem, Hura, Liyana, and/or even Azrael. All
four humans converted to Christianity after learning about
Joshua's true identity but they're not triggered by in depth
discussions of their former religion like Behnam and Isra might
be at times.
Avi was originally going to be adopted by Catherine and Vincent
as the latter is biologically related to him. However,
since Father/elder Jacob was dying at the same time, Andrew and
JenniAnn went to pick up the baby after he was found abandoned
in Ireland. Because of Avi's cleft lip, bottle feeding was
difficult for him and he managed better with breastfeeding which
JenniAnn did. So by the time Andrew and JenniAnn returned
to New York with the baby, they were both enamored with
him. Vincent, after consultation with Catherine, decided
that because of that bond and their advanced ages, they were
better suited to being Avi's grandparents and, thus, allowed
Andrew and JenniAnn to adopt him. Vonnie, Avi's birth
mother, was stricken with guilt over leaving her baby and
resurfaced. Avi is aware that he "came from Vonnie's
tummy." Vonnie has since become one of the Friends and so
she's very much a presence in her son's life but as a family
friend. She trusts Andrew and JenniAnn to make the best
decisions for Avi and doesn't butt in.
What are some ways in which your own life experience has
altered what you write?
Well... One big thing that comes to mind is the increase in
unmarried co-habitating couples. I didn't judge people who
lived together outside of marriage but I also didn't originally
write about characters doing that because I was taught that you
should wait until you're married to live together. And
then I got a mortgage. To be clear, I still think one
should be very careful before moving in with someone. Like
it would really suck if I met someone, moved in with them, sold
my house, and then we broke up and... where do I go? But
when we're talking about people living in New York City, largely
in apartments, it just got really difficult for me to see any
reason why two committed people would pay two rents. I
mean imagine how much easier your life would be with an extra
$4000 every month. I'm just having a really hard time
squaring being good stewards of the gifts God gives us and
throwing money down the drain in the name of an arbitrary date
on which the government declares someone married... noting that
the government can at any time change who can and cannot get
married. All that to say, I don't judge engaged couples
who do live separately. I live alone and I love it.
I just don't think anyone should feel pressured either
way. If a couple wants to live apart until they're
married... great. If a couple has made a commitment to
each other and wants to live together even if it's not
"official"... also great. I do think it's important to
point out that the Friends have an incredibly tight social
circle which allows for more freedom. If, say, Emma and
Peter had broken up before getting married, no one woulda left
Emma to scramble. She could have moved in with someone
until she was on her feet again. Not everyone has that
privilege.
Does Purgatory exist in the stories?
Yes. But I don't think that name is ever used because it's
so loaded. Whilst watching the third episode of Our
Flag Means Death's second season, I got to thinking of all
the different ways Purgatory is depicted. And I think I've
utilized a couple different interpretations. Joshua's
Island, where JenniAnn is sent after being shot by Rex, is very
much in line with the interpretation OFMD utilized. It's
not a negative place. It's a place to work through some
issues and make the decision whether to return to the mortal
realms or go Home aka die. I think Purgatory is very
personalized. For JenniAnn, it was a beautiful cottage in
a lovely wooded area. It's so pleasant that she doesn't
even realize it's a form of Purgatory. For someone else,
maybe it would be the seaside or rolling plains of
wildflowers. Generally speaking, I think everyone who dies
or has a near-death experience goes to this version of Purgatory
because I don't think any of us are completely free of
unfinished business or trauma. I think the
Netherworld/God's Country in TBAA is the angelic equivalent and
maybe even the exact same place just, again, tailored to what
that angel needs to see and feel to work through their issues.
The second version of Purgatory in the stories is the version
C.S. Lewis depicted in The Great Divorce. In this
take on Purgatory, Hell itself can function as Purgatory if the
person eventually decides to leave it. Thus, for Yehuda,
Hell was only Purgatory. Eben got a double dose of
Purgatory in that he ended up leaving Hell/Sheol but then also
went onto Joshua's Island to work through his remaining
issues.
I think that the main thing I can say about Purgatory in the
stories is that it's never one-size-fits-all. It looks and
feels different to different people. Some may have their
realizations in the Hell and never actually go to formal
Purgatory like Yehuda. I also personally believe that
Yosef, Yohannan/John, and others never went to formal Purgatory
since they already did their thinking while waiting for Yeshua
in Sheol. And, given I was raised Catholic, I'm gonna go
ahead and say Maryam was likely never in any form of Purgatory.
Since it was OFMD that started me thinking about this again, it
makes sense to end with the Asterian stories version of
Ed. What happens to an angel turned human when he
dies? I think he'll probably go to the Joshua's Island
version of Purgatory. Maybe even with Steve. While
they go onto live wonderful lives together, I'm sure that by the
end neither is devoid of questions or the lingering effects of
trauma in their earlier lives. I've just always had a
problem with the idea that we die and go to Heaven and all our
grief and angst is washed away as if it never existed. It
just feels more honest... and more Romantic... to me to think of
going to a place where those feelings are validated and lovingly
dealt with and then, with souls made lighter and happier, we
move to the Great Beyond.
Why is Asteriana being used in place of Dyeland lately?
Because Asteriana was the name before the Dyelanders settled
there. To be clear, the original population was dwindling
as many of the younger people (Fr. Mike's generation) had gone
back to Earth for employment and marriage opportunities.
So they were very happy to have the Dyelanders because they
breathed new life into the world and held the promise of future
generations. So this was not a colonization
situation. However, as I began to introduce more
indigenous characters and especially when I wrote "The Lost
Sheep" and felt I ought to use Aotearoa instead of New Zealand,
it seemed more and more right to use Asteriana's original
name. It doesn't mean anyone wants to lose the link to
John Dye who inspired their friendships. Dyeland City will
always be Dyeland City. But I think it seems respectful to
the oldest inhabitants to raise the children to know of their
home as Asteriana and themselves as Asterians, not
Dyelanders. I do think it makes sense to perhaps still
sometimes use Dyelanders to refer specifically to the group who
came to Asteriana with JenniAnn. Their arrival represented
a pretty big shift in the history of that world and it seems
like a future Asterian historian might want a term for
them. But the children who have basically only ever known
Asteriana as their home are, rightly, Asterians. Also...
just to be blunt: I think Asteriana and Asterians sound
prettier.
Wacky
Asterian Story Theories
Every so often I like to think about what sort of fan theories
might arise if my stories were a TV show. So I decided
to write some down that I could actually see someone dreaming
up... but they aren't true.
1. Violeta is actually Andrew's and
JenniAnn's biological daughter... or maybe Belle is.
Nope. While they act as parents to Violeta and Joshua
said he and his Dad used aspects of Andrew and JenniAnn to
create the young angel, I don't think that makes them her
biological parents any more than cherry blossoms are Gloria's
parents. Violeta was created with the plan that she
would eventually be in their household and, in many ways,
regarded as a daughter. But she was never biologically
linked to either "parent."
As for Belle, I could see someone coming up with this given
she was born nine months after Andrew and JenniAnn slept
together for the first time. But one major problem: when
I say "slept together," I literally mean dozed off and entered
REM while in close proximity, nothing else. Not to
mention, it's just plain creepy to think of God then
transferring the resulting embryo into the unsuspecting and
troubled Adila Al-Mitra. Also, Belle is at least
half-Afghani while JenniAnn is of European descent which
Andrew appears to be, too.
2. Someone involved in the Friends' JCS
productions is a biblical character reincarnated so they
can make amends with Joshua.
Cool idea but no. Most of the characters in the show
have already had their real-life counterparts appear in their
resurrected forms. That includes Mary Magdalene, all
twelve apostles, and Maryam. So in terms of named
characters, that only leaves: Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas, and
Annas. With the exception of Herod, the others are all
portrayed by angels of death who existed long before Pilate
and the high priests. That only leaves Shane as
Herod. It does eventually come out that Shane is a sort
of modern day take on one of the JCS characters but 1. that
person is already accounted for and 2. he's the equivalent of
their JCS portrayal, not their actual, historical
experience. And, really, he's actually closer to another
biblical era person who isn't well represented in JCS but does
appear at the same time Shane does in "The Advocate" so...
definitely not reincarnated.
That, of course, does leave the unnamed characters like the
Roman guards. And Edward and Caleb Romano, as twins and
Italians, are kinda tied to Roman mythology and history.
But I just don't think that's what's going on. They
don't seem to carry any sort of heaviness about, say, Joshua's
scourging beyond what normal human compassion would
inspire.
But the biggest reason this isn't a plot point is I feel like
it would be a lesser, redundant version of how JCS helped
Yehuda make his way back to Joshua.
3. Andrew and JenniAnn, pre-Creation, were the
same being.
I believe everyone is a distinct individual from the moment of
their creation... so no. But as has been hinted, there
is a relationship between the two of them that certainly
pre-dates JenniAnn's earthly birth and, yes, might pre-date
the Creation of the Earth.
In the Asteriana-verse (and possibly actual reality), I'm a
proponent of a belief in two stages of Creation. I've
dubbed the first stage The Knowing. In this stage, all
that is, ever was, and ever will be existed in a sort of
embryonic, spiritual form in the mind of God. I think
Andrew and JenniAnn, while not consciously aware of it, had a
connection then. The second stage of creation would be
when they each sprang to life in the forms we know them as:
Andrew as an angel, JenniAnn as a human woman. But even
prior to that, they were two distinct beings.
And I think that'll do for now!
This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for helping me to get
through writing "The Advocate." Seriously, the Andrew
scenes, while sometimes difficult, were when I could breathe a
bit easier.
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Credits: The photograph used on this page is from Touched
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