special operatives
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[ID: Digital Art in color of Trigun Maximum, characters included are Wolfwood, Elendira, and Legato in a casual meeting situation. The piece consists of orangey yellow lighting and purple shadows. Wolfwood sits on the left side, facing Elendira who’s on the right. He’s seated on a plain wooden chair with one knee up and he’s holding the strap to his Punisher in his left hand while his right sits against his thigh, He has an irritated expression as he speaks to Elendira. Elendira is sitting in a fancier seat, her right arm rests against Wolfwood’s propped up knee, her left hand holds her suitcase. She’s sitting cross legged with an amused expression. Legato can be seen in the back at the center of the image in his mobile body case, one of his eyes shown to be glaring at Wolfwood. End ID]
[ID: Sketch, uncolored comic. Elendira says to Wolfwood, “I’m not telling you to dedicate yourself to him, but just accept the situation at hand. We could get along better if we were on the same page.” Wolfwood responds, “Don’t peg me me for an optimist. I’m not dumb. But, I’m also not going to just live in resignation. Plus, I don’t have any interest in getting along with ya.” Elendira coos, “Aw, you sure? I have a wonderful shoulder to cry on when the weak people you’re trying to protect eventually dies in the coming months. Though, I guess it’s fine. Someone like you might just die before then anyway...” She snickers in her hand while Wolfwood is speechless and just glares. Legato is faintly drawn in the back, glaring at Wolfwood, muttering “worthless” repetitively. End ID]
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arc 4/season 2 of re:zero really did have a bunch of sets of siblings with lots of focus on them. it seemed to be a bit of a recurring theme for the season. family bonds as a whole were really important, especially where the backstory was concerned, but in contrast to that, the sibling relationships seemed to be about moving each other forward. in different ways though...
like, you have frederica and garfiel. they're estranged half-siblings, but frederica still obviously cares so much about her little brother. the reason she left was because she wanted to make a place for him and the rest of the people in the sanctuary in the outside world. garfiel was stuck inside the past, fearing the outside world for what happened to their mother. but when he finally faces his trial again, it's the memory of his sister that gives him the motivation to move forward.
similarly, in emilia's second trial, it's her conversation with archi that enables her to face the present for what it is. even though trial archi seemed to be pushing her towards the world of the trial itself, that's exactly what reinforces her will. with her memory of the real archi, she calls him "big brother" for the first time, and she thanks him for always being worried about her. the sad thing is, unlike all of the other sibling duos, archi has already been dead for a long time. but even then, like we saw in the first trial, he gave his life because he wanted emilia to keep moving forward.
and in otto's backstory too... he spent most of his childhood completely unable to interact with the world around him. the constant noise was too overwhelming, to the point that he couldn't actually hear anything else. he had no way to understand or communicate his feelings. and though his parents did their best to understand him, he was still stuck in this state. it wasn't until oslo decided to teach him how to write that he was finally able to express himself. despite the fact that it was harder for otto than other kids, he finally managed his first real message to his family, "thank you for everything." and with that, he cried for the first time since was born, and was able to move forward again.
even the antagonists this arc are siblings. meili and elsa dont get as much focus into their relationship as the others (not for this arc at least), but one very obvious development is that elsa has someone she cares about. elsa "bowl hunter" granhiert, a serial killer/assassin/vampire who takes great pleasure in watching people die, and tearing out their organs, has a person she cares about. this is a humanizing trait for her, and that's on purpose. loving meili literally makes her "more" human. someone that she's also willing to give up her life for. and later on, in arc 6, we see just how much elsa's death impacted meili and how she hasn't been able to move forward since that day.
this theme is even more noticeable in the negatives too. in rem and ram's case, who have already been set up as a matching set all the way back in arc 2. they're identical twins, they've loved each other literally since they were born. ram awoke her powers as a newborn just to save her crying sister. they share a deep and powerful bond. but... what the hell happens when that goes away? because rem had her name and memories eaten, ram forgets she ever had a sister. her character digresses, her entire world is now centered on roswaal, she's more devoted to him than she was before. without her sister, ram moves backwards.
and of course, there's the sibling duo that this entire season centers around- subaru and beatrice. i've talked before about how subaru's relationship with echidna and roswaal is like a foil for his relationship with his actual parents. subaru has been raised living in the shadow of his father, but his actual dad never once forced him into it- he encourages his son to stand on his own and be his own person. roswaal is the opposite, he corners subaru in an attempt to make him a mini roswaal. subaru's mother was always watched him closely, but never made his choices for him. echidna is the opposite, where she wants to manipulate and control subaru's every action to satiate her own goals and desires.
but echidna is also beatrice's actual mother, which places beatrice in the role of subaru's sister in his fucked up found family echidna had created. but beatrice and subaru were never forced together, they chose each other. beatrice was left alone in a library for 400 years, abandoned by her mother and left to wait for a person who would never truly come (who never truly existed). she has been stuck for so long, unable to break her chains. but the action that finally does free her from this stasis is when subaru asks her to choose him. the only way for them to escape this "family" and move forward was for them to choose each other.
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When she first discovers the key to the locked garden, Mary walks up and down outside its walls in Chapter 8 searching in vain for the door. Frustrated and disappointed, she gives up her search for the moment and returns to the manor. Burnett originally wrote, "She took the key home in her pocket," but she later crossed out the word "home." It is the loss of a single word, but it leaves an aching void. Misselthwaite Manor may now be Mary’s permanent address, but it is not yet her home. Burnett, cognizant of the painful distinction, struck the word "home" to establish that this unwanted child, torn from her native India and transplanted to the wintry soil of England, is still rootless. She must make a place for herself, because no one will do it for her. And in very short order, with the help of a robin, a gust of wind, and her own bold initiative, she has accomplished exactly that in Chapter 9: "But she was inside the wonderful garden … & she felt as if she had found a world all her own."
It is then Mary’s choice to invite others into that world, and they enter it on her terms. [...]
The home so poignantly denied her when she could not find it, the home the manuscript was not yet able to give her, she makes for herself and then for those around her by awakening a sleeping garden and allowing it to bloom far beyond its walls. By the end of the story Mary knows where "Home" is: her own efforts have gotten her there. She still holds the key to the garden.
--Gretchen V. Rector, “Digging in the Garden: The Manuscript of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett,” from the Norton Critical Edition of The Secret Garden
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They do vulnerability with Mac so well, and in such careful doses. The soft reverence in the way she says, “They had tons of clothes” breaks my heart. So does the confidence in her mispronounciation of “chic”—a beautiful little reference to comic!Mac being a reader, often above her grade level, but feeling like she has to hide it. This kid has so many layers, and she wants so badly to keep anyone from seeing that, because in her world, every layer offers a new chance for someone to slice in deep. Prioritize tough. Prioritize cajones. Don’t let them see you’re smarter than they expect. Don’t let them see you wish you had more than your brother’s hand-me-downs. Don’t let them see you’re dreaming of getting out in a thousand tiny little ways. Let them remember only the brash outer surface, the one that can’t hurt when they don’t like it, because it isn’t really you.
Contrast this with the desperation in her voice when she thinks it’s all going to be erased. The panicked apologies. The hitch in her smile: “Let’s be honest—you couldn’t [forget me], even if you tried, right?” She knows there’s only so much road out ahead of her; she’s seen the stone in the ground. And she’s begging them—with that smile, always play-acting, just a little—to tell her again she’s more than just a tough little shit-starter. To tell her she’s worth remembering. That they will, even if she can’t stay. If I’m going, that moment says, I want it to be when you three can see who I actually am. I want friends. I want to be remembered. I want to matter. It’s all built to with such careful detail work over the season, and I am desperate to see more of it in the future.
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