#still havent found the scene but tbh i ruined my lighthearted writing mood anyway lmao

[theanomily]

Flicking through Dreadnought trying to find that scene with Ms Leon, the Colonel, and the Professor when a couple things struck me.

Although definitely not to the extent of Anastasia, Pietor sure does know what he's doing psychologically. I swear, in all his exchanges with Raven, he's just insulting her- weak, slow, lazy, sloppy, etc. And it really does read as though he thinks that. I can't recall a single instance where he degrades another person to the extent that he does to Raven. It seems that he purely hates her, but he doesn't. He even says outright that he both respects and fears her. However, he needs to make sure she underestimates herself for his own gain. He does this in Zero Hour perhaps more obviously when he explicitly tells Raven stuff like "you are too slow to do that" as she is actively formulating plans, nipping them in the bud before they can blossom. It's not elaborate, but it is efficient...

For then my eyes settled upon another scene. It's after Pietor spars with Raven, when she is alone and whispers "where are you, Max?" It's a plea. In fact, given its quiet, personal nature and that what she essentially wants here is some kind of intervention, it could be argued that it reads almost like a prayer. Obviously, at no point ever in the series is Raven depicted as either dependent or religious. She is literally one of the strongest characters in the series, if not the strongest. Yet when it comes to the Furans, she does not seem to believe she can free herself. Before, her only solo escape plan was basically suicide. In this moment now, it needs to be Max- who had saved her from them in the past- or nothing short of a miracle. And it's heartbreaking.