Assorted thoughts on Rippling Blossoms
Live commentary on Rafayel's card
Spoilers under the cut
Ough, moving stuff, rearranging furniture, renovating, keeping things * tidy* in Raf's house... I get a headache just thinking about it
but as it always happens when you start sorting through old stuff, something interesting and completely forgotten comes up
love how mc is mesmerized by the painting while raf is like... and here i thought it was in the dumpster. He'd obviously put it out of his mind and has no interest in it now - but he sure is interested in mc's opinion on it, especially since she's so taken with it
oooh yapping about paintings, colors and pigments! Keep talking raf
mc has decided to go look for the flower so that Rafayel can finish his painting. Thing is, knowing Raf, if he truly wanted to finish it... he would have done so a long time ago. He's not the kind of person that lets himself be stopped by things such as "i'm out of the color i need". Since he's left it unfinished it means he's done with that particular painting.
still he's soooo happy mc has organized this trip as a surprise for him! Always soaking up mc's attentions and affection like a sponge. He's so cute
Ah, mass tourism, my beloathed. Here's a wonderful post by @mayyari about this particular theme in raf's narrative, from this card to many other points in his story
"truly unique things are always a luxury.Being fortunate enough to find one even once is a miracle" true, true
hhhhh not Raf wanting to avoid hot springs because of that first birthday trip
"But I'd feel even worse if we missed this opportunity" - mc you're merciless. Still, technically speaking, you don't need to go into the hot springs for the flowers, so...
ok but rafmc are so domestic. Married vibes 100%
leaving at 8:00 am. I keep forgetting Raf is... if not a morning person, he sure has no problem waking up early when needed even though he's prone to pulling allnighters. Mc is stronger than me for sure. What do you mean, leaving at 8:00 am on a vacation?
not Raf humming!!!
he's always happy to soak in mc's compliments huh
"but now you wanna capture a ray of sunlight" oh raf, if only you knew how many times i've wanted to do just that. "If only i was a painter or a photographer I could capture this moment and share it with everyone!" I'm always thinking that whenever i come across something beautiful. But he's right, being an artist and having talent doesn't mean you can replicate what you've experienced - you have no choice but to give your own reinterpretation of it. In the end, your artwork is inevitably something separate from what you have in your mind or heart and it will live on independently - and will be subject to other people's interpretations. It's both the beauty of art... and an extremely frustrating thing for an artist at times. Many people might like your work and cherish it but you'd still be there muttering "But that's not what I meant!"
"no matter what i do, I can't capture the color I see" rrrraaaaaah, the frustration. I really feel this line. (Unrelated, but you know how in Goethe's Faust, Mephisto has to make Faust experience something that will make Faust say "moment be still, you're so beautiful"? He'd have such an easy time with me it wouldn't even be funny. He wouldn't even have to lift a finger, for all that's happening right now and all the tragedies and destruction... we still live in such a beautiful, breathtaking world. Anyway, digression over)
"I can't take a ray of sunlight with me, so I'll leave it with the mountains. What I can take with me and what can remain on the canvas is my feeling in this moment" Raf I love you. This is such a beautiful way to put it
....just what kind of luxury boat business is this old man running? Didn't he close his floral shop because he couldn't keep up with the boost in tourism?? Seriously, a hot spring???? In the boat?????
"I'll only know what I want to express when the brush touches the canvas" I lovelovelove when raf talks about painting. I mean, the people working at Lads are artists too, and those who aren't, are working side by side with visual artists/people who have studied art in some form, so I'm sure they have a blast with this side of his character.
"I'm no longer in that mindset, and the feelings I couldn't put into words have faded" mh yeah, understandable
"it was painful and yet... alive with a fiery passion" yeah, this was the Rafayel we met at the beginning of the game.
"don't move" - it seems he really likes to tell mc that
"beautiful. It's my favorite color" - listen. I know he's referring to the whole moment and the whole relationship with mc and everything that brought him here and now with her. I know it's not *literally* about the color. But. I thought his favorite color was pink? Because it represents mc and love and everything good, sweet and soft in his life? And red was more about the burning flame of his passion. I guess he's linkening that to mc and the relationship so. New favorite color acquired?
"you need to keep them close once you find the opportunity. Appreciate them carefully everyday until you can say it belongs to you in its entirety" Aaaand here comes raf's latent possessivness / potential yandereness. He's sweet and loving and playful, passionate and sensual... and then there's this undercurrent that pops up. Soaked in spicy or sweet moments, so that you almost don't realize it's there and don't really think about the implications. I would say it's only there to turn up the temperature and it's not that deep but. It's a refrain that keeps coming up in raf's stories and it featured heavily in Tamino's bad ending so. The writers could keep it just for spice, but they could very easily use it in a darker scenario too. I think they're more interested in the sweet escapist fantasy atm but never say never.
"you're not the type that turns away from a challenge though" Rafayel was so so scared that she *would* turn away, decide he wasn't worth it or that he was too much or that he was a monster. Now that he knows that's not who mc is though... There's no turning back
"these reds belong to the sea, the mountains, the tree... I'm just borrowing them. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to find them again. But they'll never belong to me. I already found another special red. It's one of a kind and second to none. That red belongs to me" Ugh. This is so poetic, and if I had to pick a quote to sum up this card this would be it. It also sums up Raf's philosophy and attitude when it comes to life - he's constantly adapting to his environment and he's mostly fine with it, he has accepted that this is how life is and this is how you survive. But mc? She's his, his anchor and the one thing he doesn't want to give up no matter what.
nghl, raf's mc though. In Misty Invasion card Raf asked her whether she was uncomfortable and she answered with "Look, it's snowing!" Now her response is... she.... feeds the fish. I can't with her (though I kinda understand tbh)
"Feed this Fish" - INFOLD
"Rafayel.. I..." and the mark glows. That's such a hassle though. I'd be so paranoid, I'd take 5 business days to open my mouth and tell him literally anything, gotta analyze it from 20 different angles and make sure it doesn't accidentally activate the covenant
"Always searching for anything that's one of a kind is exhausting. The wait can feel endless (..) Fortunately, many years ago, Rafayel had the same courage and patience you have now. And that kept the little flame alive. Now it has found an opportunity to burn once again" If Xavier is about keeping and giving hope in the direst of situations, of light that unexpectedly illuminates the deepest darkness, Rafayel is about protecting that little flame of life and passion even when you've lost all hope and everything feels meaningless. It takes courage and patience but if you manage to do that - you'll keep it alive long enough to survive to a moment where it can be finally rekindled again and go back to burning bright.
hhhhh the description of that painting! To say it's lovely is absolutely reductive!
Ok all in all I liked this one too, although maybe not as much as Sunken Glow. Like Xavier's card, this one sums up nicely where we are with our relationship with mc's love interest of choice. Rafayel is finally secure in the relationship, he feels comfortable in soaking up in her affections, expressing his feelings and thoughts and needs and just... being himself. It's so refreshing to see, and very heartwarming too if we remember where we started - he was always on the defensive and holding himself back - always afraid. I do wonder where they'll take him though. Last main story update seemed like a rushed, clumsy attempt at shutting down his revenge storyline which... would be absolutely terrible for both his narrative and his character. That has been such a huge part of his character and identity... people don't just give up such quests just like that and begin anew. Nothing about that storyline was solved - Lemurians are still hunted down and exploited, Rafayel is still their god, neither he nor his people have had any closure. It's good that he doesn't let himself be consumed by his revenge and that he has found something good to live for but that doesn't erase everything else. I sure hope this new, lovely-dovey spicy red he has found is simply to signal that the passion that drives him now is not the self-destructive kind anymore and not that he now only revolves around mc and his people can go hang. We'll see.