rosycoconuts

[rosycoconuts]

My maybe unpopular opinion is that Damian and Anyas dynamic shouldn't change in significant ways until Anya actually views Damian as a genuine friend and not a shiny prize. Because at this point her motivation isn't exactly better than all the other girls' and Damian can probably sense that, it's just that he can't figure out her why.

This post is based on a pretty interesting discussion in a DA server I'm in where some fellow fans have criticized Endo's writing, mainly because there wasn't as much impact after the bus arc as people expected (which is ofc valid crit). I just want to share what I wrote:

Late to the whole convo, but I lightly disagree that the da dynamic didn't change *at all*, however it does seem as though there wasn't as much impact from the bus arc as hoped. However, we did get some subtle shifts that should be noteworthy, namely Damian actually getting jealous and shivering at the mere *thought* of Anya getting "stolen" from him. This has never happened prior to the bus arc and is now a recurring development. That and Becky now teasing Damian in addition to cheering on Anya, especially when comparing her very open hostility towards him earlier in the story. Not only is she friendly to him now, it seems like she has seen through his crush too. I don't think that Endo will change the dynamics too much anytime soon, especially because of how little time has passed in the sxf universe. Keep in mind that damian doesn't really have a proper role model who actively helps him unlearn the toxic mindset he quite literally grew up with; the closest he'd get is his mother wishing for him to be friends with Anya too, but that is only something he heard from Jeeves and not Melinda herself. But he definitely was reflecting on that in the cake chapter. I also think that Damian is in his "I'm too grown-up for this kiddie shit" phase, he probably thinks he's better than *everyone else*, not just Anya (like him scoffing at Bill). He really doesn't want to dance with anyone and is just annoyed with all this attention imo. But he's also jealous and doesn't want Anya to dance with anyone else, but ofc won't actually admit that because he's a brat. He's just a kid with many Big Feelings™ going on that he doesn't understand and doesn't even get the privacy to unpack, so ofc he's lashing out and acting even worse than usual. I wouldn't be surprised if he just runs away in the next chapter because he's just so fed up with everything and everyone. I feel like us fans keep forgetting that Damians boundaries are straight up being pushed if not disrespected, he's been saying multiple times that he doesn't want to dance and literally everyone is ignoring him as a person with feelings (except his friends who probs set the competition up in order to reject everyone on his behalf) Nobody but his two best friends actually care about his feelings on this whole matter, he's just a shiny prize to everyone else *including* Anya.

Anyway I think Endo is saving the big dynamic change for something far more significant such as the telepathy reveal 👀

#sxf spoilers #sxf speculation #damianya #sxf manga spoilers #spy x family

[rosycoconuts]

Cartoons messed people up on what rabies looks like. Ppl think of a rabid animal and assume it's always snarling and frothing at the mouth and ready to attack. Rabid animals can appear really friendly because they lose human fear and they might approach you supposedly looking for food. It might look like a deer stumbling in circles and limping and falling over as if it's injured and disoriented. Might looks like a fox repeatedly trying and failing to stumble to its feet and unable to pick its head up. Their brains are melting. They might seem angry but they might also seem confused or injured or in need. But if you try to help that injured crying fox you could end up getting bit by an animal that's basically already dead and then your brain will melt too

#rabies #rabid animals #medicine #animal health #public health #health

[rosycoconuts]

#spy x family #loid forger #yor forger

[rosycoconuts]

I can only hope the new Paris special won't force Marinette/ Toxinelle into the role of the "chaotic baddest bitch" for superficial praise and keeping Adrien/ Griffe Noire as nothing but her unconditional support again and the "good" one. Because literally from the way the powers of Ladybug and Chat Noir work that's bullshit and the MUCH weaker story premise character wise.

Toxinelle has no offensive powers. She can be as smart as she wants in this scenario her powers are needed for AFTER the Butterfly akumatized someone to save the city, so she can prevent said saving from happening.

Griffe Noire would be required to first nuke the city so the butterfly can react to something and that means alternative Adrien/ Griffe Noire would - the longer all that went on - have needed to let go of all morality he once had and agree to become the moster of the two so SHE can remain level headed and get the Butterfly from the hero.

That's still alot of pressure and burden on Toxinelle's shoulders, being the one who has to be the light at the end of the tunnel for both of them to get their happy ending in a better world. But for the love of God, Adrien throwing out his humanity and only holding onto her and his dead mother

If this is to be believed:

Is ALOT worse and fitting as the conflict's heart piece.

I can only hope the special will be reasonable enough that Toxinelle will be the lesser evil of ShadyClaw and not waste so much story potential for another round of "Chloé the awful bitch". There is so much more interesting stuff you can do with Marinette than that, especially in the Toxinelle field.

Already as Ladybug Marinette showcases extremely dangerous anti-hero tendencies where she becomes so strategic that everyone involved stops being human beings or mattering in the moment because she needs to get something important done.

Most crucial examples are how Emilie Agreste's dead body was used as a mere inhuman tool by her in "Recreation" to defeat her insane husband, by cataclysming the lift and letting it crash down on Emilie to force Gabriel to stand still. Only though that Marinette then barely gave Gabriel enough time to throw the lift sideways and he only managed to save himself and Emilie from being crushed in the nick of time.

Or you know, all of Marinette's horrifying plan in "Destruction" that put several life in danger by sending Monarque to helpless civilians (even to ANNOY HIM) and Chat Noir was literally turned into a non-human object served on a silver plate to Monarque. He couldn't move an inch like a human is to be expected or even BREATH while Monarque went to grab for his throat while Marinette herself stood save and sound in the back because all she actually thought about in that plan were the Kwamis and herself (not even bringing up how fucked up it was to not even let Chat Noir know that her plan involves him having to possibly live with having cataclysmed a person.)

Everyone else MONARQUE had to keep save in her plan by not being the awful and sadistic monster they thought him to be. Tolerating all kinds of disrespectful bullshit and not using any Second chance or other miraculous powers besides voyage, or for the lols quartering Chat Noir's statue for example in a second's notice.

Marinette's plan in "Destruction" was horrifying and impossibly irresponsible in how she instinctively dehumanized everyone but herself and the Kwamis in it without noticing it and 100% relied on MONARQUE to be a decent and reasonable enough person underneath so she could get away with the insane endangerment and dehumanization of everyone but herself (especially Chat Noir).

Her final battle with Monarque had Marinette come back to this questionable morality when she pulled a low-blow anti hero move by dragging the dead spouse of the villain further into the fight, and risking to take any human dignity away from Emilie's remainings - who never wanted any of this being done in her name - by making it GABRIEL'S job to save and preserve her from Bug Noire.

Marinette 100% has some serious anti-hero tendencies in how she dehumanizes people sometimes as side-effect of her strategic mind and when she's either to caught up in her head or she thinks her goal justifies the means.

Jfc, quit the bullshit and let Toxinelle be the escalation of that side of Marinette because she and Adrien know their identities this time around - truly THEM against the world - and she's stuck in a position where Adrien was forced to let go of his humanity and other emotional attachments for their cause, is way too far gone by now and she has to make sure they actually win so all of this wasn't for nothing.

Give me a Marinette/ Toxinelle who made it out of her having been bullied alot worse and that's how she got into this, but by now she deep down fully regrets ever having started this and wished with every inch of her heart she could stop

but she knows she herself already hardly could live with herself after all this so she would never ask Adrien/ Griffe Noire to let go of the only hope he has at this point and live with the fact that he became an actual monster to preserve HER humanity, so she can save them both with the wish.

A Toxinelle who believes they already went too far to possibly go back and because of that she detaches herself from morality in the way it happened in "Recreation" with Emilie because in her (and Adrien's) mind they only have to win and everything will be okay again.

Adrien won't be a monster anymore and will return all together to the boy she once loved - and only still behaves like around Marinette or while thinking of his mother - and Paris, it's citizens, the entire world and THEMSELVES wont remember anymore what happened or that Toxinelle and Griffe Noire ever did any of this to them.

Give me TAHT Marinette/ Toxinelle please. For the love of GOD.

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #ml paris special #toxinelle #griffe noire #shadybug #claw noir #shadybug and claw noir #ml meta

[rosycoconuts]

My experience being a fan of stuff

#meme #i think my actions are very performative but inside im more like ---------- #this is how I feel about a lot of the different content and media a like a lot of the time #but there are (long) periods of time where I am that excited about #the peice of media I’m consuming #like when I first read #spy x family #and fell in love with it and have been kind of obsessed for quite a while before I calmed down my enthusiasm #but I still like it A LOT #but not like when I first read it #anyone relate? #to what I’m feeling?

[rosycoconuts]

#twitter #east palestine #banking #regulations #capitalism kills #unregulated #unregulated capitalism

[rosycoconuts]

Just like that camping chapter where I came like Damian ewen and Emile a whole lot more as individual characters and showcasing their friendship. There has not been a “filler” chapter where none of the content in it amounts to nothing, it’s always showing something that is better to be shown to not just build a better understanding of world but for the characters the relationships and how it ties back into the main message of the series and that is what I like about these chapters.

The new Spy x Family volume 11 cover makes me want to see more Ewen and Emile content or, in general, Eden kids shenanigans without it focusing on Damian or Anya this time. Just some SoL stuff with the Eden kids being kids without the whole moment revolving around Damian's crush on Anya or DamiAnya bantering. The other kid side characters are all so adorable in their own way. Give them some time to shine.

#spy x family #we do have that george glooman chapter #and the one with becky and anya going shopping #i do like damianya but i need more sol where the kids are just being kids without the romcom stuff pls #might be an unpopular take i guess #still hoping for a chapter like this in the future #anya forger #damian desmond #damianya

[rosycoconuts]

Unpopular opinion (?): I love it whenever Yuri is included with the Forger family in fanarts. He’s family too (no matter how much he denies it). He didn’t have anyone but Yor growing up so having an extended family will be good for him.

It’ll be a long journey and he might not ever come to like Loid but when he realizes that Yor genuinely loves Loid and Anya, he’ll be happy for her. It’s what Yor deserves and more. He’ll also have more family to rely on and protect.

#spy x family #yor forger #yuri briar #briar siblings #the briars are very protective of their family #sxf ramblings #sxf

[rosycoconuts]

*MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Eden kids are super cute and oblivious, but there’s also something off about how when Anya got her first Stella saving a random stranger, kids at school did not see her as a hero. It’s only when Anya saved them, and they see her ‘worth’ to those with privilege that she’s considered super cool and accepted…

…except even then, she’s not. She will always be seen by her Eden classmates as someone from a lower economic strata as themselves. Moreover, the Eden kids attribute Anya’s bravery as a trait inherent to being middle class instead of, you know, Anya herself being brave. Because peasants are peasants and they’re all the same to these privileged kids.

But also, Anya’s classmates believing being a ‘peasant’ - and once again, the Forgers are pretending to be solidly upper middle class climbing up the social ladder, which adds to the humour - has supper powers or something is very, very funny.

#spy x family

[rosycoconuts]

It's kinda interesting how Damian, Yuri and Nightfall are all presented by the narrative. Like, if you're willing to look for them, they're given redeeming qualities, but the story isn't willing to sacrifice the main characters' standing just for the resolution of the former.

We see Damian bullying Anya, but then you see his issues with his family and how he craves attention from them. You're like damn I hope things get better for him but not at the expense of Anya's feelings.

We see Yuri, his obsession with his sister and how he's a threat to Twilight's mission, but you can kinda understand how a young person like him was brainwashed by nationalistic propaganda. You're like damn I hope things get better for him but not at the expense of Twilight's mission (which includes the Forgers slowly becoming a real family).

We see Nightfall and her blind obsession with Twilight, but then you see how she's been hiding her feelings because she knows she can't really have a happy life with him unless the cold war ends; she just has very poor control over those feelings. You're like damn I hope things get better for her but not at the expense of Yor's feelings and her place within the Forger family.

(No manga spoilers please)

#spy x family #damian desmond #yuri briar #sxf nightfall

[rosycoconuts]

 لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِٱللَّٰهِ 

Lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata ʾillā bi-llāhi

There is no power nor strength except by God

Absolutely nothing has power or strength except with, and by, the permission of Allah

#Islam

[rosycoconuts]

About Yor: she isn’t dense, but most likely indoctrinated by Garden

So I wanted to address this for a long while now, because I’ve seen one too many posts talking about Yor like she’s just an aloof assassin who doesn’t care about things outside her direct environment, which is why sometimes she says dense things. 

I’m well aware that she’s a fan favorite so people don’t mean her harm, yet I think the whole story actually hints at way more than her being dense, especially considering her background and who she still works for. 

In other words, since Yor was trained but also half raised by Garden’s leader, the Shopkeeper, it’s likely that, considering how they operate and what they’re about, they instilled in her a conditioned dependency since childhood or teenage years that would make her unable to learn things on her own without asking for their opinion, making it very hard for her to turn against them ever. 

Want a striking example? Her encounter with Melinda Desmond. 

Not only did she not know who Melinda was (but I mean, that at least could be understandable)…

…but she also didn’t know what a First Lady is. 

Sure, it’s funny on first glance, but after thinking about it, what does it betray? That Garden probably made sure over years Yor would never get the slightest basic info and understanding on what politics of this country are all about. Because if their strong soldiers start to get opinions of their own, then they could start disagreeing with Garden and turning on them. So, “let’s prohibit people having free thinking, so that they can remain good little pawns” as we “fight for peace in our country”.

In fact, for Yor, until a short time ago (when she met Loid and Anya), all she did was thought and decided for her by Garden and, to this day, she still voluntarily asks them for their agreement when she opens up her close circle little by little: she asked them if it was okay to marry Loid and then she asked them if it was okay to befriend Melinda. 

To be honest, that’s a scary ass thought process to envision, when Yor’s an independent working lady well into her 20s, but this shows how deep Garden’s indoctrination runs in Yor, since they got hold of her as a child/young teen. 

Another striking example is the way she always describes her job, in an almost childish way. Her nickname “thorn princess” aside, I always found it interesting that Yor’s aware she’s an assassin but she isn’t morally anguished at all about killing people and never mentions or distinguishes any grey area in her missions. In fact…

… it’s all in black and white and she clearly thinks that the people she kills are all evildoers (which as we saw in the recent arc with the Red Circus isn’t always the case and begs the rhetorical question “why does Garden get to decide who’s evil?”), therefore “she’s not doing anything wrong”, which also pretty much betrays how she was pushed into it. 

Long ago, Garden probably baited Yor with Yuri’s protection and told her that, since they’re “about peace”, Yor’s work would just help them to “fight against evil”. As a child, she wasn’t mentally fit to understand the deeper implications and then she was mentally conditioned to always do and think like Garden tells her to, which promotes this systematic childish description of her assassin’s job. 

Finally, please take notice of the Shopkeeper’s reaction the first time she tries to argue about her work, in the ship arc: 

Enough said, Garden’s awful. I’m sure there are more examples throughout the story, but I now want to talk about future character development. 

After all, since the story obviously calls for Yor to ditch Garden, to protect what’s actually important to her (Yuri, Loid and Anya), we actually do see her changing little by little so far, thanks to her living with Loid and Anya. Her coworkers quickly mentioned that she’s more lively ever since she got married and the ship arc overall emphasizes that her family is starting to become more important to her than her job, so there is high hope for Yor. :D

Additionally, while she’s still far away from noticing that Garden mentally drove her into a corner, she now openly voices her concerns that “she’s not normal” but that she wants to understand why in order to learn how to change. 

To be fair, fighting against indoctrination is tough and takes time so I’m very proud of her for slowly realizing that she ought to decide for herself from now on. :D 

TL;DR Yor is not dense. She was indoctrinated as a child by Garden and can only (for now) see the world through the filters they taught her. 

Ironically enough, the only character who knows about her real job and could, thus, notice that Yor isn’t being critical about Garden…… actually can’t because she’s a four year old who is too young to understand that Mama’s job is wrong. Well done, Endo-sensei!

#spy x family #this #garden is insidious i can feel it in my bones #although I can’t help but think that maybe there could have been SOME truth or merit to their thinking and that’s how Yor was probably able #to convince herself to not question any further about Garden in she ever did start wondering about Garden’s morality probably when she was #younger #I mean we see her Director and herself aren’t necessarily bad people as they have causes that continue to push them into executing their job #I know I might be in the minority here #but I feel that Garden isn’t as insidious as everyone thinks they are #though I certainly don’t think that they are faultless #yor forger #anya forger #loid forger #garden #shopkeeper #yuri briar #melinda desmond

[rosycoconuts]

HE CALLED THEM FRIENDS. ANYA STAYS WINNING.

#the actual incredible thing here tho is that she was being genuine with him. when she complimented him she was being genuine. #their growth........... #sxf manga #spy x family #damianya

[rosycoconuts]

I do this and say variations of this, and I usually say “you know?”

adding “if that makes sense” to the end of the most batshit crazy sentence ever formed

[rosycoconuts]

Completely agree, Endo even stated why twilight couldn’t do the teary reunion with his daughter right then and there.

i’m shocked to see the disappointment surrounding twilight’s decision to stay in disguise rather than run to anya. like how are you not floored by how far he has come as not only a character but a father?

twilight abandoned his mission the second that he heard anya was in trouble. we know this because sylvia said in the beginning that he wouldn’t make it in time to help, so there was no point in sending him back (and, just to clarify, she was right!) but instead of agreeing with her call and carrying out the remainder of his task he ran to help his daughter AND brought backup. not because he wanted to save a group of kids, but because he wanted to save ANYA.

twilight rushed home only to find out he wasn’t needed. TWILIGHT, the top spy in WISE, was not integral to saving the day. can you imagine what that feels like for him? don’t you think he recognizes how that might make him look to wise? and then to see anya immediately jump into yor’s arms… well, he likely assumed he wasn’t needed there either. so he decided to make her favorite meal for dinner, because he grew up with no promise of food or shelter to make his emotional trauma a little easier. and, for the record, when anya heard his plan she immediately lit up! she wasn’t expecting a grand show of physical affection, she understood how much it meant for twilight to be there to look out for her in the first place!

a spy should never get attached, and here he is. caring so openly for his daughter that he did something he NEVER would have done prior to meeting anya. and btw, we didn’t get any insight into twilight’s emotions surrounding anya’s kidnapping. there’s no reason to believe that he wasnt as emotionally affected as yor just because he didn’t hug her the same way. yeah, i get that it might be a little disappointing to be 75 chapters into the manga and not have that one moment where everything clicks into place for him and he finally understands her role in his life. but it’s just not realistic to the progression of his character. twilight is a lonely, emotionally stunted man whose life has centered around violence since his childhood. you can’t expect him to outgrow that in the span of like six months with anya and yor.

#very interesting to me that we saw yor’s reaction to being told about the hijacking but not twilights #wondering if the next chapter will be from his pov #yuri bragging about helping to save anya while loid was out of town #could be a good segue into twilight questioning the change in his behavior since he took in anya #anya forger #spy x family manga spoilers #sxf spoilers #sxf #twilight spy x family #spy x family

[rosycoconuts]

*MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD*

There are already several notes in the inbox about Melinda, so let's get right to it.

We now know, without a doubt, that she actually cares a lot for Damian. The panic she shows is real, especially since this panel comes right after we find out Twilight has in fact, rushed back to Berlint, and also Yor running to the scene. Their parental concern is real, and so is Melinda's.

Which is what makes her thoughts that Anya reads later on so... interesting. Anya compares Melinda to uncle Yuri, and I think it's not so much because he's a weird little dude working secretly as a secret policeman but because of this - his mind is a wall of thoughts about his sister and how much he loves her. The feelings are genuine, just extreme and a bit overwhelming.

And so we get to the final panels, where we see Melinda's love for Damian contend with her contempt for him. She wishes he'd died in the hijacking. She thinks she is 'burdened' with her son. She calls him her 'curse'. She hopes he doesn't have to stay with her for long (the kids all got home passes after the incident.) She feels disgust for her son... And more important, she doesn't want Damian to let Donovan know she's been there. What's going on?

I have a theory.

First thing. We know from the series that there's quite a bit of an age gap between Damian and Demmy. Demmy sounds older, he's been at Eden long enough to get 8 Stellas, he's never seen in the primary school section of Eden, his handwriting isn't that of a 6 year old, his history test paper looks advanced etc.

Second thing. With Melinda's insistence that Damian not tell his father about being there to see him, it gives us a slightly different interpretation of her scenes earlier in the series with Yor. Melinda doesn't want to talk about Damian. She doesn't want people to think she cares. If others think she's hands-off, good.

Or at least, she doesn't want to talk about Damian in public. Not with people who theoretically know her well. But when she's alone with Yor, Melinda does want to talk about Damian - she's the one who brings him up. She also lets slip that she has in fact been keeping informed of her son.

Third thing. Well, as I noted at the start of this post, it can't be doubted now that Melinda loves her son, a lot. She isn't as hands-off as others think she is. Like all the other parents, she rushed to her son with worry in her eyes and panic in her voice.

My interpretation is... Melinda loves Damian, but because of that, she cannot leave Donovan, or their marriage, or the Desmond household. She is held hostage because she loves. She wants to escape, but she can't. That's why she calls Damian her curse, her burden. He is the baby who arrived (relatively) recently who his husband can use as leverage, even as Demmy is becoming old enough that the eldest son can't be used as a bargaining chip any more. She continues to be a prisoner because part of her soul is in the prison with her.

And so, like Twilight, she tries to keep herself detached from her own child. She has to convince herself she does not love him. She does not want to care. She does not want him to stay with her long because it would mean getting attached. If Damian had died, she thinks she could be free. She wants to be a bad mother, cold to her son, cruel to her own flesh and blood, because if she allows herself to be a good mother, she would never be able to leave him behind. And she wants to leave...

I think it fits in with the little clues we've gotten along the way and fits in with the series' themes about lies and love. She doesn't want to let known in public she cares about Damian, because it would get back to Donovan. She doesn't want Damian to tell his father, because it would give Desmond only more leverage. She wants to hate her child, because she loves him too much.

Anyway, just my two cents. Could be way off on this one. Maybe Melinda's just weird.

#spy x family #ooooh very interesting theory

[rosycoconuts]

Exactly!!!

I feel like one of the best ways Spy x Family presents its anti-war sentiment is how it presents the other side, the side that any lesser media would present simply as "the enemy".

Yuri is an interesting case, because he's not the average "Ostania 4 evur!" type of supremacist - and considering the target audience for this show is very much NOT nationalists and supremacists, this is a very smart move. What we've seen (in the anime) up to now from him, he's not in it because he believes Ostania is supreme for some reason - his only reason to work so hard in its service is because his sister lives in it. Sis lives in Ostania, I shall dedicate myself to Ostania! And while it's taken to an extreme, it's still way easier to relate to wanting to protect a beloved family member than to fucking nationalism.

And yet, even though we can understand why he's protective of Yor, we're not supposed to relate to the lengths he's taking that protection - either by being possessive of her or by wanting to take down Twilight. We saw Twilight's point of view, we know why he does what he does. It's his journey we follow - but then we see the other side. A young man who believes that this Twilight wants to make the world fall into chaos. Our immediate reaction is "No, he doesn't, you're an asshole and you should stop going after him!" but then you take a step back and think, hol'up. He's twenty. He idealizes his sister and his main reason for joining the secret services is to protect her and the country she lives in. Of course he would have been exposed to propaganda about how Westalis is filth and how its spies only want to destroy the beautiful world we have established as Good Ostanian PeopleTM. He's as much of a victim of it as anyone else in the country. And because of that, he not only opposes the character whose goal we're supposed to root for - he calls him a villain and his natural enemy.

The humanization of the "other side" is presented brilliantly here, because again, no extremist will watch this show and relate to it. People who love their family will. So making the antagonist's motivation be his love for his sister (even if it's to the extreme) is how it works to make the audience understand that war is not a natural instinct of humans; that even people who love their family, people like us, can be brainwashed into supporting war.

Our "enemy" is not the "other side"; it's the dehumanization of people, the propaganda and the lies the higher-ups promote in order to keep their high positions. And when we lose sight of that, we lose part of our humanity and understanding.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

#spy x family #sxf meta #yuri briar