Caleb: Necklace Thoughts & A brief Psychological Look Into the Reasons for Caleb’s Intense Devotion to MC & Their Bond. (Unedited)
Caleb’s dog-tag necklace says, “When U Come Back” - with no name attached, no phone number. It wasn’t just foreshadowing for the storyline & Caleb’s revival; There’s an unspoken, almost possessive promise, a knowing MC has, that Caleb will always find his way back to her, returning like a dog to its owner. No return address needed. Can you imagine having that unbreakable bond…? // And they both filled up each others emotional cups for so, so long: Caleb has lived his life with such extreme mental health issues, and holds onto the warmth of his memories with MC because it’s all he has left living for. She is the light in his dark world. She is the only place he belongs, the only place he feels happy within. (If you haven’t read his anecdote, go read it! The writing was superb, and you really get a better understanding of his character.) And I genuinely can’t imagine how hard it was & is for Caleb. It’s so understandable that he’d hold onto his anchor so tightly. Also because of what he witnessed (her dying over & over again at the hands of Ever), MC’s pain is his pain. He can’t stand the thought of her being hurt in any way— it feels like a direct attack against this person he loves, like extreme threat to his own nervous system because of the paranoia and fear that she can die easily— so he’s fiercely, thoroughly, obsessively protective over her. He had to be the one to save her because nobody else would; As kids, he saw all her needs, and gave her everything he could give— even amidst his own pain, she was his priority. And MC needed him as a kid, she needed a protector & a rock— somebody who would save her from it all, because she was just a kid. Caleb loved her so much, and she felt it. She got to have a safe place in him. They played together, and held onto each other through the darkness that they both faced. They know they can trust each other to be there when they’re falling. But it gets complicated as they grow older, because they need each other in different ways, and their dynamic is changing. Caleb needs reassurance that he is keeping her fully safe (if he doesn’t, who will? She could die!), but MC wants to protect herself now, and she wants the freedom to live for herself. Caleb also hides a lot of his pain & his thought processes, which used to work in the past. In order for him to protect her and keep her happy, he hid things from her, like his own sadness. But that’s an issue now that they’re on more level ground, because they’re both adults, and like anyone else, MC wants communication and a say in things. Yet— despite it all— they’re still bonded in a way like no other, which is why MC is deeply confused and hurt by the break in trust when Caleb makes & enforces certain decisions for her. …I am so freaking excited to see what happens next in the main story… will MC be as mutually obsessive and protective over Caleb, now that she knows he’s also the one in danger?
Other thoughts: Dude I wanna play around with the idea of MC being the one that got blown up instead of Caleb— and her needing & having a bionic arm. …How would she have reacted? Would she have been ashamed in the way Caleb was? Or does she trust Caleb’s devotion, knowing he’ll always come back to her, always choose her, no matter what?