Versus.
I’m a Capricorn Sun, Virgo Moon, and Gemini rising with a Capricorn stellium in my 8H.
…it’s always been me vs. me.
Writing Foolish 3 is showing me that.
I have another post that I’m working on that explores how I’ve recently discovered that as I’ve grown and changed as a person, my writing has changed as well.
The characters sound different.
The cadence that I write in sounds different.
..dare I say because The Foolishverse is a working (wink) and it’s how I conjure, who I am mirrors my work and vice versa. I think outside of the obvious reasons (and if you’re a writer, you know what I mean), that’s why my writing is SO personal to me.
Back to the me vs. me.
Writing or plotting backwards has never been something I’ve done.
But…as I was writing and chopping down chapters 3 & 4 of Foolish 3, I realized something, and it inspired what is going to be the end of The Foolishverse Saga.
What’s also interesting is today, before I started drafting this post, there’s been a lot of commentary about a creator who shared that she unfollowed someone she looked up to creatively because she noticed she was becoming jealous of the growth. There were so many comments calling her a hater, but honestly?
But.. she’s a prime example of how much it triggers people to say things out loud that would terrify a big majority of people who wouldn’t unpack that the way she did.
My antagonist, Jackie Moreau isn’t the monster that people think that she is…
She’s just a mirror.
That made me ask the question, why do readers HATE Jackie so much?
On the surface, I know the answer. She’s a menace. She’s a hater. She’s jealous of the Duprees.
BUT…
Has anybody who has ever read Foolish really stopped to ask why?
Let’s unpack.
Jackie’s Uncomfortable Reflection
For context, Jackie Moreau is the antagonist of The Foolishverse Saga.
We first met Jackie in Foolish, the first book of the series.
For those who haven’t read it, I’ll just leave it at that.
What we do know about Jackie is that she is jealous of the Dupree family and their conjure, and she will do almost anything to take it from them, by any means necessary.
They say the 8th House is where we keep our secrets, our shadows, and the things we’d rather not admit to the light. As a Capricorn with an 8H stellium, my writing has always been my way of ‘sweeping the floor’ of my own spirit.
..and chile this realization grabbed me by my bun and dragged me to and fro.
For two books, readers have called Jackie Moreau a monster. They call her a hater. A menace. And on the surface? They’re right. As I sat down to chop through chapters 3 & 4 of Foolish 3, I realized Jackie isn’t a villain you can just outrun. Again, she’s a mirror.
We hate Jackie because she says the quiet parts out loud. She wants the crown without the climb. She wants the conjure without the connection. And if we’re being honest? There is a Jackie Moreau living in the basement of every one of us, whispering that we should have what we haven’t earned.
Jackie exudes very loudly what most people won’t say out loud.
It’s very clear that Jackie wants something that she hasn’t rightfully earned, and she’s not quiet about it.
People don’t like Jackie because she’s shadow work made real.
Most people are taught to suppress envy, greed, or the desire for power. Jackie doesn't.
In Hoodoo, we know that you don’t just stumble into power; you inherit it, or you sweat for it…and chile tbh…sometimes its both. MOST TIMES it’s both. There is a specific kind of “spiritual entitlement” that Jackie Moreau carries that triggers something deep in the sha-nana of my readers.
Jackie represents the spiritual bypass.
She is the mirror of every person who wants the harvest without ever having touched the dirt. In the context of the Dupree family, their conjure isn’t just “marketeer magic”, it’s a lineage. It’s a collection of prayers, sacrifices, and secrets passed down through blood and bone.
Heavy on the secrets.
When Jackie tries to take it, she isn’t just “stealing”; she is attempting to commit ancestral identity theft. We hate her because she reflects a very modern, very dangerous shadow: the belief that everything is for sale if you’re ruthless enough to grab it…even thought you wouldn’t know what to do with if you got it.
As a Capricorn, I value the mountain climb. Most of you who will read this will know that I’ve been very public about how hard my climb has been. You’ve seen my trek up the mountain, but you’ve also seen me slide my ass all the way back down that same mountain.
…but I wouldn’t trade it. My mountain climb came with lessons. It came with gems that my soul, my Hoodoo, and my conjure needed.
Jackie is the mirror of the person who tries to take a helicopter to the summit and wonders why their ass can’t breathe when they get there. She lacks the “spiritual lungs” for the heights her weak ass aspires to.
I used to write Jackie as a problem to be solved. But with my Gemini Rising finally seeing both sides of the coin, I realized Jackie is a question to be answered.
As I chop down these chapters in Foolish 3, I’m not just writing a climax; I’m navigating a working that is my creation and navigating it right along with yall. I’m looking at the ‘Jackie’ within my own shadow, the part of me that was ever impatient, ever comparing, or ever fearful of the climb…and I’m giving her a place to rest. Jackie Moreau isn’t the end of the story. She’s the reflection you have to face before you’re allowed to walk through the final door of the Foolishverse.
I’ve always written characters inspired by things I’ve encountered in my own life or what I’ve witnessed. I think and truly believe that people read about Jackie and it makes you look at self.
…and if so? I’m doing what I’ve set out to do.
Bonus: The Mirror at the Altar ( A Shadow Work Prompt)
I wanted to give yall a sneak peek of what is going to be a part of a tier of the Patreon that will be opened in February!
Check out some journal prompts below.
The Concept: In the Foolishverse, Jackie Moreau is a menace because she wants the crown without the climb. She is the “unearned conjure.” In our own lives, we all have a “Jackie”, a shadow voice that feels entitled to the result but resentful of the ritual. To master your craft, you must first master the mirror.
The Reflection Questions:
The Envy Audit: Think of a peer, a family member, or hell, even a fictional character whose “conjure” (success, peace, or talent) makes you feel a twinge of Jackie-like resentment. What is the one specific thing they have that you feel you deserve?
The Process Gap: Be brutally honest…have you put in the “dirt time” (the study, the discipline, the healing) required to sustain that thing if it were given to you today? Or are you, like Jackie, trying to take a shortcut to a vibration you haven’t tuned yourself to yet?
The “Me vs. Me” Conflict: Jackie is obsessed with the Duprees because she doesn’t know who she is without them to hate. Where in your life is “fighting an enemy” (real or perceived) distracting you from building your own altar?
The Integration: If your shadow (your inner Jackie) was actually a messenger, what is she trying to tell you about your own hunger? How can you feed that hunger through right action and earned effort instead of comparison?
Be great.
Get bread.
With everything be intentional.
…have the weekend you conjuh.
Peace,
Mec