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An outing at the duck pond

#this is gorgeous!!!! #i adore your style #OOTING!!! #that orange scarf Loid wears sometimes>>>> #sxf art

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i saw this animation workshop post and thought it would be fun to try it out (damian lost a bet to anya)

#HSKSBSSJ #no bc why did Damian absolutely bust a move like that while singing the song for George when they thought he was leaving #he kind of ate that up too #i think Damian would definitely be a kpop stan #sxf art #sxf yapping

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more twitter memes between bigger projects~!

insta | twt

#me when friends #🗣️🗣️🗣️ #sxf art

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I miss them so badly it's not even funny

Can my favourite (fake) family come home it’s not funny anymore Endo 😔

#WHERE IS MY COMFORT FAMILY??? #DOING. FAMILY ACTIVITIES???? #i actually don't mind waiting i understand there's lots of other stuff going on and it takes time to get through things #but. #I MISS THEM!!! #i just want some soft moments and some shenanigans for the soul #they make me so unwell (affectionate) #sxf yapping

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Japanese Linguistic Observations in Spy x Family - part 4

Part 4 - Furigana and double meanings

I discussed in Part 2 how Japanese is comprised of three different alphabets: hiragana and katakana (together referred to as "kana") which represent pronunciation, and kanji which represent meaning. With there being over 2,000 kanji in common use, as well as various ways to pronounce any one kanji character depending on the word it's in, children learn kanji gradually throughout their school years. So manga and books aimed at a younger audience will typically have kanji "translations." These are comprised of small kana called furigana which are printed to the right of the kanji to show how to pronounce it. In the below panel for example, the one word that has a kanji is the 嬉 in 嬉しい. The furigana shows that 嬉 is pronounced うれ ("ure") to make the adjective "ureshii" (happy).

Sometimes manga authors will use furigana+kanji in creative ways to convey different meanings to words that specifically suit their story/characters. This alternate way of translating kanji is called 当て字 (ateji). One way of using ateji is to help introduce fictional terminology. In SxF for example, Ostania and Westalis are made-up words, but Endo assigns them their own kanji: 東国 for Ostania and 西国 for Westalis. The second kanji for both of them is 国 which means "country," and the first kanji for Ostania is 東 which means "east" while 西 for Westalis means "west." However, to differentiate them from the actual words these kanji represent ("toukoku" and "saikoku," which mean "eastern country" and "western country" respectively), Endo writes out their pronunciations in katakana next to the kanji. You can see this in the panels below.

Even though they're not real words, by assigning them kanji that represent what they are – "east country" and "west country" – even without any context, Japanese readers get more information about these terms than English readers do thanks to the use of kanji and furigana.

Another way manga authors can use ateji to suit their needs is by telling readers to pronounce otherwise normal Japanese words in the "language" they want. For example, the word used for "codename" in SxF is 暗号名, which is a real word that is pronounced "angoumei." However, when we look at the furigana that Endo assigns to it, he specifically tells us to pronounce it like the English word "codename" (コードネーム).

Since SxF is a series that takes place in a fictional version of Europe, Endo must have found it more fitting to use English for specific keywords like this.

While the above examples are fairly common throughout all manga, especially those that have a lot of fictional terminology, Endo also gets creative with using ateji to form double meanings that lend insight into the characters' thoughts/feelings. And we get one of the best examples of this in the very first chapter:

This is the scene where Twilight's saying that he became a spy to create a world where children don't have to cry. The word for children, 子ども, should be pronounced "kodomo," however, the furigana is telling us to pronounce it as じぶん (jibun), which means "self." By creating this double meaning of Twilight saying he'll make a world where children and/or he himself doesn't have to cry, points out in a subtle yet poignant way just how much Twilight's trauma as a child shaped his determination to make sure other children don't have to suffer the same fate. It's a brilliant way of showing a deeper side of the character that he wouldn't outwardly show.

A similar example occurs in chapter 49 during the cruise arc, in the scene where Yor is guarding the room at night, thinking about how she was dragging her feet during the Barnaby fight. Her last thought during that scene is wondering what she's fighting for, however, even though the word used is いばら姫 (ibarahime), which means "Thorn Princess," the furigana tells us to pronounce it as わたし, which is the "I"/"me" pronoun that Yor uses.

The ambiguity of reading the word as "I" or as "Thorn Princess" emphasizes how she's struggling with her Thorn Princess identity at that time. It can almost have a different meaning when reading it one way or the other. For example, reading it as わたしは何のため ("For what reason am I [doing this]…) or as いばら姫は何のため ("For what reason is Thorn Princess [doing this]…) gives the impression that she's trying to distance herself from "Thorn Princess"…that she's unconsciously seeing herself and "Thorn Princess" as different people.

Another example that's not as deep but still interesting is from chapter 87, where Sylvia visits Fiona in the hospital and tells her not to push herself so hard, even for his sake, with "his" referring to Twilight. The kanji used is 黄昏 (tasogare) which means "Twilight," but the furigana translation is あいつ (aitsu) which means "that guy/that person."

This is a clever way to use kanji/furigana to indicate that Sylvia is indeed aware of Fiona's feelings for Twilight by having her not refer to him by name, but also informing the reader that she definitely knows who she's talking about.

I also find it interesting that all three of these examples are spoken from a character we're viewing from behind. I think it's just a coincidence, but still interesting 😅

I'll wrap up with one more example from chapter 58, where Loid notes that his understanding of Bond is lacking, just like Anya. Once again, the word for children, 子ども (kodomo) is used (Loid likes making double meanings with that word, doesn't he?) but the furigana translates it to アーニャ(Anya).

I interpret this as him saying he needs to understand children better, but he specifically means Anya (even though he doesn't want to admit his particular yearning to understand her).

If you're wondering how the anime handles these ateji, it seems to vary. In the anime version of the chapter 1 example, Loid says the correct kanji translation "kodomo," but in the chapter 49 example, Yor says the furigana translation "watashi."

The anime seems to use the reading that would make the most sense if spoken out loud by the character.

I haven't read enough manga in Japanese to say that this use of furigana+kanji to create double meanings is a common thing, but even if it is, I'm sure Endo has his own unique style of doing it. I know there's more examples in SxF that I missed, and unfortunately I don't have the time to look through every chapter to find them. But if you happen to come across any others, feel free to let me know 😃 I may amend this post or create another one if more interesting examples pop up.

<- Return to Part 3

#love this stuff #i always wonder what little things i miss in translation and these posts are great !!! #sxf yapping #spy x family #sxf

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mayhaps this is a hot take but I truly dislike “Loid gets murderous and overprotective of Anya dating Damian” content

like. there are sm reasons I dislike it

first off, just fundamentally, I hate that trope. I think parents being protective of children in general is cute, and even maybe protective against their partners to an extent, but it rlly feeds into the Western (esp American) notion of parents owning their children. it gets even grosser when it’s the dad and his daughter, it’s just a branch of ‘women and their purity having to be guarded until they’re properly married’ sexism

secondly, if this is pre-reveal (either Damian comes over/talks to Anya in front of Loid and it’s p obvious he has a crush, so Loid, of course, course notices, OR somehow, post-canon yet not revealed, they get together), Loid would absolutely use that to advance Operation Strix lol

obviously Loid is NOT a bad or uncaring father, he is absolutely not that, BUT he does also very vehemently care about achieving world peace thru his spy work, AND ANYA UNDERSTANDS AND EVEN AGREES WITH THIS (to the highest extent she can as a child, at least). he would never partake in extensive manipulation that’d harm Anya emotionally (or even Damian tbh, his whole goal is to create a world where no children have to cry) but he would DEFINITELY encourage their relationship in order to eventually, somehow get to Desmond the ghoul-eyed freak

thirdly, even if this is POST-reveal, I still don’t think Loid would be unreasonable. sure, he may apprehensive due to Damian’s family and more concrete examples of Anya growing up (MAYBE bc honestly I think Loid would be ecstatic with every milestone in Anya’s life considering how genuinely supportive and proud of her that he is) BUT. but

he, again, not only wants to create a world where no children have to cry, so he clearly values the youth and their quality of life, but ALSO KNOWS abt how shitty Damian’s father is. personally, I think he’d be GLAD that Damian has a safe place to come to, with ppl who’ll support him (unconsciously, bc Loid is very oblivious to his own emotions tbh)

anyways, tldr; the “Loid being super hostile to Damian dating Anya” trope is tired and sucks and we should move onto appreciating a trope that honours the CORE of sxf, more found family, where Damian joins the Forgers, even before he and Anya potentially marry (even before they date if possible tbh)

#sxf yapping #love this take!!! #the end said it best - it feels like it's against the core of sxf #while found family with Damian is way more in line with the story #spy x family #sxf

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every day I try not to bother the people around me and every day I fail

#inspired by the fact that I literally started counting the days like this but it was simply no use #i truly wanted to not yap about sxf i truly did #can't help but be annoying to absolutely everyone #help #sxf yapping #spy x family #sxf

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Thinking about Anya's intelligence, as her ability to be smart is kind of a big point in the story and Operation Strix...

With Anya being younger than the rest of her classmates and still getting by (albeit barely lol), it's logical to assume she is smart for her age, but I do wonder how much smarter. Like did her experimentation have any effect on her ability to learn / intelligence? (There's a fantastic post here looking into the specifics of the psychology, neuroscience, & physics and all that that might be involved when it comes to Anya's mind reading abilities and how her brain works. Super cool highly recommend.) Or has her ability to read minds severely stunted her ability to actually learn things because she can just get answers from people's minds without absorbing it? This sort of thing has been shown/implied in canon, but I do wonder how deep it goes.

She has been shown to be intelligent in other ways, too, specifically through navigating the absolutely BONKERS life she is living. She is keeping up with who knows what and who is where and knows what to say to specific people to encourage a specific outcome. She is obviously not a super genius or anything (which is one thing I love about her...a character who reads minds but is too young to truly grasp everything so she only does silly goofy things with the information instead of using it like a stereotypical "smart character" would is hilarious), carrying all that mental weight as a child is impressive. She is doing what she thinks is best with the information she has, and though those decisions might not always be conventional, she helps her super cool parents constantly and not only recognizes but also helps maintain the fragile web of lies and deception set up around her.

I also wonder if the perception others have of her as a dumb/less intelligent kid is just adding to the list of things that will affect her as she grows up. I imagine she'd internalize that and think less of herself because of it despite her "objective intelligence" being greater than average for her age. Which is just so sad on top of all the things she experienced before she was adopted by Loid. She has this great fear of being abandoned because it has happened before, and was most likely physically and mentally abused in some way by the people monitoring her at the lab, and this is just another thing for her to deal with. Based on how she is with studying, her reactions to not doing well on exams and such, and just how hard she tries when it comes to school, she seems very overwhelmed by this academic pressure. And who wouldn't be? There's pressure from not only Loid directly as a father, but also from the school itself and WORLD PEACE being at stake through Operation Strix for her to do well academically. At a prestigious school with a slim entrance rate and a student body that famously exceeds expectations compared to that of any other school. With little to no typical schooling experience / proper education beforehand. All while being one, maybe two years younger than the age the curriculum is meant for. She literally has to do the impossible and is kind of DOING IT and YET she will still be seen as less intelligent by those around her (and herself, too, most likely).

I just wonder what all of this means for Anya beyond Operation Strix. Putting it lightly, it's a weird way to grow up and learn to navigate the world.

#justice for anya!! #she is trying her best and I want everyone to be proud of her #if I think about Anya for too long I will cry she deserves the world #when we get more Anya backstory I will not be well #anya yapping #sxf yapping #spy x family #sxf #Anya #anya forger

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Eden teachers

#STOP im going to throw up #look at THEM #they're so BUSINESS #the glasses are making me crazy they both look so good #i love this #beatiful artwork #spy x family #sxf #sxf art

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I honestly was pretty hesitant to get into SxF because of how heavily Anya was shown and promoted in adverts and stuff, because, as you said, children are often written to be seen as annoying and problems that are always in the way. And I was not interested in dealing with that for a bunch of episodes/chapters. So it was such a lovely surprise that I loved Anya! She is written like a real child, which is a sentiment I've seen expressed from a lot of people (especially parents who know exactly what dealing with young children is like). I very much appreciate children being treated like actual people in this story 💕

gotta put my thoughts down before i forget it but the thing that did it in for me is how spy x family is ultimately and uniquely a “children-focused” work, where the major stakes require that we pay attention to the lives and dynamics of young children so that — specifically — we have to genuinely engage with and invested in their inner lives, motivations, desires, thoughts, emotions, etc.

i think this is a very unique focus in the shounen sphere, where the audience and creators are centered about adolescent boys (the shounen genre, in its name) and thus have a very wide scope of focus that nonetheless has “aged” past “childhood”. usually media about children and childhood are sequestered in its own genre (children’s shows like doraemon, magical girl anime like precure series, etc.) aimed at a different target audience who are in the same demographic as the main characters in the shows. this is, obviously, not a bad thing. but i appreciate the “genre-breaking” focus that spy x family have because it inspires a sort of empathy to children, who are often not the most favorite group of people for the typical demographic of shounen readers, that is specifically vital in today’s climate. (can’t say much about japan itself, who historically has been dealing with declining birth rates, but oh i can speak for the american individualism— ironically where sxf is also very popular in) another thing about this is it’s drive home how intertwined the family life is, and should be. agent twilight and thorn princess’s plot-lines are clearly shounen-esque (a spy fighting for world peace, an assassin weeding out traitors) but they are nonetheless inextricable from the family- and anya-focused story, because by choice or circumstances they are anya’s parents. they’re a part of a larger societal fabric that embedded them in relationships to others — children being one of them. i think that’s pretty neat.

another thing, specially about the depiction of children in sxf: they are fictitious yet realistic enough to portray real children and inspire sympathy for them. a lot of asian home media in general have the problems of portraying young children as “problems”: annoying, loud, privileged, dumb, ungrateful, etc etc. these are such complaints about children that are unfortunately way too common and way too ungenerous and mean-spirited; none of these tropes are present, even in a media full of scions and heiress. complaints about them being brats (red circus bus hijacking arc) was rightfully framed as unsympathetic and unreasonable (they’re children! they can’t help where they were born into— it goes both ways.) i think the crux of this beautiful balance sxf struck in portraying nuanced, dynamics children is sympathy. they can be loud, they can be whiny, cry at the drop of a hat, has too much energy, gross, have bad grades, clingy, inconsistent, academically unmotivated, ran off randomly— and that’s fine, because we know why they do it, we are given space into their inner thoughts, something so rarely afforded to real life children at times. but they can be motivated, they want world peace, they want to have genuine friends, they want their friends to be happy, they have crushes, and most of all they love their parents and they love the people around them.

i think regardless of everything sxf is a work that understands that children are full of love and the majority of the things they do are out of love. i think that alone makes it incredible in the current socio-econo-political climate where sympathy is spared so little and humanity spreads so thin children barely gets what they deserve. i suppose that’s the sort of war we are entrenched in.

#yes!!! #this is such a great analysis #sxf yapping #spy x family spoilers #spy x family manga spoilers #spy x family #sxf

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I hc that Westalis and Ostania speak different dialects or mutually intelligible different languages, and my feeling is that post reveal Yor would love it when Loid slips up to his native Westalis dialect so he starts doing it on purpose. I am too lazy to write more au for now so yapping in anon box

HDACDHB STOP THIS IS SO CUTE

I'd imagine at first Loid would be apologetic (and maybe even be like "No I'm getting too comfortable >:(" if this is pre Twiyor getting together as a real couple), but Yor is like. Totally obsessed with it. I'd like to think that to her it is just another a piece of him she wants to learn about and love. It's this precious thing she has the privilege of hearing...

If it's an entirely different language I would also love for Yor to work to learn it so she can communicate with him in a way that's more natural for him...which is so like. special to me because Loid has had to change to fit in with everyone around him all the time and. I feel like that would be so surreal to him...someone working to do something to connect to him, the real him, instead of him working to be what people want...

also yapping instead of writing/doing it yourself is. very relatable . literally my whole job HJABSJBA

#i'd also think Anya would be a beast at other languages/dialects bc of her mind reading + her knowing other languages had been alluded to #for this little family in Ostania to love their Westalian father / husband and embrace that part of him #while the rest of the country antagonizes / fears anyone from the West #AARGH #twiyor yapping #yor yapping #loid yapping #sxf yapping #spy x family #twiyor #loid forger #yor forger #sxf

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I think this perspective is why it feels like the story going "so slowly" to some people (TwiYor specifically I hear a lot of people saying it's too slow and they want them to just fall for each other / have real feelings for each other already). Like. Twilight has been doing this for a long time and thought a specific way for who knows how many years. And he knew what he gave up becoming a spy. It is going to take a lot to fully rewire his brain and think differently. Why should he treat Operation Strix differently? Why shouldn't he discard the fake Forgers like he does with the civilians he deceives for any other mission? He's done it many times before. Being with Anya and Yor is slowly (key word slowly) chipping away at his cold / unfeeling exterior he has adopted to become Twilight the spy, but he is going to try his best to keep it up and keep them distant because he thinks that is what is best.

Having the transition be so slow is not only realistic, but it also means when he DOES choose his family over the mission or realize he has real feelings, it's going to feel so earned and will be treated as the big deal that it is. Because it is a big deal!!! For Twilight to change like that!!! And change ...is slow.

I have a lot of thoughts about how Loid is viewed sometimes in the fandom. Because there have been times when I’ve seen people be too dismissive over his plan to abandon Anya because he plans to have WISE take care of her as if that won’t break Anya’s heart. And I feel like that caused some fans to be unfair to him calling him heartless when he didn’t have a heartfelt reunion with Anya at the end of the hijacking arc.

Ultimately more people need to accept that Loid is still going to fight how he feels about his family for a while because he’s lost a lot in his life and it’s hard for him, but that fight has been getting harder as the story continues. Especially since he got floored by the sight of Yor in the mole arc.

#loid yapping #sxf yapping #sxf manga spoilers #spy x family #sxf #loid forger #twilight spy x family

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I love this silly family sm

Loid is just better at hiding his locker pictures than Yuri is.

#sxf yapping #spy x family #sxf

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I have been laughing at this for ten minutes HSJSNSKSN

I love how quickly your brain accepted the idea of there being discourse on the depiction of James Bond in the Twilight series

I love how Twilight both severely underestimates and overestimates Bond's abilities and intelligence. Like one moment he's like

"this dog is so weird he's just a silly little dog guy he's not built for all this attacking stuff maybe it's too much for such a goofy little doggie. why is he grabbing people??? he must not understand me at all hoho. I guess he needs more training heehee"

and then he's like

"dog. I see you have come here to avenge your brothers and sisters. let us join forces and bring about peace by combining our efforts. I see you have used your acute sense of smell to detect dangers, you are truly a capable partner"

#i mean there's something for everyone on tumblr i guess why not this HBHBHB #where is the discourse on the depiction of James Bond in the hit series Twilight when you need it 😤 #i doubt james bond was mentioned even once in that series 😭 #yapping #also this interaction is lowkey Yor coded HKDSNJS #spy x family #sxf #bond

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I love how Twilight both severely underestimates and overestimates Bond's abilities and intelligence. Like one moment he's like

"this dog is so weird he's just a silly little dog guy he's not built for all this attacking stuff maybe it's too much for such a goofy little doggie. why is he grabbing people??? he must not understand me at all hoho. I guess he needs more training heehee"

and then he's like

"dog. I see you have come here to avenge your brothers and sisters. let us join forces and bring about peace by combining our efforts. I see you have used your acute sense of smell to detect dangers, you are truly a capable partner"

#like who would think a dog would tell the future #but Twilight really do be missing the mark all the time with his goofy aahhh family #expert with all things except any living being that lives at his house #loid yapping #bond yapping #sxf yapping #spy x family #sxf

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I just finished reading chapter 58 (Bond & Loid and the burning building) and it made me realize just how wholesome Loid and Bond are!! I love their dynamic 🥺

Loid going into the burning building for Bond, saying training comes second, telling him he's a part of the family, mentioning going to the park with the family ARGH I love them!!!

I feel like a lot of people are sort of keeping an eye on Loid when it comes to developing attachments to Anya and Yor, but he totally cares about Bond too 😭

The typical "it's just for the mission so the Forger family has no problems" comes out at the end of the chapter when Bond shows ✨affection✨ please this man is trying to convince himself!! It's very "Dad becoming very attached to the pet he very explicitly expressed he did not want" type beat. and I love it RAH

I also think it's cute how a lot of his attachment / care for Bond is because Anya loves him so much ... And he knows how much she cares and therefore he cares, too, because THAT'S HIS DAUGHTER AND HE VALUES THINGS THAT SHE VALUES 🗣️🗣️🗣️ (a lot of this is still for the mission i'm sure but I'd like to believe at least part of it is bc he cares about Anya fr hhnbbgaRAH)

Another thing I love is that Bond is really the only one Twilight can openly talk to about really anything spy-related outside the agency and seeing him talk openly about Operation Strix to Bond like that at the end of the chapter (and him literally having a full on one-sided conversation with Bond and taking him on a mission because Bond obviously "wanted revenge on the scientists") makes me think Twilight might absolutely vent about spy things to this intelligent dog constantly simply because he can. which I think is hilarious. Absolutely allergic to having an honest conversation with anyone but will YAP to his dog (that he didn't even want . classic father move).

#kind of hilarious to think about the possibility of Bond being the one to make him open up more as well #Bond is the only one to have come close to making Twilight laugh he is best boy #loid yapping #bond yapping #sxf yapping #spy x family #sxf #loid forger #bond spy x family

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the fact that Yor has carried Loid in canon but we have yet to see Yor actually carry Loid in canon is a travesty that I cannot wait to see be rectified

Yor really should knock Loid out more often, it’s probably the only way the man ever gets in any power naps

#BZKSSNJ #pp lease #Yor definitely carried him out of that bar when she knocked him out and WE DIDN'T SEE IT #spy x family #sxf