#secrets in common

[trashyswitch]

Mischief in the Feywild

⚠️SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR ONCE UPON A WITCHLIGHT EPISODE 19 AND ONWARD!⚠️

The group of 6 are walking through the Feywild, with Twig and Gideon running around in front. While Gideon tries to calm down, Twig accidentally finds out about a little ticklish spot thanks to Frost and his telepathy abilities. Frost's words end up causing a whole bunch of mischief, that turns into a devestating loss of dignity for both Gideon and eventually, Frost himself.

As I got past episode 21, I grew to absolutely love Twig and Gideon's relationship from the moment I saw their dynamic in Once Upon a Witchlight. I wanted to really emphasize this friendship, and add some slight playfulness with the others as well. But I mostly wanted to focus on Gideon and Twig. I also wanted to let you know that I will be uploading a few more fanfics to make up for the lack of fanfics the last few weeks. I was really focusing on finishing up my first year of school, and I had put my writing on the backburner for a while. Lastly, I had been at the cottage this last week, and I'll be heading back home tomorrow.

So with all that in mind, I hope you all enjoy!

“Weeee!” A little brownie fey creature declared as she rode the shoulders of her new friend: A very fast fire genasi named Gideon. 

“You- *huff* You havin’ fun up there?” Gideon asked, looking up to Twig out of the corner of his eye. 

“This is so fun! This is so fun! Run like the wind, Gideon!” She cheered excitedly. 

“Ey ey, Capt’n Twig!” He declared, before looking to the right. “I’m gonna do a sharp u-turn, ya alright with that?” Gideon asked. 

“Do it, do it, do it!” She declared. 

“Aaaalright! Let’s GO!” He made his body do a sharp u-turn, making a funny little vrooming sound as he turned. 

Twig’s reddish brown and blonde hair flew in the wind as she let out the most happy little high-pitched “WEEEEEE!” sound.

With Gideon now the other way, he started to sprint to the group again. “Alright! LOOK OUT BELOW!” Gideon shouted, sprinting straight for the group. 

“You know, I’m a little worried about Gideon being too rough with Twig.” Frost admitted. 

“Why’s that?” Kremy turned to look at him. 

Frost looked towards Kremy. “Well-” 

Suddenly, the sound of sliding across slightly moist moss filled the group’s ears as Gideon’s body slid closer and closer to the group. And right as the big set of feet slid to a halt, Gideon’s body stopped right in front of Kremy. With a smoldering look on his face, Gideon looks straight at Kremy. “Helloooo ladies~” 

[The entire group bursted out into laughter, with both Mace and Andy’s laughter audibly towering over the others. 

“Kremy looks at Gideon with…mostly shock and confusion, but you can see the slightest hint of a blush.” Richie told him. 

Derek takes a drink of his can of pop before putting it down. “Frost watches Gideon’s perfect form as he manages to slide to a stop in front of Kremy at just the right time. He nods up and down, uh…almost proudly, before saying-”]

“I take back what I said. Gideon is perfectly capable.” Frost told Kremy. 

“THAT WAS AWESOME!” Twig shouted excitedly. 

Gideon laughed through his breathlessness. “Was that fun?!” Gideon reacted, showing Twig his hand. “High five.” 

Twig gave his hand a high five. “Again, again, again!” She cheered excitedly. 

Gideon shook his head. “Not…not now. Gid needs a break.” He told her, bringing his arms up to take her off his shoulders. 

“Okay. But can I stay on your shoulders?” Twig asked, touching the top of his hair. 

“Sure, why not.” Gideon lowered his hands rather hastily. 

[“Gideon joins the rest of the group.” Mace told them. 

Nikkie nods. “With the group now together, they all spend their time walking and chatting amongst each other.” She explained. “And as you walk, Gid…you can feel Twig playing with your hair, almost like a bored child in need of a distraction.” She explained next.

“I let Twig do this as I’m walking.” Mace explains. “It feels nice, and it helps calm me down.” He added.

Nikkie looked at Mace. “I’ll need you to roll an insight check.”

Mace picked up his d20 dice and rolled it. When he got his number, he checked his insight number. “Uhh…11.”

Nikkie nodded her head. “Alright. You can feel your mind calming down slightly. However, you quickly find that her hair-playing starts to distract you rather than calm you.” Nikkie explained. “The touch doesn’t really hurt, per say. But…the touch feels more…ticklish than anything.” 

Mace tilts his head. “Wait, tickles as in…itches? Or tickles as in, makes you laugh?” He asked for clarification. 

“Up to you.” Nikkie replied. 

“Alright.” Mace smiles and straightens his posture. “I do all I can to ignore the urge to laugh.” Mace told her. 

Richie and Nikkie laugh a little bit. 

“Alright. Roll a deception check for me.” 

Gideon rolls the dice, and adds his deception check. “16.” 

“Alright.” Nikkie replied.] 

Gideon attempted to calm himself down as Twig played with his hair. The thing is, not a lot of people have touched his hair, let alone the top of his head…not even as he was growing up. He expected it to feel nice, and at first…it did. But now it was growing somewhat sensitive. 

“Twig?” Gideon asked. 

“Yeah?” Twig’s hands paused slightly. 

“What are you doing up there?” Gideon asked. 

“Playing with your hair.” Twig started moving her fingers through the hair and scratching mere centimeters away from his scalp. “Why?” 

“N-No reason, juhust-” Gideon bit both his lips as he tried to keep himself together. It felt like the touch alone was pushing him to laugh against his will. It’s not something he’s used to, and he nearly breaks.

“Gid?” Kremy turned to look at him.

“What’s wrong with you?” Gricko asked. 

Frost looked at Twig’s hands, before looking at Gideon’s face specifically. “You look like something’s bothering you.” 

“Botherin’? Oh no, nothing's b-bothering me-hehe-” He squeezed his right eye as Twig’s finger scratched a super sensitive part of his scalp. 

[Derek is visibly trying not to laugh. “Suspecting something else,” Derek places his index and middle fingers onto his own forehead. “Frost uses his telekinesis to get into Gideon’s head.” Derek explains. 

Mace laughs. “All you hear is ‘Shit, shit, shit, what is this? It feels weird, why?!’.” Mace explained. 

This explanation alone makes Derek lean his body back with laughter.

“Why do I wanna laugh?!” Mace asks next. 

“There’s nothing funny about this!” Derek added, making more laughter fill the room.] 

Frost widened his eyes and grew a cat-like smile on his face. “I see…” He said with a smirk. 

“You see? What is it?” Kremy asked. 

“I’ll explain in a moment.” Frost told him. 

[“I use my powers to get into Twig’s mind.” Derek places his fingers back onto his forehead before looking at Nikkie.] 

‘Twig, this is Frost. I think you might be tickling Gideon by accident.’ Frost explained in her head. 

[The room of players burst out laughing. “Straight to the point.” Andy mentioned.

“Just no going around it!” Mikie added.] 

‘Tickling Gideon?!’ Twig gasped. 

‘It would seem so.’ Frost replied. 

‘Thanks for the warning, Frost! I had no idea!’ Twig reacted. 

[“The moment after she says this to Frost, she starts scratching and playing with Gideon’s hair even faster than before.” Nikkie told them with a laugh. 

“What?!” Mace drops his jaw, clearly offended.

The group bursts out laughing as Derek panics and moves his fingers back to his forehead to send another telekinetic phrase. “Wait, no!”

“Do I roll a performance check for this? Or a sleight of hand?” Nikkie asks. 

“Sleight of hand, I believe.” Andy replies.  

“Okay.” Nikkie rolls the dice and adds her sleight of hand. “Dirty 20!” She declared. “And Mace, roll me a…strength? Survival? I don’t know…”

“I’ll roll a survival check. That makes the most sense.” Mace told her. 

“At disadvantage, because…” Nikkie motions to Mace and shakes her head. “Well…Tickling.” 

That was all she could get out before the group burst out laughing.]

Gideon's head leaned back as the laughter finally overcame him. “Gahahahaha! What the hehehehell?!” His almost bellowish laughter filled the feywild for a moment as he tried to grab Twig. 

[Richie smiles. “Now, Kremy quickly remembers a time he found a really good tickle spot on Gideon.” He explains. “And though he swore he would never tell a soul about it…” Richie shrugs his shoulders. “He risks it for a biscuit cause he’s a menace.” He concluded.

A collection of ‘Ooooooh’s fill the room for a moment as the table processes the utter betrayal from Richie/Kremy.] 

“Twig, go for his ears!” Kremy yelled out. 

“Okay!” Twig replied. 

[“I can’t believe it’s gotten to this…” Nikkie laughed, before clearing her throat. “Not able to choose which ear to go for, Twig quickly begins scratching at both of Gideon’s ears instead.” Nikkie narrated.

“Good lord…” Mace shook his head. “Gideon just loses it with laughter. He struggles to cover his ears as he realizes that his best friend…his only friend…and now husband…had just told one of his biggest secrets to not only Twig, but to the rest of the group in the process.” Mace told the group.] 

“KREMY YOHOHOHOU AHAHASS!” Gideon shouted. “YOU PROMISED!”

“Oops…” Kremy casually muttered with a snicker. 

Desperate to save what’s left of his dignity, Gideon reached to grab Twig and take her off his shoulders. 

[What number did you get?” Nikkie asked. 

“19.” Mace replied. 

“You pass. You’re able to grab Twig and lift her off you.” Nikkie narrated. 

“Yes!” Mace cheered.] 

“Ihi gotcha, ya little shit.” Gideon brought Twig into his chest and tickled her belly and sides. 

Twig bursted out in high-pitched, squeaky fits of laughter. “eEEEHEEHEE! GIHIHID, IHIHI’M SORRYYYY!” Twig squealed. 

“Don’t you try and get yourself out of this! You started it!” He reminded her. 

[Derek morphed his face into guilt. “Frost looks at this and starts to feel guilty. He feels like Twig’s doom was entirely his fault, and that he should atone for his actions.” Derek explained.] 

Frost cleared his throat. “Uh…Actually Gideon…” He spoke up. “I have a confession.” He admitted. 

Gideon looked at Frost. “Well, make it quick. I’m a little busy.” Gideon told him. 

Frost scratched the back of his head. “It was actually me that told her.” Frost admitted. “I tried to warn her that she was tickling you, and…I suppose she took it as a challenge.” Frost admitted with a small chuckle. 

Gideon slowly paused his fingers and looked at Frost. “Did you…read my mind?” He asked. 

Frost widened his eyes. “Yeah, I did. That’s how I found out.” He admitted. 

Gideon narrowed his eyes at Frost, before looking at Twig. “This true?” He asked. 

Twig nodded her head. “Yeah, it is.” 

Gideon looked at Frost out of the corner of his eye, and put Twig onto his shoulders again. “No touching my ears without my permission, okay?” He told Twig. 

Twig nodded her head. “Okay. Promise!” 

Gideon put his fingers onto his own forehead. ‘Better prepare yourself for the most laughter you’ve ever experienced.’ Gideon said in his mind. 

[Derek widened his eyes. “Oh shit!” 

The group burst out laughing. “Whoa! Okay!” Nikkie reacted. 

“Can Gricko understand what he’s thinking based on his face?” Mikie asked. 

“I don’t know. Roll an insight check. And Mace, roll a persuasion check.” Nikkie told them. 

Mikie rolled the dice. “18.” He said. 

“Dammit…” Mace hung his head. “13.” 

Nikkie threw her head back with laughter. “Oh no!” She reacted.] 

Gricko smirked a little bit. “Well, it’s a good thing you and Frost have something in common…” He teased. 

Frost’s upper body froze, widening his eyes before glaring at the person beside him. “Gricko!” 

Gricko smirked brightly. “Am I wrong?” He asked. 

Frost fixed his hood and looked down, attempting to hide his face. 

Gideon smirked a bit and looked behind him slightly. “Hey Twig, ya wanna team up later?” Gideon asked. 

“Sure!” Twig replied excitedly. 

Kremy widened his eyes, and looked ahead, suddenly growing nervous. He looked at Frost, who was also nervous. He looked forward and tried to keep himself calm as they walked. “Well…” Was all he could get out. 

Let’s just say…they both should’ve remembered the consequences before going against a large Fire Genasi and his little fey brownie friend…

[amphibianaday]

day 1421

[bumblydumbly]

i think that if kabru saw that “laios meeting falin for the first time” strip he’d be sobbing uncontrollably

[theminecraftbee]

Etho and Grian are back at base, hysterically laughing over their achievement. Cleo sits inside, staring, as the two of them talk about getting a wither and a warden to fight, and tries to figure out what she feels about it.

In some ways it's not their fault. Task made them do it and all that. Plus--

Well, it's not like she and Etho are losing hearts anytime soon. They've both done a damn good job keeping themselves from dying. A benefit, Cleo thinks, of deciding to team with Etho this time. Between the two of them, they'll largely only do chaos they can recover from. Maybe this is their game. Maybe this time, Cleo manages to stick with someone until the very end. It looks like it. It looks like...

Grian, of course, is the confounding factor.

She wasn't going to turn him away. He needed allies. They needed someone a bit better at actually doing damage than herself or Etho. It's mutually beneficial. And, besides, he's weirdly lovable, in an inherently kind of dangerous way. A little like loving a bobcat someone had accidentally raised as a pet cat until it got a bit too big and stinky and murdery for them. Like, yeah, he shouldn't be domesticated and he's not, really, in any sense of the word, but it's a bit sad to watch him try to survive on his own now, right?

Hah. Maybe that's what Scar managed to do to him. Would explain a lot, really.

Anyway, he's her bobcat now, which is the problem.

See the thing is: Cleo understands Etho. It's why finally deciding to be partners for once felt... right. They're similar flavors of people. Scared, mostly. Survivors, but not in the 'will stab anyone' way that like, Martyn is. Loyal, although Cleo has no delusions that Etho is as loyal as she. And scared. Has she already said that? Scared. It's important to the kinds of things she and Etho are. Like... mountain lions, maybe. Mountain lions that have been around just enough people to know how dangerous they are. Like that.

God, she's only doing cat metaphors. Bdubs really is turning them all into furries.

Anyway, the point is, Grian isn't scared.

And that... terrifies her.

That's scarier than anything else. Because, see, Cleo wants to survive. But more than that, she wants her partners to survive. And she and Etho, the two of them are doing well. Better than most people. They're green and they have so many hearts.

But Grian? Grian's yellow and not afraid and goading Etho into not being afraid too. It's not their fault, exactly, Cleo thinks. They both had hard tasks. They didn't have a choice, Cleo thinks.

But. But.

She doesn't know what to do, if Etho gets convinced the humans down the mountain aren't scary. She doesn't know what to do if he gets too close. She doesn't know what to do if he gets hurt.

Because she--she doesn't think she can learn to stop being scared, anymore.

But she also doesn't know how many times her heart can stand to lose someone.

Did you know--wild cats are social? They have a reputation for being loners, but mountain lions, they're social. They don't do well being alone. They don't actually hunt solely alone. That's the important bit here. They seem independent, sure, but actually...

Anyway. This is Bdubs's fault. For making her a furry, apparently.

She watches Grian and Etho scheme together and sits back and breathes and tells herself that Etho isn't going to stop being afraid anytime soon. That if push came to shove, he, at least, would retreat back, and that maybe the two of them could convince Grian to retreat too. Safe from hunters. Safe from red.

Maybe safe from hurting each other, too.

(She's not so sure about that part.)

[hiyyihrts]

“For how long have you had feelings for him?”… Lord the way they keep making Eloise this non-observant clueless friend to everyone is crazy to me… especially continuously with Pen (and now Cressida also). She never fathomed that Pen could want to participate in ton events, want to be married, want to have even the bare minimum opportunity to be entertained by a man, and yet anytime Pen goes against anything Eloise always talked about she’s so surprised?? Maybe if you talked with your friends instead of at them we wouldn’t be running into this situation continuously El…

[areallyyellowmango]

They have a sun allergy

[starry-bi-sky]

Thinking about the CFAU and marveling at how much Danny and Jason care for one another. Does anybody else figure out that Danny is going to kill the Joker, or is that knowledge Jason exclusive? I can't see Danny being close enough to any other Batfam member to disclose his plans, but I wonder if he drops hints. They're a family of paranoid detectives. I'd be surprised if they don't figure out Danny has a PURPOSE for being in Gotham at some point. Whether Danny's able to disguise it as wanting to be closer to Jason or not is another burning question.

Its def Red Hood exclusive! You're right in that Danny isn't close enough to disclose his revenge plot to any of the batfam members -- hell, not even Sam and Tucker know his true motives for returning to Gotham, and they're his best friends right after Jason! And Red Hood knows only because Danny accidentally slipped up ;].

I do also think that the Waynes kinda think something might be up with Danny -- at least Dick and/or Bruce might since they're the only ones who actually know him beyond brief mentions of him. Tim knows about him due to his stalking, but doesn't really know him -- and Danny plans to keep a healthy, friendly distance from the family so he can carry out his plans.

It's not that he holds any dislike towards them -- quite the opposite. He appreciates what they do for Gotham and recognizes the hard work that goes into keeping their Rogues Gallery at bay (even if he is bitter about Joker, but there's an obvious reason for that) -- but, well. He knows they're the vigilantes, he doesn't want to risk them sniffing out his murder plot before he can even go through with it.

Luckily for him he can excuse any distance he puts between them as just being busy with life and trying to settle in, and they're not close enough to him anymore to find it suspicious. I do think they figure out he's back in Gotham for a reason, Danny's not going to exactly hide the fact that he's back to find some kind of closure -- but what that closure is?

I think the only person who might suspect something sinister going on would be Bruce, who saw the sinking rage in Danny's eyes at the funeral -- it was part of the reason he didn't tell him who killed Jason (beyond secret identity reasons). But that depends on whether or not Danny reveals some of his hand, and the fact that he was still holding onto that rage (somewhat unwillingly) all this time.

[canisalbus]

How often does Machete have to go through bloodletting? I remember seeing you post about Machete's anemia and bloodletting at some point. this is for evil research.

I think that might vary depending on how healthy or sick he's feeling. If he's having a few good weeks or a good month he may not need to be bled at all. But whenever he's suffering from his usual headaches, fatique, sleeplessness, nosebleeds, heart palpitations or what have you, or he has caught some bug or is having particularly bad bouts of nervousness and melancholia he'd go through another regimen of bloodletting to have his humors rebalanced. I could see once every two weeks being a reasonable interval for regular maintenance, and more often than that if he's actively ill, up to several sessions per day in direst cases.

[lambment]

I think this is a sign I need to rewatch emperors new groove

[krypto100]

I'm obsessed with this Christian review of Halo 2 I found

[yuridovewing]

Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw dynamic to me

[heybiji]

Roshan walks with the two Potts, gazing around at the fields and forests painted in warm colors by the setting sun. He remarks, "It is a lovely view from here."

Gazing outward, past the broken walls he had put up 20 years ago, Arthund nods and says, "Forgot. Forgot how... how pretty it all is."

I recently finished running an original oneshot for some friends, The Reaching Woods. It was a story about a little village surrounded by a big wall and the nearby forest's sudden overgrowth threatening to crush it all. It was also a story about blame and guilt.

Arthund Potts, when we met him, could barely speak at all. Too many years spent drinking and weeping. If he was even conscious he was all grunts and sloppy gestures. The scene above was at the end of the oneshot (okay, eighteenshot), once the party returned from the dark, evil woods.

[beannoss]

Hi Bean!

I have a question for you! I have noticed in your writings that Twilight and Yor begin a romantic relationship after their secrets are revealed. Are you opposed to any romance between them before they find out? I assume if so, it’s because it’s morally questionable, though a lot of fans find romance before compelling as it raises the stakes considerably. I’m not suggesting one is right and the other is wrong, I’m just interested in your take on this! I love your writing! Thank you! 😊

Hello you! I'm always chuffed to see your name pop up 🫶😊!

Oh boy! Thank you for this ask — it's a big question but also I do have thoughts XD Sorry it's taken me a few days to get my ducks in a row!

I want to start, though, by emphasising that my thoughts and preferences here are exclusive to Spy x Family as a canon enterprise; they don't pertain to fanworks or other fan theories, I'm not out to yuck anyone's yum ✌️ ditto for even my own writing! You're right that I don't really have an interest in exploring that dynamic but I reserve the right to change my mind ;)!

[Reference herein to manga chapters not yet animated]

Right, so. There's lots of things I love about SxF, but one of the things that interested me early and keeps me engaged is that it operates under an interesting and complex morality. Spy work and contract killing are obviously an ethical minefield, and in the real world, generally to the bad. Within the world of SxF, Endo takes pains to write Twilight and Yor both firmly on the morally right side, even if Twilight’s tactics or Yor’s actions in a vacuum are frequently questionable. With Twilight especially it seems Twilight is currently (resisting) working through the impact and ethical implication of his actions on Anya. When it comes to Yor, I expect that’s where we’ll see him wrestle with similar questions through a romance lens. I think it was quite deliberate and important that Twilight specifically articulated that he’d been wondering if Yor had previous romantic relationships, and that it was now confirmed she hadn’t. As far as I can remember, it’s the only time he’s had that sort of reflection on Yor's life before the Forgers; I mention it because it mirrors times he’s reflected explicitly on Anya’s history and trauma and her needs as a child, with implication that his actions and motivations for adopting her could/probably will hurt her. I hazard that his observation about Yor will be similarly indicative of an arc down the line.

When it comes to canon, if the Yor x Twilight romance were to firm up while Yor still believes Twilight is Loid, I admit there’s a high chance I’d nope out. I want to emphasize firm up though… I tend to think Yor already has feelings for Loid (Twilight?) whether she’s fully aware of them or would necessarily articulate them as romantic (and I think this is being really interestingly conveyed and explored through her current feelings about kissing, though I may differ with some on how I think that may shake out). I also think there’s a… less high but not impossible chance that Twilight is aware he has or is developing feelings for Yor. I’ve argued before that he knows he has formed/is forming an attachment to her and that he knows he trusts her. I don’t think it’s too far from there to romantic feelings for Twilight: after all, attachment and trust (intimacy) are not things he's had in a long, long time. And given his current pseudo-short temper and general malaise comes out most with Anya, with Yor he’s been notably softer and more receptive. In my view, this is partially because so far he hasn't really done much that would really hurt Yor and nor has she done anything that would really hurt Twilight. So far, Twilight and Yor are on a fairly even footing.

This is a very long way of saying that I trend toward thinking we’ve got at least a few toes into the romance already.

The reasons I’d be a squicked by the firming up of the romance, pre-reveal, are related to its being morally questionable as you pointed out (I'll talk a bit more about that in a moment.) But it's also because I think it would undermine character arcs and dominant themes.

Twilight’s arc involves finding and forging a new pack, a new family. Somewhere safe and loving that he’s been denied essentially for his whole life (I don’t dispute that his mother loved him deeply and did her best to protect him: living with an abuser and then with her under war was never going to actually be or feel safe). A big part of this safety and love for Twilight is about being accepted, warts and all. Twilight started lying because he wasn’t accepted by his father as he was. There’s a fair bit to work through by way of accepting Twilight’s warts already — I think Yor will be fairly understanding as things currently stand, and that’s part of why they’re a good match. Their moral compasses, their sacrifices, how they see the world and how they want to try and make it better, align and/or resonate in foundational ways. However, given their current standing, pursuing deeper intimacy of a romantic/sexual relationship with Yor before reveals, I think would take it past the line. And particularly when considering Yor’s character arc.

Yor’s arc is also around finding love and security, but centred less around acceptance (although that obviously also explicitly features!) and more around self-worth and understanding her value. If the romance were to firm up pre-reveal, the false pretences are… I mean, to me, they lob a Molotov cocktail into that theme of self-worth and being valued, as she really would just be being used: the intimacy could never be real because Twilight is not Loid Forger. To expand a bit on an earlier point, perhaps ironically, Yor’s relationship with Loid is mostly on the up-and-up: they both know any marital connection they demonstrate is fake. They may be (are) friends, and also they’re under no illusions that it’s something of a tenuous friendship (at least for now). They co-parent Anya but are clear that this co-parenting comes with clear lines around and between their relationship otherwise. I want to tread mindfully here, because I also really like and appreciate aroace interpretations of Yor and Twilight and their relationship: I think this discussion around firming up their romance actually also holds true in the case of attempting to substantially deepen their platonic bond, pre-reveal. In the same ways, Twilight needing acceptance and Yor learning self-worth would be severely undermined by a pre-reveal apparent and false deepening of their commitment to one another.

On the point of it being morally questionable generally, yeah it is. I mean, look, it's fiction and they aren't real people who can be hurt by those actions. So in principle, Endo can write what story he wants, I wouldn't think it reflected poorly on him or anything like that. I just don't really want to read a story that goes to that place; it’s a squick. I'm sure this has been discussed before in fandom, but my read on the moral dubiety centres around the idea that it isn’t possible to actively choose or meaningfully consent to emotional or physical intimacy when one person is lying about who they are (and in this case, they're both lying about who they are... Although Twilight to a greater extent). This does tie back into SxF themes as well, as choice and consent are also… maybe not big themes of SxF exactly, but active choice and informed consent are things which have come up more than once (I have my thoughts as to why: for a character whose choices drive so much of the narrative, Twilight is actually also a character who’s shown to have little actual choice or control over much of his own life. Considering his motivations for a world where children don’t cry, imo valuing active choice and meaningful consent are important factors required for that world. And I also actually suspect the theme of choice will become more important the more we learn about Donovan, and his role as foil for Twilight.)

Also, honestly for me, it would be too close to a common trope in a lot of popular western fiction/media that I don’t like: a woman being taken advantage of by a man in some way, shape or form, and then through the magic of her non-specific womanness, forgiving him his gross transgressions under the thinnest of pretences. Particularly as Endo has already taken pains to sidestep that as a foundation of their arrangement. To be fair, I wouldn't be surprised that were Endo to take the pre-reveal romance path, it would be a deeper interpretation of that trope, but as with other sexist tropes utilised in pop fiction/media, I have to ask why the choice couldn’t have been for a more interesting path, rather than retreading that one. And particularly given everything he's established for Twilight and Yor: it goes against much of what Twilight stands for — and indeed goes against much of what he meaningfully brings in his current relationship with Yor, that of encouraging her, supporting her, and shoring up her thoughts, opinions and self-image, particularly when she voices upset or doubt about them. It also goes against much of what Yor stands for: while the power imbalance would lie firmly with Twilight, it remains true that Yor’s lies in an apparently deepening intimacy would also undermine the safety and security she ostensibly creates for Twilight. She also so obviously hates lying, the prospect of her keeping her secret into what she believed was a real relationship would wreck her. Doubly so, given the weight Yor puts on Loid's acknowledgement of who she is and what she believes: something she hangs her self-worth on, a recognition of her value. And I'd argue here that it would actually, conversely, be impossible for Loid Forger to acknowledge or accept Yor's truth: that's only something Twilight can do.

And so I guess there’s also just the bare fact following from the above that I think a pre-reveal firming up of their relationship is the less interesting choice for what is a major franchise that has otherwise done innovative things. Another reason I love SxF is that it subverts tropes and complicates cliches. One of which includes communication: for a pair who have crossed lines as a foundation of their relationship, Yor and Twilight actually do a lot of communicating. That’s a subversion of many heterosexual romantic tropes and norms, at least in a Western context, and, to put it sort of flippantly, it would bum me out if it failed at the final hurdle.

I just want to emphasise one more time, my opinions and preferences here are strictly related to Spy x Family in an official canon capacity, and nothing to do with fanworks or fan theories or what fans want to explore in whatever fashion. Part of my feelings here are also honestly because of the tone and pacing of SxF. I think it entirely possible to do interesting things with those tropes and actually think Endo is the type of writer I would trust to do so. But the way SxF is written by way of tone, pacing, narrative priorities and audience demand, I don't think even Endo would be able to do them within SxF in ways that wouldn't squick me out and make me lose love for Twilight, specifically, pretty entirely. I'd rather he just didn't 😂

Tl;dr: in canon exclusively I’m not into a firming up of their romantic relationship pre-reveal! Their situation is complicated enough as it is; give these goobers the love they want and can share with one another, kindly and gently, when the world has been neither kind nor gentle with them. In my view, it’s already primed in their character and thematic arcs 🫶

[eats-a-berry]

rarepair on side, rarepair on side!

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Milk theory? 👁️👁️

ANYTHING FOR YOU TWO!!!!

ok this is gonna be short and mildly insane. i would like everyone to understand that this is pretty much Entirely unfounded & i'm just reading too much into a teeny little thing. however i've convinced myself that this theory is viable against all better judgement

take these mad ramblings with a Monumental grain of salt. im not to be taken seriously ever

so it all boils down to This

Little

Motherfucker.

the milk carton behind Barnaby's house.

it was added with the last large update, and it Immediately made me lose my mind. it's such a... strange thing to add to the map, which already has Teeny Secrets - along with other choice objects that make me narrow my eyes. but this isn't about them.

The very first thing I thought of when I saw the milk carton was the phrase "no use crying over spilled milk". which, of course, essentially means that there's no point in crying over things you can't change / things already done. There are a couple ways i'm interpreting it with this context

Something is going to happen that Barnaby feels personally responsible for. or is responsible for - either indirectly, or maybe he'll do something terrible. i think it's entirely possible that he might do that possible something for Wally. and again, take this with salt, but Clown has implied through trivia and fun hypotheticals that Barnaby would go to lengths for Wally. and yes, i know. taking evidence from "what would the neighbors do in Among Us" is absurd. IN MY DEFENSE! while the trivia isn't really to be taken seriously, there's always a thought process behind character roles and dynamics and behavior, and that is something that can be (carefully) looked into and applied. like in Among Us, apparently Barnaby would, and i quote, "Barnaby does all the Dirty work if Wally is an Impostor- Anything to help his little Buddy out...". anything to help his little buddy out, huh? like, it's been stated that Barnaby knows things about Wally that no one else does. and it's been mildly implied that he's fairly protective of Wally. and we all know that Wally is getting into some deep shit, and whether he means to or not he's likely gonna fuck everything up for everyone. it's not that big of a leap to speculate that Barnaby might do something drastic/horrible/regret-worthy in Wally's name / for his sake.

2. something terrible is going to happen to Barnaby / directly related to Barnaby, and he's going to be absolutely powerless to do anything about it. though i think that's kind of a given... yeah this section is pretty self explanatory

3. Barnaby is going to go missing. because what used to be on milk cartons? Missing Posters! yes yes i know this one is even more of a reach, since milk cartons didnt have missing posters on them till the 80s, but yk. it's a Thought.

my second thought was "oh ok so when the carton spills, it's curtains for Barnaby." this part of the theory is just me being paranoid that Barnaby is going to wind up kicking the bucket - though i suppose if that were the case, there would be a bucket, not milk. well, if a bucket ever appears, i'm going to start prematurely mourning. Still!

the point is - at some point, that milk is probably gonna spill. it may be just a detail as things get better Worse, or it could be indicative of something terrible happening to / because of Barnaby. the milk spills, Panic Time.

Milk Theory.

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

How often do you think the batkids have to suffer through overhearing somebody make a comment about Batman and Batwoman being married?