#SXFC10

[thelreads]

FLASHBACK? FLASHBACK! FLASHBACK!!!!

THAT LOOKS LIKE BABY YOR, SO THAT’S BABY YURI

AND HE WAS DEFINITELY A LITTLE NERD, LOVELY. STILL DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT’S I A LITTLE BIT HURT OVER GETTING MY THEORY ABOUT HIM AN YOR BEING SPIES WRONG, BUT I’M OKAY AS LONG AS WE KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM.

YEAAAAAAAAHHHHH! BABY YOR, YORBY, AND BABY YURI, YURBY

OH MY GOD YOR WAS AFRAID OF INSECTS, AND YURI LOVES TO LEARN

I’M TAKING NOTES, ALL THIS INFO IS GOLD, I LOVE THEM ALREADY.

LOOK AT THIS CUTIE-PATOTIE, HE WAS SO HAPPY TO LEARN AND TO BE PRAISED FOR LEARNING, OH MY GOD- I’M SURPRISED HE DIDN’T BECAME A TEACHER SINCE HE ENJOYED IT SO MUCH, BUT THAT’S OKAY, HE CAN TEACH ANYA ONLY.

THAT’S WHY HE STUDIED SO MUCH IN THE PAST, HE UNKNOWINGLY WAS GETTING READY TO HELP THE SUPREME DARK LORD WHEN THE TIME ARRIVED.

[thelreads]

SHE DIDN’T FUCKING TOLD HIM GOD FUCKING DAMMIT YOR-

THERE HE IS! THE OTHER BRIAR SIBLING IS HERE

TIME FOR ANYA TO GET A UNCLE AND A PRIVATE TUTOR IN ONE SWIFT SWOOP

AS SOON AS THE SHOCK OF GETTING TO KNOW YOUR OWN SISTER MARRIED AND HAVEN’T TOLD YOU ANYTHING WEARS OFF GODDAMMIT YOR YOU’RE MAKING THINGS HARD FOR YOURSELF, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS ONe NOW?

[thelreads]

OH THAT POOR BABY NO-

Alright, see that there Twilight? That thing that Yor is doing right now? Yeah, that’s called “being a good, reasonable parent”, you could learn a lot with her, you know? Yeah, Anya needs the stars so you can save the world, but she’s not a tool, she’s a child, your child in fact, and that is also something you need to remember. She has trouble studying, and a certain apprehension about it as well, so you need to get past that first, in a way that helps her; you can’t teach a toddler to run before it learns how to walk.

Yeah Twilight, she’s 4, it’s amazing that she even got this far, cut her some slack, alright? You might be the world’s best spy, bur right now you just need to be a parent.

Yeah, he never had to deal with them before, and in fact he even said how much he avoided them since it reminded him of his own childhood. He has trouble to remember that children aren’t small adults, that they have their own pace and limits.

Glad we had this sweet moment of parental realization, now go there and apologize to her Twilight.

[thelreads]

Alright Twilight, that was a really good start right there, not gonna lie, but it seems like she’s still a bit hurt about it... And it better be just that, rather than that “she ran away” bullshit that I mentioned before.

Oh thank god she’s there- and look at that...

Pen-pen is there, watching over her. His oath to protect the Dark Lord still stands strong.

And...

.....

....

...

..

.

Okay, moving on...

Oh, okay then, she just feel asleep, and considering that she’s apparently at her desk, and on top of some papers, I feel like we already know what she was doing...

Oh my god, she really fell asleep trying her best to study on her own, didn’t she?

[thelreads]

It definitely was Yor, getting praised by your family is an excellent motivator to keep chasing the things you love, and maybe this is exactly what Twilight needs to do right now: show Anya how proud of her she is, so she recover the motivation to keep studying. It won’t solve all the problems, but it’s a start.

Yeah, exactly that, thank you Yor, you read my mind there.

Time to show her how much you care Twilight, she can read your mind but not your heart, turn off the tsundere firewall and show what you really think about her.

Being praised for your hard work is really important, that you have no doubt about. We tend to forget the progress we’ve made, so being reminded of it is sometimes needed. It feels nice to be praised, I now that, even though I tend to downplay how much I appreciate because I also am a fucking tsundere.

And also this will be where I’ll be stopping today, but I’ll be sleeping happy because we caught a glimpse of Yor’s brother, and I already feel like Twilight will be resorting to his help soon enough...

[thelreads]

Yes Yor, yeeeeees! Thank you, maybe he’ll finally realize it. Maybe now he’ll see that he’s cut for this work, regardless of not having any prior experience. He cares about her and will do anything to protect her, he has this under control.

A tad shocked with that, aren’t you, Twilight? Never expected to be a father, and more than that, never expected to be called a wonderful one, were you? Don’t worry my good man, you’re on the right track, you just need to listen to her a little.

I see a little blush on the left, don’t try to deny that you were a bit flustered with the compliment. You’re trying to play it cool but you got way happier than you’re letting out right now.

[thelreads]

And it seems we cut away from our favorite family. Alright, who in the hell are you- wait... is that... Is that dudeminic? back from the second chapter? is that him?

HOLY SHIT IT IS HIM

DUDEMINIC IS BACK

HOPE HE BROKE UP WITH THAT BITCH, HE DESERVES BETTER

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

IT’S YURI

YURI IS HERE

I FORGOT THAT THEY WORKED TOGETHER

HOLY FUCK WE GOT YURI ON SCREEN

AND APPARENTLY YOR HASN’T FUCKING TOLD HIM THAT SHE GOT MARRIED GOD FUCKING DAMMIT YOR HOW FUCKING LONG WERE YOU GOING TO WAIT IT’S BEEN LIKE ALMOST TWO MONTHS SINCE THAT NIGHT

[thelreads]

AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR HIS COUNTERATTACK, TIME TO COMPLIMENT HER AS WELL

HE ALREADY STARTED WITH “YOU’RE PART OF THIS FAMILY” MEANING WE’RE GONNA SEE SOME CUTE SHIT NEXT.

YES YES YES

WE KNOW SHE’S ALREADY IN LOVE WITH YOU, BUT PLEASE CONTINUE, TWILIGHT, I NEVER TIRE OF SEEING THIS.

NO NO PLEASE GO BACK TO THE COMPLIMENTING THAT WAS SO CUTE-

Goddammit, the moment is over... Alright, okay, so Twilight realized that he’s not the best option to teaching her, and he has asked Yor to help him with that. Wonderful, just like he was saying, he can trust her with taking care of the things he’s not good at, and this wasn’t even some sort of manipulation, he was being completely honest with what he said before asking her that.

10/10

[thelreads]

NO ANYA DON’T DO IT!

Time for some fresh trauma™ then, Yor’s gonna mix some thoughts about her work in the middle, that’s for sure. Anya’s power might be really useful, but there’s the problem she can’t filter what or how much she gets. When she reads someone’s mind, she reads ALL of it, and for someone as young as her the backlash caused by such flux seems to be distressing at best, and painful at worst.

OH MY GOD YOR NO

YEAH, IT WASN’T EXACTLY A PREVIOUS WORK, MORE LIKE CORRELATING IT TO HER EXPERIENCES AS A WAY TO SIMPLIFY THE THOUGHT PROCESS. A REALLY EFFECTIVE WAY TO LEARN, SURE, BUT DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT ANYA IS ONCE AGAIN TRAUMATIZED BY IT

This one is on you Anya, you should’ve know this would happen if you read her mind.

And Twilight please, calm down, you’re seeing how distressed she is. She’s not refusing to try, she’s simple being unable to internalize it, a different approach is needed right now, otherwise it will be the equivalent of beating your head repeatedly against a wall until one of them breaks. It’s not fun, nor efficient.

[thelreads]

That she did- Oh god Anya- Oh my god- You poor angel, you’re really trying your best- oh god my heart-

And you get a lot of points as well Twilight. Out of there with that “I’m not being the ideal father” bullshit, you’re one of the best as far as I’m concerned. Yeah, the self-doubt is normal, as well as the occasional mistakes, but don’t worry, you’re on the right track.

OH GOD

OH GOD NO

OKAY- OKAY NO, SURE, THAT PROBABLY IS BECAUSE ANYA IS THINKING ABOUT YOR BEING AN ASSASSIN AND ALL THAT, SURE.

BUT I FEEL IN MY GUT THAT THIS IS INSTEAD A DIVERSION. THIS IS ACTUALLY ANYA THINKING ABOUT HER PAST, ISN’T IT? SHE’S THINKING ABOUT HER BIOLOGICAL MOM, AND THE FACT THAT SHE PROBABLY TRIED TO KILL HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER, ISN’T IT? SHE DID IMPLY THAT SHE REMEMBER HER IN THAT INTERVIEW WITH THE SCHOOL, AND BY HER REACTION, I THINK THAT’S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT HER MOTHER WAS KILLED IN TURN

OH GOD NO THERE’S NO WAY THIS ISN’T FORESHADOWING

[thelreads]

oh yeah, it’s back to the other plan. Alright, okay, I get your point here Twilight, I really do, but you won’t get far by pressing her, you need to meet her halfway when it comes to studying, because she probably never had a good experience with it. Not that you would know that, but still.

Terrible idea sweetie. Like the entrance exams, this will backfire horribly and you’ll end up knowing less than you did before.

Yep, exactly as I expected.

Honestly Anya, your track record with reading minds is really bad, we can count on the fingers of a single hand how many times it actually worked out for the best.

Now that it went this badly I hope you don’t think about reading Yor’s mind.

...

You’re gonna read Yor’s mind next, won’t you?

[thelreads]

...

You better not be planning to do something along the lines of “Anya ran away” manga, you better not...

No, she would never do something like this, she’s probably just really hurt after all that, and that’s why she’s avoiding him. The poor baby.

OH! YOR’S BROTHER, WE HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT HIM FOR A WHILE NOW- ACTUALLY, I THINK THAT HE WAS ONLY MENTIONED BACK IN THE FIRST CHAPTER..

ALRIGHT, SEEMS LIKE YURI IS SOME SORT OF NERD, THAT’S GREAT, THEN CAN WE GET HIM HERE TO TEACH ANYA HOW TO STUDY? HE ALSO NEEDS TO MEET HIS NIECE

...

Wait

Yor, you already told him that you’re married, right? It’s been like, almost two months now, you did tell him that you’re married, right?

[thelreads]

TRUST ME TWILIGHT, YOU WON’T WANT TO KNOW IT. REGARDLESS OF ME BEING RIGHT OR- no wait, I can’t be anything but right- ANYWAY, IN THE INFINITESIMALLY POSSIBILITY OF THE UNIVERSE DENYING MY WORD, YOU WOULDN’T LIKE TO KNOW WHAT SHE WAS DREAMING ABOUT, NOR WOULD YOR LIKE THAT.

GOD FUCKING DAMMIT TWILIGHT- OKAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, I WON’T EVEN COMPLAIN, YOU’RE STILL NOT USED TO THE REALITY THAT YOU THREE ARE IN FACT A FAMILY, AND YOU’RE ALREADY STARTING TO WONDER ABOUT THIS BEING THE CASE WITHOUT THE MISSION TO GET IN THE WAY. THIS WAS A HUGE DEVELOPMENT IN YOUR PART, AND I’M REALLY PROUD OF YOU

BUT HOLY FCUK ANYA WAS THINKING ABOUT HER MOTHER

[thelreads]

And she’s snapped- Okay, no, that’s definitely a sore spot for her, and we know from that first chapter that it’s because of her time in the lab. Twilight doesn’t know how he pushed her into some bad memories, but I do hope that he doesn’t get angry with her not wanting to study.

He really needs to learn how to met her halfway, brute-forcing your way through studies is not a technique that works for everyone.

Oh, seems like Twilight will have a reflective moment right now... Yeah the mission is extremely important, but he is already at the point that he cares enough about Anya to not want to force her into things she doesn’t want. He forgot for a moment that she’s a person, and what she wants instead.

Seems like it’s finally time for him to sit down and act like a understanding father.

[thelreads]

And back to the manga we go! Time for Twilight’s parental realization to take place.

Alright, that was a legit worry he had, a real worry about not being good enough as a father, before he snapped back into himself an remembered that he needs to play the role of the ideal father. Okay’, he’s not exactly there yet, but pretending is already a good step. Fake it till you make it actually works.

Okay, and back to his worries, although now it was mixed with his professional side, and he’s kind of more focused on his poor performance as a spy rather than his outstanding performance as a father so far.

Time for Yor to pick him up from this hole he’s throwing himself into.

Yor please, I love that you’re trying, but that one doesn’t exactly counts, she would never give less than 100 lest she wanted to be grounded for ever. There are other examples to pick from- Alright you know what, screw it, I’ve changed my mind let’s use that one, it counts.

[thelreads]

Okay, back to spy stuff, with Twilight pondering over the length of the mission to approach Baron Von Ëvill. That was something I hadn’t considered before, they could theoretically just kill him if he’s a piece that is moving the game towards war... meaning that SPY HQ has some other interests relating to him, but even if that is not the case, killing him wouldn’t solve anything, they would just put another piece in his place.

He has something that SPY HQ wants, and it can be either info... or a weapon... Like perhaps experiments relating to telepathic spies... Oh, this could be a interesting development...

I know that I called it before, but I’ll call it again: That guy is not setting things up for war, and even that assassination in the beginning was a set up so SPY HQ could get authorization to send Twilight there to steal the info this Donovan have, and as added above, the info is about the laboratory that created Anya.

You can write that down, time and date when I called what this is all about. If I’m wrong I’ll eat my hat, and I won’t even season it beforehand.

Alright Twilight, time to speak to hear. Show us what you realized and have a heart-to-heart with your daughter, time to show how proud of her you are, just like Yor told you to do.