my 'clearwind glide' (caleb beach 5* memory) thoughts/analysis
easily in my top 3 (if not top ONE) caleb memories now. under the cut cause it's long as hell.
remember when caleb said “when a butterfly lands on your shoulder, should you stay still or try to hold it in your hands?”
he said that i believe it was a line in the destiny cafe. in clearwind glide that same imagery and turmoil comes back, but this time surrounding dragonflies
please check this AMAZING caleb art themed around this quote: https://x.com/popcornegoist/status/1949480146504978563
butterflies symbolize change via rebirth and dragonflies symbolize change via adaptability and overcoming adversity
the latter represents calebmc’s relationship a bit better purely due to the sheer amount of trials and tribulations they’ve endured together
the change they, and their relationship is undergoing is due to those trials. they have changes because of everything they’ve been through, both separate and together.
it wasn’t simply the course of nature (like metamorphosis)
caleb has always been conflicted with his need for mc. his need for for him to need her, his selfish want to keep her for himself
in his flashback, he remembers knowing if he wanted to, he could trap that dragonfly forever. but when he sees mc in the window, he lets it go
caleb’s love is all-consuming. it’s selfish. when mc fell asleep, caleb stayed away thinking about how he literally wished the storm that swept up their speed boat would’ve lasted longer because it would’ve met mc needed him longer.
he even admits he dislikes storms. they’re dangerous and unpredictable. and yet he needs mc to need him so badly that he wished it would’ve lasted longer.
something he refers to as “danger and chaos incarnate.” if it means mc will need him and rely on him? he wants it.
but despite this, caleb has always let mc go—even if it’s not what he wants. like in captive bird (“i don’t know how to take care of you anymore”)
because although his love is selfish—he is selfless.
in the cave, you can tell how disappointed caleb was when mc said she didnt want to stay on the island forever.
when he saw mc in the window, he let the dragonfly go. they all flew away and he was left empty-handed.
but clearwind glide is all about caleb coming to terms that letting mc go doesn’t mean she leaves. instead, it means she can fly by his side—together.
it’s coming to terms with the fact that mc is not the girl she once was and caleb is not that boy. they have changed in the face of adversity and now they need to learn how to let each other go and fly together instead of keeping one another captive and remaining together that way
mc prompts caleb to let go of the necklace and embrace her instead.
she isn’t asking caleb to let her go. she doesn’t want that. in fact, she doesn’t even seem to want caleb to stop needing her in such an unhealthy way. she just wants him to embrace her, and let her into his twisted little world.
she wants to be able to stand, or fly, by his side.
of course caleb struggles with this. he has attachment issues stemming from childhood trauma. but even mc is learning that this is what she wants. they’re both changing, together.
mc trusts caleb BLINDLY. we have seen this time and time again.
but it seems caleb is still learning to trust mc. to trust that she will come back to him if he lets her go.
the storm, the same one that dampened dragonflies’ wings to the point they could not fly. the same one that caleb wanted to last longer. he didn’t want it to end because it would mean mc would stop needing him
but when it passes, the dragonfly doesn’t fly away—onto greater horizons. instead it comes back.
some other things that really struck me in this memory
if you guys remember from skyline (4* memory) caleb says that he wishes in his next life he could be a seagull and mc says she wants to be a seagull with him. and he says:
“little seagull in my next life, promise me you won’t disappear again”
in the memory, we see caleb and mc flying side by side with two seagulls. we see mc’s hand first, then joined with caleb’s—intertwined.
this is what they’re meant to be.
i also love that the place the visited, cloudia, was a callback to a favorite show calebmc shared “ta-ta’s perfect vacation”
if you recall, ta-ta is the same character/series that mc and caleb watched together in “no-return night” (a day with pilot ta-ta)
mc put a lot of thought into putting together a private showing of that movie and caleb returns the sentiment by finding the filming location of that series they loved.
clearwind glide is all about the innocent yet tender and devoted acts of affection. things that once came naturally to them but have gotten more turbulent as their relationship has changed (much like the dragonfly symbolism)
the forehead kiss, the foot massage (her ankle was injured), the head pats/caresses.
these are things they once might’ve indulged in, but now they hold entirely new meanings.
calebmc is a slow burn of sorts. we have seen them come to turning points in their relationship MULTIPLE TIMES, and yet the next memory is never “okay now things are completely different because we talked about this in the last memory!”
they are STILL and will ALWAYS be navigating the ever changing landscape of their relationship and situation.
i loved getting to see so many different sides to caleb all in one memory.
capable, cunning, playful, carefree, even seductive.
caleb is so multidimensional and sometimes people paint him as one thing and one thing only.
mc was so funny in this memory like caleb’s mc is hands-down my favorite. besides being hilarious, she’s self-aware that she is as crazy as caleb.
she grows so naturally. she once tried to “change” caleb back. but she stopped doing that.
she’s bold. she’s flirtatious. she’s brave. she’s shy and shameless all at once.
she matches caleb exactly. she is exactly what he needs and he is what she needs.
