View source for The Soul of Jonathan

The Soul of Jonathan is a story written by [[shukyou]]. It ran in [[Issue 7]] and can be found at http://s2b2.livejournal.com/28246.html and http://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirror/the-soul-of-jonathan/.

== Summary ==
A young monk helps his fellow monk escape from the harsh treatment of the head of the monastery.

<BLOCKQUOTE>Stephen stepped forward into the chapel, his bare feet cold against the stone floor, his bare head chilled in the Easter pre-morning. Sunrise would come soon, and with it all the Paschal celebrations – but now it was yet night, the proverbial darkness before the coming dawn, and Stephen stepped forward in only his rough brown robe, his head bent down, his thick hair just beginning to grow back around the tips of his ears. Somewhere in the congregation, he knew, sat the family he had left behind, the family that had dedicated him, their first fruits, in service to the Lord. But his eyes did not seek them, nor did he lift his head to examine his surroundings, walking only forward, meditating on Christ in the tomb as was appropriate.</BLOCKQUOTE>

This story features instances of dubious consent, self-flagellation, other-person-flagellation, abuses of various positions of power, and a conspiracy to cause indecent exposure.

== Author's Notes ==
<BLOCKQUOTE>Again, ignoring the part where it's totally silly to have Author's Notes after a BL story, I feel compelled to sum up a lot of this story in two disclaiming words: <b><i>FETISH CATHOLICISM</i></b>. The Catholicism presented in this story is one big goulash of historical Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, rites of the Early Christian Church, modern practices and liturgy, grossly exaggerated devotional practices, and things I totally made up all by myself. I'd be sorry, since I of all people should know better, but there's only so much research I'm willing to put into a 10,000-word story that's mostly religious flagellant porn.</p>
<p>The catechism used is the Pope Pius X catechism, which should date this story somewhere around the early 20<sup>th</sup> century (before the Great War, but not by a whole lot); I contemplated using the vulgate, but then I figured a truly alienating portion of this story would be in Latin, and eventually decided against it.</p>
<p>Those of you who saw the affront to good taste that was the <i>DaVinci Code</i> movie will recognise the cilice as being the thing Silas (ha ha) strapped around his thigh until it bled. It's not supposed to make you bleed, nor are you supposed to wear it for more than two hours a day; I bought into the former, and cheated like hell around the latter. It's supposed to be the modern equivalent of a hairshirt, since you just can't get a good hairshirt these days, and it's not supposed to <i>hurt</i>, just keep you in a constant state of discomfort.</p>
<p>My only excuse for how they're all going around in medieval monk garb is, hey, easy access!</p>
<p>In conclusion, uh … look over there! *zoom*</p></BLOCKQUOTE>

(from the story entry)

== External Reviews ==
From http://cheloya.dreamwidth.org/228440.html: "Because mixing gay porn with religion appeals, okay?"



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[[category:text]] [[category:M/M]] [[category:religious]] [[category:drama]] [[category:2006]]