#caleb gege

[seraphineash]

WHO IN THE FUCKING RIGHT MIND CAN HATE CALEB? HE'S SUCH A SWEETHEART. LIKE FUCKING SERIOUSLY.

I AM SORRY BUT IF YOU HATE CALEB THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU AND I MEAN IT.

[redsunnyapple]

My Caleb Collection 🍎

[littlebabysister]

About the Caleb thing

I started playing LADS just because the pseudocest

And if I’m being honest

Sometimes I WISH they were blood related

So it would be even more layered, taboo, wrong

The despair the both of them would face

God! Cinema!

I am a big fan of gothic romance, and these books were filled with taboo and incestuous relationships, the romantic authors LOVE brothers and sisters because is taboo, it is tragic, full of yearning and doomed from the start.

Saying that every incest history is trash is denying centuries of esteemed literature, centuries of art and a historic movement. And, that was around centuries ago, this is not a new concept.

And if we look even closer to this trope we see it in bestselling books like V. C. Andrew’s (southern gothic), city of bones, pretty little liars, culpa mia and even twilight, these are all pseudocest, and let’s not ignore that it is one of the most searched tags on cornhub.

People complaining about the “baby sister” are in denial about Caleb. He was first introduced as a brother figure. I’ve seen people say things like “he is too attractive to have such a disgusting role”, “infold should say something about this, the reputation of the game is doomed”. God! Go play any other otome game or better, go watch any anime and realize that this is not a big deal in Asia media, and this game is Asia media, for Asian girls, I’m sorry, but infold does not care about western public, they don’t even sell merch or change the hour.

A lot of otome games share this trope (I mean, have you heard of brothers conflict?) and even darker themes. If you play TCOAAL there’s a scene where after eating and killing 4 people the brothers draws the line about jokes the sister does about kissing. She even says “that’s the line? We’ve done so many worse things before”.

People are drawn to this trope BECAUSE of the taboo, the disgust, the love and loathing, the yearning, the forbidden. The gothics used this trope to criticise society’s rules, taboos, sexuality, missoginy and homophobia.

The point of Caleb is forbidden love, Adam and Eve, siblings in solitude, in paradise, his name Xia is equal to Eve in Chinese bible. Caleb is a yearner, he suffers with the role he was forced into for mc’s sake, he is a Gemini (the double), the loving brother who hates the role, Gege x Xia are always in conflict inside him.

He is not her brother. Biologically. They were raised together. They are more than the “childhood best friends” the localisation forced upon us, they were raised under the same roof, by the same familiar figure, and because of the experiments and trauma, they have a codependent relationship. And these layers are LOST in the English localisation. The nuances are LOST. The times only calling Caleb a friend in his myth are criminal. The point is him being the most treasured person in MCs life and she realising that she does not want him as her brother.

It’s beautiful to see the yearning and how much Caleb suffers because of the trope he represents.

🍎 peace and justice for Caleb big brother Xia

[sayangrafayel]

MC: What goes up but never comes down?

Caleb: The amount of stress you're bringing this family.

[calebdatabase]

Why is Caleb called Donor 002?

*This speculation was drafted prior to Caleb's X-02 myth trailer

In this brief post, I’m riffing off of the Adam and Eve theory for Caleb x MC based on his anecdote that refers to him as “Donor 002” and her as “Subject 001”. This post lightly brushes the sibling controversy so if you’re sensitive to it, keep scrolling.

It’s a significant distinction between their roles to make, and I’m not sure if anyone’s fully connected their Donor/Subject roles as experiments to the Adam and Eve theory.

In the context of illegal experimentation, Caleb’s title in the documents implies that he donated something vital to MC. In the lens of the Adam and Eve theory, it’s arguably a process that symbolically mirrors the way God took one of Adam’s ribs and created Eve with it.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Genesis 2:21-23 KJV

(As someone who attended a private Christian academy never thought I’d be quoting the Bible for an otome game theory lol)

From what we’ve seen, Caleb and MC operate in a pair and have abilities to keep each other’s powers in check. Ever is known for targetting ‘twins’, such as Luke & Kieran, the 303 twins and Mia & Kevi.

Now while Caleb and MC are obviously not related, their sibling-like bond shares similarities to the aforementioned sets of twins, such as being able to sense each other’s presence, mental states and having a knack for ending up in proximity to the other.

I’m pretty sure Caleb’s joked about having telekinesis powers related to her. MC also brought up how Josephine tasked Caleb with protecting her when they were kids, likening their dynamic to the way “a ring system protects its planet”. Josephine wanted them to watch each other's back while they were originally programmed to destroy each other.

"We don't need to face the future alone, though. It's like how planets and their ring systems are born together... They'll also fade away together." – Teenage Caleb to MC

I suppose one question to ask is what exactly was Caleb forced to donate to be dubbed “Donor 002”? What was MC missing?

Was it blood, cells, or something more substantial like an organ? Possibly even Evol to assist the Gaia researchers revival experiments with her?

Depending on the answer the writers give us, there might be some merit to the controversy of them being related to a certain minor degree. Don’t come for me, it was Infold that put them in this sticky situation.

On the other hand, maybe the Gaia researchers really just siphoned his Evol for use in MC’s experiments somehow, who knows? Time will tell.

[mkindasleepy]

He's SOOO annoying aarrgghhh!!! 😭

I wanna bite him!!-

Oh wait he would love that ('-'*)♪

[pigeoncrying]

OMG I AM GOING FERAL

just finished the companion rehearsal for Caleb: Ultimate Weapon X-02

and my (spoken) language is still Chinese

and part of the voice lines in battle is

MC: 哥哥！(gege!)

Caleb: 我在。(I'm here)

iirc it's the uhhh autodefense mech?

so dumb but it hit me hard????? like actual little gasp and hand over my mouth typa silly shii

I'll (try to) edit/clip some of my fav bits in the morning :3

also the animation is so damn prettyyyy wtf from the colours to the geometric shapes and I love gravity pulls/continuous damage skills lol

some pics below ^-^

also... this fit is making me VERY VERY CLOSE to topping up for one of these versions 😭 but the purple gems r so expensive 😭

[littlebabysister]

I had this dream

I was kidnapped

It was dark, late

I went to the park and was returning home near the road

A black car was driving beside me, slowly

I had my arms crossed

The window lowered and a familiar voice offered me a ride

I was stunned… I knew that voice

Gentle, loving, familiar

When I noticed I was on the back seat, tied up, something on my mouth, falling asleep

When I woke up I was in a big cell

It felt like a liminal space

I could feel it was a basement, the lower ceiling, the parking lot dim lighting, no sound

The cell had a chair, a comfortable, but beat up futon bed, a faucet with a rusty bucket and a toilet bowl

I didn’t feel grossed out, but the liminal was kind of creepy

I wanted to curl up on the futon, I wasn’t scared, I was just sleepy

I crawled to the futon, silently, calm, just wanting to get comfortable

I wasn’t scared, screaming, just… so sleepy…

When I finally laid on the futon comfortably, like a good puppy I noticed him

He was so tall, slender

He stood outside the cage, just observing from above

He wore a cap, white medical mask, white turtle neck with a heavy denim jacket

I was very dizzy to look at his face

“I didn’t expect you to behave so calmly”

This sound like an accusation

He was right. Why wasn’t I asking questions, yelling, trying to scape? Was I so submissive I just accepted my fate?

Of probably dying in that basement… or worse…

I fell asleep again

I woke up with him walking down the stairs, an amber light bulb hanging from the ceiling

I didn’t know how much time had passed

But he was holding a metal tray

I rubbed my eyes, the light was eery

He had a gentle posture anyway… was he sad… regretful… guilty?

He stood outside the cage

Still

Finally I fully woke up, and could see my surroundings properly and understand the situation I was in

I tried standing up, but it was useless so I once again crawled to the side of the cell he stood

I felt like a scared kitten

I wanted to approach, but I was hesitant he would feel like it was an affront and harm me

I couldn’t read his expression

“Eat”

He pushed the tray through a gap

I slowly took the trail with both hands

In it was a cheese sandwich with white bread without crusts, some cherry tomato, sliced apple and a big transparent cup of iced water.

I looked at it and felt like a kid in a hospital

“Thank you…”

His eyes widen

I took a bite of the sandwich and right after a slice of apple

He stood there meticulously watching me eat sitting on the floor, like a parent watching a kid build a sand castle

I was actually okay with the situation in that moment

I almost felt relieved

I felt safe for some reason

I felt like all my burdens went away

Just like that

There I wouldn’t have to work, I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone, other people couldn’t hurt me

It was silent

The futon was comfortable

I was being fed

I felt like I could sleep

Disappear from my old life

And I felt peace

I finished eating, I was satisfied, the sweet apple and the iced water felt like the best things in the world

I slide the tray back to the gap on the cage, keeping my distance, as if I were more dangerous than him

“Thank you for the meal, I like apples”

He took the tray and went back through the creepy stairs

I sat on the floor, even if there was a chair in the cell

I just looked around, trying to understand the space I was in

I looked to the toilet and suddenly felt embarrassed to do my things exposed like that

What if he walked in

What if he could see me pee through a camera

Like a pervert

That was my biggest concern at the time

Weird

I went to the faucet to wash my face and was surprised to find a packed feminine soap inside for me to use

I smelled it and it was nice

Even sweet, I thought

“He bought it… for me…?”

He leaned on the wall beside the stairs, just watching me

Finally I could stand and just walk through the cage

Bored, just playing and stretching with the bars

Then I would return to the futon and take a nap

Days passed where these were our only interections

The meal on the tray and silently watching

Always the same

I couldn’t keep up with the time or the days

But one day he came down the stairs and brought me some heavy blankets

He said it was getting colder at night

I stood up from the futon and walked near him, holding the bar and looking at the blankets

I really liked that

They were warm and colorful

So I thanked him

He rushed to the other side and opened the cage to leave the blankets

I stood where I was, holding the bar

I didn’t want him to feel like I was going to run away

He was going to leave them on the futon, but then turned to me and handed me them

I was surprised

He was close

And shy

I took them and passed my hands through it

“It’s soft. Thank you”

He left a heavy sigh and tuned back to leave the cage

And I turned to to make the bed

Other time he came and gave me some new clothes

Lovely skirts, home dresses, some pijamas and sweatshirts and underwear

I loved the pieces

All with my exact size

I felt like a dress up doll

And felt good wearing them

After some time he started to bring me hot dishes

And sometimes really delicious and elaborate ones

Sometimes he would even eat with me on a chair outside the cell

I would make sounds while eating because the dishes were just so good

After that he would bring a laptop put it next to my bed outside the cell so we could watch some old films together

And he started to open up

We would talk about food and movies

He would bring me books and even an old tv with a remote so I could change the settings from my cell

At night he would get from work and bring me food

I would eagerly wait for everyday when he would arrive

We would eat together and talk about our day

But every time he felt he was talking too much about himself and getting personal he would abruptly leave me alone

He didn’t trust me

No matter how long I showed him I was comfortable he didn’t believe me I hadn’t the desire to leave

Some days I would wake up in the morning to see him sitting watching me

Sometimes he would greet me kindly with breakfast, vitamins and tell me he would return after work

I would spend my days reading, napping and watching the movies he had selected to me

I could tell he was really cautious about me

No knives or forks, no dvds or any cutting objects

It’s fine, I only wish he would trust me

I had no intention of leaving

One day he turnoff the lights from the room

Only the dim light from the stairs remained on

He carefully walked into the cage

I was stunned. Still. I didn’t want to worry him.

I was wearing a sundress and he caught me middle dancing

“Why”

“Hun?”

“Do you wanna leave?”

He sounded tormented

“No. I don’t. I am fine here.”

“Why? Are you fooling me? You just want me to let my guard down, so you will leave”

“I am fine here”

He heavyly walked and opened the cage

“GO AHEAD. LEAVE.”

I stood there shocked. But didn’t flinch.

“LEAVE!”

“… but… I don’t want to…” I said “i don’t wish to leave…” I felt sad for a moment

“You’re lying!” He slammed the door

“I… I thought you liked me… now you’re telling me to leave…? Why?…” I turned to sit on the chair crying

His breathing calmed down and knelt in front of me, cupping my cheeks

“I… of course I like you”

“Then why are you telling me to leave? You brought me here, gave me a place to sleep, to eat, and now you are throwing me out…?!”

“But…”

“I am happy here… what did I do wrong for you to hate me now?”

“No… that’s not it, my dove”

“Was I just here for the ransom money? That’s what it was?”

“No!”

“Then why? Why are you telling me to leave? Am I not good?”

“That’s not it!”

“Do you hate me?”

“I want you to be happy, Bee!”

Then it struck me

Bee…

Bee…

I gently took the mask from his face

He closed his eyes

His long eyelashes brushing his cheeks

And I kissed him softly

“I am happy… here…” and lightly kissed him again “with you”

He grabbed me, changing places with me, now he sat on the chair, I was on top of him, humping, passionately kissing him

“Let me be with you… please”

The door wide open behind me was nothing compared to finally being in his arms

I was a happy singing bird in a cage