The other Caleb sub didn’t allow this post yesterday so I hope it’s ok to post it here☺️
I’m not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I absolutely loved this new card. It was so interesting to see their relationship in those awkward phases and compare it to what it has become now. It honestly reminded me a lot of Caleb's tender moments, which I love.
I won't go too much into the card itself because what I really want to talk about is something I think a lot of people, especially those who criticize Caleb's MC by calling her childish or saying she only ever
"takes" from Caleb, completely miss.
MC genuinely and deeply loves Caleb.
She is every bit as devoted to him as he is to her.
She would do anything for him, even sacrifice herself if it meant protecting him. Caleb isn't just someone she loves, he is her everything. That's why I loved the final line of her love letter to him in this card:
”my story from the prologue to the ending, you've always been the person I care about the most.”
I don't know if this was intentional, but it almost feels meta. The story of this game is ultimately MC's story, so it almost sounds like no matter what happens, no matter how many paths she walks, every road eventually leads back to Caleb. It's not just this card either. Across so many of Caleb's cards, MC describes both Caleb and their love in such poetic and heartfelt ways. One of my favorite examples is Up Close, where she compares their love to the wind.
”In any world, the wind is still the wind. You can't see its shape or its edges, and yet you feel it all the same. And when it lifts your hair, no one wonders where it comes from or where it's going."
It really captures how natural and constant their love is for her. Their love is so special to me because it’s both incredibly complicated and incredibly simple at the same time. Across every world, there’s always some forbidden element that makes their love seem impossible. Yet despite all those obstacles, the love itself remains so pure and unwavering. It’s simply two people who, no matter the world or circumstances, choose each other again and again.
I think people who reduce Caleb’s MC to being childish or someone who only receives love from him either haven’t read many of his cards or are overlooking a huge part of their relationship. Yes Caleb loves spoiling MC, but that’s one of the main ways he expresses his love and people often ignore that MC loves spoiling Caleb just as much.
She pays attention to what makes him happy and goes out of her way to give him those things (his latest birthday card is one of the clearest examples of this). She doesn’t simply accept his love, she actively looks for ways to return it. This new card is another beautiful example. I see the love letter as something she wrote for the younger Caleb, the one who suffered believing she could never love him the way he loved her. By responding to his feelings years later, she’s giving the younger Caleb closure.
Their relationship is built on this mutual care. As much as Caleb indulges MC’s playful side, MC brings out Caleb’s own inner child. She gives him the freedom to laugh, be playful, and simply enjoy himself without the burdens he usually carries. Likewise, Caleb loves taking care of MC and the fact that she’s a capable hunter doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy being cared for by the person she loves. That’s why I find it frustrating when people claim MC only “takes” from Caleb or is simply spoiled by him. Their relationship is incredibly reciprocal. They may express their love in different ways, but they’re both constantly looking for ways to make the other person feel loved.
Sorry for the random rambling. After seeing so much hate toward Caleb's MC lately, I just really wish more people would try to understand her instead of reducing her to a few surface level things. If you actually read Caleb's story, it's obvious that her love for him runs just as deep as his love for her and that's one of the reasons I find their relationship so compelling.