#Thread : Finding Loid

[buddyhollyscurls]

Wanna talk about The Proposal bc yes it's a bad ass fucking marriage proposal but can we talk about the inherit Romanticism of it? ESPECIALLY when it comes to Loid's character? Because like, you would think that someone as Logical as Twilight, whose instincts run on pure survival, would think of nothing else but getting him and a Civilian (so he thinks) out of there?? But no. He makes time to have that moment with Yor. And one MIGHT argue that he did it to butter her up. That it was to soften her up and make agreeing to the marriage easier. And MAYBE that was what the ring he had taken earlier was for. After all, this is Twilight. We are introduced to his character by him breaking up with a woman once he doesn't need her anymore. He knows how to romanticize a lady. But that falls apart when you remember that SHE had already asked him to marry her. She had already consented to the fake marriage.

There was no need for him to do anything else. But this man still got down on one knee, made a makeshift ring out of the remnants of a grenade, and proposed. And it was purely so that his future wife would have something close to an actual proposal. And PROBABLY for himself too, given that Loid had given up ever having a "normal" life before this mission. And I don't think he plans on ever getting married again after Yor, so this felt like his only chance of having a moment like this.

And also even the BACKDROP of the proposal is romantic in and of itself. How amid all the chaos, uncertainty, and destruction of their world, the fabric of peace-time is hanging by a thread, and they're caught in the midst of it; they'll always find a second to come together. That despite everything around them they are united and a Team

[cantareincminor]

Day 28: Favorite Theory for the End

I haven't looked into many fan theories for the end! But I did write my own version of the end in my longest fic, tying up Project Apple and other political threads.

Spitballing, I think the canon ending is likely to have these elements (rather boring predictions):

Forgers stay together, Twilight is allowed to retire as Loid Forger (there is precedent for this in the lives of real spies)

War is averted, and Ostania and Westalis establish more peaceful ties

All of the Forgers' individual secrets are revealed to each other, and while the journey to acceptance may be rocky (especially between Twilight and Yor), they ultimately forgive and understand each other

The "bad guys"---the political and scientific figures behind Project Apple, plus the warmongers, are defeated

Bonus: Franky gets a girlfriend!

Beyond this, there are more nuanced questions I'd like to explore:

Will Twilight have to leave the Forgers at some point?

This one's 50/50 to me. Having Twilight disappear for a while--whether it's because his cover is blown or because WISE needs him elsewhere--could introduce a lot of active tension and mystery. From a storytelling perspective, if Endo chose not to reveal Twilight's fate or narrate from his POV for an entire arc, it would help put the spotlight on other characters and give them a chance to shine.

It would force characters like Yor and Anya to change the status quo of their behavior, ask questions, hunt for answers. Especially if Anya came clean to her mother about her and Bond's powers and was able to assist in finding Twilight and helping him out of whatever predicament he might be in.

Will Twilight and Thorn Princess have to fight each other, even if just for a few minutes when they're taken off guard?

This one's 75% likely to me. While Endo teased it in Yor's drunken imagination, that could still have been legit foreshadowing of the eventual showdown. There are so many great fics about Twilight and Thorn Princess running into each other on the job by accident that explore this already, I won't go into the potential setup here.

The main reason I think it's likely is because the whole premise of the story is these two extremely competent underground professionals from opposing countries living together and having no clue about the other's identity. It would make sense for them to have an explosive surprise encounter where the house of cards falls apart.

But what happens after the encounter is the main question. Does one of them leave the Forgers? Do they fully come clean or does Twilight continue to lie and try to trick Yor? Does all the trust they have accumulated in their relationship vanish and have to be painstakingly rebuilt? Or will it be a quieter scenario where they each own up to their guilt, and commit to understanding the other? I'd like to lean toward the latter, especially with Twilight's personal philosophy of relentlessly trying to understand every unknown he comes across. As he told Donovan Desmond, he believes that it's worth trying to understand other people even though it's very difficult.

Will Anya be captured/threatened by Project Apple in some way?

75% likely. This again has been explored in many fics.

From a storytelling perspective this makes sense because it would serve as a unifying factor for Twilight and Thorn Princess to work together, and WISE and Garden perhaps as well (or for their best operatives to go rogue, which can be even more interesting).

Anya, and children as a whole, are cast as the beacons of hope and innocence, worth protecting at all costs, throughout the narrative. This is apparent from chapter 1 when Twilight reveals his inner motivation is to make a world where children don't have to cry. It's reemphasized through Yor's own backstory of raising Yuri at great cost to herself; when we see Twilight's own tragic backstory of everything he lost and how he became a spy; when Sigmund Authen says that children are the world's greatest treasure; when Jeeves looks on Damian and his friends and is happy to see him loosen up and be himself, instead of constantly feeling burdened by adults' expectations. All this is to say that, when an author sets up a person/concept like this as "The Precious" in a story, they're likely to threaten it with grave danger as the pinnacle of the conflict--for all the competing sides to give up their differences and come together over the one thing they can agree on.

Will any important characters die?

75% likely. To fuel the narrative, Endo may kill someone off, as is common in longer mangas. The convenient way to do this is with an older mentor figure like Sylvia or McMahon--which leaves their subordinates devastated and lost and looking for answers or retribution. If Sylvia dies, Twilight may be forced to step up as commanding officer of WISE until the parent organization can send a replacement.

Other than that, I really have no clue.

How will Yor and Yuri confront each other about their respective secrets?

I believe this will happen after Twilight and Yor find out about each other. It might come as part of the identity reveal convo, where Twilight discloses this to Yor. He would definitely need to prevent her from giving away any signs to Yuri that her husband is a spy.

Other than that, I really have no clue again, lol

And finally, a less important question, but one I've seen fans debate about now and then: will Twilight and Yor have more children together?

50/50. (This includes both biological children and adopting--to cover the possibility that one or both of them have become infertile due to the demands of their jobs.)

Obviously I do not think this will happen until way later, after all the identity reveals, after peace has been achieved. Endo might conclude the manga with a timeskip to show what our main cast's lives are like (and the overall political landscape), and that might be when we glimpse a Twiyor baby or two.

From discussions with other fans, I think that opinions about the "Twiyor baby" largely hinge on a fan's personal preference for whether they want children in their own lives. Of course there are exceptions, but in general, fans who have or want children of their own headcanon that Twiyor will have more children, while those who don't want children hc that Twiyor will stick with just Anya.

Given that much of this question is speculating on future Twilight and Yor (I'd say at least 3 canonical years after where we currently are in the manga), it's really hard to say where their mindset will be at that point. But, I'd say Yor is more likely to want another child than Twilight. Family life with the Forgers has given her new purpose and joy; she loves being a mom to Anya, and whenever we see memories of her youth, we see her happily taking care of Yuri and treasuring those times with him. Twilight, on the other hand, needs to undergo A LOT of character growth before he'll even consider a question like this. Right now he doesn't even acknowledge Anya and Yor as his family beyond mission purposes, is trying to emotionally distance himself from them, and is still committed to the whole "hero who casts no shadow" business.

Thanks for reading this far if you made it down here!

[clariedaya]

Sxf extra mission 16 analysis thread: part 2

This phrase of "staying alive" is also reflected in Yor when she was hesitating in the fights against "Barnabe" and in the final fight against the "swordsman"

she felt a heavy weight on her legs, as important information came to her mind that if she suffered any injury or something worse that could not be explained to the Forgers, she would have to leave the house suddenly.

it was also reflected in Loid's mission to find the truth serum, since the place has a high level of security and we see in Bond's prediction that if Loid were caught by the Born scientists, the mission would take even longer, making him not return home.

Also in the Mole Arc he says if they hadn't stopped Wheeler he wouldn't have come home either.

In my opinion, I believe it is a thought of fear that they already carry in their heads, as it is a super difficult mission.

The first thing that comes to their minds is:

•"Will I come back alive?"

• "Will we be able to complete this mission?"

After delivering the report, the Shopkeeper invites Matthew to eat something, but he declines because he is going home to be with his family.

Part 3➡️

[howlingday]

Ok but imagine what would happen if Loid and Perry teamed up? No one could stop them.

Okay... Time for something new...

--------------------------------------------------

AGENT T

A Phineas and Ferb/Spy X Family One-Shot

--------------------------------------------------

"An extended conference overseas?"

"Yes, it's a sort of outreach programs between different countries to share different psychiatric methods." Loid explained to Yor. "I'm sorry this is so last minute. I will try to call you as soon as I get back."

Lying to Yor felt wrong, but it was a necessary evil in his life as a spy. The truth was that he was assisting in a joint operation with a foreign intelligence agency, though the whole thing felt like a bad joke to him. Whoever heard of a spy agency under the title of "The Organization Without a Cool Acronym"? Regardless of his feelings, his mission was clear. He was to rendezvous with the agent known as "The Platypus" and provide backup as required.

"Papa?" Anya, his daughter, pointed to picture in her book. Coincidentally, it was a platypus. "Is this a plassapess?"

"No, it isn't." Loid shook his head. "Just because I'll be gone for a little bit doesn't mean you're allowed to shirk on your studies. I expect nothing less than perfect marks when I return home."

"Aw..." Anya groaned.

"Loid, where is this conference being held?" Yor asked.

"I wasn't given the exact details myself, but it's in a region known as the 'Tri-State Area'."

--------------------------------------------------

"And that's about the gist of the assignment, Agent P." Major Monogram said through the video screen. "Find out what Dr. Doofenshmirtz is up to and put a stop to it!"

"If it's evil, sir." Carl's voice said off-screen.

"Yes, yes, if it's evil, put a stop to it." Major Monogram rolled his eyes. "We're counting on you, Agent P."

Perry the Platypus gave a salute and left the briefing room.

"I thought the evil thing was implied, Carl." Major Monogram grumbled.

"It doesn't hurt to be sure, sir. Words can be confusing."

"Not as confusing as this finger trap." The major lifted his hands to reveal his fingers had been locked in a threaded snare trap for fingers"

"Did you put your fingers in that trap again, sir?"

"Carl, we've been over this; if I don't do it myself, then how will I learn when I need it most?"

--------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in the middle of a city in the tri-state area, at an oddly designed building with the logo, Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc.~, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz heard a knock at his door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He opened the door to an elderly man delivering the mail. He was fragile and hunched over. In his hands was a clipboard and a large parcel behind him. "Oh, look at you! You're so old! Why aren't you retired yet? Here, come inside and rest for a bit. I can show you what you're delivering is being used for."

The elderly man hobbled in, his left leg limping with every step. He mumbled something alike to a thank you before being seated on a large loveseat inside a laboratory. Unknown to the oddly kind-hearted doctor, the old man was actual the legendary Agent Twilight in perfect disguise. In front of him was a massive ray-gun of sorts, like in the cartoons Anya watched, with a scope and a trigger beneath. At the tip of the barrel was a missing component.

"So, you're probably wondering what it is I'm building with a mind-tapping helmet." He held out his hands. "Oh, I'm a little rusty. I usually save these backstories for my nemesis, Perry the Platypus, but here goes." Through Agent Twilight's perfect mental imagery, every word spoken became a clear picture of the very sad and tragic backstory of the target. "You see, back when I was growing up in Gimmelshtump, it's a town in Drusselstein if you didn't know, my grandparents would always say something, but mean something else. Like, they would tell me to wash the ham, but what they really meant was marinate it, but it was one of those old sayings that grandparents use and, me being a child, I didn't know what they really meant because I'd only heard it said once." He ripped open the parcel, was handed the mind-tapping helmet, and held it to the device. "And that's when I came up with this! BEHOLD, THE SAYWHAT'SONYOURMIND-INATOR!" He then climbed his way to the apex of the machine. "With this inator, people will say what's on their mind and mean what they really say! Like, say your friends want to hang out and, I don't know, do old person things, like play cards, but the way they say it makes it sound like they want to sleep all day, so they'll say what's on their mind! Here, let me try it on you!"

Faster than Agent Twilight can react, the nefarious doctor was already on the ground and using his weapon on him. He was then hit with the powerful radio waves the machine emitted. He blinked.

"I don't feel any different." He said aloud. "Did this mad scientist's machine really work-" His eyes widened as the doctor laughed for a moment.

"Hey, who are you calling a mad scientist? I'm not mad. I mean, I'm mad now, but I'm not always mad." He looked to the platypus climbing out of the parcel package. "Perry the Platypus, tell him I'm not always mad." The platypus in the fedora chittered. "See? He gets it." At this, he gasped. "PERRY THE PLATYPUS?! Wait, were you able to hear my backstory while I you were inside the- OOF!"

Perry punched Dr. Doofenshmirtz, sending him stumbling backwards into his machine. The machine fired off in a random direction before being taken into the hands of its creator.

"There's no need to fight me, Perry the Platypus. Why don't you just-" He fired the inator on Perry. "USE YOUR WORDS! AHAHAHAHA~!"

Perry winced at the sudden radio waves bombarding him. He blinked a few times. He was looked at expectantly by his nemesis.

"Chkchkchkchkt."

"Oh, right. You're a platypus." He then pressed a button on his inator and a net flew out and ensnared Perry. "But I planned for that!" A punch flew in from out of nowhere, knocking the doctor over with his inator. Standing not far away was the old man from before. "What are you doing, Old Man?"

"My name," the mask ripped, revealing the spy, "is Agent Twilight, and on behalf of the good people of Westalis, I order you to surrender your weapon."

"Westalis? Where is that? Is he with you, Perry the Platypus?"

"Chkchkchkchkt."

"I won't allow you to threaten the good people of the world with this strange contraption." Agent Twilight said, fully removing his disguise. "Especially while I am assigned to this joint operation."

"Well, I didn't really have anything planned for someone bigger than Perry the Platypus, but I did have this in case he escaped!" With a push of a button, another net of ribbon spewed forth. Unfortunately, the new agent was too fast to be caught and rolled his way over to Agent P, where he easily ripped apart his bindings. "No, no, don't do that! That is so unfair, fighting two against one!" He groaned. "Of all the days for Norm to take one of his 'mandatory vacation days'."

This vacation day in question included going to the mechanic for a semi-spa treatment involving oil, rags, and oily rags. Back to the fight, Agent Twilight kept the doctor on his toes, swinging fist after fist, easily overpowering his opponent. Meanwhile, Agent P was altering the inator by turning the mind-control helmet around so that the machine would reverse its effects.

"I cannot fail here. I cannot allow my emotions to get the better of me. I must keep on my toes. I need to keep applying pressure and overwhelm my opponent with quick, but meaningful strikes."

"Ugh! I regret hitting you with my inator." Dr. Doofenshmirtz groused amidst his thrashings. "Why can't you be more quiet like Perry the Platypus?"

"Chkchkchkchkt." The OWCA agent chittered from atop before swinging the inator around and firing it on himself Agent Twilight. Agent P patted himself down before giving a thumbs up to his fellow agent from afar.

"Oh, finally! I didn't think you would ever stop talking!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz groused even more.

Agent Twilight was about to go in for another punch when he was dragged away by Agent P. Looking back to the inator, he saw that there was a self-destruct device placed at the device's weak point. Jumping over the balcony, Agent P held tight to Agent Twilight, the two silently gliding through the air to a safe location. On the winds, they could hear the defeated shouting of their shared nemesis for the day.

"YOU DON'T NEED AN INATOR TO KNOW THIS, BUT CURSE YOU, STRANGE OLD MAN, AND CURSE YOU, PERRY THE PLATYPUS!"

A GENT P~!.

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"Excuse me, is this your platypus?"

"Huh?" Phineas turned around to see a man standing in their yard, holding Perry in his hands. "Oh, there you are, Perry!"

"I found him wandering around in your front yard, and I thought it was odd to see an animal so far from their home."

"He's not far from his home, he's simply living in a new home away from his natural habitat. We feed him four meals a day, plus treats, and give him as much comfort as possible." Ferb explained in excess.

"Oh, I... see..."

"Yeah, sorry about Ferb." Phineas explained. "He's been a lot more talkative than usual today. It's almost like some kind of radio wave went off and made him say everything that was on his mind."

"That's... quite an imaginative explanation." The man said. "But maybe this will help. I specialize in psychiatric help and this device helps ease those affected by 'radio wave' abnormalities in humans."

"Oh, you mean like brain stimulation therapy?" Phineas asked. "Isn't that controversial?"

"Yes, yes, it is." The man quirked his brow. "But I believe it may be the best way to help your friend."

"Oh, Ferb's not my friend. He's my brother!"

"Ah, excuse me. Now, may I use my device. I promise no harm will come to your brother."

"Well, okay, if you say so." Phineas stepped aside and let the man hold the device up to Ferb before pressing a button. Ferb blinked a few times before the man placed the device in his pocket. "How you feelin', Ferb?"

Ferb gave a thumbs up.

"Hey, it looks like it worked! Thank you, Mr... Huh? Where'd he go?"

--------------------------------------------------

"Papa! You're home~!" Anya cheered, running to the door.

"You're back already?" Yor asked. "I thought you'd be gone a lot longer, considering how far you were traveling."

"I was offered a trip on a much fast return flight than the one prior." Reaching into his doctor's bag, he pulled free a plush doll in the shape of a strange creature with a duck bill, a beaver tail and feet, and a strange greenish-blur fur color. "Anya, I found this on the way home. I remember you being curious about platypus before leaving, so I thought you'd enjoy this."

"Thank you, Papa!"

"Oh, that is so cute~! What are you going to name him?"

Anya thought for a moment, then noticed a certain look in his eyes. It was the same look he held when he was in thought of something. Focusing on him, she heard a name said over and over again.

"Percy the Plassypess?" Anya smiled, tossing her plush in the air. "Yeah! Agent Percy the Plassypess~!"

[loveroma]

somebody to lie in the dark with

based on chapter 94 from the manga, during the ski trip adventure. this goes for dearest jade, of course, I hope you like it!

He doesn't expect to find her awake first.

They are all asleep in the dusty room of the cabin—with him opting to rest on the small couch like he mentioned earlier. Now he looks around him in the instinct of the soldier he still has—his eyes move through the room, instinctively searching. First, his daughter and the dog, both curled up on one of the narrow beds, their breathing soft and steady. And then, Yor—his wife, that he notices and isn’t in her bed. His eyes slide around the room more anxiously than he should be, and spots her sitting by the window, looking out at the threads of snowy rain falling behind the glass.

The green-brown blanket around him that originally was on Yor’s bed makes him wonder how many hours he slept—and how many were awake in return. How weak did he look for her to cover him with it. (How much he can feel her warmth over his cool skin).

He calls her name in the dark—in a mere whisper. But Yor turns to look at him, and smiles.

“Loid,” she whispers back, in the faint light. “Good evening.”

Everything is slow and beautiful.

Her hair is down, hands fondled in her lap. She had been nervous all night, anxious after the suspicion of the murder hung over her. But now her reddish gaze is filled with calmness, and—and it’s the first time he’s actually gotten a proper look. It’s… odd, to see her like this. To see each other like this. Sharing a home is one thing. But this quiet, mundane intimacy of seeing each other sleepy and messy—it’s different. Vulnerable, and raw. The way she doesn’t have her usual nightgown, her bare legs and feet peeking from her red sweater, the way her eyes are still a little bit glassy and tired.

It’s the most unguarded and informal he’s ever seen her (and how she has seen him) and Loid doesn’t know what to feel.

“Yor,” he repeats, his voice still a little rough from waking up. “Why are you awake? Is everything alright?”

She nods, her smile widening (he notices the way her strawberry eyes shine in her sleepy state—and it’s a bit cute). “I am, Loid, don’t worry. I just… I couldn’t sleep anymore.” She looks over at their daughter, deep in sleep. “Not after tonight.”

Loid stands slowly. (His bare feet hit the cold marble floor, her green-brown blanket is still draped over his shoulders). It is still midnight. Everyone else in the cabin is asleep. He hesitates, then walks toward her.

“I understand,” he says, smiling, places the blanket back over her shoulders. Yor looks at him, surprised, her cheeks blushing a bit. (Their fingers brush for a moment when she fixes the fabric around her, their hearts softly and silently thundering at the touch). They are quiet for a beat. Then he adds: “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep, Yor, forgive me.”

She softly shakes her head, her smile still spring-like.

"You were tired," she says. "You deserve to rest sometimes, too." She pauses, her smile softening, tired. "Especially after tonight."

Her grin is still intact. (He truly cannot read her sometimes). Loid snorts. When her gaze moves back to Anya and Bond, his eyes stay on her.

"We can take turns sleeping if you're still worried," he offers, hoping to erase her worry a bit (hoping to touch her hand, even if by accident, again).

Yor shakes her head.

"I have a habit of staying up for hours," she says. "It's easy for me." Then she bites her lip, as if she's said too much. "F-for when I took care of Yuri when we were children," she adds

He nods. Then he wants to say: me too, I have stayed awake countless nights, before. But now the words will not come out. Not the war, he thinks to himself. Not the nights when he isn’t even at home at all.

Silence. No words come out. They are still breathing (in the dark). Everything is still slow and beautiful. Her red-honeysuckle eyes—watching over for her daughter. The snowy rain. Stunning winter moonlight.

Twilight immediately noticing that his wife is barely shaking—how she has been for a while (perfectly composed).

“If you don’t wish to go back to bed,” he says, and there’s a tenderness in his voice he doesn’t notice, “perhaps we can go downstairs for something warm.”

Yor doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then she turns, looks at him, and nods. She is smiling (fondly). When she rises, he offers his hand. She takes it (blushing prettily). They look at Anya and Bond one last time, then step out of the room. They walk together down the stairs (her hand resting over his palm, his fingers curled gently around hers).

The fire in the main room is still burning. The staff and the guests are still asleep. Everything is the color of silence, and they are both alone in the dark. Loid moves around the dead-silent kitchen to find them some cups. He finds two. Both different. One is red, so he picks that one for himself. When Yor asks him if he has a preference for the color (she has been noticing it, slowly, back at home), he (Twilight) thinks for a moment (what Loid should answer, as long as it’s not a lie).

"Yes," he finally says, "it’s been my favorite lately."

(it’s not a lie).

Yor’s cheeks soak in red, her palms cupping her warm face (he cannot see, luckily).

“Coffee or tea?” he asks.

Yor tilts her head for a moment, thinking. “How about cocoa?” she suggests. “Anya likes it so much, and perhaps we can have something sweet for tonight.”

He never cared much for sweet things. Pretending he did around other targets was tiresome. But he has been preferring other things, lately—he has tried them, under Yor’s patient nature. Two spoons of sugar on his tea, milk on his black coffee. Twilight thinks, when this mission ends and he’s gone, maybe these little meaningless details will linger in him.

So he does. He makes them cocoa, and it doesn’t feel like a chore. Everything is slow and beautiful: the gentle bubbling of the water, the rustle of the beans, the sound of the pour, the rising puffs of steam. The rain. Yor’s sweet humming while she waits. His heart gently drumming—unafraid.

The night constellated by the abyss. Endless dark.

In the black room, all that radiates is the light of the gentle fire—reaching Yor’s eyes, observing him gently.

He brings over two hot cups and joins her at the table. Both are sitting in front of another. The night is still chilly—but their bare feet are almost brushing, and cool palms gently hold the warmth between their hands. They sip their cocoa and watch the threads of rain falling over the darkness of outside. Everything is slow and beautiful. Loid (Twilight) decides that cocoa might become a preferred drink of his.

When the comment slips from his mouth, Yor laughs.

“Anya will have to learn to share with you, then.”

New silence. They are slowly breathing, together, in the dark. All alone.

It's still raining.

Then Yor reaches him, softer, almost shy. 

“Thank you,” she breathes. “For tonight.”

Loid raises his gaze and looks at her autumn eyes. (Red eyes, red cup). “What for?” He asks, voice very low, gentler that she has ever heard it.

“For not suspecting me,” she answers, her voice following his. “For… staying by my side, even when everybody thought ill about my actions.”

He looks at her, but Yor he cannot really see him in the dark. She imagines the look. So many possibilities.

“Of course,” he breathes in, slowly. "I know you would never do something like that." She still cannot see him, but his hand is over hers now. “You’re my wife, Yor.”

(that is all he says). 

Silence falls. Yor cannot speak, her stomach turning in the uncomfortable guilt. But then his fingers brush hers again for a fleeting second (before pulling away, empty) and it erases everything. She must change the subjectsubjet, she thinks to herself. But the silence is too comfortable between them (it has always been). 

This time, her thoughts escape her out loud. Twilight looks at her.

“We never do this,” Yor says, lips curling in her lily smile. “Just sitting like this…” she hesitates, strawberries exploding on her cheeks. “A-all alone, I mean.”

Loid chuckles, sipping on his drink. “I agree,” he answers, then frowns. “We are too busy.”

“We are,” she nods. They both mean something deeper, and they do not know this, but they are relating to each other. 

Busy, busy, busy with the dust and blood.

“That’s why I’m glad we came on this trip,” Yor says, her voice lighter now. “Even after everything that happened. Anya has the wildest ideas sometimes, but… it’s good for us to listen to her, too.”

Loid (Twilight) thinks he can’t afford such luxuries. He knows better. Yet, deep down, he agrees with her. So he nods, and they smile. This small peace feels like the greatest fortune he will ever have. This tiny, insignificant bliss. He wonders if Yor feels the same (she works hard, too, even more than him, he dares to think).

In the silence, the thoughts escape him again.

“Thank you, Yor,” he suddenly says. “For relying on me as well.”

She tilts her head, confused. He blushes a bit, unused to expose himself like this.

“I mean for tonight, and every day,” Loid explains. “I’m relying on you as you always did on me. I know you said I don’t have to be perfect but I…” He tries to look for the words, careful to not lie, and not to be too exposed either. “I like taking care of things. Taking care of you.”

His gaze stays fixed on the dark, avoiding hers. “So… thank you.”

Yor cannot keep her eyes away—stunned. She is staring at him, studying him in the dark. She feels her heart is bursting in slow waves. 

“Of course,” she mirrors his words, after a brief eternity. “You’re my husband, after all.”

That is all she says.

(he now knows that she will linger in him too, after the mission ends and he leaves—she will linger right in the corner of his chest).

After they finish their drinks, they clean everything. It’s still dark, a few more hours for the dawn to come languid and unbothered. When they come back to their room, Anya is still in the same position, cuddling over with Bond. Both Loid and Yor place their blankets around the sleepy ones—then they return to the couch. They talk more, for hours, about anything and nothing at all. Yor doesn’t come back to her bed. At some point, without realizing, they both drift off. Her head rests on his shoulder, his temple against the crown of her head. (Their fingers hover close, almost touching). They’re not cold anymore—they have each other’s warmth.

And then the slow morning comes barefoot, crossing the rising tide of the dew.

They are still asleep when Anya awakes and finds them. Bond pads over, wagging his tail as he noses their hands (now almost fully interlaced). Anya touches his head and shakes hers, putting her tiny finger to her lips.

“Shhh,” she whispers. “Papa and mama are half-sleepy." She looks at them, smiling widely, as if this is not the first time she finds them like this. "Anya can see them smooching in their minds. They are still dreaming.” 

Papa and mama will stop drowning in their thoughts, someday. They will stop only dreaming, and be awake with each other forever. Anya knows this—that's why she knows she doesn't have anything to worry about.

The world continues to turn. And slowly, steadily—the sun sets in the room’s window, turning everything gold.

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

I feel like on an Ena/Solas and Arthur/Hope double date Ena and Arthur get on really wrll, both are siblings that are very protective of those they consider their own, sword users and have watched their friends die horribly in a timeline that doesn't exist. Meanwhile I think Hope is exploding Solas with her mind.

Oh this is an absolutely inspired set of characters to hang out because yeah, I think Ena and Arthur would figure each other out pretty quick. Oh hey, fellow team leader who's trying to protect everyone and feeling the weight of everything you put on yourself slowly grinding you into dust, how's it going? Ena's not even in a fucking time loop and she feels like that.

But then, while Ena is trying to convince Arthur to have a friendly duel in the parking lot behind the bar (he's not sure of it because he's a stronger-than-human weapon of war and she's a one-armed woman who's like, 5"2', and she's like "hey I relearned how to fight sparring with a guy who's way bigger than you, I promise I'll be fine"), Hope is having a moral crisis because she's like - okay, we've discussed how Albrecht and Solas are the same type of Guy, right? I don't think that similarity is lost on Hope or Arthur. I think they both would Not like Solas' vibes (even if he's being on his best behavior) and like, this is a greater problem for Hope than it is for Arthur, because Hope is the one who's still trying to take the approach that Albrecht can still find his way back from this. But then she meets Solas, who is the same kind of guy, and she wants to kill him with hammers or maybe shoot him with a bazooka, and she's having a moral crisis because like - if Solas and Albrecht are the same kind of guy, right, and Hope only wants Solas to explode, not Albrecht - well then that means her feelings on Albrecht aren't because of some deeply held moral principle, but more of a fickle kind of sympathy based on Hope's closeness with Loid and the fact that even if she thinks Albrecht's methods are shit, she understands that they're both fighting the same enemy and that she also personally knows how frightening that enemy is and can understand why it's frightened Albrecht so bad that he's turning himself into a monster.

So she's there like "do I even have principles, do I even have core beliefs or is everything I do an emotional response based on the people around me, and if I didn't have those emotional threads tying me to Albrecht I would want him so incredibly dead for all he's done" and meanwhile, next to her, Ena and Arthur are trying to drink each other under the table. (Ena's gone drinking with Bull and the Chargers a lot, she's holding up surprisingly well.)

I don't know what Solas is doing through all of this, which does make the image funnier. He's just sitting there silently while his girlfriend does shots with Arthur and Hope glares daggers at him when she doesn't have her head in her hands.

[faeriejars]

ROLEPLAY AD - looking to write loid for an albrecht entrati! (i'm still looking!!!)

i'm pixel, 21+, she/they, and i've been writing for more than ten years! i got really into warframe recently and though my intent was to get to 1999 i ended up getting sniped really hard by those Gay Old Men... albrecht and loid's dynamic is so good to me, the guy who enjoys caste angst and yearning, so i'm clawing at the walls to find somebody to write loid with!! i'd like to go into explorations of their dynamic in the past and how it evolved over time, perhaps make some unique canon ourselves relating to how they reunite/how long loid is able to stay mad at him before he caves, lol.

smut enjoyed greatly but not required if that's not where your comfort lies. i typically write around 400 words unless i'm really on fumes when i'm writing, but i don't place a strict emphasis on word count or paragraphs. in terms of activity i'd like at least one reply per week? obviously real life takes priority and there's no real pressure there.

my preferred platform is discord, i like to make a server so there's channels just for general ooc chatting, sharing fan art and stuff, and then however many threads/roleplays we have! i can use tupper if you want, i just find it a pain to edit lol. i'm a habitual shitposter so my ooc grammar and language will be pretty lax but trust me i will Lock In.

shoot me a message here or on my main blog @faeriejar if you're interested!

[nemaliwrites]

For the drabble: Loid and Yor 😌

Uhh missed the word so um.... comb?

One advantage of having a fake husband who knows your identity, Yor finds, is there’s always someone to wash the blood out of your hair. 

Loid combs through her wet hair with an impossible amount of care. As though she’s something breakable, something to be protected and cherished.

Yor lets the dark locks fall forward to cover her eyes. Tears slip down her face, not going unnoticed. 

“Yor, are you all right?” he asks, worried. “Am I hurting you?”

The comb threads through her hair like an embrace. 

“You could never hurt me,” she says, and it’s not a lie.

-

send me two characters and a word!

[alteredsilicone]

The First Failure

Dad had a portrait of Albrecht Entrati mounted on his wall, along with other esteemed scientists, but for some reason it was Entrati that he would point to whenever he felt like giving a lecture.

"Remember, Viri, no matter how hard you try, how long you work, you will never reach the light of the Orokin, but we can always hope to follow in their footsteps, however far behind."

The corpse of Albrecht Entrati laid at Virgo's feet. Arthur had cut him from groin to neck, his guts spilling out, blood and pus and viscera everywhere. The smell was frightening. A normal person would have cried, screamed, retched, but Virgo simply stared. She remembered countless sights like these, she caused sights like these. Kalymos laid not far away, her head only partially detached. A hasty, messy cut, not like Albrecht's.

"So, how fucked up is he? Can we put him together?" a voice came up behind Virgo. Artemis.

"You have a surgeon's needle? Thread?"

"Do I look like a fucking surgeon?!" Artemis snapped.

"Do you have tape?"

Artemis stared at Virgo, grimacing.

"You want to tape him together?!"

"Eir said we need Albrecht and Kalymos in one piece. If tape is what holds his guts inside, it's tape we use. We can rearrange him later at the ritual site."

Artemis chuckled.

"I've desecrated plenty of Orokin corpses, but this is a bit too fucked even for me. You tape him up, I'll go find Eir."

"Did you find Arthur?"

"Yeah, put him out of his misery."

"He was still alive?"

"Barely. Kavat got him good. Lost too much blood. So I sent him on his merry way." Artemis did a finger-gun gesture at her head then walked away.

---

The corpse of a young woman laid at Albrecht's feet. She had blonde hair with a hint of blue and pink. He had never met this woman before yet she felt familiar.

Albrecht knelt beside her. Something had cut open her chest and torn her ribs apart, exposing her heart. He reached into her chest cavity and pulled it out. The heart was blue and cold to the touch, pulsating cords keeping it attached to the body. It whispered.

The corpse grabbed Albrecht's arm. He did not flinch.

"What killed you?"

"Love."

---

Loid stared at the wall. He could not bare to look at the screen. He listened as Artemis cussed out her sister as the two shuffled Albrecht's corpse around.

It's not him. It's just an echo of the past. He's not dead.

Loid could not help but steal a glance. As if his gaze could penetrate time and space itself - the moment he turns to the screen, the sisters stumble and drop Albrecht's body on the floor, spilling viscera everywhere. Artemis shouted expletives, Virgo scrambled to push Albrecht's insides back where they belonged.

Loid looks away. His own insides twist. He bends forward, folding his arms over his stomach as if beset by a sudden pain.

It's not him. It's just an echo of the past. He's not dead.

---

The casket hisses and hums as it slowly opens. Albrecht opens his eyes and is greeted with a harsh light. Kalymos meows.

He is in the middle of the desert.

How?

He steps out of the casket. A vast nothingness. He is not in his lab. He decides to take a step forward, Kalymos right at his side. He walks and walks. He can feel solid ground under his feet, but no signs of anything else. Albrecht walks and walks and walks until he comes upon a mound.

He gets down beside it and shuffles the sand. There is something under. A skeleton, covered in tattered rags.

Albrecht recognizes a golden oculus.

He is alone in the world.

[unrelaxing]

media list (26.02.2024 - 26.03.3024)

👂 Listened:

Albums:

Speak Now (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift (2023) [8/10, probably my favourite of her re-releases, Timeless and Electric Touch are amazing vault songs.]

Red (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift (2021) [7/10, I don't really love any of the vault songs in this except for the 10 minute version of All Too Well, and while I like the tune and vibe of I Bet You Think About Me, I find it lyrically awkward.]

D-Day by Agust D (2023) [5/10, musically I just don't vibe with Yoongi's solo stuff a lot of the time, so it always ends up being a very distant appreciation, and I'll be honest and say I probably wouldn't listen if I wasn't already a fan.]

Indigo by RM (2022) [8.5/10, really really solid album, though it couldn't quite overtake mono. for me in terms of how much I loved it - considering if I were to rate mono. it would absolutely be a 10/10.]

Podcasts:

Morbid Episodes: ⤷ EP 502: The Highgate Vampire ⤷ EP 503: The Torsaker Witch Trials ⤷ EP 541: The Unsolved Murder of Georgette Bauerdorf

📖 Read:

Articles:

The ATO is reviving old tax debts totalling billions, threatening some taxpayers with bankruptcy by Nassim Khadem from abc.net.au

Dissecting the Diabolical Documentary 'Mister Organ' with Filmmaker David Farrier by Lulu Dropo from The Advocate

How Michael Organ Weaponised the Family Court... and Sean Plunket by David Farrier from Webworm

Mystery in Japan as dangerous streptococcal infections soar to record levels by Justin McCurry from Guardian

China visit sees $105 billion iron ore exports on the brink by Jamie Seidel from news.com.au [I don't often remember to actually put any political articles on this list, but this remained open on my tabs for a while so it makes it.]

Too close for comfort: Aussie filmmaker’s accidental portrait of a psychopath by Karl Quinn from Sydney Morning Herald [As made obvious by this list, I do tend to watch something then immediately seek out more information - a lot of the time it just leads me to reddit threads, but other times I do find articles and read those.]

The Bible Says Jesus Was Real. What Other Proof Exists? by Christopher Klein from history.com

What is the historical evidence that Jesus Christ lived and died? by Dr. Simon Gathercole from Guardian [I was dragged to church by my other and it hit me that I'd never even tried to find proof on whether or not Jesus wasn't fiction, so I started reading what people had to say. tldr; no archeological proof, though people of Jesus' class at the time didn't tend to leave archeological proof of their existence, and it seems there are accounts of Jesus starting 30 years after his death from non-Christians, so. Probably a real guy. Whether or not he's actually the son of God is, of course, unable to be proven.]

Books:

Stalking Darkness by Lynn Flewelling [finished! Another 10/10.]

Pine by Francine Toon [dropped - couldn't continue this one anymore, it's slow and filled with details that had nothing to do with the actual mystery or the characters themselves - I think other people might have appreciated it for the way it allowed you to visualise the setting so vividly, but to me it was just incredibly boring.]

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [in progress, told myself I'd read more classics and thought I'd start with one I was supposed to read in high school.]

Spy x Family vol. 1 [finished! 10/10. Immediately bought the 10 volumes out on Amazon after reading this because I enjoyed it so much. Loid Forger is a goldmine of a male character, the kind that's easy to fall for and to root for. Anya is sweet and funny and interesting, and Yor is just the icing on the cake of their dynamic.]

Spy x Family vol. 2 [finished! 10/10 - my goodreads rating system is going to be SKEWED after reading this manga.]

Spy x Family vol. 3 [finished! 8/10 mostly because I didn't love Yor's brother at all.]

📺 Watched:

Movies:

Dune: Part Two [8/10 - this really revitalised my love of going to the cinema! I've watched it twice, and I've made plans to see some other movies in theatre and it's really all because this was such an experience to see on the big screen. Highly recommend.]

YouTube:

The Deranged Arsonist Who Filmed Their Own Crime • Mystery Files from Watcher

The Perplexing Legend of Vermont's Sea Monster • Mystery Files from Watcher

True Crime Cases with Disturbing CCTV Evidence from Lazy Masquerade

Documentaries:

Our Planet II [This was gorgeous and informative and also eye-opening in how it shows you the direct impact of human carelessness on so many creatures, to the albatrosses choking on plastic and the walruses unable to find ice to leave its baby. At the same time, there's hope! There's humans helping crabs cross roads, and bridges being built for animals who've used the same paths for hundreds and possibly thousands of years.]

Life In Colour with David Attenborough

Worst Roommate Ever EP 1-2: [the first episode one was WILD, especially because I had no idea this was a true crime when I clicked on it, and so did not expect it was going to involve several dead bodies buried in a little old lady's backyard. I do feel like this was such an intriguing case that I had a hard time finishing the second episode, since it feels so much more ... dull in comparison, as terrible as that is to say about murders.]

David Farrier's Mister Organ [I'm a long-time fan of David Farrier, but didn't get a chance to watch this for a while. This one is a dark, dark tale that has nothing to do with murders. It's all psychological. I'm always amazed with how well Farrier can explore the darkness of humans without turning to the usual things we think of when we think of 'bad' people. I'd also recommend reading this article - which I'll also read on my read articles list - after watching this documentary, just so you know how insidious Michael Organ truly is.]

Into The Deep: The Submarine Murder Case [I don't give the things I watch ratings, but if I did, this would be a 10/10 - it's a unique experience to be able to see footage of how the people close to a murderer react as they realise the kind of person their friend is.]

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 165 Rundown

Spy X Family: It’s the final battle for Yor’s cruise ship arc and I kinda like how they aren’t pulling any punches, like she had to be stealthy before so they had some pacificst takedowns but the majority of these people in this final gauntlet definitely died. The whole episode is basically one long boss rush action sequence with Yor fighting all the assassins underneath the fireworks which is a pretty cool setpiece. At this point Yor’s crossroads of destiny story arc is coming to a head and she’s actually afraid because not only is she dies will she be leaving a family behind but if she even gets severely hurt they’ll have to pull her out of Loid’s house and pretend she got transferred so she’s kind of having a crisis of faith about whether to be an assassin anymore while also holding back to avoid hurting herself so she’s not really fighting her best when the samurai guy comes to kick her ass. Still she’s able to pull herself together and tell herself that she’s fighting for the people close to her so there’s less evil in the world they’ll live in (I still doubt the odds that someone that’s been an assassin for about two decades has killed exclusively evil people that absolutely deserve it but whatever she needs to tell herself). There’s also a small side story with Yuri getting sick and specifically getting the shittiest brand of herbal tea because it reminds him of Yor’s terrible tea which is pretty funny.

Inuyasha: This episode is kinda weird because we’re literally like 1-2 episodes away from the end of the original series and this one sets up a whole fuckton of plot threads that won’t get resolved until The Final Act and makes it so you kinda need a refresher before going into The Final Act so like why did they decide to end it on this specific arc, I get the feeling the show just kinda reached a breaking point where they couldn’t do any more filler for as long as it was taking for the manga to progress. Anyway, following up sort from the parasites last week, only tangentially related is a demon mountain that has a secret stone that can hide demonic aura completely and Naraku fucking steals it and decides to jump Kikyo. Like Naraku seems to be ridiculously good at hiding since the only times they find him are when he comes out to attack someone and wants to be found or when he’s laying a trap so idk why he cares about hiding himself or his Heart Baby at this point given none of the five factions that hate his guts have any clue where he is at any moment. Still it’s kinda funny how since we left Inuyasha’s Dad’s Grave Naraku’s been like ‘fuck Kikyo, gotta find Kikyo’ and we have a whole arc about how hard it is to find Kikyo and Kohaku just kinda… trips over her in the woods and Naraku uses his new stealth rock to jump her and then uses Weezing’s Smokescreen to get away when Inuyasha’s group show up even though he’s literally immortal at this point there’s no reason for him to run. The demon mountain gave Inuyasha’s group some crystals that track his stealth rock which ironically makes what Naraku’s using to hide himself the best way to find him. Still after some minor obligatory ‘Inuyasha talked to Kikyo how dare he have a strictly business conversation with his ex idk’ drama, the group starts finding zombie demon chimeras because Hakudoshi’s been experimenting doing Mahito’s soul transfiguration shit to make the perfect demon guard body for the Heart Baby which seems like a lot of work given Inuyasha’s able to just Wind Scar/ Adamant Barrage it like everything else even if they get away. Now this kinda fucking kills me, Hakudoshi sends flesh tentacles into Miroku’s robe and has a brief fight with him and instead of just… you know, stabbing through his defenseless enemy he has the tentacles roam around inside Miroku’s robe to grab the stealth rock seeking crystals and harmlessly steal them, like are they even trying to kill anyone that isn’t Inuyasha anymore? Feel like the others would be dead five times over if Naraku’s gang bothered to acknowledge them at all. But yeah that’s where we’re at, entering the final little adventure and they just dumped Naraku making a body and stealing a stealth rock for his heart, Hakudoshi doing soul chimera shit and a half dozen other plot threads in our lap that will get absolutely no payoff for five years if you were watching the original run.

Yu Yu Hakusho: It’s the last episode before the epilogue and the fight is kinda disappoint tbh, idk what it is but the Demon Tournament fights just haven’t had it, though it is kinda funny that the pinnacle of demonic power just devolves into Yomi and Yusuke putting all their energy into their fists and punching the shit out of each other, like they’re not even punches that are that strong they just have glowing fists for doing normal-ass punches. Still, the aftermath of the fight is pretty nice, Yusuke actually losing and Yomi winning because of his son, it’s a good way to show how the tables have turned and how Yusuke’s opponent is now the one fighting for his loved ones (though Yusuke still gets the friendship boost and becomes ‘definitely a new power level take our word for it it’s not Sacred Energy but it’s essentially no different’) Also the tournament is won by one of Raizen’s friends who makes a ‘no fucking with humans’ policy his campaign slogan and Yomi and Mukuro were too tired from their previous fights to beat their next opponent which like… for all the shit they pulled in the Dark Tournament arc they at least let them rest between rounds or use healing magic or some shit except for that one round where they were like ‘okay next fight’s… right now, go’ like imagine if Toguro was the semi-finale fight and then they just had to like immediately fight Chu’s team or some shit and lost like that’d be some bullshit, Yusuke’s all grown up and rigging the rules in his favor like a real adult. It’s kinda funny how much of a vacancy Kuwabara not being here leaves like I get he has no place in a demon tournament but they have to inject what he would’ve said into many parts of this episode because having Yusuke’s most important ally miss the finale is also kinda bullshit. I also kinda don’t understand the rules here like Enki puts up a ‘no fucking with humans’ rule and Koenma says he’s not gonna see Yusuke again until he dies for real but Yusuke still talks about coming back to Demon World sometime and having his Dark Tournament pals visit and like… isn’t that shit against the law now? Idk. Kurama tells Hiei to fuck off and burn his own bridges if he doesn’t wanna open up to Yukina and we get the casual reveal that the whole anime is a marketing stunt by Koenma, Botan and Ogre to sell Yusuke’s greatest hits so to speak like what an odd note to end on, like I don’t think it changes anything but it’s such a weird fucking joke to pull right before the finale.

Jujutsu Kaisen: It’s time for the Gojo smackdown hour once again and this episode had the ominous aura of those ‘we’re giving a lot of foreshadowing to a character’s backstory and relationships because they’re about to die’ episodes like you’d see in Naruto where we give Kisame a three episode flashback to make us feel something about him dying. Of course Gojo dying isn’t even remotely on the table at this point, like that’s not even what the bad guys want they just wanna throw him in the Jimmy Neutron Hyper Cube. Gojo squashes Hanami like a bug and the other two can’t make much headway until Mahito shows up with a literal trainful of mooks and makes Gojo reenact the scene from Futurama where Fry drinks a hundred coffees while opening his Domain just enough to give everyone a mild coma instead of killing them since he’s pragmatic enough to not fall for hostage tactics but still doesn’t want to actively kill anyone himself. Now this combined with the sudden hypercube and the dramatic revelation that Kenjaku is controlling Geto’s corpse is enough to make Gojo’s brain stall for long enough for the hyper cube to grab him. I think they’re embellishing a bit since I don’t think Gojo’s just gonna stand there for a full minute but we did kinda just do a lot of time dilations shit but yeah I spoiled myself on this part because I had no clue what I was watching at the end of the movie (also dunno how Kenjaku grew Geto’s arm and shit back considering Yuta did do a full Uryu vs Mayuri on him and Kenjaku implies that if Gojo hadn’t done an Obi-Wan and not killed his corrupted best friend he couldn’t have made it this far. It’s just kinda funny that Gojo has to claim that everything about Geto is the same but he can tell in his soul it’s not him when it’s like bro the guy is stitched up like the doctor from Nightmare Before Christmas no duh. Like ‘Aww, what gave me away? Was it the stitches? It was the stitches wasn’t it?’ And Gojo claims that even without him Yuta’s gonna come kick Kenjaku’s ass like in the movie and like… wow way to throw everyone else that’s actually here including the real main character under the bus. Kenjaku’s just like ‘bro that temporary movie power boost bullshit ain’t gonna fly, this is canon, bitches’.

Also side note I just kinda like how the bad guys are always just hanging out playing games when they’re discussing evil plans like idk it doesn’t make them more likeable per se like I don’t like any of these guys but it gives their evil scheming more flavor. Since I was on the record of saying I was glad JJK had bad guys that were just horrible dicks with bad motives as opposed to Attack on Titan and MHA being like ‘we deserved these terrorist attacks due to the faults in society’ I like that JJK’s villain motives are ‘bad things should be the only things’ and I stand by that, their motives are still stupid despite them showing a bit more comradierie like I don’t think it’s enough to make them sympathetic but it’s enough that it keeps them from being flat, it’s a good balance.

Zom 100: It’s been a while, hasn’t it? When we last left off, Akira finally got to his hometown and we set up the Bizarro version of his crew that has a way too on the nose “BUT EVIL” version of his backstory. The majority of the episode is populating the little higurashi-style village Akira’s parents live in with small stories and people that we’re gonna feel really bad for/want to save when everything inevitably goes to shit, this is still a zombie show after all, can’t escape the Survivors Seek Sanctuary, Engage Enemy loop entirely. Plus the little tour does set up the plot points that’ll be the town’s biggest vulnerabilities. Akira also has a nice little chat with his dad where he elaborates on the whole finding a dream thing, he basically has Senku’s backstory but Taiju’s booksmarts so becoming an astronaut didn’t exactly pan out but he doesn’t regret seeking it or where he ended up because dreams are what makes a person feel alive in the end, it’s a good little topper to the message Akira’s been pushing since the beginning, kind of a more down to earth approach to following your dreams just in case there isn’t a zombie apocalypse that breaks down society as a whole freeing you up to live a life of whimsy with scantily clad anime girls, just in case. Meanwhile Higurashi enacts his plan and his plan is… ‘fuck those guys’ with ‘those guys’ being whoever he’s currently looking at. I mentioned this last time I reviewed this show but Japan seems to be weirdly adverse to talking about its systemic issues and makes anyone that has problems with the system a cartoonishly evil entitled asshole that just wants to watch the world burn or just kinda does a ‘toughen up and get through it’ mentality, like I’d say Akira is a foil to that but he didn’t really face any of the problems of society so much as it kinda fell apart around him so it’s kinda hard to take the commentary with any edge to it other than ‘shit sucks, here’s zombies’. But yeah Akira and Higurashi do end up having their faceoff and the funny thing is their bucket lists both have the exact same amount of items on them and I read through both and Higurashi’s list isn’t THAT different from Akira’s in some spots, like a lot of them are just ‘murder murder murder’ but there are some that are just like ‘buy cool shit’ which is what Akira was doing in some of his more materialistic entries. Like something weird about Higurashi’s group is that as dark and abusive as they are, they seem to want make sure everyone gets eaten by zombies instead of actively killing anyone themselves, like one of them has a fucking gun and is just shooting it in the air, that may change but for the moment they don’t seem to want to actively murder anyone, just murder by proxy through the zombies which is still shitty but it’s a weird place to draw the line. Akira rightly tells them off that you can do what you want but you can’t just go around stopping people from doing what they want which is what makes up the bulk of United States Supreme Court cases so that’s kind of a sticky moral but it’s a little more clear when your bad guys are literally just ‘I wanna kill people and blow shit up because this dude I met in college seemed happier than me’ but yeah, it’s showdown time.

Ranking of Kings: Man we have a lot of finales today don’t we? We’re really close on like half these series but this is the only one where it’s the straight-up last episode. Anyway… FINALLY, PROGRESS, like jeez I’m kinda more mad the put one episode of story progress at the end of this series of filler but it’s just been so long since I’ve been excited about this series I don’t care. Desha finally gets into the Ranking of Kings vault and it turns out after a layer of fakeout prizes designed to weed out the greedy kings, the real-ish prize is… a wish from a demon. We just had that though like several characters in the series have had that and it doesn’t seem worth all the effort of being the top of the ranking, as powerful as it is there are clearly other avenues and it still comes with the curse of twisting a demon child and the bounceback monkey’s paw effect that always happens unless you literally have their head I guess. So Desha wishes to restore Ouken at the cost of all of his own memories and just kinda becomes a bum on the side of the road that Bojji and Kage… just kinda pass right by. Ouken gets to show off why it was good to revive him and is a fucking badass breaking into the Ranking vault and fucking KILLING A GOD by pissing himself which is way cooler than it sounds. We don’t really find out what’s going on with the Rankings vault but the shadowy observers of the vault are people that Ouken regards as ‘innocent life’ and immediately halts his rampage and even puts his life on the line to kill the god to protect them so I’m guessing they’re some sort of former kings that have been set at the task of being imprisoned in the vault for some purpose and have avoided being corrupted by it. Meanwhile Kage and Bojji have hit their destination at random RPG town and Kage reflects that Bojji is way too innocent to make it on his own and resolves to be smart enough to let him keep his innocence so he can do the streetwise stuff in his place because he doesn’t want Bojji to lose his trusting nature like he did which is a nice note to end on but another example of ‘setting up plot threads in the finale for some reason’.

Vinland Saga: Einar fucking tanks all the farmhands and gets them to run off and the rest of the episode is Thorfinn’s coma dream. I like that even though there’s explicit theological metaphor going on here it’s not like Thorfinn’s in a real death’s door situation, like this isn’t him literally falling into hell it’s just how his mind is interpreting his current struggle. He initially sees his dad but Thors is just like “I know you been fucking up, killing people and shit’ and he falls into a chasm that’s a very grim depiction of what Valhalla sounds like with everyone just murdering everyone all the time, though Askeladd shows up and tells him that’s just how the world works for people who can only use violence. It’s basically Thorfinn’s disillusionment with his warrior culture and how an afterlife where people fight all the time sounds really shitty to him at this point since he didn’t like doing it when he was alive and living in a world full of senseless wars is just as bad. He’s feeling pretty shitty about decking the farmhand last episode and feels like he’s regressing back to someone that just kills his way out of all his problems, it’s one of those progress isn’t linear moments that shows why Thorfinn would benefit from some modern psychology if he could live another thousand years or so. But yeah it’s a very neat scene where the bodies of Thorfinn’s victims become the platform for him to rise out of the pit of violence since he can’t exactly bring them back but he can always stop being shitty. Thorfinn wakes up and tells Einar he won’t ever hurt someone again and this is going to be a weird series if it’s just Thorfinn Steven Universing his way out of ancient Denmark, because that’s a very tall order. I definitely admire the message and the resolve and definitely killing people is bad but if Thorfinn’s really gonna never lay a finger on anyone again he’s gonna need the best Talk No Jutsu on the planet or just never run into a guy that just wants to murder people again because that WILL happen and I’m not ready to do Morgan’s character cycle from Walking Dead all over again, they already did it like five times in that show so I’m curious to see how the writing maintains Thorfinn’s pacifism while not looking like it’s selectively only giving him conflicts he can talk his way out of.

I don't have anything planned for next week to replace Ranking of Kings and with several other series ending within the next couple weeks I'll start thinking of new shows to watch but I'd be willing to let the rest of the month be smaller blocks for the time being until I can find some stuff I really want to watch.

[businesstiramisu]

tag "Bruce Wayne (Wayne Family Adventures), Dick Greyson (DCU), Jason Todd (Batman: Under the Red Hood), Joker (Batman: the Animated Series)" under the character filters

You actually can't do that, because character tags are (mostly) shared across subfandoms. If you tag your fic with the characters tags Dick Grayson (Young Justice) or Red X | Richard Grayson (TT) they get synned to (and appear in the works page of) the canonical

(...huh, even Teen Titans 2003??? I thought that one had separate character tags, but I guess not. anyways)

This means that character tags are currently a (partial) workaround for the idiocy up-thread. If I want to read a Spy X Family time travel story, and I want to see everything, I currently have to make two searches -- in the SPY x FAMILY (Manga) and SPY x FAMILY (Anime) tags [there technically are ways to concatenate with OR in elastisearch but it's super finnicky and I always screw it up]. However, the vast majority of Spy X Family time travel stories probably involve Loid Forger, so I can just go to his character tag and filter on time travel and not worry about the fandom tags.

However, other fandoms are far less focused on one or a few characters so this approach will miss a lot. To use your Batman example -- without the "All Media Types" tag, I *could* search the Jason Todd character tag and filter on time travel, but then i'd miss this excellent Tim and Damian timeloop fic, or this hilarious one where time-traveling TimSteph pre-emptively steal the batfam from Bruce -- OH WAIT one of the sequels to that has Jason tagged so maybe you'd find it.

[and none of these will help you find my absolute favorite Batman time travel fic In This or Any Other Universe, because it is in fact tagged "Alternate Universe - Time Travel" which is apparently NOT synned to "Time Travel"... which, hmm, that one's pretty difficult actually. and not related to the problem this post is about]

...okay this got off topic. And those aren't necessarily *recs*, just things I'm glad I was able to find thanks to the "Batman - All Media Types" tag.

POINT IS, I agree with you that having that tag is a godsend for navigating Batman fics on ao3, and I hope the tag wranglers don't come for it too :(

what the fuck is wrong with them

[yorprincess]

Finding Loid || Twiloid

The floor around her was both slick and sticky with blood, a contradiction that claws at her nose like an old lover as she marches resolutely through the building. Her red-soled shoes click down the tiled floor of the WISE safehouse. The only sound...the screams had long since died away, silenced by slit throats or by those who succumbed to blood loss.

But Thorn Princess wasn't satisfied. Not with the bodies. Not with the blood that drips from her dress, her cheek, and her stilettos gripped tightly in her fists. She cared not for her own blood that mingled with the others, a few bullets graze from shots that had been lucky. She would patch them later, but for now...

Frustration roiled within her. No one had answered her very simple demand. They all refused to answer, crying for death rather than giving away that information.

Where is Loid Forger?

She had lost track of how many safehouses she had raided, how many spies she had slaughtered since she had learned that her husband was alive and that his agency was keeping him from returning to her and Anya.

Anya, who waited with Bond and Franky - who she was still wary of, but trusted enough because he loved her daughter as if she were his own blood relative - at home, was innocent of all of her mother's dealings. To whom she had to return to in the morning. For Thorn Princess could only exist in the darkness, in the shadows. In the underbelly of society. Far, far away from her daughter's innocent smile and bright eyes.

Eyes that had become dim after her father was taken. A smile that wasn't nearly as bright as it had once been.

Shaking her head, Thorn Princess' red eyes scanned the room full of desks, reflexively wiping the blood from her golden weapons before sheathing them for the moment. She would need to wash them and her hands as soon as possible. There would be no clean-up crews for this location (just like the others). This was a reminder to WISE that she was serious.

And she couldn't help but wonder why the spy agency was allowing her to slaughter their agents like lambs. Wouldn't it be easier to simply hand Loid Forger back over to her?

Unless Loid really was...

Unless they wanted a purge of their agents...

Her fingers slid across documents on the desk before her, flipping through cipher after cipher. She didn't understand them, but there were patterns she had picked up on, and one of them, in particular, could lead to the location of the next safe house and maybe information regarding her husband.

Something caught her eye.

A note. A simple scrawl on a small piece of paper. No cipher and clear as day. Her breath stalled in her chest as she seized the note and read it over and over and over again, hope and dread filling her all at once.

[whateversawesome]

The First (Dumb) Twiyor Fight Chapter by ao3 writers...l mean, by Endo 🤣

First, don't worry Yor, most of us have made a fool of ourselves in front of our crush 🤭 Nice to see she remembers 👍

Right: Asking your wife if she slept well.

Wrong: She didn't drink heavily. She just has very low tolerance (opposite of Twilight who has plenty of alcohol tolerance).

Wrong: Loid doesn't have a gripe about you oversleeping. And the girls are not right.

Wrong!: You don't need to have a mandatory gripe just because someone has a gripe.

Wrong (Overthinking alert!): Yor is not drowning away her sorrows in alcohol 🤣

Yor: Loid is upset at me because I'm not upset about anything 😱!

No, Yor. Men are uncomplicated creatures. The less amount of complaints, the happier they are.

Remember this big monologue about how good Twilight is at reading his wife?:

How did we go from that to this:

Twilight's face is priceless 🤣🤣🤣

Twilight: What do you mean l don't make you happy 😱😢?

Wow, it really looks like a legit fight from here...

By the way, this is how Twilight sees his wife: 🙂 little ball of sunshine 🌞

Thought like a true (married) man: apologize first, find out what happened second 🤣🤣🤣

The poor man doesn't even know what his wife is talking about but there he is apologizing...

Okay, this is important. I think this panel is foreshadowing!! When everything is discovered, Yor will probably be very upset at him for lying to her and there's a chance Twilight is going to say this to Yor. Meaning: He's going to show her how much she loves her with his actions and dedicate his life to making her happy 💖

Help me out: Did Twilight told Yuri to shut up or was it Yor? I don't see her saying that to her little brother, so it must have been him 🤔🤣

Well, look who's having some nice character development 😏 lt's great seeing Yor set some boundaries with her brother. Our girl is becoming an assertive woman 😌 Well done,Yor!

No, Twilight, you don't get it. Yor is not going to slip and say her marriage is fake because for her it's not fake anymore. This whole dumb fight is about one very important thing: Yor wants her marriage to be normal. That's why she tells Yuri to butt out and calls herself Mrs. Forger. (Even Yuri notices it).

Replace "patients" for "spy work" and Yor has a point. And after hearing this, Twilight will do his best to spend more time with his family 😁 That's how the ball will start rolling 😏

And look who watches cartoons with Anya 😏 He's more like an older sibling than an uncle 🤭

Yor isn't fake married anymore. That's why she's relieved her husband is not cheating on her. And yes, not having gripes is a good thing! (Alcohol is bad for relationships 🤔)

There's more serious stuff to talk about in this chapter but I'll do a separate thread for that with a couple of fun theories 😉

[tare-anime]

Yor's Cooking

So I've been discussing about why Yor's cooking is unconventional, and why she struggles with ‘home/domestic cooking’ with @rachellysebrook and @letthebodyfall  

It’s because Yor is so used to ‘Survival Cooking’!!

We came up with this reasons:

(long post)

In this Yuri's ramblings at the cover of vol 5, amidst the cringey stuff, we can find interesting information:

I already explored several of my HCs regarding the Briar's hometown and past experiences in my fic, such as:

Nielsberg might be located at the south east part of Ostania, near mountain places (south east of Germany is indeed has more mountains, if we googled.) Eastern Nielsberg, the Briar’s house, might located at the sub rural, places where civilization were even more scarce. It was far from the war front places, but at the same time, food and other supplies might be also scarce. 

Which was why, when the Briar siblings lost their parent, they choose to hunt for their food. With Yor’s inhuman strength that she already possessed, they did manage to catch animal to survive.

Maybe at one time, Yor also thought that the bigger animal equals to better nutrition XD leading her trying to fight a bear. Maybe....

Anyway, without the proper guidance from the adults at that time, we also hc that the Briar siblings learnt things by doing how to:

Prepare the animal carcass, including cooking the meat to the point of overcook in order to avoid germ/poisoning

Making survival tents during their hunting periods

Preserve foods, always tried to use every single part of the animal and not waste anything: scales, bones, fins, heads, etc.

They are so used to hunt for food, Yor is still confused at the convenience of being able to buy them at the groceries:

Making her buying everything available including: Ropes and threads (for making tents and fishing, or making traps), and cacti (several type of cacti is actually edible).

Other than ingredients, spices were most likely very scarce too! Which make Yor not accustomed to use them. Salt in particular, can be very difficult to obtain in mountains, especially in such a rural area during war. 

So, all in all, Yor’s is so accustomed to Survival Cooking, that the most important thing she has to gain is the nutrition and not the ‘taste’. 

That’s why Yuri said that her food has certain ‘full bodied aroma’ in it, and Yor herself thought that ‘as long as the nutrients are there, it’s enough’.

Btw, Loid can stand Yor’s cooking because he was a soldier himself. Soldiers, especially ones that stays at the front lines, are used to survival rations that well.... taste like sh*t, but of course they wouldn’t care. Because survival comes first. 

Anya, Camilla, and Dominic aren’t soldiers, so it’s understandable that they have lower resistance ^^;

These reasons plus the idea that the Forgers has just been together for 3 months, of course Yor hasn’t been able to improve her home cooking just yet. But she’s getting there.

Cause unlike before, now she has family to feed as motivation (as seen in chp 24), and has good teacher (Loid and maybe Camilla to a certain point) that will teach her patiently. 

One day, her cooking will improve. 

[christelightlavo]

Last song : "High Hopes by panic! at the disco" ( technically, since I was watching and learning the dance choreography ) , before that "favourite by Isabel larosa"

Favorite color : Any shade of Pink.

Currently watching : The Batman 2004 ( A rewatch )

Last movie : Ultraman Rising ( I have a thing for tired single dad's and their pink daughters alright--- *looks at loid and anya* )

Sweet, spicy or savory : Savory mixed with spicy on the side. ( suspiciously don't go for sweet that much anymore )

Relationship status : Single as a lost child in a carnival.

Current obsessions : Boruto Uzumaki , Akutagawa Ryuunosuke , Jennette Margarita, Most of the writting I do with @fandom-stealer and Drawing kittens around my college to see who can find it. (Nobody has yet)

Last thing you googled : Not your typical reincarnation story novel.

{ also adding something for you three! }

Would you throw T1! Derek in a fire OR Save T2! Jacob from going to jail : i would do the first. ( mostly because story )

Tagging : @fandom-stealer , @urlocalbisexualmess-alt and @safire-alula

And whoever who wants to join this thread.

Tagged by @infinitelytheheartexpands

Last song: Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra (@hannigramislife you know)

Favorite color: Either lilac-y purple or a pastel-y pink

Currently watching: Modern Family

Last movie: My Fair Lady (Henry Higgins is so fucking mean?? I didn't remember how mean he was. Fuck him)

Sweet, spicy, or savory: Spicy for sure

Relationship status: Who fucking knows. Not me that's for sure

Current obsessions: Interview with the Vampire ofc

Last thing you googled: I mean the last thing I used Google for was to look up tickets for a play

Tagging @hannigramislife and anyone else who wants to do it!