#lads analysis

LINKON RAF: lasered. I think Rafayel doesn't have much body hair in general and in this case, he grew up in true merman fashion on top of that. He cannot stand even the slightest hint of hair on his body. He panicked when he started growing more of it during puberty and begged Talia for a full body wax, only to spend the entire week after complaining about the deficiencies of the human form. Don't even ask about when he started itching. He booked the lasering appointment as soon as his first big sale hit his bank account.

THAT SAID, he's super into MC's pubes. He loves the aesthetic and while he doesn't dislike it when he sees her get a Brazilian for the first time, he does miss the spice✨ it adds to her appearance. She keeps it cropped after that.

He also has a meltdown when he catches MC admiring someone with chest hair one day. She can't figure out why he's acting so weird all of a sudden, only to catch him furiously researching how to undo laser hair removal instead of finishing the painting Thomas has been asking him to finish for three weeks.

ABYSSWALKER: because the ocean dried up and Rafayel grew up on land in this timeline, he's not as uncomfortable with a bit of body hair. He is wearing leather pants, though, so I think he shaves. Doesn't think much of MC's because his upbringing was the closest to a human one out of all the Lemurian Raf's, so he's—for once—normal about it.

LEMURIAN SEA GOD: deeeefinitely uses all his divinity to make sure he's baby-dolphin smooth in his human form. But he finds MC's body hair to be a charming aspect of her humanity and develops a Thing for it, even moreso than Linkon Raf. Definitely takes a page out of Xavier's book with the nose-deep full inhale.

TAMINO: even with the leather pants, I think he's one of the hairier Rafs. He keeps it shaved whilst in Linkon due to the leathers and thinks of it as yet another burden the LCBI has saddled him with. But once MC gets him out of Linkon he grows a modest happy trail and keeps himself with a neat trim. As for how he feels about MC's pubes....... I wrote the guy with a raging scent kink. Extrapolate from there.

For the Netherlord myth, it seems like they are constantly going through a cycle of death and rebirth together but however that cycle started (bc the spiritmaster and his sister probably weren't even the first iterations of them you know?), Caleb is the one who's taken on the role of the older caretaker. Especially portrayed when he finds her in their 'afterlife' and nurtures her back to health from her childlike/Ghost state.

I think Decoherence is the only timeline we've seen where calebmc weren't hung up on seeing each other from an older or younger perspective. Though, similarly to the Colonel myth, she is the one who is being constantly 'reset' or 'reprogrammed' and starting anew whenever she starts to take a liking to Caleb, while Caleb continues living and watching her thru that one way glass. AND similar to the netherlord myth, A-01 is the more childlike one and Caleb is there to teach her about the world (like the meaning of home and friend and Caleb), so there's a 'natural order' of him being perceived as older even though he might not be by our definition.

Despite all these more 'evidence-based' reasons though, I think the true answer is a little more amorphous and abstract than all that. Because time (as we see it) doesn't really apply to calebmc in a... linear way like that. To me, one is not able to exist without the other, so as soon as one pops into the existence, the other does too (for example: light exists so by nature darkness automatically does too, bc it's a result of that light existing), and it's not really about first or second, if that makes sense?

The first is that I'm interested in critiquing Caleb's myths as a trilogy of works and their relationship to main story. The second is that this is in good faith, this is not some attack on Caleb/XYZ, this is not some attack on Caleb fans whether they be gege-truthers or not. As fans of any form of media, I think it's good practice to examine these things from other angles aside from: I like this or I don't like this.

With that being said, if you come away thinking I am just a Caleb hater or hate Caleb's fans or whatever, you've completely missed the point. His character is SO compelling to me (compelling enough to bring me back to fic writing). My issue is with Infold's writing and game direction. For what it's worth, I literally joined the game because Caleb's character introduction drew me in, loved Homecoming Wings, and I have all his cards (minus Verdant Wetlands because I fucked up). I'm also Chinese, so kindly don't bring in cultural arguments (broadly constructed) into this.

I'll start by laying out what I think makes a good myth. In my view, a myth is an opportunity to do the following:

1) expand the audience's understanding of the LI, MC, and their relationship. Whether that's advancing their storyline (ex: Tears of Romirro and Where Stars Scatter) or giving us a new angle to look at the character (ex: Beyond Cloudfall) or both (ex: Lucid Dreams and Sea of Golden Sands). Both is ideal. I'm also not saying that ToR or Dragon myth don't do the other thing, but I digress.

2) be relatively self-contained and accessible enough so that a newer player can understand the meanings and implications for the character and relationship. Since LaDs operates on a limited myth basis, this means that at the bare minimum, a newer player should be able to connect some dots between a LI's free standard myth and the new limited myth. You don't want to make a limited myth so impenetrable that a newer player cannot understand it. You also do not want a new limited myth that is so reliant on a previous limited myth that a new player is completely lost with no way of playing the older myth except on YouTube. This is bad for bringing in new players to a game (especially one that wants to last a while).

3) provide avenues of connection to the main story. Lucid Dreams does this BEAUTIFULLY. As does Sea of Golden Sands. Those myths provide additional things for fans to think about and just serve to further prop up your main plot. This is where I think Infold really suffers from because they do not update the main story often enough for there to be more plot connection opportunities. That will be a running complaint of mine throughout.

To me, without these three, a myth becomes just a longer form AU or side story. That's great for satisfying preexisting fans of said LI, but not so great if you want to have a more coherent and structured plot that advances all characters and moves the story forward. This is where I will skewer the Lumiere myth Twilight's Dawn because it was largely a nothing burger on all these fronts (ily Xav, but that storyline was filler plot at best. Also 400 pulls for R2 oN RERUN WAS NOT IT EITHER).

I was surprised that a lot of Caleb's more typical thematic elements were absent from Yin Yang Sundering. I felt the same way about Edge of Continum too until the very end. There was also zero (0) connection to Caleb's other myths (both Decoherence or Lucid Dreaming). Part of this may be because Caleb has not reappeared in the main story because of the dumb fuck way Infold releases their main storyline but I feel like Edge of Continum and Crimson Spirit got there in the end more or less. So for Caleb to have the only myth out of the five that does not have even the semblance of linkage to his other storylines feels extremely jarring and it sucks as someone interested in his lore! Also Decoherence took place explicitly on Philos, but YYS takes place elsewhere which also struck me as an odd choice, but whatever.

Fate and Sacrifice

My friend S made a great point that Caleb and MC are always switching fates. In Lucid Dreams, Caleb makes himself EVER's pawn so that they leave MC alone. In Decoherence Caleb tried to self-sacrifice to give MC a chance to escape. In YYS, that is consistent again with how MC was supposed to be the sacrifice but he presented himself instead. In the end, regardless of what they do, how much they try to protect one another, they're inevitably separated whether by death or other means. So the overall thematic arc of Caleb's storyline of fate, inevitable separation, and futility are all present. Yay for thematic solidification!

Creation

Infold also keeps building on this aspect of Caleb, MC, and creation (both in Decoherence and YYS). In Decoherence it's MC as the proverbial "Adam" with the creation and destruction cores. In YYS this is shown heavily through the symbol of a lotus (and similarities to Fuxi/Nuwa). This is a really cool plot point present in those myths but kind of absent from CalebMC in the main story except the brief tie-in with lotuses in Caleb's spring 2025 card. Hopefully main story will pick that up at some point, but I'm not holding my breath here.

Caleb and MC in Main Story

In the main story, Caleb and MC were heavily co-dependent. This stemmed from their shared experience of growing up as orphaned lab rats. Even from the beginning it is obvious that Caleb has a self-sacrificial streak to protect and nurture MC (some would argue at the expense of their emotional growth). His personal self-image is deeply and intrinsically tied to his relationship with MC. Everything he's done in the main story (join the DAA because it'll provide for MC, give himself up to EVER for MC, etc) all of his choices are driven by his desire to protect her and shield her from the reality that is having an Aether core in your heart.

The new tension and new wrinkle in their relationship is post-explosion. The tension in Homecoming Wings is predicated on two things:

1) Caleb can no longer do everything for me, who am I without him? This relationship was already starting to crack a little (see: main story pre-explosion).

2) Your childhood protector came back different. And he came back scarier, and more guarded. You used to know him like the back of your hand but now he has secrets. How do you move on, how do you evolve now that you no longer have the veneer of a familial relationship with the added element of sexual and romantic tension?

I have a lot of beef as well with Caleb's MC in both limited myths. Both in Decoherence and YYS to a certain extent, Caleb does EVERYTHING and then MC swoops in at the last bit to "set things right". She kind of just exists as a baby deer for like….six chapters. Another thing of note in his myths is that (compared to other the LIs) Caleb and MC are perfectly happy not changing which is an interesting choice from a writing perspective.

Pseudo/Incest

I'm not here to weigh in on the "acceptability" or "morality" of fictional incest or fictional pseudo-cest (see my house rules). I'm also not here to weigh in your choices. If you were jazzed by the solidification of a blood-relationship, I'm happy for you. If you were not happy with that, sorry for your loss. This is not the conversation I am trying have in this little essay. I have two points to make about the usage of incest in Caleb's storylines.

The first is meta. From a meta perspective, Infold shot themselves in the foot with his English localization. They just did. There was no reason they couldn't have started out by saying Caleb is your adopted older brother. It was plenty clear in the main storyline that they knew each other pre-adoption, it was clear that they wound up growing up in the same house, it is clear that prior to main story they saw each other as family. This whole "childhood friend" bullshit really takes out the tension that makes CalebMC so interesting.

What was interesting about CalebMC to begin with is that it started as an exploration of how someone in your life might transition from a familial role to a romantic one (or even commentary about how romantic love cannot exist without other kinds of love). You simply don't have that tension without them being some kind of familial. No one is worried when their childhood friend becomes their lover, but someone would be plenty worried if they felt like they were falling in love with their older sibling (adopted or otherwise).

This is actually is a great example of how creative self-censorship in anticipation of audience reaction actually makes your story worse and less coherent. Sidenote, but their treatment of CalebMC's relationship in his lunars post-birthday has really fallen short for me and it's just not…as interesting :(

The second is the usage of pseudocest/incest as a point of tension. That is EVERYWHERE in his Linkon timeline. That is NOWHERE in Decoherence or YYS. One could argue that YYS is an exploration of what would happen if they just leaned in on all of it, but Decoherence didn't touch on that either. Why is it such a bigger deal in the Linkon storyline? In the main story the use of siblings is meant to serve as a transition from family to lovers (← S's words, which I greatly agree with!). Caleb and MC being siblings in YYS doesn't have the same oomph and isn't used to illuminate anything new in their relationship.

Where YYS also misses for me is that we do not learn anything new about Caleb or MC that was not already present in main story or Lucid Dream. They keep falling into the same futile pitfalls which is the great tragedy but YYS did not add anything new to Caleb as a character or to MC as a character or to their relationship with one another that the players don't already also know. His limited myths really have not offered any new insight into their relationship, their characters, where they might go in the future— none of that is present.

What I think Infold set out to do with this myth is throw away ambiguity about their relationship, that they have a sort of cosmic sibling relationship that transcends brother/sister, husband/wife etc. But throughout YYS they also never refer to each other as husband and wife or as lovers? I know part of it is that for CalebMC their relationship transcends such labels, but they did a whole ghost marriage only to not really bring that up again.

Long story short, I think the myth was fine as a self-contained story and even maybe as an entry point for newer Caleb enjoyers. It falls severely flat for me in the lack of connection to the main timeline plot and a lack of new developments for Caleb, MC, and their relationship. I was similarly disappointed with Decoherence as well for the exact same reasons. Now we have two myths for Caleb that ….just kind of feel like AU cards. As we've seen with AU cards such as Tomorrow's Catch-22 and others, they can be fertile places to explore character dynamics outside of the constraints of the main storyline. YYS doesn't satisfy that (for me) even if we're looking at it only from an AU perspective.

My longer point is that this feels like poor planning on Infold's part with Caleb's character. As a Caleb drop player, I don't feel like Caleb's storyline or character has grown much at all post-Lucid Dreams and Homecoming Wings. It feels like aside from the siblings or not tension, Infold doesn't know what to do with his lunars or his myths. Instead they're mining the tragedy of their parting, just in different dress. His birthday lunar should've been a turning point in their relationship so they can grow, but then in his free 4-star Chasing Summer, they're back to the "wellllllllllll he's my friiiiiienddddd". I think Infold really missed an opportunity to bring something new to his character or just something. Instead, if you've read the main story and Lucid Dreams, you already have a good understanding of Caleb and CalebMC. Decoherence and YYS don't bring anything new that advances main timeline Caleb who is ostensibly the Caleb that should be experiencing growth and change. Again, part of this has to do with the dumb fuck way they've handled main story (which, after two years FINALLY feels like we're past the prologue).

So that's my two cents. The pennies were getting hella sweaty. Happy to chat, but like I said up front, this is meant to be in good faith. I am interested in discussion. Again, your personal measure of what makes a myth good or not may be very different from mine, and I am definitely not presenting this as the be all and end all critique of Yin Yang Sundering.

IT'S THE WAYYYY that, true to exactly who they are, both Caleb and mc can remember each other once they separate yin and yang. And yet... AND YET it's an entirely one-sided remembrance because Caleb doesn't know that MC misses him and thinks about him like she does. MC feels it from Caleb every day, from the new souls, from the nether wards, from the rain, he literally showers her with his love and memories of her throughout his lifetime.

But MC can't do the same for Caleb. There's no way for her to reach him, to send him the same message, to make sure it gets back to him. And she must be agonized every day to think that he might believe his messages don't reach her. Or worse, that she doesn't remember him at all.

But I also think Caleb is okay with it, I think he'd prefer to believe that MC doesn't remember him. That she's living her life not yearning for someone who could never be with her

That's why I'm thinking a person who's more solemn/serious to Raf's playfulness. Maybe like the tsundere/shy guy that counter Raf's yandere tendencies.

In terms of evol, I feel like it would be really cool to see an electro/lightning one, kind of elemental but needing a specific reaction/condition for it to appear?

I know the common consensus is that he's associated more closely (or even within) Ever than any of the others and I do agree with this purely from a storytelling stand point since every LI we've met has gotten us closer and closer to the nucleus of that organization and what's going on. For this reason, I think he'll be the only LI to actually be mc's only 'enemy' (as in placed directly on the opposite side of her) despite them still being linked/intertwined in their fates.

What I personally just think would be cool (this doesn't fit into any evidence or logic just my personal preference for mc's growth), would be to have him have a weakness or illness that he's using Ever to treat or cure. This would give him and MC a really deep connection right off the bat bc she's also 'sick' (or as sick as an eldritch destructive being like her could be jksghskj) and part of her journey with him would be to convince him that HER side of the fight for a 'cure' is the better side.

AAAAND since im here laying it all out, for the 6th LI's myths/past lives I would love to see the reverse of what the other LI's have! Whereas they all started off in their pasts as enemies or on opposing sides and slowly fell in love (and that love is what is kept/found in modern day), for the 6th LI I could see them starting off as lovers or spouses but Something happens (that he remembers even now maybe?) and that's why he aligns himself with Ever's goals.

Yinyang is an ancient Chinese philosophy, explained as two opposing forces existing together to create harmony, a balance in life itself. They are opposites, existing on their own, but also interacting and complementing their other half for the cohesion of one unity. The symbol used to represent Yinyang is widely known around the world, depicted as such (typically referred to as "yin and yang symbol" in English-speaking areas.):

The black side represents "Yin." Yin itself is representative of different elements and concepts, notably: femininity, darkness, passiveness, the moon.

Yang is represented by the white side. Yang represents masculinity, light, activeness, the sun.

In a previous post I had made, I've briefly touched upon a key scene shown in the trailer that highlights the theme of yinyang.

The scene depicts MC and Caleb on a bridge with a clear separation of light and dark split across the screen. The narrative behind Caleb and MC's relationship have heavily been about how both are each other's other half, with themes of both support and codependence on one another. They both exist separately, but together, they feel whole.

Notably in the scene above, MC (representing the femininity of Yin) is walking toward darkness. Earlier in the trailer, she is also depicted as more passive in nature compared to her previous incarnations in other myths or even the main story. She isn't shown engaging in combat or wielding a weapon (in the myth itself, not the actual combat system), but rather guarded and protected by Caleb instead.

Irreversibly, Caleb is depicted in the scene above as walking away from MC, heading toward the light. Representing Yang, Caleb embodies the masculinity, depicted as the active and aggressive half.

Both figures head to their respective side, creating a symbolic imagery of the symbol and philosophy of yinyang.

The scene seems poignantly representative of the myth's title, "Yin Yang Sundering."

Sundering n. as in dissolution; the act or process of a whole separating into two or more parts or pieces Sundering v. as in separating; to set or force apart — Merriam-Webster

One could infer the myth will deal heavily with themes of separation, particularly forcing apart, presumably Caleb and MC. As trailers often mislead to create intrigue, as of the date of this post (March 25th), it cannot be definitively concluded when exactly the scene above has taken place in the narrative. However, it is interesting to point out that in other scenes of the trailer, both Caleb and MC are shown together in a dark realm called "the Nether Realm" with both bearing the title of Lords of the Nether Realm.

In fact, the summary of the myth itself is as followed:

"Heaven and earth dwell in chaos, and Yin and Yang have lost their way. While the day belongs to the mortal realm, where the living may roam, the night is claimed by the nether realm, where Ghosts run rife. Humans shall not venture forth in darkness, nor shall ghosts walk in the light. Thus, the world of mortals is bound in eternal day, and the realm of spirits in perpetual night." As the Lords of the Nether Realm, you and he rule over the depths—wardens of the departed souls and scourges of the man-eating Ghosts that ravage the land. You long for these inseparable moments to last forever, yet memories always drift in a haze… But before you became the Lord of the Nether Realm, who were you?

TL;DR about lotus because I couldn't elaborate this morning lol BUT WE'RE YAPPING NOW.

Throughout Caleb's third myth trailer, lotus is seen in many scenes with captions alluding to them throughout the trailer. It is a flower seen in many cultures, carrying many different meanings.

Lotus, in their natural environment, grow and thrive in muddy waters, requiring the ideal water temperature to be 75°F to 87°F (24°C–31°C). Because of the murky conditions it grows in, it is often regarded as a symbol of beauty growing in less ideal situations. It could also represent resilience, growing and thriving in an environment where many living beings would not survive.

The plant will root itself into the mud and its lengthy stem will extend above the water. Because of the way the flower rises above the muddy water without any stain, it is also used as a symbol of purity.

The flower itself is unique for its bloom time. It will unfurl in the morning as the sun rises, but as evening approaches, it will gradually close its petals until the next morning. This process will repeat and last for the duration of the flower's cycle, typically three to five days. Because of this unique process, the flower has also come to represent rebirth.

Because this flower is native to many countries from Africa to Asia, it can be found symbolically in many cultures, depicting other themes such as enlightenment. strength, and even spiritual growth.

As Caleb's myth is a work of fiction with strong supernatural themes shown in the trailer, there does seem to be some liberty taken with the depictions of lotus, as many are seen in full bloom in the Nether Realm, a place of absolute darkness.

While we don't quite understand MC's role in the myth yet, I have noticed an interesting caption on Caleb's upcoming 4* card, "Duskshard Lotus":

"You said you were excited to explore the mortal realm. And yet here you are... resting in a lotus pond. It's time to wake up."

In the image above, it almost appears that Caleb is speaking to the glowing lotus flower itself. The caption itself could be a piece of dialogue for the upcoming Secret Time that is often attached to the 4* myth cards.

Circling back to MC, there is a sense that she could be seen similarly to a lotus flower (I mean... I also wouldn't be surprised if she's a lotus flower itself given some of the implications we've seen in the captions throughout the trailer... but I digress...) [WAIT. I watched the trailer again. It does look like MC appeared from a lotus flower, so uh, MAKE OF THIS AS YOU WILL]. Caleb sees her as something pure he needs to protect, being repulsed by the very idea that others could taint her with their touches.

On the other hand, MC also behaves rather innocently, being playful around Caleb, such as when she... plops herself on his head:

Caleb also goes from being cold and intimidating to soft and gentle around MC. He is very tender and protective of her, holding her in high regard, completely devoted to her even willing to sacrifice his own self for her.

The color purple is notably prevalent in both Caleb's myth as well as the resonance scene for his myth companion. Beyond being a reflection of the color of Caleb's eyes, purple has been used both culturally and in narratives to represent many things, such as royalty.

It is also often used to represent spirituality or even the supernatural, which would make this very befitting in the myth as both Caleb and MC are depicted as supernatural beings in a different realm. Another interesting connection is that the color purple is associated with death and mourning in many cultures, and the myth itself have depicted many ghosts in the trailer.

...

I actually don't know how to end this, so here's naughty myth boombayah as a treat for making it to the end:

oh look everything is purple, so this bookends nicely

Oh, to have Caleb explode inside you—

Bye. („• ֊ •„)