SxF read along: volume 2! (part 2)
My general random notes! I meant to do this earlier in the week but got sidetracked, alas!
this makes me laugh but WHY does WISE HQ in Westalis simply have this image queued up?! I mean he looks great, A+ action pose, sexyman but lmao. Is he just there for inspiration for WISE upper management? (I'm trying not to fixate on super secret agent Twilight's face just up there for whoever to see)
Query: when Henderson explains that he came up with The stretchiest of stretch reasons for excusing/explaining Loid Forger punching a table, it remains hilarious, AND ALSO why does Twilight argue? Accept the win, my man. Props to Henderson for just ignoring him lmao
Mans could have been a culture critic if his life went a different way.
Related, I know we all question how Twilight overlooks this significant display of Yor's abilities, far beyond any other random civil servant, but it would delight me if part of the reason he overlooked it is because he just got waaaay too sidetracked in his bafflement about this apparent twist in the #plot
Compounded when Anya breaks continuity seconds later gdjaskgljalk
Can't say why but I think this remains my all-time favourite interaction between these two:
We don’t often see Yor pensive like this… I’m going to try to remember to juxtapose this against Twilight’s first time having similarly pensive thoughts about Anya and parenting and the falsehood of their family… the contrast stands out potentially between Yor’s conclusion (to decide affirmatively to dedicate herself) and Twilight’s (will have to see again when it comes up after Bomb Dogs and then again later, but i think he either dismisses his own feelings or lets it hang? tbc!)
to what I was saying in volume 1 about normality being a motivation for Yor that comes from outside herself, this feels like a continuation of that...
Not to be posting an entire page but on the same theme: Anya here affirming to Yor that she doesn’t have to be anyone other than who she is, that Anya accepts and loves her as-is. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the Yor and Yuri relationship in lieu of recent chapters, and it’s interesting how Yuri calls Yor weird, says she doesn’t understand things, and doubts or argues against her opinions about her own experiences/feelings (which I think is actually a way for him to assert some control in his relationship with Yor, since it seems she often dismissed, disregarded or diverted from his concerns for her coming home covered in blood as a child, so I’m not… blaming him or judging him for that response; nor for the way Yor handled things back then...) and contrasted with Anya’s quick and open acceptance. It isn’t the same of course: Anya is 5, and children want to love their parents and believe they're the best in the world. But there is the added dynamic of course, that Anya knows Yor’s secret, too, and still trusts and loves her. Yor doesn’t know about Anya obviously, but it’s a crucial element I think, that underpins things in their relationship and will become huge post-reveals. Yuri hasn't had that opportunity (yet).
Another panel I want to bookmark to contrast for later, the most recent Yor and Yuri chapter where Yor is similarly drawn i think… I’d taken that as Yuri’s POV but actually now I’m wondering if it’s Yor’s POV, that she feels the best about herself when she’s dedicating/re-dedicating herself to a commitment she’s made, to something that feels deeply rooted in who she is… these thoughts are veeeeeery nascent, bear with me…
Jumping to the first day at Eden, the gag from the headmaster, noting that some of the children may have gotten in not due to their own merits but that of their parents gets me every time. Endo’s sly digs at the ruling class are always delightful — I think again the anime translation may be my fave, it's a bit more direct iirc, though I’m not sure it’s more accurate...
*dons twiyor glasses* I’m intrigued he made this admission out loud. Yor misunderstands of course, that's the joke, and she's arguably just as generous as Loid Forger deserves and far more generous than Twilight deserves but still. Twilight feeling a sense of safety with her is there already, I’d suggest 👀
Fascinated by the implicit politics when Damian declares that he's the son of the chairman of the National Unity Party and a bunch of children around him seem to actually know what that means (as opposed to faking their reactions I guess?) At six I think if someone had told me they were leader of a political party, my answer would have been “what’s that” Eden kids are shown time and again to already be being groomed for ruling class nonsense, but I didn’t clock this in my initial reads, just accepting (as an adult) that people would know of political parties even if not the political details of said parties…
The name of Donovan's party once again is striking... Especially in the context of the suspicion he wants war. It's a classic obfuscatory far-right type political party name, but the Peak Politics Nerd in me would love to read the NUP's party platform. Is it Unity within Ostania? Or are they alluding to reunification? And unity in what ways? Obedience of the populace seems implicit, but what political rhetoric are they using to obfuscate that to make it palatable to the Ostanian electorate? Or do they not?
Henderson 💕💕💕 from an intended one-off character hollering about elegance to a man of deep integrity we love this developmental arc for him
Okay this got longer already that I anticipated... I am poss utilising Tew Many images this time around but I'm gunna split this to a part 3!
