I shot up out of a dead sleep because dream Kat had a realization. Be warned, it’s like 6:30 in the morning so if this is even remotely coherent it’ll be a miracle in and of itself.
Tsurugi’s spell incantation for Neverland, the one that Mikuni calls “Tacky” is about Tsurugi’s feelings towards Touma. That’s something I’ve had in the back of my head for a while, and I absolutely bet I’m not the first person to make the connection between “I am your treasure. Neverland! (Don’t leave me alone)” and the fact that the treasure hidden inside Touma’s box, the hope for a better future his blackened heart still hid from a world he is so certain will only harm him, are the first pair of shoes he gave Tsurugi (essentially the memory of the freedom and joy he felt when he was first able to take Tsurugi outside with him. That’s what that precious something Touma holds near and dear to his heart is)
You could even take this to mean that Tsurugi is Touma’s treasure.
Exactly as Neverland states.
–But it got me thinking that all the spells we’ve witnessed so far have an underlying trend, with one very notable exception.
The spell Touma uses to control and puppet Tsurugi, “Rock-a-bye Baby,” is almost certainly cast by drawing upon memories of his childhood abuse and the resulting anger, hopelessness, and despair it caused him
“Ring-a-Ring (The Ring of Fate),” the spell Jun uses to activate Mjolnir, is fueled by his frustration regarding Tsurugi’s situation. The frustration of wanting to know, wanting to help, but being rebuffed at every turn.
Of caring for someone so much you would lay down your life for them, but not being able to say with certainty that they feel the same.
It’s doubt, it’s pain, it’s being locked in a never ending circle of motions that endlessly repeats no matter what you do to try and change it.
Yumikage’s “Cry for the Moon” is fueled by loneliness. Of the bitterness of doing exactly what you’re told when you’re told to do it, and knowing any objections you have will be ignored. Of feeling isolated, trapped, and stifled. Of wanting to yell and scream and proclaim to the world “I AM HERE, I AM MY OWN PERSON, AND EVEN IF EVERYONE ELSE REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE THAT, THAT DOESN’T CHANGE WHO AND WHAT I AM!”
Casting spells wear so heavily on the psyche of magicians not just because they draw on powerful memories and emotions, but because they force the mage to relive, time and time again, whatever intensely negative feelings they’ve attached to their spell.
Because the things that hurt remain far more vivid in our hearts than the things that don’t.
Trauma, violence, hatred, sorrow… All of these things make excellent bases for powerful spells
The one big exception to this so far… Is Tooru.
“Look at me, children of the sun! I will hold all of the world within a fortress. The man that will stand as your hero! Don’t kneel! Don’t take even one step back! Clear away the frost and bring the thunder! Standing in front of the tower under the moonlight, reveal this name! My name is Raijin! Lion Reign!”
This spell of his, the Incantation of the man to originally wield Mjolnir, and the guardian who raised up Mahiru to be the kind, compassionate soul that we know and love, is very different. Because of the fount of feelings it takes from.
It’s all about his feelings of wanting to protect. Of wanting to inspire courage in others.
“Children of the sun” doesn’t just mean Mahiru. To be a child of the sun, you must be able to walk in its light.
He’s thinking of his family. He’s thinking of his friends. The children of his coworkers who are targeted for their blood. And with the line “standing in front of the tower under the moonlight,” he’s expressly drawing to the forefront of his mind the two men who would have stood behind him on the front lines. He is a protector, and he will protect whoever is gazing upon the back of a hero.
Tooru Shirota’s spell calls upon powerful positive feelings, and this really sets him apart as a member of C3.
–And then there’s Mahiru, who is not a magician and cannot cast the same magic his uncle and father do, regardless of where his emotions take him.
But what he’s able to do with Kuro by his side is so much more amazing than anything any magician is capable of
He’s able to look at all these terrible things inside people’s hearts, at every little monster inside their Pandora’s box
2087
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