#lock lcf

[murasaki-cha]

I can't believe I almost forgot but happy fathers day to Cale Henituse father of 3 to 15 kids so far

[slackerlifewhere]

random thought #1

You know...I had a sudden realization as I'm starting to re-read the novel so I can catch up to the second part (I'm getting really impatient and I just want to read more of their chaos).

Despite how easy he makes it seems, Cale's natural charisma is one of the reasons why a lot of people are quick to trust him.

Like imagine meeting all these distrustful characters (Molan father and son, Choi Han, the kids, Alberu, the dragons) and have them trust, follow, and care for you for the whole story? And he also handles them like it's a piece of cake? He's "scared" but he sometimes lets them get away with doing stuff like a tired old man. Like I know it's a thing that his friends and family are so done with him being a chaotic little shit who faints every few minutes but imagine being in his shoes and dealing with all these dangerous and equally chaotic little shits.

That's basically impossible. It's extremely hard to do the same thing he did. If it were another person, they won't even last a minute with them. They'll probably experience different kinds of trauma or death or worse.

And this guy is completely oblivious to it.

I mean, if you know his past as Kim Rok Soo, it makes a lot of sense but even then, I don't think he was in the right headspace to notice his charisma in his previous world. He's so in denial about himself even in this new world though and I honestly understand why some nobles were so scared of him. Sand Ailan was right. He's like a king.

At this point, I don't know who's babysitting who, especially if you remember the mess Choi Han and Mary did when he was away. Or when Rosalyn did something explosive. Or the kids. Or Ron. I guess it's because he's so extra in the way he does things that it kind of hides how crazy the rest of the characters are.

At best, Alberu, Beacrox, Bud, and Lock are the "normal" ones in the group if you can even call anyone "normal" in this story. You can't change my mind. Even Eruhaben doesn't count. He's also a little shit from time to time and he's proud of it.

[elaemae]

Do y'all see the vision?

Both "Beast People", Both parentless, Both got inadvertently adopted into a found family, Both looking like cinnamon rolls, Both could kill you, Their main parental figure is a smart, calculating sonovavich that is "weak", Both got that dangly strand and uncontrolled hair, both look like they fought a blender and lost, etc...

[youngyoo-apologist]

Can u guys hear me out on Kage x Rosalyn

[thevoicestellmetosteal]

Aaaaand it's done! The fire could probably be better, buy I think it looks nice

[samberrybay]

This part in 32 chp always felt kind of odd to me and this is the reason why:

The coward wolf boy, Lock. Until Choi Han found him, Lock had been hiding as the chief had told him. The Lock at that point is very much a coward, a weakling, and kind of slow. In simple terms, Lock easily took the position of the character that readers found to be extremely frustrating.

This has bothered me since I first read the novel, and to this day, even after several rereads, it still haunts me.

Cale simply isn't the type of a person to actually call a kid, no matter how they behave, to be "frustrating".

(When the text said "readers" it's damn well obvious of Cale being the one to think so.)

Pondering for some time I can roughly guess why the wording was so unexpected for his character.

At the time of the assassination/kindaping in the village, Lock was only thirteen years old. He also hasn't had his first berserk transformation yet. Therefore it is not surprising that Lock's uncle hid him and told not to go out, saying that everything was fine and he should continue to hide.

Now let's look at the situation realistically.

Lock (in tcf) jumps out of his hiding to protect his younger siblings. The adrenaline and inner Blue Wolf Tribe's instincts to protect turned on his berserk transportation one year beforehand, however if not Rosalyn and Choi Han, who came earlier than in the actual novel, i don't think it would help much.

Lock would possibly be able to kill a few people or at least seriously injure them, but CMON. They killed an ENTIRE village full of berserk Blue Wolf's and with almost-Wolf King (Lock's uncle). Do you really believe that a thirteen years old boy jumping into his first berserk transformation would be able to fight properly against strong organization that had holy water or some sort of holy artefact on their hands?

Again, if not for Choi Han's and Rosalyn's arrival... it would have definitely ended pretty bad.

In TBOAH Lock for some reason didn't jump out. Different circumstances, wrong wroted part in the novel, idk, but the fact is stated: Lock stayed hidden. He also most likely survived only because of Choi Han's help. Just with much worse scenario where he was left alone from the whole village.

And it wasn't Lock's fault yet again. He was a child. No matter if a Beastman one or not, the boy was just an innocent, naive and weak child.

So why would Cale, Kim Rok Soo at the time, find him frustrating? Extremely so even!

The answer is much easier if you think about it.

Because it wasn't Kim Rok Soo blaming a kid for being weak and cowardly in a fearful situation, it was a man who saw his own past that he hated so much.

A coward, a weakling and kind of slow.

For Rok Soo, who blamed himself for half of his life for the deaths of team one members, Lock was like a salt for still open, but ignored wounds.

KRS greatly disliked and maybe even envied Lock for a bit. The boy got a new family, he got friends and some sort of guidance from them even after facing so much despair.

While he was all alone, trying to understand what to do on his own.

It sure is irritating for Rok Soo.

Yet Team Leader Kim Rok Soo was probably unable to fully hate Lock for his weakness, because while the latter was still a kid, the same forgiveness can't be used on him. At least in his own head.

So with conflicting feelings Cale settled on "Extremely frustrating" description.

[xiximalette]

Whenever I get introduced to a character in the totcf novel, I always wonder how they will look like in the manhwa adaptation but then eventually remembering that I'm 500+ chapters in almost at the end of part 1 and the manhwa is still around 100+

We most likely see them beautiful characters in 10 decades😓

Long haired Cale suffering and half of the tcf cast fighting for their lives🫶

Eruhaben though, we are nearing!! Actually, idk I forgot what happened in the novel during that time but his appearance was like after the ten peak mountain battle though idk what exactly happened in between those events.

[wandering-tides]

And the best dad of the year award goes to... Cale!!

A round of applauses for this man y'all!!

👏 👏 👏

[blueteller]

Lock: *wishes to be like Cale* Also Lock: *gets deified*

Why am I even surprised... 😂

[galaxygirl8880]

Hugging head cannons :D

Cale: it's kind of tragic, how bad he is at hugging ppl back. He gets all stiff and awkward and doesn't know what to do with his hands. He will reluctantly hug back if they feel upset. Unless it's raon, ohn or hong hugging him. He's used to getting hugs from the kids. But he basically never hugs anyone else? Ppl just hug him.

Alberu: depends on the situation, me thinks. If it's some stuffy noble guy who he doesn't really like, its like an awkward professional hug. If you're Cale who just got back from doing something stupid, it's weirdly passive aggressive but also don't-do-that-again-pls-for-the-love-of-god hug. He's gotten plenty of affection from his aunt and the other dark elves so I think he's fine. Mildly touch starved maybe? Idk I'm indecisive.

Choi han: He holds on for a little too long, and a little too tight. Like he wants to make sure you're there.(Especially if your name starts with c and ends with ale)

Unless its a stranger, then let go or you will be sliced.

Raon, Ohn, Hong: I don't think they really like getting hugged by anyone but Cale? (He never starts it unless he thinks they're asleep, but they like hugging him.) I think it's iffy for them even if it's someone from their found family. Either they climb on you willingly or u pretty pls don't touch them.

Lock: He's pretty great at receiving and giving hugs. He's an older brother, what did you expect?

Rosalyn: I don't remember her backstory, someone help-

Edit: it's been decided that she is a great hugger. Gives warm older-sister hugs even if you're older.

----

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Does this make sense?

[murasaki-cha]

Tcf part 2 chapter 330

Not On and Choi Han completely snitching on Cale about his position on the vr game world🤣

The pettiness was so deserved

Eruhaben: so you're saying you're the worst in that game world.

Cale: that's not what I-

On without missing a beat: Yes. Yes he is.

Choi Han also without missing a beat along with On: He also has angel blood there.

Lock: Wait so he's an angel!?

Choi Han: no he also has demon blood. Also he's the boss of the 3rd and 7th evils out of the eight.

Eruhaben: *disappointed but not surprised sigh* Well I guess growing your wokload is a talent as well.

Cale: No wait I didn't do anything! Seriously I didn't even do anything the game did that! I was just there like🧍‍♂️!

[slackerlifewhere]

Involving kids in battles

There are a lot of opinions about Cale Henituse, formerly known as Kim Rok Soo. Some readers love him and some readers don't. Some find him funny and some think he's annoying. Some see his selflessness and some judge him as selfish.

He's a very complex character that is just tired of the bullshit the gods did to a lot of people including himself.

But the one thing that some readers do not like about him is how he includes kids in wars and battles against multiple powerful threats.

I've made a post about female characters that slightly mentions this. It can be found during On's part in the post if you're curious.

So here's the thing about the kids in TCF, or rather, the kids in Cale's group. They're strong in different ways.

And most of them, excluding Lily and Basen, are not humans.

To understand why I think their presence in battles are okay, let me first bring up Kim Rok Soo's past to understand the way he thinks.

As we all know, at least the ones who finished the first book, Kim Rok Soo did not have the best life. His parents died from a car accident when he was young and he was left to his abusive uncle. He was mostly alone with no connections to other people (for reasons you need to read about if you haven't yet) until the apocalypse (when he was a young part-timer) happened where he had to survive by himself until he became a member of a team with different abilities. He was a member who had to fight and watch people die when he was young until he's 36 years old.

He doesn't have a normal life and childhood.

'Kim Rok Soo had once had to starve in the past. He did not enjoy seeing children looking so skinny. Although Lock had always looked feeble and his tall height made him skinny from the start, he seemed even thinner now.' - Chapter 234: Something Obvious (3)

So if a person who grew up under these circumstances is suddenly thrusted into another world where anyone can die easily, what would he do?

Basen and Lily

His first reaction to the idea of Basen being sent to the plaza where Cale knows a tragedy might happen, is to agree with Deruth's idea of replacing Basen, knowing full well that his younger brother will not come back completely fine, especially since he's a normal kid. He chose to sacrifice his safety for a brother he barely knows since he recently just got transmigrated in this strange world. Basen is more fit to help in their territory than to fight in battles. And he does not see this as a weakness.

When Lily asks for a sword instead of a normal toy a child of her age would normally want, he easily agrees. This is a kid who wants to learn how to fight. He knows that there will be war coming to Roan Kingdom and their territory will be the first to face this danger. So the idea of her learning how to fight, with the mindset of someone who survived in an apocalypse, made him agree without complaints.

Raon Miru

Fast forward and he gained the trust of three children who are harmed by a tribe and a cruel noble. He pities them but also understands their pain at the same time, especially after everything he went through. He knows coddling them would not make things better since they already know how harsh the world is.

Raon is a baby dragon but he's stronger than all of the people in his group, except Eruhaben. He's a kid who easily talks about destroying the world if Cale doesn't wake up after fainting. He's a kid who wants revenge against Venion and he never let go of that anger even when he was freed by Cale and his group. He knows he's stronger than Cale and does not want to leave this "weak" human despite the strong enemies they face.

But Cale, even with this thought of "putting him to use" at first, told him to hide himself in all battles and when around strangers.

Even though he knows Raon can fight, it's obvious the little dragon will face potential problems if everyone knows there's a dragon in the group. Arm would do everything to get Raon and bring him to DHB, the nobles would probably become greedy, a lot of people will rely on him for things he shouldn't even need to do, and Raon will never be truly free from all the expectations placed on him.

He could leave Raon with Elves and Eruhaben but considering what Arm did to the elves, Eruhaben's lair, and Olienne, there are no safe places to leave him.

Cale gave him the freedom of choice. He can live freely as a dragon without trusting a human. He was fully confident that Raon will not follow him. But he did. So Raon is his responsibility now.

I made a post about liking both Cale and Reigen Arataka and I can honestly see their similarities in this part. They know the kid with them is stronger than them but they also know that fully placing all the responsibilities and expectations on this kid will ruin them.

He, like Reigen, tells his kids that it's okay to run when facing a strong opponent. That it's okay to rely and let the adults handle the hard part of the battle. He respects and relies on them when necessary and pulls them back when they face real danger.

When the White Star first appeared, Cale's first instinct was to hide Raon in his arms and to defend themselves from the man. He was also prepared to fight until Eruhaben appeared. No matter how much Raon wanted to fight, Cale kept hiding him and was genuinely scared for the dragon.

So yes, he cares for the kids in his own way but doesn't treat them in a patronizing manner.

On and Hong

Like I've mentioned in my other post, On and Hong also did not have a great childhood. They were chased from their tribe who wanted to kill them because they're "useless" and mutants.

They did not trust anyone until they met Cale who says one thing and does the opposite. They placed their trust on Cale who may appear indifferent and cold but seems to care for them by giving them bread, medicine, and meat without having expectations from them.

Some readers might find it distasteful but it's obvious that they want to be useful, no matter how small their contribution is to the fight. I think the term "useful" makes it cruel but for them, it's something to be proud of. When he first uses this term, it's when they were saving Raon. But his next instinct was to check if they're okay after infiltrating the cave.

Is it bad to let these kids fight after they escaped death? Yes and no.

They should be safe, away from harm or danger. That's normal to think about children and I agree they need safety like normal children. But once again, these kids aren't human and they are in a different world from us. They grew up in a tribe that expects them to be strong so in every opportunity, they look for ways to be strong.

That's not exactly a normal kid's way of thinking.

And again, Cale's initial indifference to everything around him is the extension of what his former life did to his psyche. He's not a normal person either. None of these characters are normal. Oddly enough, the most normal are Litana and Valentino.

And in all honesty, knowing how he thinks and respects someone's needs and wants, if they want to stay away from danger or stop fighting, there is no doubt he would accept their wishes and let them hide somewhere far away from Arm. But like Raon, they want to fight back against the tribe who wants them dead. In a sense, they also want revenge and to prove everyone that they've become strong.

Lock and the Wolf children

Lock is still a young boy, no matter how much he shoulders after the death of his tribe. I still see him as a kid like Basen.

When Lock was having troubles during the war, Cale did not scold him. Instead, he encouraged him to eat since he noticed how Lock hasn't been eating since he first learned he can't use his berserk form. He told him that he did not need to fight. His only role was to stand and protect Raon. Simple but it made Lock feel relieved and happy that Cale didn't get angry at him for being weak.

I see it as Cale just wanting him to step back and get stronger, to rely on the rest of the adults and to not worry about regressing. I can only imagine what Kim Rok Soo went through to be so wise about this kind of situation.

This part is one of the most memorable to me because of what happens at the end of the battle,

'I am the adult.

I am the guardian of these two children.

I need to take full responsibility since I chose to take them in.

I need the Super Rock's power.'

Cale, despite all his inner complaints and initial reluctance about how he's suddenly involved in a group of children's safety and protection, finally admitted how important it is that he takes full responsibility of those he took in. And the way he does it is by "sacrificing" himself.

When Lock finally overcome his fear and was about to protect Cale, Cale got annoyed and said,

"Children grow up so fast" with a pat on Lock's head.

He sounded like a father or an uncle who was proud of Lock for overcoming his obstacles. This one scene among multitudes of others made me recognize how much he cares for these children. It's happening mid-battle but it doesn't detracts the emotional value but only increases it. It was another reason why I find Cale Henituse so interesting and mesmerizing.

Conclusion

Cale Henituse, for all his self-hatred and low self-esteem, does not bring down a child or person's confidence. He gives them the choice to become strong and protects them when they're weak.

He does not force them to do anything they can't or don't want to do. He knows what he went through as Kim Rok Soo is bad and he doesn't want them to go through the same thing.

Reading between the lines made me see that there's something deeper than what Cale shows.

___

I'm not gonna lie, I sound like Clopeh at some parts whenever I write like this. I felt the same when I was writing about the female characters lmao

I'm sorry if this is so long 😅 I became too passionate about this topic. I understand the people who are worried about the kids but this is still my opinion about it.

[birb-catto]

Lock and Cale

What if Cale left Lock alone before the Battle of the Gorge of Death not only because he thinks being alone makes a Wolf stronger? Cale—no, KRS—became stronger and more reliable in some ways after he lost the Soos and became team leader, didn't he? 🥲

And then he gets to realize not everyone is like him. Lock didn't lose everyone this time. This Lock wasn't like TBoaH!Lock. Lock wasn't like Team Leader KRS either.

[youngyoo-apologist]

Angels have brown hair

[xx3bvvx]

As I was going over Cale's backstory again, I realized he was in his senior year of college when the cataclysm struck. Now I'm curious, what do you think his university major might have been? Personally, I'm stumped, but I have a feeling it could be related to war studies. Considering his role as a strategist for Team 1 when he joined the company, it seems like he must have had some expertise in strategic thinking. But maybe there's more to it than just his abilities. I'd love to hear your thoughts because I'm working on a fanfic about his past!

[crazydaymycrazyway]

In the modern world. Cale got in trouble

Cale: ...how did you come here so fast?

Rosalyn: Several traffic violations

Choi Han: Three counts of resisting arrest

Lock: Roughly thirteen cans of energy drink

Alberu: Also, that's not our car