What Are the Sixteen Behaviors? I cribbed the idea of sixteen instincts from the book Meditation Secrets for Women, by Camille Maurine & Lorin Roche (a book, which, by the way, I recommend; it got me over my hatred of meditation). The behaviors themselves come more or less directly from that book, though I jury-rigged it a little by combining hunting and gathering and adding my own as the sixteenth.
Since everybody wants to know what they are...here they are, at least for the segments of the series that are completed. The whole series will be four four-story segments, and when each segment is finished, I'll add the four instinctual behaviors that I've just covered to the webpage. This should give you lots of room to guess before I give the game away
Part One: The Partnership Thing "Cuts Deep"
Book says: Resting, sleeping, and dreaming
Betty says: Jim really wants a good night's sleep; he's had no respite from the stress of the senses until Blair came along to soothe his fears. Blair didn't start out stressed, but now he is, and he needs reassurance of his own, so badly that he's calling Jim in the middle of the night, trying to tell him that he's hurting, but sort of muddying the waters with that thumb business. Basically, they're both unsettled, and they need some peace. Jim's finally sleeping better, and Blair finally gets to sleep and wakes up feeling much, much better."Demolition Woman"
Book says: Feeding, nourishing yourself and your family
Betty says: Nourishing is a good word. Blair's trying to reach out here on a human level, trying to establish his friendliness by the age-old method of fixing a hungry man some food. Blair really wants to hear that Jim is okay with him and his presence here, and he's willing, consciously and subconsciously, to pay Jim back for his forebearance by taking care of him and providing what he lacks -- to wit, eggs and support and stuff."Penalty Box"
Book says: Grooming, bathing and getting dressed, cleaning yourself
Betty says: So far, this one's been the easiest for people to decipher. Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, the need to cleanse oneself after an experience that sullies you. Jim, having been helpless to prevent Blair's abduction, is trying to make it up to him by tidying everything up after the fact, with mixed results."White Elephant"
Book says: Gathering, foraging, hunting, searching for what you need
Betty says: Well, this one is a little...conceptual. I'm not sure I got it across very well. But there's this sense that Blair isn't as happy with his life as he maybe thinks he ought to be, and that he's out there looking for what he describes as "scattered pieces," trying to accumulate something significant, and settling for accumulating stuff, angry that no one else is as obsessed with significance as he is. Jim, likewise, is now sort of turned onto this track of wanting to go out and get what Sandburg needs for him, whatever it is (hence having the title refer to the exchange of heretofore unappreciated gifts). He's cast himself in the role of mighty hunter/provider. We'll see how that works out for him. So it's all in there somewhere...I think.
[to be continued...]
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