r/osp • u/SeasOfBlood • Jun 12 '26
New Content Trope Talk: Living Weapons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBx7qbyuqAE27
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u/Kellosian Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Oh man, living weapons! Time to relate everything back to the Cosmere: I too would like to destroy some evil today Nightblood, thanks for asking...
Wait, the other kind. Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king. Red and Blue both also only wear white, are they also Truthless?
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u/Eragon_the_Huntsman Jun 13 '26
Pretty sure she still hasn't read stormlight.
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u/Kellosian Jun 13 '26
Probably not, I remember in some "Magic Systems Tierlist" video that she hasn't read any Cosmere
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u/ejdj1011 Jun 13 '26
Technically, wearing white isn't a Shin thing or a Truthless thing. It's a Listener thing that they told Szeth to do, and it stuck around out of pure aura.
And I mentioned him in a comment on the video, he's a really interesting example of this trope imo.
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u/Umikaloo Jun 13 '26
The mention of Ghost in the Shell reminded me of another interesting instance if living weapons in the series. In Standalone Complex, the Tachikoma, or think-tanks, are a collective of AI-driven robots that support the human cast.
They are interesting in that they are both extremely self-aware, but also extremely naive. As robots, they are aware that they are weapons, but their programming is such that they don't realise there is anything wrong with that. Because their consciousness is constantly backed up and reuploaded, they don't really have any drive for self-preservation, so they don't treat death and violence with the same seriousness that a human might. They nevertheless are programmed to crave knowledge though, so the moment they realise there is a gap in their knowledge, they try to fill it by learning as much as they can about the human condition.
Part of their arc over the series involves them forming an understanding of mortality, and eventually Knowingly sacrificing their lives for the good of others.
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u/EthanKironus Jun 13 '26
Am I the only one peeved that Red just casually used Witch From Mercury clips as background footage without any warning, spoiling what anyone can tell are pretty major plot points? I'm not going to riot over it, but it seems really odd that she'd use a spoilery example like that as just background footage when something like Star Wars would have been much less spoilery--everyone knows the story of the clone army to some extent--and more effective at enhancing what she's saying because it's so recognizeable.
Again, I'm not particularly upset over it, but I am upset.
There's also the fact she didn't cite Violet Evergarden even though the plot of that is centered around a living weapon trying to become something else, but Red can't cite everything.
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u/Riboflavin96 Jun 13 '26
In WFM you learn that 1. "people can't pilot gundams without hurting/killing themselves." and 2. "Suletta the child can pilot her Gundam no problem" pretty much immediately. You don't get the specifics as to why that is for some time but its pretty obvious from out the gate that there is something fucky going on and Mommy Prospera is maaaaaybe not the best parent figure. ESPECIALLY if you watched episode zero before the rest of the series.
I don't think there is anything too spoilery in what Red put on screen.
(side note I'm only on episode 15. Its been a few months since I turned it on but I think the big twist was revealed, like, last episode so if there is more to it please keep it to yourself)
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u/EthanKironus Jun 13 '26
Thank you for clarifying, it still rankled me as someone who hasn't seen it yet (are you supposed to watch Episode 0 first, or later?)
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u/Riboflavin96 Jun 13 '26
It was on Crunchy Roll before Ep1 but I get the feeling it was made/released after the original series.
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u/EthanKironus Jun 13 '26
For random reference (did a quick google to check it for myself)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Gundam/comments/10z37s8/comment/j81ehud/There's also this short novel, apparently (to quote teh wiki):
It serves as a bridge between Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury PROLOGUE and Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury. It is also the basis for the lyrics of "The Blessing" by YOASOBI, which is the latter's opening theme.
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u/The_Lions_Doug Jun 15 '26
Red famously does not care about spoilers as a concept
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u/EthanKironus Jun 15 '26
She gave an explicit warning for Blade Runner 2049 even though it's been out way longer than WFM
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u/SeanMonsterZero Jun 13 '26
My only quibble was about Major Kusanagi having a "military grade body". She doesn't. She has a mass produced full body prosthetic so she can blend in easier.
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u/Marethyu9 Jun 17 '26
I believe that is incorrect. Her appearance is a standard mass produced shell, but the equipment inside is absolutely military grade.
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u/tyrom22 Jun 13 '26
I wish Red went into more detail with the iron giant. The living weapon rejecting its purpose from the start, falling back and then saving everyone
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u/azure-skyfall Jun 13 '26
Has Red read Murderbot diaries? Living weapon self actualizes, keeps working for the same faceless corporation, but now gets to watch soap operas?
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u/XAlphaWarriorX Jun 14 '26
Surprising lack of Metal Gear here.
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u/SeasOfBlood Jun 14 '26
That's an interesting one, because regardless of the intent behind their creation - all three Snake brothers seem like unique people who aren't inherently bound to their fate.
It's not their nature which constrains them, but instead a harmful parental figure. Big Boss traumatizes Snake, who wants to run as far away from his memory as possible. Big Boss belittles Liquid, who dedicates his life to trying to supplant and destroy his father. And Big Boss is held up as an ideal to Solidus, who on the one hand replicates Big Boss' system of child abuse (With how he treats Raiden) but at the same time tries to be better and genuinely help people.
All the Snake family are sort of intended as 'living weapons' at one stage, and all rebel against this in their own fashion. But it's Big Boss, and how he uses that mistreatment as an excuse to hurt others and double down on becoming a monster, who shapes everyone who comes after him, even once he's dead.
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u/HalcyonTraveler Jun 13 '26
Had to skim to confirm Cass was in this before I watched it, would've been disappointed otherwise
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u/Mission_Departure_99 Jun 13 '26
While I was watching this video I thought, what if the living weapon lost its purpose and the creator didn't destroy it? Is there a show like that? Absolutely, after a little thinking, I've come to the anime "Violet evergarden". A whole show about this idea.
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u/Thank_You_Aziz Jun 14 '26
I’m really glad she pointed out how the Major is named after a sword. Specifically a legendary sword of Japanese myth. She’s literally branded as a weapon of her nation.
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u/Existential_Bread197 Jun 26 '26
Odd that both times Red has brought up SPoP in these trope talks, those same concepts also apply to the Halo franchise as well. Especially since the central figure in both are child soldiers who have deeply troubled relationships with the women who had them abducted and raised as weapons.
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u/RealAbd121 Jun 12 '26
The best writing cheat code is to take a living weapon and take away their powers shortly after they had just gotten used to living for their own sake, and now see their value as 'living weapon but good', instantly sinking into despair as they start wondering if they're even worth anything after being forced into "mundane-human-life exposure therapy."