#iguin and coco

Something I love about Iguin is how they view and treat Coco specifically. Despite their supposedly violent nature and creepy demeanor, they are never actively cruel towards her. In fact, they're always uncharacteristically soft and gentle with her. Even when they set challenges and tests for Coco in order to make her use forbidden magic, they never command her or force her hand, only manipulate the situation to nudge her towards the direction they want her to follow.

And, even when Coco refuses to use unlawful means to escape the situations they put her in, they don't seem disappointed, but rather impressed by her ingenuity and creativity in finding alternative ways to use magic in her favor, as well as her fierce independence and resolve to make her own choices. If anything, those are all traits they seem to want to nurture in her.

They are also ever so patient with her and they seem more keen to observe her from a distance and allow her to naturally hone her skills than to rush her development. And that prospect seems to bring them more excitement than impatience. If anything, I'd say they're eager to watch her learn and grow, even slowly and gradually, and they seem to enjoy the process just as much as they anticipate the end result, just like a real teacher would.

Even the way they speak to her or about her reveals something akin to pride, or even fondness. They're like a proud mother watching their child grow up, it's almost endearing. It actually reminds me a lot of the way Qifrey talks to and about his students (clone theory real!). And even the way they hold her like she's something precious, something to protect and nurture, is almost motherly, even if in a more obsessive way, and it is also reminiscent of Qifrey's expressions of affection towards his students.

And I feel like if one acknowledges Qifrey's gentle and encouraging behavior towards his apprentices, one must also acknowledge Iguin's twisted version of those similar traits. For as much as people joke about Qifrey being paternal towards the girls, I don't think Iguin is all that different, with Coco at least.

Though, unlike Qifrey, I think this special treatment isn't something they give so lightly to just anyone. And that's what's the most interesting to me. The fact that they genuinely seem to believe in Coco's abilities and judgement and trust that she in particular, despite not being born in witch society and studying magic relatively late, will undoubtedly become a formidable witch one day.

And the interesting thing is that their investment in her happened mostly at random, at least as far as we know. It seems like they didn't have any specific reason to give her specifically the book. She might even be one of many children who received similar magic books by them, so I don't think they even knew that it would be her in particular that would become their child of hope back then.

But I do think that, somewhere down the line, while watching her progress closely, they became genuinely invested in her journey and maybe even in her as a person. Because, while this whole scheme is about some greater cause the brimhats are fighting for, something far bigger than a mere child, I think there came a point when their interest in her became more personal than not, even if they might only have considered her a convenient tool for them to use at first. And I think they genuinely see some great potential in her to be harnessed and explored, something beyond just mere hope for the future of witches.

And I think Iguin's genuine interest and hope for her say a lot about Coco as a person. I love how inspiring and impactful Coco generally is for the main characters and the antagonists alike. I love that both people who doubted her and people who believed in her from the start acknowledged her strength and skill eventually. Or that, despite being a young child without prior knowledge of magic, she uses her creativity and determination to make up for it to the point of leaving such a strong impression on everyone who meets her.