#quixylvre

What are those?

They're a type of donut, hedgehog.

What is this donut you speak of, hedgehog?

You are talking to the more impressive hedgehog, you ought to know to respect him.

*Sonic grabs a donut and starts eating.* It's a sweet treat, Anger Issues, but I don't think you'd like it much considering how sweet things don't hold that much rage in them.

Please talk when your mouth isn't full of food.

Was he taught any basic manners?

*Shadow grabs a donut.* My current hypothesis is no.

I am going to ignore that, Shadow. *He grabs a donut.* You know I won't say no to free donuts, but the Wachowski bloodline has been protecting Green Hills for over 50 years, we're more American than we are Polish at this point.

Can I try one?

I'm really sorry to hear about your dad. I hope you're getting support from friends/family at this time. Sending calming, peaceful vibes to you.

Winter is perceptive of her surroundings and alert to other people’s behaviors, maintaining constant vigilance in case of danger. Part of it is ingrained in her because of her time in the army, but she also learned this in home so she could protect herself from Jacques. This protection extends mostly to other’s well-being rather than herself - she is the elder sister, so she believes it’s her duty to shield her siblings from Jacques, and Winter enlisted in the army for ideological reasons. The moment Ironwood began posing a threat Winter was already watching him, already prepared to act if it was necessary. It was a foregone conclusion Winter would jump to save Marrow. So when did Winter decide Ironwood was a threat? I don’t think there’s a singular moment you could point to to answer that.

In her adolescence Winter probably idolized Ironwood as the key to escape her father and the pressure of the Schnee name. Imagine young Winter stuck in a ball her father forced her to attend like Weiss in V4, seeing how uncomfortable Ironwood is as well - he doesn’t want to participate, he wants to do real service, not like these elites (read: Jacques) - imagine how enticing Ironwood is to Winter in that moment. And it’s only natural for her to want to enlist the army, Atlas is already so militaristic. Yes, in the process she essentially gave up one controlling father to a different controlling father figure, but Ironwood isn’t controlling because he is abusive, that’s just how the army works. It won’t seem odd to Winter or most Atlesians for Ironwood to be controlling, that’s his job. Winter is aware of the power he poses and the implicit threat of every command, she is not blind to his danger, but she perceives it as natural, as what it should be. What is a military commander if he is not threatening, powerful and dangerous? A bad one.

This is the situation up until the end of V7, but then something changes - Winter’s trust in Ironwood is broken. So long as Winter believed Ironwood’s actions are for the greater good, she saw his actions and behavior as necessary and justified. She already had doubts in him, like his decision to isolate Atlas and exploit Mantle further, but there is no place for doubts in Ironwood as her commander - that’s not how the military works. Something drastic needed to occur for Winter to be able to break free from Ironwood, and that something was Weiss renouncing Ironwood in the V7 finale

To Winter, Ironwood is simultaneously two things: he’s the commander of the Atlesian army and her superior, the leader who makes the tough choices she can’t make. He’s also her savior, her ticket to escape Jacques Schnee and her way to prove her worth by servitude in the military, a pseudo-parental figure to replace Jacques. The former and the latter Ironwood cannot be separated in Winter’s mind, and it’s through her relationship with Ironwood that her view of Atlas and morality become intertwined with her view of her family and companionship. When Weiss still is aligned with Ironwood, Winter’s mind is at ease because the military and her family are in harmony. She falls into disarray when Weiss leaves her, her heart and mind in conflict with each other. Weiss did not convince her to betray Ironwood, her betrayal did not make her call Weiss, yet Winter betrays Ironwood and reconciles with her sister at the same time because to Winter they are the same thing, two aspects of her life ever connected because of Ironwood’s dual role in her life.