Prelude to the Azaleas
Reddit Post: [reddit]
Author: u/Genprey
Previous: N/A
Related reading: The Reckoning of a Blue Flower
Related reading: A Yellow Flower's Contemplation
Related reading: A Red Flower's Passion
Related reading: Hanna's Malevolence
Flowers are extraordinarily popular symbols in media, which makes a lot of sense after realizing that there are books that detail each type down to their individual color. The reason for this is because these plants are strikingly beautiful and unique, each carrying a sort of wonder to people worldwide. As such, there is a flower for pretty much every occasion, be it celebration or mourning.
In Magia Record, the flowers we see in the opening tell of the cast's innocence and beauty, while scenes of wilting flowers represent innocence that has been lost. In the event, "And so the Azaleas Bloom", we follow the Azalea trio, Konoha, Hazuki, and Ayame, as they grow through many hardships, collecting blue, yellow, and red azaleas as the story progresses. These, of course, are linked to Konoha, Hazuki, and Ayame, respectively, so in collecting their fragments, we are essentially learning more about the three girls.
In the follow-up event, "Scattered Flowers' Lament", we then watch as chaos unfolds for the trio, following the point of view of different groups. During this, we collect red azaleas, white camellias, and three-leaf clovers. White camellias are often given to those who we truly adore and trust, and in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, they remind us the importance of fully understanding another's circumstances. Clovers are composed of three leaves, which each represent faith, hope, and love shared by interconnected individuals. Given the inclusion of a fourth leaf, we then get an extra connotation that symbolizes luck and fortune.
This then leaves us with one, very important flower.
What Makes an Azalea Bloom?
Odds are: you have seen a home with gardens that are surrounded by Azalea flowers. They are extremely beautiful flowers, so it stands to reason that plant enthusiasts would want to decorate their house with them. There is a bit of a catch to this, however, in that Azaleas are really fragile plants. They're best grown in their original territory, so if one were to care for them, they'd need to match the soil's acidity and dryness in a way that replicates an Azalea's home.
While moving azaleas away from their region and raising them in a completely different territory is extremely difficult, it's far from impossible and extremely rewarding, given one has the dedication and knowledge to do so. For those with caring hands to pluck dead organisms that can poison the plant and the patience to measure out a patch of soil's acidic level, they can enjoy a gorgeous garden, as if the azaleas have accepted their new home.
A Callback to Home
As well as being beautiful, azaleas also come in a large variety of colors based on the type of soil they are raised in. One of the most meaningful is that of the red azalea, which represents one's longing for their own home. Chinese poet, Du Fu, writes in A Sea of Red Azaleas:
Xiang shu my dear, You make me think of home. Of luxurious days spent pondering your beauty. Of the scent of Spring that lingers around your roots.
Forget your long forgotten lover Tu Fu--Let me now, swim in “a sea of blood red azaleas.” Let me dance amongst your branches, A Green Man amongst the leaves…
My Love for you grows as you grow. I long for your wonders to be shared. I listen to your words compassionate: “Take care of Yourself for Me.”
Shall we have a cup of tea? Sharing in stories long ago? Trusting each other, ever lasting. My love for you shall surely never go.
Until we next meet…You know that place- Where butterflies smile And drink deep of your nectar.
Where bees fly drunk, Intoxicated by You. Your dearest fan, The Tree Poet Whisperer.
This piece, which describes Xu Fu's contemplation of his home, inspired the Chinese to refer to red azaleas as the "Thinking of Home Bush", which, thus, gives us our main theme for the Azalea trio.
Having to leave their comfortable lives in their foster home behind, Konoha, Hazuki, and Ayame were thrust into an unknown environment. Not only this, the trio would face danger and hostility, as if the very land they were trying to thrive on was toxic for their well-being.
It is then where the trio pull through past adversity by supporting one another and opening up fellow magical girl groups who help the girls settle into their new home environment. To hammer this point in a bit more, in the current event, we collect and use wreaths as a main currency used to further Mitama's Capitalistic ambition bring in our main groups of girls together to solve one, single issue. Wreaths, of course, represent eternity with their round shapes, but also the connection of separate entities, with these ones, in particular, being decorated with azaleas, clovers, and camellias.
And so...
...we have 3 azaleas, each from different homes, being thrust into one, single unknown territory. One azalea embodies familial duty and stern responsibility. The second exudes softness and warm charm, while the third has an explosive personality, with a passion that invigorates all around it.
These are all the qualities that make azaleas so sought-after--but there's one more hidden quality I should go over before concluding. We know that azaleas are fragile flowers that bloom beautifully when properly cared for, but there's another side to these plants. Azaleas are known to be rich in nectar--that's extremely poisonous. This component would earn the name "Mad Honey", which has been said to have brought down the armies that attempted to raid Turkey during the Mithridatic Wars of the Ancient Roman era.
This infamy would lead to a new purpose for Azaleas as a death threat, where one would send a bouquet in a dark vase to express a touch of malice one desired to inflict upon another.
We will now start the Azalea saga of this project which will include The Reckoning of a Blue Flower (Konoha), A Yellow Flower's Contemplation (Hazuki), A Red Flower's Passion (Ayame), and finally, Hanna's Malevolence.
Konoha, in particular, has been a girl I've been meaning to do before concluding the main cast of characters, but I'm glad to have held off doing so until now. Her doppel, in particular, is in my top 5 favorites so far, so I'm pretty stoked to share my thoughts on that.