#does desmond have good parents in this one?

[teecupangel]

Just got thrown for a nostalgia loop and had an idea: AC x Lunar Chronicles. I don’t even know where my brain is going with this but it would be so cool.

In my brain, the obvious thing would be that the Templars are Lunars since the whole mind control deelio fits their vibe but what if Desmond was like half Lunar. And/Or what if Desmond was a cyborg? And the ancestors are actual memories uploaded into robots?

Or what if Desmond just gets transported into the Lunar Chronicles universe and, because of Isu DNA, he’s immune to Lunar Glamour without being a Shell.

Or or, he gets transported there as a Lunar child but with all the memories of original Desmond and has to figure out what the fuck is Glamour and how to use it.

My initial idea would be the Lunars are an evolution of the Isus who left Earth before the Solar Flare (or didn’t go to Earth in the first place) but turning them into the Templar equivalent in this setup would be a nice change (since I did turn the people of the Moon in the Sailor Moon AU into Isus already XD).

So for this one, the Templars had long ‘converted’ the Lunars into their ideology but it becomes wrapped by the feeling of superiority the Lunars easily find thanks to their capabilities for mind control. The idea of ‘Total Control will Bring Absolute Peace’ that the Templars have been trying to push forward will be lost in the process thanks to the selfishness being brought out by the total power the Lunars have on people.

In this situation, Winter isn’t the epitome of what the Templar wanted because she refused to use her ‘gift’ but she would mistake the Templar’s cause to something like “Order is necessary to bring peace”.

Of course, we’ll set Desmond up in this world as a scifi fairy tale character. My initial idea was to turn her to the transmigrated equivalent of Wizard of Oz where he awakens as the only child of a Lunar family that isn’t really high up there in the hierarchy to be considered a ‘danger’ to the politics of Lunars but high enough that he would be raised with a semi-silver spoon.

Of course, we picked Wizard of Oz (and ignore the fact that it’s technically not one of the classic fairy tales) because this gives us the chance to give Desmond his ancestors:

The Scarecrow

The Tinman

The Lion

The Lion is Ratonhnhaké:ton, a human captured to become a slave of Desmond’s family. Of course, Desmond says no to this and they only pretend to be master and slave while trying to find Ratonhnhaké:ton’s tribe who had gone into hiding after their settlement had been attacked. Ratonhnhaké:ton wants to find his people who were also captured like him and Desmond usually helps him either by buying them when security is too tight or by finding ways to help Ratonhnhaké:ton break them out as quietly as possible.

The Tinman is Ezio who is an android that was gifted to Desmond when he was a baby, to be both his companion and his guard. He’s pretty much Desmond’s butler and minder and gets roped into Desmond and Ratonhnhaké:ton’s plans because he has to make sure Desmond is safe and won’t get into trouble. He acts more like an older brother to Desmond and Ratonhnhaké:ton most of the time but he is also bound to report everything Desmond does to his parents thanks to a chip that has been installed into him.

The Scarecrow is Altaïr and we have two option: Earthean or Lunar. Regardless of which one he is, his main problem is that he wants to receive the recognition he deserves for his works in a scholarly field (Quantum physics? Idk, something connected to how Desmond got transmigrated to this world). His work has been taken by an older more influential Lunar either because (if he’s an Earthean) he’s an Earthean and his peers think he’s lower than them or (if he’s a Lunar) he’s from a fallen Lunar family who perhaps helped slaves run away and has been stripped of their ranks. Regardless, Desmond becomes more or less his financial backer because Desmond believes that Altaïr might be able to figure out how to get Desmond back to his world (or, at the very least, let him get into contact with them).

Now, here’s the fun part. Does Desmond remember them as his ancestors?

It would be fun if he does and would give Desmond a reason to trust them as soon as he meets them.

An alternative would be that Desmond’s memories of them (aka: his time in the Animus) is blank. Only his memories as Desmond Miles are vivid. He knows he used the Animus to get stronger but he doesn’t remember what he saw in the Animus.

Another alternative is that he starts to remember them only after meeting them or after his relationship with them is at the point where they trust each other.

Regardless of which it is, the main point is that the three does not remember their past lives (or, Altaïr’s theory, their alternate life) but their personality are quite similar to what Desmond is used to.

To hammer in the Wizard of Oz setting, the courage that Ratonhnhaké:ton is meant to receive is finally understanding the difference between being courageous and being reckless. Ezio’s ‘heart’ is the character development he would have as he become more and more like Desmond and Ratonhnhaké:ton’s older brother. Altaïr’s ‘brain’ is the recognition for his works. Desmond is modeled as both Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz as he meets them and grants them their wish. Toto the dog is gonna be an android corgi dog named Des.

Desmond’s parents are actually Glinda (Minerva) and the Wicked Witch of the West (Juno). Minerva believes that letting Desmond do what he wants will make him understand his place in their world. Juno helps in the background while trying to nudge Desmond into understanding his place as a Lunar (and maybe she’s planning a coup to become the most powerful Lunar, who knows? That’s like plot D in this one)

[yumeka-sxf]

I'm finally home from my vacation and able to discuss the latest SxF chapter...all I can say is, I have a lot to say! I'll start with funny stuff first before I move on to analyzing...

Anya was especially hilarious in this chapter - where do I even start with her gremlin-ness? 😂 First off, there's her calling the butlers "henchlings' henchlings" (in the Japanese version, I believe she's using some mispronunciation of 弟子, which means "follower")

Then she calls out Twilight for being, well, Twilight, even giving his behavior its own acronym 🤣

She feels bad for George because his family isn't important enough for Twilight's aforementioned Twilighting 😅

And this doozy of a nickname for Bill!

In the Japanese version, she calls him something like "old man bully who hits people with balls" 😆

But joking aside, we get these profound words from Jeeves that seem to resonate with Twilight.

His words remind Twilight of the hypocrisy of his position: on the one hand, he agrees with Jeeves and wants the children to be able to grow up as they wish, without being burdened by the expectations of their parents. But that's exactly what he's been corralling Anya towards this whole time...doing whatever's best for Operation Strix, regardless of what may be best for her.

This scene reminded me of his musings when they first took Bond to the dog park; another case where he's aware that the morals he believes in are the opposite of his actions and yet...he continues with the mission.

I also think it's great that the other parents thank Anya for her bravery during the bus hijacking. Even if their kids don't act grateful, the parents should be on their behalf. Perhaps seeing this praise for Anya right before his eyes is what made Twilight feel even more guilt upon hearing Jeeves' words - he's seeing more and more what an exceptional girl she is despite not having the perfect traits for his mission, and yet he's still manipulating her (not realizing she's aware of the mission and wants to help).

But on that note, it's nice to see that George's dad and Becky's mom somewhat agree with Jeeves. As of now, I'd say out of all the Eden kids we've gotten to know, George and Becky seem to have the most decent families. I especially like how Becky's dad is adorably doting, to the point where he gets crushed when Becky asks Yor for help instead of him 😅 Also Martha having to reel him in, lol.

But despite being an overbearing dad, at least he isn't quick to jump on Loid supposedly "seducing" Becky 😂 He seems to not take it seriously, which is good since Becky is the one making the moves with her silly little girl crush.

Also Emile thinking Yor is pretty~ I'm surprised he had something nice to say about anyone connected to Anya, lol. I really want a chapter where Yor takes all the Eden kids on a playdate and they start thinking she's awesome like Becky does, even Damian.

Speaking of Yor, just when I thought she would be demoted to "background character" for whatever arc is coming, the last few panels give the impression that she'll have her next moment in the spotlight soon! Is she just destined to always catch Melinda when she falls? 😅

Not only are we getting more Yor/Melinda interactions next time, but also (hopefully) more of Anya reading Melinda's mind. I know there's theories floating around of how Donovan may be able to read minds and is possibly the one behind the experiments done on Anya, and that Melinda may have some psychic abilities too. Also some relation to that Arnold Crowley character introduced several chapters ago. I'm not good at theorizing, so I'll leave it to fans who are better with that kind of stuff 😅 But I think they're all good theories and I'm keeping my fingers crossed we'll get more insight into Desmond secrets very soon!

...but unfortunately the next new chapter won't be until November 25th, so we'll have to be satisfied with theories for now!

[just-absolutely-super]

As many people have pointed out already in chapter 106, the Forgers—a fake family—act more authentic than the Desmonds—the actual family.

But really…the Desmonds aren’t a “real” family, not to me. Not in a way that matters...

SxF is really good at showing relationship dynamics and how blood doesn’t always make a family. This is so true now that you read chapter 106 and compare the Desmonds and their interactions to the Forgers and how they act with one another.

With the Desmonds, there is no warmth shown in how they interact. I'd say there's barely any love either (we know Melinda does care for Damian despite the conflicting thoughts, but it seems she's not allowed to show it). Damian tries to form connections but no one in the family is receptive of it. The parents have a hands-off parenting style. The older brother keeps to himself and doesn’t open himself up. Damian literally finds more affection in his dog and butler than his actual family and that’s so heartbreaking!

The Desmonds may be a family in all sense and purposes, but they don't present in a way that all families are meant to.

On the other side are the Forgers. Loid and Yor married for convenience. Anya is adopted. They’re only together because of Anya due to her mind reading abilities. It’s all a sham for WISE’s mission and to lower suspicion from the secret police.

But despite the intentions behind forming this persona of a perfect family unit…you can tell that there is a genuity to their relationship with one another. You see love, care, emotion, respect, and protectiveness. The family may be fake but the feelings they exhibit are so real despite the motives not exactly being pure. Loid, Yor, and Anya experiencing life together led to them forming bonds that they cherish. They Forgers managed to create a warm place they can comfortably call home.

idk I just find it so fascinating to see how a family brought together for convenience and ulterior motives can develop true familial bonds compared to an “official” and “real” family. I want to write a thesis paper about it lmao

I do wonder what the future holds for the Desmonds. In Damian's case, I hope he and Anya can grow more together so she can show him what a real loving family is. If Donovan really is as evil as the narrative is making him out to be, my hope is that he can be taken out of the picture so the rest of the family can heal from their respective traumas, then grow back together on what little familial love is left over. But we'll just have to wait and see when it comes to that...

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt for Jan behind the cut; “project sidekick”. (( chrono || non-chrono ))

“This is such bullshit,” Wally bites off, because it's not like he's not Wally, he's been Wally all this time, nobody could tell the fucking difference including Uncle Barry and his parents and Batman and his teachers and friends and him–except they're not, none of them are, the Flash is his uncle but he's not the Flash's nephew, he–he–

He’s not. He remembers them, but none of them remember . . . remember . . . 

It’s a different Wally West that they’re all remembering. A different Kid Flash. A different . . . 

They think he’s different. They think he’s not . . . 

He’s not Wally West to them. Not to any of them. 

He doesn’t–he doesn’t know what . . . what’s going to . . . what’s he’s going to . . . 

“We must only wait, my friend,” Kaldur says like they’re even actually friends at all, but Wally doesn’t know how to think of him as anyone else. He is Kaldur, same as–he remembers everything Kaldur remembers and he’s genetically identical to Kaldur and he’s actually technically probably more Kaldur because everything he did was something Kaldur would have, because he didn’t know the stupid difference! He’s Kaldur, just three months farther along. All he ever did was what Kaldur would’ve done. 

So he’s Kaldur. He’s more Kaldur than the real Kaldur. 

And literally no one else thinks that. No one else thinks that, and if Wally ever actually said that, they’d all think he was about to go fucking supervillain on them or something, which actually maybe would be justified, if only because supervillains get to do shit like burn down or explode or disintegrate entire fifty-three level labs and every single doctor who’s ever worked in them and also break into Belle Reve and personally vibrate Desmond’s larynx out of his fucking throat! 

It’d take longer to kill him than the heart would, and maybe Wally really is going to end up a supervillain. Maybe he’s a shitty person or he has mind control somewhere in his head that just hasn’t gotten triggered yet or– 

“I am actually very not-good at waiting, that’s kind of my whole thing is being bad at waiting, if you forgot,” Wally cuts his own thoughts off with, forcing his hands not to vibrate with speed–or Speed. “Or it’s Kid Flash’s whole thing, anyway, and my stupid ass didn’t know the difference.” 

The Flash kept looking at him like he was worried about what he was gonna do and his–and–and the Wests are gonna be so, like, upset and horrified and probably be upset with themselves, too, since it’s not like they tweaked he wasn’t really there–wasn’t their–wasn’t the same kid they’d been raising all his life, and Batman told Dick he was sorry, which–how often does Batman even do that, say he’s freakin’ sorry like that?! 

And–and the Wally who’s been in stasis on sublevel 53 for the past three months is gonna come get his life back and not know anything that’s happened or anything that’s going on, and–and–

And M’gann and Artemis are gonna be so freaked out. Like, Conner’s one thing, they came in knowing about Conner being a clone and he does, actually, look different from Superman, what with the whole “being half his physical age” thing, but them–they all look exactly like the guys whose lives they stole and maybe they do have freaky mind control in them, maybe they’re not safe to be around, maybe they’re creepy awful evil sleeper agents or–or– 

“And yet the necessity for the waiting remains,” Kaldur says gently, the total actual asshole who can only act like that ‘cuz he got cloned from the most chill and most responsible sixteen year-old who has ever walked the fucking earth, Wally is pretty sure, and he got made out of a socially-inept loser who literally no girl alive would ever look twice at and who can’t just slow down when he–! 

“Sure it does,” Dick says, then lets out a mean, bitter little laugh. It’s not a laugh Wally’s ever heard from him before. 

But he heard it when Dick told him about . . . told him about the circus, and Zucco, and . . . 

That’s not even something that actually happened to him. Not even something that happened to this Dick, which–actually, yeah, never mind, Wally will take the socially-inept loser who can’t slow down compared to remembering watching the Flying Graysons fall. Remembering watching that from their kid’s perspective, all the related thoughts and emotion and–and Dick remembers all that awful stuff, remembers losing his parents and his life and his whole world, and he doesn’t even get to feel anything about it anymore. 

He never even met the Graysons. Never lived with them or travelled with the circus; never performed in front of cheering crowds like he remembers loving, never knew any of those people, never actually felt all that rage and grief and helplessness. 

So no one’s going to think it counts, now that they know he’s not the Dick Grayson that actually did do all those things.

And now Dick’s actually lost his parents and his life and his whole world, because none of it them were ever his at all, and he remembers feeling that twice, and remembers exactly how awful it was the first time. Remembers what it did to him the first time. How it changed him, and what it made him, and . . . 

Yeah. Wally will take the socially-inept loser of a gene donor, actually. The socially-inept loser of a gene donor is looking pretty good right now.

[sy-on-boy]

Anya + unraveling the mystery of the Desmond family (and Damian being different)

When Melinda debuted, I wrote a post about how she was potentially a character against the Forgers because Anya hadn't met her (we gain insight into characters via our deus ex machina Anya meeting them and reading their minds). Anya has met her now and the narrative has established that she genuinely cares for Damian (even if she's still a mysterious character).

After a long time, Demetrius is finally here. He's still mysterious, but not antagonistic to his brother and still cares for him. Like I said in a previous post, Demetrius subverts what I said above because Anya cannot read him fully even if she's met him. But regardless, Demetrius is here, we've seen him, all four Desmonds have finally debuted. And in my mind, I can vaguely connect them to the Forger-Briar extended family:

Anya - Damian: The kids aiming for stella stars and seeking parental approval. Attached to their dogs. Occasionally heroic (dodgeball, handkerchief, bus hijacking), but ultimately silly kids dragged into "adult" political matters (Anya with more awareness than Damian).

Loid - Donovan: Standing in for WISE vs war, one of the central conflicts. They are fathers and authority figures. Loid, faking a job as a psychiatrist, seeks to understand people (as a fake job, but he also does this as a spy). Donovan famously declared that people would never truly sympathize with each other. A good, attentive father and a neglectful father.

Yor - Melinda: The mothers, the narrative kind of puts them in the background compared to their husbands, but we know they have plot behind them. Yor's job as an assassin is unknown to her family (sans Anya). Melinda has struggles of her own when it comes to parenting her kids / being married to Donovan.

Demetrius - Yuri: Bit of a stretch, but they're both characterized as genius brothers and on the side compared to the main father-mother-child trios. Yuri works for the SSS, in direct opposition to Loid. Demetrius is a middle schooler?? He’s a child so he’s probably not that involved in the main plot, and if he is, it’s not willingly / he was brought up that way. They're both younger (and less experienced) compared to the adults- Demetrius is still a child and Yuri is 20. Yuri's affection for Yor is overflowing and the Briar siblings are very supportive of each other. In contrast, Demetrius is passive and apathetic, but not uncaring.

Anya has met everyone except for Donovan. Anya thinks both Melinda and Demetrius are weird. And Anya thinks of Donovan as the evil super boss. To her, the Desmonds are "weird". "All of Sy-on boy's relatives are such weirdos" - not sure if it's just the translation, but this line seems to imply Anya thinks Damian is exempt to the weirdness of his family. After all, unlike Demetrius, she can read Damian's thoughts normally. And unlike Melinda (and Yuri, and Fiona), she usually doesn't get bombarded with an overwhelming wave of intense thoughts when she reads Damian's mind.

And that brings us to the next point - Damian's time in Eden and the positive influences he receives (away from his family). Damian and Anya are better friends now. E&E's loyalty and affection for him have been established countless times. Becky congratulates Damian this chapter. Despite Damian thinking people suck up to him to get close to his father, he has a group of friends who do care about him (including Becky who doesn't suck up to him). Outside of what we see from Anya's pov, Damian has teachers and his dorm mother (Jeeves too) who care for him. Damian isn't alone.

Damian is shown to be disconnected from his family for whatever reason. His parents didn't come to his orientation. Damian says he doesn't see his parents often. Melinda cares for Damian but isn't allowed to see him often / afraid to be seen with him (?). Damian has called Demetrius before but this is the first time we see him meet Demetrius in person. And we all know about Damian's goal of impressing his father. Damian seems to believe Demetrius and Donovan when close when they were younger (when Demetrius was slightly older than Damian’s age), but Damian receives no such attention. Despite this, Damian still manages to have a fairly happy school life with his friends and supportive adult figures.

I think Damian's growing friendship with Anya and the recent complete reveal of the Desmond family will push Anya into thinking Damian is not like his weird family. If anything, Damian is more like Anya and her associates. Post bus-hijacking, Damian from Anya's POV is seen as more likeable / sympathetic, even more so now that we know about his mother and brother.

Anya is a child who is exposed to some of the darkness in Melinda / Demetrius' heads (trauma from being close to Donovan?), and she doesn't really understand them. Melinda / Demetrius seem off to outsiders (we saw Yor’s reaction, Becky thinks Demetrius is creepy) but it’s only Anya who’s capable of reading their minds and knowing how weird their thoughts are. But Anya has a much better understanding of Damian, the youngest Desmond, who is a kid like her with understandable motivations (getting stars, impressing his dad) similar to Anya's own motivations.

Interesting to note that Demetrius, while at Eden, seems rather lonely and disconnected even within his peer group. When he walks down the stairs, the panel frames it as him being alone, while Damian has four friends with him. When Damian and Anya get their stars, their classmates are shown to be smiling / impressed. When Demetrius gets his stars, we see two of his peers sweatdropping, almost looking wary, while a blushing girl has her hands to her mouth. The story doesn't show Demetrius' peers celebrating his success. It feels like Demetrius' peers are used to him getting good grades but still in awe of how good he is, but... they're not really close to him. Demetrius is not social and says he doesn't understand people, and maybe he doesn't interact much with his peers.

This chapter also reveals Demetrius is not in regular contact with Donovan anymore, contrary to what Damian believed. So Demetrius seems removed from the Desmond family sphere, but also isn't super integrated into the Eden sphere (in contrast to his 6yo brother and his friends). We can believe Demetrius isn’t close to Donovan because he is annoyed (and triggered?) by the mere mention of his father. Clearly Donovan has done something scarring to both Melinda and Demetrius and their thoughts look weird to Anya. Damian, despite craving for his father's attention and being stressed about it, is still relatively unaffected.

From now on, I think we'll slowly get more information about the Desmonds while Damian remains separated from them in the narrative. Damian is introduced as a vital part of Plan B due to his connection with his father, but even Damian himself admits there's not much of a connection. Plan B is working (sort of) because Damianya are friends, but that doesn't mean it's easier for Anya to meet Donovan. I think the narrative has been pushing Damian away from being a plot device for Plan B to being Anya's genuine friend and a victim of the Desmond parenting. At this point, Damian is not really useful to the main plot and there's not much mystery to this 6yo child.

Damian still thinks of himself as a scion of the Desmonds and he’s desperately trying to get his father’s attention. But his dad doesn’t really care, his mom loves him but doesn’t want him to be near Donovan, his brother is similar and also seemingly doesn’t want anything to do with Donovan. Meanwhile, the story establishes him as a boy with a crush on Anya, a boy with friends who will readily sacrifice themselves for him, a boy who’s willing to protect his classmates. All around Damain, his peers, associates, and the story itself has long been defining Damian as someone outside of being the Desmond family. But Damian naturally holds onto it.

Damian isn’t mysterious to Anya because she can read him. Okay, she still thinks he’s a brat sometimes, but that’s Damain being Damian, not Damian being a Desmond. But everyone else in the family is mysterious and it makes Anya feel at least vaguely uncomfortable.

The Desmonds are probably connected to Project Apple, and with the recent hints of Anya’s backstory, we might get some of that. But Damian is framed as almost completely separate to whatever went on, while Melinda and Demetrius are portrayed as victims of Donovan, mysterious and a bit weird but still sympathetic.

And that’s why I think it’s coming together— hints of Anya’s backstory, Damianya becoming better friends, the Desmonds all here. We’ve scratched the surface off and we’re hopefully going to see more.

(Also, just a thought: if Damian indeed goes through a “dark arc” and becomes more like the rest of his family, Anya will know because she can read his mind. She will be able to tell if Damian’s thoughts also start being “weird”. But they are better friends now which could be a lead up to her helping Damian deal with the pressure and struggle.)

[whateversawesome]

Chapter 93: Stellas, Tonitrus and Another Desmond

First of all, congratulations to our girl for getting another stella (her first academic achievement stella too!) Good for you, Anya!!

Anya also got a tonitrus bolt, but who cares about that 😆 Oh yeah, I know who does...

Congratulations also to Twilight for not losing it. Good for you, Twilight...you're learning how to be a good dad. Hey, did you notice he didn't even try to look at the results before time?

Look at that baby's face 💕 Positive reinforcement and encouragement work wonders! Still, I hope one day, Anya realizes her papa loves her no matter what.

It was one hell of a chapter, don't you think?

Let me get this out of the way: the more I know the people around Donovan Desmond, the less I like him. Even though we know very little about this man, it looks like his relationship with his family has destabilized his wife and son's mental health and general wellbeing.

So, here are my thoughts:

Demetrius

He looks like a kid who was pushed too hard to study and was taught nothing else. Yeah, he may be a stella-earning machine, but he lacks a balance, like the ability to communicate and understand other people. If anything, he seemed overwhelmed by a simple interaction with a some kids.

I'm guessing his classmates see him like an unapproachable person and he is probably a loner. He doesn't seem close to his brother either and I'm going to guess he's not close to Melinda. I suspect his dad "took him under his wing" since he was very young and made him that way.

Why couldn't Anya read his thoughts?

At the moment, I don't think he was experimented on. In my opinion, this boy's only thoughts are about studying, earning stellas, and not being able to understand people. All courtesy of...

Donovan Desmond

It looks like Donovan did spend a lot of time with Demetrius when he was young. The purpose is still not very clear to me, but this looks fishy. Either he sincerely wanted his son to do well in school or there was a reason Donovan Desmond wanted to be inside those imperial scholar social gatherings.

My gut tells me it's the second option. Why?...

I believe Donovan was Prime Minister or close to being Prime Minister back then. Why would a busy politician like him spend his time making sure his son did well in school? Something doesn't add up.

In the present, Donovan is basically a recluse and the only events he attends are those imperial scholar gatherings. If Desmond was a good dad, it would be understandable for him to support his son, even if he didn't participate in politics anymore. But that's the thing; Donovan Desmond is not a good, supportive dad. Demetrius said it himself: his dad is not in contact with him. Meaning, there must be an ulterior motive for him to attend to those social gatherings.

My guess is that he used his son. And since he already has access to those meetings, he doesn't need to communicate with his eldest son anymore or to have a relationship with his youngest either.

Talking about the youngest Desmond...

Damian

Damian and Anya had a rocky start, but as the story advances, it's obvious Damian is a sweet boy, who seems so...abandoned.

Damian is the kind of kid who thinks he has to earn his parents' love (especially his dad's). That's horrible. That love should be unconditional.

However, after meeting Melinda and now Demetrius, I can confidently say he's better off at school. Because of this, I'm thinking that it was Melinda the one who insisted on Damian staying at Eden.

Damian probably thought that in order for his dad to spend time with him, he needed to be like his brother, meaning a stella-earning machine. That's why those stellas are so important to him. And let me say that it's remarkable that Damian is earning stellas without any help from his parents or anyone else (like Demetrius in the past and Anya in the present.)

Now I see that part of his character arc could be for him to realize he doesn't have to be like his brother and he doesn't need his father's approval either.

Can you see the difference his friends make in Damian's life? His friends, including Anya, are helping become a different person than his brother. They're helping him realize he doesn't have to behave "like a Desmond" only, that it's okay to behave like a kid too.

Maybe that's why his mom wants him to be friends with Anya. She's a good influence on him.

It will be interesting to see if Damian's relationship with Demetrius changes over time. I would like to see that because Damian craves a relationship with his family. In my opinion, Melinda does love his youngest son (we don't know how she feels about Demetrius), but there's a reason why she won't go near him. At some point, we'll find out that reason.

Twilight and Anya

Just like Desmond, Twilight needs to get into those imperial scholar gatherings. That's why Anya needs to get those stellas. We could argue he's also using Anya like Donovan used Demetrius, but there are a few key differences:

1.Anya knows and is helping him willingly, because she knows her papa's purpose: to keep peace (and make a world where children don't have to cry).

2.The way Twilight encourages Anya earn those stellas. Yes, he makes her study (helps her too), like any parent would, but he also lets Anya be herself! Twilight wants Anya to have a balanced life, to have friends, to have fun, to play, to watch TV, to go on outings and even travel as a family.

He's not forcing her to study 24/7 so she turns into a stella-earning machine, because he knows there's more to life than stellas and good grades and because he wants the best for his child, over his mission (even when he's not ready to admit that).

3.This whole thing is transforming him. Unlike Desmond, Twilight is becoming more human. He no longer serves his own purpose (even if that purpose is for peace). Now, he's a father and has to put his daughter's wellbeing first.

Do you need proof?

Here, Twilight asked the question we've all been dying to ask.

As a spy, he would have pushed his daughter to remember her past so she would answer the question. But instead...

He realized those memories could be painful and didn't want his daughter to think about that, so he just tells her to forget about it...Why? Because Anya's past doesn't matter. Even when it could be advantageous for his mission, he chooses to let it go for his daughter's sake and because she already has a family with Yor, Bond, and him.

Donovan and Damian

I wonder if at some point Donovan Desmond will try to use Damian for his own purpose. If that happens, I'm sure Damian won't turn his dad down, he'll be happy his father finally acknowledges him and will be happy to spend time with him.

My gut has been screaming that Damian and Donovan are a foil of [Redacted] and his dad. And not only that...Remember when that awful man made Anya cry during the Eden Interview and Twilight lost it? I suspect the relationship between Damian and Donovan Desmond could be a big trigger for Mr. Spy.

Since most of the characters in SxF are morally gray, I suspect Donovan Desmond will be the same. Maybe he'll turn out to be a good leader who wants the best for his country and wants to prevent the war, but at the same time is an abusive husband and father.

Would Twilight be okay with that now that he is a father and a husband himself?

At some point, Twilight will probably have to choose between his family and his mission and Donovan Desmond is his mission...🤔

[prickly-paprikash]

There are two ways I see that SpyxFamily can go with the Authens.

Ever since we've been introduced to the world of SxF, last names have always been an indicator of who exactly it is we're dealing with.

The Forgers are literally a Forged Family. No-brainer.

Yor and Yuri Briar: both beautiful people but with sharp thorns to protect themselves and one another. Their coloring and their characters are related to Roses and Yor is literally Thorn Princess.

Fiona Frost: Ice Cold. Frosty Exterior. Snow Queen. Warm and melty and obsessed on the inside.

Franky Franklin: Frank, honest and blunt. He's always up-front with Twilight since the beginning. Franklin also comes from the word francos meaning 'free'. He's a free agent, allied with Twilight but not with WISE, since he is an Ostanian. He's also the first true free-thinker, holding no allegiance to any state but cares genuinely for the people around him.

The Desmonds: meaning South Munster, one of the provinces of Munster. While it doesn't necessarily have a defined meaning, it is said that the lucky number of this name is 11, and Damian is ranked 11th amongst 228 students for the exams. Neat.

So Authens, right? Sigmund and Barbara Authen. If Loid, Yor, Anya and Bond are a forged family, then Siggy and Barbs are an authentic one from the getgo. Ever since the introduction of these two, everyone has both been over-the-moon and skeptical. It's nice to add new members to the family in this show. It's nice to see a foil (and an insight into the future for them) to Yor and Loid, where the elderly couple are genuine in their love, while Twilight and Thorn Princess still struggle with what exactly their fake relationship entails. Sigmund and Barbara trust one another completely, while the Spy and the Assassin still have ways to go on that front.

Now, Anya is being tutored by Sigmund, a former University Professor, Lecturer and Neurologist. Similar to Loid in a way, who moonlights as a Psychiatrist. The Authens aren't just being shown as a "what could be" for Loid and Yor as a couple, but as parents and mentors as well as seen in this chapter.

Both Loid and Sigmund get into Spy Wars for the sake of educating their students. The difference however lies in the way they go about it.

Loid reads and watches the entirety of Spy Wars to show that he is a good father with a pulse on what his daughter likes, as well as an avenue for him to teach Anya since she responds well to the show. But Loid only memorizes the show and tries to brute force (relatively speaking) Anya's education with it.

Like... making a fake episode of the show just to try and make Anya interested in her studies.

Sigmund on the other hand really sparks a love and understanding for the material itself.

Loid tries to force Anya to see the value in education through cold logic and goal-oriented thinking. Anya should study to Prevent War from erupting between Ostania and Westalis. Sigmund guides Anya into seeing the worth of education by itself. The joys in learning for learning's sake. Loid tries a surface level approach, where Bondman's adventures are hamfisted edu-tainment. He thinks that since Anya likes Bondman, she'll be tricked into learning by using Spy Wars as a coat of paint to mask a really boring lecture.

Sigmud correctly identifies what Anya loves about the story itself, and then uses those elements to relate to classical language.

Loid and Yor are committed to their duties, but it doesn't necessarily bring them joy. To keep children safe and happy, Twilight will lie and Thorn Princess will kill, but their personal satisfaction isn't something they bother about. Sigmund, on the other hand loved his job. He loves teaching. He loves the altruistic element to it—cultivating minds, helping them along to their full potential, but he also has a personal joy in teaching.

Another thing is that Loid loves his family, but doesn't know he does and can't spit it out. He can come off stoic and cold. Sigmund readily shows his appreciation for his wife and for his new student Anya.

What troubles me now is what happens next.

Authen does mean authentic. I have no doubt that Sigmund authentically loves his wife. His love for his research is also authentic. His passion for teaching is authentic. His admiration for Anya is authentic.

But what's the context of this authenticity?

See, the first route is that Sigmund really is just a good guy. A simple, kind, brilliant man who probably had a hand in building Project Apple from the ground up with the goal of improving people's minds, starting with dogs. Maybe it was co-opted by corrupt officials, twisting it into a monstrous organization willing to harm children and animals to realize their goals for a powerful human weapon. A weapon that became Anya Forger. Sigmund and Barbara leave, aid in the war effort for civilians and victims, and make a life for themselves in Berlint. I do believe this might be the likelier option.

But what if the contrast between the Forgers and the Authens is taken to the extreme?

The second route takes advantage of the inherent and subtle darkness in SpyxFam. This manga is just a bundle of gooey joy, but that happiness successfully hides the brutal truth of the world. Every character in this show is touched by war.

Anya and Bond are intended as living weapons. We tend to forget about this since Anya is a goblin child and Bond is floofy goofball.

Twilight and Yor are orphans of war, turned into the most powerful soldiers on each side. We forget this since both are idiots when it comes to anything each other and their family.

Handler is a level-headed badass who radiates older sister vibes for everyone who works under her, and she genuinely cares for her agents. She's also a depressed wreck who barely functions outside of work and constantly relives the loss of her husband and daughter.

The Blackbells? Posh rich folk, right? But their money comes from warmongering. Martha, the kindly mother-figure/butler/security for Becky? A veteran of war. The seamstress who is fond of Yor? Most likely an anti-authoritarian activist, since Loid clocked her immediately as being arrested for political activity. Maybe a former Red Circus member. Bazooka Bill? Funny kid who hit puberty way too early and has a hilarious deep voice. He's also being groomed to be a venerated soldier at the age of six by his father, who has most likely committed war crimes.

SpyxFamily is genuine in its joyful moments. But it barely hides the darkness that constantly lingers. War is a shadow that haunts these bright pages, and it always recontextualizes the zany adventures our family goes on.

What if the Authens are like that?

Everything about them is authentic. But they're also twisted. An authentic love for neuro science can lead to an obsessive march towards human weaponry. An authentic desire for world peace can mean that the end justifies the means, even if that means a telepath that could, theoretically dominate an entire nation. An authentic love for his wife could lead him to hiding everything from her.

What if Sigmund Authen is authentic in every aspect of himself, and is still a man with a dark agenda? That would perfectly contrast Loid, a man who has faked every single element of himself down to his own name and identity, but has never once strayed from his goal of ensuring a bright future for the strangers around him?

What I'm saying is that it'd be really cool if Twilight, a living lie made human who will commit to any deception for the sake of children's safety and happiness would be heavily contrasted by Sigmund Authen, a man who lives so authentically to his creed that he is willing to put children in harm's way for the sake of World Peace?

With the upcoming chapters clearly focusing on Anya and her past, wouldn't it be cool to celebrate Spy x Family hitting 100 chapters by revealing more and more of its dark, haunting, war-torn world after more than a hundred chapters of Spy Family antics?

Uh... Anyway, here's Comedy by Gen Hoshino.

[givemeanaccountalready]

Who's Whose Counterpart?:

Anya Forger and Yuri Briar against Damian and Demetrius Desmond

I love Spy x Family. It's adorable and heart-wrenching and fluffy and angst filled and I love it all very much. I am eagerly following the manga, and my guys, we have been eating good the past 109 chapters. And while 109 may seem like a "jump the shark" moment for the series, I agree with the fans who say that Melinda's confession at the end of chapter 109 is most likely her rationalization of Donovan's behavior and not a fact. But I will eat my metaphorical hat and giggle while doing so if she's ever vindicated.

On Christmas Day, I was enjoying my cosmos and a minute to myself when I was struck by a realization that Demetrius Desmond may be Anya's foil instead of Damian. I continued to mull over this, and I have come to the conclusion that yes, Endo meant for Demetrius to foil Yuri Briar. But, I can't help but note the number of similarities between Demetrius and Anya, and that Damian shares some similarities to Yuri as well. Foil characters are meant to contrast and highlight certain qualities of the main character.

This post will contain spoilers under the cut. For anime-only fans, this goes well beyond the end of season 2 (~chapter 59) and goes up to the most recent chapter released, which is 109.

Damian is to Anya as Demetrius is to Yuri:

Damian Desmond debuts in chapter 8 of the series, and his behavior is a stark contrast from what we are used to seeing from Anya. Fundamentally, they both have the same goal of making their respective fathers proud of them, but the way they go about it differ, making them a good example of foil characters.

Socioeconomic background: the Desmond family is a member of Ostania's elite class, most likely with a noble lineage if their coat of arms is anything to go by, while the Forgers are an upper-middle class family

Blood relation: Damian is the biological son of his parents while Anya is adopted. His maternal grandparents were mentioned by Melinda back in chapter 91 (the veterans' bazaar) and one would assume that Donovan's parents existed at one point in order for the young Donovan to attend Eden (chapter 99, someone had to take him to the interview and pay tuition). Meanwhile, the Forgers are all orphans. Twilight's mother was killed during the bombings of Kielburg and that his father was presumably killed at the border when Luwen (Twilight's hometown) was first bombed. Yor and Yuri's parents passed during the war when the siblings were young, forcing Yor to take on the adult role of caretaker and breadwinner for Yuri. Their father has yet to be mentioned, but we did see their mother's back during Yor's cooking lesson (chapter 24). Likewise, Anya's biological father has yet to be mentioned, but if her response to Master Swan's awful interview question back in chapter 5 is anything to go off of, she may remember her biological mother. Anya was also fostered out to four different families before she came into Twilight's care. But despite not sharing any blood, we have watched the Forgers come to each other's aid and grow to care for each other (even though Twilight is currently backsliding into his "for the mission" mindset following the Mole arc, you cannot convince me that he does not care. He does. He's just being a blockhead about it). Now compare that to the Desmond family, who despite being family by blood, have the most tense, once in a blue moon family dinner in chapter 106. Chapter 106 does not play around when establishing the distance between individual family members.

Grades: to be clear, I am not going to call Anya dumb. She is clearly trying her very best and the improvements she's made are something to applaud. I'm proud of the little gremlin and I believe that she is going to continue rising in academic rank throughout the story. But as we've seen throughout the first term, the manga goes out of its way to establish Anya's hatred for studying thanks to her time in Project Apple's lab, and that she studies better under Yuri and Dr. Authen's tutelage than when Twilight tries to tutor her. Dr. Authens probably said it best, back in chapter 92, "The very essence of learning is acquiring techniques for how to break through when one hits a wall. Those eureka moments are the greatest joys in learning!" Yuri even says something similar when he tried to tutor Anya in chapter 26, "What matters is that you understand the mistake and take care not to repeat it." Both Dr. Authens and Yuri stress the importance of understanding the material to learn, rather than rote memorization. Damian, on the other hand, has a much more positive association with studying thanks to Donovan's praise, and he studies to the point of his own detriment, as seen in chapter 39. I am actually worried for the first time he fails, because I've seen the impact of associating one's grade with one's worth not only with my friends growing up, but in myself

Second sidebar: And as a former tutor, current TA, and huge nerd, I cannot agree more with Yuri and Dr. Authens. According to Bloom's Taxonomy of Education, while the memorization of facts is the very foundation of learning and is necessary as a result, it's the most basic form of learning. You use memorization (the ability to recall facts) to build off onto other skills, like understanding (the ability to explain what you've learned), application (the ability to apply what you learned to a new situation), analyze (the ability to draw connections, question, and relate different ideas), and so on. Those cognitive skills are developed as a child grows older and subsequently gains the ability to abstractly reason. For example, that's why math drills were so important for early elementary school students. The issue so many parents and teachers today in the U.S. take with recent changes to math curriculum is that it emphasizes abstract thinking over concrete thinking with grade school kids.

Now onto Yuri and Demetrius. For better or worse, we know Yuri's character and motivation. As a child, he saw Yor's numerous sacrifices to give him a happy life, which includes but is not limited to, her showing up covered in someone else's blood. He wants to repay her for her kindness and strength by making sure her adult world is safe, hence his joining the SSS. Was he not a literal fascist lapdog, it would be considered sweet. He has a sister worship complex a mile wide, and it's thankfully toned down into Yuri acting like an overgrown Mama's boy who's upset that he has to share Yor with his 'stepdad and stepsister,' so to speak. We know a lot about him, and now compare that to Demetrius, who we know next to nothing about. Demetrius Desmond's image is teased back in chapter 27, when Twilight deals with Daybreak's shenanigans. We only see Demetrius's back, and we learn from Twilight that Demetrius, "barely got a single question wrong."

Side bar: I know the anime and the wiki placed the student ID numbers as "68133071" being Demetrius's ID number and Damian's as "61133229", but I'm extremely confident that these are meant to be flipped, with the ID starting with "61" being Demetrius's ID number and Damian's being "68". Spy x Family's year is ambiguous, but it is meant to be the late 1960s into the early 1970s. In my opinion, it's highly unlikely that the years count down rather than up. "68" and "61" are most likely the year at which a student starts at Eden, which is one of the two major reasons why I predicted that Demetrius was seven years older than Damian, and in the eighth grade, making him 13 years old. The other reason was that the Briar siblings have a seven year age gap, with Yuri being 20 and Yor being 27. End, nitpicky sidebar.

Back to the point at hand, Demetrius is first heard from back in chapter 37, when Damian calls him from the Cecile Hall dormitory phone. He's straightforward to the point of blunt with his younger brother and curt, but he still accepts Damian's request that he ask their father to meet him in the courtyard of Library 2 after the Imperial Scholars' mixer. Though, Demetrius does warn Damian not to get his hopes up before he ends the call. Demetrius makes his first physical appearance in chapter 93, where we learn that this Tim Burton-esque (and I mean that affectionately) middle schooler earned six Stella stars during his finals. But what makes him Yuri's established foil character?

Family: Demetrius comes from a storied, elite family and seems to be a city boy (assuming the Desmond estate is within Berlint city limits) while Yuri comes from a more rural background (Yor's flashback in chapter 53 makes where they lived in East Nielsberg look more like a small town than a bustling city like Berlint) with the relatively unknown Briar family.

Appearances: with both Yuri and Demetrius, they appear the least of their respective families. But Yuri has been shown much more frequently than Demetrius, even having his own central chapters showing his work as an SSS officer. Demetrius appears in 2 chapters (93 and 106) to Donovan's 4 (37, 38, 99, and 106), and while his debut in 93, establishes some bare bone facts about him, his role in 106 is relatively small, with him turning down Damian's request for homework help and then him just eating during the family dinner. Demetrius barely reacts to the tension at the table and instead focuses on clearing his plate so that he can be excused. Yuri's chapters focus on his work with the SSS and his relationship with Yor. He only interacts with Anya when Yor asks him to, and then with Loid, Yuri tries to outdo him. Yuri's connection to the Forger family is really just Yor. Similar to Yuri, Demetrius's connection to the Desmond family seems rather weak, with Damian being his link to the family. Demetrius has yet to speak with Melinda or mention her, and vice versa. But Melinda has yet to say Demetrius's name, not even in the most recent chapter, 109. The closest we have to Melinda acknowledging Demetrius's existence is her saying, "My sons," to Millie back in chapter 92. Presumably, Donovan and Demetrius have interacted during the Imperial Scholars' mixer because Donovan went to meet with Damian in the courtyard, but we aren't shown their interaction. The only words we have seen Demetrius speak to Donovan are, "Thank you, Father," in response to being excused from the dinner table. Demetrius does not even speak to any of the estate staff like Damian does. Which, damn... that's pretty upsetting that the only person Demetrius will talk to is his six year old brother and even then, he doesn't volunteer much information about himself. He's all alone, like Yuri.

Book smarts: Both Yuri and Demetrius are extremely smart. Yuri having skipped all of high school and presumably some of middle school to be a college student at the age of fourteen (chapter 89), and Demetrius earning the highest score in three subject finals and then the second-highest in another three subject finals to earn six Stella Stars in one final exam period. We don't know exactly how many Stellas Demetrius has earned in total, but it's presumably very high. I did the math, and if Demetrius started out by earning one Stella star per exam period like Damian currently has done, he would have collected eight Stella stars by the time second grade ended. It could have been even sooner than that if say, Demetrius earned two academic Stellas in one exam period or if he had earned a Stella for heroism like Damian and Anya have done, or a Stella for athletic or artistic pursuits like Twilight had mentioned. Demetrius could have been as young as seven or eight when he earned his Imperial Scholar cloak, which makes WISE's expectation for Anya to quickly become an Imperial Scholar actually realistic. If Anya earned one Stella an exam period, she still would become an Imperial Scholar by the time she finished second grade.

Awkward age relative to the cast: Assuming that grade 13 is universal in Ostania and not unique to Eden and that they were both college freshmen when they first met, Chloe would have been 19 to Yuri's 14, making her 25 at the youngest. She is closer in age to Yor than she is to Yuri. Yor's coworker Millie seems to be the proverbial baby of the bunch of the Berlint city hall girls, and seems to be in her early twenties. But besides Yuri and Millie, there is not another prominent young adult character in their early twenties. Demetrius is the only prominent teenaged character in Spy x Family, which makes him unusual. Every major character we have met so far have been adults or literal first-graders.

Admittedly, these are more similarities between Yuri and Demetrius than actual foil character characteristics that we have seen with Anya and Damian. We don't really know Demetrius's goal like we do with the other three, but as time goes on and more chapters are released, this may change. For now, this gets me right into my question:

What if Anya is to Demetrius as Yuri is to Damian?:

I'll do Yuri and Damian first, since their connection to each other can be explained relatively quicker than Anya and Demetrius's connections.

As I've pointed out earlier, Damian's goal is the same as Anya: to make his father proud of him. It what makes him a great foil to her and why I love their dynamic. But Damian's relationship to his family is remarkably similar to how Yuri views the Forger family. Both have a family member whose praise and affection they want to earn; both have a family member whose relationship with them is dismissive and indifferent at worst but can venture into positive; and finally, both have a rival family member that they need to outdo to earn their target of affection's love.

For Yuri, it's Yor's love that he's trying to earn and keep. Yuri's fear of losing his place as the most important person in Yor's life leads him to act extremely childish and it fuels his one-sided rivalry with Loid Forger/Twilight. Upon introduction to Anya, Yuri views her as Loi-Loi's daughter but he's more dismissive than outwardly cruel towards her. The first light novel has him take Anya out to Step Works Kids to figure out what kind of career she'll want when she grows up. He doesn't really want to babysit her, and only took her out because she threatened to tell Yor he was mean to her, but by the end of their short story together, the two are getting along and bickering like a pair of siblings, to the point where Yor found it cute. If the novels aren't canon to you, there's proof that Yuri does care about Anya's safety during the bus hijacking arc. I know some have taken his sour-grapes attitude (chapter 71) when the First Lieutenant shot down his request to help as a sign of psychopathy, but I read it more as Yuri acting like a kid who's going, "You don't like my idea? Fine. See if I care, because I totally don't. Not one bit. Nadda." Yuri's a big ham, and he's being one at the moment. All it took was a Scooby snack of Yor being upset for him to drop the act and nearly charge onto the scene. The SSS had to sic him onto the other bus where classes 5 and 6 were being held hostage so Yuri wouldn't interfere with the situation of his niece's bus and get recognized (chapter 72-73).

In Damian's case, the family member whose affection he wants the most is his father, Donovan. Even when Damian's being comforted by his mother in the wake of the hijacking, he still thinks about his father and asks his mother not to tell Donovan that Damian cried (chapter 75). This triggers a switch in Melinda's line of thinking from relief over her son being okay to that love and hate thinking that startles Anya. In chapter 76, we see that she does go through with her internal promise to cook a meal for Damian, but that she doesn't stick around to eat with him. Melinda's reluctance to be with Damian is further seen in chapter 108, and it's implied that the distance between mother and son isn't self-imposed like how Yuri tries to treat Anya, but something Donovan ordered. Maybe rivalry is too strong of a word for how Damian interacts with Demetrius, but Damian's desire to become an Imperial Scholar stems from his belief that Donovan favors Demetrius, and that if Damian can be as good as his older brother, he'll have earned Donovan's love. When Demetrius points out in chapter 93 that he isn't in regular contact with their father like Damian had believed, Damian thinks, "I thought that he [Donovan] just didn't like spending time with me. But maybe he really is just too busy nowadays." Even so, we see in chapter 104 that Damian is still determined to maintain his role as highest scorer in history exams. Presumably, he made the logical leap that WISE and Twilight had done: Donovan really only goes out to Imperial Scholar mixers, so the way to keep contact with him is to become an Imperial Scholar and meet Donovan at these mixers. It's still 'earn his love' flavored ambition, but it's tempered by the revelation that Donovan really is just busy.

Now, onto the juicy bits: is Demetrius Anya's foil?

In my opinion, yes, Demetrius is Anya's foil because like Anya, he is a vehicle used by the adults by in his life to accomplish their goals. But whereas Anya has retained her individuality and autonomy, Demetrius has not.

Anya's mind-reading capabilities are a literary MacGuffin that we, the audience, are aware of, but no one else is. Damian may have suspected Anya's abilities and she did tell Damian about them back in chapter 96, but he didn't believe her. Twilight and Yor have no idea that Anya knows why they agreed to make this family. Twilight needed a six year old child who was smart enough to pass Eden's entrance exam, and he needed a wife to complete their image as a model family so that Eden's administration would pass Anya and not suspect anything of him. Yor needed a husband to avoid being reported by the SSS, so that she could continue to be a Garden assassin. Anya read their minds and is the one who made the first move to get Twilight to adopt her and then Yor to ask Loid Forger to act as her boyfriend for one night. But in Twilight's eyes, he adopted a somewhat strange child and is using her and an 'innocent' if unusually strong city hall worker for the mission. In Yor's eyes, she is using a widower and his child for her own cover, though she is quick to form a strong bond with Anya and fall for Loid Forger's earnest praise. When the truth comes out, Twilight is definitely going to be shocked by Yor's connection to an organization that's supposed to be an urban legend, and Yor is going to be livid that she helped a possible enemy and that said enemy used a child to advance his own mission. Anya revealing her own hand is what will probably save Twilight from Yor's golden needles.

We know from chapter 1 that, "[Donovan Desmond's] only public appearances are at events held at the elite private school his son attends. These events serve as informal get-togethers for the upper-crust of industrial and political leaders." These Imperial Scholar mixers are the only time someone outside of Donovan's immediate circle can gain access to him, and this basis forms the entirety of Plan A for Operation Strix. We know from Damian's remarks that even if Plan B was a success, it doesn't mean that Donovan would be at the Desmond family estate the same time as a playdate with Anya. Plan A would be more successful since it's almost guaranteed that Donovan would be there. It's why Damian seized the chance to ask his brother to ask their father to meet him afterwards. As Loid Forger, Twilight needs to infiltrate these mixers and gain contact. This is repeated to the audience in chapter 37 when Twilight is scouting Eden's school grounds. Given Donovan's secretive nature and paranoia, it's almost surprising that this man would come out into the public eye at all. But given the extremely high security detail around these mixers, you can see why these parties are as public as Donovan will get. He may not be in control of the situation he is in, but the likelihood of someone trying to harm him there is extremely small. It makes me wonder if actually pushed Demetrius to become an Imperial Scholar, like Twilight currently is doing with Anya, so that Donovan could have a semi-public place to socialize and make contact with valuable sources of information. In chapters 8 and 108, Twilight's head was practically spinning when he realized how many potential intelligences sources Eden Academy attracts, from military sources like Major Wesley Watkins (Bill's dad) to political sources (the parliamentary secretaries) to industrial sources like Byron Blackbell (Becky's dad). Donovan probably knows this better than anyone, since not only he was a student at Eden Academy but he is also a prominent figure among Ostania's elites.

Demetrius is the child WISE wanted Twilight to pick. If Damian's words in chapter 93 are true, then Demetrius has been studying since he was very young. Damian imagines a quiet, thoughtful young Demetrius who is dutifully making notes as Donovan watches him study, implying that Demetrius has always been a dedicated student and that he doesn't show any signs of reluctance towards studying like Anya and some of their Eden classmates do. If I had to estimate an age for Demetrius in Damian's imagine spot, his older brother may have been no younger than five years old but no older than eight. That image of him studying makes me think of Yuri's flashbacks of his younger self studying and waiting up for Yor, where he looks to be in early elementary school-aged to Yor's mid-teens.

Now, this could be a pre-Eden studying session, as young Demetrius's shirt lacks the Eden emblem on his chest and has sharper points to his shirt collar than the Peter Pan rounded collars the Eden first graders wear, making Demetrius five to six years old (a kindergartner). But, this could be six-to-eight-year-old Demetrius, which would put him in first, second, or possibly even third grade, studying at home, making him a commuter student at first and then Demetrius later becoming a boarding student, instead of always being a boarding student like Damian is. Initially, I believed that some incident happened either shortly before or after Damian's birth that led to Donovan gaining those head scars and further splintering the Desmond family, but now I can't help but wonder if Donovan supervised Demetrius's study sessions until the boy became an Imperial Scholar, at which point, Donovan had him sent off to live in the dorms because his objective is now complete. He can attend the mixers thanks to Demetrius's status, ergo, he no longer has to supervise or interact with a person he doesn't really understand (to reference his chapter 38 quote). Damian never got the same attention because by the time he was old enough to start studying, Demetrius had already established himself as an Imperial Scholar.

This is just an idea based off an imagine spot, but it would be eerily similar to what Twilight initially planned to do with Anya (have her study and only focus on earning Stella Stars through academics, athletics, the arts, or volunteering until she became an Imperial Scholar). Yor played an important role in reminding Twilight that Anya is still a kid and her own wants may differ from his, softening his harsher methods (chapter 10): "Loid, stop! You can't just force this sort of thing on her... Do you think becoming an honor student is what she wants?" Hell, Yor even inadvertently assuaged Anya's fears of Nightfall taking her place and making her life a scholarly hell by beating Nightfall in tennis and making Anya feel loved and cared for, as Twilight would later assure her. Even if you don't believe that Donovan didn't plan to use Demetrius's Imperial Scholar title to socialize with other elites, it is an established problem at Eden Academy. As early as chapter 8, Damian first rejects Anya because her father isn't impressive and other students seem to laugh in agreement. Henderson mentioned during the first-grade dance that the Eden students are often pressured by their parents to do some sort of political maneuvering, and that the ban on guardians chaperoning stems from that.

Okay, so that's a strike towards uncanny valley with Donovan-Demetrius to Twilight-Anya. But what about Melinda? And Damian?

Like I pointed out earlier, Melinda has yet to speak to Demetrius or even say his name onscreen. The closest thing I can get to her talking about him is when she says, "[M]y sons," plural during her talk with Millie in chapter 92. Now, she may be hesitant to talk to Demetrius because he looks so much like Donovan and shares his stoic, hard to read nature, but that has yet to be stated outright in canon. It kind of reminds me of how hesitant Yor was to act with Anya in the very beginning. Except, instead of fearing Loid's reaction to her acting motherly towards Anya, Yor feared she would disrespect Anya's biological mother, Loid's first wife, by doing so. It took some serious encouragement from Twilight after the tennis arc for Yor to start to become more assured in her role as Anya's mother. Before the end of the tennis arc, Yor was hesitant to scold Anya or even correct Twilight. Soon after she asked Twilight about Anya's wants, Yor apologized for what she believed was "overstepping" her bounds. But where Yor spoke her opinion, however hesitantly or forward it may have been, Twilight took her seriously and listened, Melinda fears her husband and she and Donovan don't talk. Like Yor, Melinda wants to be an active mother to her sons, but it seems that Donovan is unlikely to listen to her, even if she did stand up to him. It's rather disheartening to watch.

I seriously need to know what is up with Donovan, and how exactly he and Melinda married. It had to have been an arranged marriage, but did she always fear his responses to her or was that something she learned overtime?

According to two Lady Patriots' members in chapter 66, "The Desmonds follow what you might call a hands-off philosophy. With both boys being so exceptional, they hardly need much attention." Ladies, if there wasn't a nanny or even a butler to look after them, social services would call that child neglect, but that's a story for another day. The important takeaway here is that these upper-crust ladies think of childrearing as a chore they want to avoid, which contrasts sharply with Yor's active role as a caretaker in first Yuri's and then later Anya's life. Melinda does not seem to agree with this parenting philosophy, as we've seen from her thoughts in chapter 108, that Melinda wishes she played an active role in Damian's life. But, Melinda's hands are tied, and the blame for that lies with Donovan's orders.

So if Demetrius's relationship with Donovan is what Twilight's relationship with Anya would have become if Twilight didn't grow attached and listen to Yor, and Demetrius's nonexistent relationship with Melinda is what Anya and Yor's relationship could have become if Yor didn't speak up and/or she didn't listen to Twilight's encouragement, how does his and Damian's relationship relate to Anya and Yuri's?

Well, Yuri doesn't really have a use for Anya. Interacting positively with her will net him some praise from Yor, but Anya just seems to confuse Yuri and he doesn't really know what to do with her. Anya finds reading his thoughts to be annoying. As seen in chapter 106, Damian craves any sort of familiar interaction, so he will try to talk to his older brother. But the last two times that the brothers have talked (chapters 37 and 93), it was because Damian wanted something in relation to Donovan. Damian is six, and he does not mean to, but Demetrius is a vehicle in which Damian could hear some praise from his father. Neither brother really understands the other, like Anya and Yuri do, and Damian mentioning Donovan is enough of a slight for Demetrius to grow curt and end the conversation. Demetrius is visibly annoyed as he stormed off.

Also, just to kick you while you're down. We haven't seen Demetrius interact with Max, meanwhile, Anya and Bond are nigh inseparable. How's dem apples?

Edit: HRAGH! I forgot the differences in personality between Anya and Demetrius.

We do not know much about Demetrius besides the fact that he is extremely smart, extremely quiet, and extremely stoic. Anya is no slouch (going from 213th to 168th out of 228 students is nothing to sneeze at), but we see her struggle and work hard to get those grades. With Demetrius, one can reasonably assume that all he does is study, but we have yet to actually see how hard he studies and if he has any hobbies or favorite things himself. It seems that he effortlessly gets those Stellas through exam grades to Anya, who thinks she can read his mind and get a shortcut to genius level achievements. Unlike Anya who speaks her mind rather freely and without inhibition, Demetrius only speaks when spoken to. We have yet to see him initiate conversation. He waits for Donovan to excuse him from the dinner table, and only then does he speak (chapter 106). Anya is also very expressive (I love her little faces) while Demetrius only narrowed his eyes when Damian brought up, but otherwise did not change his rather neutral expression (chapter 93).

Demetrius is also extremely alone. Compare that to Anya, who at least, always had Becky by her side since she entered Eden. I’d even argue that she, Becky, Damian, Ewen, and Emile form a little friendship group of their own, since they rarely interact with any other classmates besides each other. We see some of Demetrius’s peers clap for his awards but their expressions range from surprise to slight fear to jealous. When he leaves the middle school Stella ceremony, he is alone. When he storms away from Damian, he is still alone. At home, he holes himself up in his room, only coming out to eat dinner, but he hardly speaks. Not to his father, not to his mother, and not to his younger brother or even the family staff. In chapters 91-92, Anya decide to adopt an elderly couple to be her grandparents. And that is relatively recent. This little girl has no fear. Name a situation where she didn’t either talk to a bad guy or speak up and create a situation to give Twilight or Yor an opening. I’ll wait. She is always out with at least one adult who she considers family (usually Twilight or Yor, but also Franky, Yuri, and the Authens). Her always being with someone who cares makes Demetrius’s lack of that more painfully obvious. Sure, thirteen is the age where kids become teens and start pulling away from their parents, but you don’t throw them to the wolves at that age. They still need an adult for guidance or even comfort. Other kids have started to admire Anya after the bus hijacking, while Demetrius’s classmates are wary of him. Demetrius doesn’t have familial or peer support. He’s just alone with shiny pieces of metal to briefly announce to the school that he achieved something.

TL;DR: Demetrius status as an isolated Imperial Scholar is not only Damian's worst possible future, but it also could have been Anya's fate, had Twilight and Yor been more, "It's for the mission/cover." Now, isn't that just upsetting.

[piracytheorist]

Twilight Eyes Project: "The Friendship Scheme" (part 2)

Part 1 here

Previous episodes analyses

First day of school! After some hard work and a lot of planning, he's finally beginning phase two of the mission. Thus, Twilight eyes as the school welcomes its new students.

Anya grows curious about her new environment, and Twilight is still too tense to bother with more than a few words in response.

Investigative eyes as the manga offers a quick flashback to remind the readers what was told in the previous chapter, and it carries on to the anime to connect to his thought immediately after...

... that he holds little hope of Anya earning eight Stellas quickly enough to get him access to the Imperial Scholars mixer.

One of the school board members starts dividing the students into classes, Yor wonders which one Anya will be put it, and it's on to Loid eyes as he casually joins in with an innocent "Who knows?"

Well, he does. Investigative eyes.

He made sure to make all changes necessary so that he'll have a plan B; thus, putting Anya in the same class as Desmond's son.

Some intense looks with Twilight eyes as he goes through the details of the plan in his mind.

And then some very intense looks. He's planning on Anya and Damian becoming friends, so he'll get a chance to meet Desmond that way.

Not that he needed a reminder, but as the Handler said, peace between the two nations and possibly the world depends on the success of this mission. Things have to work out.

It appears that he's quite focused that day, and only reverts to Loid eyes when he has no choice but to address someone directly. When Anya commented about the uniform, he looked too impatient to focus on her. When Yor wondered about Anya's class, he could afford making small talk. Now that Anya is being called for her class, he turns to her, encouraging to go. It's likely some eyes are on them at that point, so he puts the act on, and also this is Anya's first step towards plan B. He needs to be as encouraging as he can.

Once Anya walks down to join her classmates, it's investigative/Twilight eyes as he probably hopes too high on Anya's abilities. Good thing she's more motivated than he can imagine!

A bit more intense, as his surprise seeps through his eyes as he realizes how many kids of important people are in Anya's class.

Homeboy is near damn excited to see how many chances are presented right in front of him.

He loses control for a bit. What would someone think if he saw him react like that?

Thankfully, the only one who seemed to notice was Yor, who, being Yor, thought he was simply excited for Anya to do well.

However, Anya proves she'd rather give him an ulcer or two.

Reminder that this is all through "Twilight eyes". He's still very much focused on his mission (it's why, after all, he has that last reaction, because he sees his chance to approach the Blackbell CEO slip right through his fingers), it's just that so much has happened that he couldn't predict, that he simply lost some of his control on his expressionless mask.

Henderson is charged with Anya's class, and Twilight regains his composure as he's got stuff to analyze; after Henderson punched Swan, he would have to face some consequences, which ended up being him having to tutor first-year students. Twilight considers it the best Henderson could have hoped for.

The first-years are off to be shown around the school, and Twilight keeps a peculiarly tense posture; he's the only one not clapping along with the other parents.

Being serious and collected here actually makes him stand out. But it seems to be from his anxiety, being so tight-up is the only way for him to not crumble down.

Which he ends up doing a little, after Anya leaves the room.

By the end of the parents meet-and-greet, he has of course noticed that Damian's parents haven't attended. Twilight eyes.

Then, back to Loid eyes as he turns his attention to another parent, broadening his connections at the school. Just a casual talk between school parents! Definitely no ulterior motives here!

The children start coming back to their parents, and Anya is nowhere to be seen. Henderson calls at them, and at first he keeps his Loid eyes on. It can't be that bad, can it?

It can.

His anxiety comes crashing down on him, and he loses all the composure he was so tightly holding onto the entire day. He sees his plans crumble right before his eyes and he has no strength left to try and keep up a mask. He doesn't scold Anya (even for appearances' sake) nor Yor for training her, he doesn't tell Henderson a thing, he can't even keep a straight face for the class photo. All he can think is how things took the worst turn they could have taken for Anya's first day.

And yet, he doesn't actually seem to blame any of them. He just feels hopeless because at this moment he has no idea how to even start making the plans proceed. To him, that's still his responsibility.

In general, I think that his reaction at the end was definitely influenced by how he was trying to keep himself together the entire day. This day would be the official start of him leaving a huge part of the mission on Anya's hands, something that would bring any spy a lot of anxiety. Being surrounded by other parents who would also have their kids aim to become Imperial Scholars would also put some pressure on him, for him to appear well-standing and worthy of a place in the school's community. Add to that the everyday stress of his spy life... yeah, that was quite the day for him.

(no manga spoilers please)

[sansa286]

Alysanne was especially weird about Viserra...she engages her to Theomore Manderly, who's much, much older than her, thrice widowed, and has many children and grandchildren. So, on the surface there is no political advantage to the marriage aside from vaguely putting a Targaryen somewhere buried in the Manderly bloodline. Alysanne says that she believes it's a good match because he's a good person, so some argue she was trying to "teach Viserra a lesson" about being less vain and valuing things outside of looks. To that I ask: she couldn't have done that with someone Viserra's age? Surely if Lord Manderly is a good person, he more than likely raised some good sons/grandsons. Engage Viserra to one of them instead. Maybe even engage him to one of his heirs, like his grandson Desmond, who eventually goes on to inherit White Harbor after his father (and even votes in favor of Rhaenys and Laenor during the Great Council of 101, so clearly he had some functioning brain cells.) But...no. None of that forethought is present in her decision and Jaehaerys being the antithesis of a girldad that he is, is just as dismissive.

Which brings me to the Baelon incident. Alysanne's reaction to Viserra's supposed flirty behavior around Baelon before the fact is pure projection. For one - Baelon is not even the heir at that point. Aemon is still alive, and may have more children that would put Baelon even further down the line of succession (under normal circumstances, Rhaenys would've inherited before him anyways). And second - a core part of her and Jaehaerys' entire reign is justifying their incestual marriage. They even came up with the Doctrine of Exceptionalism, which was widespread propaganda that stated that Targaryens were allowed to wed their siblings because of their supposed inherent superiority. And Viserra is the tenth child of thirteen children and born when Alysanne and Jaehaerys were getting up there in age, meaning that the DoE was well established by that point and a prime aspect of the culture she was growing up in. Her parents are siblings. Baelon literally married Alyssa who was also in contention to be Aemon's wife before Alysanne declared she was meant for Baelon. Viserra herself was briefly considered to be a wife to Vaegon. Actually, pretty much all of her sisters were at one point or another considered potential spouses for their brothers. Simply put: if Viserra did seriously desire Baelon (and I don't think she did, but that's a conversation for another day) it's literally due to the conditioning that's been a part of upbringing for as long as she's been alive.*

The specifics of Alysanne's reaction to the Baelon incident is not recorded. We're only told that she sped up the process of sending Viserra to White Harbor because of it. But she has no room to be angry. Viserra going to her older brother in the hopes that he will save her from a betrothal to an older man she does not desire was clearly inspired by the exact same thing that Alysanne did with Jaehaerys. Alysanne, like Viserra, was also extremely young (13 to Viserra's 15) and engaged to a man significantly younger than her, and when she found out she immediately went to Jaehaerys, and they then booked it for Dragonstone where they wed in secret. And what do you know? At the time they did this Jaehaerys was already the king, and their wedding automatically made Alysanne the queen. The man Alysanne was initially engaged to was twenty-tree, compared to Theomore, who was geriatric. This is why I argue that Alysanne claiming Viserra wants to marry Baelon because she wants to be the queen despite him not even being first-in-line for the throne - Alysanne is essentially saying that, at the very least, part of why she wanted to marry Jaehaerys is because she wanted to be the queen. Which is valid because in terms of political duty, she made the best of her position, but still, she was ambitious and is trying to crucify her daughter for potentially having the exact same ambition.

A lot of people seemingly hate, or at least, villainize Viserra because she said she was prettier than fan-favorite Alyssa, and while yes that is a crazy rude thing to say about your sister who died tragically, it also does not make her a supervillain. Baelon was widowed, so it's not like she was doing this while Alyssa was still alive. Men in Westeros are not just allowed to get remarried, they're expected to. Baelon remaining unmarried was the exception, not the rule. And also, she was 15 and was routinely praised for her looks in a society where the two main things women are valued for is their looks and ability to pop out children. Some love to make the internalized misogyny argument, and I don't disagree, but I also don't single-out Viserra for that because for one: Westeros is a society where it is extremely easy for women to be taught to be that, and two - Alyssa also had internalized misogyny if we're going strictly by the text. So if we're having a who's-more-hateable off based off of that alone, then that's a tie. Notice how people never throw as much vitriol at Vaegon despite the fact that he was ultimately more rude to Daella than Viserra was to Alyssa? Because I certainly have.

*No, I don't ship visaelon/baeserra.

[teecupangel]

Hi Teecup, hope everything's going good! Here's yet another Desmond becomes an animal AU, but with a twist! :D

So Desmond gets reborn as a horse. I also imagine it somewhat modern setting, with Ezio being 17 and Altaïr being 16.

Desmond feels the unmistakable sensation at being born and to his suprise he is not a human, but a foal. Born at Auditore Farm. Where Ezio is the new manager after his father retired and Federico was in a bad accident that leaves him unable to ride the horses anymore. And first thing that happens after he takes the position is that the prized mare of Masyaf Ranch breaks into a stallions pen and gets pregnant. After the two ranches struck a deal about the mare that might finally save the struggling Auditore farm from being sold. The mare that was Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad personal, very dear, horse. So, Ezio is not having a good time and Desmond feels bad and blames himself for it. Because he couldn't even die properly, so why should his re-birth be anything other than a huge fiasco and mistake.

Until Ezio takes a look at the foal the next morning and sees the newborn foal just sitting in the corner, not caring about his mothers attempts to get him stand up. It wasn't the foals fault it was born and their farm had always prided themselves in the care and love their horses recieved. So when the foal refuses to nurse, Ezio takes it upon himself to hand raise it.

When Rashid and Altaïr comes for the mare, Rashid looks in disgust at Desmond, but Altaïr looks.... sad. While everyone moves the mare over to the transport, Ezio goes to feed Desmond and finds Altaïr in the stall. Desmond is playing with Altaïr and the teen is smiling, which Ezio thought him incapable off. When Altaïr realises he's been caught he tries to play it off as curiousity at his prized mares offspring, but Ezio of course doesn't buy it. Especially when the offer to try to bottle feed Desmond is recieved with a very enthuastic nod. Sadly Altaïr has to leave and Ezio is left with having to juggle the responsibility of the stable, of raising Desmond who refuses a foster mother and his duty as the middle brother. Life is stressfull, but Desmond certainly brightens any day.

.

Just a very self indulgent AU with the excuse of having Ezio and Federico in tight jeans and cowboy hats. XD And ofc Desmond causing chaos everywhere he goes, though rarely causing harm. Maybe Leonardo could be a vet that works at both stables for EziLeo or you could even do a rare pair of EziAlt(idk what the ship name is XD) once Altaïr realises that Al Mualim never had the horses in mind, only profit.

Ratonhnhaké:ton can remain largely unchanged if you want him included. Haytham works at Masyaf Ranch and both Auditore and Masyaf border a native american reserve where he met Ziio. Ratonhnhaké:ton prefers to play and eventually help out on Auditore Farm, much to his fathers chagrin. But Haytham does try to be there for him, despite their differences(i've recently gone into a fix it Father-Son fic dive, so i want a Haytham that will at least try for his son).

Full disclmainer: i have only watched/read a few movies and books about ranches and stables, not to mention having no idea how native americans do things, so i apologize if anything is grossly wrong. I don't mean it, i just want a feel good story about a man and his horse overcoming odds and everythin ends well at the end. ^^

Full disclaimer: The only thing I know about ranches and stables are from … well, majority from fanfics where one dude goes to a ranch to work and falls in love with the ranch owner and… the movie Nope and that horse-heavy episode of Leverage. XD

So my immediate idea is that Altaïr ran away from Masyaf Ranch and asks Ezio to employ him for board and food. That’s our setup for AltEzi if you want XD

Or it can turn into Ezio being the older brother and caring parental figure that Altaïr desperately needed.

I don’t know why but I kinda imagine Federico having to use a cane in this one as part of his accident. He still helps out in the ranch but he’s relegated to light work and mostly budgeting and stuff. Altaïr’s employment is a definite godsend.

Federico is also the one who cooks and he cooks a lot when he’s stressed. Even makes his own jam from the garden they have (which Ezio tends to most of the time).

It would be funny if this was set in Desmond’s POV the entire time so the whole EziAlt part is right there but Desmond just assumes they’re becoming such close ‘friends’.

Ratonhnhaké:ton and Haytham works as stable hands and Ratonhnhaké:ton is around Altaïr’s age so they become close.

If you still want this to be EziLeo then the beta couple could be AltCon instead? That’s an even rarer pairing hahahaha

Leonardo is a family friend and the vet to their town (which has a lot of ranches) and he’s close to the family that he sometimes joins meal time whenever he’s there on a job and he has the time. If this was EziLeo, this would be a slowburn friends-to-lovers kind of deal with Federico working overtime to get Ezio to realize that Leonardo has a crush on him. Altaïr gets roped in later on much to his dissatisfaction.

Claudia and Petruccio are both living their own lives with Petruccio away for college. If this was summer time, he comes home to help out and he can be Altaïr’s friend.

Throughout this entire thing, Desmond is just trying to live his horse life while trying to get use to his horse body with his greatest problem being his instincts to move like a human.

He finds love in eating the strawberry field Haytham is in charge of.

His archnemesis is a bird that always tweet so loudly in the morning, waking him up and having the galls to land on his back because it knows Desmond sees him as the bane of his horse existence.

In other words, this is a feel good story about two men finding their own happiness while taking care of the strangest horse… while overcoming odds and everything ends well in the end.

[beerecordings]

Desmond Bleeding while his dad's around:

Bill would actually be pretty competent about handling an aggressive ancestor Bleed, but he absolutely does not know how to handle a very distressed teenage Ezio coming and looking for Giovanni and going "Papa? Papa??" Desmond won't be embarrassed if he hears about this later, he'll just laugh at the thought of his father not knowing what to do with a kid in a healthy relationship with his father

it wouldn't be completely unexpected if Desmond mistook Bill for Umar during a Bleed, but instead Desmond mistakes him for Darim because they look alike and in Desmond's head, he often Bleeds Altair in his later years, the ones he saw during his coma where he lives to see Darim age. these Bleeds are upsetting to Desmond and he tries to keep them to himself. He still hasn't tried to explain to anyone that he feels like he lived to be old and died with Altair.

it's also a problem if Altair conflates Bill with Al Mualim instead of his father since Bill is the modern day Mentor. Desmond feels dangerous to his father when this happens

worst of all is any time he gets a glimpse of Haytham in his father. in canon, Desmond's pretty stable and is able to learn from what happened between Connor and Haytham, but it could have also been possible for him to mistake his father for Haytham and become violent to him. he has nightmares where Connor kills Haytham, but then Desmond looks down and realizes he's killed Bill instead. he really really needs his dad to remain level with him and not shout or, worse, be physical with him again, but he doesn't know how to explain that he feels like he could honestly hurt or kill his father if he ever fought back.

or is it worse when Desmond just looks right through his father and has no idea who that man is?

obviously this is a Desmond lives AU and the Bleeds only get worse after the Temple, as Desmond loses the distinction between time in the Animus and time outside of it. Bill has to work hard to learn how to be a parent to a sick kid who sometimes struggles to realize he's even there. there are even times when Desmond gets his own age wrong, mixing up his own old memories, and he asks Dad the questions he used to ask as a little boy, like when he would have to leave again and to tell him stories about his missions. and there's something scary in this, to Bill, but maybe also something healing, to pull his son against his shoulder and tell him he isn't going anywhere

Desmond learning to trust his father and see him as distinct from his Bleeds while very unwell. Bill learning to be a father while hearing from Desmond about how Altair and Giovanni and Ezio were able to be good fathers, but also how Desmond understands, now, that being a father as an Assassin comes with so much paranoia and fear, and he understands Bill better because of it. and Bill apologizing. and Bill doing better. that hug being just the start of the healing in their relationship

[just-a-gamer-daydeamer-girl]

So I’m probably not gonna write this fanfic but I’m gonna put it out there in case anyone wants to adopt/get inspired by it.

Professor Layton and the Rhythm Thief

A crossover between Professor Layton and rhythm thief (I know I’m not the only one who wants to see this)

It starts with Hershel Layton having a conversation, either with his adopted kids, Desmond, Emmy, Luke and his parents any group of them, the conversation goes into traveling and someone says that they should go to Paris. But Layton shuts it down because he is banned from Paris.

This causes everyone to pause and go ‘wait, what’ no one was expecting that. They all ask and the Professor regales them with the time he went to Paris, and encountered a one of a kind criminal that should never be caught. He begins his tale.

The Professor gets summoned to Pairs to do archaeological research and do some lectures in a few schools. During his work a certain thief breaks in and steels from him an important part of his research (something with a very peculiar mark), he then learns about Phantom R, the infamous thief with incredible abilities.

So he does his best tracking down Phantom R, learning more about his exploits, all while still teaching at schools, he meets one boy named Raphael who becomes his assistant for a bit as well. (Each school provides a student to work as a brief assistant)

Then there is a confrontation between phantom r and the Professor a good old sword fight breaks out where Phantom R wins.

The Professor digs a little deeper and with help with Charlie Vergier, starts to pice together a deeper conspiracy, and figuring out that Phantom R was stealing fakes and returns the originals, (he doesn’t tell anyone about this discovery just yet). And that phantom r experiences the world in a different way that allows him to do some incredible stuff.

Another confrontation between the gentleman and the thief occurs (with help from inspector Vergier), this time Layton uses his smarts and gains the upper hand, but ultimately Phantom R gets away thanks to his dog.

Then the Professor dug to deep, and now has a target on his head.

After a while the professor is backed into a corner, only to be saved by Phantom R himself.

The two of them get properly acquainted for the first time.they exchange notes and team up, after a while the both of them trust each other.

Phantom r is capable of doing some incredible things. Helps the Professor get into the rhythm.

At some point the Professor had the opportunity to redeem himself by turning in phantom r but refused to spill.

Then the Professor had to see something in the Louvre to confirm a hunch and Phantom R helps him break in, revealing his secret entrance that the Professor is all to fascinated by. He never would have guessed a secret entrance was how phantom r got in.

The Professor covers for phantom r again.

Gets trapped in with several kids he taught (including Raphael)

Using his knowledge that he gained from phantom r he finds a secret doorway to escape with the kids.

Phantom r shows up to help.

The two of them team up to learn some more information in some ruins. Phantom r would provide the distraction while Layton would investigate.

Layton finds what he was looking for… after reading it he ends up completely destroying it. (No one is around to see it) and later lies to Phantom r about the info was destroyed before he got there.

Then finally there is this huge drama, the villains make their move. Stakes are high. Phantom r and the Professor are fighting back to back against the enemy. Charlie comes to help. There’s a mech, all sorts of crazy things.

Finally one last musical puzzle.

The day is saved! Layton’s name is cleared. But now he is banned from Paris. Due to you know ~conspiracys~

There is one last meeting between Phantom R, Fondue and Layton. Right in the airport before he leaves. The two of them say their thanks and goodbyes but the Professor asks one last question that he couldn’t figure out. What does the R mean? Phantom R smirks “well it stands for Rhythm.”

The criminal and his pet leave, the Professor watches them and when they’re far enough away he mutters “ it was nice to meet you… Raphael,”

Then it cuts back to modern day Layton.

“So yeah that is why I can’t go to Paris.”

“Wait what was it you found out on that ruin you destroyed?”

“Something better left unknown and lost.”

Much later the Professor looks out the window.

“I hope Raphael is doing well, he had a long, dangerous fight ahead of him.”

[spyxfamily-yapper]

Father's Day is here!!! So of course Loid Forger is on the mind...

I feel like Twilight has this interesting role in terms of fatherhood. Because his main priority is to make Anya get Stellas, so in that way he is not really a great dad in the sense that he is pressuring her to do this one thing (and also pressure from Friendship Scheme as well without him even knowing) and that's all he truly cares about.

But...he also has to actually be a good father in order to have a good relationship with Anya and to make those around him see him as a good father. While also not actually embracing the role internally. Unlike with Yor, who I think truly is trying to embrace the role of mother even though it is fake, Twilight understandably tries to keep the roles of loving father and spouse as just what they are: roles. He can't get too attached, and if there is a conflict between playing that role and a mission's success, the mission always comes first. But...technically Operation Strix is his mission, the most important mission, actually. Which is why we have those moments of him reminding himself that he has to truly become that perfect father, and his family is his mission, particularly during the Cruise Arc.

"How could Twilight, the man of a thousand faces, forget how crucial it is to become the role?" (Episode 31 / Chapter 48)

"I know it was an emergency but I ended up having to leave my family yet again...What am I even thinking? The family is just another mission...No, this time my mission was this vacation..." (Episode 34 / Chapter 55)

There's this blurring of lines for him...it is hard to keep track of what parts of what he does are to perfectly fit the father role "for the mission," what parts are to maintain a good relationship with Anya "for the mission," and what parts are...maybe not for the mission at all. I feel like he would not need to constantly remind himself it's for the mission unless...part of him feels like he is doing some things that are not.

Which goes back to him being a father. I feel like there are a lot of ways to go about making a child do what you want, and as we saw with Nightfall's idea of how to deal with Anya, intimidation and intentional intense pressure are definitely a method of doing that. But Twilight...doesn't do that. Even though it might be the most efficient way of getting the mission done, he tries not to create that kind of environment and even seeks advice from Yor to build a positive relationship for Anya and studying and raising her in general.

A "for the mission" stance could be he needs to maintain the façade of the perfect father to Yor and everyone else around him so he has a good enough reputation to associate with Donovan Desmond, and parenting the way Loid does is just the best way to do that. But plenty of parents don't take any of their child's interests or wants into consideration, put a lot of pressure and expectations on their kids, (including Desmond himself) and are strict about everything. In an elite school like Eden, I would even expect that kind of parenting to be the norm, or at least fairly common. Forcing Anya to study for hours and work on improving her skills at extracurricular activities constantly even when she does not want to would probably be the fastest way to securing Stellas, and most likely, no one (who mattered for the mission anyway) would bat an eye.

And yet, Loid chooses to not do that. He pushes Anya to study, be friends with Damian, and try other methods like volunteering to get Stellas to possibly get close to Donovan, but it is never in a "ruling with an iron fist" kind of way. He is strict in a way, yes, but he seems to try to truly make Anya's time with the Forgers, however short he thinks it may be, a positive one. He takes interest in her favorite show to connect with her and hopefully make learning more fun...he allows her to keep Bond (even though it is with the threat of Anya not going to school) and cares for him because he know she cares about him...he highkey risks the entire mission during the Eden admission interview because Swan was pushing and insulting Anya (and Yor, too)...he rents out a whole castle to reward her for getting into Eden...he truly tries to understand her and meet her where she is at.

I think he thinks all of these actions away in one way or another as "for the mission," but he just truly has a desire to see Anya happy. It could be his main desire to create a world where no children cry, his personal experiences from childhood, his connection to Anya as an orphan...whatever it is, Twilight's natural instinct as a parent seems to be to lead with kindness. He sometimes doubts his actions as a father because it is a role he is not familiar with, but in a similar way to Yor, his instincts when it comes to parenting are generally good ones because he leads with care.

Loid is not a perfect father by any means but. I feel like I see a lot of people saying either "he's the perfect dad and loves Anya" or "he doesn't really care, it's all for the mission," but the reasons for his actions really fall somewhere in between. It really is for the mission, that's his job, and it's what he has been doing for years. And it really is from his heart, his desire to make a world where children don't cry, his desire to care for Anya. Both can be true.

That being said...Of course, it's infused with his need to accomplish his mission for world peace, but it's really lovely to see those moments where his desire to take care of Anya shine, and there seem to be more and more of those moments as the story goes on. He's really stepping into that father role more and more, and it gets more real as time goes on. (And I think the breaking down of his "no feelings" walls will really start to be broken by Anya, not Yor, as he keeps stepping into that role.)

Even though he's not a typical father, I really think that he's going about parenthood in the best way the best spy in the country working for world peace can do. (If there even is a scale for such a thing 😅) Whether it's for the mission or not, he really does care for Anya and puts her first, as every parent should.

i love this frame so much it fills me with so much joy. he is so FATHER

[nightzilla333]

I just keep thinking about what would happen if Aang and Desmond happened to switch universes randomly. So Aang still has to deal with way too much pressure, but also Abstergo now has to deal with a kid that can control the elements. But the Fire Nation? They get Desmond. He's just like: wait? What do you mean you're all trying to stop a 100 year war? You're kids?? Where're your parents? DEAD OR ALSO FIGHTING THE WAR?!?! And you only have until the end of the Summer before this commet comes and these guys become unstoppable? Well, shit. I'm not the Avatar, but I've lived three past lives. I can do this, right? And then he meets Zuko (Book One or later, doesn't really matter). And he's just like: what do you mean your father fought you and burned your face and then LATER BANISHED YOU for "losing" your honour?! What kind of grown ass man fights a child? Where's the honour in that? And he bleeds an ancestor (Altair, Ezio, Connor; doesn't matter which cause none of them would be happy with child abuse), does some light B&E, assassinates Ozai, kidnaps Azula (if she's there), and leaves. Probably kills a few asshole generals on his way out. Rocks up to the Gaagng and is just like: Ozai isn't a problem anymore. He's dead. I killed him. Turns out: doesn't matter how good of a firebender you are, you're still weak to being stabbed in the neck.

[yumeka-sxf]

A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 10

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

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Before Anya gets her first stella, we get another scene of Twilight pressuring her to study after he sees her poor test scores. While he's still a bit strict here, he catches himself soon after chiding her, realizing that pushing her too hard will only hurt her motivation (meanwhile, Yor is once again the encouraging mother and compliments Anya on her good math test score).

Rather than keep forcing his agenda of making her an academically inclined scholar like he did before, this time Twilight makes noticeable effort to try to understand Anya's side of it, as he and Yor discussed previously. He tries various activities to see which one she naturally excels at, and though she doesn't do well in any of them, he tells himself not to get too worked up, since she is only a first grader and Desmond won't be making his move right away.

Even when Anya continues to screw up when they volunteer at the hospital, he doesn't get mad at her. However, when she does end up getting a stella, he doesn't hide the fact that he feels genuinely proud of her. He pats her head (one of his rare displays of affection) and tells her "nice work," all the while thinking to himself that he felt the same sense of pride when he stopped a terrorist attack during a mission. We get two "softly emphasized" panels of Twilight smiling proudly at Anya, and Anya beaming back at him. The fact that he's allowing himself to feel a genuine emotion for this child that he originally felt no qualms about returning to the orphanage, shows his growth not just from a parenting perspective, but also from an emotional one, as slight as it is.

Of course, Yor has no problem giving Anya a big hug and telling her how happy she is. Looking at Anya's face, Yor is probably still learning how to hold back when hugging Anya and was squeezing her a bit too tight. Thankfully she didn't break anything like she had done with Yuri!

When Anya decides that she wants a dog as her stella reward, Twilight and Yor's initial ideas about dogs are fitting. Since both of their lives have revolved so heavily around their work, they never got to know many "normal" things, including a normal relationship people have with dogs. The ever-paranoid Twilight imagines a burley guard dog trained for security purposes – someone like him could only imagine getting a dog because it would be useful for his missions, not for something "trifling" like emotional support. Yor sees dogs as dangerous, likely because many of the criminals she's sent to assassinate have attack dogs for their protection.

Twilight even goes so far as to have WISE supply their own trained dogs to the pet shop. But much to his dismay, Anya doesn't like any of them, causing Twilight to reluctantly decide to try the adoption fair instead.

When Anya wanders off, Yor panics when she can't find her. More of her naivety about the world shows when she assumes that Anya was kidnapped in order to be some shady character's bride because she had just seen it on TV.

When she finally does find Anya with the terrorists, we once again see her scary "mama bear" mode that's strictly reserved for anyone who threatens her loved ones. Similar to how Twilight is willing to quickly cast aside his "for the mission" philosophy if someone he cares about is in trouble, Yor will quickly cast aside her desire to act "normal" for the same reason. She and Anya then share a sweet moment where Anya apologizes for running off and Yor gives her a hug.

I'd also like to mention that both Twilight and Yor were threatened by the German shepherd, but both of them chose not to actually harm him even though they definitely could have. Instead of giving him one of her deadly kicks like she does to anyone else who's about to harm Anya, Yor chose to instead give him an intimidating glare (which worked).

Twilight could have shot him, but instead he chose to shoot off his vest containing the bomb. Even when the dog was biting him, he chose to trap him in a nearby dumpster instead of shooting him. He even apologized to the dog, both for having to put him in the dumpster and for the more general reason that dogs like him have to suffer for human conflict.

As much as Twilight and Yor see dogs as dangerous creatures, they choose not to harm a dog that was actually a threat to them. Yor even showed concern for Bond (a dog she just met who was supposedly allied with terrorists) when she thought Anya was being too rough with him.

Anyone who shows compassion to animals always gets points in my book! (there was also the time at the Eden interview where Yor chose to subdue the rampaging bull by hitting its pressure points when killing/injuring it would have been easier for her – she even said that she wasn't sure such a thing would work on a bull, but took the risk anyway).

Of course, Twilight and Yor's initial concerns about dogs disappear once they bring Bond into their home and see what a gentle boy he is.

Continue to Part 11 ->

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