Klej_Dipur69

i absolutely love tying back random things to the school bus graveyard characters, so obviously i'm going to go WAYYY into depth about the weapons just for funsies. this isn't even scratching the surface.

LOGAN + SNIPER RIFLE: logan used to be bullied when he was little, we know this as a fact. he used to be "weak," vulnerable, and unable to defend himself. he would come home with bruises and bleeding cuts--basically the stereotypical nerd in a high school movie who gets beat for not doing someone else's homework. this is where the gun comes in. logan's family is in the mafia, and i want to talk about that a little bit more. that's something that was INCREDIBLY interesting to me, as that is the complete opposite of what used to be his personality: someone shy, gentle, and was even considered "dog-like" by ashlyn. using a rifle connects his character back to his family history--as mafias are seen mostly with gun-related assassinations. there's also, obviously, the juxtaposition of someone so "tiny" with a brutal weapon like a rifle. rifles usually represent calculation, lethality, and precision... but it can also, in a way, hint to logan's fears. though he has this incredible skill of being able to fuckin shoot people's heads off, he (at the start of the comic) isn't as physically fit as he could be. using a rifle gives him that distance between the enemy and himself. I ALSO WOULD MENTION THE FACT THAT THE GUNS HE USE GET SHORTER AND SHORTER AND THEREFORE HE'S CLOSING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN HIMSELF AND THE TARGET BECAUSE HE'S GROWING AS A CHARACTER AND GETTING MORE PHYSICALLY ADAPTED TO THE HORRID REALITY OF THE PHANTOM DIMENSION BUT THAT ISN'T APART OF EP #1 SO JUST IGNORE EVERYTHING I SAID--

BEN + HEDGE SHEARS: oh my god. this one is so freaking great. we know ben as the quiet guy, the boy who had once gotten bullied for not "acting the way he looked." he's a gentle giant, caring, and an absolute sweetheart--a complete contrast to his physical appearance. however, due to his trauma, he has anger issues and problems with controlling his emotions... especially if one of the people he loves is hurt. this is where hedge shears come in. first off, hedge shears are basically scissors on steroids. their blades are tough, ginormous, and really frickin' sharp. it could probably chop your wrist off if you used enough force. BUT... what are they used for? trimming shrubbery. they are used for control, cleanliness, and refinement. doesn't that remind you of ben? someone who looks threatening but is actually surprisingly passive? i mean yeah, he's tough as hell. he could punch your guts out if he got angry enough. but would he? no. because that's not his purpose. hedge shears symbolize discipline, self-improvement, and order. ben, especially during the start of the series, acted almost sedated unless he had to step in. he stuck to aiden, did what he did, and rarely acted upon himself. he didn't trust himself to do anything but follow his cousin around because he had summed himself up to a ticking time bomb. he compartmentalized everything, kept to himself, and made sure he was "behaving." oh, also, the shears don't trim away just anything. they shave off branches that have gone too far, or dead pieces of greenery that don't belong anymore. hm. sounds a little familiar.

TAYLOR + MILITARY FLAIL: the military flail resembles a stick attached to a ball-and-chain, almost similar to a mace. it is used to strike over walls, where the user swings it over a fortification to hit anyone hiding on the other side. taylor is a sweetie: she's got a heart of gold, and is so gentle with everyone around her. but i feel like, as a community, we forget just how damn strong that girl is. she's not only in the mechanics club, but she can also carry ben clark, throw him around, without breaking a single sweat. the military flail was originally supposed to be a tool for agriculture, not a weapon in war. it was used for farm threshing (separating grains from their husk) until it was turned into, well, this. whiiichhh, if you can pick up what i'm putting down, ties back to taylor. she's often seen as someone who wouldn't hurt a fly, but holy moly, she can be the exact opposite. also, this is such a stretch, but taylor also (in a way) breaks down walls. she reads people easily, sensing if someone is upset or uncomfortable quickly. having a weapon that goes over walls in the same way might be a coincidence... but heeeyyyyy... it's fun to think abouutttttt!

TYLER + BLADED BAT: tyler can come off as an 'angry' person, or someone who is emotionally constipated and overprotective of his sister. he can be rather sharp, quick to irritate, and mistrusting. but we know that tyler hernandez isn't a bad person. deep down, he's a really incredible brother... and there is something so heartbreaking about tyler picking his weapon to be the closest to his father. what he uses for protection is a baseball bat with a giant blade notched into one side. the baseball bat can symbolize multiple things. it can act as tyler himself. when he holds the bat, the bladed side is out, and the blunt, smooth side is towards him. this represents tyler's way of protecting himself--not physically, but mentally. the sharpness of the blade ties to his "sharp" outward personality, which he uses to guard his inner self, and keep him away from harm. therefore, the baseball bat connects to his childhood. the entire object is a symbolization of tyler's facade. going in further, the bat is what his father had given him. or at least, his father had given him a bat. it is evident from certain panels that tyler had been a happy, enthusiastic child when his dad was alive and his mother was still mentally present. he used to love baseball, and constantly practiced with his father, playing games for fun. he has weaponized the idea of his father in order to keep him safe. i don't want to keep running in circles and saying the same thing, but basically tyler hernandez hurts my heart.

AIDEN + DAGGERS: aiden fucking clark bro omgggg... this guy. i could talk about him for hours, but oh well, here is his choice of weapon: daggers. and this? incredibly unethical. lodging a blade into the side of someone's head is pretty cool, pretty effective, but not when that someone has incredibly long arms, a ginormous mouth, and is able to keep running with said dagger through their head. aiden is an adrenaline junkie, he's suicidal, and he just doesn't give two craps about what happens to himself. i've written a little bit of how he loves adrenaline in a fic already, but in short, he does anything to get that high out of being close to death because there is no other feel-good chemical that runs through his system. whether that's from his ADHD or depression, i don't care (i do), the entire point is that he'll throw his life away just to feel alive. this brings me back to his weapon. in order to attack someone with a dagger, you gotta get up close and personal. if you make even one slip-up? things get messy. when you are in such a proximity to your enemy, you are quite literally opening yourself up to them at the chance of being able to strike them first. with the phantoms? that's... certainly a choice, alright. he chose this weapon to feel the most thrill, all while masking his actual intent with the job of "defending himself." daggers represent the duality of courage and danger, which aiden walks the fine line between.

ASHLYN + THE KILLIES: ashlyn looks almost as if she doesn't have a weapon, or as if she doesn't need one. however, she DOES store blades that she can slide out on the backs of her shoes. this "hidden weapon" can reflect who she is as a person. ashlyn banner is known as the quiet kid, with her parents even admitting that she's pretty antisocial and doesn't have friends. this means that, on the outside, she's seen as someone who's silent, doesn't participate, and therefore isn't expected much of. obviously, this is completely untrue to who she is: a fierce leader, and fully capable young lady. the hidden weapon can reflect how she might seem "hidden" to those on the outside, but she's truly sharp-tongued, blunt, and intelligent. (also apparently shoe knives symbolize hidden power, self defense, and steady, confident stride? which, hey, sound kind of like ashlyn banner) but i do want to point out that, though she has no weapon in hand, she stands in front of the entire group. she's sacrificing herself by being closest to the gate and the phantom beyond it. ALSO, remember how, at the start of the comic, she was not at all used to working with others? she didn't know how to be a leader, she only knew how to be independent. at first, that gave her a pretty good start in leading the six, but she lacked the trust and reliance on the others. her stepping in front of them can express this as well.