My love for astrobiology shall never cease and you know why??
Alright alright, imagine this theme: Life and Death.
Death being represented by Black Hole: Black Hole, an object with the sole purpose of being a protector being cursed with his only power of destruction—this curse being the one thing he fears. Black Hole is an alien to the Earth and he sees himself as like any ordinary resident, but of course you can only convince yourself for so long with a chaotic power you can harness. He knows this, so he joins the one group that strives to prevent death in any way possible to have any chance of being “normal”. Death PACT, however, really sucks at the preventing death part, but that doesn’t mean Black Hole didn’t achieve his goal by joining it in the first place. The unified goal was to prevent death, sure, but Black Hole joined to take control of his “deadly” tendencies. All through our TPOT, he does end up achieving his goal but slowly but surely understanding himself and controlling his powers. But it doesn’t just happen, it’s takes development. For him to understand himself, he had to understand what death truly was. With the original PACT, he was too stubborn to change; he deemed that death should never be the solution to anything. It doesn’t matter if it came with suffering, all he knew is that death would not be an option. Preventing death meant preventing himself…to prevent him from understanding himself and what he is. When he comes to terms with death, he understands that even if it’s preventable, it leads to opportunities for the new to sprout; new possibilities, new things, new life. He comes to terms with himself: he knows that his powers are designed for destruction, but he also knows that he is in control of whether or not this destruction willfully affects the lives of others. Black Hole didn’t stop being deadly, he stopped being fearful of what he could do and instead became fearful of what he couldn’t do.
Life is represented by Tree: Trees in themselves are commonly used to represent new life and beginnings, if not life itself and in its entirety—hence “the tree of life” motifs. There is actually dialogue of Tree saying that he is all about life, but in reality, he doesn’t quite show it. In fact, he is very careless with others and is shown to be selfish when it comes to a point, even though he wouldn’t consider it that himself. Tree isn’t special in any way. Even if he tries to elevate himself with his own words, he is just like any other contestant at the end of the day. He joined a contest for a reward, and he will stop at nothing to get it. He thinks with his logic, making cuts only when necessary and adapting when needed. He doesn’t hold on, he lets go and moves with the plot when it demands. Whatever fits him most and gives him a better chance at winning; he’s fine with it (Of course, I’m trying to be positive about his absolute abysmal writing). The way he is represented I think shows how life is treated in BFDi—it’s nothing. It’s quick, it’s just there, and it’s expendable. Lives can simply only exist for quips and jokes lasting for split seconds, or it’s just a background to another central story. It doesn’t matter how harsh you treat it, it’s doesn’t matter at the end of the day, it will always come back no matter what you throw at it. It doesn’t matter what you put Tree through, he’s still the same character. For an object that represents change, he is one that does not.
The way that they can vividly contrast each other from completely opposite sides of the spectrum and yet together they are the longest standing members of the PACT (like the pact itself not the team). They both tell different stories. One complex and one not. The yin and the yang of Death PACT and yet still they could work in harmony with one combined goal.
I would like to say that I’m not even talking about astrobiology in a romantic sense at the moment: this dynamic that has been laid out is me looking at it platonically. It doesn’t matter what relationship status you have them have between each other (if you have them as destined soulmates or friends or enemies or WHATEVER!!!), this duo still stands in my heart. Because tell me: What is a selfless being if there is not a selfish one?
There is no Death without Life—There cannot be Life without Death.
(this was written around 1 am and it’s 2:10 when finishing I’m tired and not gonna double check for spelling so my apologies for any mistakes)
