My mind is empty (Crawford, Weiss Kreuz)
I can't believe I did this, I can't believe I did this.
Title: My mind is empty
Character/Fandom: Crawford (Weiss Kreuz)
Author: Olympia
Spoilers: yes, all over the place!
Notes: A huge thanks to Penelope for threatening to kick my butt every now and then and for putting up with me while ranting/wailing about Crawford. To every fanfic writer who writes about Schwarz and to Tosca, for writing the best character study of Crawford possible. Don't worry - I have a link to that!
So, what are you doing here?
Where to start when trying to present Crawford? And how to do that without getting caught up in the madness that is Weiss Kreuz? I really don't know. Perhaps I can refer you to a couple of excellent essays!!
Tosca's on Schuldig and Crawford.
Tosca's again on Schwarz and the WK timeline.
In case you didn't feel like reading them (but why? they are EXCELLENT), I'll write a few words about WK and Schwarz. WK is a group of florist assassins who try to punish criminals who have managed to evade the law. They work for Kritiker and as the first series progresses, we find out that their enemy is one Takatori Reiji, who wants to become Prime Minister of Japan. Takatori is controlled (only he doesn't know it) by Eszett, a group of old people who want to live forever. They (Eszett) also control Schwarz, a group of assassins with paranormal abilities, and they send them to Japan to make sure everything will go according to their plan to raise a demon and gain eternal life. In the end, their plans fail, Takatori is dead, and Schwarz and Weiss seem to die. But they don't.
Then the dramatic CDs (and the OVAs?) happen, that I will ignore as far as the plot and Farfarello's characterization are concerned. And then there's Gluehen, that I haven't really seen yet (because I'm basically lazy and I got caught up with Saiyuki and Kyou Kara Maou). But I've seen enough to know what Schwarz do. And what they do is team up with WK to destroy some Very Evil Guys with paranormal abilities, who are also their sort of clones, and then they die, or not.
(now you see why I told you to read the essays? I suck at summaries)
Brad Crawford, from the USA, is the de facto leader of Schwarz. Not really de jure since Eszett wouldn't allow it, but the other team members recognize Crawford's authority. Oh, yes, I should mention them: there's Schuldig, German with an atrocious sense of style (unless it's all a facade), and the gift of telepathy and speed. There's Farfarello, one-eyed Irish who hates God and loves knives, and Nagi, poor Japanese orphan who can move objects at will. Crawford's special talent is precognition, and he's also quite good at boxing, shooting and evading swords. Physically he's tall, dark and handsome! He starts with black hair that falls in cute bangs over his forehead and brown eyes, or blue eyes (in the manga) and glasses that glint sexily when he's being Evil! Then he ends up with his pretty hair slicked back and a monocle, as if he's an extra in Visconti's The Twilight of the Gods and he doesn't look Evil and Sexy anymore, he just looks constipated and ugly. Frankly, I ignore that version of Crawford in order to retain my sanity.
What we know of Crawford is that he attended Rosenkreuz, a school, somehow connected to Eszett, for training people with psi abilities. He had a lover there, Silvia, and also a friend, for whom he seems to care more than about Silvia. At one of his missions he found Nagi in an orphanage and took him with him. We don't really know when the rest of Schwarz joined the team. But what we now is that, by the time they are introduced, they have been together for some time and they have formed an efficient team that is so closely-knit as to be practically a family. A dysfunctional family at that, but still a family. The dramatic CDs provide a couple of delightful instants that prove that, while in the anime, the relationship between the Schwarz is characterized by harmony.
Schwarz are, according to Schuldig, a group of demons and Crawford is their king. Whether that is because of his precognition or because of his charisma, is not really explained, but perhaps it's a little bit of both. He's the oldest of the Schwarz, and therefore has more experience in dealing with Eszett elders, and ambitious politicians. Also, compared to the rest of Schwarz, he's also the most capable of dealing with such people. With his cream-coloured suits and his glasses he looks composed and reliable, a trustworthy businessman or an unobtrusive bodyguard that his employers can take everywhere.
But beneath that cool exterior lies someone with a sense of humour, as his exchanges with Schuldig show, and who doesn't have everything under his control. But when he does, he likes to gloat and be smug. Of course, he probably expected things to go under his control in the first place, so why not be smug about it?
He also has no problems with killing or manipulating people, a trait he shares with the rest of Schwarz. Penelope and I both find this aspect of Schwarz fascinating and refreshing. Unlike other anime villains, they have no dark, angsty pasts or secrets. There are no mitigating circumstances, no tragedies in their childhood that corrupted or twisted them so much as to make them evil. No, Schwarz are evil and they're enjoying it. They revel in their wickedness and don't give a damn about morals. One has the feeling that the only reason they are careful is so as not to get caught. And, considering what happens when they let Farfarello free to hunt, perhaps they don't care that much about being careful anyway.
Okay, so what else is new? Well, when I first saw WK, I was struck by one thing (and no, it wasn't the happy bunch of gay florist assassins). I was totally captivated by Crawford's reason for wanting the summoning of the demon to succeed: he wanted chaos. He wanted to destroy the world. I remember thinking: him? An anarchist? Because, Crawford, with his suits and all, is the most unlikely anarchist I've ever seen. Schuldig or Farfarello I could believe; Nagi is a cross between idealism and nihilism, but Crawford? He's more likely to want to rule the world, rather than destroy everything.
I know anarchism is not about destroying the world (well, some strands of anarchism, anyway). It's about defying and eliminating central power structures, replacing them with alternate forms of collective management (well, in some strands of anarchism, anyway). And in that sense, it seemed logical that Crawford would be an anarchist. But there was something off with that.
But when thinking of the other Schwarz members and how loyal they are to Crawford and how they follow his judgment, another idea began to make sense. Crawford, despite all he says, and how he may appear to be a megalomaniac, following his own agenda to destroy the world, has in reality very simple goals. Crawford's only goal in Kapitel is to get rid of Eszett, to be free of them. That's all. Perhaps thanks to his precognition, most probably because he's shrewd enough to know what powerful weapons his teammates are, he uses them in order to get rid of Eszett. But freedom is not a powerful incentive for the rest of Schwarz: Farfarello would probably be as satisfied serving under another, as long as he were allowed to hunt every now and then, Nagi has never known Eszett's power since the only leader he's had is Crawford (whom he probably sees as a father figure rather than a leader) and Schuldig, well, I think Schuldig would prefer to see the world end than be free. Chaos is the bait Crawford is using to guide his band of merry men to achieve his own goal. After all, if they'd really cared about destroying the world, they would have continued looking for ways to achieve that.
So much can be gained about Crawford from Kapitel and the dramatic CDs. Gluehen is a completely different story. Nagi has teamed with Weiss, Farfarello is missing for most of the series and when we see him, we find out he lives inside Crawford's head and Schuldig has become a Farah Fawcett look-alike. Apart from Farfarello in Crawford's head, we also find one more thing: Crawford's head is apparently empty. I read a story once where this is justified as showing how disciplined his mind is, but, the first time I saw that (and every other time) I couldn't stop giggling at Penelope: 'His mind is a blank; Crawford is an idiot!' And no matter how hard I try, I still find the Schwarz in Gluehen improbable. Not Weiss; they're their usual half-incompetent, uncooperative, without any team-spirit selves. But Schwarz? They come in somewhere after the middle of the series, face off the Really Evil Guys, who are also their clones, and then at the end, Crawford asks himself: 'is that who you succeeded, Weiss? With the power of friendship?' WTF is that? Forgive my language, but Schwarz have always been more united than Weiss, and Crawford and Schuldig are better friends than Aya and Ken and Yohji and Omi have ever been (in any possible combination).
*frustrated sigh* Schwarz are not making much sense in Gluehen. Crawford's mind is a blank, but thank the gods, he's not alone in there; he has Farfarello to keep him company. What does that mean for Farfarello? We don't know, and why should we care? Weiss are the heroes and the anime creators don't let us forget it. At this point, praise be to all fanfic writers who try to make sense of that!
If you're wondering about the fanfiction, well, I can refer you again to the aforementioned essays. Check out the rest of the stories by the writers suggested for a view on Crawford and the rest of Schwarz. I know, they are slash, but ... I like slash! And ever since I remembered my love for Due South, I've stopped reading any anime fiction (except for those that mention the magic word beginning with O: Oriya)
Together with these excellent writers, let me rec just this one:
Leokitsunewho provided an interesting explanation why Farfarello lives in Crawford's head.
Title: My mind is empty
Character/Fandom: Crawford (Weiss Kreuz)
Author: Olympia
Spoilers: yes, all over the place!
Notes: A huge thanks to Penelope for threatening to kick my butt every now and then and for putting up with me while ranting/wailing about Crawford. To every fanfic writer who writes about Schwarz and to Tosca, for writing the best character study of Crawford possible. Don't worry - I have a link to that!
So, what are you doing here?
Where to start when trying to present Crawford? And how to do that without getting caught up in the madness that is Weiss Kreuz? I really don't know. Perhaps I can refer you to a couple of excellent essays!!
Tosca's on Schuldig and Crawford.
Tosca's again on Schwarz and the WK timeline.
In case you didn't feel like reading them (but why? they are EXCELLENT), I'll write a few words about WK and Schwarz. WK is a group of florist assassins who try to punish criminals who have managed to evade the law. They work for Kritiker and as the first series progresses, we find out that their enemy is one Takatori Reiji, who wants to become Prime Minister of Japan. Takatori is controlled (only he doesn't know it) by Eszett, a group of old people who want to live forever. They (Eszett) also control Schwarz, a group of assassins with paranormal abilities, and they send them to Japan to make sure everything will go according to their plan to raise a demon and gain eternal life. In the end, their plans fail, Takatori is dead, and Schwarz and Weiss seem to die. But they don't.
Then the dramatic CDs (and the OVAs?) happen, that I will ignore as far as the plot and Farfarello's characterization are concerned. And then there's Gluehen, that I haven't really seen yet (because I'm basically lazy and I got caught up with Saiyuki and Kyou Kara Maou). But I've seen enough to know what Schwarz do. And what they do is team up with WK to destroy some Very Evil Guys with paranormal abilities, who are also their sort of clones, and then they die, or not.
(now you see why I told you to read the essays? I suck at summaries)
Brad Crawford, from the USA, is the de facto leader of Schwarz. Not really de jure since Eszett wouldn't allow it, but the other team members recognize Crawford's authority. Oh, yes, I should mention them: there's Schuldig, German with an atrocious sense of style (unless it's all a facade), and the gift of telepathy and speed. There's Farfarello, one-eyed Irish who hates God and loves knives, and Nagi, poor Japanese orphan who can move objects at will. Crawford's special talent is precognition, and he's also quite good at boxing, shooting and evading swords. Physically he's tall, dark and handsome! He starts with black hair that falls in cute bangs over his forehead and brown eyes, or blue eyes (in the manga) and glasses that glint sexily when he's being Evil! Then he ends up with his pretty hair slicked back and a monocle, as if he's an extra in Visconti's The Twilight of the Gods and he doesn't look Evil and Sexy anymore, he just looks constipated and ugly. Frankly, I ignore that version of Crawford in order to retain my sanity.
What we know of Crawford is that he attended Rosenkreuz, a school, somehow connected to Eszett, for training people with psi abilities. He had a lover there, Silvia, and also a friend, for whom he seems to care more than about Silvia. At one of his missions he found Nagi in an orphanage and took him with him. We don't really know when the rest of Schwarz joined the team. But what we now is that, by the time they are introduced, they have been together for some time and they have formed an efficient team that is so closely-knit as to be practically a family. A dysfunctional family at that, but still a family. The dramatic CDs provide a couple of delightful instants that prove that, while in the anime, the relationship between the Schwarz is characterized by harmony.
Schwarz are, according to Schuldig, a group of demons and Crawford is their king. Whether that is because of his precognition or because of his charisma, is not really explained, but perhaps it's a little bit of both. He's the oldest of the Schwarz, and therefore has more experience in dealing with Eszett elders, and ambitious politicians. Also, compared to the rest of Schwarz, he's also the most capable of dealing with such people. With his cream-coloured suits and his glasses he looks composed and reliable, a trustworthy businessman or an unobtrusive bodyguard that his employers can take everywhere.
But beneath that cool exterior lies someone with a sense of humour, as his exchanges with Schuldig show, and who doesn't have everything under his control. But when he does, he likes to gloat and be smug. Of course, he probably expected things to go under his control in the first place, so why not be smug about it?
He also has no problems with killing or manipulating people, a trait he shares with the rest of Schwarz. Penelope and I both find this aspect of Schwarz fascinating and refreshing. Unlike other anime villains, they have no dark, angsty pasts or secrets. There are no mitigating circumstances, no tragedies in their childhood that corrupted or twisted them so much as to make them evil. No, Schwarz are evil and they're enjoying it. They revel in their wickedness and don't give a damn about morals. One has the feeling that the only reason they are careful is so as not to get caught. And, considering what happens when they let Farfarello free to hunt, perhaps they don't care that much about being careful anyway.
Okay, so what else is new? Well, when I first saw WK, I was struck by one thing (and no, it wasn't the happy bunch of gay florist assassins). I was totally captivated by Crawford's reason for wanting the summoning of the demon to succeed: he wanted chaos. He wanted to destroy the world. I remember thinking: him? An anarchist? Because, Crawford, with his suits and all, is the most unlikely anarchist I've ever seen. Schuldig or Farfarello I could believe; Nagi is a cross between idealism and nihilism, but Crawford? He's more likely to want to rule the world, rather than destroy everything.
I know anarchism is not about destroying the world (well, some strands of anarchism, anyway). It's about defying and eliminating central power structures, replacing them with alternate forms of collective management (well, in some strands of anarchism, anyway). And in that sense, it seemed logical that Crawford would be an anarchist. But there was something off with that.
But when thinking of the other Schwarz members and how loyal they are to Crawford and how they follow his judgment, another idea began to make sense. Crawford, despite all he says, and how he may appear to be a megalomaniac, following his own agenda to destroy the world, has in reality very simple goals. Crawford's only goal in Kapitel is to get rid of Eszett, to be free of them. That's all. Perhaps thanks to his precognition, most probably because he's shrewd enough to know what powerful weapons his teammates are, he uses them in order to get rid of Eszett. But freedom is not a powerful incentive for the rest of Schwarz: Farfarello would probably be as satisfied serving under another, as long as he were allowed to hunt every now and then, Nagi has never known Eszett's power since the only leader he's had is Crawford (whom he probably sees as a father figure rather than a leader) and Schuldig, well, I think Schuldig would prefer to see the world end than be free. Chaos is the bait Crawford is using to guide his band of merry men to achieve his own goal. After all, if they'd really cared about destroying the world, they would have continued looking for ways to achieve that.
So much can be gained about Crawford from Kapitel and the dramatic CDs. Gluehen is a completely different story. Nagi has teamed with Weiss, Farfarello is missing for most of the series and when we see him, we find out he lives inside Crawford's head and Schuldig has become a Farah Fawcett look-alike. Apart from Farfarello in Crawford's head, we also find one more thing: Crawford's head is apparently empty. I read a story once where this is justified as showing how disciplined his mind is, but, the first time I saw that (and every other time) I couldn't stop giggling at Penelope: 'His mind is a blank; Crawford is an idiot!' And no matter how hard I try, I still find the Schwarz in Gluehen improbable. Not Weiss; they're their usual half-incompetent, uncooperative, without any team-spirit selves. But Schwarz? They come in somewhere after the middle of the series, face off the Really Evil Guys, who are also their clones, and then at the end, Crawford asks himself: 'is that who you succeeded, Weiss? With the power of friendship?' WTF is that? Forgive my language, but Schwarz have always been more united than Weiss, and Crawford and Schuldig are better friends than Aya and Ken and Yohji and Omi have ever been (in any possible combination).
*frustrated sigh* Schwarz are not making much sense in Gluehen. Crawford's mind is a blank, but thank the gods, he's not alone in there; he has Farfarello to keep him company. What does that mean for Farfarello? We don't know, and why should we care? Weiss are the heroes and the anime creators don't let us forget it. At this point, praise be to all fanfic writers who try to make sense of that!
If you're wondering about the fanfiction, well, I can refer you again to the aforementioned essays. Check out the rest of the stories by the writers suggested for a view on Crawford and the rest of Schwarz. I know, they are slash, but ... I like slash! And ever since I remembered my love for Due South, I've stopped reading any anime fiction (except for those that mention the magic word beginning with O: Oriya)
Together with these excellent writers, let me rec just this one:
Leokitsunewho provided an interesting explanation why Farfarello lives in Crawford's head.