#cale heniuse

And Goldie Gramps being a doting grandfather

"I am starting to understand craving red meat in the morning "

"I don't need to lift weights to want protein the moment I wake up"

" your talking to me about things am supposed to do but like can you wait for me to finish eating "

"Reasons to live my family and the medium rare meat"

"I need to eat this with wine"

And the way he tried to play it off as if he was bragging but it's tea, you know? That's an insanely generous tip. And the way he says he'd always wanted to do it. Like most people, if they got a large sum of money, would go on holiday or buy a mansion or, you know, use it fairly selfishly (not a problem really I would too). And here Cale is, spending it on random strangers, most of whom are dismissive at best

And then he buys the bread and gives them very generous tips as well.

But can you blame me? It only gets funnier every time.

First, in the first book, the god he's against is the god of Despair and Cale (hope) wins, not easily but he does win in the end.

And then there's Kim Rok Soo, the man he was before coming to this world. If he became the leader and after that, whenever he was at a battle none of his team members die, would that not give the team members hope? Kim Rok Soo's here, we might actually survive it. Its not enough to make them arrogant but it is enough that they don't simply give up

Then there's Choi Han. He's lost everything, and then he meets Cale. He's lost his family, his home, everyone he knew and cared about, and then there's Cale, offering him a safe place to stay, a family, friends, and helping him get revenge for those he lost. He inspires hope in him

Ron gets infected by dead mana, he's dying, he and Beacrox both believe he will due, but he doesn't, because Cale finds a way to save him, restores their hope that they too can get back what they lost.

Originally, all of Lock's family were killed, or at least believed to be killed, but this time Cale sent Choi Han so it can be assumed, everything happened just that little bit quicker, so Choi Han and Rosalyn got there a little bit earlier and we're able to help them, save them, and then Cale helped him through his first time turning berserk and gave them a new home.

This is just a few of the people he's given hope, there's many more, Raon, On, Hong, Alberu. He's given all of them some kind of hope

He was Original Cale Henituse's last hope.

However, this actually isn't the main thing I wanted to note. So, I've discussed the previous, Deruth's point of view. And I'm not gonna sit here and say he was good father to the original Cale or was the father he needed. He's not winning father of the year awards for original Cale, I can agree with that. Are there worse fathers? Yes, Marquis Stan immediately comes to mind. But it would be hard to say Deruth was a good father to original Cale. Now let's consider the third element here, KRS!Cale Henituse, a man mentally older than his new body, a man who only had caring parents for a few years and it's uncear how much he remembers of them, a man who was abused and mistreated, pitied, a man who's can't care about people, because if he does, something bad will happen to him. I think, in a weird way, Deruth was almost the parent Kim Rok Soo needed at the time. Let me try to explain.

So, imagine for a second a world where the Henituse family dynamics are different, healthier, happier. Maybe Deruth and Cale fixed their relationship, maybe Cale is closer with his step family. They'd be caring, nice, what a family should be. Imagine Kim Rok Soo, an orphan who was abused and had hardened himself to not care about anyone, would this not be more odd to him? Going from keeping everyone at arms length and not letting anyone in to having to show his care for parents and step siblings, something he's never experienced before. I honestly think Kim Rok Soo would've liked this less because he wouldn't know what to do when shown obvious care by a family when he's never head that relationship before. I don't know, I feel like this is more Kim Rok Soo's speed, Clearly care but still allowing that independence and freedom. Care when he gets hurt but awkward and distant. Deruth is not the father Cale needs but in an odd way, he is the father Kim Rok Soo needs at this point. Does that mean you have to like him or see him as a good father? No, it's not up to the child to fix ther relationship with their parent. But it gives less whiplash for Kim Rok Soo than a close, physically affectionate family would. Or maybe I just like him, like that he does care even if he struggles, like that he's trying even if it doesn't always seem like that. again, you don't have to like him or think he's a good parent. This is just my opinion, my interpretation. I don't know man. I've been thinking about this story all day.

On that note, and I could be wrong as someone who is not aroace and has limited knowledge on aroace, but I feel like Cale is on the aroace spectrum. we're in his thoughts for two years and not once does he consider getting in a romantic relationship. In his dream life there's nothing to do with getting married or having kids. Does this necessarily make him asexual? No there are people of all sexualities who aren't bothered about marriage or kids, but they still tend to want some sort of romantic or sexual relationship and Kim Rok Soo/Cale Henituse seems to have zero interest in this. He has kids, he has family, he has friends. At no point does he express any kind of want for a romantic or sexual partner. Could this be because he has bigger problems? Yes. Could this be because of his past and the curse? Yes. Is he the only character this applies to? No, most of the characters show no interest in romance. Because ultimately this book is not about romance, not even slightly. It's found family, it's friendship, it's fantasy but there is no romance and, yet, for most of the characters I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them having some form of romantic or sexual character. Even with Cale I'm not saying he can/will never have those relationships. But even when he acknowledges someone as being attractive, it doesn't seem sexual or anything. He says it like it's a fact, then moves on. This isn't to say I disagree with shipping Cale. I myself don't mind a little Alcale or Choi Han/Cale. Do I personally think they are romantic or sexual? Not necessarily. You can interpret things that way, but i personally like things as they are, no romantic ships but really close friendships, to me platonic love and platonic relationships are just as, if not more, important than romantic love. And, tbf, even in content where there are romantic relationships, those romantic relationships are never the most interesting part. I don't really watch or read things, like non-fanfiction things, where romance is the main point or main storyline. I used to, but as I've gotten older (I say pretending to be wise old woman at the age of 21), I've come to appreciate friendships non-romantic relationships more and it's the main reason I enjoy shows, for relationship dynamics of all kinds.