#knight of despair | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dsknsk · 13 days ago

Text

I always kinda get annoyed when people treat the Magical Girl quartet as just a Madoka Magica reference and nothing more. Because they aren't just that. Not even Queenie. Just like the Oz Abnormalities and numerous others, they represent parts of the City itself.

In a traditional sense, magical girls fight for what's right, for ideals such as love, justice, happiness and courage. They live ordinary lives for the eyes of everyone, only to have another identity that comes out when push comes to stove. They are figures to be admired, stepping up in the face of evil and then punishing it. They are by nature a figure drawn from ideals, just like superheroes, because they are the result of people thinking "What if there was a hero who beat up the evil in the world and made it less shitty than it is?". This is why I think that the Magical Girl quartet represents what happens to ideals in the City and the people who have them.

Queen of Hatred

Starting with Queenie herself. She began as the Magical Girl of Love, but ended up with the title of Queen of Hatred. Love and Hatred are, as one could argue, opposites, yet they can also be said to be similar. One often leads to the other, and they are both intense emotions that can drive people to extremes. Queenie started out as your traditional, hopeful magical girl, ready to fight all evil that may come her way. But...in her case, the evil was beaten and there was nothing left to fight. This is one big difference between her and Madoka Magica - in the latter series, one large part of the world is that the enemies never disappear, for they stem from the same source as the ones that fight them. That's why once girls become magical girls, they can never stop being one, lest they become the enemy itself. But the problem that our Magical Girl of Love encountered is that, once she's beaten all evil, there was...nothing left.

And what's a magical girl with no evil left to fight? Girls transform into their magical forms in order to fight evil, so with the "evil" out of the equation...there'd really be no reason to be a magical girl at all, right? In a world without evil to beat, what is a magical girl even gonna DO?

Well, as it turns out, when it came to that point she realized that the reason for her existence as a magical girl was taken away, that no one really needed her anymore. Magical girls without any evil to beat are just regular girls to everyone else. But as we could see from the page illustrations in Ruina, she loved fighting evil and people cheered for her. And now...there's nothing left for her.

But there HAS to be, right? There HAS to be an evil, otherwise she can't exist and do well what she does best: beating evil. So she turned from the Magical Girl of Love into the Queen of Hatred, now that there was no need to keep fighting for love anymore. If there's no evil...then she just became the evil itself. I mean, the job application's still open...

I personally regard her snake form as more similar to a doppel than to a witch. It's the manifestation of her frustration, and she returns back to normal once you manage to beat her in this form. She notably transforms when 20% of your employees die during the time she tries to assist (during a Second Trumpet), and I think that that's more or less a result of "I TRY to help you, but it goes wrong in the end, so WHAT AM I EVEN DOING? WHAT AM I EVEN FOR IF I CAN'T DO WHAT A MAGICAL GIRL DOES BEST?"

Queenie is a representation of all those in the City who started out as ready to reach their ideals, only to realize that without their presence, the world just turns as it always does as well. The City doesn't care about them nor their ideals. They're just not needed, and they will probably bring no change at all. So they end up descending into hatred, just like so many others in the City already have.

Hearts as a suit translate into the Cups suit in the arcana, representing water, and with that, emotions, feelings and the subconscious. It is represented by a cup in rituals.

Knight of Despair

The Knight of Despair is actually kind of similar to Queenie. In both cases, the evil they were fighting left the equation, but the main difference lies in their reactions on it and the cause. While the Magical Girl of Love went on to become the evil itself now that there's none left, the Magical Girl of Justice descended into despair. Many people think she's just an expy of Sayaka Miki, but while they do share some themes, the Knight of Despair is an Abnormality that I think you have to see in the context of the City, and she is fundamentally different from Sayaka.

The Magical Girl of Justice had and still has a very strong sense of duty, as she swore to protect "the king, the city, the state and the weak". As she encountered a similar ending as the Magical Girl of Love did, however, even with her protection, people still ended up as their evil selves, so she stopped. So eventually, she became forgotten now that she was not needed anymore and devolved from the Magical Girl of Justice into the Knight of Despair.

I think that Knight of Despair is a representation of those that loyally follow their "duty" in the City. In the City, there are many groups: Offices, Associations, Syndicates, you name it, and they have members who are ferociously loyal to their boss and the ideas that they strive for. There's the Middle with their ideas of family. There's the Ring with their constant striving for the perfect piece of art. There's the Index who seek to make sure that the "City's will" is followed up. There's the Yurodiviye who want to make a change at all cost and revere Sonya as a saint and revolutionary. I could go on. All of these people have a certain worldview that decides their lifestyle and that of those who are loyal to them.

This is why I think Knight of Despair represents what happens if doubt starts to set in. I mean, you're giving it your all, but the world doesn't change. So...what if there is no evil to fight (anymore) because it's a lie? Since there is no change, what worth does your fight even have? What if, even with all your efforts towards your goal, there is still nothing that changes? What if the world isn't like what the big boss decided it is? What if the "City's Will" is nothing more than just a bunch of random writings? What if there's no such thing as a perfect piece of art? What if "family" is just an idea that the big boss uses to keep his underlings in check? What if the world is so unable to change that no one can even make a change? The world keeps turning without you, no matter whether you make an effort to reach your goal or not, not even caring whether it's noble or not. Just like with Queenie, Knight realized that even though she fought in a valiant effort, it still brings no results, so she has no use in the end.

Then, what can you even do? Without a duty, what purpose do you still fulfill? Those are the questions that Knight of Despair implicitly asks.

Spades as a suit translate into Swords in the arcana, representing air, and with that, intelligence, power and acute thinking. It is represented by an athame with a yellow blade and purple inscriptions in rituals.

King of Greed

The King of Greed is slightly different from the other two in that her "problem" is something else than evil disappearing. Once known as the Magical Girl of Happiness, she got carried away by the feeling of victory and started to want more, more and more of it until she devolved into the King of Greed.

There is a myth that dopamine is addicting. Dopamine in itself is not addicting; it stems from the underlying activity. In her case, fighting evil. Fighting evil just to feel good about the victory is...well, it's not what the core of being a magical girl is about. It became less about keeping people safe from evil and upholding justice (like the Magical Girl of Justice fought for) and more about beating evil because it feels fun to do so.

But dopamine DOES play a role in developing tolerance, especially in the context of addiction. And once again, in her case, the addiction was not to any kind of substance. It was to the feeling of victory itself. And so, the Magical Girl of Happiness only strived for her own happiness first and foremost, and devolved into the King of Greed.

I think that in the context of the City, King of Greed is very easy actually. I mean, how many people started out as just striving for accomplishments only to want more and more and more and more once they were offered rewards that they couldn't resist? If people start to recognize your accomplishments, they start offering you things like money, honor and high positions. Something must've happened with the Magical Girl of Happiness too, once people saw how good she was at fighting evil, even if it's nowhere really explicitly put.

Diamonds as a suit translate to Pentacles in the arcana, representing earth, and with that, material gain, self-esteem and finances. It is represented by a (stack of) coin(s) in rituals.

Servant of Wrath

The Servant of Wrath is a bit different from the first two once again in that her "problem", once again, is not the absence of evil but something entirely. But I think that she and the Knight of Despair have their fair share of similarities; which I will come back quickly.

The Servant of Wrath started out as the Magical Girl of Courage, determined to keep up justice (similar to Knight of Despair, who was known as the Magical Girl of Justice). This is likely also why her entire aesthetic looks like a judge, with a cravat, blindfold (mirroring Lady Justice) and a gavel. And yet somehow she made friends with the Hermit of the Azure Forest. Who very obviously looks evil and was an enemy of her homeworld, and I think that there's what the tragedy sits in.

Maybe the Magical Girl of Courage just really wanted friends and took the first offer that seemed genuine, no matter if it came from an enemy. Maybe she knew that the Hermit was evil but she thought that them becoming friends would redeem the Hermit (something that's not uncommon in traditional magical girl series). We will never know. All that's stated is that she betrayed her principles and befriended someone she should never have befriended, and who only exploited it.

But we do know that in the end, despite their stated friendship, the Hermit ended up betraying the Magical Girl of Courage and fulfilling her role as an enemy either way, bringing destruction to the city that the Magical Girl of Courage protected (which we can see in the background of the fight against the Hermit in Ruina). Now you can say "yeah, you had that coming, what with making friendship with a very creepy looking villain". But, here's the thing: the Magical Girl of Courage genuinely regarded the Hermit as a friend. This is very, very obvious if you look at the lines present in her Abnormality pages.

And, despite being betrayed, the Magical Girl of Courage still tries to see the Hermit as her friend, so desperate to not let go of the idea that they are friends. Lashing out in pure anger, the Magical Girl of Courage devolved into the Servant of Wrath.

Circling back to the Knight of Despair. I think that both her and Servant of Wrath represent what happens if a person ready to follow the ideals ends up being betrayed. Either by people, or by facing reality, just like Yan - but the Servant leans towards the former due to her lore. Imagine: you commit yourself entirely to your group (like the Middle), to the people you think you can trust and have your back, only to be disposed off just like another pawn that can be used. Because in the end, that's all that you become, so in a desperate attempt, you lash out.

Clubs as a suit translate to Wands in the arcana, representing fire, and with that, primal energy, determination and strength. It is represented by a wand with a bud in rituals.

Jester of Nihil

So the Jester technically is not a part of the quartet, but is implicitly connected to them in some weird way that's never expanded upon (yet). Going with the loose arcana theme, the Jester is a warped version of the 0th card, The Fool, which usually represents new beginnings, an open look towards the future and optimism no matter what happens when upright. The Jester is a twisted form of it, as it has nihilism as a theme. It is a culmination of the ill fates of all four Magical Girls, either in spirit or literally, as nihilism is a recurring theme in all of the four. There's no evil to fight, so why even try to get by? There's nothing that changes even if you fight valiantly, so why even seek something to protect? Victory feels so good, so why even fight for things like "safety' and "protection" while you can fight just to enjoy all your gains? Your friend just betrayed you, so why even continue to believe in friendship? The phrase "so why even" is something I feel like encapsulates nihilism a lot.

The Jester's phrases mention a dog that is supposed to guide it. In the original card of The Fool, there is a dog on the image that warns the main figure not to fall off the cliff that it's about to tumble from. It being gone would imply that the nihilism is a result of the impulses rather than anything rational. Look back at the questions: don't they seem incredibly short-sighted?

Whatever the true nature of the Jester is, the fact that the Magical Girls return to their original forms to fight for what they originally fought for and them only being able to beat it with their original moves does imply a shred of hope. Nihilism, the foe omnipresent in their lives and in the City, may seem impossible to beat, but there are still little victories to be made.

Conclusion

The Magical Girls as a whole represent the fate of ideals in such a bleak setting as the City, and the oppressive nihilism that is omnipresent. However, as they can be turned back even if just for that one fight against the Jester, I think that there's some hope left as well.

Tiny note about the arcana - some versions may swap the athame and the wand in rituals, associating the athame with fire and the wand with air as a result. It's also known that the Golden Dawn purposefully would garble rituals to outsiders so that they could not be faithfully copied, so I'm sticking to the athame for air and the wand for fire.

#limbus company #queen of hatred #king of greed #knight of despair #servant of wrath #jester of nihil #english is only my second language so i'm sorry for any grammar mistakes

137 notes · View notes