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c-a-e-l-a · 2 years

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Preliminary thoughts on Leona’s advice for Jamil, his perception on Kalim, and the Scarabia development implied in Chapter 6′s ending. (AKA "A Pathetic Attempt at a Scarabia Essay”)

I think I am speaking for all of us when I say that Chapter 6 has, by far, been the most interesting and satisfactory Twst arc. Ever. I don’t know where to begin in describing it, honestly, but I think you would understand once you get to read it for yourself.

I’ll mostly be focusing on the topics I stated above, but this post will still be laden with spoilers for Chapters 4, 5, and 6, so if you aren’t up for Scarabia-centric spoilers, please skip this post!

SCARABIA PRE-CHAPTER 6 (I)

In this section, I’ll be talking about the dynamic between Jamil and Kalim over the course of Chapter 4 & 5, as well as a few of their interactions in relevant personal stories. I’ll start with the latter.

(Source: Jamil’s Dorm Uniform SSR Vignette)

It is a universally known truth that...Jamil has zero trust in leaving things up to Kalim. And we can’t really blame him---with the way they used to be, he couldn’t leave Kalim alone, nor could he rely on him to do something he’d been expected to do.

(Source: Jamil’s Ceremonial Robes SR Vignette)

(Source: Jamil’s School Uniform R Vignette)

Many occurrences have been more than enough proof of that, and those few moments wherein Kalim actually was reliable paled in comparison to these negative instances. As such, it has so happened that, to the surprise of no one, Jamil has made a habit out of taking responsibility after responsibility and sparing Kalim none of it----adding further onto his contempt towards him and Kalim’s own ignorance to Jamil’s difficulties.

(Source: Book 4, Chapter 37: The Magic Dispelled)

This has something to do with how, generally speaking, Jamil has always viewed Kalim too negatively. His frustration isn’t unfounded, of course, but he’s closed off his mind to the prospect of Kalim ever becoming more than what he already made him out to be---when in fact, Kalim is more than willing to become someone Jamil can rely on.

So, there. Jamil’s perception of Kalim hasn’t been the best...and naturally, it won’t change immediately. These are years and years of grudges we’re talking about, after all. It even reaches to the extent that in Episode 5-34, Jamil tells Epel that, “If he himself is laughing, then it’s probably not that heavy” when the latter mentions that Kalim was laughing despite talking about a traumatizing topic and sharing about the reason why he strives to keep living.

Jamil seems to view Kalim precisely for the first thing he sees of him, and not for what possibly lies behind all of his cheer.

Regardless...

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-9, Translation by Shel_Bb)

There have been cracks in that perception of his. He’s beginning to see facets that he’d failed to consider...

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-34, Translations by Shel_Bb)

...facets of Kalim that he struggles to acknowledge...

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-30, Translations by Shel_Bb)

...and facets of Kalim that he will only continue to realize.

SCARABIA PRE-CHAPTER 6 (II)

This part will discuss Jamil and Kalim’s respective character development after Chapter 4! I’ll start with Kalim’s.

As depicted in the set of photos directly above this section, one of Kalim’s most prominent realizations is that “he has never achieved anything if it weren’t for Jamil.” For all these years, he never believed that anything should be rightfully his...but at the same time, it never crossed his mind that all the acclaim he’d received happened not because he earned it, but because of who he is.

This realization frustrated him, and this spurred into him doing his best to stand by Jamil as equals. Borrowing my own captioning in Kalim’s TV Tropes page:

He becomes more considerate of others as the main story plods on, and he strives to exert more effort to make up for all the times he “achieved” something despite not deserving it. He is also more likely to take action when he notices something is wrong, thus resulting in his meddling with Vil’s attempt at Neige’s life, unlike before when it’s implied he knew about Jamil’s hardships but didn’t do anything about it until it was too late.

The Kalim that we all see post-Chapter 4 is the Kalim that does his best to be more than what he used to be. This is the version of him that’s trying to become more independent of Jamil, slowly but surely...and while this implies for Jamil’s workload to be lessened, this development turns out to stress out Jamil all the more, as he still can’t trust Kalim to do anything by himself. We’ll get to more on this later.

Jamil’s post-Chapter 4 character development consists of him stepping up for himself more. He no longer lets the social hierarchy stop him from showing his potential---but that fact alone isn’t enough to prove that the mindset he’d always held still doesn’t affect him. Jamil is still in the midst of breaking free from the way he’s been taught to behave...and a part of him still views Kalim as someone he can never overcome.

(Source: Book 5, Episode 5-24, Translations by Shel_Bb)

Jamil is a rather contradictory character, as it is often that his wants and his actions differ from one another. For instance: he wants acknowledgment and acclaim, but shies away the moment someone begins to praise him. He says that he knows Kalim is no match for him if it weren’t for his parents, and yet he subconsciously doubts that the sort of charisma Kalim has over their dormmates is something he can’t easily replicate.

When Vil assigns him as one of their group’s lead singers during the Pomefiore arc, Jamil instinctively declines it at first, in favor of Kalim, before stopping himself and accepting it. The beliefs his parents taught him are ingrained in him that deeply, and just as he perceives Kalim as someone who is always above him, he can’t easily overcome this mindset of his, too... At least, not until Leona’s advice.

LEONA’S PERSPECTIVE AND ADVICE

Although the available translations currently haven’t touched on this, the last part of the main story update certainly introduced good development between these unlikely pairs of characters: Leona & Jamil, and Azul & Riddle. This part won’t be as specific as the other sections because I’m just writing this based on what I know, but I hope I still get my point across. Azul and Riddle will have their separate ramble, they’re giving me so much brainrot rn.

(Source: Jamil’s School Uniform R Vignette)

Even before their interactions in Chapter 6, Jamil has always been wary of Leona, as the Savanaclaw Dorm Leader was one of the few students who could very easily see through the facade he consistently put up.

This same dynamic applied to their alliance as partners in hunting down the Ice Phantom---with Jamil initially being hesitant over partnering up with him---except that in that current instance, Jamil seemed to be insistent on “protecting” Leona, much to the latter’s chagrin.

Jamil believed that he had to prioritize Leona’s safety amid this situation because he is the secondborn prince of the Sunset Savannah. This “overprotectiveness” was something Leona found unnecessary, and he didn’t take it well whenever Jamil prioritized his life over his own self. He thought Jamil was making too much of a big deal out of this.

This resulted in many arguments and fights between the two, and...yeah, they fought so much I forgot the exact arrangement for what happened...but, at one point, Jamil winds up in an outburst of emotion, and he laments that no one would ever understand where he’s coming from, anyway. Leona begs to disagree.

Leona says that he gets the gist of Jamil’s situation. He also adds that he knows Jamil is better than he initially let on, and explains precisely what Kalim has that Jamil doesn’t.

“...Charisma?”

“No, he’s got money.”

That conversation above is non-verbatim, by the way, lol.

But what Leona meant to say, as a whole, was that Kalim had money and knew how to use it. Jamil was understandably baffled by this...but on my part, it made me realize how different others’ perspective on Kalim’s actions could be.

As players, we all know Kalim does most of the things he does because he’s a genuinely good person. We have the privilege to get a look-see into their character stories, after all. But to people like Leona, they see it differently.

The renovation at Scarabia, the banquet they held for Crowley, the banquet Kalim held at the cafeteria, Kalim donating his share on the prize money to Ramshackle Dorm... We know and believe that Kalim did this out of the good of his own heart, but Leona sees it as a strategic expense of money.

It betters Kalim’s reputation, it gives chances for establishing useful connections...and many more. Of course, that doesn’t mean those are actually the motives behind what he did. It’s just interesting how others perceive these actions of kindness as something far more strategic, and it really makes one think about how much thought is actually put into every single one of those monetary decisions, rather than them just being bouts of spontaneity.

As Leona states further on, people like Kalim usually go for their instincts right from the get-go. It might seem foolish, at first, but the conviction Kalim gives in every decision he makes is what what makes up for that said "foolishness."

If he thinks something is useful, then he'll go for it.

If he thinks that saying this is the right thing to say to a certain person, then he'll say it.

If this plan doesn't work out, then he'll just think up something else and try again.

Be it because of years of exposure to his family's business, or the socializing skills he'd gained from hosting banquets and being a people person in general, or the innate kindness that just shines from within him, Kalim, while still unpolished, had always possessed the qualities one would search in a leader. On the other hand, Jamil had been so desperate for independence that he'd made a habit of dealing with things on his own, making him incredibly capable...but also alienating him from his peers. He'd become so used to dealing with things solo that he failed to discover that there's more to being a leader than just being capable: the ability to inspire, convince, and empathize with others, the ability to know when & how to adjust to different kinds of people you'd end up working with, and how to lead them. Jamil has none of that, and he realizes this once Leona calls him out on it.

I have a lot more to say, but the bottomline is that: In Leona’s eyes, Kalim is already making use of his favorable qualities---his charisma, his wealth, etc.---and he’s imploring Jamil to do the same. To find what he’s best at and invest in it, rather than wallow in his closed mindset that’s been ingrained in him since young.

And that’s good advice, made especially more credible with the fact that it came from Leona, someone who understands the complexity of the hierarchy and Jamil’s situation. Jamil is shown to be thankful for this, and he admits that he has viewed Kalim and everyone else to be better than him subconsciously; this led to him holding everyone in contempt, believing that he could do better than them if he just had a chance to show his potential, despite never taking the stand to showcase said potential, anyway. He aims to fix his mindset from now on. And afterwards, Leona... He whispers to himself that Jamil better do that.

Because at the end of the day, he and Jamil are different, and with this, Jamil at least won’t end up like him.

SCARABIA DEVELOPMENT (After two years of waiting, we Scarabia stans have won...)

Okay.

Okay so.

The, uh, the glomp.

Kalim.. about to hire the best doctors to check upJamil..

And the.

“Really... I never thought the day would come that I’d feel relieved to see your face.”

AND JAMIL ASKING KALIM TO GET OFF OF HIM AND KALIM SAYING HE CAN’T BECAUSE HIS RELIEF OVER JAMIL BEING OKAY MADE HIS LEGS FEEL WEAK

AND HIM TATTLING ABOUT HOW JADE SAID SMTH ABOUT THEM POSSIBLY BEING DEAD AND HE LOOKED SO ANGY LIKE >:000000

THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DECENT ANALYSES POST BUT IM SORRY I AM NOT GOD’S STRONGEST SOLDIER I CANNOT I JUST CANNOT

AHEM.

Anyway.

Later, Kalim offered to help Jamil cut a tart while they’re at Ramshackle. Jamil told him to just sit there because he’ll take care of it...but then he reconsidered it, and said that he can at least get everyone a dish and a fork.

Such a small act is already so indicative of the development we’ve longed for years to see...and I think it’s pretty self-explanatory at this point how important it is that Jamil is now willing to accept Kalim’s help. He's acknowledged that shouldering all the burden by himself won't do him any good, and that by opening himself up to others, he can be able to discover more chances to heighten his potential. It’s a small step. It’s such a small step, and yet it matters oh so much. They’re learning to have a healthier relationship, bit by bit :”)))

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