she's platonic about it but in my opinion, stratt 100% treats grace as her dead wife. she keeps a tacky fox trinket in her coat pocket. there's a framed photo of him in her study . he's grinning goofily in it (bc he's a dork). new guy like: is that her husband? / no, dumbass, it's dr. ryland grace, 1/3 of the hail mary mission. / oh, fuck. were they... ? / yeah, it's unclear. black-and-white montages of grace messing around in high-level meetings play every time stratt contemplates committing more environmental crimes. she looks up at the night sky and vaguely wonders if he's enjoying his space ramen. that's her dead wife. she killed him.
Just finished rereading Project Hail Mary again and it’s really interesting that Stratt is not a scientist. She’s an administrator, a politician, a leader. Not a scientist. She’s surrounded by some of the smartest people in the world, and they’re speaking in very science-y terms, and she has no idea what is going on. So what does she do? She turns to Grace and asks him to explain it to her. And he does, he explains the very complicated stuff in a way she, a non-scientist, can understand, because he’s a teacher. That’s what he does. It works very well from a narrative perspective because you, the reader, also don’t know what all this stuff means, so Grace explaining it to Stratt also explains it to you. But I also think maybe this is part of the reason Grace became so important to Project Hail Mary, why Stratt dragged him around everywhere- and she really does take him everywhere with her- not in spite of the fact that he’s a junior high school teacher, but because of it.
Still think it's funny that between Jinshi, Basen, and Baryou, only one of them has fucked and it's the one who cries and faints when a stranger touches him
After moving to Gotham and having to deal with a stressful job, Danny has started taking walks around the city as a way to destress.
Since he knows that he could get mugged, he just becomes intangible and invisible while listening to some loud music on his phone.
Unfortunately for him, his control on his Invisibility keeps slipping when he gets lost in his music, and the people of Gotham keep seeing a semi-translucent ghost man walking around at night aimlessly.
Some thugs think it’s just a meta with invisibility and try to mug him, but pass right through and he disappears completely. This convinces them that he is a ghost, since having both invisibility, and intangibility would be too big a coincidence. Not to mention he never reacts to them whatsoever.
The Bat’s get word that a Ghost has been stalking the streets of Gotham, and he looks scarily like Bruce Wayne from the little they have been able to see from him. Now Batman thinks his dad may have come back as a ghost.
Danny is oblivious to all of this. He just likes his nightly strolls.
What if the stressful job he’s dealing with is funeral director/mortician. So when he takes these walks he’s often wearing a fairly nice suit, maybe one that’s a little old fashioned that he bought used in order to save money but still look professional. Or maybe it’s an old one he “borrowed” from Sam’s dad, one the guy wouldn’t miss with how he changes out his wardrobe every gala season.
This kind of outfit, of course, lends further credence to the theory that this is Thomas Wayne’s ghost, cursed to wander the crime ridden streets in which he died.
One night Danny had a little accident as he was leaving the embalming lab to get home. He was actually pretty annoyed about it. He swore the new guy had it out for him, with how he just happened to be carrying old Mrs Smith’s drainage when Danny popped in to say good night and just happened to spill some of it all down the front of Danny’s second best dress shirt and just happened to not get a single drop on himself.
Ellie comes to visit at one point and is super excited to show Danny her new shapeshifting powers. She can’t do a lot right now, not yet, but it’s enough to play around with in the streets of Gotham.
Danny is thrilled his little starlight is learning new powers. To celebrate, both of them dress up real nice and hit the town, taking full advantage of their ghost abilities to make the most of it. They get some ice cream, see a movie, freak out some tourists, scare the shit out of the Joker, mess around near the clock tower, and eventually calm down enough to enjoy the night air through a long walk.
Ellie is giggling and skipping ahead of him, taking advantage of the empty streets to freely shift her form every other block. With one step, her hair is twice as long and sparkles with an unnatural gleam. The next, her dress has turned bright green and the flowers stitched onto the hem wriggle and dance in tune with their blasting music. Danny calls her back when she gets too far, and when Ellie turns around, all of a sudden she looks like a boy with a suit similar to his and an adorable pixie cut.
Danny just sighs and takes his daughter’s hand. He knows that one day, when her powers are more developed, Ellie will truly cause him a royal headache with all the trouble she’ll get up to using her powers. But right now, right here, he’s just glad to have proof that Ellie is becoming her own person. She’s thriving in ways he never will, and that fact alone comforts both of them. Ellie isn’t just a clone anymore. She’s his daughter, and he’ll humor her till the end.
It takes a few days for the thought to crystallize, past the unsteadiness of shock. For his normally brilliant mind to start making connections again. Chaotic. Fae-like. His… His Father was unchanged. A man forever trapped in time, yet free from that terrible alleyway in a way Bruce still isn’t. But the CHILD?
It brings to mind the old tales of changeling. Fae children left where human children were taken from. Or perhaps, like cuckoo birds, fae children who steal a human child’s place. It was… It was seeing himself replaced. His father laughing, playing, unknowing in his adoration of what he believed was his son. The child in Bruce had screamed in horror.
The man in Bruce knows his Father is not unknowing.
At least… he desperately hopes so. It is impossible to tell yet what the ghost of Thomas Wayne is actually SEEING. The world as it is? As it was? Something else, beyond Bruce’s human sight? He’ll need Constantine’s help. Everything in him is trying to fight calling him.
It takes all his strength just to say the words out loud. To ask Clark for help, all the way over in Metropolis City, but Bruce… he can’t. He can’t. He searches the city for signs of his Mother. Like everyone else looking finds nothing. Was she not worthy of a return? Did she not earn some impossible goodbye?
What God would separate his parents? Would cruelly tear them from each other’s arms? Is his Father looking for her? For him? He found him. Is it now his wife he searches the streets for? Imagining her around the next street corner, some function or charity, a dear friends house for a chat?
Or was he pulled back by the Fae Child. Yanked from his rightful sleep, to play house, by the willful demands of a magically powerful child? Did he stand above his grave and wonder where he was? One moment trying desperately to protect his family, the next a graveyard? The world changed. The endless questions haunt Bruce.
Ha. “Haunt”. He’s begun to hate that word. Trapped. His Father isn’t “haunting” anything. His Father has been TRAPPED by this city and a child that Shape-shifts like water flows. Has Gotham not asked enough from his parents? Did they not already pay, for the crime of caring, in blood? Behind him Damian is less practicing his stances, as he is wrathfully hacking away at a training dummy.
Bruce continues to type at the bat-computer, gives him his privacy as he works through his emotions. The disrespect to his grandfather’s spirit. The lose and hurt he is feeling. Damian has never gotten to even meet Thomas Wayne. Known him only as stories and other people’s memories. Paintings upon walls. Old journals.
Beautiful but empty things.
The spaces outlining where a man once stood. A great man. A kind one. One who would have loved him fiercely and been endlessly proud to call him his grandson. One he now sees played a puppet along the filthy streets he died on. Sees at the mercy of forces unknown, to ends unknowable.
Who sees it hurting his family.
Alfred is nearly a ghost himself these days. He has caught him staring at his parent’s portrait so many times. A truly lost expression on the man’s face. When he had thought it a hoax he had been offended but now that it… it is likely REAL? There were so many things left unsaid. Things they wished they could share with his parents.
It is grief ripped anew.
His Father… He had told him he had done a good job. The look on his face excited and melancholy like he was remembering the escapades of Bruce’s youth. When mastering something meant then turning around to show off to his parent’s. Was he proud? Is he?
Bruce is afraid to ask. Afraid to know.
But he will not let his Father be trapped in the city that killed him. Cursed to wander the city of curses. For all he loved this city, Thomas Wayne earned a peaceful rest. Deserved to sleep along side the wife who he loves and loves him more than anything but their son. To dream of dancing and stars and peaceful afternoons, in whatever comes after. Not this. His Father does not deserve this. And Bruce?
#he totally asks alfred if martha was pregnant#she was#no idea the gender#but appearently#the baby decided it was a girl after death#constantine comes to check it out on bruce’s insistence#and apparently bruce’s parents managed to become king and consort of the dead in the infinite realms after they died#bruce has to sit down HARD#dcxdp#mistaken identity au#danny as thomas and sam as martha#and ellie starring as unborn child!
Is reincarnation a thing in the DC universe? If so, then John can somehow test if these are actually the souls of Thomas and MArtha Wayne and the test saying that they were. The taruma this would cause Bruce having it confirmed. It isn’t demons or something taking their faces, it’s actually his parents. Would the two start to get some feelings or memories back from their previous lives due to their connection to death as a liminal and a halfa? Actually say things that his parents did or reference events that happened for them. Or them mentioning their daughters older brother then getting confused when questioned deeper, because they don’t have a son? How much would that hurt Bruce that his parents don’t seem to be able to consciously remember him? Also finding out that they became royalty in the afterlife would be a shock.
At some point, Sam goes up to a rooftop just to get a quiet moment to herself and curses when she finds an injured Batman passed out there.
Batman wakes up to a woman who looks like his mother applying first aid with steady hands while complaining about “self-sacrificing idiots not knowing their limits. How much good do they think they’re gonna do after pushing themselves to a point where they can’t do anything. At least Ellie didn’t inherit that.”
Bruce is still a little out of it from blood-loss or whatever, but he manages to absorb an important detail: her name is Ellie. The little sister he never got to meet is named Ellie.
After Sam realizes Batman is conscious, she starts talking to him. She says a lot of things like “don’t you dare die!” And “I know your work is important, but you can’t just run yourself into the ground like that” and even “as much as the realms would love to have you, you will not be showing up until you’re old and gray.“ She might be redirected some of her frustrations with Danny over the years.
Bruce makes a small choked noise before managing to say “understood,” in a relatively even voice.
It wasn’t much but Sam caught it, and Now she’s alarmed because Batman doesn’t do shit like that; what happened to him? Was if fear gas? No, he’d have an antidote for that. Did he get hit with some new kind of chemical weapon? Shit, now she feels bad for yelling at him.
She offers to stay with him until someone comes to get him, because leaving him alone on a roof when he’s drugged seems irresponsible. Fuck, he’s shaking. Sam ends up awkwardly looping an arm around his shoulders and trying to be comforting (which is really not her forte) until one of the other bats shows up. Then she promptly disappears because she wants out of this situation. She has her own traumatized hero to look after, thank you very much.
This concept has a lot of room for emotionally intense dramatic irony.
There could be so many interactions where Danny, Sam, and Ellie are totally oblivious.
You could have all three seeming to be ghosts because Sam is heavily liminal, and just popping up at random intervals.
Sam and Damian bust the same dogfighting ring and work together. Damian rescues a box of puppies from the breeder that was supplying the ring. Sam calms some of the dogs that didn’t make it enough to lead them to the ghost zone.
Jason gets pulled in off the street for a quick lecture on the aspects of self care and health that work differently for the undead. Danny asks him to come to him with any questions or concerns he has going forward.
You could have the Bats learn (correctly or incorrectly) that the Waynes reincarnated, and alternating between wanting to know them and not wanting to drag them into things when they seem to be living peacefully.
Danny’s apartment ends up becoming a safe Haven for the Bats after the first couple of times he finds one injured and can’t just do nothing. They can come to him for patch jobs with no judgement, or just for company that doesn’t ask much of them on bad days. Being able to provide the kind of safe place he would have liked to have when he was a hero gives him a sense of contentment and peace.
For all that Batman is good at putting on a strong front when he’s out and about, the poor guy seems so lost and uncertain when he gets somewhere safe enough to drop the act, so Danny tries to be extra kind and gentle with him because he knows what it’s like to have to put on a brave face. (Danny doesn’t realize that Batman is different around him)
At some point Ellie gives Bruce a flower crown made out of dandelions and clover and Bruce just about loses it.
The flower crown is going to be carefully preserved and stored/displayed somewhere safe, isn’t it?
Batman may project stoicism, but at his core, he’s someone who cares a lot.
I’m still imagining Danny being gentle and supportive with all of the Bats. He tells them things he would’ve liked to hear as Phantom. (You are so strong and so brave and so good. You are doing enough. It’s okay to rest sometimes.)
Sam is not the touchy feely type, but she’s getting attached, too. No mushy stuff, but anyone who actually manages to seriously hurt one of the Bats will briefly disappear under mysterious circumstances and turn back up severely traumatized.
Ellie doesn’t take long to decide all of the Bats are family, now. She pesters Jason for shoulder-rides (He’s so tall). She is thrilled when Nightwing enables her need to climb and/or swing from everything (she could fly, but that’s not the same).
She made Tim promise that if he ever becomes a supervillain She can be his right hand man because fuck the gender binary (he was to busy laughing at a kid saying “fuck the gender binary” to figure out a tactful way to change the subject).
Ellie occasionally interrupts patrol to show Robin where she saw a family of opossums (almost always in places a normal child couldn’t reach/shouldn’t go).
Black Bat is invited to play ballerinas (even if they’re really playing warrior princesses undercover as ballerinas).
Ellie teams up with Steph to sneak some ice cream (they didn’t really need to sneak, but it was fun).
Even Oracle gets some crayon drawings (Ellie asked the other bats to give them to her once she realized Oracle probably wasn’t going to visit in person).
I like the idea of Danny and Sam as reincarnated Thomas and Martha being like
“Is it weird that we’re so protective of these random strangers?”
“It doesn’t FEEL weird, but it seems like maybe it should?”
And then both of them shrug and move on because neither has a strong understanding of what normal is anyway.
They don’t know about their past lives, but they are subconsciously influenced by them. Like, the reason Danny panicked and disappeared at that first meeting with Batman instead of just explaining that he works at a morgue was because something deep down realized that showing himself to Bruce in this state would cause him pain and wanted to shield him.
The placement of the red gems and pearls wasn’t intentional, but it also wasn’t coincidental. Clockwork gave them the present to give to Bruce, and they didn’t even think to question it because it just felt right.
If Sam and Danny feel the odd urge to spoil the Batkids rotten, they probably just attribute it to their own time as teen heroes. (Subconscious be like “GRANDBABIES!”)
They get along with Lady Gotham right away, not realizing that she’s already an old friend.
I think it would be funny to have Tucker’s visit coincide with the Duul Aman exhibit going to the Gotham Museum, and for one of the Bats to stumble across Danny and Sam teasing him about it.
Batman paused in a shadowy alcove at the sound of Martha and Thomas Wayne’s laughter. He peered down and saw them standing with a man he didn’t know.
“You both suck.” The stranger grumbled petulantly.
“Aw, come on Pharaoh, You have to admit it’s a little funny,” Thomas said with a cheeky grin.
“I just don’t like thinking about that life. There were a lot of things that the me of now isn’t proud of.” The man sighed in a way that spoke of old regrets that still ached at times, even after having largely made piece with them. Thomas and Martha sobered at the admission, and their eyes became a bit more sympathetic.
“Duul Aman wasn’t one of the worse leaders history had to offer. He made some positive change for his people,” Martha offered.
“Nobody becomes the best version of themselves by being raised to believe they’re a god,” the man said.
“Fair enough, but at least you’ve got a couple of things to be proud of, right?” Thomas Wayne said with a shit-eating grin.
“Making Ras Al Ghul eat it was pretty sweet,” the stranger said with a chuckle. “Though you won’t find records of that accomplishment. The jerk must have outlived me.”
Batman’s eyes widened behind his cowl. He considered following the three, but he really needed to go try and keep Catwoman away from the new exhibit.
Several things clicked into place when he saw the face on a sculpture of the Pharoah Duul Aman.
Oooo~ I love you bringing Tuker and his Confirmed reincarnation into it.
Sam and Danny don’t make the connection themselves but having the Bats get suspicions from this encounter would be a great lead up to them calling Constantine.
I’m just imagining the Bats calling up a magic user to settle the “ghosts or reincarnation” debate only for the magic user to be like “they’re testing positive for both. Why does Gotham have to be so Goddamn weird all the time?”
Most people in Amity know Danny is Phantom, especially the teenagers. More importantly, they've realized that everyone in Amity is liminal enough to be summoned with the correct runes. And so a system has been devised so when they want to hang out somewhere, one person goes in, draws a big summoning circle, and just summons everyone else. It saves a lot on transportation and it's just practical.
Now that they're all old enough to go to college, most have spread all around the country. Staying in contact is not a problem, however, they can just summon each other, get together for a while, then break the circle and send them back to wherever they were before. Perfect solution. It doesn't even register as weird, they've been doing it for years and no one even bats an eye anymore. No one in Amity that is.
It'd be fine except they've caught the attention of the Justice League. On the heroes perspective, they have just discovered a cult that formed seemingly out of nowhere and keeps leaving neon green summoning circles with ominous runes traced along the edges in random places all over the country. They have not found any sign that people are getting hurt but that only means the cult is thorough at covering their tracks. Where did so many well-organized, clearly trained people come from? What are their bigger plans? Who are they targeting? They're clearly a big threat and they need to be a priority in investigating.
i really wanted to talk about some of the potential implications of the Blackwell family's actions in both the most recent chapter and previous ones ＼(◎o◎)／
*chapter 132 spoilers below*
honestly already a very cute page because Becky and Anya in an armored car ( ◜‿◝ )♡ but cuteness aside i really want to zero in on the use of this armoured car because that big logo in the middle of the page means something. taking an armoured car out to pick up Anya and her babysitter (scruffy) and then go pick up Loid and Yor is not just a simple task. i refuse to believe that the Blackbell family has a casual garage full of armored trucks and tanks right on their home property... but knowing Endos love for weird ass families i wouldn't be surprised if they did. 乁| ･ 〰 ･ |ㄏ
this is not the first time we have seen Martha use Blackbell machinery to save the Forger family. in the bus hijack arc when Anya is grabbed by one of the hijackers and used as a human shield, the taskforce is told to ignore her and take the shot. this is when our og Martha shows off what all those years fighting in the war really means. here she is using a taser gun to ensure both Anya's safety and the apprehension of the hijacker. once again we have the Blackbell monograms displayed but this time on Martha's bolo tie, we don't get to see the logo on the gun itself.
I am including the panel below to emphasise how much Martha prioritized Anya not getting harmed on any level, she wouldn't even allow for Anya to be dropped the few feet she was. what Martha just pulled off requires a Yor/Loid level of agility and reflexes while also being at least twice their age. given that Blackbell Industry holds a major military contract for Ostania they are already more than aware of Martha's extensive military background and potentially even scouted her to be Becky's caretaker for that reason.
once the hijacker is apprehended by the police we get a mini snippet of conversation between Anya and Martha where the taser is explicitly mentioned to be a new type from Blackbell Industries. Martha being both highly trained and constantly equipped with the newest and best weaponry is going to be a major asset once we see some movement from grandpa siggy (i haven't forgotten about him, Endo i see what you are doing) or just in future arcs in general.
I don't think that this repeated use of the Blackbell Industries weaponry and personnel is just a bit, i think we will see some sort of action or inaction on the part of Blackbell Industries because Becky wants to protect her best friend, her Loid, and her master.
we have repeated themes of Byron Blackbell doing whatever he can to appease, protect, and nurture Becky while we also have the continued emphasis on how important the Forger family is to Becky, how she didn't enjoy school before Anya and how she truly confides in Yor. this father-daughter combo is going to be ruthless at some point.
i think the easiest route to take based off of what we currently know is Blackbell pulls out from their contract with the military and thus puts a major wrench in the whole war plan that Desmond is cooking, but realistically speaking this contract will probably be what makes the family the most money and will be a difficult thing to convince Byron leave. I also toyed with the idea that the Blackbells find out that Loid is a spy or something and we see an escalation of some sort on his part but that feels too disastrous of a route. either way i think we haven't seen Becky Blackbell strut her stuff to the maximum and there are going to be some major movements when she finally does. ⊂((・▽・))⊃
read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/MRgvSF3
by AnimeRomcom290
What happens when the biggest spy, biggest detective and biggest actor need to work together to prevent a plot to kill B-Komachi?
Words: 1053, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English
Fandoms: 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed, 推しの子 | Oshi no Ko (Manga), 推しの子 | Oshi no Ko (Anime), SPY x FAMILY (Manga), SPY x FAMILY (Anime)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: F/M
Characters: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan, Haibara Ai | Miyano Shiho, Loid Forger | Twilight, Kojima Genta, Becky Blackbell, Damian Desmond, Yoshida Ayumi, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, Anya Forger, Mouri Ran, Mouri Kogorou, Agasa Hiroshi
Relationships: Loid Forger | Twilight/Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess
Additional Tags: Manga & Anime, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions
read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/MRgvSF3
Also, tbh, I've been thinking a lot about Yor's fear that could make her tremble like that...... but my mind go to the dark route that made myself upset. So I stopped. 😅😅😅
But.... luckily that fans accros Japan and China came up with popular theory.
And how I'm so glad that Endo make that theory came true, instead of my dark route
Yor was so scared for Loid's safety!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Of course she will. She IS the protector. She cannot --will not-- have those that she protected, get hurt. 🥰🥰
New idea: Huntr/x encounters a new kind of demon that is immune to all of their weapons, nothing they do to it seems to be having any effect, and they're at the end of their rope when suddenly Zoey goes "Oh wait! Strawberry Moonbeam Blast!” and suddenly she's dressed in a very frilly dress shooting red lasers out of a heart-shaped wand and the demon explodes. And then she has to explain that she used to be a Magical Girl
Zoey's Strawberry Moonbeam Blast seriously hurts the demon but doesn't quite kill it. Mira mutters, "OK, fine" and twirls for a moment and is standing in a glittery tutu with suspender straps, a cat face on the chest outlined in multicolored gems, tights with spiral rainbow stripes, and purple pumps with pink bows. She sighs deeply and holds her hands up to make a heart and half-heartedly says, "Meow-Meow Sparkle Pure Heart Wave, or whatever," and an elaborate swirling wave of multicolored energy finishes off the demon.
Rumi looks back and forth between them. "Whu...?"
Zoey points at Mira. "Wait, you were Princess Kitty Tutu?"
Mira folds her arms and looks away. "Yeah. Sorry I never told you."
"We used to fight crime together!"
Rumi's eyes slowly scanned up and down the outfit Huntrix's lead visual was wearing. "Um..."
"Hey!" Mira snapped. "I have no control over the clothes, OK? It's part of, like, the magic or something. This is exactly why I quit magic girling. Well, except for demon hunting, where I get to pick my own outfits."
Zoey grinned. "Mira, you are the heart of my heart or whatever and I am insanely in love with you. But I am never, ever going to stop giving you shit about this. Princess Kitty Tutu."
Mira spluttered. "You're in no position to--"
Zoey extended one leg. "Hey, I own my magical girl transformation. It works on me. You, on the other hand..."
Rumi held up her hands. "OK, I have no fucking idea what's going on here. All I know is that suddenly I feel a lot less guilty for hiding my patterns all those years."
Aqua's relationships with Kana and Akane don’t just differ in plot — they differ in vocabulary.
How language reveals what Aqua really feels in Oshi no Ko
In Oshi no Ko, words are never neutral. Every verb, every subtle word choice functions as emotional evidence.
The relationships between Aka Akasaka's characters are built not only through scenes but through linguistic precision.
What words are chosen, and which are avoided, tell us everything about how genuine — or distorted — these emotions are.
I. Irekomu (入れ込む): Obsession, not love
Let’s start with Chapter 83 — the quiet prologue to a bigger misunderstanding.
Here, Mem comments that Aqua is “obsessed” with Kana.
In the original Japanese, she uses the verb 入れ込む (irekomu), a term that carries connotations of fixation or fan-like obsession, not romance. It’s the word you’d use for someone who throws themselves too deeply into a hobby, a cause, a role, or — tellingly — an idol. That choice is intentional.
Mem doesn’t say suki (to like) or koi suru (to love).
She says irekomu, and by doing so, Aka tells us exactly what Aqua’s fixation really is: a projection of his guilt.
And it’s not just a coincidence. This scene directly mirrors Aqua’s trauma surrounding Ai’s death.
Even though Mem is talking about Kana, Aqua’s internal thoughts immediately drift to Ai — the person he couldn’t protect.
Even the anime adaptation intensifies the connection, showing a symbolic image of Kana dying just like Ai.
Through this, Aka subtly tells us what the dialogue never states outright: Aqua’s “intensity” toward Kana isn’t born of love — it’s born of fear. He’s not in love with her, he’s terrified of her meeting the same fate as Ai.
That’s why the scene with Mem matters so much. It sets the stage — showing us that whatever “interest” others might perceive between Aqua and Kana is, in truth, the echo of his trauma, not a romantic spark.
Mem´s misinterpretation sets the stage for Akane’s later misunderstanding—and for us to see how language becomes the mechanism of that confusion.
II. Hikareru (惹かれる): The understandable mistake
Chapter 87 continues this theme of misunderstanding, this time through Akane’s words.
While reflecting on Aqua’s behavior, she says he was “attracted” to Kana.
In Japanese, the word she uses is: 惹かれる (hikareru).
Again, Akasaka chooses his words with surgical precision. Hikareru doesn’t mean love. It’s often used to express admiration, curiosity, or unconscious fascination. It’s the language of interest, not intimacy.
The author’s decision to have Akane use this word is critical.
Akane — usually the most perceptive character — is reading Aqua’s behavior, but without all the information. Because she doesn’t know what we know: that Aqua’s fixation stems from his guilt, from the fact that he was the one who encouraged Kana to enter the idol world.
Therefore, her conclusion, while logical, is incomplete.
She correctly senses Aqua’s emotional intensity — but she mistakes its cause.
Some fans forget that even Akane — the one who understands Aqua most — isn’t omniscient. She’s not a narrator with divine knowledge; and she is not immune to being wrong when she doesn’t have the full picture. The story has shown us repeatedly that Akane needs to investigate and analyze before reaching the truth — it’s her method, her defining trait.
Without the full context, what she perceives as romantic interest towards Kana is really Aqua’s buried trauma manifesting through guilt and a distorted sense of responsibility .
This is a deliberate narrative move. Akasaka wants us to witness how even Akane, who “sees through” people, can misread Aqua when her information is partial.
And here is the thing: he (Aka) intentionally makes the misinterpretation visible through language.
Just like with Mem, Aka doesn’t have Akane say “好き” (suki) or “恋している” (koishiteiru, to be in love). He makes her say hikareru — a term that perfectly captures the illusion of love, not the thing itself.
And because we’ve already seen irekomu earlier (Mem’s “obsession”), the manga gently tells us:
What Akane misreads as attraction, the audience already knows as trauma.
It’s one of many examples of narrative foreshadowing through linguistic nuance.
III. Tanoshii (楽しい): Momentary joy
By Chapter 146, Aqua himself gives us another piece of the puzzle of his heart. When speaking of Kana, he says that being with her is tanoshii — “fun.”
It’s a charming line, and many readers (and Kana) took it as a hint of romance.
But semantically, tanoshii carries lightness. It implies enjoyment, amusement, or temporary relief. It is never used for profound emotional content — only for immediate, surface-level joy.
Compare this to 幸せ (shiawase), which is what Kana herself uses in Chapter 148 when she says that Aqua is “happiest” with Akane.
That’s the emotional contrast made literal:
Kana gives Aqua tanoshii — momentary relief.
Akane gives him shiawase — genuine happiness.
And we can't forget that Aqua himself once used that same concept when speaking of his time with Akane (Chapter 98).
When he recalls his days with Akane, he refers to those as “happy days” — shiawase na hibi.
This word choice is also deliberate. Shiawase (幸せ) represents genuine happiness, a state of fulfillment and stability rather than passing joy.
So when he tells Kana that being with her is tanoshii, the difference is striking: what he feels with Akane are happy days; what he feels with Kana are fun moments.
The gap between those two sensations — tanoshii and shiawase — is the entire emotional distance between escapism and acceptance.
The difference isn’t subtle. It’s intentional. And proof that Aka Akasaka constructs emotional hierarchies through word choice.
IV. Tebanashitakunai (手放したくない): The language of conscious love
In contrast, Aqua’s language toward Akane belongs to a different emotional register.
In Chapter 97, he uses 手放したくない (tebanashitakunai) — literally “I don’t want to let go.”
This phrase expresses not fleeting enjoyment (tanoshii), not obsession (irekomu), but intentional emotional attachment. It conveys a conscious choice to hold on to something meaningful.
Unlike his reactive, guilt-driven responses around Kana, here Aqua articulates agency and recognition: Akane represents a relationship he wanted to preserve (even though he didn't in the end, choosing revenge over everything, and ended up regretting it).
Aqua’s bond with Akane is thus distinguished by intent. With her, he experiences the possibility of stability and the chance to be happy — not because she mirrors his trauma or can forget about it while being with her, but because she sees it and accepts it.
And that’s why Akane’s presence in Aqua’s life holds such a distinct tone — linguistically and narratively. She represents the first relationship in which Aqua is not trying to rewrite his past, but to exist within his present.
V. The hierarchy of emotion through words
By examining the japanese words that frame Aqua’s relationships, a clear emotional hierarchy emerges:
It’s not just vocabulary — it’s emotional architecture.
Each word represents a layer of how the author wants us to feel the difference.
VI. What remains unspoken
What makes all of this fascinating is that none of these distinctions are accidental. Akasaka uses language as emotional architecture — each verb and adjective carrying the weight of narrative truth.
By denying Aqua and Kana the language of suki (love), he refuses to give that relationship the foundation of romance, just its illusion.
By granting Aqua and Akane the vocabulary of attachment and happiness, he defines their bond as something deeper, lived, and mutual.
Even Akane’s misunderstanding serves a structural role: it reinforces how language itself becomes a test of perception.
Mem and Akane both interpret Aqua’s feelings through imperfect words. While Aqua himself has established a hierarchy of what he feels, thinks, and says about Kana and Akane. And through those words, the author communicates directly with the reader.
He reminds us that truth in Oshi no Ko can be found in the language, if we put aside ship wars and focus on what the story is actually trying to tell us.
I don't think that these panels, Aqua's own final wishes, get talked about enough. There are so many characters who point out towards Aqua liking Kana–Memcho, the director, even Akane herself. But then again, these are their POVs, not Aqua's.
In the given panels, Aqua himself tells his wishes out loud."It might also be a good idea to respond to Arima's feelings."—I believe this picks up from their 'date' in chapter 151 or so, which ends with Kana telling Aqua her dream to be 'his star'. The chapter ends with a... shocked or maybe surprised panel of Aqua. The statement of "might also be a good idea" does not imply any sort of romantic rejection or acceptance. Also, the use of "might also" shows a mere possibility, not certainty.
"I want to build an equal relationship with Akane and repay her for all the kindness she has shown me."—while this statement does not look romantic at first glance, let's consider the way it is phrased. The "equal relationship" part is a direct repetition of what Akane told him in the chapter of their breakup (98-ish). She used these words to refer to their relationship they had built over the year—their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend. The part of "I want" shows a firm desire; a "Yes, this is what I want."
Something apart from this which caught my eye is how these panels are detailed. The one with Kana and Aqua is light hearted with Kana clinging to him, him looking over his shoulder at her. Their silhouettes are outlined by a soft grey cloud-like design with tiny sparkles. But in the one with Akane and Aqua, Aqua directly faces Akane, with a more... 'set' expression. The scene also has the cloud, but the sparkles themselves are more detailed and not just limited to the background, but rather having a presence in the foreground (overlapping the characters) as well.
All in all, I'd like to believe that in the end what Aqua truly most deeply wanted (obviously after wanting his sister to succeed) was to be in a relationship with Akane once again. To be her boyfriend once again. To have his "carefree days" with her once again.
note up front in advance that op i promise i'm not clapping your cheeks by disagreeing with you here this just happened to scratch at my brain since i've been seeing reads of this scene in this direction basically since it dropped and felt puzzled by them basically since minute zero. if i can be totally, 100% honest, I think it takes a bit of motivated reasoning to look at this scene and take away from it that Aqua did not want to respond positively to Kana's indirect confession.
Aqua's line re: Kana is 「有馬の気持ちに応えるのも良いかもしれない」which does strictly literally mean "It might not be bad to respond to Arima's feelings." but I think removing it from the context of the scene it takes place in - and the wider context of Aqua's own stated feelings about Kana - makes it seem weaker or less definitive than it actually is. As we can see in the screenshot provided, Aqua says this while implicitly imagining a moment between the two of them in which Kana is smiling and cuddling his arm with a blush - very strange imagery to pair with his words if the intent was to imply that he did not want to be romantically involved with Kana.
The other things Aqua talks about wanting to do are also quite emotionally charged in positive ways - restarting his relationship with Akane as proper equals, spending more time with Taiki, acknowledging Miyako as his mother, etc. Again, this would make Kana weirdly out of place if the interaction Aqua wanted to have with her was a more negative one.
The rhythm of the scene, imo, is also quite telling - Aqua is responding quite directly to Kamiki's read of his motivations and he does so in the same order that Kamiki lists them;
Kamiki: Making your wishes come true, falling in love, hanging out with your friends, returning the favors of your loved ones and watching your sister pursue her idol dreams to the very end.
(Also worth noting, imo, that Kamiki's statement of 'falling in love' is juxtaposed against a panel of Kana's face and the speech bubble is basically slapped on her head like a post-it note lol)
Aqua: I'll be a surgeon someday. It might be a good idea to respond to Arima's feelings. Going to the beach with Himekawa... and calling Miyako-san 'Mom'. I want to repay Akane [...] and build and equal relationship with her. And I definitely want to see Ruby perform at the Dome.
That rhythm of wishes -> love -> friendship -> repayment -> Ruby is echoed between Kamiki and Aqua and the character associated with 'falling in love' is Kana.
Of course, this is just Kamiki's POV (as you noted) but we do get insight into what Aqua feels for Kana from about as deep into his POV as we could get in chapter 150 when he and Gorou are bashing things out.
Among other things, Gorou directly states in 150;
「まぁ、お前が好きなのはあれだろあの天才子役の方だろ?」
"Well, it's the genius child actor you like, isn't it?"
Note that he uses suki to describe the nature of Aqua's feelings and phrases this as a rhetorical question.
Aqua reacts with surprise, starting to say 「なんで有馬が...」 - literally 'Why Arima-' but the sentence structure in Japanese is more clearly the start of a sentence that was cut off, possibly something like "Why suddenly bring up/change the subject to Arima?"
Gorou says it "goes without saying" and then tells Aqua;
「星野アクアとして、思春期らしい年相応の恋愛感情を抱えていた」
"As Hoshino Aqua, you hold romantic feelings appropriate for your adolescent years."
Then he lists several of Kana's personality traits and states that Aqua has "always liked [suki, again]" Kana. And Aqua agrees with him - while he responds with surprise when Gorou brings Kana up, once Gorou states all the above, Aqua responds "I know all that".
In other words, Gorou identifies Kana as the girl Aqua likes, states that Aqua has romantic feelings for her and Aqua agrees.
I am willing to concede that this scene is not as wholly, 100% unambiguous as something like "I want to date Arima" would have been, but again - the imagery and Aqua's phrasing here would be very strange if he was planning to reject her and date Akane. If that was the case, why not use phrasing more like "I want to let Arima down gently and be friends with her" or "I want to be real friends with Arima" or something similar?
But it is certainly not any more ambiguous than Akane's panel, who also lacks much of the surrounding context to bolster it into 'unambiguously romantically coded' outside of her and Aqua having dated in the past. Aka Akasaka is primarily a romance guy and he does know what he's doing - again, this is all very strange visual language to employ if his intent was as you've laid it out here.
to be clear I do not gaf about the endless AquAka vs AquKana wars in terms of having a shipping preference but I do think Akasaka's intent is pretty clear and I continue to just Not understand why people so often feel a need to actively fight with the text to get something else out of it.
"Aqua's line re: Kana is 「有馬の気持ちに応えるのも良いかもしれない」which does strictly literally mean "It might not be bad to respond to Arima's feelings." but I think removing it from the context of the scene it takes place in - and the wider context of Aqua's own stated feelings about Kana - makes it seem weaker or less definitive than it actually is. As we can see in the screenshot provided, Aqua says this while implicitly imagining a moment between the two of them in which Kana is smiling and cuddling his arm with a blush - very strange imagery to pair with his words if the intent was to imply that he did not want to be romantically involved with Kana."
And I'm just adding on to what you said, But people needs to understand Aqua's mindset during that time.
His self loathing, His guilt never gone away, When He told Ruby in chapter 143 that he hurt so many people, Kana, Akane,
And how he has trouble smiling because he feels guilty for all he done, He lied to so many people, and feels guilty for being alive. In Chapter 146, He genuinely has fun with Kana, Kana made him happy and yet he feels like he has no right for it.
Aqua:
"You're really troubling for me, Arima."
Kana:
"what the heck? You have something complain about? "
Aqua: "No. I'm not even in that situation right now, and I don't have the right for it. "
Aqua finds Kana troubling because when he is with her, he always ends up having fun. Something he feels guilty about. Aqua during this time already decided that he was going to go through with his revenge.
He lied to so many people and hurt so many people. He doesn't feel like has the right to be happy, the right to fall in love. Aqua already made his decision, which was protect Ruby's career instead of a happy life. In the end, seeing himself as expandable/disposable tool for his sister's career.
As much I would want, Onk to have a happy ending, the problem always lied on Aqua Hoshino. Aqua could've chose options to live and beat Kamiki, Even asking Akane for help, (which would've shown some development, instead of him manipulating others and lying, he could've choose to just be honest and have allies) But, He didn't, he choose murder suicide as his only option. Even though Ruby/Sarina would have prefered if stayed by his side instead. But as long as Aqua thinks it's right, he doesn't care how the people around him woul feel.
His "hesitant" or "distant" line, Is actually in character for a man who doesn't think he deserves genuine happiness. Kana isn't just a girl he is attracted to her, She is also someone he enjoys spending time with.
(Hence why she has an entire panel to herself when it came to his happy memories and why he admits she is troublesome for him because he always has fun when he is with her.)
What Aqua wants and What he says are contradictory in that moment, He says it might be a good idea to respond to Arima's feelings. But is imagining her holding his arm and being intimate with her. It also goes hand in hand with Hikaru Kamiki's words, When kamiki says "Fall in love" he associates that with Arima Kana.
Also, In chapter 162, Arima Kana's roundabout confession is what showed up, when crow girl mentioned he had interest in romance too.
Similar to beginning of the story, Where he thought his dad was dead. And he thought about Himekawa's words. And thinks about Kana and Akane. with being on top of Akane.
When he askes himself, if it's okay to be done, And thinks about Himekawa's words, And he thinks about Both Kana and Akane, Basically showing that he in fact his Kana as a love interest. he just never got the chance to express those feelings.
my favorite thing to do rn is think about all of the ways the spy x family reveals could happen. it's literally endless.
Identity reveals:
Yor is assigned to kill Twilight :(
Twilight spies on one of Yor's missions, she escapes his sight, notices bloodstain or dagger later
Anya talks about bad scientists who experimented on her, her parents both immediately hunt him down (like that one bit of fanart I love!)
Loid lets his guard down around home and Yor keeps accidentally finding clues that hes a spy (disguise kits, scuffed clothing, bandages, bullet shell, something written in code) I really like the idea that Loid, as a spy, remains oblivious and also that he lets his guard down. Bonus points if Yor asks Anya about the clues
Anya gets in the middle of a bunch of bad guys. Yor pulls her daggers, Loid pulls a gun, Anya is scooped by Bond and rides to safety. Mama and Papa cannot think of good excuses but they will not acknowledge it for weeks. Anya gets many peanuts and shares them with Bond even though he was awarded generously with his own treats
Safety becomes a bigger concern for Anya at Eden Academy. Yor wants to teach her more self defense and Loid also wants to make sure she knows how to defend herself. The two are realizing how good the other's tips are and begin to question where they learned it. They almost talk about it but Yuri interrupts and ALSO wants to make sure Anya knows how to defend herself. All three adults believe themselves to be the most capable of the bunch. All three will be individually stomping out the threat to Eden's students. Anya now knows ninja moves and will attempt teach her classmates and show off.
Anya is accidentally less discreet about reading Yor's mind a few times and Yor mentions to Loid how its almost like she can read minds! Loid takes that seriously, gets paranoid she could be planted to get information and keeps trying to trick Anya into revealing herself, but eventually rules that out and resolves to reassure her that he loves her however she is (omg I NEED her parents to tell her they love her!!) Loid now knows she can read minds and she knows he is a spy. She asks if he loves Bond however he is and reveals he can see the future. She asks if Papa loves Mama however she is and... AAAAAH WHO KNOWS!!! (side note ik it's obvious how well a spy and assassin could work together but if Loid KNOWS that Anya is in on the mission? Oh they are scheming)
Love reveal:
Yor gets drunk with coworkers and reveals she hasn't said I love you to Loid. Huge outburst, they dont believe her. Yor goes home and drunkenly tells Loid she loves him. She doesnt remember in the morning but Loid sure as hell does.
Fiona Frost gets extra clingy and forward which causes both Loid AND Yor to lean extra hard into the married-and-in-love thing whenever she's around. Also when she's not around. But they haven't acknowledged that yet. Anya saying "Papa and Mama are flirting!" pisses Fiona right the hell off.
Yor starts to distance herself from Loid bc she's an assassin and can't get too close. Loid freaks out and tries to romance her for real, but that freaks Yor out even more. She tells him he's doing nothing wrong, just that it isn't a good idea to be so close if the marriage is going to stay fake and their relationship platonic. (Shes trying to avoid heartbreak.) Loid externally goes ohhhhhh you dont need to be worried about that, he'd rather have Yor in his life however she can be. (his mind is blown) (he's realizing some of his feelings for her now that she kinda confessed) (hmmm how can he make this work for the mission)
Inverse of the above, Loid starts to distance himself from Yor bc he lowers his guard around her, which is no good for a spy. Yor thinks she did something wrong and goes out of her way to make it better. She shares her gripe with her coworkers who might encourage her to ask him what's wrong or ask he stop avoiding her (among other, less advisable ideas.) Loid realizes that his avoidance put the mission in jeopardy and now must lean in even harder to reassure Yor (its the only way duh) his "method acting" is becoming very convincing.
Franky notices Loid's subconscious affection for Yor and makes a comment. Loid denies it but will question himself and his feelings for the next 3 weeks.
Anya wants to get her parents together and takes inspiration from Becky. Thus a series of attempts to parent trap Loid and Yor ensue. Half of them are just Anya trolling them.
Yuri reveals that Yor loves Loid to his face. He freaks out.
If anyone writes fanfic based off of this or draws something TAG ME!!!!! I just wanna see more of these guys
Really interesting through-line I did not expect for them to start building up in season 6 is how like… more neurodivergent-coded they’ve made Marinette? And not just in a oh she’s forgetful haha way but in the way that Marinette’s canonical internalized ableism and toxic positivity are lowkey devastating to her relationship with Adrien, because she sort of just does not understand his depression. Like in her mind if she ever stopped to think about an issue in her life it would immediately lead her to fucking collapsing into a ball of swirling emotion, so she just constantly has a project or goal to occupy her mind (because she has undiagnosed adhd and anxiety). So obviously she feels like the best way to help Adrien is to keep him on track, like helping him find a new hobby and passion and keeping his memory of his dad warm. But Adrien is just extra unreceptive to this because he is the most clinically depressed boy in the whole world.
Honestly the ND solidarity there is wonderful lmao.
That said none of this is super new. Some of it has been made more explicit, like Max was always autistic-coded but now it's being looked at more directly. But a lot of it was just... when the show had a more lighthearted tone, it was easier to assume things were "just" for laughs and ignore the heavier implications.
I've been saying for years and years now that Marinette has absolutely debilitating anxiety, that even the way she dealt with her crush was a product of that, and have seen people insist it's just tropes for laughs. But now the tone has shifted and... her anxiety really hasn't. It's fed by a LOT more guilt now, but the ways she deals with it aren't even always dialed up. Just look at her back in Truth/Lies and especially Gang of Secrets! Compare her rant to Chat Noir at the movie theater in Gang of Secrets to her having a mini crashout to Nathalie in Lady Chaos.
And the show has said pretty explicitly on multiple occasions, Marinette wraps herself up in her big stupid romance fantasies and grandiose plans as an avoidance tactic. She makes herself paralyzed with anxiety on purpose so she has an excuse to never actually do the things and can avoid the risk of failure or rejection. The touches on it in Glaciator 2 and Determination off the top of my head, and I'm pretty sure one or two more. She in-character knows she's been doing that and keeps doing it; that's some deeply unwell behavior all on its own!
And all this is part of why I honestly loved Sublimation, too. Like, extremely frustrating episode and girl what are you doing, stop, but that was the point. We saw her getting worked up jealous, BUT! ☝️ She had learned and grown based on her experiences with Kagami! So she did her best to redirect that energy and keep telling herself, if she could just become friends with Sublime, that would make things better! ....except she has literally no idea how to make friends if she's not Being Useful, if she's not Fixing A Problem. Alya became her instant bff partly because she adopted Marinette and immediately had her back and Marinette never had a chance to worry that she wasn't earning it. Either someone has to come to her or she has to Prove Herself.
And that's such a core part of her character that it's even in one version of the extended theme song: "So insecure, oh in myself / Til someone says, they need my help!" And ever since she first properly defeated Stoneheart, proved to herself she could do it, and saw that all people needed to hear was a comic book superhero script, it's consistently been easier to be Ladybug than to be Marinette. When she was overwhelmed by becoming Guardian, she considered being Ladybug all the time. When she starts dating Adrien, she's mostly confident and secure while Gabriel is there, while she has something to Protect him from, but the moment all she has to do is love and be loved, she starts falling apart (not helped by The Guilt but still), and when she gets overwhelmed, she's still retreating into being Ladybug.
So now as we get deeper into season 6...
Of course her method of dealing with the most stress she's ever been under is to try harder than ever to avoid looking at it too closely and obsess when she does. Of course her way of trying to help other people avoid feeling bad is to encourage them to Just Stay Busy, too. Of course she's jumping harder than ever at the chance to help anyone else, especially if it involves being able to actively Do something. Of course even when it doesn't, she's great at giving pep talks and good advice that she will never take to heart herself.
And then we've got Adrien, who has always carried a deep underlying sadness, because on top of the general isolation and everything we started the series not long at all after Emilie "disappeared" (and he didn't even have the closure of being 100% certain she was dead due to how Gabriel treated it). And sometimes that turns into frustration and anger, but it always inevitably fizzles back into misery eventually. And now he's lost his dad too, less than two years after his mom, when they'd been on such a sour note at the end, and now he's got all this dissonance to deal with...
So like. It's not even just the clinical depression. It's an overwhelming about of grief, and you can't medicate that. I think Adrien would be prone to depression either way, and Marinette for sure would still be a high-strung nervous mess, but similarly, medication wouldn't fix her stress and guilt and all the burdens she's chosen to bear.
BUT LIKE..........
Medication would NOT FIX them but it REALLY wouldn't HURT... We could try... It could probably fix them at least like 20% and come onnnn that's SOMETHING... These poor kids, please... 😭
(sooooo this, uhhh, became far longer than anticipated, but i really wanted to analyze & explore their relationship. it ended up being 5k+ words long. So, uhhh... please enjoy ????)
Something i really enjoy about Spy x Family is how naturally Damian and Anya's relationship evolves over the series. it shows Anya going from indifferent to him at best- only trying to befriend him because of the mission - to genuinely caring for and worrying about him.
And while Anya is a little too young to understand romance yet, the series sets up the idea that Damian is, actually, exactly her type.
Anya likes Action Heroes. She likes Bondman and all the cool adventures he goes on. She likes people like her parents, who will go to any length to protect innocent people for world peace- to create a world where no child has to cry.
These are the things that Anya admires and likes the most.
And as the series goes on, Damian slowly starts embodying these concepts, all on his own.
Early on, Anya had the worst first impression of Damian she could've possibly experienced. To the point where she almost gave up on the friendship scheme entirely before she even really started it
And even after she apologized for hitting him, he still yelled at her and ran away bc he didn't know how to deal with his newfound romantic feelings- but from the outside, it just looked like he rejected her.
And it wasn't until the dodgeball game when things started to change from her perspective
Anya could read Damian's mind, and knew that he wanted to win the game to get his dad's approval.
And when she realized that he planned to use any means necessary to do that, even sacrifice the other kids, she judged him as being a jerk. She didn't like him at all.
But, despite Damian's own wishes, when Anya fell and was in a defenseless state, his body moved on its own to protect her.
Even Damian is confused by his actions here.
But, if I had to guess, I think there's a non zero chance that Damian might have done this for any of his classmates, regardless of who they were, had they been in Anya's position (that is - completely helpless and defenseless against an incoming attack). that ball was going fast, and it's clear that it would have hurt had it not been stopped.
Damian's body instinctively moved to protect someone helpless, because deep down, he wants to protect others. That's one of the reasons he wants to become a politician. The reaction was just stronger with her, in particular, because of his crush.
This is the moment when Anya first rethinks her opinion of him. She looks at him with admiration, and thinks that he might actually be nice, until he starts insulting her again.
It's only after he does something negative to her that she returns to her previous opinion, and once again sets the friendship scheme to the side because she doesn't like him.
Damian is still too immature for Anya to wanna befriend him.
This ends up becoming a recurring pattern between them. Damian surprises Anya, she rethinks her opinion of him, he insults her, and she dislikes him again, etc.
What's really interesting are the moments where this pattern is broken.
Let's put a pin in that.
The next significant moment between them is during the bus highjacking.
Now, Damian isn't the first to try and help calm things down when the other kids start freaking out- that was Bill Watkins. Damian wanted to, but couldn't quite muster up the nerve, but he admires Bill's actions there all the same.
But when he sees Anya in (what he assumes to be) very real danger, it spurs him on.
He gets up and tells the highjackers to put the bomb on him instead.
Damian has no way of knowing that the bomb is a fake. He just sees one of his classmates in danger, sees how scared she is (she's isn't, but he doesn't know that), and acts.
Anya is, once again, looking at him with admiration.
When they put a fake bomb on Damian, he's terrified, but tries to keep it together.
Anya recognizes this, and reaches out her hand to him.
This is the first time they held hands, and truly made a connection. while there have been superficial attempts from Anya to befriend Damian before this, none of them really worked. Because they were only for the mission.
This is genuine.
She can read his mind, and knows how badly this has shaken him, despite how hard he's trying to keep it together, and goes to comfort him. Not for the mission, but because he needed it, and she wanted to give it.
After the situation is resolved, Damian and Anya are left to wait for their parents.
Anya isn't the one to start the conversation. It's Damian. And he does it by acknowledging her heroic actions, and sincerely apologizing for his behavior towards her up until now.
It's only afterwards that Anya compliments and praises him.
(Anya always responds in kind to how Damian treats her. If he's nice, she'll be nice back. If he's mean, she'll be mean back. Let's put a pin in that as well.)
She calls him a Hero.
This is the first time she's ever given Damian this kind of positive attention, and it's all sincere.
Anya admires Heroes more than anything - it's why she thinks her parents are so cool, and why she likes Bondman. She doesn't really throw that word around casually.
But Damian legitimately earns that praise from her with his own actions. He had no thoughts about trying to look cool in front of the others or showing up Bill. Instead, he was trying to shoulder the kind of responsibility he might have in the future.
Which includes protecting Anya.
And in this moment, she sees Damian for who he really is, and finds that she likes what she sees.
Anya is only reminded of the friendship scheme after. Operation Strix had nothing to do with their interaction until then, and it's only then that Damian closes himself off, and quietly admits that he barely has a relationship with his parents anyway.
Becoming friends with him just to gain his family's connections would be useless.
Anya takes note of this. In fact, she's been quietly keeping tabs on Damian and his relationship with his family since the dodgeball game. Part of it is for Operation Strix (the arts and crafts project, the handkerchief, etc), but there are moments in between when she just stares at him thoughtfully.
She knows he struggles to earn his father's attention, and a lot of what he does is to try and earn his praise. That's something she can relate to.
But when she hears that he doesn't even really have a relationship with his own parents, it seems to strike a cord in her. She gives him a pat on the back, and starts paying more attention to his family.
She seems... Concerned.
And it only gets worse when she finally meets Melinda.
Melinda's thoughts worry her. Anya isn't old enough to explain why exactly, but something is clearly off.
Melinda loves her son, and yet she hates him.
That's not how families should work. Right?
The interaction concerns her enough that she asks Loid about it, unprompted, trying to understand what happened. Melinda came to get Damian, so that means she loves him, right? But why were her thoughts all strange like that? It makes no sense.
The friendship scheme is the furthest thing from Anya's mind. She's just worried about Damian.
When they return to school, Damian and Anya's relationship seems to reset to how it was before.
They bicker, they fight, they act like children. Damian shouts insults, and Anya responds. Etc.
And just as before, Anya decides she doesn't like him anymore because he's being a jerk. If he treats her badly, then she doesn't want to deal with him.
But things aren't the same as they were before.
When Damian realizes he went too far and made Anya cry, he collects himself, apologizes for what he said, and offers to get her something to make up for it.
You can tell that this leaves a positive impression on Anya. There's even shoujo sparkles around her as she stares at him.
Before the highjacking, Damian never would have had the maturity to do this in front of his peers. He would have been far too embarrassed about his feelings for her, and would have overreacted, insulted her, and left.
But after everything they've been through together - a legitimate life and death situation - Damian has grown up a little.
And Anya takes note of this, because it's a significant departure from his previous behavior. She immediately recognizes that something is different now.
The narration even supports this, because even after they go back to bickering, it says that they were doing so as good friends.
Now, this mature behavior doesn't quite last (the chapter with the tea cakes comes to mind)- but it's a start.
The next big change in their relationship happens at the school dance.
When the dance is first announced, Anya immediately goes to ask Damian to dance with her. He rejects her out of embarrassment. And when her legs are wobbly from practicing with her dad, Damian makes fun of her.
Both were shallow attempts at befriending Damian for the friendship scheme, and when he's mean to her, she quickly decides it's not worth the effort and gives up. Again. The pattern continues.
But things are different at the dance proper.
Plenty of girls want to dance with Damian.
Anya has her own share of suitors, too. And she read Loid's mind- she knows he has no expectations for her here. Sure, it'd be nice if she and Damian danced together, but he's not going to force it. He's already decided that both of them have the right to dance with whoever they want. They deserve to have a choice in this.
There's no pressure here. She's free to make her own decision. It's okay to dance with someone else.
And yet... She still chooses to dance with Damian.
Now, I'm sure a large part of this is because of the friendship scheme. She's determined to help Loid in his mission and make him proud. There's no denying that.
However, even without that as her main motivation, i think she would've preferred to dance with Damian regardless. Why?
Well, out of all of her classmates sans Becky, he's the one she's closest to.
Everyone else is an acquaintance at best, or a stranger at worst.
But Anya knows Damian. He's familiar. They've had history since day 1, and are friends in all but name. He might be mean sometimes, but he's protected her, and been with her the whole time.
Most importantly of all, however, is that Anya understands him. And that's best shown when she answers the last question without using her powers.
Because she knows more than anyone how hard Damian works to earn his father's love. She's been watching him work towards that goal from the very beginning.
The dodgeball match, the arts and crafts project, the macaron, the handkerchief, the bus highjacking, etc - everything he's done was, at least partially, motivated by his desire to live up to his father's expectations, and to earn his love and approval. It bleeds into Damian's every action.
Anya knows how deeply he fears being rejected by his dad. It's something she can relate to.
So, of course she chose to dance with Damian. Why would she dance with someone she doesn't know, when he's right there?
And on Damian's side - when Anya answers the last question correctly, he has the same reaction she did earlier when he apologized- right down to the same wide eyed expression and shoujo sparkles.
Both are scenes that show a moment of connection between them. Damian realizes that Anya isn't just trying to cozy up to him to get close to his father. Their time spent together hasn't been meaningless and superficial. She's actually paid attention to him- not to his family name.
To Damian.
And for once, Damian feels understood.
Which, i think, is why he does what he does here.
When they start dancing, it's awkward and uncomfortable. They're not in sync with each other at all. Damian is too afraid and embarrassed to get closer, and Anya looks sick and can't follow at all. It's practically a metaphor for how their relationship began.
But they take a moment, and recenter themselves.
Damian closes the distance and holds her properly, and they're finally able to dance. It's still a little awkward, but now both sides are working together to move in rhythm.
And it's in that moment of connection when he tells her that her family sounds nice.
His expression is so painfully soft and earnest here, that Anya knows without a doubt that he's telling the truth, even after he tries to walk back his words.
Because she's seen his family.
His mom has strange, contradictory thoughts. His brother is empty and confusing, and doesn't have any thoughts at all. He's terrified to face his father with anything less than perfection, and admits to having almost no relationship with his parents.
Damian's family is weird.
Once she's fully aware of it, it becomes one of the few things throughout the story that genuinely bothers her - especially Melinda's thoughts about him. She'll reflect on these moments in her spare time, completely unrelated to Operation Strix.
There are very few subjects that take up that much space in her thoughts, and even fewer that she treats with so much weight.
So when Damian lets his guard down and admits that her family sounds nice - her fake family, half-hazardly thrown together in a week for a mission that could end at any moment - knowing what his is like...
Damian is just a child. Just like her. He didn't ask to be born into such a weird family. He's just a kid thrown into a situation he can't control, and he's trying his best.
And as mentioned before, Anya responds to Damian's treatment of her like she's a mirror. If he's nice to her, she's nice back. If he's mean to her, she's mean back.
Damian was honest with her. And so Anya answers his honesty with her own.
But before we go into that, I want to back up a little.
From the very beginning of the series, we've seen how much Anya fears letting anyone know about her powers.
It's the source of her greatest anxiety. Something she's convinced will tear her new family apart, and cause her parents to fully reject her. Every little threat of exposure sends her into a mild panic, and she does everything she can to keep it hidden. Because she desperately doesn't want to be rejected and abandoned again.
At the research facility, having her powers meant that she had to constantly study for world peace. She wasn't allowed to have fun.
After she escaped - and who knows how long ago that was - she was shuttled around to various orphanages. Being adopted out and returned 4 times. By the time we're introduced to her, the owner of the run down orphanage she's currently in calls her creepy and just wants to get rid of her.
It's very possible the reason she was returned was because her powers scared the people who adopted her. And even when she tried to hide them, people still picked up on how weird she was and rejected her.
Who knows how many times she's been rejected and feared for her abilities before now? It's something that clearly traumatizes her.
But in this moment with Damian, she has none of that fear.
I think it's important to note - she's telling him this as he's dipping her. A move where one dance partner has to completely trust that the other won't let them fall.
Damian could have dropped her, but she had no doubt that he would keep her safe. She never even considered the idea that he wouldn't.
And she's right.
Because they shared a moment of understanding. Because Damian was vulnerable with her. And because, looking back, he's never given her a reason to not trust him.
He protected her during the dodgeball match, even after she punched him. When others questioned him about it, he immediately put a stop to the rumors about her Stella being unearned- despite being upset that she earned one before him. He gave up the macaron he tried so hard to get because he couldn't handle her tears. He made good on his promise to get her cakes, in return for her help, even though bringing food to the school is forbidden and he could've gotten in trouble for it.
He tried to take a bomb for her out of his own free will.
Damian didn't have to do any of those things - some of them were downright insulting, detrimental, or dangerous to him, personally. He didn't benefit at all from most of these situations. And no one was forcing him.
But he inserted himself and helped anyway.
Because no matter how much they bicker and fight, when it's important, he's always been there for her. He's never abandoned her when it actually counts, even when he has every right to.
And even afterwards, when he doesn't believe her and she starts picking a fight with him again - they never pull away. They keep dancing, perfectly in sync with each other, despite their bickering.
This interaction had nothing to do with Operation Strix or the friendship scheme. Those thoughts were the furthest thing from her mind. And, in fact, Anya doesn't gain anything from telling him about her greatest secret.
This was all because Damian was vulnerable with Anya, and she responded in kind.
There's a reason the chapter ends with +100 friendship.
Skipping ahead to the festival -
Anya meets with Damian, and remembers - through Loid's thoughts - that she needs to work on the friendship scheme.
As usual, they bicker and fight over who gets to stay or leave- but as soon as Anya starts crying (about messing up the friendship scheme), Damian relents.
In fact, he's become quicker and quicker at realizing when he's messed up, and taking steps to fix it.
And, i think it's important to note how much Anya is thinking about Operation Strix during all this.
It's on her mind the entire time she's been at the festival so far - about how she needs to befriend Damian, about how Yor might beat her with the mommy friendship scheme, how Loid might abandon her if Plan C succeeds, etc.
That changes as she and Yor run into Melinda.
Anya is still focusing on the friendship scheme, up until these moments, when she reads Melinda's thoughts about Damian.
Melinda thinking how she wants her son to go away, how she'd love to go to the festival with him, how happy she is that Anya is trying to befriend him, how she's failed him as a mother, how much she wants to face him, how terrified she is of her husband and going against his wishes...
These thoughts knock Operation Strix completely out of Anya's mind.
She stares at Melinda, feeling nothing but concern. Realizing that Damian's mom is being bullied by his dad. That his family doesn't get along.
That his family is much more broken than she realized.
And so, when Damian lashes out here, insulting her specifically - she doesn't antagonize him back.
She broke their usual pattern.
The last few times this has happened, Damian was the one to break it, because Anya refuses to back down and only reflects his behavior. She rarely changes things unless he acts first.
But this time, it's Anya.
Because Anya read Damian's mind here. She realizes that he doesn't actually mean what he says, and that he's feeling jealous that his mom isn't with him. How he wants to spend time with her. How he doesn't feel loved by his own family.
Anya takes it upon herself to correct this. She even takes off her mask, so she could speak to him face to face and clearly state how his mom loves him.
It's something she feels he needs to know. And she's right.
Because the more time Anya spends around Damian, the more she realizes how messed up his family is - and the more concerned she gets about him. It's starting to override her snap reactions to his insults.
It's to the point where she's no longer reflecting his behavior towards her. She cares about him enough to not care about that anymore.
The next few moments between them focus on Damian's personal qualities, and how they mesh well with Anya's.
Damian is jealous of the new boys hanging around Anya. This is hardly the first time he's been jealous, but this time the boys are in her class, without him, and Becky is only making things worse. It bothers him so much that he keeps having nightmares.
So he has a cute little arc about dealing with jealousy and how to accept it peacefully, instead of fighting against it.
And, I think it's important to note that Damian's way of dealing with it was through the lens of an RPG hero. Because, like Anya, Damian also loves action, adventure, and heroes.
This is a trait Damian has had the entire time, completely separate from Anya's sphere of influence.
Damian stood up to the bus highjackers, because he was inspired by the people he admired as heroes. One of the reasons he loves his father so much is because he (heroically, from Damian's point of view) ended a war.
When Damian is alone with Emile and Erwin, they often devolve into playing games where Damian is the hero. On the playground, on a hike, in the forest in search of ancient artifacts...
And on that note, history is his favorite subject because of the romance of adventure it gives him. Ancient treasures, lost civilizations, etc- it all appeals to him for the same reasons why Anya likes Bondman.
And so, in trying to deal with his jealousy, Damian heroically defeats the buzz monster through the power of diplomacy and his Paradise Fist. Which he then wears to school the next morning.
Anya, meanwhile, has become bored with Tertius and Freddy's fawning. Sure, she enjoys their praise and attention initially (because she thinks it'll lead to world peace), but she loses interest in them quickly.
And, well... they're both nice, but that's all there is to it. They're not playing with her, or doing anything that she can bounce herself off of. They're trying to show off to win her attention, and it's just not working.
Anya has a short attention span, and is very quick to declare something boring if she doesn't like it. Neither Tertius or Freddy can hold her attention, despite their attempts, because none of what they're bringing to the table appeals to her at all.
In fact, it's a little reminiscent of when Anya first met Damian. He was trying to boast about his family to get respect, and Anya only felt annoyed by it.
What does get her attention is Damian's Paradise Fist.
She finds it super cool and even says how she wants it. It even becomes a bonding moment for them- being one of the first times Anya has gone up to Damian unprompted, happily, without thinking about the friendship scheme or expecting something from him (tea snacks).
She just finds his Paradise Fist cool, and Damian gets to enjoy some genuine, positive attention from her. Attention that he earned by being his honest self.
Because, when you get down to it, Damian and Anya both like the same things.
Both like action, and adventure, and heroes, and fighting for world peace. Both admire their fathers for their (apparent) heroic actions. And both are inspired by their fathers to take similar action and protect others.
Damian and Anya have never had a moment to really sit and talk about it in canon, but their love of this stuff and desire to act on it is something that they only share with each other.
Becky, Erwin, and Emile don't understand. Becky finds Anya's love of cartoons and adventure stories childish, and Erwin and Emile thought history was boring until Damian tried to convince them otherwise.
In fact, the person closest to sharing Anya's interests is Connie... Except, not really. Because Anya wants to catch a ghost for fun, while Connie wants to exorcise evil spirits because of her obsession with the paranormal.
Which leads me into...
When Damian hears that Anya and her new classmates are going ghost hunting, he immediately points out that going into the abandoned school building could get them all in trouble - basically, they could earn a Tonitrus Bolt.
But when it becomes clear that Anya is going to go anyway, and with Tertius specifically, Damian decides to join in. His jealousy is too strong for him to just leave the situation as is, and he can't stand the idea of Anya being alone with Tertius.
But... I think it's important to point out that Damian casually took an action that could have gotten him a Tonitrus Bolt (as he points out the next day) - a concept that scared him so badly before that he was shaking in fear.
I think this moment shows growth on Damian's end. He's still concerned about getting in trouble, but the threat of getting a Bolt won't keep him from acting when he feels it's necessary.
However, in my opinion, I don't think Damian went just out of pure jealousy. I think he was also concerned for Anya and wanted to look after her.
Because, if you watch him from the moment he hears about their plans, to when they leave, he's the only one showing real concern for the other kids.
He warns them about getting into trouble.
When Anya runs into the house, Damian is the one to suggest that they follow her inside, using the rain as an excuse.
When Anya runs further into the house, following Connie, he runs after her.
When they're already in the house and the others want to go home, Damian is the one who asks if they're gonna chicken out and leave now that they've gone this far.
In other words - he's the one keeping the group together, and not letting others split off on their own.
When Tertius, a boy Damian has been insanely jealous of since the day they first met, starts feeling so scared he's about to faint, Damian is the one who reaches out to steady him, looking nothing but concerned for the other boy.
And when Anya collapses while everyone runs away, Damian wastes no time and immediately goes back for her, straight into danger, even as Connie warns him not to. He shows no hesitation - he just runs, picks her up when it's clear she can't stand on her own, and carries her the 3 flights down and out of the building.
He's also the one keeping a steady head the entire time.
He tries to calm everyone down ("There's no such thing as ghosts!" "Let's just find the stupid ghost and head home already."), and ends up leading the group so they don't just wander around aimlessly. He calmly makes a route for them, and also criticizes the others for making everyone more scared.
Anya might be his priority here (he knows she will leap into danger, because he's seen her do it), but Damian is the one taking care of the whole entire group and making sure everyone is safe.
Honestly, Damian is shaping up to be a natural born hero. He'll put himself into danger to make sure others are safe, despite his own fear and terror.
Which is exactly the kind of person Anya likes most.
And, another fun thing to note - since returning to school, Damian and Anya have been much more relaxed around each other. There haven't been any big fights, and any moment of conflict is resolved in a panel, and neither takes it too personally.
They're able to just kinda... exist around each other much more easily now.
Plus, with everything else I've written here about how much they have in common, how well they understand each other, and how they enjoy the same things that others don't, well...
I think I've made it clear that, while they're still too young for a proper romance yet, these two are basically perfect for each other.
It's honestly fantastic how Endo has managed to carefully write them so nuanced in this way. the series isn't even close to done yet, and there's still so much to explore.
In addition to all of this, because I couldn't find a place to put it-
Anya has some connection to Classical Language. Endo once said that it's the equivalent of Latin in this world, and Loid mentioned that there's no country that speaks that way today.
Damian loves history. Specifically, ancient civilizations. And he casually mentions one that used to exist in the southern part of the continent.
I'm sure at some point, these two plot threads will intersect. It's set up perfectly to do so, and it's been there since early in the manga.
Anya is very likely connected to this lost civilization. Maybe she was chosen for experimentation because her mother was a descendants of the people who used to live there? Did her mother teach her Classical Language, or did the scientists? Is it something else?
Damian's love of history may end up helping Anya in some way, assuming she really is connected. History isn't her best subject by a long shot, and she was too young to remember why she has experience with Classical Language. She has no reason to look into ancient civilization or history.
But history is Damian's favorite subject. And if he knows that Anya has a connection to that ancient civilization, and she was likely experimented on because of it, I can only imagine how far he'd go to try and help her with his knowledge.
Damian might just have the answers to questions Anya doesn't even realize she has yet. And if he doesn't, he might be able to push others into the right direction.
There's just so much to speculate on with these two and i can't wait to see what Endo does next with them lol
post!reveal forger family and it's just loid just forgetting anya is adopted and vice versa. leaned too much into the backstory and totally forgets she's not his biological kid. (still his kid though)
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loid: anya, not too much sweets. we have a history of diabetes in our family.
anya: okay papa *puts down the cookies*
yor: ?????????
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becky: wow anya! you really got burned after our day at the park
anya: i know it's stupid. papa burns really easily too and i forgot to use the sunscreen he gave me.
damian, after his confession to anya and acceptance in the forger family: wait a minute-
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loid, after anya gets a letter from eden academy: i certainly didn't expect this kind of trouble in my life when your mother and i brought you home from the hospital!!!
anya, in her full teenage angst mode: well maybe you shoulda left me there!!!!!!
loid: maybe we should have!
franky, getting uncomfortable: didn't you get her from an orphanage-
Someone asked me what housekeeping skills I’d recommend learning.
Keep in ming that this is not me shaming you, I know you have your reasons, folks. This is just a guy who enjoys clean spaces asking that you start learning now.
Here’s what I suggest as an adult who has lived with other adults who didn’t have housekeeping skills:
First and foremost, learn about all the places in your house that need to be cleaned and understand how often they should be cleaned. the American Cleaning Institute (I guess that’s a thing) has a good article about basic cleaning info. Plus this video on cleaning tips is great!
Learn how to do your dishes. HOT water is the only way to clean your dishes.
Learn how to clean your shower head, especially if you live in a place with hard water. Same goes for your sinks.
Learn how to do your laundry correctly. Even without the whole “separating whites and colors” thing, there are things you need to learn about washing your clothes. Learn what the tags mean, too.
Also, you don’t have to use fabric softener and you shouldn’t use it on towels or any fabric meant to absorb. (Learn about laundromats)
And please learn how to clean out your dryer vent, it’s a safety hazard!
Get a disinfecting cleaner for your high-touch areas, especially the gross ones like the bathroom. Just because it doesn’t look dirty, doesn’t mean it’s clean!
Learn how to sweep, mop, and vacuum effectively.
You’ll also want to make sure to change out your home’s air filters.
TL;DR, here are some cleaning videos.
How to Clean Everything in Your Bathroom
How to Clean Everything in Your Kitchen
Livingroom Cleaning Routine
How to Clean Everything in Your Bedroom
Now these resources are not the end-all-be-all, but I think if you don’t know much about cleaning your space this is a good way to start.
here’s some of the things that are helping me actually clean (as an adult who had messy parents, and has a hard time getting threw my nurodivergency about cleaning specifically) that may be helpful to you:
Favorite Cleaning Book: it helps you work through the emotional side of cleaning (and other care tasks)
Current Favorite Decluttering Method/Concept: it helps you know how much is too much to keep and how to get started when you’re overwhelmed. (having too much stuff makes it incredibly hard to clean/organize.)
Basic Cleaning Skills: this channel is amazing! this man has a special interest in cleaning and cleans people’s spaces who deal nurodivergence that make it hard to clean. he does this for free (or at a deficit because he pays for supplies and dumpsters and transport and such) and does it all with empathy and kindness working With the people as much as people can handle instead of just coming in to “fix” an issue. these videos are a bit different from his usual ones, (the last one’s most like his usual videos) but i find having the sped up cleaning videos with a voiceover can help fill in for body doubling when im too ashamed to bring people into my messy spaces.
