Quickie Gungrave Fic
Title: "Brandon's Essay"
Fandom: Gungrave
Rating: PG for themes
Characters: Brandon
Spoilers: All but the very end of the anime
Summary: I don't know why Brandon would write these essays (except maybe the first for school), but apparently he did.
A/N: The other day, I spotted a post-it in my notes that said, "Brandon's essay," a reminder about a student's paper. But such is the nature of my mind that it immediately went to Gungrave. So here is Brandon's response to one of the scholarship essay prompts my students had to write on this term.
Prompt: Describe a challenge you've faced and what you learned about yourself.
Brandon at 17:
I guess a challenge I face is surviving, I mean getting food and stuff. I don't got parents so we fend for ourselves. It's kinda hard to try and do school and also having fights going on around where you live and need to get food and stuff. Another challenge is that there's this girl Maria I like and I'd like to hang out more with but her uncle dont like that because I get in fights and stuff. And I get that. Like he wants her to be safe. So in conclusion, I guess what I learned about myself is I don't know. I guess I learned I'm not so good for Maria and probly shouldn't hang out with her even though I want to anyways.
Brandon at 23:
A challenge I face is being boss of the True Grave. This requires me to use multiple skills everyday. Not only do I have to be the best gun fighter in order to keep the respect of my men, but I also have to have excellent tactical and organizational skills for managing hits, quickly and having few casualties for Millennion.
The most challenging aspect of this challenge however is the verbal aspect. I think I am an okay writer, but I am not good at quickly thinking of things to say out loud. However, as boss of the True Grave, I have to give orders, explain situations, and-hardest-reprimand my men if they are out of line in a way that is firm and fair and easy to understand. It is always a challenge for me to do this.
What I have learned about myself from this challenge is that I have many skills but I need to keep developing them everyday, especially my verbal skills. I have learned that working for Millennion is a huge commitment but one I work hard to fulfill and want to fulfill, no matter how much hard work it is.
Brandon at 27:
The challenge I'm facing right now is that I am increasingly certain that my best friend plans to betray Millennion, and I can't figure out what to do. I can't believe Harry would do this, except that a growing part of me believes he is doing it, and maybe that's incredibly unfair to Harry. Maybe I'm betraying him by even thinking it.
On the other hand, I can't allow Harry to betray Millennion. I can't allow him to harm Big Daddy or any of the Family. And still, I haven't shared my suspicions with Big Daddy because I'm not ready to betray Harry. Yet in my silence, perhaps I've already betrayed Big Daddy. I don't know what to do.
What I've learned about myself is that true loyalty may be beyond my capability. I always considered myself a loyal man. I never questioned that I would stand by my loved ones. But now it seems I can't stand by one without betraying another. Perhaps I am just weak. Perhaps a truer man would know the right choice.
Brandon at 41 (or 28 experientially)
My greatest challenge, as it always seems to be, is to figure out how to fulfill my duty to Millennion. This duty requires me to do contradictory things. I have to kill Harry. I have to destroy his Millennion to resurrect the true one. I also have to protect Mika: she's the future of Millennion, she is Maria and Big Daddy's daughter, and she is also a young girl who has no one else. And yet, when I leave to face Harry's forces, I will have to leave Mika unprotected. So do I kill Harry or protect Mika? I can never ultimately protect Mika while Harry is alive. But if I die again, and I will very soon--and sooner if I fight--then I'll never protect Mika at all.
All that's not really the biggest challenge though. The biggest challenge is that I don't know if I can kill Harry. I couldn't before. I don't know if I can now. So what have I learned about myself? I still love him, and that love may win out over everything. I don't want it to. It shouldn't. But in the end, it may be that, again, my heart picks the wrong side.
Fandom: Gungrave
Rating: PG for themes
Characters: Brandon
Spoilers: All but the very end of the anime
Summary: I don't know why Brandon would write these essays (except maybe the first for school), but apparently he did.
A/N: The other day, I spotted a post-it in my notes that said, "Brandon's essay," a reminder about a student's paper. But such is the nature of my mind that it immediately went to Gungrave. So here is Brandon's response to one of the scholarship essay prompts my students had to write on this term.
Prompt: Describe a challenge you've faced and what you learned about yourself.
Brandon at 17:
I guess a challenge I face is surviving, I mean getting food and stuff. I don't got parents so we fend for ourselves. It's kinda hard to try and do school and also having fights going on around where you live and need to get food and stuff. Another challenge is that there's this girl Maria I like and I'd like to hang out more with but her uncle dont like that because I get in fights and stuff. And I get that. Like he wants her to be safe. So in conclusion, I guess what I learned about myself is I don't know. I guess I learned I'm not so good for Maria and probly shouldn't hang out with her even though I want to anyways.
Brandon at 23:
A challenge I face is being boss of the True Grave. This requires me to use multiple skills everyday. Not only do I have to be the best gun fighter in order to keep the respect of my men, but I also have to have excellent tactical and organizational skills for managing hits, quickly and having few casualties for Millennion.
The most challenging aspect of this challenge however is the verbal aspect. I think I am an okay writer, but I am not good at quickly thinking of things to say out loud. However, as boss of the True Grave, I have to give orders, explain situations, and-hardest-reprimand my men if they are out of line in a way that is firm and fair and easy to understand. It is always a challenge for me to do this.
What I have learned about myself from this challenge is that I have many skills but I need to keep developing them everyday, especially my verbal skills. I have learned that working for Millennion is a huge commitment but one I work hard to fulfill and want to fulfill, no matter how much hard work it is.
Brandon at 27:
The challenge I'm facing right now is that I am increasingly certain that my best friend plans to betray Millennion, and I can't figure out what to do. I can't believe Harry would do this, except that a growing part of me believes he is doing it, and maybe that's incredibly unfair to Harry. Maybe I'm betraying him by even thinking it.
On the other hand, I can't allow Harry to betray Millennion. I can't allow him to harm Big Daddy or any of the Family. And still, I haven't shared my suspicions with Big Daddy because I'm not ready to betray Harry. Yet in my silence, perhaps I've already betrayed Big Daddy. I don't know what to do.
What I've learned about myself is that true loyalty may be beyond my capability. I always considered myself a loyal man. I never questioned that I would stand by my loved ones. But now it seems I can't stand by one without betraying another. Perhaps I am just weak. Perhaps a truer man would know the right choice.
Brandon at 41 (or 28 experientially)
My greatest challenge, as it always seems to be, is to figure out how to fulfill my duty to Millennion. This duty requires me to do contradictory things. I have to kill Harry. I have to destroy his Millennion to resurrect the true one. I also have to protect Mika: she's the future of Millennion, she is Maria and Big Daddy's daughter, and she is also a young girl who has no one else. And yet, when I leave to face Harry's forces, I will have to leave Mika unprotected. So do I kill Harry or protect Mika? I can never ultimately protect Mika while Harry is alive. But if I die again, and I will very soon--and sooner if I fight--then I'll never protect Mika at all.
All that's not really the biggest challenge though. The biggest challenge is that I don't know if I can kill Harry. I couldn't before. I don't know if I can now. So what have I learned about myself? I still love him, and that love may win out over everything. I don't want it to. It shouldn't. But in the end, it may be that, again, my heart picks the wrong side.