#How to improve immunity in Kids

[reasonsforhope]

Story from the Washington Post here, non-paywall version here.

Washington Post stop blocking linksharing and shit challenge.

"The young woman was catatonic, stuck at the nurses’ station — unmoving, unblinking and unknowing of where or who she was.

Her name was April Burrell.

Before she became a patient, April had been an outgoing, straight-A student majoring in accounting at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. But after a traumatic event when she was 21, April suddenly developed psychosis and became lost in a constant state of visual and auditory hallucinations. The former high school valedictorian could no longer communicate, bathe or take care of herself.

April was diagnosed with a severe form of schizophrenia, an often devastating mental illness that affects approximately 1 percent of the global population and can drastically impair how patients behave and perceive reality.

“She was the first person I ever saw as a patient,” said Sander Markx, director of precision psychiatry at Columbia University, who was still a medical student in 2000 when he first encountered April. “She is, to this day, the sickest patient I’ve ever seen.” ...

It would be nearly two decades before their paths crossed again. But in 2018, another chance encounter led to several medical discoveries...

Markx and his colleagues discovered that although April’s illness was clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia, she also had lupus, an underlying and treatable autoimmune condition that was attacking her brain.

After months of targeted treatments [for lupus] — and more than two decades trapped in her mind — April woke up.

The awakening of April — and the successful treatment of other people with similar conditions — now stand to transform care for some of psychiatry’s sickest patients, many of whom are languishing in mental institutions.

Researchers working with the New York state mental health-care system have identified about 200 patients with autoimmune diseases, some institutionalized for years, who may be helped by the discovery.

And scientists around the world, including Germany and Britain, are conducting similar research, finding that underlying autoimmune and inflammatory processes may be more common in patients with a variety of psychiatric syndromes than previously believed.

Although the current research probably will help only a small subset of patients, the impact of the work is already beginning to reshape the practice of psychiatry and the way many cases of mental illness are diagnosed and treated.

“These are the forgotten souls,” said Markx. “We’re not just improving the lives of these people, but we’re bringing them back from a place that I didn’t think they could come back from.” ...

Waking up after two decades

The medical team set to work counteracting April’s rampaging immune system and started April on an intensive immunotherapy treatment for neuropsychiatric lupus...

The regimen is grueling, requiring a month-long break between each of the six rounds to allow the immune system to recover. But April started showing signs of improvement almost immediately...

A joyful reunion

“I’ve always wanted my sister to get back to who she was,” Guy Burrell said.

In 2020, April was deemed mentally competent to discharge herself from the psychiatric hospital where she had lived for nearly two decades, and she moved to a rehabilitation center...

Because of visiting restrictions related to covid, the family’s face-to-face reunion with April was delayed until last year. April’s brother, sister-in-law and their kids were finally able to visit her at a rehabilitation center, and the occasion was tearful and joyous.

“When she came in there, you would’ve thought she was a brand-new person,” Guy Burrell said. “She knew all of us, remembered different stuff from back when she was a child.” ...

The family felt as if they’d witnessed a miracle.

“She was hugging me, she was holding my hand,” Guy Burrell said. “You might as well have thrown a parade because we were so happy, because we hadn’t seen her like that in, like, forever.”

“It was like she came home,” Markx said. “We never thought that was possible.”

...After April’s unexpected recovery, the medical team put out an alert to the hospital system to identify any patients with antibody markers for autoimmune disease. A few months later, Anca Askanase, a rheumatologist and director of the Columbia Lupus Center,who had been on April’s treatment team, approached Markx. “I think we found our girl,” she said.

Bringing back Devine

When Devine Cruz was 9, she began to hear voices. At first, the voices fought with one another. But as she grew older, the voices would talk about her, [and over the years, things got worse].

For more than a decade, the young woman moved in and out of hospitals for treatment. Her symptoms included visual and auditory hallucinations, as well as delusions that prevented her from living a normal life.

Devine was eventually diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can result in symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She also was diagnosed with intellectual disability.

She was on a laundry list of drugs — two antipsychotic medications, lithium, clonazepam, Ativan and benztropine — that came with a litany of side effects but didn’t resolve all her symptoms...

She also had lupus, which she had been diagnosed with when she was about 14, although doctors had never made a connection between the disease and her mental health...

Last August, the medical team prescribed monthly immunosuppressive infusions of corticosteroids and chemotherapy drugs, a regime similar to what April had been given a few years prior. By October, there were already dramatic signs of improvement.

“She was like ‘Yeah, I gotta go,’” Markx said. “‘Like, I’ve been missing out.’”

After several treatments, Devine began developing awareness that the voices in her head were different from real voices, a sign that she was reconnecting with reality. She finished her sixth and final round of infusions in January.

In March, she was well enough to meet with a reporter. “I feel like I’m already better,” Devine said during a conversation in Markx’s office at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she was treated. “I feel myself being a person that I was supposed to be my whole entire life.” ...

Her recovery is remarkable for several reasons, her doctors said. The voices and visions have stopped. And she no longer meets the diagnostic criteria for either schizoaffective disorder or intellectual disability, Markx said...

Today, Devine lives with her mother and is leading a more active and engaged life. She helps her mother cook, goes to the grocery store and navigates public transportation to keep her appointments. She is even babysitting her siblings’ young children — listening to music, taking them to the park or watching “Frozen 2” — responsibilities her family never would have entrusted her with before her recovery.

Expanding the search for more patients

While it is likely that only a subset of people diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychotic disorders have an underlying autoimmune condition, Markx and other doctors believe there are probably many more patients whose psychiatric conditions are caused or exacerbated by autoimmune issues...

The cases of April and Devine also helped inspire the development of the SNF Center for Precision Psychiatry and Mental Health at Columbia, which was named for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which awarded it a $75 million grant in April. The goal of the center is to develop new treatments based on specific genetic and autoimmune causes of psychiatric illness, said Joseph Gogos, co-director of the SNF Center.

Markx said he has begun care and treatment on about 40 patients since the SNF Center opened. The SNF Center is working with the New York State Office of Mental Health, which oversees one of the largest public mental health systems in America, to conduct whole genome sequencing and autoimmunity screening on inpatients at long-term facilities.

For “the most disabled, the sickest of the sick, even if we can help just a small fraction of them, by doing these detailed analyses, that’s worth something,�� said Thomas Smith, chief medical officer for the New York State Office of Mental Health. “You’re helping save someone’s life, get them out of the hospital, have them live in the community, go home.”

Discussions are underway to extend the search to the 20,000 outpatients in the New York state system as well. Serious psychiatric disorders, like schizophrenia, are more likely to be undertreated in underprivileged groups. And autoimmune disorders like lupus disproportionately affect women and people of color with more severity.

Changing psychiatric care

How many people ultimately will be helped by the research remains a subject of debate in the scientific community. But the research has spurred excitement about the potential to better understand what is going on in the brain during serious mental illness...

Emerging research has implicated inflammation and immunological dysfunction as potential players in a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, depression and autism.

“It opens new treatment possibilities to patients that used to be treated very differently,” said Ludger Tebartz van Elst, a professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy at University Medical Clinic Freiburg in Germany.

In one study, published last year in Molecular Psychiatry, Tebartz van Elst and his colleagues identified 91 psychiatric patients with suspected autoimmune diseases, and reported that immunotherapies benefited the majority of them.

Belinda Lennox, head of the psychiatry department at the University of Oxford, is enrolling patients in clinical trials to test the effectiveness of immunotherapy for autoimmune psychosis patients.

As a result of the research, screenings for immunological markers in psychotic patients are already routine in Germany, where psychiatrists regularly collect samples from cerebrospinal fluid.

Markx is also doing similar screening with his patients. He believes highly sensitive and inexpensive blood tests to detect different antibodies should become part of the standard screening protocol for psychosis.

Also on the horizon: more targeted immunotherapy rather than current “sledgehammer approaches” that suppress the immune system on a broad level, said George Yancopoulos, the co-founder and president of the pharmaceutical company Regeneron.

“I think we’re at the dawn of a new era. This is just the beginning,” said Yancopoulos."

-via The Washington Post, June 1, 2023

[psychoticallytrans]

There's this idea, fairly common in society, that mental illness is for teens and up. Children are happy little creatures, generally, right? Sometimes they're abused and the trauma can make them mentally ill, but that's not common.

There are two fundamental problems with this attitude. One, it's incorrect to assume that trauma is the only reason a young kid can be mentally ill. Two, trauma is more common than people think. I'll be covering the first problem in this post through the lens of my particular experience.

Where I live, you can be diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 18 years old. You cannot be diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a minor. This poses a problem because my age of onset was in first grade, roughly six years old. Because of the fact that I was very young and new to the world, this was also the age of my first suicide attempt. Thinking I wouldn't be able to pass a spelling test genuinely felt like something worth trying to die over. So, I ate some hemlock, since I'd read about Socrates being killed with it. Luckily, I ate western hemlock, an unrelated species, and just felt kind of sick.

I'm not recounting that for fun or pity. I'm recounting it because children with mental illness are in genuine danger because they have little to no experience with managing their emotions, have little to no concept of the idea that their life can change and improve, and are dismissed by adults. I told a teacher that the test made me want to die, though not that I'd attempted to, and it was brushed off as little kid hyperbole. If I had used a method that was effective rather than one I thought would be, I would have been dead at six years old.

I would not receive medication that worked even a bit for another two years. I would not receive treatment for bipolar disorder specifically for ten years, and that required my PCP fudging the reason for the medication because she was afraid I would die if she didn't, and diagnosis was still two years off at minimum. I received a formal diagnosis at age 19, thirteen years after onset.

But surely that's uncommon, right? This story is a huge edge case, right? I actually have no idea, because age of onset and age of diagnosis are massively conflated for most disabilities. Policies like the one in my area that restricted bipolar diagnoses by age can artificially raise the age of "onset", in my case by thirteen years. The general idea that children are somehow immune to mental illness can also delay diagnosis by several years, perpetuating the idea that young children can't be mentally ill. The data on when people start experiencing mental illness is inherently skewed upwards, and I frankly don't have a good estimate on how bad that skew is. If anyone does have that data, please chime in.

Listen to children. If they're saying they're sad all the time, that they don't care about anything, that they don't see a future for themselves, those are signs of depressive symptoms. If they say that tests make them feel sick, that they can't do anything because they're scared, that they can't breathe and freeze up, those are signs of anxious symptoms. Many children talk about imaginary things, and that's just fine, but slip in a question or two about them to make sure that the kid is just playing, and not experiencing psychosis.

Children are new to the world and vulnerable, and they don't know what's normal and what isn't. They need people who are more experienced watching out for problems they might be having, and listening when they talk about having problems. If you can, try to be the person who perceives them, and tells them that things can be better.

[ms-demeanor]

That level of confidence on rejecting anything beyond what a MD will tell you (and not even a DO apparently?) has reached peak stupid I see. Probiotics work. Saccharomyces boulardii straight up saves lives. Come the fuck on.

I haven't criticized DOs, DOs are fully qualified physicians. For those not aware: In the US a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) has the same qualifications as an MD; if you want a doctor who does more holistic care but is a real-ass doctor, look for a DO.

DC, doctor of chiropractic, is the degree that you get from the ITT Tech of medical schools to lie to people and call yourself a doctor.

Saccharomyces boulardii is one of the probiotics included in the recommendations of the AGA as conditionally recommended in spite of low quality of evidence.

Saying "probiotics are largely woo" and including a link to A) guidelines that recommend evidence-based use of probiotics and B) a commentary on those guidelines lamenting that the lax regulation of the supplement industry has made it excessively difficult to study potentially helpful interventions is not the same thing as saying "probiotics don't work."

I know it can be hard to see but on tumblr when there's a little line under some words that means the words are a link; you can place your cursor over that link and single-click to go to a different page of the internet that might include more words you can read are a much longer and more comprehensive explanation of the words that you initially clicked on.

There's no conclusive evidence that regular supplementation of probiotics improves digestive issues in healthy people and taking probiotics regularly if you are not at risk for c. diff likely means that you're just shitting money down the drain.

Aspirin saves lives too, but that doesn't mean that literally everyone should take it daily for its life-saving benefits.

I became *absolutely ironclad* in my support for evidence based medicine over medical woo after my chronic illness diagnosis and while trying to figure out how to not feel sick all the time. Getting diagnosed with celiac in 2012 meant getting inundated with books like Wheat Belly and links to Joseph Mercola and advice to take probiotics and to stop eating the yoga mat chemical. Navigating a chronic illness and *massive dietary changes* on an internet awash with medical woo was a nightmare, and you're making the exact same kind of argument that I stumbled across on a ton of forums where parents were trying to treat their kids' symptoms, or where people were searching for help with their own pain and struggles and were getting *bad fucking answers* about probiotics and essential aminos and diatomaceous earth.

Probiotics "work" to help some people in extremely specific situations, but, like most supplementation, they are absolutely unnecessary for the vast majority of people and unless you know that you have a specific condition that will be improved by taking them, you're mostly spending a lot of money to swallow a lot of things and shit them out. If you have a gut disorder, probiotics will not make your gut disorder better. If you have diarrhea as a result of food borne illness, probiotics will not get your poop back to normal. If you are constipated, probiotics will not soften your stools or make you more regular. If you are at risk of c. diff from a course of antibiotics and you are NOT immune compromised, probiotics may potentially reduce your risk of c. diff infection and you should talk to a doctor who is treating you for that specific situation about whether or not probiotics might be helpful in the short term while your gut microbiome recovers from the antibiotics.

[tarotbyjam24]

Pick a pile : Messages from your inner child

Pick a piles \masterlist

Likes , reblogs and feedbacks are very much appreciated 💗

Disclaimer: this is general reading . It may or may not resonate . If reading doesn't resonate let it fly and choose another pile or simply there were no messages for you through this reading 😊 Take the reading lightly as nothing's set in stone until you believe so 🕊️

Thankyou for stopping by let's dive in ☄️ Choose the pile you feel most drawn to 🧸

I also offer paid readings now 😊 you can book one as it'll help me a lot and don't forget to check out free readings offer gworlll 🌸

Pile 1 Pile 2

Pile एक

Hi my cutie patooties the first message I'm getting from your inner child is that you're aging fine like wine , your inner child is satisfied with the power you hold for yourself and others ,your inner child is proud of how far you've come , of how you've overcame obstacles and hardships to get on this authoritative position,I also feel your inner child hs forgiven the people who did bad to you or wronged\hurt you in some way deliberately,I'm so proud of how your inner children aren't thinking of taking revenge upon others because they know it's waste of energy and your peace matters to them so much your inner child literally can't see you being hurt again in process of hurting others , although for the people who now try to hurt you your inner child has become stronger to it and they literally can't get hurt because of the walls they build for themselves and you ,I'm also getting this specific message that if you were someone who used to hurt someone or make joke of someone you've left this habit and now you try to help people who are going through this and protect them from mockers and bullies . You're like in postion of being their saviour . If you were someone who was kinda aggressive with things you've now become calm and composed and your inner child is very happy for this improvement you made for yourself, they're proud of your progress , they're proud of you that how now you have become a good listener and listen to everyone's point of view ,in past times you might have felt bothered by your loneliness but now you feel more better in your solitude, your inner child like to be alone so that you can contemplate and think over things and possibilities for present and future,your inner child loves how you're open about other possibilities and not to close your eyes or fix your view on one possibility only . You inner child wants you to go with flow like how river make it's flow from other paths when one path is blocked they're asking you to be like that ,your inner child love your fashion specifically the jewelries you wear in your hands That's all my king [irrespective of gender] I hope you enjoyed reading these messages from your inner child . I'm also proud of you always no matter what. I'll always be proud of you. Thank you so much for your time until next time byeee see you bless you 🫂🎐

Pile दो

Hi my cute cookies your inner child is telling you to be more calm as angerness depletes your immunity , although I know you're very fond of going out or going on trips in general you're advised to rest too and have some time spent at your home. I feel you're so heavy on going out no matter how sick you're no matter how's the weather outside you are like this stubborn child you wants to go out and is going out but alone ,your inner chil sees you as a gem they see you as lil precious kid , your inner child cherish you so much ,your inner child appreciates your hard work you do every time ,your inner child likes how cut throat and straight forward you're with the people and other things in general oh pile 2 are you savage too ? Your inner child loves your saviness , your inner child wants to tell you not blind yourself or wear a blindfold when you can see the problems coming your inner child wants you to trust yourself and your gut feelings , although you might have felt like you're surrounded by so many problems at once almost felt like problems kidnapped you but you can atleast try to untie your hands and then solve those problems? Are you afraid of interacting with people? Your inner child is willing to interact with new people they're willing to socialise and solve this issue ,when you socialse more it may not feel right but do it scared do it anxious put yourself out there more ,go in more places that are full of people and not to only nature places in early mornings or late nights when people are gone from there and it's almost empty . Your inner child is happy with the bond you've with or mother or family in general. Your inner child wants you to have some hobbies to enjoy or if you already have some indulge in them more often . I feel you're a karate kid you go fighters! That's all my savy pile 2 I hope you enjoyed reading these messages from your inner child . I'm also proud of you always no matter what. I'll always be proud of you. Thank you so much for your time until next time byeee see you bless you 🫂🎐

I hope you liked the reading . Thank you so much for letting me read for you . Wishing you best ahead . 🎀Bless you and have a nice day🌸🐰

Loads of love , jam

[all-pacas]

Top 10 Chase moments.

wait it's. it's hard to think of ten. what are the criteria. wait

in no order, here's 10 things i enjoy:

whenever he bonds with a kid, especially since he does it the same way every time: give them candy and talk to them on their level (about girls with the kid in cursed, aliens with the kid in cane and able). he's sooooo big brother (you ever notice, btw, how he's not like this with teenagers. he is so dismissive of teens he hates them so much. reason #87 retcon sister makes so much sense to me)

he's lowkey such a troll? i love when he lets his inner petty self shine, making fun of cameron in spin nonstop, poking at foreman and pretending he wants to be in charge in s7, he really enjoys Instigating and it's very silly

this is turning into a personality trait list uhh another moment i like: that petty side of chase rarely manifesting into stubbornness. in cursed he's mad at rowan so he decides to brute force test for EVERY auto-immune disease out of spite. in post mortem he's mad at treiber, so he decides to lock himself in the basement and brute force symptoms out of spite. he's so lazy 85% of the time and then he gets annoyed and works his ass off and is so good at it. house absolutely must hate this about him

in "poison" there's a moment where the kid is having a seizure and the subtitles say CHASE: Stay calm, and the words that chase utters are "stay cool, mate," and i think this is so funny. inexplicably

when cameron describes his apartment as "decorated by a drunk rugby player." so specific. so mysterious. i don't know what it means but i'm sure it's atrocious.

him becoming best friends with park's grandma. incredible. a++. it's funny on the face of it, them hanging out and playing card games, but it's also both sad and heartwarming. this man just wants a family!! it took him almost forty years but he's getting there!!

i love the running joke that chase isn't just good looking, but THE most attractive human on the planet, a 15 in the world of 10s. in the world of the show, other characters are average to good-looking (not beautiful actors), but not chase. he is THAT pretty. it is so funny to me. cameron was hired for her looks but chase is the one house spends more time objectifying. incredible.

his utter lack of fashion sense. his sweater-vests are an improvement over his horrendous color and pattern coordination, but it's still such an... old man fashion choice, you know? there are so many ways to style a shirt and tie and look fantastic and chase consistently goes "no, i will dress like a 60 year old/in the dark instead."

that his retcon sister calls him robbie. this COULD be a childhood nickname, but i also absolutely believe chase is the type of grown man who, in his late thirties, would still introduce himself as "robbie." very rich kid of him. love it.

whenever, despite chase's stated desire to be distant and apathetic and aloof, he completely fails. falls over himself, dripping compassion and empathy. he hates the nun in damned if you do; the second she gets upset he trips in his haste to pray with her. he sees thirteen upset and spends all of after hours desperately trying to help her. he's mad as hell at cameron in lockdown, but the second she starts crying he drops everything to comfort her. he is so fucking bad at this!!!

BONUS, RELATED TO ABOVE: that chase is the world's worst liar. i bet house has invited him to poker night entirely to clean him out and win thousands from him. i bet chase thinks he's a pretty good liar but literally no one has ever once been fooled.

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

An underrated health and wellbeing tool is play. 

When you think about playing, you may immediately picture little children - but by definition, play describes “any activity engaged in purely for enjoyment and recreation with no definite practical purpose” and those activities stay important throughout your whole life. 

Why are those activities important? 

Play is good for your body. Intentionally doing something just for fun helps to activate the “rest and digest” mode that is necessary to recover and heal from stress. It signals that you’re safe and helps your body relieve tension. 

It’s also good for your brain. It can stimulate your imagination, visualization and critical thinking skills, which can help you build skills like resilience and adaptability. 

Play can also foster empathy and understanding of others as it can help you see things from another’s perspective. 

Playing can make you laugh, and laughter comes with a whole sleeve of health benefits, such as decreasing blood pressure and even improving your immune system! 

Playing together can strengthen relationships. Positive, fun social interactions are important for your emotional wellbeing. 

Now some of you may think “that’s all nice, but how do I even play as an adult?”. While play is a natural behavior of human beings, many adults need to re-learn how to play - it depends on your specific environment and social circles but you may feel a lot of pressure to be productive all the time and play is by its very nature not productive. So, the first step in re-learning play is to give yourself permission to just *be* instead of *do* (and that can be a huge step!). 

Some ideas on how to ease back into play: 

Think about your childhood. (Or if you can, ask a parent, sibling or childhood friend, that can be a great way to bring back memories!) What were your favorite ways to play back then? What did you love about your favorite game? Does any particular memory immediately give you that “I wish I could do that again” feeling? (You may not necessarily find anything that you want to just replicate as an adult as-is, this is just meant to kick-start your imagination!) 

Gameify everyday tasks. Try to spot as many yellow items as possible on your commute to work. Make up a silly song about laundry while putting away the laundry. Pretend to be on a cooking show while making dinner. Do what you always do, just allow yourself to be silly about it! 

Do something creative, even (and especially) if you’re not good at it. You may not think of drawing, writing etc. as playing but those are activities you can do for pure entertainment! 

Moving your body doesn’t need to be purposeful exercise (and certainly not hating yourself in the gym), it can also be playtime: Do a silly little dance to your favorite song! Tippytoe, crawl, jump, walk backward.. from your bedroom to the kitchen, just for the fun of it! 

Rethink toys. While it is fully okay for a grownup to buy, own and play with toys, and we should abolish the negative stereotypes about it (it’s creepy, it’s inherently a sign of poor mental health etc.) these stereotypes do exist and you may simply not feel comfortable. Luckily, there are a few toys that are generally considered socially acceptable for adults or are even marketed towards adults, such as board games, stress balls, adult coloring books, certain Lego sets or fan/collectors toys (like action figures). And when there are no judgy eyes watching, you may also have fun just playing with household items such as cardboard rolls! No need to go out and buy something! 

Keep in mind that play isn’t a competition to win. You can’t play wrong - that’s the beauty of it! Just let your curiosity and enthusiasm guide you. 

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

[dandysworldhcs]

Various Rodger HC's!!

Rodger is selectively mute, in situations where he gets overwhelmed (in a negative OR positive way) he just goes silent and prefers to just express himself far more via eye emotes and body movement. Toodles made him little cards for if he has something to say in one of these states that's a little more complicated to pantomime.

On the opposite end of the verbal spectrum, I feel like he'd monologue to himself a lot while working. Like that cartoon bit of Noir-style episodes where the 'detective' starts yapping out loud about what they're thinking, and then background characters ask why they're monologuing.

^^^ — I think he'd especially do this when doing little activities with kids at Gardenview that I imagine would be like. Murder mysteries, basically, and then the monologuing would both be for his own habit and to kind of nudge kids into the right direction of what evidence they have and who or what it points to so far.

^^^ — Murder mystery events are entirely unscripted besides Rodger being the detective and whoever was the 'victim' - it was a lot of improv on Rodger's part, and based on what he comes up with on the spot, any Toon could be roped into it without warning (Toodles was a common one to be roped into an event! She learned a lot of improv from Rodger so she knows how to play along with it).

Rodger snooped in the humans' business A LOT. He'd try to follow them out of Gardenview, go digging through files when they weren't around, etc. He's one of the more mature-seeming Toons but he is not immune to dastardly deeds and being a gremlin when he wants to be. Look at the poster he has with Goob, Boxten, and RnD and tell me that man wouldn't be a little bit mischievous. Because of this, he knew a lot of stuff that the other Toons (besides MAYBE the Mains) didn't know - at some point just to hopefully satisfy his curiosity and make him snoop less, Arthur and Delilah would let him tag along with stuff that the employees, Handlers, and Arthur were doing. On a few rare occasions he actually was allowed to leave Gardenview with one of the Handlers + Mains on errands.

(I HC that the Toons were normally not allowed to leave unless it was for a few specific events at other locations. Mains were sometimes allowed to leave with Handlers on errands, so Rodger basically got Very Limited Main Privileges ™️)

~~(Parentheses Anon)

these are so cool.im cheering I LOVE THE IDEA OF RODGER MAKING LITTLE MURDER MYSTERIES [OR MYSTERIES IN GENERAL] FOR THE KIDS THAT VISIT GARDENVIEW this is so awesomes

[dokifluffs]

How They Would Take Care of Their Sick Kids | Sakusa, Osamu

Pairings: Sakusa X Reader (female), Osamu X Reader (female)

Genre: good ol' domestic dad fluff heheheeh

tutuwusworld asked: Hi!! Glad you’re back here💗So I was thinking about is how (mainly Osamu), and Sakusa would take care of their sick child and the different ways of them comforting their kids💗

Author's Note: hehehe hi and thanks! I like being back heheh it forces me to write, which also helps me improve and get back to things hehe!

as much as he hated germs, he hated seeing his baby/ babies being sick and suffering

which ig would make him despise germs even more tbh

since they made his bb/ bbs (baby/ babies) sick

he would be gentle with them, and take care of them even if it meant getting his hands and himself dirty

but anything for his bb/ bbs

when it first happened where his bb/ bbs got sick, he rushed them to the hospital, insisting that they stayed there until his bb/bbs were better

he had the doctors and nurses on speed dial

but now this second time around, he was more ready having learned from the first time

he would be on a tight routine to change them out of any sweaty clothes, tucking them in, changing their cooling forehead patches

making fresh food with scrubbed clean ingredients

everything

if his bb or bbs couldn't sleep, you bet he would hold them close

he would make sure is body warmth was also keeping them warm too

cradling them, rocking them, rubbing their little backs until they were sound asleep

he didn't mind doing the extra laundry if it meant that they actually got rest and they slept

even just a short nap

as soon as they were sound asleep, this mans would be whipping out his steamer, steaming all high-touch surfaces like their toys, door handles, and tables, cleaning and disinfecting everything

but at night, he was also on high alert

even when you were home to take care of them and when you took his turn to watch over them, he insisted on staying with you

The two of you sat at the ends of their low cribs in your guys' bedroom and just watched the two of them sleep side by side in their own crib in the low light of the bedroom, the sound machine playing the soft sound of waves washing against a shore

tucked in, wearing their matching little pjs

"they seem to be doing better," you spoke in a soft voice to your husband as he sat beside you, his hand resting on your lower back, fingers drawing random small shapes against your soft skin, his chin resting on your shoulder

"mmhm," he agreed with you, nodding gently into your shoulder

his eyes glanced back and forth watching them slightly move every now and then

he never thought that one day, such small human beings would mean the world and everything beyond to him

he would some nights, depending on how his bbs were throughout the day, would stay up later or sleep less so he could watch over them, sitting right beside them at their cribs

he would be right beside them, helping their little immune systems fight off these bad germs

Warning! Spoilers to what osamu does post-time skip!

You know this mans was feeding his family good stuff

like when you were pregnant with your little buns (what samu thought they looked like when they were born)

you ate the best foods

you were surprised how you were able to push such plump little buns out of you, 2 of them as a matter of fact

but they were very healthy

over the years, their plumpness became proportionate to their bodies as they grew

now they were able to balance and walk, they started running, playing outside, building their immunes

that was until something apparently had been going around while they were at daycare

and some parent still brought their child in, even though they were very sick and it spread to your guys' little buns

the two of you were mostly calm

took them to the doctors the first thing a fever was detected

making sure they were drinking plenty of fluids and samu was their personal chef

he knew what each of his bbs liked and made sure they both got their nutrients and all the other good stuff

he seemed calm on the outside but he did have a subtle, consistent wave of worry

he would think about the worst-case scenarios and work harder to make sure the foods and soups they were going to eat would be the best

but over time as you saw progress in their recovery, you were able to wipe away his worries without even knowing they were there

"Look who woke up a bit early and wanted to see you," he turned at the stove, hearing the sound of your voice approaching as you walked into the kitchen

you held the younger twin in your arms, the twin that did seem clingier with him but he didn't mind at all

he loved his bbs equally

the little one turned their body and reached toward him upon seeing him

Osamu was used to this

before they were sick, he would hold one while cooking - mainly something simple like stirring a pot

nothing dangerous

he would give them little samples of what he was making, always blowing the spoon or spatula like crazy before feeding them

he wasn't gonna burn his bbs

during baths and put-downs for naps and sleep at night, he always made sure to cuddle his bbs

he knew they were just gonna get bigger from here

after baths were his favorite time

they smelled so clean and fresh in their little pjs

he lay right in between their two little bodies as they hugged his head, cuddling with him

he laid with them until they were fast asleep, listening to the soft chimes of the lullaby gifted from osamu's grandmother

"stay small," he whispered to them, pressing kisses to their heads before slowly rising, and tucking them into their cribs

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

[white-wolf-buckaroo]

Where the Flowers Don't Grow - Chapter 5

Word Count: 6.7 k oops

Warnings: basically everything you should be warned about with TLOU, honestly

Notes: This one might also be one of my faves (which happens every time Joel slightly acts like a dad... so yeah).

Fic Masterlist

In November, things got better.

Faith got back to her feet. She still wasn’t at a hundred percent, not quite, but she could walk for hours again without wheezing or stumbling. Joel made sure they stopped often enough for her to rest, though—no arguments allowed. Not from her, not from Ellie, not even from himself.

Ellie was ecstatic about the improvement.

“I’m so glad you didn’t die,” she said one cold morning, stuffing the last of her things into her pack at their latest campsite.

Faith raised an eyebrow. “Uh… thanks?”

“Dying would’ve sucked for you, obviously,” Ellie added, brushing a few pine needles off her jacket. “But like, if you’d died I’d be back to bein’ alone with Mr. Sunshine over there.”

She tilted her head toward Joel, who was crouched by the remains of the fire packing up the last of their supplies. He didn’t react, didn’t even glance up.

“Like, dude, it wouldn’t kill him to smile a bit more, don’t you think?”

“Let’s leave the talk about death for another moment, m’kay?” Faith said with a snort.

Joel stood, slinging his rifle across his back. “Move out in five.”

“See?” Ellie muttered to Faith. “Sunshine.”

They kept going. The forests of Nebraska slowly thinned into fields, into small towns swallowed up by vines and silence. Faith wasn’t sure exactly where they were most days, but they were moving west. Wyoming still felt impossibly far, but at least the weight in her chest was gone now, replaced by normal aches and cold.

Joel would sometimes walk next to her, now. Not all the time. But enough that she noticed.

And Ellie—Ellie talked a lot. She told Faith everything she knew about the Fireflies. How they wanted to make a cure. How they were waiting for her. How the world might change if they could just get out there and make it.

“It’s not bullshit,” she insisted one night as they sat by the fire, Faith sharpening a stick into something vaguely spear-like. “They have doctors and labs and all that. I’m immune, okay? That’s gotta’ mean something.”

Faith nodded, holding her gaze. “I believe you.”

Ellie blinked, caught off guard. “…Thanks.”

“I think it does mean something,” Faith added. “I think you’ll get there. And I think they’ll figure it out.”

Ellie looked down, biting her lip. “Yeah. We’ll get there. And they’ll do.”

(…)

A few days later, Joel couldn’t sleep.

Faith couldn’t either. They were both awake when the fire had burned down to coals and Ellie snored softly, wrapped up in her sleeping bag after finishing the last of her “secret” stash of the emergency beef jerky she’d hoarded for herself.

Joel sat at the edge of camp, his back against a tree. Faith walked over slowly and sat near him, leaving space between them.

It was Faith who spoke first.

“You always this quiet, or is it just with us?”

Joel gave her a sideways look. “Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether talkin’s worth the trouble.”

Faith huffed a laugh, rubbing her hands together for warmth. “Ellie’d say no.”

“That kid’s got more words in her than most libraries.”

“She says you don’t smile much.”

“She’s right.”

Faith smiled to herself. “You should. Sometimes.”

Joel didn’t answer. But he didn’t look annoyed either. That was something.

After a pause, he said, “Tommy used to say the same thing.”

She perked up slightly. “Your brother?”

He nodded. “He’s the reason we’re headed to Wyomin’. Haven’t seen him in a long time.”

“Think he’ll still be there?”

Joel hesitated. “Hope so.”

Faith pulled her knees to her chest, watching the smoke curl up into the starless sky. “You talk about him like you miss him.”

“I do.”

“Why haven’t you seen him in so long?”

“We, uh… Disagreed on some stuff,” he explained vaguely. “Tommy and I… We did things to survive that… Weren’t good. Stuff we weren’t proud of. We weren’t the bad guys, but also not very good ones. He ditched me for the fireflies, and haven’t seen him since. We talked on the radio from time to time, but one day he just… stopped.”

“And you’re tryin’ to find him to make sure he’s okay?” Joel nodded. “I guess you’re the oldest?”

“What gives it away?”

“I was also the older sibling, remember? I know that feeling of… always trying to protect the younger ones. I guess it’s got to be in our blood, or somethin’ like that.”

Joel hummed. Another silence. Then—

“I also miss my sister,” she said softly. “When I was all alone, before meeting you and Ellie, I, uh… I would have these really bad thoughts. About… Well, if sticking around was worth it without her or my mom or my dad here,” she paused for a few seconds, thinking of the right words to say. “But then I’d wake up to a clear blue sky, or trek through the mountains, eat wild strawberries while watching a sunset or glance at the stars at night, and I… I got so mad at the world, you know? Because it’s still fucking beautiful. Even with all the shit that happens every day… It makes it feel worth it to stay around.”

Joel was quiet for a long time after that.

He didn’t shift, didn’t grunt in disagreement or try to fill the silence with something gruff and dismissive. He just stared out at the darkness beyond the camp, as if the words she’d said were still circling in the trees.

Finally, he said, low and almost more to himself than to her, “Sometimes even all that beauty isn’t enough to make you want to stay, though.” he mumbled. “… I’ve had those thoughts too.”

He looked down at his hands, rubbed at the knuckles like he was trying to work something out of them. Thinking about who he’d lost… who should still be there to see it all.

The fire cracked, soft and slow, embers curling upward like ghosts.

After a while, she added, “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re still here.”

Joel turned his head just slightly, his profile faint in the glow of dying coals. “That makes one of us.”

“Bullshit,” Faith said, but gently. “You keep Ellie alive like it’s your job. You didn’t let me die from a fever out in that old shack. You’re still walking. Still breathing. That’s gotta’ mean something.”

Joel didn’t answer right away. He looked over at her,—like he was trying to figure something out he hadn’t quite decided on yet.

Eventually, he said, “Maybe.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Faith’s mouth. “Wow. Progress. I should make a note in my journal.”

Joel grunted. “You don’t have a journal, only your mom’s.”

“I might get one just to write this down.”

“You won’t.”

She laughed under her breath, and for a second, she could swear Joel looked like he was smiling too.

(…)

The next day, they hit another dead town.

Boarded windows. Long-dead cars half-swallowed by weeds and dry fungus. A gas station stripped of anything valuable, but with one working vending machine Ellie immediately tried to crack open with a rock (she failed).

Joel left them behind to scout out a nearby hardware store.

Faith and Ellie sat on a bench outside the station, soaking in the weak autumn sunlight.

“You two were talking last night,” Ellie said, not looking at her.

Faith blinked. “We were.”

“What about?”

Faith hesitated. “Stuff. Grown up stuff.”

“Dude, you’re only two years older than me,” she huffed.

“Fuck off,” she shoved Ellie’s shoulder softly with her own. “Nothing bad, don’t worry.”

Ellie narrowed her eyes. “That sounds suspiciously vague.”

“Because it is.”

“Joel hates to talk. I’m shocked he even lets you talk to him.”

Faith shrugged. “Guess he’s warming up.”

“To you,” Ellie muttered. Then she looked down, fiddling with the edge of her sleeve. “I’m glad.”

Faith glanced sideways at her. “Yeah?”

Ellie kicked at a chunk of broken pavement. “Yeah. I mean… it’s good. For him. You know. You’ve seen it too. Seems like he’s been carrying a lot of shit for a long time. I don’t think he even realizes how heavy and obvious it is.”

Faith didn’t say anything at first. Then, quietly, “You care about him.”

Ellie scoffed. “No shit.”

They sat in silence for a while after that. Not uncomfortable. Just… there.

“I think I’m starting to care about him, too.”

Joel came back a while later with a half-bag of canned peaches, duct tape, and a pair of decent winter gloves to replace Faith’s old pair.

They moved on by late afternoon, sun low in the sky and clouds rolling in heavy behind them.

Ellie glanced at Joel as they walked. “You ever played guitar?”

He gave her a look like she’d asked if he’d ever flown a spaceship.

“Yeah,” he said eventually. “Used to, at least. Why?”

“Saw an old shop in that town and it made me think,” she shrugged. “What’s your favourite song?”

He didn’t answer. Seemed like it got too personal.

“I haven’t got a favourite,” said Ellie, filling the silence. “I don’t really know many songs. I’d like to learn how to play a guitar, though. Hey Joel, would you teach me?”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Just wait a minute while I take out the orchestra I’ve got packed away in my backpack.”

“Funny,” she tsked her tongue, then turned to Faith. “Do you have a favourite song?”

“I don’t really like music,” she admitted. Ellie’s face showed utter and complete shock. “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t listen to much when I was a kid, that’s all. Never got used to it.”

“You’re technically still a kid, y’know?”

“Same goes for you, then.”

Ellie groaned dramatically. “Ugh. That’s not the point, Faith. The point is—how can you not like music? That’s like saying you don’t like breathing.”

Faith snorted. “I like breathing just fine, thanks. Music just… never really did it for me.”

“What about humming? You said your sister used to do that all the time,” Ellie pressed. “Or whistling? Or, like, tapping your fingers on something when you’re bored?”

Faith considered. “Okay, I’ll give you the humming. And there was this one camp I stayed at for a while—this old guy had a banjo. He played at night sometimes when there was no danger in sight. That was kinda nice.”

“Kinda nice, she says,” Ellie said, rolling her eyes. “We’re gonna fix this. We’re gonna teach you how to love music, even if it kills us. Right Joel?” he didn’t answer. Ellie just rolled her eyes again.

“Pretty sure there are more important survival priorities,” Faith deadpanned.

“Yeah,” Joel cut in dryly from ahead of them, glancing over his shoulder, “like not making noise that gets us all killed.”

Ellie raised a hand. “Okay, fine, stealth music appreciation lessons. Deal?”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “You planning to sing lullabies in whispers or something?”

Joel muttered, “Jesus christ,” but there was no heat in it. Ellie grinned triumphantly, like she’d won something.

“I’m gonna find you a song,” Ellie declared. “One day, I’m gonna hear something and think, ‘That’s Faith’s song.’ And when I do, you have to listen to it.”

“Deal,” Faith said with a smirk. “As long as you promise not to pick something with a tuba solo.”

Ellie looked mock-offended. “Now you’ve insulted the tuba. The most majestic of all instruments.”

“You can’t really mean that.”

“Dude, the tuba is superior.”

“It’s horrible. It’s like listening to a walrus choke on a traffic cone.”

Ellie lost it—doubling over, laughing so hard she nearly fell from stumbling with her own feet.

“I’m serious!” Faith went on, grinning now. “It’s just blaring nonsense. Like the tune to being chased by a very large duck in slow motion.”

“That’s exactly why it’s great!” Ellie gasped, wiping tears from her eyes. “It’s dramatic. It’s bold. It doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks.”

“It also sounds like it’s farting into the void.”

“Art is subjective,” Ellie declared.

“Not when it sounds like the void’s farting back.”

Joel finally let out a quiet huff—barely a laugh, but enough to make Ellie elbow Faith triumphantly.

“Boom. You heard that? That was a laugh. A Joel laugh.”

“It counts if it’s audible,” Faith said.

Joel just shook his head. “It’s like travellin’ with two stray cats.”

“Rude,” said Ellie.

“Absolutely,” agreed Faith.

“I’m gonna find a tuba just to spite you now,” Ellie added, shouldering her pack.

“Great. I’ll throw it at a clicker.”

The girls ended up walking side by side next to Joel, who just kept walking silently, but Faith swore—swore—she saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

Maybe it wasn’t a big smile, just a little one.

But it was definitely there.

(…)

One morning, near the end of November, it was cold.

Not quite biting yet, but getting there. A dull frost clung to the dead leaves and crept over the fallen logs like a whisper. The trees were bare — all jagged fingers and tangled branches, reaching for a sky that hadn’t quite decided if it wanted to snow yet.

Joel moved through the underbrush with practiced quiet. Faith was already ahead.

She didn’t look back to check on him. She didn’t need to.

They’d left Ellie at the camp after a careful sweep of the surrounding area. The girl had protested, of course, but Faith gave her a no-nonsense look she was good at that ended all debates. Joel added the quiet “you’re staying” that sealed it. Ellie muttered something about fascists and pulled her blanket over her head.

Now, it was just the two of them hunting— the sound of boots on frozen leaves, the light snap of a twig here and there, and the subtle hush that always followed snowfall that hadn’t yet come.

Faith moved with that same kind of quiet control Joel recognized in himself. Nothing wasted — not a step, not a glance. She was lighter on her feet than he was, but her knife was always in easy reach, and her eyes tracked the woods like they’d been carved into them.

Joel didn’t teach her how to hunt. She didn’t need it.

If anything, they just… adjusted. Fell into pace.

At one point, she paused near a set of faint tracks. Bent low, brushed her fingers over the ground. Rabbit, maybe. Small, fresh enough. She looked back and gave Joel a nod, the kind that said we’re moving this way, and he followed without question.

They walked for maybe half a mile in silence. Joel adjusted his grip on the rifle slung across his back. Faith crouched near a fallen log, scanning the underbrush. He crouched next to her, scanning the treeline. There was a faint rustling in the distance — not wind. Something small.

Faith stilled. Waited.

Then moved, just a few paces to the left, crouching low behind the thicket. Joel circled right, flanking whatever it was with a quiet surety that didn’t need planning anymore. They moved like two parts of the same clockwork.

A flicker of brown — rabbit.

Joel raised the rifle, but before he could steady the shot, Faith flicked her wrist. A knife. Fast and precise.

The rabbit dropped without a sound.

Joel stood slowly, nodding.

“Clean.”

She shrugged, retrieving the blade and the kill. “Thanks.”

Joel watched her for a moment as she wiped the knife clean on her jeans. Not cold, not cruel — just efficient. Focused.

“You always that quick with it?” he asked, only half-teasing.

“Depends,” she said. “Animals don’t give you second chances. Neither do people.”

Joel nodded. “You’re not wrong.” He wondered what kind of people she had encountered for her to say that. He didn’t dare to ask.

Later, they paused at a small ridge overlooking a frozen creek. They sat without speaking, sharing a half-broken thermos of lukewarm tea Faith had brewed with pine needles and some berries. Tasted like earth and bitterness.

“You think she’s alright?” Faith asked finally.

“She’s better than alright,” Joel replied. “She’s pissed we left her behind. That’s a good sign.”

He smiled, just barely.

Faith added, “She’s at this dumb age where you don’t like being treated like a kid anymore.”

“Yeah,” Joel said quietly. “I know.”

“I’ve been through it. It gets better, don’t worry.”

“You’re still a kid yourself,” he reminded her. He had noticed how easy it was for her to forget how young she really was. In his eyes, she was basically the same as Ellie: a kid. Maybe an older kid, but still, a kid.

“I’m basically a grown up,” she said, and he had to snort. She shoved him on the shoulder, a smile appearing on her face too. “Don’t laugh! It’s true!”

“Sure,” he shook his head, still laughing softly. “Next thing after this you’ll be payin’ taxes and workin’ nine to five.”

“I don’t really know what taxes are or how they work but there is nothing like that in the apocalypse, so I’m safe,” she joked, finishing her tea.

They made their way back slowly, moving through the trees still on the lookout for another potential rabbit or squirrel they could catch. The air was sharp, but the early afternoon light bled with a light hue now between bare branches, warming the forest in patches. Joel walked a few paces ahead, rifle slung in his hands, every so often casting a glance back to make sure Faith was keeping up.

She was. She always did.

“Your jacket’s open again,” he muttered without turning fully.

Faith rolled her eyes but zipped it up without protest. “You sound like a grandpa.”

Joel gave a low grunt that might’ve been a laugh. “You sound like someone who nearly coughed up a lung for a week and still thinks she’s invincible.”

Faith shrugged, adjusting the strap of her pack. “Yeah, well… someone had to keep things interesting,” she said. “I was fine, I’ve had worse.”

“For two nights you were half-delirious and called me ‘old man’ five times in less than ten minutes.”

“… Only five?”

Joel snorted quietly. “Smartass.”

He stopped near a fallen log and crouched low, motioning for her to do the same. She joined him silently, scanning the tree line. Nothing yet. Just a couple of squirrel tracks and the brittle skeleton of a deer print, maybe days old.

After a while, Faith asked, “Did you ever go to the movies?”

Joel blinked at the question, then turned to look at her. “What?”

“Before the outbreak,” she said. “Like, did you go to a theatre? Buy popcorn, that kinda thing.”

He scratched his jaw, voice low. “Yeah. Not all the time, but… yeah. Sometimes.”

“What was it like?” she’d been to an old theatre, once. She couldn’t imagine how it had been like back when everything was still all right in the world, though.

He thought for a long moment. “Dark. Loud. Smelled like butter and... plastic. People talked too much. But when it was good… it was good. Felt like stepping into a whole different world.”

Faith rested her chin on her arms. “I think I’d like that.”

Joel studied her profile — a small scar near her temple, the way her eyes stayed fixed on the trees even as she talked. “You ever seen a movie?”

“Nah. Well, maybe… Back at the QZ. Power was spotty. I was eight tops, so… I don’t even remember much. It was something dumb, probably.” She hesitated, then added, “Weird to think there were places full of people just... watching stories.”

He nodded slowly. “Museums were like that too. Quiet. Still. Bunch of old stuff behind glass, but people came anyway. Guess we all liked to remember things. Or pretend we could hold onto ‘em.”

Faith was quiet for a beat, then smirked. “You a museum guy, Miller?”

He gave her a sidelong look. He remembered all the school trips he went to with Sarah’s class when she was younger, the mornings without enough coffee that seemed to stretch impossibly long as a museum guide explained how fossils were discovered to kids who were still half asleep. Sarah was usually interested, though. She always asked a lot of questions. Sometimes too many. But she’d turn back to him with bright eyes muttering something like ‘that is so cool!’ and he’d smile back at her as if he also thought that what they were listening to was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Not much,” he muttered. “Saw a couple growing up. Always figured they were more for city folks. But I liked some of‘em.”

“What were they about? The ones you liked?”

“Don’t know, uh… There was one in Austin that had dinosaur bones. Whole damn skeletons.”

“That sounds like the coolest thing in the world.”

Joel’s mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile, but close. “Think you would’ve liked it?”

“Yeah. Quiet things like Museums, but also stuff like sitting down to watch a movie. Just something… calm, you know?” she shrugged. “That’s my thing.”

“You like the woods more, though.”

“True,” she said. “But there’s no dinosaur bones in the woods.”

Joel chuckled under his breath. “Guess not,” he shrugged now too. “But who knows? Maybe we’re walkin’ over a whole goddam T-Rex skeleton and we have no idea.”

Faith lingered on that idea for a long time as they made their way back to camp.

After a while, she began asking questions again. Not the way Ellie did… Or maybe exactly like Ellie did, but that she never really had. Just genuine wonder about things she’d never had a chance to talk about with anyone, or at least, hadn’t had the chance to in a long time, “What’s the worst job you ever had?”

Joel raised an eyebrow. “Besides surviving the apocalypse?”

She gave a small smile. “Besides that.”

He thought for a second. “Worked at a coffee shop for two months once. Thought it’d be easy money. Burned myself with the espresso machine twice and got yelled at by old ladies every morning.”

Faith laughed — really laughed. “Oh my god, I can’t even picture that.”

“Believe me, neither can I.”

She grinned. “That’s it. You’re officially more interesting than I thought.”

He gave her a sideways glance. “Gee, thanks.”

They fell into silence again, this time smiling just a little. The wind was picking up, and the clouds looked heavier. They returned to camp with the rabbit for lunch, finding Ellie sitting up in her blanket nest, pretending not to have been worried.

“You took forever,” she said.

Joel tossed the rabbit onto the tarp near the fire pit. “Next time, you do it.”

Ellie grinned. “Maybe I will.”

Faith gave her a pat on the head as she passed. “Sure thing, Hawthorn Berry.”

Ellie groaned. “That nickname is lame,” she complained. “Please change it?”

“Nope.”

Joel smirked, just faintly. Faith caught it. Didn’t call it out. Just let the warmth of it sink into the bones of the cold morning.

(…)

It started snowing during the first week of December. Not the light dusting they’d seen in occasionally throughout November — real snow now, thick and heavy, blanketing the trees and softening the world around them. Their campfire hissed whenever a flake drifted too low. Everything smelled like smoke and pine.

Faith crouched beside a half-frozen stump, Ellie opposite her, both of them gloved and bundled in too many layers, breath clouding between them.

“Grip’s too tight,” Faith said, tapping Ellie’s hand with her own. “You’ll tire out fast and your aim’ll suck.”

Ellie rolled her eyes but adjusted her fingers on the knife’s handle. “Like this?”

“Better. Here—” Faith leaned over, adjusting Ellie’s elbow. “You wanna feel where the knife wants to go. Not force it.”

“I’m not sure it has feelings.”

“Shut up,” Faith said, smirking. “You’ll get it.”

They practiced until the sky darkened, long after their fingers had gone stiff with cold and their laughter had chased off any small game still lurking nearby. Eventually, they retreated to the fire, huddled in their thick coats, sharing dry rations and a few muttered complaints about how cold their toes were.

Later that night, after the fire had burned low, Ellie curled up beside Faith, head in her lap, eyes barely open.

“You awake?” Faith asked quietly, glancing down.

“Barely,” Ellie mumbled. “Your lap’s bony.”

“Sorry I don’t come with extra padding.”

Ellie smirked, eyes closed.

The stars were bright that night — clearer than they’d been in weeks. The clouds had scattered and the snow had stopped, leaving the forest in stillness.

Faith looked up. “That one there—see it?”

Ellie cracked one eye open, followed her finger. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”

“Orion,” Faith said. “The hunter. You can see his belt, those three stars in a line.”

“Huh,” she took a few seconds, but eventually identified it. “I see it!”

“The one close to it, that's Canis Major. The dog. Pretty sure that’s Gemini too, those tiny ones. They’re the twins.”

“You know a lot about stars.”

“I used to look up a lot. Nothing else to do when you're hiding out in the woods. My dad taught me.”

Ellie didn’t say anything, just tucked in closer, hand clutching at the hem of Faith’s jacket. Faith never talked about her dad. There was the occasional comment about her mom, and even about her sister, but never about her dad.

Faith noticed how Ellie’s forehead was a little too warm, and that she had also been sniffling earlier, but Ellie had brushed it off.

Faith didn’t.

When Joel came back from his last sweep — silent as ever — he caught sight of the two of them. Ellie half-asleep, curled against Faith, who was tracing constellations in the air with quiet focus. He paused near the treeline, watching for a beat longer than usual. Then gave a soft exhale, nearly a sigh, and turned toward the fire.

Later, when Ellie started shivering in her sleep, Joel wordlessly tossed her his scarf. Faith bundled it tighter around her and rubbed her back until she settled again.

“You think she’s getting sick?” Joel murmured, sitting beside Faith now.

“She’s running hot. Probably,” Faith said. “She said she’s fine.”

Joel’s expression didn’t change. He just threw another log on the fire. “She would.”

The next day, Ellie had a slight fever and a stubborn refusal to admit it. Joel didn’t say anything, but he kept close. Checked the temperature of her canteen before handing it to her. Made sure the fire stayed burning all through the night.

Faith brewed the same pine-needle tea he’d made her drink when she was sick. Ellie said it tasted like boiled foot.

They still made her drink the whole thing. And they made sure she rested. Took the weight of the day off her shoulders until the worst of it passed.

They didn’t talk about it. Just… handled it. Together.

And when Ellie’s fever finally broke two days later, fortunately quicker than Faith’s back in that old shed at the abandoned gas station weeks ago, both Joel and Faith had it a bit easier to breathe again.

(…)

Finally, they reached Wyoming.

Turns out they’d been there for a while already. The lack of signs in the woods had made it difficult to realize when they’d crossed over, and they’d just kept walking west until they finally found a sign.

But they were here.

Fucking finally.

“Finally,” Ellie muttered, dragging her feet through the frost-packed grass. “You should carry me. It’s only fair.”

Joel grunted. “No chance.”

They’d skirted the edge of Cody earlier that morning.

“Why Cody?” asked Ellie, as they stopped by the sign that announced they’d reach the outskirts of the city.

Joel’s breath hitched as he answered. “Tommy,” he said. “His latest radio signal came from the area.”

Faith scoped the city first — scouted the outskirts from the hills, then came down pale and short on breath.

“Infected,” she’d said. “A lot.”

“How many?” Joel asked.

She didn’t answer right away. “Too many for us,” He nodded, not moving yet. Faith and Ellie shared a look, “It seems like it’s been like this for a long time. Your brother is probably somewhere safe, away from the city.”

“Yeah… I hope so.”

“We should better not get too close to town, though. Better draw a wide perimeter around it in case smaller groups are lurking through the outskirts.”

And that it. Joel trusted her judgment by now, especially when it came to risk. They all did.

So they went around.

The terrain got rougher as the day dragged on, the wind colder. When they stopped to check the map, Joel and Faith stood hunched over it while Ellie sat nearby, chewing on the last of their dried venison.

“We can’t go that way,” Faith said, tapping the creased paper. “That ridge is steep and exposed. If there’s anyone watching—infected or people—we’re sitting ducks.”

Joel’s jaw tightened. “We can’t go this way either. There’s no shelter. Nowhere to stop between here and the river crossing. If the weather turns—”

“We don’t have the gear for a long detour,” she argued. “This is the best call.”

“I said no.”

Faith huffed, stepping back. “You’ve got to stop thinking stubborn equals smart.”

“And you’ve gotta stop thinkin’ arguing means you’re right,” Joel shot back. “We’re not gambling on safety.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, the wind whipping Faith’s hair across her face. Neither moved. Neither blinked.

Ellie stood and stretched, groaning. “I swear to god, it’s like watching divorced parents fight over directions.”

Faith snorted. Joel muttered something under his breath. Then, finally, he jabbed a different part of the map.

“There,” he said. “Compromise. We cut across here. Get back to the tree line. Slower, but safer.”

Faith considered it. Then gave a single nod.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

They camped that night in silence, but it wasn’t angry. Just tired.

Three days later, they found the cabin.

It was tucked between the trees, low and half-covered in snow, looking abandoned until they got close and spotted smoke rising from a metal chimney pipe. Faith reached for her gun automatically, and Joel already had his rifle in hand. They approached with caution — slow, deliberate steps.

Joel raised two fingers to Faith and nodded toward the front. She moved first, circling left, stepping around brittle branches half-buried in snow. Ellie followed close behind Joel, boots crunching softly on the frozen ground.

The cabin had a small path going to one of the doors. Someone had shovelled part of it recently. There were fresh boot prints in the snow close by, wide and shallow. A man’s maybe. Joel signalled again. They crept up onto the porch.

Faith tested the door. Unlocked.

She looked back at Joel. He gave a curt nod. She pushed it open.

The smell hit them first — not rot or mold like they feared, but woodsmoke, old leather, and something warm. A fireplace crackled low in the corner of a surprisingly well-kept sitting room. Knitted blankets were folded neatly on a faded green couch. Books stacked in uneven piles. The room was dim, but not neglected.

Joel stepped in first, rifle lowered but ready. Faith followed. Ellie waited outside.

The sound of a rocking chair greeted them as they made their way in. There was a woman sitting on it, who looked up at them when they stepped foot inside.

She was an older woman — fat, gray-haired, and bundled in several layers of wool —knitting something dark blue, and her hands never stopped moving, even as her eyes flicked up to meet Joel’s.

The silence held like breath.

“Well,” the woman said, calm as could be. “If you’re infected, you’re doing a hell of a job hidin’ it.”

Joel didn’t lower the rifle.

“We’re not infected,” Faith said, stepping out from behind him.

“Good to know,” the woman replied.

“We’re not here to rob you either,” Joel added finally, lowering the gun but not slinging it away.

The woman’s eyes flicked to each of them — sizing them up with no fear, just an easy steadiness. “You’d be dumb to try.”

They heard Ellie calling for them from outside:

“Can I come in? It’s fucking freezin’ out here!”

She stepped foot inside before either of them replied.

“We told you to wait outside,” snarled Joel, still with his rifle in hand.

Ellie shrugged, standing next to Faith now. “If there had been any danger there would’ve been a gunshot already. Nice house, by the way.” she looked at the woman, who smiled sweetly. She looked like someone’s grandma. Not anyone specific, just… What a grandma would look like.

The woman gave Ellie a look that said she liked her already.

“Mind shutting the door?” she added, casually. “Heat doesn’t keep itself in.”

Ellie turned and kicked the door shut with her heel. “There. Happy?”

“You’re letting your gun-hand freeze off,” Faith muttered as she passed her, seeing she had taken off her mittens. “Real smart.”

“Oh please, you were practically cuddling your rifle earlier like it was a cat.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You were. It was kind of cute, in a feral raccoon sort of way.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “At least I don’t snore like a dying moose when I sleep.”

“Okay,” Joel cut in, voice sharp but not angry. Just tired. “Both of you — enough.”

Ellie opened her mouth to retort, then seemed to think better of it. Faith fell silent too, her rifle still in her hands. The woman raised her eyebrows at the display.

“They always like this?” she asked Joel, clearly amused. She was moving again, making the rocking chair squeak rhythmically.

 “Only every damn day.”

Then she nodded toward Faith and Ellie. “Are they yours?”

In unison, all three of them answered:

“No.”

“God, no.”

“Hell no.”

That made the old woman laugh. A full belly-laugh, surprisingly strong, like a fire catching. “You all bicker like family. That’s something.”

Joel gave a faint grunt and took a folded, weather-stained map from his coat pocket. He stepped toward her, carefully, holding it out like a peace offering.

“We’re just passing by,” he said. “Trying to find my brother. Show us where we are on the map.”

She set her knitting down across her lap and took the map without hesitation, unfolding it on the small table beside her. Her fingers were quick despite their age.

“Name’s Florence,” she said, not looking up. “My husband’s out checking traps. He’ll be back soon — unless he decides to follow rabbit tracks into the next damn county again.”

She tapped a spot on the map.

“You’re here,” she said. “Cody’s up north. Don’t go there. It’s crawling.”

“Yeah,” Joel muttered. “We saw.”

“Your brother, he out this way?”

Joel nodded once, leaving the map on the table. Florence let them put their bags next to the door, and soon after Faith and Ellie had stepped closer to the fire, both quiet now, watching the dance of flames with pink-tipped noses.

“You want soup?” Florence asked, standing up and stretching her back with a groan. Joel was sitting across from her, watching her stand up. She was a small round woman. She also seemed very kind. “Got elk bone and wild onion. Might still be enough to make more.”

Ellie perked up. “God, yes.”

Faith looked at Joel for a cue, and when he gave a slight shrug, she nodded too.

“You girls help me,” Florence said, gesturing at the two. “Chop vegetables, haul water…”

They followed her to her kitchen awkwardly, leaving their weapons with Joel, who watched the two girls suddenly go stiff as a stick, not knowing how to act.

Florence’s kitchen was small but well-used, with a narrow window fogged from the cold outside. Bundles of dried herbs hung from the rafters, and a large iron pot sat waiting atop a cast-iron stove. Ellie looked at it like it was a museum exhibit. Faith eyed the knives immediately.

“You know how to chop an onion?” Florence asked, pulling out a wooden crate of root vegetables from beneath a bench.

“Better than she does,” Faith said, taking one without hesitation.

“Oh yeah?” Ellie grabbed a smaller blade. “We’ll see about that.”

Florence chuckled softly, moving with quiet efficiency. “You keep talking like that, I’m putting you both on dish duty.”

That shut them up — for three seconds.

“Do we get dessert if we do it right?” Ellie asked, elbow-deep now in a bowl of scrubbed potatoes.

Florence smirked. “Only if you don’t burn my house down.”

Faith peeled carrots with practiced speed. She didn’t ask what Florence meant by “wild onion” or where the elk bones had come from. She knew better. But she did pause long enough to glance around the kitchen.

“This place is really… nice,” she said. “Homey.”

Florence’s eyes flicked to her for a moment. “Took a while to make it that way again. You make things livable with time. And stubbornness.”

Faith smiled faintly. “Yeah. I get that.”

Half an hour later, the girls emerged carrying mismatched bowls that smelled like heaven — steam rising from rich, golden broth with bits of meat, carrot, and something green floating in it. Joel was still sitting near the fire, tending to his rifle with his usual frown.

Ellie plopped down first, handing him one of the bowls. “Don’t say I never do anything for you.”

“Thanks,” he muttered, accepting it like he hadn’t just been starving.

Faith settled beside him on the floor, letting the heat of the flames soak into her spine. She had her own bowl of soup and handed Ellie hers when she sat down next to her. Joel eyed them suspiciously.

“You two cook this?”

“We more like… supervised,” Faith replied, deadpan.

“I stirred the pot,” Ellie added proudly.

“Once,” Faith said.

“But I stirred, didn’t I?”

Joel raised a hand before they could launch into another spat. “Enough.”

They all ate in silence for a few minutes — the kind of silence that didn’t feel heavy anymore. Florence reentered a moment later, drying her hands on a dishrag, and smiled at the little scene by the hearth.

She tilted her head and asked Joel, “So, what are your names?”

He glanced up, cautious. “I’m Joel. That one’s Ellie. This is Faith.”

Florence nodded, looking over them. “Sweet girls. Little mouthy, but sweet.”

“Hey!” Ellie squawked.

“Not untrue,” Faith mumbled around her spoon.

Florence ignored them, fixing Joel with a look that pierced right through him. “You’ve done well with them.”

Joel cleared his throat. “They’re not mine.” he repeated, once again.

“I know,” the woman smiled. “You want more soup? It’s still warm.”

Joel glanced over at the girls. Faith was already scraping the bottom of her bowl with a spoon, trying to get every last drop. Ellie had hers tipped almost vertical.

“They’ve been sick,” Joel said, voice low but honest. “Fever. Cough. They’ll take more soup if you’ve got it.”

Faith looked up quickly. “We don’t wanna take your food or anything—”

“But also it’s really, really good,” Ellie added without missing a beat.

Florence huffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I got more elk in my freezer than I know what to do with. You want seconds, you’re gettin’ seconds.”

Faith hesitated just long enough to look polite. “Only if you’re sure.”

Florence waved a hand at them like she was batting away flies. “Child, you’re skin and bones. And she”—she gestured to Ellie—“looks like she’s about to take a bite out of the bowl.”

Ellie didn’t deny it.

Florence chuckled. “Sit tight. I’ll bring it over.”

She turned back to the kitchen, muttering something about ‘starving little critters’ and Joel leaned back against his seat, watching them both.

“Don’t gulp it this time,” he said gruffly. He had finished his own with the same hunger, though. “You’ll get a stomach ache.”

“Yes, sir,” Ellie grinned, nudging Faith.

Joel gave her a look. Faith smirked behind her spoon.

Florence returned with three more steaming bowls and handed them off without ceremony. “Eat slow. Warm up.”

Joel accepted the refill for himself with a nod. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Florence sat back down in her rocking chair, knitting once more like they weren’t strangers, like this wasn’t the end of the world.

Outside, the snow was still falling. Inside, their little circle by the fire stayed warm. Faith rested her head against the edge of the couch without quite realizing it. Ellie was curled with her knees up, both hands around her bowl. Joel sat between them.

Tommy was close. He could feel it. Maybe it was just hope mixed with desperation, but it was still a strong feeling inside his chest he couldn’t let go of. He was somewhere out there. He knew it.

He glanced down at the girls, though, and something else settled in his chest watching them eat by the fire next to each other on the floor, for once not on a cold hard rock but on a soft warm rug. They could use some rest. At least for a short while.

Florence’s husband would be coming back soon. Until then, he thought… he’d let them rest.

Next Chapter

Taglist: Taglist: @kitdjarin1@christinamadsen@abtjudex@hongjoong-titties @cokoladasljesnjakom

[beneathsilverstars]

How about chore distribution if they were in a Roommate situation? Assuming everyone had a private space

Obviously Bonnie cooks! Prep cook is Odile for breakfast because she wakes up early, Isabeau or Mirabelle for lunch, and Siffrin for dinner because he's more of an evening person. Dish washer is Isabeau for breakfast bc he's energetic in the mornings, Siffrin for lunch, and Mirabelle or Odile for dinner. (But if anyone is out and about at their assigned time, someone else will happily step in.) Nille was really reluctant to let Bonnie be in charge of most meals because kids shouldn't have to do that, but she was won over by how much Bonnie enjoys it, so she only takes over as head chef when they ask her to. Otherwise, Nille does all of the grocery shopping, because it stresses her out to not know what food is in the house and how much it cost.

Odile likes having her own space just so, so she mostly just takes care of her own room and bathroom and cleans up after herself, and sweeps the floors so nothing gets tracked around. Sometimes Siffrin helps her, though, because he likes to quietly complete tasks with his family. But only Siffrin no one else is allowed to. :|

Siffrin, Isabeau, and Mirabelle share laundry; Isabeau usually washes it (3 people's is nothing compared to like 8+) (and he knows how to treat various fabrics and has strong laundry-hefting arms) and they all fold and put away together. Nille does hers and Bonnie's — unless Isabeau gets to it first. Nille keeps trying to get him back by doing his but he's always one step ahead. :/

Mirabelle cleans the bathrooms (except Odile's) because she thinks washing and scrubbing is super satisfying. Nille and Bonnie clean the kitchen because they're in charge of it anyway. Siffrin does the yardwork because they like methodical repetitive tasks, and being outside, and watching things grow. Everyone takes turns helping with the small garden, though!

People try to tidy up after themselves for the most part, but everyone has their own things they're more particular about and tend to fix if they notice it's been left messy: Mirabelle makes people's beds if she's hanging out in their room (perfectionist parents), Nille likes the shoes to all be lined up neatly by the door (paranoid about losing them), Isabeau brings people's stray belongings back to their rooms (siblings who sometimes borrowed/lost/broke items left in communal spaces), Odile brings stray dishes back to the kitchen (depressed dad). Bonnie is immune to this effect because they're young enough that they have to be coaxed into cleaning up even just their own stuff, and Siffrin is immune to this effect because they don't have any pre-existing house-living habits.

And, once a season everyone pitches in for a big deep-cleaning weekend!

(Loop is kinda in and out, and physically exempt from some human functions, so they don't have official chores. But they like helping Nille with the shopping/kitchen, and they usually let Isabeau wash their clothes, and they sometimes take on home improvement projects.)

[crystalas]

Dad Alliance: flying high

Solar had only meant to be gone for a minute to get something before the Play Date could begin, the plan was to paint and decorate the door plates and food bowls that the children had made at the last visit to Eclipse’s dimension.

He was supposed to just grab some glitter glue from the gift shop but he was then held up by some calls from parts and service; apparently a mop bot had taken the phrase ‘wash your mouth out with soap’ a little too literally. After ten minutes of walking the humans through some of his upgraded programmes he may or may not have added out of sheer boredom he then walked back into the daycare…

The only one in there was Jack who sat in the middle the ball pit island looking up forlornly, Solar followed Jack’s line of sight upwards and gave an audible gasp of horror.

Floating above the ball pit was the rest of the children, Jake was sitting upside down on the bottom half of the tower’s stage while Andy and Charlie helped Dazzle fly by holding her hands, Andrew was floating a little off a playset watching this all unfold.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Solar shouted; they all turn to look at him.

“Join us Solar…we aaaaalll float here” Andrew called with a creepy grin.

“How are you even doing that?!”

“We’re ghost kids and Charlie is magic not that hard of a leapt of logic, surprised we could still do this with bodies though” Andrew stated as he put himself on a reclining seating position as if he was sitting on a beach chair.

“I try to not question this sort of stuff” Andy said as Dazzle giggled while doing a barrel roll towards Solar.

“Look Uncle Solar I’m like Wendy from Peter Pan!”

“Please come down if Sun sees you up there, he’ll blue screen for sure!” Solar begged reaching up for her but she just floating out of his grasp.

“But this is fun” she whined.

“Come on Solar think about it, this is good practise for us. What better way to escape bad guys than just flying away?” Charlie explained flying down to him “We decided to try it here cos you have nets and everything is padded up and if we do fall it’ll be in the ball pit”

Solar really wished he had a counter argument to that but couldn’t think of one that would convince them, so he gave a heavy sigh.

“Fine but you can only fly in here and only when an adult is present agreed?” he decreed and the children nodded in agreement before floating off to see who could fly the fastest round the daycare. Solar looked down at Jack who gave an unhappy sigh as he watched from below.

“I miss my wingies” he mumbled.

Solar gave him a sadden look, when the Creator kidnapped Jack he had somehow disabled Jack’s ability to transform. He had told Jack that his main form was enough for his duties but Solar would bet his tool box that it was because the Creator did not want to risk Jack stumbling across a form that was immune to dark Star power.

Solar walked back to the security desk and inputted a few commands and a cable whirred to life and scrolled down next to Jack, he prodded it a bit and then looked back at Solar.

“Moon used to be able to fly too you know?” Solar said as he connected the hook to Jack’s back and the USB cable to a port so Jack could control the wire, “It’s not magic or wings but it should be enough”

“THANKS DAD!” Jack shouted and leapt into the air doing the same swimming swinging motion moon once did, the children giggled as he approached and Dazzle held his hands as they started to fly about pretending to be the Lost Boys looking for treasure and then played follow the leader and act like they were all in a rollercoaster complete with loop-de-loops and drops.

Solar could not help but noticed that as the hours went by, they were getting better, before the ghost kids were slowly floating like unsteady balloons now, they were angling their bodies and dipping and swerving with some amount of success. They were by no means hawks or fighter jets level of fast or skill but they were improving. Solar was making notes on how to introduce obstacles or to practise fast take off as Charlie had stated this would be a good way for them to avoid dangers. Hard for this mimic guy to harm them if they shot off like rockets.

Sun walked with in with a tray of snacks, he placed them on the security desk before looking around the Daycare.

“Where are the kids? In the playsets?” he asked, Solar did not answer just pointed up. Sun did indeed look up to see Dazzle floating above him giggling.

“Hi daddy!” she beamed.

Sun fainted.

A.N I have noticed that Jack has not used his transformations since he has returned, this is me just filling in the blanks.

[ashswordsman859]

the effects of the gases used by the bigger bodied smiling critters

Bobby bear hug: rose helps with stress, seizers, aging, and diabetes. (Nurse?)

Hoppy hopscotch: peppermint helps with pain management, digestive issues, common cold, sinus infection, and headaches. (Child care?)

Kicken chicken: ylang ylang is good for anxiety, depression,mood enhancement, and cognitive function. (Councilor?)

Craftycorn: jasmine is useful for immune support, blood circulation, optimizing hormone levels and relieving stress. (Nurse?)

Picky piggy: citrus is useful for heart health, help maintain cell health in brain tissue, prevents heart disease, kidney stones, brain dysfunction, and emotional regulation. (Food?)

Bubba bubbaphant: lemon grass helps with menstrual issues, improve digestion, nausea, headaches, muscle cramps, spasms, rheumatism (joint pain), high cholesterol, anti-inflammatory, bloating, and boosting red blood cell counts. (Child care for kids with chronic issues?)

Dogday: vanilla as said before helps relax and calm people by reducing anxiety and calms the nerves but also helps with fevers, spasms,blood clotting, although from what I found large amounts can lead to sleep issues but I don't know how accurate that is so take that with a grain of salt. (Kid care?)

Catnap: poppy flower as known does cause a fatigue affect but also has traces of opioids, along with that it also analgesia (inability to feel pain.), euphoria (the laughter), respiratory depression (breath shallow leading to build up of carbon dioxide in the blood.), decreased gastrointestinal mobility (digestive problems resulted when nerves or muscles in the gut do not work in a coordinated way.), and physical & psychological dependency.

eat your heart out au makers!

[homestuckreplay]

Act 3 Reread :3

Nanna's note in the Sassacre book makes a lot more sense for the most part, now we've seen the book's journey. 'together [the kids] will Ascend' (p.759) is still up in the air - ascend to where?? ascension through the gates to Skaia has kinda gone out of the window?

the leftmost button on WV's appearifier must set the coordinates to Jade's island on 4/13/2009

Jade's magic 8 ball telling her it's 'not exactly' John's birthday is accurate. It's the anniversary of the day he came to Earth on a meteor, so it's the day he celebrates, but he was never 'born', and he was created outside of Earth time.

Jade's Lunchtop has a SICK ASS DRAGON WALLPAPER!!!! I think Homestuck could be improved by having more dragons

Dave telling Jade to 'take that fucking devilbeast out behind the woodshed and blow its head off' (p.835) is so funny in hindsight. Bec literally eats bullets for breakfast. He can send lightning 413 years into the future and across worlds to protect Jade. He fried a lab as a baby

Bro forces Dave to fight Cal, and Cal somehow wins. I think if I was forced to swordfight a puppet, it'd probably haunt my dreams too.

TT: I'm sure you think little of blithely upsetting dark forces with Grandpa Moreau over there on Hellmurder Island, but honestly I've only read a few books on it. GG: haha dark? thats ridiculous! (p.838)

This conversation between Rose and Jade implies that Jade's visions never showed Rose exploring dark magic, which reinforces the idea that the gods of the Furthest Ring are immune to Skaia's powers.

There being no accessible video feed of Jaspers in the two weeks between his disappearance and finding his corpse is kind of similar to Dad's room being greyed out to the Sburb interface until John goes inside. What's up with these things Skaia doesn't have access to? What would Jaspers say if asked about this?

The sequence in Dad's room still does not make any sense to me. Why would Dad keep his door locked if he was just a regular businessman. Why would he hide that from his son. At best he is complicit in trying to make John think he's a 'hilarious street performer' (p.946) but here John is blaming himself for assuming and never asking. I actually think it's a parent's job to share their own life with their kid and to present themself as a full person and it's hard to blame John for his assumptions when Dad made active attempts to hide what he does for work, if he is a regular businessman, which I still haven't seen hard evidence of.

Dad successfully beats up the extremely strong Hegemonic Brute (p.961) as does PM later. Who would win in a fight, Dad or PM? Dad does have a history of irresponsible mail behavior, separating the two Sburb envelopes that were clearly sent together.

does it mean anything that the lab near Rose's house was 'unestablished' a few seconds later than expected? Skaian countdown timers aren't infallible / can be interfered with somehow?

John learning about the graffiti on his wall is basically the only thing that's ever made him talk in all caps, so he's REALLY affected by this. Rose knowing about the graffiti all along makes her screencap caption 'It should be noted he was kind of a weird guy anyway' (p.510, 1022) hit a little different too; I'd also be surprised to see that in a friend's room.

WV and PM are definitely meeting for the first time here (p.1044) - it's confirmed now that PM and WQ were the only two exiles to meet before being exiled.

John's suit has hidden stage magic abilities and is full of cards. when is he gonna bust out some card tricks!!!!

EB: his bro is probably busy kicking his ass. EB: that's probably all there is to say on the matter. (p.1003)

TG: bro just kicked my ass TG: thats really all there is to say on the matter (p.1071-2)

I didn't notice this parallel before and now I'm wondering how many times John's received these exact texts from Dave that lets him quote them in advance.

When he sees your staggering gesture of sentimentality he will finally understand. He will understand that in the game of facetious sentimental gestures, no one gets the best of Rose Lalonde. (p.1089)

^ FALSE!! the most sentimental of gestures was John giving her that bunny in the first place!! he LOVED that bunny and he GAVE IT TO YOU AS A BABY because he saw you like a daughter because he CREATED YOU FROM SLIME!!!!

Rose is at her most convincing in her first conversation with GA - I always find it interesting to see when her mask slips, when it's obvious that her maturity and intellectualism is an act, but here the act is super effective. just a shame this wasn't their first conversation from GA's perspective

I think the exiles forget a lot of what happened to them in Sburb when they come to Earth, or at least, they wander for long enough to forget the specifics. AR definitely acts like he's discovering the frog temple for the first time (p.1108) and PM in Act 4 seems surprised to recover her own 'long discarded memory'

I hate seeing Dave with the pointy shades. Take those off

Dave's sunglasses as a screen reflecting the world is a huge recurring motif. something to analyze later?

'[S] Enter' is the coolest shit in the whole world and Sburban Jungle is such a good song I want to eat it. I still love how it's structured with the focus on Rose's entry for the first 80%, interspersed with occasional moments for the other kids, and then the sudden hard cut to John pogoing up to his first gate in the last 20%. It's so different to both '[S] WV: Ascend' and '[S] Descend' and I love how there's no standard formula for an end of act flash, they're all very distinct. EOA5 has the highest bar imaginable.

While reading serially, I enjoyed Act 3 more than Act 2 - Act 3 was excellent at adding new lore and building up the bigger picture in a way that gave almost every day an exciting development, while Act 2 was slower and involved a lot of waiting for things to happen. On this reread, I enjoyed Act 2 more than Act 3, because Act 2 had fewer plot threads and more obvious transitions between them, making it easier to follow all at once, while Act 3 is a little all over the place - its individual elements are incredible, but they don't hang together so well.

Bonus Act 3 review from my girlfriend who has not read it: "the page? Where you can hit keys and make sounds seemed cool"

[asher-agere]

Eewk.. ;p bwabble again bwut, lil akitwo adn bwig brthr cg mawfu!! (Dwoll hc mafu as ftm :3,, thiz iz tots not a rquzt for hcs >.</nf)

AKIMAFU FOR THE WIN. Come here Mafuyu-Chan

Little Akito + Caregiver Transmasc Mafuyu

────⋆ ୭ ˚.⁺⊹ .ᐟ ⋆──

⋆ Starting off with age ranges! I see Akito in the kiddo age range, around 4-6. An age range Mafuyu would be prepared to handle! Training to become a nurse means he needs to be good with kids, I wouldn’t be surprised if his school has brought him to hospitals to do volunteer work to get a feel for things. Plus I think the kid in the Darkness Festa story was around 4? It didn’t give an age but like vibes. Mafuyu ran into a hurt kid and helped patch him up! So he has canon experience with kids

✦ Akito definitely has a tendency to neglect himself and his own needs, and hey guess what? If you don’t take care of yourself you’ll get sick. Pretty frequently. So Mafuyu makes good use of his nurse training! Akito is able to be bribed into taking medicine, and while he despises the idea of resting he can be easily subdued with cartoons or movies. Mafuyu isn’t the best at making cozy at home meals due to his practically nonexistent taste buds, so a lot of the time they end up doing take out! Akito always gets super excited to pick from a kids menu since he’s not in public to be judged, and Mafuyu will place the order as “And my little brother wants-” ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

⋆ Akito throws tantrums a lot. This boy is such a brat and I won’t be convinced otherwise. Mafuyu doesn’t have much of a tolerance for tantrums though, it’s not gonna make him cave, he’s immune to the puppy dog eyes and the crocodile tears. However he encourages tantrums! With how he was raised he ended up not expressing his emotions because emotions were treated like a crime, especially the negative ones. He doesn’t want Akito going through that. Especially since Akito is already going down the split personality path. Mafuyu will praise him for expressing his emotions in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone, let him cry it out, then they’ll sort things out after

✦ Akito and Mafuyu are honestly scarily similar, and while I love the “Come here Mafuyu-Chan” joke I also kind of hate it because now people only view these two as a meme. They’re so similar! Meaning Mafuyu knows how to read Akito. Really well. Any signs of Akito neglecting himself and Mafuyu’s on it, giving him the care he needs. Forced smiles, expressions, or words can be spotted a mile away. Mafuyu will give one warning of “You don’t need to do that with me. Try again” and if Akito still try’s forcing it Mafuyu can and will put him in timeout

⋆ Mafuyu is an absolutely horrible chef, however the one meal he’s trying to learn to make is pancakes! Akito’s favorite of course! Though it’s difficult to tell if he’s actually improving because no matter what he does, taste tester little Akito always gives the same ever answer “Tastes bad. Try ‘gain” As he proceeds to eat all of them. It’s genuinely impossible to tell if the pancakes were actually bad and Akito just ate them because he won’t let pancakes go to waste, or if he just wanted more pancakes. Most of the actual flavor can be drowned under toppings though! So if Mafuyu actually makes them really bad he’ll just add extra toppings

✦ Sorry to disappoint on this one but I genuinely cannot see Mafuyu using nicknames for Akito. Like not even a shortened “Aki” or “Kito”. Most of the times he won’t even use a name at all, but when he does its just a full “Akito”. On the incredibly rare occasion Mafuyu will call him “My Boy” but that’s only if Akito is to far lost in his own mean thoughts and needs some extra reassurance that someone’s there for him, that someone actually wants him. For Mafuyu Akito tends to use means names like “Freak” “Dummy” “Bully”, but as he gets sleepy and therefore less bratty it shifts into “Fuyu”

⋆ Mafuyu had absolutely no understanding of the Shinonome sibling rivalry, she sees nothing wrong with factually comparing the two. Akito absolutely despises it. Akito can be contentedly drawing and Mafuyu just glanced over his shoulder like “You draw similarly to Ena” and Akito just whines as loudly as he can in complaint, rolling around on the ground with over dramatic retching sounds. He throws a blanket over Mafuyu’s head as punishment and just walks away, because no way is he gonna continue drawing after being told that

✦ Akito thinks that he is absolutely the best at fashion styling, and so of course he dresses up Mafuyu! Especially on days Mafuyu’s feeling yucky and dysphoric. Because hey, your clothes can’t possibly be too girly, a toddler picked them out. Plus Akito’s signature of sorts in his style is the way he layers clothes! And layering clothes can help a lot with dysphoria. So both sides are happy! Akito’s happy he gets to dress Mafuyu up in his style and Mafuyu doesn’t feel responsible for his clothing, allowing him to feel more masculine! Also just about the only way to stop Mafuyu from wearing all black

────⋆ ୭ ˚.⁺⊹ .ᐟ ⋆──

I’m not sure if anyone pays much attention to the order of things from my inbox checks but a request is being temporarily skipped- Ash was a big dumb dumb and deleted the next request kinda (╥ ω ╥) But I reached out to the one who sent it asking them to resend it! So hopefully that’ll be up soon? It’ll instantly get priority!

[DNI ID: A box that’s purple on the left and orange on the right with a dark purple border on the left and a dark orange border on the right. Mafuyu to the left and Akito to the right. Purple text reads “DNI if your blog isn’t child safe” Orange text reads “I will block NSFW accounts” End ID]

[im14andivebeen14foramonth]

do you mayhaps have any two-bit hcs?? :D (also hi i hope you’ve had a good day!!! ^^)

omg there's no way I forgot this was in my ask box for this long 😭😭 that's my bad bro (and I hope you've had a good day too :DD)

but yes ofc!! two-bit mathews you are so underrated and I love you with my whole heart mwuah

- bro sunburns SO easily, the second summer hits his face is red (darry tries to get him to put sunblock on all the time but two-bit refuses because he likes being a little shit and frustrate darry)

- two-bit definitely ate dirt growing up multiple times and now he has the immune system of a god. cold and flu season comes around and wipes out the rest of the gang and two-bits the only one left standing. he likes to play nurse for the gang tho and make them soup and shit (but ofc it's two-bit so trust that he's going to being annoying the gang the whole time)

- never refuses a tea party with his little sister. you WILL catch this man with a tiara on and cramped onto a little kids plastic chair

- practically pony and johnnys resident chauffer, he likes taking them out to get food after school

- speaking of school, two-bit is having a BLAST. he's standing outside ponys classroom door making faces and trying to get pony to laugh, and sometimes he tries to get pony sent out into the hall or smthn cuz hes bored and wants someone to hang out with

- and when him and dally (let's pretend dally cares enough to go to school) are together it is a NIGHTMARE. theyre definitely sitting in the back of the class fucking around the whole time, theyre picking each other for every single project and then two-bit tries to improv it when it's time to present bc they didn't actually do it, he's lurking outside of the school outside dallys classroom window and making him laugh and hiding in the bushes whenever the teacher looks over

- he's also a master of sneaking out of school, and he does try to sneak all of his friends out the (first story) windows of their classes

- absolutely raiding the school vending machine, he's getting a shit ton of snacks and then pushing and tipping the machine until more come out. if you're behind him in line at a vending machine just walk away bc there will not be a crumb left when he's done

- he's also the kid having an entire feast in the back of class. he got sent to the principal one time for pulling out a rotisserie chicken and going ham on it mid lesson

- his hair is fluffyyyy under all that grease

- the type to show up to his partners house in the middle of the night and throw pebbles at their window until they open it (for marbit, marcia thinks it's cute. for darbit, darrys ready to rip two-bits head off because "the door is literally always unlocked two-bit and my room is on the first floor anyway, I stg if you break my goddamn window-")

- he makes absolutely diabolic food combinations

- "hey do you guys dare me to do *insert something really fucking stupid* "no, two-bit. please do not do that." "welp since you dared me I guess I gotta!"

- he's silly and an obnoxious joker but he can actually be super mature, and he will enter responsible big brother mode in a heart beat (like how he offered to stay with pony the day after the fire and how he checked ponys forehead when he looked sick)

- he loves the arcade and he's a god at ski ball, though it doesn't matter because he's stealing ever single ticket he sees anyway

- on a similar note BEWARE of this man if you do bumper carts with him. he's on a mission to wreck everyone's shit and the gang all start trying to get the hell out of there when they hear his evil laugh getting closer and closer

- absolutely amazing at character voice impressions, specifically mickey, donald and goofy. he always does impressions to try and cheer up sad pony

-very enthusiastic nacho enjoyer

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Spy x Family S2

Awww, I like that Bond Forger the Dog also gets an intro about HIS secret identity. Equal opportunity deceit

Are we finally going to learn who exactly Yor is fighting? I would like to know!

Been there Anya, I also had little patience for watching the news as as a kid. Though, it seems more important in a pre-internet era

"Okay, you can change the channel." Loid Forger, International Spy, defeated by one (1) sad look from his little daughter

"I absolutely cannot tell him that I got shot in the butt while fighting a group of armed men." 10/10 episode plot, I cannot wait

"I've been relying on her too much without realizing it, and it's upset her. Yes, that must be it! I must do everything in my power to remedy this at once!" Loid immediately blaming Yor's mood on himself and deciding he has to be respond by being a better husband!!! I will keep saying it. He is THE Husband. World's Most Husband

"Why don't we go on a date?" HEE HEE

Puzzling that Yor thinks she hasn't been on a date though, when I can think of at least three dates so far (party-grenade-proposal date, lunch date, and drinks-and-reassurance date)

"I can't leave Anya alone at home, and this is a very important mission to ensure that we remain one happy family." It seems Loid has learned from the spy transmission debacle

"Last night, I came up with 862 date plans to ensure that Yor has fun." He's insane. I want to give him a leetle kiss

HAHAHAHA Franky being absolutely thrilled to bother Loid and Yor on their date. What a friendship 💕

Intriguing that Anya's telepathy has a distance limit. Tell me more!

Honestly, Yor having to position herself in a specific way to avoid pain is relatable. We love a chronic pain queen

"This woman had built up an immunity to poisons." HAHAHAHAHA the poison fixing Yor's pain. Sometimes, drinking does solve your problems!

LMAOOOO them censoring the bomb components. A real "don't try this at home" moment

NOT THE BABY MAKING THE BOMB. ANYA PLEASE

"I'm going to forget all this and live a normal life." Perfect. Forgers reforming their enemies left and right

"If it's not too much trouble, please invite me out again sometime." Never let being married stand in the way of your husband becoming your boyfriend 🥰

SCREAM at Bond's perception of what Loid does for work. I guess he's closer to the truth than most:

"Are you trying to do this for your... no. Are you trying to get revenge for your friends who were experimented on?" HAHAHA is Loid blushing because he wants to call himself his dog's dad?

FBKFJHFFHKJHF Loid taking on Bond as his mission back-up. He truly can be swayed so easily

WHERE DID LOID GET A DOG-SIZED SKI MASK AHHAHAHA

I love the giant puppy spy sidekick, employ this dog ASAP

"While they're busy playing, I'm going to work hard to get to the top," said Damian Desmond, Six Years Old, for whom The Top was beating all the other little bougie first graders

"Your friendship... preciously elegant." Me whenever I finish hanging out with my friends

I love that Henderson-sensei sends the kids out on a picnic as a punishment. He really is as silly as he is strict

I don't know if this is a vegetarian thing or a cultural thing but it always seems wild to me how people in anime bite into fish, scales and all

"Did you know that the most recent studies in neuroscience suggest that your brain feels really revitalized when you're spacing out?" I like Mr. Green, Grizzled Navy Custodian, too

HAHA Damian trying his hardest to space out. Me when people tell me to practice mindfulness

"Oh, you don't [have a goal], eh? That's perfectly fine!" "Actually, I want to live my life eating lots of snacks." "Splendid! You'll have to think earnestly about how to make that possible." I take it back, I LOVE MR. GREEN

Ready to sob about this field trip actually. AHHHHHHH:

"Good evening, Mr. Vile Trash." ACAB; All Cops are (Weird) Brothers

"What's so wrong about trying to improve the country my family lives in?" Nothing but the hostile, paternalistic nationalism of a Cold War, Frank Perkin, Newspaper Sensationalist and Adult Bully of Wealthy Children

"I'll request that your father gets some financial aid to get by." I feel like that will not make up for imprisoning his son, Yuri, but whatever helps you sleep

"Blech." That's also how I feel about Weird Brother Yuri, Anya

"Revenge will only make you sadder. I'll make you forget about all that with my love." This is the plot of Naruto

Honestly, I was super sold on the Bondman Polycule when it was just him, his spy partner Agent M, and the enemy spy lady who had all linked arms together. I feel like this could work:

"How was anything he did gentlemanly?" Loid said: I'm a one-woman kind of spy

"Lord Damian, how could you possibly pick the joker there." "Shut up!' [Internally] She's so unfair... Damn it! I like to believe Loid might approve of Damian's crush purely because he is also willing to do whatever Anya wants if she makes one (1) sad face

Poor Anya. She's really most suited to using her street smarts

"Garden? The group of assassins who have been in this country for ages? They're basically urban legends, aren't they?" FINALLY we're finding out more about Yor's job!! They do in fact seem at cross purposes with the spies

[Loid already walking away] "He's such a heartless jerk." I bet you $5 he has already decided to help Franky LMAO

Update from 8 min later: Alright, I owe you $5, he didn't care

"Am I normal?! Oh, thank goodness!" said Yor excitedly, as if that were not a moderately suspicious response to being called normal

Excited for an ep with no double-barreled title. Plot progression!

I truly don't know where this falls on the spectrum of ways that anime will depict black and brown characters LMAO. Like Donovan Desmond, the Shopkeeper has an extremely haunting aura:

"You will be providing protection on this mission." Oooooh, change of pace!

"Is there actually any reason why I should continue my job as a killer?" A question every assassin should ask themselves, I think

"HQ may or may not be trying to cut back on our shady overtime practices." Incredible. I can't believe even the underground spy agency has PTO. I wonder who regulates spy labour law

"If not for this bodyguard job, the three of us could've enjoyed this vacation together." AWWW Yor loves her family so much

"You can say this is a gangster's destiny." [Reba voice] A single mom who works too hard, who loves her kid never stops!

"Papa! We need to hurry up and explore the ship before it sinks!" "It's not going to sink! Stop scaring everyone." The fact the staircase looks distinctly modelled after that one scene from Titanic really sells Anya's point

Loid incapable of framing having fun as anything but a mission ljggkjgj truly he might benefit from a Real Psychologist

"That family's just for camoflauge, right?" "Yes, you're right... Is... that true?" I love Yor slowly admitting that she loves her family for their own sake 💗

As Yor was declaring doing her best, I did worry briefly that someone was going to [redact] Olka. Other anime have been less kind to me than Spy x Family

I love Yor making another mum friend in Olka 💞 Gal pals

Finally saying suspicious things in public has a consequence!!

"It's been a while since we've had dinner without Mama." "Yeah, it's a bit lonely." Hee hee, Loid misses his wife

I love the immediate transformation in Yor's face as soon as Olka/Shaty says she didn't order room service

I don't have much to say but I am really entranced by the assassin vs. assassin + informant goings on!!

"I may not look it, but I'm a married woman, so I'll have to decline." Absolutely loving Yor quietly and efficiently beating these hitmen unconscious as she passes through the cruise ship

"Which is it?! Would normal parents buy their child something in this situation or not?!" Loid is incapable of making a decision without thinking about how it looks in relation to him being a spy. Anxiety king

[In Anya's mind] "Yor! You're an assasin who hates frogs? Let's get a divorce. The Forgers are done." Like father, like anxiety-ridden daughter

"I am a normal father. A good father," said Loid, which is frankly not usually something a good or normal father would say

"Papa, you're not excited at all." Loid defeated by one (1) six-year-old's piercingly accurate psychoanalysis

Loid is facing a true Psychological Battle: The Fitting Room

Anya Ultimate Wingman Award for convincing everyone her mum's battle is actually a circus act

Awwww, Zeb, Fake Husband to Olka, likes her. I hope this is a healthy experience in Yor seeing other fake couples work it out, but I do also think Zeb could mega-die

"As long we people continue to be people, conflict will never end." Alright, Director Doomsday, calm down

"What am I? What am I doing this for?" [B Eilish voice] What was I made foooooor?

"Does she hate me? Or is she just going through a rebellious phase?" Loid whenever one of the Forger girls looks upset: THIS MUST BE MY FAULT SOMEHOW

A hasty and confident NO to Assassin Sniff's whole vibes

We interrupt this program to think about how cute Loid and Anya are!! I love Loid entertaining Anya and also supporting her while he thinks she's missing Yor

"Nice, Mr. Husband!" Oh good, we love a bulletproof vest for Zeb!

Truly a wild juxtaposition of Forger Family Fireworks Night:

"This might be a bit late to ask, but would you consider just peacefully going home?" I love you, Compassionate Combat

I'm having a hard time believing all this will happen without Loid eventually noticing; the fireworks are long gone. I actually do hope Loid crashes her battle, Director Doomsday is out cold

"I'm doing this to support my family.... wait. I guess I am also doing this for money. But... no, I make enough to survive now. I'm hunting down bad guys for my country! For my country? Have I always been so righteous? What am I doing this for?" Poor Yor, this is like the worst possible time for an existential crisis

YOR AND LOID BOTH BEING MOTIVATED BY THEIR DESIRE FOR OTHERS TO LIVE A PEACEFUL LIFE 😭💘😭💘😭💘😭💘

[In Yor's flashback] "Be it for someone else, or for a specific reason, having to endure a merciless job... That's something to be very proud of." I'm sure Loid will acknowledge me. He'll forgive me. I like to think so too, Yor!!

Never mind to Loid helping Yor out, he is busy disarming a bomb threatening to sink them. This truly is the Titanic LMAO

LGLHGLGJHGLJHG Anya accidentally tripping the assassins so they shoot each other. Like mother, like daughter 💖

"You'll be able to enjoy the symphony of agonized screams and roars coming through the wiretaps on this ship." I can't wait for Loid to sink this guy with his own clock-bomb

Update from 30 seconds later: See? Self-owned and sunk

Awwwww Yor really does deserve the baby hug after the day she's had:

"I pray that, someday, you and your family will be able to find true peace." OLKAAAA

"I know it was an emergency, but I ended up casting my family aside again." Loid and Yor having the same crisis about whether to prioritize their family or their jobs 🥺🥺🥺

Loid's blush at Yor catching him skipping as he continues to skip over in her direction. Hee hee

"I hope peaceful days like this will continue forever." ME TOO, YOR!

Get you a mum who would secretly beat up sharks for you ❤️‍🩹

Setting aside how fun snorkeling is, absolutely terrible idea to go into the ocean with an open wound OMG

Loid carrying his whole family is the cutest thing I've ever seen, 10 bajilion/10zo; perfect:

[Internally] "You did a great job." Loid is in loooooove

"I can never tell if he's actually clever, or clumsy." Me either, Handler

Anya learning about the vacation disparity of rich kids LMAO

"If youre going to create a persona for yourself, you need to be strategic and commit." Not Loid turning this lie lecture into a spy lecture in his mind

"Lying is too much work, so I'll try not to do it anymore." Anya's entire set of adult role models do nothing but lie all the time, she really has no frame of reference for honesty

I do a little bit hate the Becky fantasizing about Loid thing, I have been Cardcaptor Sakura'd too much in life

NOT ANYA SELLING OUT HER MUM FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF BECKY BEING HER RICH SIX-YEAR-OLD STEPMUM OH MY GOD

I feel like they take a lot of liberties in translating "Loid-sama" as "my precious Loid" but hey, he is precious

"Yor's going to get the wrong idea, somehow." Loid has finally registered that this child is obsessed with him and he is only concerned for wife not thinking he's a freak. A good husband above all else

"I really don't understand the children of rich people." Me either, Loid

I need you to see Loid's face as Becky declares that this is his expression of love for Yor:

"Your heart is as vast as the sky, and you're stronger than the earth itself. You're the perfect lady." Correct, Becky! Yor is amazing

"I had some extra souvenirs left after handing them out to everyone else. Do you want them?" LMAO @ the implication being lost on Fiona that he doesn't even think of her enough to warrant her own souvenir

I will say, I really do resonate with the theme of the ep being Loid is Hot and Amazing to Everyone But No One Will Ever Measure Up to Yor in His Eyes

"Maybe you're too nice, and biting and barking don't really suit you." Everyone in the Forger family is too nice for their job, including Bond Forger, Precognitive Puppy

Awwww Bond trying to help out all the humans with his visions

LNKFHKFHKJFH Loid really just got reprimanded by his dog

"And he went into save [Daisy the puppy]? What an impressive dog!" I love the Spy Dad-Psychic Puppy tag-team ❤️

[Internally] "I am a cool-headed spy. I cannot let my emotions show." Loid remains deadpan through SO many things but his dog looking a little funny while wet is his limit. What a man!

"Don't push yourself too hard. There's someone waiting back home who would be sad if you died." 1) V sweet, dad first, hero second. And 2) This is the second time Loid has directly spoken to his life situation with a simultaneous thinly-veined dog metaphor

WAHHHHHHH Loid and Bond's heroics being acknowledged by Anya giving them little paper Stellas:

Yor immediately joining in and congratulating them for their hard work on their walk!!! I LOVE ONE (1) SPY X FAMILY 😭😭😭😭😭 IT'S A NICE SHOW