ik it’s probably a classic case of extrapolating way too much but... the way raph’s character design lines up w his whole arc and role and struggles...
like the fact that he is so so so much bigger than the others. raph is big, raph is strong, raph is steady and sturdy and he can literally pick up his entire family and carry them all at once.
and like, when raph is so big and so strong and such a reliable thing. when raph is the protector, the one calling the shots on missions, the mother hen, the first point of authority. when raph is there, overprotective, when raph (for all that his brothers poke at him not being good under pressure) always always ALWAYS comes through at the end of the day when things are serious, ALWAYS gives it everything he’s got.
his design and his learned role/behaviors in this family are just the perfect storm of why it took up to the season finale to drive home the issue.
so much of the series carries the default energy of “raph will handle it.”
raph will hold up the ceiling above you. raph will throw himself over you and take a hit and get back up and keep fighting. raph has a power that makes him even bigger and draws more attention and makes him able to carry MORE. raph will be the substitute parent. raph will be put into the mentor role through leo’s leadership arc.
and raph is big. he’s built to carry heavy loads. raph is strong. raph is bold and loud and always ready to try to push on. even if he doesn’t know what to do or what he’s doing, he won’t give up and we’ll all pull together and things will turn out okay.
(his room is full of teddy bears. he dipped out on a mission to try to take a picture of a pigeon carrying a slice of pizza. he’s terrified of being alone.
he’s just as much of a kid as his brothers are. he’s just as new and inexperienced with the things happening to them as his brothers are. but for him, for some reason, there’s like this double standard where that becomes a huge glaring flaw.)
idk this got very sloppy and uncoordinated. i’m very in my feelings about raph right now though.
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Ok so like. Everyone and their grandmother who watches Gotchard knows that Kurogane Spanner thinks Chemies are "just tools". Like, he just straight up says it, here it is, badda bing
But like. And hear me out on this one. I think this is more complicated than just "oh the rival character is a bastard who thinks puppies don't have feelings and therefore it's okay to go around kicking them all day"
Because I think Spanner thinks of himself as "just a tool" too.
(I am physically incapable of writing a post that doesn't get long so the rest of this is going under the cut. Spoilers up to episode 14)
I mean, just from a design standpoint, the guy has a wrench for a face half the time. There's definitely something to be said for Valvarad's mask being representative of how Spanner presents himself, or even thinks about himself (especially since Spanner created the Valvarad suit single-handedly, apparently????)
Also just like. The guy's first name. Is freaking Spanner.
Like, one of these??? And that's just his name???
Like I mean a bit on the nose but alright. Also, if he picked that name himself (and with a name like that, it seems likely). What motivated that. I simply must know.
(Diversity win! Local Trans Man absolutely hated by Every Area Teen because he's just such a bastard at all times!)
Also, for all his talk about Chemies being tools, he really doesn't treat them poorly. Like he DOES say that he really doesn't care about collecting them, he's just doing his job (performing his function, you could say)--
But like, this is also the same guy that has three Vehicle Chemies that are just his that he does not like being apart from even for less than two minutes
Like we all done been knew that Sabimaru has a special interest in Occult-type Chemies, you can just SAY you're only interested in Vehicle Chemies.
Or he could just, y'know. Have three Chemies that he really cares about and be content with that. Like those pokemon NPCs with six Magikarp and no interest in getting anything else.
And it's extra odd because we've been told that higher number Chemies are just plain stronger than the others (at least when used by regular alchemists for combat), but none of Spanner's Chemies are level 9. And he doesn't need to use number combos like Ichinose does- so why doesn't he just have three 9s and call it a day? Even IF Valvarad only works with Vehicle Chemies, why doesn't he have Golddash and Steamliner (7 and 9) instead of Gekiocopter and Madwheel (4 and 6)? We just don't know. But it could be because he cares about His Three Chemies Specifically, as much as he verbally denies it.
And another thing. Even when things go wrong, he doesn't take it out on his Chemies!
When Gekiocopter hits their altitude limit and can't take Valvarad any higher, he doesn't express any frustration towards his Chemy. I feel like if he really hated Chemies in general, he'd get mad at Gekiocopter and replace them with a higher-flying Chemy as soon as possible. But he doesn't.
Sure, Gekiocopter is "a tool"... but you don't get angry at a tool for asking it to perform past its specs. It's your fault in the first place for not respecting its limitations when you chose to use it. All the pressure and vitriol in the world won't suddenly make the impossible possible. (I wonder, is this empathy? An understanding of what it's like to be pressed to the breaking point? From one alchemist's tool to another? Surely not.)
And with episode 14 hinting that some things previously assumed to be part of his personality may be "just following orders..." And with how useless he's got to be feeling, losing over and over again despite having spent so much time and effort forging himself into a weapon for the alchemists to use as they see fit... aghhhhh I'm soooo curious where they're going with all this. THERE'S POTENTIAL.
Anyway. All this is not to get anyone to like the guy (though as you can tell, I'm a big fan). I just really wanted to express my thoughts about how there could be more than just "generic jerk" going on under the hood for this car crash of a human being.
TLDR: Kurogane Spanner is a massive tool (derogatory) (complimentary)
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What if the reason the workers kept being taken away by the federation is because, whenever they were given names by the residents, they started 'glitching out'?
As in, they started developing their own conscience.
They might even have a phase after being named, when they're within that period where everything is confusing, because for once, the order to obey the federation is not something compulsory, but a choice that they themselves can make, and they slip up some info that aren't meant to be shared with the residents (either on purpose or by accident) just to see what happen.
And this pisses of the Federation, because you know the whole concept of 'to be loved is to be changed' thing that we witnessed with Walter Bob?
What if, by befriending the workers (or at the very least, interacting with them on a somewhat frequent basis), the residents unknowingly bring them to life?
(obligatory this is more of a headcanon rather than a theory, because i'm sorely behind in the vods. i had two cans of iced coffee and my mind is just going brrrrrrrrrrrr atm, so this might not make much sense lol)
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I also wanted to highlight this dialogue option that happened at the conclusion of Andreja's personal quest.
Andreja is a woman of deep faith. It's not just her core philosophy, it's her heritage, her family, her purpose. While Andreja is not a zealot looking to violently confront the non-believers in the galaxy, her faith in the Great Serpent is still extremely important to who she is.
And in this moment, she is about to shatter. She believes that she has been abandoned, labeled a traitor and a heretic by the people back home. A home she may never see again because she chose to fight against obvious corruption and lies from one member of her faith.
Sarit Ramesh is a scientist. A skeptic. She sees the world in terms of mathematics, hard facts and logic. And yet, on this journey with Andreja, she has been taught to be a little less rigid. To expand her mind to possibilities she never considered before.
Just as Andreja found the bravery to confess her past, her sins, and even reveal her faith to someone as opposite to her as Sarit. So in this moment, Sarit Ramesh put the scientist aside. She took a leap of faith.
Though she does not believe in the Great Serpent, she does not mock Andreja's faith in a vain attempt at humor. She does not flippantly dismiss the people Andreja grew up with. And she does not try to make a flimsy secular attempt at comfort that would only fall flat.
In this moment, Sarit took Andreja's faith as seriously as anyone in House Varuun does. And she reminded Andreja that no one else can judge her worth as a person, or as a member of the faithful. She reminded Andreja that the Great Serpent does not work through human intermediaries chosen by the church, but through everyone who believes.
And I just thought that was beautiful. And one of the major reasons they became close enough to (very awkwardly) confess their mutual affection for one another.
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For someone who’s writing a fic centered around Sesshomaru x OC I sure do like to put Inuyasha under a microscope to prod at his brain to figure out what’s going on in there.
(Anyways, here’s my favorite paragraph from Inuyasha’s POV from the most recent chapter.)
"He knew what it was like to lose a loved one. He knew what it was like to lose someone he thought he could trust. He knew what it was like to love and not trust, and to have that love and distrust thrown back in his face. He knew what it was like to love and lose, because he had done it several times before, and each time was more painful than the last. His entire childhood was spent running and hiding in fear, trying desperately to stay alive, because all he had known had left him and the world was intent on getting rid of him too."
(Also an excerpt from Sango’s POV because I love her and there’s something very important near the end of it.)
Lifting her gaze, Sango turned to stare at Inuyasha again- the boy chancing a glance at her out of the corner of his eye, over his shoulders. To the demon slayer, who had been informed how badly Sesshōmaru had treated him in the past, and had seen them fight at least once, Inuyasha looked like a frightened dog.
He was afraid.
Not for Irene, who- deep down- he knew was alive, but of the idea that Sesshōmaru had somehow changed. The person he despised more than anything, perhaps even more than Naraku himself.
Sango remembered all too clearly the way Inuyasha had lashed out at Irene before when she said she didn’t hate Sesshōmaru. When she said she had actually felt safe with him. The idea that Sesshōmaru could have had a change of heart, and was no longer the ruthless demon Inuyasha grew up with- grew up avoiding, grew up trying to survive against- was… terrifying to him. It was like the world he thought he understood was coming crashing down around him.
Because if Sesshōmaru’s heart actually changed for the better, if he was actually going out of his way to save Irene- Inuyasha’s friend- then that meant Inuyasha would have to feel gratitude towards him. One of his best friends would be alive because of the half-brother that had so-often wanted him dead.
But… that doesn’t erase the past.
Sango wonders if Inuyasha realizes that. If he knows that, just because Sesshōmaru has the capacity to care now and even cares about one of their friends, it doesn’t mean the scars of the past will vanish. Inuyasha is still allowed to hate him. He’s allowed to hold a grudge.
Sesshōmaru had been awful to him.
Just because there will be gratitude to the demon lord for saving Irene, that doesn’t mean Inuyasha has to forgive him.
“Inuyasha…” The bloodied mask felt heavy in Sango’s hand, but she didn’t set it down. Her features shifted into something gentler, yet still so very sad. “It’s okay.”
The half-demon said nothing.
“It’s okay to hate Sesshōmaru.”
His feelings are completely valid on this matter. Forgiveness is a gift, not an obligation, and Inuyasha does not have to give it if he does not choose so.
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