I think there’s a bit of a tendency to portray Saileach as almost an ingenue? Playing up the contrast to the more physical Bagpipe and more troubled Reed, and leaning in to her characterisation early in Chapter 9. But I think this is a pretty major misreading of her post-Chapter 9 characterisation, as seen in her oprec and profile.
Yes, she’s noted to be kind and beautiful. Yes, she was a rear-echelon soldier with primarily ceremonial responsibilities as a garrison’s standard-bearer. Yes, she has no combat experience prior to leaving the Army. But that’s all stuff that happens before everything goes to hell in Chapter 9. In quick succession, she:
discovers a pending terrorist attack
tries her hardest to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the pending terrorist attack
finds out her own side is planning war crimes and genocide against their own citizens using the pending terrorist attack as an excuse
quits the army on the spot and runs around trying to save as many people as she can, including other soldiers and members of the aforementioned terrorist group
while also picking fights with her former superiors and the terrorist group
joins RI as pretty much the only organisation not doing crazy war crimes
ran around in the aftermath of a dirty bomb but didn’t suffer many ill effects on account of being Built Different
does a bunch of research on and adopts a codename from the language of the people her former superiors were trying to genocide in memory of her friend who introduced her to their culture
shows up and immediately starts a one punch man training regimen intense enough that people who work with noted hardass anime drill sergeant Dobermann take one look at her and say “hey maybe you should chill”
in response, went and got a doctor’s note that basically boils down to “i don’t need to chill. i’m Built Different. you should chill”
in her oprec she basically founds a town and negotiates a peace between surviving victims of the aformentioned war crimes
after getting the rundown from Reed - acting leader of the aformentioned terrorist group and the one directly responsible for the death of her friend - about Reed’s own guilt and relationships that led to it (per RTFS’s file), makes some understanding with her and starts working with her to help her people
some choice bits from her file:
“Where she differs from Bagpipe is that she doesn't, in any way, consider this a duty. From the moment she decided to leave the army, she never again held herself to be a Victorian soldier. In truth, she took to her new identity as a Rhodes Island Operator exceptionally well, and very quickly was proactive in throwing herself into all manner of combat/non-combat missions. She more than once mentioned the deceased elite operator Outcast's influence on her. Returning to Victoria, to her, is more of a calling. She holds a sense of justice deep in her heart, firmly resolved to spare no effort, looking to stand off against the evils that brought her such bitter memories. “
“ As an emigrant of Sargon living in Victoria, coupled with her sensitive nature, Saileach never forgets the challenges of minority communities struggling in the world. Whether she realizes it or not, this is where her longstanding empathy with the oppressed originates; and with her clearer grasp on the differences between herself and said people, it's only more commendable that on missions, without any qualms, she sees Infected children bleeding and offers a hand. “
She starts as a bit of a sheltered idealist, but drops the “sheltered” like Rock Lee’s training weights the instant shit gets real and has been doing 80 hit fighting game aerial combos against Terra being a cynical shithole ever since
312 notes
·
View notes
Thinking again about how Saileach and Reed are basically mirrors of each other, both with names picked from each other's languages. Both struggling with what it means to be a symbol for others after being faced with the violence of those they thought they were aligned with, but ultimately embracing their role in their own way in order to help others. Both having so much baggage between them, but instantly connecting at Rhodes all the same, recognizing their own struggles and hopes in each other...
33 notes
·
View notes