#I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to flex my knowledge lmfaooooo

[tongues-and-teeth-and-reblogs]

Ya actually reblogging this with added context.

A major theme of Dark Cacao’s story and books 13-14 as a whole is Intent vs. Action, and this is actually the reason why it kills me instantly to see people call Dark Cacao a good father.

No, he’s not abusive, nor is he the worst father in the world. But he’s neglectful, emotionally distant, and far too resolute in his decisions. He wanted to be a good father, he did everything he thought was right to raise Choco, intending to raise a kind and just warrior. However, despite it all, his actions don't live up to his ideas.

We don't see much of how Choco was raised, but as far as we can tell (and further infer), it just wasn't great. In the Cookies of Darkness story (05, The Fallen Prince), Pomegranate shows him visions of his past. This includes Dark Cacao being incredibly dismissive of Choco's concerns, blaming his defiance on his youth, rather than accepting his pleas as genuine. This eventually boils over (albeit aided by the strawberry jam sword) to such an anger at Dark Cacao's refusal to reevaluate his beliefs that he attacks him (and presumably other cookies in the citadel, but it's not elaborated on much)

It's clear this is not a one-off instance either, as as very similar disagreement happens in Dark Cacao's main story (books 13-14). Affogato repeatedly advises Dark Cacao to stop working on his wall, in a similar fashion to how Choco does. Although the relationship present is incredibly different from a father/son one, Affogato is still someone Dark Cacao cares about, and the parallel is still there.

Once again, the idea of Intent vs. Action comes into play. Affogato is opposing the wall for selfish reasons- it threatens the power he's accumulated and challenges his influence over Dark Cacao, while Dark Cacao is building the wall for selfless reasons- he wants to protect those he cares about, and to satiate his (actually unfounded) fear of the sea attacking. Affogato is trying to do a good thing for a bad reason, and Dark Cacao is trying to do a bad thing for a good reason.

Tying it back to Dark Cacao's parenting. I restate my point about how even though he wanted desperately to be a good father, he didn't recognize his flaws in time, and therefore failed his son. For example, (14. 10- Father & Son) Dark Cacao expresses that he never gave his son enough love, and that he realized this far too late. He openly admits that despite his intention, his actions didn't reflect what he intended to do. If he was a good father he wouldn't need to apologize to Choco in such a way, nor would that apology carry the weight it did. Obviously the situation isn’t cut and dry, but in a black or white yes or no scenario, he is objectively not a good parent.

I'm starting to question if y'all actually read the story or if you just come on here and post about it.