#which danaël was definitely better at and it was why he was best as leader

[jaguarys]

Hello! I don't know if someone already asked, but if not, please tell us you thoughts about Danaël?

Thank you for asking! On a real note I super appreciate all the LL asks that people have been sending, I LOVE to yell about this series.

In a lot of ways, he's really the straight man of the series, but I honestly think that's sort of what makes him so great. He's the one who the rest of the group revolves around, not just because he's their leader, but he's also just their focal point. He's the one who brought them together; he's the one they follow. I think in a lot of ways he's the one they aspire to and model themselves after, and I do firmly believe he's the best of them.

He's also truly the definition of haunting the narrative. His absence is more acute than his presence in a lot of ways, and I think narratively it's a lot more important. I'm genuinely obsessed with the way the series shifts after his death–– it's a tangible absence, and no matter how much they try to cover the gap he leaves, there's just no way for them to.

Of course, the series post-Anathos becomes a lot darker, but I also think it's just more... bleak. They've really and truly lost their core, and they don't ever regain the sense of family their group had before. They scattered during their recovering period following vol 10, and they never fully reconverge much as they might want to.

I don't think it would be impossible, had they had the time. They're focused on trying to rebuild what they had, when I think what would have been best would be to create something new. And, I think, being that he was the glue, they never really learned to fill those gaps (and actually communicate. I think he was the one who made them talk to each other, holy shit (affectionately, they're dumbasses)).

I absolutely adore him. I won't get into his Dynameïs version here but I think about that a lot too... really depends on how you want to interpret Kalandre's hold over their group (are they still themselves? Are they entirely other people? Is it full control or just influence? I'm obsessed.)