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hephaestuscrew · 10 months

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"With a goddamn harpoon": The significance of Minkowski's weapon of choice within the narrative and characterisation of Wolf 359

TL;DR: Despite its initial comic role, the harpoon becomes a important symbol of Minkowski as a character; it is particularly associated with her desperate need for control, her desire to keep her crew safe, her stubborn determination, and her occasional unpredictability. These associations add to the narrative significance when Minkowski kills Cutter with the harpoon.

[Tagging people who said they wanted to be tagged: @browncoatparadox @captain-lovelace @goblincaveofvibes ]

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Ep21 Minkowski Commanding

First appearance

We first encounter the harpoon in Minkowski Commanding, which is a significant episode for Minkowski's characterisation because it's the first big departure from Eiffel's point-of-view into Minkowski's. It's arguably the most Minkowski-centred episode in the whole show, so it stands out when we think about her as a character.

EIFFEL (over comm) Um, Minkowski? Why is the armory wide open, and also, apparently, robbed? Where's the tactical knives kit? MINKOWSKI Don't worry. I've got that. EIFFEL Oh. And the M4 carbine? The, like, really-dangerous-in-space, select-fire M4 carbine? MINKOWSKI Yeah, I've got that too. EIFFEL And this empty rack I'm looking at right now with a label that says "harpoon" suggests that... MINKOWSKI Yes. I have it, Eiffel.

The harpoon is introduced as part of a list of over-the-top weapons that Minkowski takes on her plant-monster-hunting mission. It's initially just a funny moment to emphasise how seriously she's taking this mission. The weapons arguably increase in unlikeliness as Eiffel lists them, and it's a comic image to think of Eiffel deducing the situation from the empty rack labeled 'harpoon'. It could have been an entirely throw-away joke that was never brought up again. The M4 carbine never comes up again. The tactical knives kit is mentioned in Knock, Knock, but not in a plot-significant or symbolic way.

'Goddamn harpoon' speech

So why does the harpoon become such an iconic part of Minkowski's brand (and I'm pretty certain it was seen as significant by fans long before the finale)? It's got to be because of the next time it's mentioned, when Minkowski talks to the plant monster in the same episode:

MINKOWSKI (getting psyched up) You wanna play with me, huh? You wanna run rings around me? The joyless, boring, predictable old Minkowski? She can't stop you, right? Not someone as smart and powerful as you. You've got her pegged. Good. Get complacent. Get smug. That's right when you'll find me waiting for you. With a goddamn harpoon.

There's so much to say about this speech and what it reveals her character. For one thing, it's all projection - we have no real indication of what (if anything) the plant monster thinks of Minkowski. We don't even really know how much understanding it has when listening to her talk. She imagines that this silent adversary would call her "joyless, boring, predictable". I suspect that these are all things that she's been called a fair bit in the past. (To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they are all things that Eiffel called her at one point.)

But the harpoon is proof against - if not the accusation of joylessness - the idea that Minkowski is boring and predictable. Boring and predictable people don't opt for a harpoon for fighting on a spaceship when plenty of more conventional weapons available. A harpoon is unexpected, and there's a kind of power in that.

Another interesting thing about that speech is that the whole thing would make at least as much sense - if not more - if it was directed at Cutter. In Sarah Shachat's episode commentary on Minkowski Commanding (part of the bonus material available to buy here), she says that Minkowski "is really speaking to Cutter in this moment". It's made clear that Minkowski's behaviour in Minkowski Commanding is not just about the plant monster itself. She tells Eiffel, "I have to take it seriously! If I can eliminate one threat, just one, then we are that much closer to going home!"

The specifics of the plant monster's location, abilities, and origin are mysterious, but - unlike many of the other forces threatening the safety of Minkowski's crew - it is at least tangible and harpoon-able and not light years away. Hunting the plant monster is a way for Minkowski to assert control when so much is outside of her control. It's an attempt to demonstrate that she is - as she puts it - "in charge of this disaster". Minkowski treats the plant monster as a physical symbol of all the threats her crew are facing, and so the harpoon becomes a physical symbol of her fierce (if sometimes misguided) determination to take control of the situation and fight back against those threats to protect her crew.

The line "you'll find me waiting for you. With a goddamn harpoon" is one that sticks in the mind, especially since - with one notable exception - 'goddamn' is about as potent as swearwords get on this show. And it's the harpoon that she uses to give specificity to the threat.

Absurdity

A harpoon is powerful and threatening, which is exactly what Minkowski is trying to convey to the plant monster, but in this context - not only on dry land but on a spaceship - it's also kind of absurd. From the way we hear it fire in the finale, we can tell that it's more like a speargun than a hand-thrown harpoon spear, but it's still an out-of-place weapon for space-based combat. Minkowski's already been shown to have a penchant for archaic weaponry, after her drunken enthusiasm over the cannon during the talent show incident, which is largely played for laughs. Similarly, in the episode commentary for Minkowski Commanding, Sarah Shachat says that the harpoon was introduced mostly just because it was funny; "[including a harpoon] was me sort of embracing the Moby Dick of it all. And I had no idea at the time how much importance that silly harpoon would take on."

Eiffel makes a Moby Dick reference himself ("10 days of Captain Ahab's Space Walkabout"). I haven't read Moby Dick so I can't properly analyse the significance of this reference, but the initial prominence of the harpoon (traditionally a whaling tool) enables that connection. It feels like a good example of the classic Wolf 359 thing where something comedic has the potential to take on a deeper significance. It conjures an image of Minkowski as a Captain with the potential to be consumed by a single-minded mission to destroy... A potential that she resists in the conclusion to Minkowski Commanding when she chooses to leave the plant monster alone. The harpoon also fits with the sprinkling of nautical imagery and language in Wolf 359 (e.g. the repeated use of the word 'boat'), as well as the retro-futuristic feel of the Hephaestus.

We never learn why there's a harpoon on the Hephaestus. It seems like yet another of those bizarre unexplained quirks of the station, like the items in the storage room where Eiffel finds Box 953. Even when the weird mysterious features of the Hephaestus are depicted in a comedic way, these features are still a demonstration of the fact that the characters are in an environment that they don't understand and that their surroundings have been shaped according to the whims of Command.

I think we can assume none of the members of the Hephaestus crew brought a harpoon up with them. For whatever reason, someone at Goddard Futuristics must have decided to put a harpoon in that armory. Like most things in the crew's lives, the harpoon is owned by Goddard Futuristics. So the way Minkowski uses the harpoon could be seen as an instance of reclaiming something from Goddard and their control over her surroundings (in a similar way to how her crew are able to utilise the maze-like structure of the Hephaestus to their advantage when hiding first from the SI-5 and later from Cutter and the crew of the Sol).

Other mentions of the harpoon

The harpoon doesn't actually make another physical appearance until the finale, when it truly comes into its own. But there are a couple of little hints before then that it has become a part of Minkowski's brand amongst the other characters as well as to the listeners. These mentions remind the listener about the harpoon, so we don't forget about it before its big comeback in the finale.

Ep27 Knock, Knock

EIFFEL [to Minkowski] Like getting rid of all the weapons, for a start. We should gather up all the guns, the tactical knives, your harpoon. Put it all in the arms locker, seal that sucker up, and put the key in one of Hera's service canisters.

In this quote, Eiffel refers to it as "your harpoon" - the only weapon he ascribes ownership to here. He sees it as something she's laid claim to. He also thinks the harpoon is worth mentioning specifically, which suggests that he thinks that Minkowski would reach for it first if she was feeling particularly violent. This reinforces the idea that the harpoon has become a symbol of Minkowski's character. This connection is also strengthened by the fact that the harpoon is also never mentioned in relation to anyone other than Minkowski using it.

Ep45 Desperate Measures

LOVELACE [to Kepler] Yeah, right. Nobody knows this station like Alexander Hilbert. He knows every nook, cranny, hidden room - everything. And as back up he's got the only woman's who's ever turned outer space monster hunting into a recreational sport. You'll never see them coming... until all of a sudden there's a harpoon in your face, and you end up on the operating table of the finest medical sadist that Goddard Futuristics ever produced.

Lovelace mentions the harpoon and specifically refers to Minkowski's plant-hunting exploits, even though she didn't witness them. So we know that someone has told her that story. And what she's taken away from hearing the story is an emphasis on Minkowski's harpoon and an admiration for her determination. I don't think Minkowski was the one to tell Lovelace about her plant-monster-hunting mission, because I don't think she's necessarily proud of it. I suspect it was Eiffel who told her - he's the most natural storyteller of the group. In Mutually Assured Destruction, soon after meeting Lovelace for the first time, he says "Nobody's told you about the Plant Monster yet? So, funny story..." And I believe Eiffel would have told the story of Minkowski's plant monster hunt in a way that conveyed both the ridiculousness of her behaviour but also a kind of awe at her boldness and persistence.

The tone of "all of a sudden there's a harpoon in your face" is pretty similar to "That's right when you'll find me waiting for you. With a goddamn harpoon". Once again, the harpoon is portrayed as something that the Hephaestus crew's adversary won't expect, something that will play a key role in that adversary's defeat. You might almost think something was being foreshadowed here…

Characterisation through Weaponry

When we think of the harpoon as a symbol of Minkowski as a character, it seems worth drawing a comparison with the only other Wolf 359 character who I think has a form of weaponry as a big part of their brand: Jacobi and his explosives. While a harpoon certainly has a lot of potential for violence (a potential which Minkowski utilises), it is targeted and intentional in a way that bombs don't tend to be. It's harder to have collateral damage with a harpoon, and I think that reflects a difference between Minkowski and Jacobi's approach to conflict.

A harpoon isn't really designed for combat - it's for hunting whales and other marine animals. It feels significant that Minkowski's key weapon of choice - the one she threatens the plant monster with and kills Cutter with - isn't the weapon of a soldier. She took an assault rifle with her to hunt the plant monster, but that wasn't the weapon she held onto. She's not a natural soldier, even if she'd sometimes like to think she is.

Maxwell's Death

When Minkowski kills Maxwell, it's with a gun, not a harpoon. She's trying to be a soldier there. She's trying to do what she has to. I don't know much about how a harpoon is fired, but I've a feeling that there's less uncertainty about whether a harpoon was fired deliberately than a gun; the ambiguity around Minkowski's agency in Maxwell's death is a key part of the story that wouldn't work with a harpoon. But perhaps more importantly, I don't think there's meant to be a sense of victory or relief in Maxwell's death, unlike Cutter's. The harpoon - as a weapon that has become strongly identified with Minkowski as a character - is saved for moments when Minkowski is asserting her power in an active way that she isn't conflicted about.

Ep61 Brave New World

About a third of the way into the finale, there's another indirect mention of the harpoon:

RACHEL Y-yes, sir… Umm, we also picked up some chatter on their weaponry supplies… Firearms, explosives, something about a harpoon…

This is a nice little reference which reminds the listener of the harpoon in anticipation of its big moment later on in this episode, while once again playing with its incongruity in a list of more typical combat weapons. Given that Minkowski and co. have guessed that they are being listened in on here, their choice to talk about the harpoon might be seen as their way of having a bit of fun, or it might be seen as their way to imply the same threat that Minkowski made to the plant monster. Cutter had warning, but he didn't heed it.

Which brings us, of course, to the harpoon's most significant moment:

Cutter frowns. Then he hears it: CLA-CLUNK! His eyes widen. MINKOWSKI Let's see you catch this. FWUUUMP! An ENORMOUS THING IS SHOT. A moment later, Cutter COLLIDES AGAINST THE WALL, IMPALED. MR. CUTTER ... a... harpoon? That's not... how this is... supposed... to... He struggles for a few more moments...and then he stops.

This scene is a classic instance of Wolf 359 utilizing the audio medium to leave a significant element of the situation unknown to the listener until the right moment. We don't know that Minkowski is carrying the harpoon. We don't know that she's readying it as Lovelace talks. When we hear something fire, there's a moment where a listener might or might not have realised exactly what just fired. It's Cutter who delivers the glorious revelation. It gives the moment an additional burst of triumph that Cutter's final words are an expression of shock, not just that he has been defeated but at the weapon with which the killing blow was struck.

Human unpredictability

It's not just that Minkowski kills Cutter with a harpoon; it's also that she wouldn't have been able to kill him without it. He can catch bullets after all, so Minkowski and Lovelace's guns are basically useless. Cutter thinks he's therefore invincible, but he hasn't accounted for the possibility that Minkowski might have a less conventional weapon on hand, one which fires larger projectiles that he can't catch so easily. The fact that she's carrying an unexpected weapon - a weapon that might have seemed ridiculous - is what allows her to defeat Cutter and therefore to survive.

It's a repeated theme in Wolf 359 that the protagonists' strength is not that they are the most powerful or they behave in the most logical ways, but that they are complicated and human and unpredictable and very much themselves - all of the things that Cutter and Pryce don't want in their 'ideal humanity'. When Minkowski kills Cutter with the harpoon, it's a victory for human unpredictability and individual idiosyncrasies.

Making good on her promise

Thinking back to Minkowski Commanding, we can see that the threat Minkowski made to the plant monster absolutely came true with Cutter. He got complacent. He got smug. (I'd argue that smugness has always been one of his key attributes.) And he found her waiting for him, with a goddamn harpoon. The return of the harpoon for this moment suggests the defeat of Cutter is a culmination of some of the motivations and traits that Minkowski showed when hunting the plant monster, now channeled in a more suitable direction. She continued trying to get them "that much closer to going home". Her - sometimes absurd - determination provides a throughline from an episode that was mostly comedic (Minkowski Commanding) to a dramatic emotionally powerful finale. As Sarah Shachat put it in her audio commentary, Minkowski "makes good on her promise [that she makes in her harpoon speech in Minkowski Commanding]. That's why she's a hero."

It's significant that Cutter dies from an unlikely weapon that is so strongly identified with Minkowski. It makes that moment feel like truly hers (although she is of course right that she couldn't have done it without Lovelace - that's called being part of a crew).

As the Commander, it feels apt that Minkowski is the one to kill the long-standing 'big bad'. Pryce is arguably the same level of antagonist as Cutter, but he's the one that we've been aware of since we became aware of larger sinister forces at work in this narrative.

And if Minkowski has a personal nemesis, it's Cutter. He's the one who recruited her into the hellscape that is the Hephaestus. He played on her ambitions to get her where he wanted her. She trusted him the way she trusted the official chain of authority at the start of the mission. And that trust was extremely misplaced.

The significance of Minkowski being the one to kill Cutter is highlighted by the fact that she kills him with a weapon that only she uses, a weapon that links us back to her behaviour 40 episodes earlier. The sense of control that she was desperately seeking in Minkowski Commanding might not be completely within her grasp by the end of the finale, but she's reclaimed a piece of it by defeating the man who has been exerting control over her life for so long. And she did it with that goddamn harpoon.

#It's harpoon time!!#Honestly I think there's probably still lots more to say #but this is plenty to be getting on with #Feel free to share your own thoughts #Wolf 359 #w359 #Renée Minkowski #The stuff about human unpredictability was inspired a lot by conversations with my friend @commsroom #so she'd be in my bibliography if I had one #Something that didn't really fit in here but feels relevant is the way that fans #(particularly podcast fans who don't have canon appearances to go off)#will use certain characteristics/ objects/ clothing choices to make a character identifiable in art #Like if I see art of a Wolf 359 character with some combination of cigarette/ headphones/ Star Wars t-shirt #I know it's Eiffel even if it doesn't look like my mental idea of him #And the harpoon is definitely part of that shorthand for Minkowski #because no one else would have it #so lots of Minkowski art features the harpoon #which strengthens the associations that I'm talking about in this post #And that's interesting to me #because it's an unintended way in which fandom has the potential to influence how people perceive a character #but I think in this case it just adds further value to things that are already implied in canon #Renee Minkowski #Commander Minkowski #w359 spoilers #wolf 359 spoilers #the empty man posteth

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hiraganasakura · 3 months

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Hi so me being me I've decided to hyperanalyze the conversation Qrow and Raven had in Higanbana practically line by line bcus I have Many Thoughts and this is the best way I can think of to get them all out. If you can't tell I'm absolutely obsessed with these two. Btw.

Thanks to the RWBY wiki for providing transcripts for every episode, otherwise I definitely would have missed smth despite having just watched this scene recently lol

I put it under the read more for easier scrolling due to how long this post got!

I immediately noticed smth in the very first lines of the interaction:

Raven: "Hello, brother." Qrow: "...Raven."

You'll notice throughout the whole conversation that Raven never calls Qrow by his name, only condescendingly referring to him as "brother" this one time and never calling him anything else. Meanwhile, Qrow directly refers to Raven a total of three times throughout the conversation, and only one doesn't call Raven by her name (which we'll get to shortly)

On the other hand, Qrow doesn't bother with even so much as a greeting beyond simply stating Raven's name

It's different ways of communicating their distance. While Raven holds her relationship with Qrow over his head — never once, even outside of this scene, does she call him "brother" with affection iirc, only derision and condescension — Qrow doesn't seem to rly know how to greet her. He hesitates before saying her name and approaching her, as if trying to assess the situation before acting

Qrow: "So, what do you want?" Raven: "A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Qrow: "She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these [drinks] comin'."

Again, Raven seems to bring up her familial ties with Qrow as a tactic to get him to do what she wants — in this case, stick around to talk to her despite him not seeming to rly want to. Frankly, it feels manipulative. We're gonna put a pin in this for now and come back to it in just a moment

Additionally, Qrow already knows that Raven's not just here for a friendly chat between two siblings, and sees right thru her facade that it is. Raven is here bcus she wants smth from him. But interestingly, it is Raven in V5 that says, in an almost frustrated/disappointed tone, "Family. Only coming around when they need something." There's another pin; keep both in mind

Raven: "Does she have it?" Qrow: "...Did you know Yang lost her arm?" Raven: "That's not—" Qrow: "Rhetorical question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist." Raven: "I saved her." Qrow: "Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis."

Qrow dodges Raven's question about the Relic and instead brings up her hypocrisy in how she treats family. And it's a good point. Here she is lording her siblingship with Qrow over his head while simultaneously defending and upholding her rule that she is only obligated to help her own daughter a single time. Another pinpoint on our little conspiracy board

Also, here's the one time in this conversation Qrow refers to Raven as "sis". Like Raven's use of "brother", Qrow's use of "sis" is very pointed and with intent. But it's not to manipulate Raven, it's a snarky jab meant to rly hammer home Qrow's point

Raven: "I told you Beacon would fall, and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?" Qrow: "I thought you weren't interested in all of that." Raven: "I just want to know what we are up against." Qrow: "And which 'we' are you referring to?"

A few things of note here. At some point in the past, Raven expressed an outright disinterest in Ozpin's inner circle, at least to Qrow. Qrow also feels excluded in the "we" Raven mentions being against Salem. To me, there seems to be a distinct possibility here that it wasn't that Raven felt personally disinterested in Ozpin's operations, but that she somehow felt excluded and feigned a lack of interest in order to protect herself. An idea that is further supported in my eyes by the following dialogue:

Qrow: "You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us." Raven: "You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them." Qrow: "They were killers and thieves." Raven: "They were your family." Qrow: "You have a very skewed perception of that word."

And there it is. Raven's problem is laid out here for us, loud and clear: She feels like she was the one abandoned, not the one running away. She says it outright! "You're the one who left." To her, Qrow is the traitor, the one who left their family behind. If you ask Qrow (or, for that matter, Tai, Yang, and even Summer based on the scene in V9), it's the opposite

Bcus they have different definitions of family

Another thing to pin (I promise this will all become clear soon)

Raven: "I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival." Qrow: "I saw. The people of Shion saw, too." Raven: "The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules." Qrow: "Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage." Raven: "We couldn't have known the Grimm would set in as quickly as they did." Qrow: "I'm not talking about the Grimm. And I'm not talking about you, either."

Notice Raven's shift from "the tribe" to "our people". More of that guilt tripping!

Additionally, Raven is *obsessed* with rules. One save. The weak die, the strong live. Raven lives and breathes rules, even seemingly arbitrary ones. Guess what this is? Another pin!

Raven: "If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about." Qrow: "I don't know where the Spring Maiden is, either, but if you do, I need you to tell me." Raven: "And why would I do that?" Qrow: "Because without her, we're all going to die." Raven: "...And which 'we' are you referring to?"

Qrow's "either" here implies that he also doesn't know where the Crown of Choice is, which is... interesting. He's one of Ozpin's closest lieutenants, and is in the dark on where Beacon's Relic is? Wherever it is, it is such a closely kept secret that even Ozpin's best spy doesn't know where it is (maybe so that in the event Qrow gets captured by Salem he can't be forced into giving her the information?)

Meanwhile, Raven's "And why would I [tell you]?" implies that she does know who the Spring Maiden is (obviously. Raven's the Spring Maiden lol) but refuses to disclose to Qrow

A lantern sputters out after Qrow says "Without [Spring] we're all going to die." Now, I genuinely can't remember if this is headcanon or canon, but iirc Misfortune seems to act up when Qrow's upset. He's clearly tired of this little game of dancing around topics that Raven's been playing with him

And once again, Raven indicates a feeling of exclusion from Qrow's life in the iconic final line. She gets the final word in before leaving

We've finally reached the end of the conversation. Now what does all of this tell us?

And here is where all of those pins I wrote down are relevant. As I mentioned, the twins view family very differently

Qrow's view is pretty obvious: he views family as the ppl in his life who matter most to him. Unlike Raven, he does not view the tribe as family despite the fact that they raised him, disgustedly referring to them as "killers and thieves". It's implied that he was, in fact, neglected and/or likely abused by the Branwen tribe, saying in V6C4, "No one wanted me... I was cursed..." further explaining his distaste for them. Furthermore, despite not being related to Ruby by blood, they clearly consider one another family throughout the series, and he even seems closer to her than he seems to his niece who's actually blood related to him (I personally headcanon that he keeps more of a distance from Yang bcus she reminds him too much of Raven, who he feels abandoned and hurt by, but that's neither here nor there). Bloodlines and debts are secondary compared to loyalty, if they're considered at all. He is obviously furious that Raven only insists on saving Yang once and never directly interacting with her beyond that, despite Raven constantly guilting Qrow over abandoning his so-called "family" of the tribe. And yet. And yet. He still offers Raven a place back in his life, even if only to unite against Salem

Raven's view, to me, has been an enigma for a while. But after hyperanalyzing this conversation, after noting down all of those points of interest, I feel like I've finally cracked the code. Raven views family as an obligation, an exchange that always has an ulterior motive behind it. She seeks out Qrow only bcus she desires smth from him despite showing distaste when someone does the same to her; condescendingly calls Qrow "brother" more than his actual name and calls the tribe their "family" to try guilting him into doing what she wants; and feels fierce loyalty to the tribe but barely interacts with her daughter, only seeming to count one of the two as true family. She views the concept of family with cynicism and seems to feel an obligation to the tribe, as if she "owes" them for raising her

I think the two's perceptions of what defines family are all to do with the way the tribe treated both of them. This crosses a bit into headcanon territory, but as you can see by the above quotes and analysis, I rly don't think I'm just making it up entirely

As I already mentioned, I think it's implied that the Branwen tribe neglected/abused Qrow. In fact, we could probably blame their treatment of him for the deep self-loathing he has due to his "cursed" Semblance. But what about Raven?

Well, it's simple: I think she was abused, too, just in a different way. While Qrow was likely shown and told on a consistent basis that he was unwanted, unloved, undeserving of good things, Raven may have been shown and told she was wanted, loved, and deserving of good things... if she did what the tribe told her. If she repaid them for raising her and her brother, for being her "family". The way she uses her familial ties with Qrow as almost blackmail may be exactly the way the tribe treated her. Her obsession with following rules may stem from the fact that she had to follow the rules the tribe set for her in order to be accepted and deemed worth smth

As for her distance from Yang... honestly, I wonder if Raven is aware that Yang deserves better and keeps her distance as her way of doing that. When Summer confronts Raven in the V9 scene, Raven says, "...You're better at that life. Better than I was." She seems to have a fear and insecurity about being a good family member, a good mother, and maybe that's why she fled. Maybe she was scared of being like her abusers due to how she emulates them as a self-preservation tactic in so many other ways. Not entirely sure about this point tho

And I think too this is why the twins don't rly understand one another. They may have been unaware of the different ways in which the other was treated. Qrow, constantly unwanted and loathed, can't understand why Raven sticks around with the tribe; Raven, who obeyed the tribe and, in doing so, garnered enough of their favor to even eventually become leader, can't understand why Qrow can't just be "good", earn respect, and stay

This dissonance between the two experiences may also be completely intentional on the part of the tribe; abusers will often eliminate their targets' support systems in order to make them completely reliant on the abuser, so it's highly likely that the wedge was intentionally driven between the two siblings so that they could not find support in one another. This would also tie into why the twins seem to feel excluded from one another's lives and abandoned by one another: bcus they were made to feel that way by their common abusers, and did nothing to challenge these assumptions bcus they saw no reason to — and only seemed to keep proving one another right if they did

Which rly has some disturbing implications about how the Branwen tribe works. Like, do they just pick orphaned kids up off the street and abuse them into being perfect little bandits, molded to be of the greatest possible use and discarded if they're deemed worthless? Plus Qrow says his Semblance is how he got his name, which implies that the tribe also renames the kids they scoop up (possibly as a form of control or a way to make sure they can't be tracked down by any remaining family)? Plus there's the whole thing where Qrow and Raven were originally sent to Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen, which carries with it the implication that the Branwen tribe grooms literal orphan children into becoming stone-hearted murderers? What. The heck.

And if I'm right, if the Branwen tribe is that severely abusive, then like... wow, no wonder Qrow and Raven are Like That. They're both very deeply hurt people expressing it in different ways

I was considering adding their conversation at the Battle of Haven to this post, but I think that would be better as its own thing. Also I haven't gotten there on my rewatch yet so I may miss some details if I try to analyze it rn; it's better to wait overall methinks

But I have reached the point of my rewatch where we see Weiss and Whitley interact, and I think it would be very efficient to sum up what Qrow and Raven's relationship seems to be by using those siblings as a point of reference. Qrow = Weiss, actively trying to break free from and fight back against their abusers in different ways, while Raven = Whitley, continuing to do as their abusers want and have wanted as a method of self-preservation. Only, unlike Weiss and Whitley, Qrow and Raven have yet to come to a point where they can understand one another. I think that's a good way to briefly summarize the uh. Absolutely massive post this is.

In conclusion, I may have cracked the majority of the Branwen twins' pre-Beacon backstory purely by hyperanalyzing a single conversation. Oopsies

#original post #'hey hira why are you so obsessed with these two—' autism. i hope that answers your question!#ok but srsly. i've genuinely worked rly hard on this post for the past like. 3 days?#i didn't think it'd lead to me deducing all of this about the twins' pasts but here we are lol #this'll probably flop due to the length but like. i don't mind tbh! this is mostly to satisfy my own silly brain [affectionate] anyway #i'm genuinely looking forward to seeing them in v10 #since the storyboard for the scrapped v9 epilogue had raven in it #i hope they somehow reconcile and come to understand one another like weiss and whitley did #tho. i have a bad feeling that even if they do it will end in one (or both?) of them tragically dying before the other's eyes #but that's not rly relevant lol #anyhow i am not sry for inflicting you all with my branwen twin brainrot. it will happen again #i'm having sooo many thoughts on this rewatch and they just keep on coming #rwby #qrow branwen #raven branwen #branwen twins #rwby9 spoilers #i hope there's no glaring errors here. i read thru this post multiple times to be sure but it's so huge i may have missed smth irjnfbpbne

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neversetyoufree · 2 days

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I started vnc way back when there was only one volume, stopped, and only restarted it last week 🙈 since then, I have reread it twice and will again, once I'm done with exams, as it has turned me insane. And since no one I know reads it, I just wanted to ask what your thoughts are on my theory that the reason not 'didn't reach out to vanitas' thus leading to his death is because of Ruthven compulsion on him? Cuzco after the 'ill never set you free'thing, I just can't see noel not reaching out tonight purpose. Your blog is a joy to read through, and I love your meta!

Hello!! Thank you so much! It's always great to see another person having fun with my favorite manga :D.

My thoughts on Vanitas's eventual death are. complicated. If we keep going down the path we're on now, I honestly suspect Vanitas's death is going to be more assisted suicide than murder. IE, Vanitas asks for Noé to kill him because it's preferable to the alternative.

Per Ruthven's compulsion, I definitely think it's going to come up, and I do like the idea of Ruthven trying to force Noé to hurt or kill Vanitas, but I don't think it's going to be how Vanitas dies. In a way, I think that would feel somewhat cheap.

Noé killing Vanitas because of his oath to Ruthven would make sense on a plot level. It's a nice, logical explanation for why Noé would kill someone he so clearly adores. I can see why it's a lot of people's theory! However, that explanation wouldn't really deliver on an emotional level. It's just not interesting for Noé's characterization.

For one thing, making Noé kill Vanitas when he's not in control of himself would strip away all of Noé's agency. With VnC's opening chapter, Mochijun sets us up so that the entire time we're reading, we're asking ourselves "but why will Noé kill him?" It's a big source of intrigue and suspense. And to me, finally resolving that suspense with "It's not his fault! He was artificially forced to!" feels like a major letdown. It adds nothing to Noé's character. It's answering that all-important "why" with "There is no reason why. He didn't actually want to." I think that would be a cop-out.

Through that denial of agency, I think this ending would also risk losing out on a lot of potential character development for Noé. The core of Noé and Louis's tragedy is that Noé desperately wanted to save Louis, but the only kind of salvation Louis wanted from him was death, and Noé couldn't give him that.

Now Noé has another person close to him that is also seeking salvation through death. If Noé kills Vanitas, but he's not in control of himself when he does, that misses out on a big opportunity. Has Noé come to understand salvation through death? Has his worldview changed since Louis made that request of him? Does he have it in him to kill a loved one if that's what they ask? If Vanitas's death is forced by Ruthven, then we're much less likely to get answers to those questions.

Personally, my favorite hope/theory for how Ruthven's order will play out is the idea that Ruthven will order Noé to hurt/stop/kill Vanitas, but Vanitas will manage to snap Noé out of it in the same way Noé broke Vanitas's self-hypnosis in the amusement park. There's nothing I love more than a gay little parallel.

I can see a scenario where Ruthven's oath is what pushes Vanitas close to death? Maybe Noé will be ordered to try to kill Vanitas, and that will set off whatever horrible chain of events pushes Vanitas to ask for death that final time. But even if Ruthven does order Noé to hurt Vanitas (which is a big if), I don't think it will be what causes the killing blow.

#I think I remember posting some of these thoughts before years ago #but I'm having trouble finding any relevant posts. so here's this instead.#anyway I always feel a little bad when people send me their theories and I end up arguing against them #thank you for the ask genuinely!#it's an interesting theory and I do see why people like it. even if I don't want it to happen for the listed reasons #vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #ask #anon #theory #the vanoé agenda #<<this isn't a ship post but that's my tag for everything about their relationship lol

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torgawl · 4 months

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i'm seeing people commenting on this new toji art as if it symbolises gege placed toji in heaven even after everything he did and i know it's mostly a joke but i feel like this is actually an interesting thing to talk about. as we all know, jujutsu kaisen is a heavily buddhist inspired story. having in account all the situations gege has made use of this element, which i will add here:

(the first two are illustrations for chapters 89 and 90 of the manga, before gojo and kenjaku died, and the latter for chapter 180)

i think it's safe to say halos aren't used within the manga to be associated with the christian connotation (except for hana, even though her holiness and the one she serves also aren't traditionally christian by context clues we had so far). halos in buddhist art are actually used to depict enlightened beings, which correlates a lot more to toji than whatever christian symbol ever could. however, i don't think it's clear if gege has used halos in jjk with this specific meaning in mind. so far only gojo, kenjaku/geto and rika have been drawn with halos over their heads, as shown above, despite not being the only dead characters. additionally, all their halos are drawn different, taking shape of things relevant to them (gojo has the infinity sign; rika has a flower crown which can be associated with marriage; and, kenjaku has two halos, one within the other, possibly symbolising him residing inside geto). this could relate to toji as he's the only one with a simple halo, and also the only one within those four that is deprived of cursed energy. in my view, this new toji illustration doesn't mean gege sees him as a saintly figure or someone who would go to heaven - that's also why gojo and nanami are shown their own versions of the afterlife at the brink of death - but, most likely, that gege depicts him as a character that has reached an unparalleled understanding of his own existence and transcended death.

#i've made a post regarding halos in jjk before but now it feels relevant to address 😂#so i decides to rephrase my old post which was originally tied with gojo being the only one of the four that hasn't 'cheated' death yet #but i'm choosing to ignore that for now #i hope this makes sense?#i see the halos as figurative at least and don't think they're supposed to be taken literally by western ideologies #so here's sort of an analysis on why i think gege draws toji with an halo #toji fushiguro #jujutsu kaisen #jjk 💭

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bigcats-birds-and-books · 4 months

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Books of 2024: ADHD FOR SMART ASS WOMEN: HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR NEURODIVERGENT BRAIN by Tracy Otsuka.

I saw this on a new release promotional email and thought "well shit, that looks like my life, I should Investigate That™," only to realize it was a brand new hardback and I didn't want to pay $29 for 200 pages of information. Since I found out about it on release day, my next thought was, "Oh, I can check and see if my library has any copies!! We love supporting our libraries in this house!!"

Reader: They did Not.

But! I did find the "request a book" option on their website, and I entered this book, and I got a robocall within a week saying my hold was ready to be picked up! Y'all!! The library literally ordered this book for me (it was stamped into circulation one (1) day before they called me!), and now I have it to read! I love libraries!!

(book pic featuring the super cute coaster set @asexualbookbird made me that I love with my entire heart!!)

#books of 2024 #book photography #adhd for smart ass women #tracy otsuka #did i flinch a little bit at the gendering?? perhaps.#however. i suspect. despite that. it will STILL have so much information relevant to me #i've only flipped through it briefly so far but i'm fascinated about the nutrition section so i'll be reading the shit out of that #i have less than 14 days i need to get on this lol #in my defense: i was trying to finish falcon #and next up is dragon #i did not think a library book would be first on my New Books of 2024 list but here we are #i really do still want to read the architecture books and a BUNCH OF OTHER SHIT #gotdamn dragon is such a chonker #i'll be reading bitch queen forever i think #khine my beloved #anyway i don't think i can speedread this and i don't really want to??#i'm gonna have to take Notes #on anything i want to remember #we'll see if there's much in there or not *eyes*

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front-facing-pokemon · 10 months

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#shedinja #now THIS is what i'm talkin' about! i love shedinja. i think it's a very unique pokémon and wonder guard is very *cool* if only it were ever #y'know. relevant. this thing is weak to way too many types for it to be relevant but like it's still cool in concept i think #you kinda can't tell what it is from this angle but that's why you have me here to tag it so you do know what it is #so. bit of a life update for you all. i accidentally deleted some semi-important files i needed for work. like two weeks ago #and i didn't realize i did‚ bc they were inside a folder that i deleted. but i didn't need the files at the time and i hadn't for months #i hadn't used those files since like last year. but now i need them again and i just realized that i deleted them two weeks ago #by accident? and now i need them again. to be able to do my work. so i'm actually queueing this guy and the next guy up #while i'm supposed to be working. as i've just sent an email to my boss being like Haha Hey. Do you Have a Backup of tHese Files……… PLease #and i'm hoping DESPERATELY that she does. if she doesn't i'll have to fucking reverse engineer them which i am not excited for #if it comes to fruition. so i'm just hoping she has a copy of them. feelin like shedinja against a fire-type rn fr i swear #i'll let you all know what she says when i get her response. if i get it before i'm done queuing up shedinja and whismur #spoilers. whismur is next but you could just look up the natdex numbers. and know that whismur is next #also don't tell me to look in the trash. on my computer. i know they're not there. for one i checked and for two they couldn't be there #because i rm -r'd the folder. i didn't just right-click delete that shit. i killed that shit. it's GONE #you might be asking me… why would you do that! and i would say? i did not know these files were in there #you didn't ask for all this information so i'm cutting it off here

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thresholdbb · 1 month

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I have formulated a theory

#Star Trek ds9 #Star Trek voyager #like my other posts this is relevant to me #memeish #voyager is my favorite and I love it partially because it could've been so much more but also it's so great #I actually think voyager is consistently pretty good #but it has moments of extremely good #and other shows don't quite hit those peaks #also not trying to create dichotomies over here #both are good in different ways

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boysborntodie · 3 months

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So like one thing I'm afraid of is for when the musical comes out and we (hopefully) get new fans, is fanon!Johnny. Like Johnny often infantilized in fanon which is annoying as fuck and I despise it, but a trend I see with these type of characters like that is that all of the sudden the fandom will be like 'omg why is this character being to woobified' which is good, but then they'll take it to the next extreme. Like in the ST, Will Byers is the sweet and sensitive character (he's also canonically gay) but in order not to fall into the 'feminine gay' stereotype, a lot of the fandom would make him hypermasculine (emphasis on him being muscular and broad, make him more sarcastic and done with everyone's bullshit, making him over-competent) which completely changes his character. Like seriously there's got to be some nuance here. Some middle ground maybe?

#this isn't about genuine headcanons like johnny being strong or growing taller #only when the basis of these headcanons are to overcompensate yk?#like making johnny taller just to go 'omg he's tall now so now he isn't a uwu soft boy like some fans make him 🙄'#it sounds so stupid but it happens #(also personally i think it's kinda relevant to his character for johnny to be tiny like him being unable to conform to the standard of-#-masculinity that he sees in dally and wishes he could achieve and it adds to his entire 'kicked down by life and everything about him-#dooming him to fail in life' but tbh I don't really care either ways)#i know i sound so bitchy and petty here but I've seen fandoms do this and it's always so annoying #babygirl who are justifying yourself to?#the outsiders #johnny cade #se hinton #evie rambles #i was half scared to post this but whatever ig

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lover-of-mine · 1 year

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you belong with me...

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microwave-core · 6 months

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Memento Mori

Diantha x Fem! Reader

In retrospect, perhaps there was a reason why Kalos’ champion was missing when the region seemed to need her the most.

It should have been simple. It should have been any other day. The morning was simply divine, as Fletchlings perched on the open window sills and tree branches, singing their wonderful, off-beat tune as you woke and got up like usual. Morning tea and casual conversation with your love followed through like always, as she told you about a new café she wanted to try, telling you to meet her there at noon for a short and sweet date, trying to squeeze in as much time together as possible while working around her jam-packed schedule.

You parted like always, wishing her luck for the on-coming day, at least until noon passed, where you could renew that wish of luck again until she came home in the dark of night, where you’d revel in each other’s presence until the morning came, where everything would happen all over again.

Perhaps it was a bitter sweet cycle, as each meeting meant an eventual parting, where you would be separated for far too long for either of your likings, but every parting meant you’d eventually meet again. (You’d call that kind of prose overly dramatic, but perhaps that's just in your lover’s nature.)

Lunch dates throughout Lumiose were relatively common for you both, so preparing for them was as second-nature to you as preparing in the morning, and so was the struggle to find the dreaded place she’d ask you out to. It seemed like you were always a bit late to these meetings, but she never minded. Not everyone is well equipped to traverse such similar looking streets on the daily, after all.

It seemed like, no matter how hard you tried, you could never get there before her, always taking a wrong turn somewhere along the line. So when you arrived at the given destination with her nowhere in sight, you immediately felt off. You checked the address she had texted to you, ensuring that this was the right place. Maybe you had just gotten lost again, and ended up somewhere else?

Yet it was correct. You were here, so where was she? You approached the barista and asked if they had seen your love (average height, dark gray hair in an elaborate up-do, blue eyes… you held back on asking by name, not wanting to draw attention to you both), but nothing. So you sat down, thinking that maybe she was just running a bit late. Maybe she had reshoots that went longer than expected, or maybe a challenger arrived just as she was leaving.

You check the address one, two, three times more before texting her. If she was running late, you didn’t want to hound her, didn’t want her to feel bad about not being on time, but if something was wrong… Surely, everything was fine, surely, but… what if it wasn’t? She had never been late before, and, knowing Diantha, she surely would have texted you if something held her up.

…You could always just, you know, check her location. She never turned the setting off, and, even if it felt a little dirty and the slightest bit intrusive, it could be excellent reassurance. You could just take a quick peek, see she was at work or the league or on her way over, and your nerves would be sated, and you could gently tease her when she arrived, just as she’d tease you. Yes, it would be worth it, and you most definitely weren’t just stalling in the hopes that she would arrive and take the seat across from you while your eyes were glued to the screen.

But how odd… It seemed that she was in Lumiose, but at the opposite end, in a different cafe, stationary… maybe you did just get the address wrong. Despite checking over and over and over again, maybe you did just misread something, and she was waiting for you patiently. Yes, that had to be the case, and whatever unease had settled in the pit of your stomach was misplaced, despite it remaining as you stood up and left.

Everything would be fine, and the air of wrong hanging over you like an ever-darkening sky threatening to unleash a torrential downpour at any moment, would clear when you saw her face. It didn’t matter that every step felt heavier, it didn’t matter that she was radio silent, and it certainly didn’t matter that your phone threatened to snap under the ironclad grip it was held in as you sat in a cab.

Stepping out, your eyes immediately spot it: a glaring red exterior nestled within the alley. You have to fight the urge to stay seated, as the fear settled betwixt your bones wanted to keep you anchored down. Perhaps you would have given into that desire if it weren’t for the odd look the driver gave you as you remained seated in his backseat for far longer than necessary, which promptly got you up on your feet along with a healthy tip and rushed apology.

Deep breath, everything is going to be fine. Diantha had mentioned this place to you before. She knew the owner, apparently, which wasn’t too out of the ordinary for her, but she had never brought you here despite that. Looking back, maybe she was actively pushing you away from this place in fear of… something or other happening, but maybe you’re just being paranoid, overthinking.

The door, regularly propped open during operating hours as is the same for every cafe in the area, was slightly ajar, with light spilling out into the alleyway, the space of which darkened from looming buildings overhead despite the bright sunlight beaming down from above. She’ll be there, everything will be fine.

Walking in, you internally remark about the… odd decorative choices. The red walls and flooring and tables and… everything, really, certainly matched the outside. The cabinets behind the counter, devoid of employees, did seem to contain rather high quality goods, so perhaps the sophisticated aura they oozed was supposed to smooth over the feelings of unease brought on by the environment. The cabinet at the back of the room contained similar, eye-catching items, although they did seem a bit out of place, as if it had been jostled recently.

The cabinet also looked too far over to the right, casting a shadow just to the left that appeared to be a gaping void, a doorway tunneling further into the unknown… You step forward, rubbing your eyes with the back of your hand, peering further into the wall to tell if you were out of your mind or if the darkness was a genuine doorway leading further into the building.

Perhaps now was the time to finally address the alarm bells blaring in your mind that you’ve ignored up until now. This place couldn’t be normally. Odd stylistic choices aside, a cafe that’s completely empty during peak operating hours with an ominously dark open doorway in the back couldn’t be normal. Maybe if you listened to your instincts sooner, you wouldn’t be standing here, in a strange cafe that suddenly seemed darker than when you walked in.

Maybe, if you took care to trust your gut, you wouldn’t have been subjected to a heavy blow to the back of the head, out cold before you could even hit the tile below.

A sudden, burning feeling washing over your body shakes you awake. When or how you fell asleep was beyond you. Maybe you had fallen asleep in the back of the cab, and all of this business with a dominatingly red building was just a strange dream. A cab driver likely wouldn’t violently throw you out of their back seat, though, and it wouldn’t have left you feeling so weak and drained.

And, if that had been the case, Diantha wouldn’t be leaning over you, yelling at someone in the distance. Her hair disheveled, the pristine nature of her clothing sullied by wrinkles and dust, and her expression panicked, not that you could make her out all that well. The figure at the end of the darkly tiled room, imposingly large and red… or maybe orange, it was hard to tell, seemed to be looking in your direction, but you couldn’t make out his face.

You felt like you were being held underwater. Your vision was blurred, taking in your surroundings as blobs and splotches of color rather than finely defined shapes. And everything sounded as if it were miles away, like a distant echo in the background, where you can feel how loud the voices must be without being able to make out any of their words.

All you knew for certain was the terrible pain racking through you, and the gentle touch of Diantha, as if trying to soothe the discomfort in your veins. The words flying out of her mouth were panicked and resentful, a combination of emotions that you’ve never heard from her before.

The bleariness long set into your subconscious prevents you from paying attention, prevents you from piecing together what was happening. How long you’ve been here, where here was, and why Diantha was here, cradling you gently, were beyond your realm of understanding at this point.

Her eyes dart down to your ever-crippling form, eyes widening as she realizes that you're somewhat conscious, almost as if she thought you’d never wake. She clutches you closer, curling around you as best she could, breathing unevenly as she mumbles out half a dozen curses and swears, simultaneously cursing out those who brought you harm and pleading to whatever forces may be above to help. The man she was yelling at seems to have all but vanished.

“My love? Can you… can you hear me?”

She pulls away ever so slightly, just enough to look you in the eyes. From this close up, you can make out her expression. Her face is a mix of terror and relief, as the makeup on her eyes, the elegant eyeliner and eyeshadow, appears to have been smudged, although it’s clear the tears welling up in her eyes have yet to fall. You can only nod in response, as the words on your tongue die as they pass your lips.

“Good, that’s good. You should save your strength, love, just focus on me, alright? Everything will be alright.”

Diantha wasn’t convinced by her own words. She had no idea how long you had been here, or how Lysandre and his incredulous goons managed to get their hands on you, but they did, and they knew full well what kind of leverage they had when you fell into their laps. That didn’t matter right now, though.

It was her duty to protect the region, to prevent Kalos and her people from being harmed. It’s how she was roped into this dreaded place. She should have taken action sooner, made an effort to snip Team Flare in the bud before they got out of hand. Too bad it took you getting mortally injured to realize that…

She takes one of your hands in her own, although the grip isn’t quite comfortable due to the clamines of your skin. You didn’t realize that Diantha’s hands were stained red, having been dyed by the angry gashes lining the back of your neck and head, nor did you realize how it had seeped into her clothes.

Pressing a kiss to your cold lips, she lets out a shaky sigh, trying her best to stay calm and composed while gently pressing her free hand to the back of your head. She didn’t want to inflict any more harm to your already sensitive wounds, but she had to at least try to stop the bleeding, even if you’ve lost so much blood already.

“Just keep your eyes open for me, alright? Stay with me as best you can.”

“...I’m sorry.” Your voice comes out raspy, quiet, forcing out the words to be as fully formed as possible instead of letting them collapse into gibberish. Simple words were never so difficult to say before.

“No, no, don’t apologize to me right now. None of this is your fault, if anything, it’s mine. I should have told you I couldn’t make it instead of assuming I had time.”

Technically the truth, not that either of you knew it. If she had texted you to say she couldn’t come, even if she didn’t say why, you wouldn’t have stumbled into the boss of Team Flare’s cafe to be bludgeoned over the head and thrown to the feet of the champion to debilitate her, cripple her emotionally to get her off of their backs.

“That doesn’t matter right now, love. All that matters is that we’re together, okay? It’s just you and me right now, it’s safe.” You nod again, leaning further into her touch, although it’s difficult to move. Despite the pain, you feel somewhat serene. Diantha’s warm touch against your skin felt wonderful, and her words felt oh so comforting despite her worried and hushed tone. Perhaps you simply hadn’t realized you were resting upon death’s door, or maybe you had already accepted that it was knocking.

“It’s going to be okay, alright? Everything is going to be o-kay.” Her voice cracks, as tears begin working past her eyes.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, I love you, things are going to be alright. Me and you, we’re going… we’re going to be fine. We’ll get you out of here, and we’ll, we’ll…” She’s cut off by a sob, words turning into baselass rambling, filled with “i love you” and “everything will be fine” over and over and over again till words start to slur together,, or maybe you were just becoming less and less coherent.

You close your eyes slowly, paying attention to Diantha and Diantha alone, knowing that everything would be alright. You would slip into an abyss of sleep, and you would see her again whenever you would wake.

“It’s going to be fine, Diantha… everything will be fine.”

You can’t help but smile despite Diantha’s pleas, begging you desperately to keep your eyes open, to stay with her for longer, as your hand goes limp in her hold.

#pokemon x reader #diantha x reader #fem reader #wake up babe your tragic yuri is here #not quiet the prompt the request had but i rolled with it #i think i enjoy writing the build up to angst then the pay off #as seen in worm 2 #and here i guess #imagined diantha in the black outfit she has in the anime but it's not technically relevant #the question i look up the most when writing is “is ____ hyphenated”#putting hyphens where they don't need to be is my motto #except this time i also got to look up things like “side effects of bleeding out” and “how to best knock someone out from behind”#normal writer behavoir #not super into the banner but i didnt want to keep hammering it out to get a similar result each time #i think im losing my touch tbh #title feels good tho #also why is gen 8 gardevoir's head so big???

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sigskk · 4 months

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happy holidays :)

[ID: A reddish monochrome drawing of Sigma and Chuuya from Bungou Stray Dogs. They are standing side-by-side and looking into the camera.

Sigma is on the left and is noticeably taller than Chuuya. He's wearing a reindeer headband and is dressed in a light turtleneck sweater and a thick overcoat.

Chuuya is on the right and is wearing his hat with a holly leaf and berry decoration on it. He's dressed in his standard button-up and trench coat.

The background is a muted, dark red with lighter snowflakes drifting down. End ID.]

#[ my art ]#so chuusig brained you must understand #i tried to make their height different accurate but :') getting them both comfortably in the frame #it's a few cm proportionally more than this #anyways oh my god #sigma's first winter after joining the ADA and getting dragged around by his boyfriend(s)#chuuya driving him around on his motorcycle to see the lights #are malls popular places to go sight seeing? the malls near me don't decorate a lot :( but i know it gets wild in the big cities #not that this is relevant but chuuya helping putting on his headband after he takes off his helmet #and sigma still isn't familiar w yokohama despite having lived above it for years and in it for a few months #so it's just chuuya leading him around by the hand #'oh do you want to get something here? [food court]' 'alright. but i don't really know what i'd like...'#'... that's fine. try this. I think you'd like it.'#(spoiler: he probably does)#how much do you think chuuya's income is #... i mean he'd want to spoil sigma regardless but like.#'hey. no looking at the price tag. if you like it we're getting it.'#i'm so ill about them #bsd #bungo stray dogs #sigma #chuuya #nakahara chuuya #chuuya nakahara #sigma bsd #chuuya fanart #sigma fanart #bsd fanart #sigchuu #chuusig

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starboundsingularities · 9 months

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tbh it's really always bothered me a bit that they never actually get into the consequences of misusing the magatama. sure, sure, they say your soul shatters, and like, yeah that's ominous and all, but what does it mean? obviously we never get to see that in-game but i've been thinking about it a lot and i would like to present these thoughts because oh boy there are a lot of them. long post under cut but it's a fun little au as well

alright so before getting into it all, obviously there are some things we're aiming to explain, in some sense, with this.

for one: what is a soul, even? most depictions of souls portray them as the very essence of one's self, as the "culmination of your being" or as some similar nebulous expression of an entire person. but... well, if a soul was the entirety of a person, what would that soul shattering entail? it would just kill them. which is a valid reading i guess but not very fun to mess around with and is also a reading that comes with some... troubling implications.

most notably, the meter on how close you are to that breaking point while using the magatama is the same meter as your penalties in court. not just in the asset used, which wouldn't be worth bringing up, but in the sense that once the magatama is introduced, that same value that meter is held at is shared between court trials and the magatama. before the introduction of the magatama, that meter refilled automatically between trials, each trial starting with it completely full, but after the introduction of the magatama, it was only ever refilled by successfully breaking psyche-locks. this is concerning, because it implies a direct connection between phoenix's soul and his performance in court, which probably wasn't intended but is very fun to mess around with and i love the idea of your soul being tied to your passions. however i don't love the idea of him Straight Up Dying if he does too poorly in court so. uh, no insta-death for soul shattering. anyways this whole side tangent never comes up again. thumbs up emoji.

anyways, if a soul shattering doesn't entail simply death, and if a soul isn't just someone's essence or personality or whatever, well, what is it? well, one compelling answer is that it's merely a container. it holds someone's essence or being or personality, but it itself is not that.

thus i present:

Soul Shatter AU

a soul is just a container. one that holds everything in. someone's passions, ambitions, personality.

someone's secrets.

if it were to shatter... without a container, everything would come spilling out. whoever was involved would be unable to keep anything contained within themself. sure, their physical self might be enough to hold in some of the more ambiguous, nebulous aspects of their "self", but it would prove rather difficult to hide something with nothing there to keep it hidden inside.

a fitting punishment, really, for abusing the power to reveal what others have kept hidden.

the fun part, of course, is what comes next. who's used the magatama? who's had the chance to fall to such a fate?

off the top of my head i can think of two people. phoenix wright and miles edgeworth. (i think mia used one too? my friend says she did but i haven't gotten to that part yet i'm only on the third game)

and both of them, despite their focus on finding the truth, are very ironically prone to hiding things themselves. their feelings, their troubles, their emotions.

what if we opened them up a little?

#ace attorney #gyakuten saiban #ace attorney au #phoenix wright #miles edgeworth #mia fey #(i barely mentioned her but shhshsh she can be relevant i just don't know enough about her yet)#soul shatter au #i think about this instead of sleeping #like imagine you're in court and your lawyer objects to something and the prosecutor is like ''ok well what's your evidence''#and your lawyer is like ''um. hold on i have something here i can use for this probably''#and you of course then ask ''man do you even know what you're doing?''#and he just says ''i really don't have a plan here but this usually works just trust me''#the idea of holding them to 100% complete honesty is really funny to me #benefits of this au: whoever you choose to soul shatter gets therapy #it's really funny in a narumitsu context as well because it's only a matter of time before one of them just Has to admit their feelings #like the idea of one of them just talking and the other going ''i want to kiss you so badly'' ''what'' ''NOTHING.''#etc etc. more things you can do with this but i can't make my tag rambles too long

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