#For a fandom majority participated in by minors. Damn it why do I still like these cats
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I will post today I swear I have images stockpiled I just. Have to put so many damn disclaimers on this one because of who the character is. She’s coming im just figuring out how to form her description
#righteous pines#Not me trying to cover heavy topics such as being passively suicidal in a fucking cat comic#For a fandom majority participated in by minors. Damn it why do I still like these cats#Should I put an 18+ on it? 16? 14? Idk#I just don’t want to upset anyone is all. But I’m also determined to tell the story I have in mind#And Daycinder’s is very interesting to me#cw sui mention
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𝟷𝟶𝟶 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜? 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢? 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔? 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛?
HELL YEAH FELLAS YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT!! FIRST MAJOR MILESTONE BAYBEEEE LETS GOOOOOO!!
guys, i really dont think you see how insanely mental this is. like what?!?! i joined here cause a friend of mine was gushing about a writer here and eventually convinced me to get tumblr. they called me their "noob reading friend /affectionate" and now look at me!! not even a year in and ive gained a crowd? thats so damn cool to think about!! to think that this many people are willing to put aside time in their day to read some fics made by me, im floored man!! all in all though, i have no one to thank but my wonderful mutuals and followers who have helped floor and construct the fantastic beginnings of this blog. which is why im here to bring you all this event that i sincerely hope you guys enjoy!
🦑KRABS KAN MAKE WRITING EVENTS WOW!!🦑
ALRIGHT FELLAS, IM DOING A WRITING EVENT!! HERES THE RULES AND PROMPTS NOW BOSSMEN!
~rules~
only 2 people per prompt
despite me not writing romantic fics yet, all participants are absolutely welcome to!
no smut/nsfw, im not that kind of blog and i do plan on reading entries so please dont submit anything related!!
any and all fics glorifying and supporting bigoted or misogynistic ideals will not be tolerated or respected. this is non-negotioable but if the fic has any of this that results in the putting down of or generally recognizing these ideals as negative then that is completely fine!
you are to use the quote prompts in your fic (im gonna be loose on this though so dw!! :DD)
you can use as many different prompts as youd like!!
please keep submissions in mcyt territory as thats who i write for most. but this doesnt confine to just mcyts in the dsmp! go wild dudes, hermitcraft, third life, pop off!!
keep all fics for minors platonic and platonic ONLY
generally know and respect the boundaries for ccs
when asking for a prompt, please put who you will be writing for!!
TAG ME IN YOUR FICS!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH PLEASE ID ADORE IT IF YOU TAGGED ME SO I CAN READ YOUR WONDERFUL WORK!!
you can use and interpret the prompts any way you want! doesnt matter if its in the angst section, you see fluff potential? go for it, vice versa!!
~prompts~
~fluff~
"I swear, if you make us late one more time I'll tape a clock to your wrist." "Isnt that a watch-?" "Shut it!"
"Look! I think it likes me!" (@ohworm-writes with cc!beeduo)
"Man, how did I catch such a good person?"
"Yknow, your parents really did something great when they made you."
"WELL HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN?!" "THERE ARE WARNING LABELS RIGHT THERE!"
"Take a picture, itll last longer~" "Okay!" "Wait you actually did that-?"
"That does NOT fit you." "Yeah it does! Just gotta roll it up a bit!"
"You aren't 'built different', you're just stupid." (@ohworm-writes with cc!tommy @jschllatt with cc!sapnap
"If it ever happens again, tell me. You know i adore you."
"Well..they dont even deserve you anyways! Just look at you- gorgeous!!"
~angst~
"KEEP F*CKING WALKING, THEN! CANT EVEN FACE YOUR OWN DAMN PARTNER! (or friend! :])"
"No, youre amazing!" "Then why arent i treated like it?"
"Do it again, see if i care."
"Guys..? GUYS! THEY ARENT MOVING!"
"Put the damn drink down and talk to me!"
"Its about time you get whats due, you know."
"So not only do you think im stupid, but you also think im still naive?"
"Just take me seriously for once in your damn life!"
"You'd better start running in the next 5 seconds."
"What do you take me for, a joke?!" "Wasnt that obvious?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
now that thats done, heres the ask game part of the event!!! send me the corresponding emoji in my ask box and ill respond!
👽~ ill tell you a weird or memorable occurance that has happened on tumblr between friends and moots!
😳~ ill kin assign you and try to guess who you kin! (friends and moots only)
🍒~ ill rate your blog aesthetic on a scale of 1-10
🥀~ ill give you a bunch of emojis that remind me of you! (friends and moots only)
😎~ ill tell you obscure things i think are very neat!
🌺~ ill tell you a random interesting fact i know!
🦑~ if you send me a description of yourself, personality etc then ill write you a short ship fic with a mcyt!! specify if you want it to be platonic or romantic and if you want it to be c! or cc!(this is to work on my romantic writing!! friends and moots only)
💃~ ill tell you songs that remind me of you! (friends and moots only)
📕~ ill tell you something small or obscure i secretly think about you! (friends and moots only)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
now...onto the final part- HONOURABLE MENTIONS!!!
@myceliummenace ~ these guys got me into tumblr, some of my closest friends and theyve been supporting me since day one. i couldnt be happier to breathe the same air as these guys, they all deserve a crown and if you disagree i will chomp your hand
@niceimafan ~ an absolute saint!! i came across inks former writing blog and fell in love with both them and their wonderful work /p!!!! theyve helped me through some hellish times and are all around so damn open and accepting
@jschllatt ~ istfg this lady is just-- SOOOO BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT??? nat is incredibly talented and has encouraged me throughout my time here and i couldnt be happier with how weve grown as friends!! and i know, despite how wholesome and soft nat seems to be i promise you she knows how to keep a bit going like no other. an amazing moot, stay funky :]
@im-an-ungodly-mess ~ okay look,, i know i havent interacted with these guys for a lot buttt...CAN YOU REALLY BLAME ME??!!? LIKE CMON THEYRE ALL JUST SO COOL!!! the moment i met them i knew our chaotic energies would merge and boy did they merge alright. also theyre just insanely nice and super willing to endulge with me in my random interest which is always a sexy trait to have. 10 out of 10, these guys are neato
@ohworm-writes ~ ahhh wormmm, delightful all around and just a sweetheart....BUT THEYVE GOT SHENANIGANS- as well as being extremely skilled as well like, dayummm!!! i live for our bond over fandoms outside of the mcyt fandom and i feel blessed to have you be a moot! much love, dear!
@marcooze ~ bro....whyd you have to do me like that dude? being so gosh damn kind and accepting like that like sheesh all the stuff you reblog is gold!!! it can be the most cracked out post or the most serious and informational one. idgaf that youre a reblog blog, you mean the world to me and i shall place a supple kiss on your hand as bros do <3
@ramzawrites ~ THE FIRST WRITERS BLOG IVE EVER FOLLOWED!!! ramza dear, if no one has ever told you how iconic you are then PLEASE LET ME BE THE FIRST!!! everything you do leaves me in awe and despite your talent, you still have miles and miles of kindness and generosity? you are one in a million, ramza. you deserve everything and please know how much you mean to me. thank you for supporting me so much for so long, and i hope your days are filled with really cool rocks :]]
#krabs kommunicating#krabs has 100 wow!!#mcyt x reader#mcyt x platonic reader#mcyt x you#mcyt x y/n#dsmp x platonic reader#dsmp x you#dsmp x reader#dsmp requests#dsmp x y/n#writing event
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Women in SPN—Seasons 2 and 3
Previously on Joy Obsesses over a Show That Creatively Expired in 2010
Tessa
Introduced back when the Winchesters dodging the coffin actually qualified as an episode, she follows in Meg’s tracks by continuing to make monsters seem more approachable and less a malevolent force of nature. Starts off with a completely flat affect but gets annoyed with the Winchester bullshit real quick—a sure-fire sign of an SPN character with a brain. A powerful being capable of returning one’s memories by a smooch which is… convenient. As is the fact that bad guys keep using her for their ebul plans. Serves the typical secondary-character function of a springboard for a main guy’s development. Plants hints of the “natural order”, “destiny”, and “inevitability” which will become major themes down the road and be explored by characters with deeper writing.
Status: Alive as of s5
Importance: Minor, remembered primarily because she keeps popping up.
On her own: A nice addition to the lore.
Jo Harvelle
Originally Dean’s love interest until she got written out for the crime of having tits around the fandom’s husband. Driven by a wish to honor her dead father and become a hunter, she’s held back by the unfortunate fact of not being all that good at it. Cheerful, temperamental, and a pretty skilled hustler, she’s mortally wounded when charging in to protect Dean. Ends up sacrificing herself so that others can escape and attempt to end the Apocalypse.
Status: Dead as of s5, dragged back and disappeared again in s7
Importance: Major
On her own: A soldier going out in a blaze of glory. I bawl every time.
Ellen Harvelle
Unlike her daughter, very good at what she does. No-nonsense authority figure, she’s one of the few in the show to pull off a combination of a hand-wringing mama bear and a pro-active badass with a life outside her family. Not perceived as a threat because fans don’t know the meaning of MILF yet, and so is allowed to stick around for the season 2 finale. Dies to make Jo’s plan to obliterate Meg’s hellhounds work, though it’s strongly implied she mostly refuses to survive her kid.
Status: Dead
Importance: Major
On her own: SPN’s Molly Weasley, sullied by the implications of her death
Lenore
A head-strong leader of a nest of vegetarian vampires, she’s deliberately contrasted with Gordon’s Terminator schtick and to a lesser degree with Dean’s black-and-white monsters vs. humans kill-everything grief-cope in order to further cement SPN’s ongoing crusade of challenging who in fact is the monster around here. Has a crowning moment of awesome when she refuses to feed while covered in Sam’s blood. The entire point of her is her determination not to give up her humanity even when no longer human. Would be shame if the show decided to later abandon this essential part of her character and twist it for cheap drama…
Status: Alive as of s5, annihilated in every way in s6
Importance: Minor in the overall narrative, major in the episode and the boys’ development
On her own: An effective mirror to Dean’s stroll down the slippery slope
Diana Ballard
TheGoodCop manipulated by her professional and romantic partner, she has a surprisingly functional tension with Sam. Luckily for Linda Blair it goes unnoticed because the fandom doesn’t view older women as competition. Noteworthy mostly because she actively participates in uncovering the episode’s mystery which automatically elevates her above the standard clueless civilian, man or woman, who needs the duo to save them. Despite fewer appearances arguably more memorable than Henriksen, precisely because of her active involvement.
Status: Alive as of s5
Importance: Minor overall, a major player in the episode
On her own: Interesting take on the usual boilerplate cop
Ava Wilson
To present a very, very generous interpretation, she foreshadows Sam’s eventual turn to the dark side. Spirited, a little bit airheaded, and freaked about her Azazel-given powers, she gives enough of a damn to prevent her visions of people dying from coming true, though she clings to her intention to lead a normal civilian life. Does a complete switcheroo off-screen to become a villain because… power is awesome? Ends up the most advanced special child in season 2’s battle royale, the very concept of which is just… eh? Still gets dispatched no problem because… why not?
Status: Dead
Importance: Minor
On her own: A prime example of why the special children subplot is just…wot?
Molly McNamara
Memorable primarily because of the experimental (for SPN) narration which frames her as the duo’s partner when in fact she’s one of the things being hunted. For plot reasons spends her episode switching between being terrified, worried for her missing husband, and heartbroken. Can be somewhat tortuously argued to fit the theme of (not) overcoming grief and letting go, one of the few detectable threads in the directionless slog that’s season 2.
Status: Dead
Importance: Minor overall, major because she’s arguably the main character of her episode
On her own: Torture porny. Very torture porny.
Madison
Intelligent, educated, and with an endearing love of soaps, she’s responsible for one of the three watchable sex scenes in the entire show. Has a nice theme of personal growth and healing from trauma going on, although it’s cut short and undermined when she’s revealed as a werewolf and euthanized by none other than Sam himself. Her death is filmed as a narrative-changing tragedy before it goes on to become a joke in season 4.
Status: Dead
Importance: Major
On her own: No matter how you look at it, she’s a diseased dog that needs to be put down for her own good while the menz wallow in their manly manpain. A rare example of a storyline I don’t think can be tweaked to be even marginally less awful.
I believe maestro may have wanted to portray sadness here.
Tamara
Told to be an excellent hunter, she’s shown as needing to be saved in order not to end up like her husband who’s literally forced to gargle bleach. Introduces the notion of growing hostility against the Winchesters in the hunting community. Full of wrath to fit the episode’s one-off seven deadly sins schtick, she’s emphasized as emotional and not in control of herself to such a degree that it overshadows how she’s in fact fairly competent in the second half of the episode.
Status: Alive as of s5
Importance: Minor
On her own: Wouldn’t stand out this much if she weren’t one of the few POCs in the blinding whiteness that’s SPN’s Americana.
Ruby
Doesn’t have the most organic introduction (A cool intriguing sexy French fries loving not like other gurls sassy badass, with a superdooper special knife? How 2000s cringe can you get?) but quickly becomes one of the show’s most distinctive villains allies. She’s an ally. Totally. Don’t worry about it. A sarcastic smartass jerk who breathes lies and manipulation, she’s resourceful, thinks on her feet, and throws herself into the thick of action without hesitation—a trait that gets especially interesting in retrospect as it suggests a fanatic devotion to her real goal. Sadly, her motivation doesn’t get fleshed out beyond “she really likes Satan, I guess” (which, hey) as the writers prioritize the surprise of the revelation over her further character development. Has the second watchable sex scene in the entire show; the fandom weeps itself to sleep. Gets killed by her own weapon when the writers decide that a character who’s smarter than both protagonists combined could well do with a bit of the good ol’ lobotomizing.
Status: Dead
Importance: Supermegadoublemajor
On her own: The stupid nature of her demise and occasional wooden acting do their best but never overshadow the awesome that’s Ruby.
Lisa Braeden
Dean’s past fling who becomes a living symbol of his desire for the white-picket fence. Is implied to possess mad financial skills as she owns property on a yoga teacher’s salary while a single mom below the age of 30. A blank slate the likes of Cassie, she’s salvaged by better acting. Frequent frowning suggests the presence of an inner life though it doesn’t tend to manifest itself on screen or affect the plot. Her single established trait—blow-out assertiveness the moment things get too far—is exercised mostly in service to her son. Exists solely to give Dean something to pine for.
Status: Alive as of s5
Importance: Major
On her own: A tertiary character who so-so sustains her own episode.
Bela Talbot
The best expansion of the show’s lore after the host of heaven, she’s unequivocally a bad person who nevertheless evokes huge amounts of sympathy. A cynical self-serving dealer in supernatural objects who mirrors Dean’s cracking tough guy persona, due to her abuse and the resulting trauma she refuses to open up and rely on anyone out of principle, or be indebted to them. Her pride makes her clinically unable to ask for help until it’s too late, and even forego mentioning personal history when it’d actively benefit her by softening the horrible impression others have of her. Switching between being an antagonist and the duo’s reluctant ally, she manages to outwit them roughly 90% of time. The fact that she has sexual tension with Dean while Sam lusts after her to the point of literal drooling sends fans apoplectic.
Status: Dead
Importance: Major
On her own: A complex character brought down by her own flaws.
Casey
A demon, she’s torn between wanting to enact the Apocalypse and just chilling with her soulmate. Definitely a fanfic reader because her idea of dealing with danger is to shut herself with her enemy in a room and have a lengthy theological debate. Very outspoken about humanity’s propensity for evil. Outcomplexes Lilith and to a lesser extent Ruby as she’s allowed to openly address her life philosophy. While the dialogue format of her scenes is designed to give Dean space to talk about his feelings regarding his impending demise, it’s more or less an equal push-pull exchange. She’s smart, captivating, capable, and in love, i.e. things SPN just isn’t interested in keeping around.
Status: Dead
Importance: Minor in the overall narrative, major in the episode and Dean’s development
On her own: Could have been so good if allowed to stick around
Gertrude Case
A rich elderly creep whose gropy ways are played for laughs because she’s a woman I guess. Either can’t read social cues or doesn’t give a fuck about people’s obvious discomfort. But don’t worry, it’s hilarious. She’s a woman, you see. What harm have those ever done.
Status: I’m going to assume dead by now, otherwise alive as of s5
Importance: A major figure in Sam’s life since she sexually assaulted him. Otherwise minor.
On her own: Sexual harassment is fun, kids
Lucy
Take Molly McNamara, strip her of any pretence at thematic relevance, minimize her importance while playing up her suffering, and then remove her like a broken Christmas decoration while making sassy remarks—voilà, you’ve ended up with the exact simplistic image that pops into one’s head when the words Supernatural and women are mentioned in a sentence.
Status: Dead
Importance: Non-existent
On her own: Just… why
Astaroth
Approaches awesomehood as her demonic business operation is built around preying on bored suburban hausfraus and taking their souls in exchange for magical powers, which they then use to secure benign materialistic keeping-up-with-the-joneses crap and devour one another like a bunch of assholes whose death you can’t help but eagerly anticipate. Srsly, eff those ladies. Stands out as the only (implied) lesbian in the Kripke arc.
Status: Dead
Importance: Minor, not even the real monster of the week when compared to the coven
On her own: There’s probably another discussion about Doylist sexism hidden around somewhere that I’m not really interested in having. Go Astaroth.
Nancy Fitzgerald
Sugar and spice and every other cliché about kindness combined in a pretty sweet package. Plot demands her to be a virgin for some reason, even though this aspect of her character doesn’t amount to anything in the story and only serves to contrast Nancy’s… purity with Ruby who we’re being constantly told is a “slut” and a “whore” and I have no idea how that’s supposed to work. Then again, Nancy’s virginity is framed as a valid personal choice in a rather empowering moment so that’s good. Has standards because even after deciding to let go of her chastity vow, she won’t settle for just any loser who happens to stand around converting oxygen into CO2. Her “cause manpain out of nowhere”-type death is one of the few of this category in the show which actually work because the cruel pointless nature of it is precisely the point (and at least she’s not the only one who doesn’t survive, please ignore how the episode literally says her demise is the most tragic because she never got laid, barfs).
Status: Dead
Importance: Minor
On their own: A textbook definition of a cinnamon
Lilith
An overarching menace that doesn’t spend too much time on screen, she’s a prop rather than her own person. This gets highlighted the moment the show stops casting her as a clichéd creepy child who likes to larp as that Twilight Zone kid, and turns her into the standard hawt chick in a will-they-won’t-they episode. No interiority as she goes along with a plan which requires her obliteration, without at least allowing her to explore her religious motivation. Ruby does all the heavy lifting in this partnership.
Status: Dead
Importance: Major
On her own: For the life of me I can’t make sense of her actions in s4. But the clichéd creepy kid is adorbs so points for memorability.
Maggie Zeddmore
The straight man to the Ghostfacers’ utterly delightful douchefacery. Manages to keep up with Harry and Ed in terms of hilarity because not only is she exactly as out of place as them, she decides to role-play her childhood-friends-to-lovers fanfic in the middle of a haunted house as the best sister that she is.
Status: Alive as of s5
Importance: Minor
On her own: Love at first geek
Next, season 4 and 5 before I try to figure out what this all adds up to.
#spn#spn critical#supernatural#supernatural critical#sexist writing#tessa#jo harvelle#ellen harvelle#madison#ruby#bela talbot#lisa braeden#nancy fitzgerald#lilith
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Kara Deserves Better...Than This Fandom (Huge Rant)
I have a question to ask people.
Why the hell are you freaking out about William so much? You have no fucking clue where this is going to lead. Do you remember when you guys lost your shit for WEEKS after William asked her out the first time and the result was Kara telling him she wasn’t interested?
Sure, she only did that because Lena has made her feel so insecure about keeping her secret as Supergirl that she was scared to open up, but you idiots lost your minds for weeks for NOTHING.
And your dislike for William does not match his oh so horrendous crime of being mean to her a few times at the start of the season. Like seriously, book-fucking-hoo. Lena literally manipulated Kara and then encased her with kryptonite, a substance that is AGONIZING to her, and you people excused that away in an instant. William isn’t kind for a little while? Well, he’s canceled now!
But to me, the most ridiculous part is that so many of you are taking this like it’s a personal insult to you. Like this is only happening to give you the middle finger.
Get the fuck over yourself, you self-absorbed baby. This might come as a surprise, but decisions are made on this show without anyone giving a fuck what you think or feel, and I honestly don’t blame them for that after the years of literal bullying you have sent their way.
You cannot treat people like shit and then expect to get what you want, and treating people like shit has been your primary method of expressing yourself almost the entire run of the show.
If seeing Kara being happy is such a problem for you because she’s not happy in the exact way or for the exact reasons you want her to be happy, then I’m sorry to report the obvious here, but you don’t give a fuck about Kara.
I have seen way too many of you throw her under the bus at every opportunity. This season alone has shown more than any previous that so many of you people care more about what Kara can represent for you than the person she is or what she does.
I mean, the Supercorp fandom can barely manage to give a damn about Kara anymore. For a long time now Supercorp has been about Lena, and what’s good for Kara is secondary to that, if even that.
This season has just shown time and again how little respect so many of you have for Kara. Most of the time it’s because of poor baby Lena, so misunderstood with her mind control and human experimentation and torturing Kara with kryptonite.
I watch a lot of reaction channels. Probably too many. While some were sympathetic towards Kara when she told Lena enough is enough, a lot of them got angry at Kara for daring to call Lena out on her bullshit. I mean, when Kara said if Lena continues to act like a villain then she will be treated like one, a large chunk of them just turned on Kara for daring to hold their Queen accountable for her shitty actions.
Call me crazy, but I want something good for Kara. I want her to focus on herself and what she wants. If what she wants is William then I’m behind her completely, if she discovers she wants something completely different then I’m still right there with her.
This show is called Supergirl, not Lena Luthor, but so many of you treat Kara like her entire existence is there to fit whatever agenda you’re trying to push, and every single time she operates outside of your fantasies you tear her down.
And William hasn’t done nearly enough to earn so much hostility. For the vast majority of his screentime this whole season he has been a pretty good guy, and his reasons for keeping Kara at a distance at first made a lot of sense. People reaching to him being mean a few times as an excuse to give him shit are so laser-focused on such a minor, stupid thing that they use it to define his entire character.
Meanwhile, Lena can get away with FAR worse shit and have people in this fandom practically bend over backward trying to justify it. It’s extremely disingenuous.
This fandom’s constant need to demonize every male character on this show that even gets close to Lena or Kara is disturbing. I mean, they were still giving James Olsen shit for not trusting Lena for one episode in season 2. They were so desperate to demonize him that they completely ignored every single time he had her back after that, including taking a fucking bullet for her. And unlike Kara, he can actually be killed by one, so it’s much more significant when he does it.
You know what? I’m fairly indifferent to the growing relationship between Kara and William. 99% of my focus is on Kara doing something good for herself. That may change with time, because, and for some reason a lot of idiots are missing this very simple fact, Kara and William are not a couple yet. They’re going to see where this takes them. They’re not in a committed relationship, they haven’t done anything even remotely intimate yet.
You people keep acting like this is being rushed but nothing has happened yet. Literally nothing has been rushed. We’re 14 episodes into this season and they only just got to the “Let’s go on a date and see what happens” phase.
Just for the record, every single relationship on this has happened faster than Kara and William. Is Maggie and Alex’s relationship now less significant because it happened a lot faster? How about Kara and Mon-El? Alex and Kelly? Lena and James? Brainy and Nia?
The show rushes every relationship out there, and Kara and William are the least rushed, so using that as yet more ammo against them is kinda stupid.
I am just...so tired of this fandom’s selective memory and outrage. So many of you get almost psychotically angry at the dumbest shit. You treat people like garbage but still expect to get what you want. You bully actors, you misread things intentionally and then get angry when the show exists in spite of the fantasy you built up, and you have double standards for EVERYTHING.
I mean come on, Lena can experiment on human beings and you will excuse her for it, but if someone acts a little mean, and by sheer coincidence, he happens to be a man, you will tear him down for that for YEARS. But Lena Luthor gets a free pass on everything.
You know what, after watching this fandom go to shit over the last five years, I absolutely understand why most of the actors on this show barely interact with anyone anymore. I can understand why the writers ignore you at every turn. I can understand why Melissa and Chris turned off comments for both their engagement and baby announcements.
And just because it’s not plainly obvious to the professionally offended, if you don’t participate in this toxic behavior then I’m not talking about you anywhere in this. In a world where people didn’t look for excuses to be offended by people, I wouldn’t need to make this obvious statement, but if I don’t put down a disclaimer somewhere I will get one of those stupid comments about how I’m unfairly judging those who don’t do any of this. This entire fucking rant is one big qualifier, genius. If you don’t fit in then I’m obviously not talking about you.
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The Lion in Winter - Part I: Departure - 05. Jon
Fandom: A Song of Ice & Fire
Major Character/s: Jon Arryn, Stannis Baratheon, Robert Baratheon
Minor Somebodies: Renly Baratheon, Loren Lannister, Pycelle, Barristan Selmy, Petyr Baelish
Location/s: King's Landing, the Red Keep
Premises: But what if we had a PoV chapter for Jon Arryn?
Mood: If you're glad you're not Jon and don't have to deal with all this utter bullshit, raise your hand raises hand
Warnings: Robert being rude (PG-13)
Word Count: 13.681
NOTE: Part I of The Lion in Winter is set shortly before King Robert Baratheon, Queen Cersei Lannister and their family set out for Winterfell. It therefore takes place a little bit before the start of the first book, ‘A Game of Thrones’.
The Lion In Winter - Part I: Departure - 01. Kevan I // 02. Loren I // 03. Jaime I // 04. Tywin I //
O O O
Lord Jon Arryn descended the stairs of the Tower of the Hand, light spearing into the dark stairwell through narrow lancet windows every other turn. The steps were scuffed and tapered, their height made uneven by the feet of uncounted Hands, travelling up and down, day after day, council after council. Even the engraved handholds hammered into the ashlar had long since been reduced to formless knobs with the dark, fatty sheen of metal polished by incessant handling. Today was one of those days on which the steps seemed endless. Jon had once been a large man, wide of chest and thick of waist, but time had worn him thin as surely as it had the tower steps. He was robust for his considerable age, but the seven hells take those stairs. A few short years and I am twice-forty, Jon thought as he reached the bottom, his breath laboured and sweat beading on his forehead. Preposterous.
Jon crossed the inner bailey, towards Maegor’s Holdfast. To his surprise, he saw Lady Loren standing by the lone, stone archway into the godswood, her hands clasped in front of her, fingers entwined. Jon wondered if she’d come from the enclosed acre of alder and black cottonwood. He didn’t think any other women of the court frequented it.
Lady Loren wore an elegant, sable cotehardie, edged with bands of red velvet and goldwork. Belted high and reaching past her knees, it gave the impression of skirts. However, when she shifted her posture, Jon saw she wore dark chausses underneath and long riding boots to match. Her braids were held in scrolls on either side of her head, like ramshorns, evoking the steadfast determination of that creature. Gone were the voluminous sleeves and lengthy skirts of red damask, the sumptuous ermine mantelet, the jewelled crespinette and elegantly veiled circlet. In the days since Tywin had left, she had changed her appearance, gradually, one garment at a time, until the subtle resemblance became unmistakable. In essence, she had adopted her Lord Husband’s severe style. Few at court would look at her now and forget with whose authority she spoke. Jon smiled. She was an incisive woman. No doubt, a quality Tywin appreciated in his Lady Wife.
Lady Loren spoke to a man who stood with his back towards Jon. He was tall, bald and sinewy. Dressed in storm grey damask that shrouded his broad shoulders and fell down to the heels of his well-made boots, Jon thought for an instant that Tywin had returned. But no, on glimpsing the man’s stern profile he recognised Ser Stannis Baratheon, Robert’s equally surly brother.
“Shireen is a sweet girl,” Lady Loren said as Jon passed them. Her green eyes moved to him.
Jon inclined his head but didn’t slow his pace. “Good morning, my Lady.”
“Lord Jon.” Her gaze flicked down in acknowledgement before returning to Stannis. “How old is she now, seven, eight?”
“Nine.” Stannis’ tone was curt, his lips pursed. Those unfamiliar with him would be forgiven to think it a reprimand, a rebuke to an error the Lady of Casterly Rock had made. It wasn’t. He always spoke this way.
Lady Loren smiled, Jon glimpsed it as he moved away from them. It softened her sharp features and dimpled her freckled cheeks. “A little lady already.”
Jon had hoped to speak to Stannis in private, regarding the matter they were investigating, but it would seem that would have to wait till after the small council. He dreaded telling Robert, even though he knew they must. A man, even a King, might father a dozen bastards and few would care. A woman? Unbidden, he thought of Eddard and his Lady Catelyn, and all their little ones with their red, red hair and soft, summer faces. And the bastard girl that resembled Eddard like a younger sibling. They had to be sure. Queen Cersei deserved that much.
“Kevan will stay here, in King’s Landing.” Lady Loren’s voice floated to him on a warm breeze. “Have you thought on where Shireen might ward?”
Jon snapped out of his pensive thoughts. Shireen? Warding? The day before, he had seen her speak to Lord Yohn Royce. Shireen and Ysilla, he thought. Daughters your son’s age. And he realised why the Lord and Lady of Casterly Rock had come to court after all these years.
They had shown off their young children at Joffrey’s name day tourney as surely as Tywin had his twins all those years ago at Lannisport. Though that event had taken an unfortunate turn. The memory of Tywin stalking from the royal pavilion with his crying daughter in his arms hadn’t seen fit to leave Jon yet. Fortunately, Joffrey’s tourney had been a joyous event. Young Kevan had near won the children’s tilting at the quintain. Helaina had sewn a beautiful favour as she sat on her Lord Father’s lap, watching her brother ride. Even Tion, an unbreeched boy barely able to sit his sister’s pony, had participated. However, his heart laid elsewhere, Jon could tell. In hindsight, Tywin’s interest in the performance of other children - youths and maidens alike - had been telling. He had mingled, and much more so than you might expect of a Lord Paramount as unpersonable as Tywin Lannister.
“Do visit to the Westerlands, someday. The tourney season is ahead of us, and I dare say Helaina would be thrilled to have a friend to visit the fairs with.” There was a smile in Lady Loren’s tone. A smile and a fishhook.
Jon thought of the little girl with her blonde curls, tiny goldwork slippers and lion-embroidered petticoats. She had carried her older sister and Queen’s train as if the smallest of ladies-in-waiting. His son Robert she’d greeted with courtly grace and a gentle curtsy. They had played a while. Though, she’d given her small favour to Prince Tommen.
By then, Jon had reached the serpentine steps up to the inner bailey and Maegor’s Holdfast. Seven hells take all these stairs, he thought, and with a resigned sigh, he climbed them. The sun beat down on him despite the early hour and by the time he reached the penultimate landing, sweat beaded on his forehead once more.
Jon paused and glanced across his shoulder, down into the courtyard below. Lady Loren and Stannis still stood by the godswood. Jon had recalled something, as he’d been making his way up the thrice-damned stairs: Eddard had a daughter around Kevan’s age. Was it Sansa or Arya? Jon wasn’t sure. It had been years since Eddard had come south. Perhaps, it was time that he did. There was no way to avoid Tywin feeling slighted by the whole sorry affair when they revealed their evidence regarding the matter they had been investigating. However, they must, somehow, forestall him raising his banners in reprisal. It wouldn’t be the first time a son and maiden had mellowed fraying loyalties. You must come to court, Eddard, Jon thought. Robert will need you before the end.
Jon sighed, climbed the last flight of stairs and made his way to Maegor’s Holdfast and the royal chambers. Tywin’s eldest son stood guard by the door to Robert’s solar, his white cloak crisp and clean even at the bottom trim. Jon wondered if the young man resented his duty. The lions were proud.
“Ser Jaime,” Jon greeted as he approached.
Ser Jaime inclined his head but didn’t speak.
“Your Grace?” Jon called.
“Ah, Jon! Come in, come in!” Robert boomed from beyond the doors.
Jon entered, but he didn’t see the King. The morning sun came in through the latticed courtside windows, and fresh thresh with herbs woven in saturated the air with the scents of summer. A bird tweeted clear notes, just outside one of the windows. A lark, Jon thought, when he heard the trill that followed the melodious tones. In front of ornate chamber screens carved with tourney scenes, stood a low solar table, its mahogany tabletop resting on the shoulders of a carved stag. Two comfortable, upholstered chairs with a faded forest-motif on their ochre damask stood beside it. Jon frowned at the half-full goblet that stood upon the table. It wasn’t even noon.
“I’ll be out in a minute!” Robert bellowed from beyond the mahogany partitions. It was abruptly followed by cussing. “Seven-be-pissed-upon, mind the goods, lad.”
“Apologies, Your Grace.” One of the Lannister boys. Lancel, judging by his timid voice. Tyrek was an assured youth with a tongue to match. Jon suspected that Robert liked him better than his cousin, for most of the same reasons as he did young Kevan.
“No rush, son,” Jon said. He had anticipated the usual argument to convince the King to attend his small council. However, it would seem Robert was already changing into his court finery. Pleasantly surprised, Jon clasped his hands behind his back and waited.
When Robert appeared from behind the chamber screens, Lancel at his heels, Jon’s expression fell for Robert was wearing his most polished hunting attire.
“Find your cousin Tyrek and have him ready the horses and hawks.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” The nervous youth made a bow his King ignored. “Lord Jon.”
“Lancel.” Jon inclined his head then turned to Robert. “The small council, Your Grace—.”
Robert interrupted him with a wave of his large hand. “I’m going hawking with Loren and, after that, her lad’s fete.”
“I am certain young Kevan will enjoy it,” Jon said tactfully. In quintessential Robert Baratheon fashion, the King had insisted they throw the ten-year-old a celebratory fete when he had heard of his squiring. Unfortunately, that had been scant three days ago. That they had managed to organise it at all was a small miracle. And how precisely they were going to pay for the last minute festivities was a point on Jon’s agenda still to be resolved.
“Oh, I bet he’s a right little party lion, if he takes after his feisty mother or that witty uncle of his,” Robert guffawed. He snapped his fingers. “Golly, what’s his name. Garon? Gerold? No. Gerion, that’s right. He knew how to have fun.”
“Your Grace, I must insist. Your small council has need of you.” Robert and Loren were peers in age, and he knew they had been friends in their youth. The two of them, together with Eddard and his sister Lyanna, had oft gone hunting or hawking in those heady, heedless days before Harrenhal. For a while, it had been apparent that Loren and Eddard would wed.
Robert strode around to the table, picked up the goblet and drained the last of the wine with a deep gulp. “The rabbits have changed their fur: thick and soft as sin for winter. Those mottled pelts will look handsome about her freckled shoulders.” He squinted, imagining it, and added: “those delightful spots run down across her teats, you reckon?”
Jon closed his eyes and pretended he hadn’t heard that. His King and former ward had never been shy with his opinions, especially not when it concerned ladies. However, Jon wished he’d exercise restraint when speaking of other men’s wives.
“I’d bed her on them if she’d let me, I tell you,” Robert chuckled. It occurred to Jon he may have drunk more than the one goblet, found he hoped so because then his egregious comment might be overlooked if not forgotten.
“Your Grace, may I request you refrain from such observations, they are ill-advised.”
“That’d be a right fright if Tywin can hear all the way from that cliff of his,” Robert scoffed.
Maybe not, but his son certainly can, Jon thought, glancing at the door from the corner of his eyes.
Robert shook his head, his jowls quivering under his bushy beard. “Mad Aerys spend half a decade taking potshots at the old lion, and he got away with it.”
Jon pursed his lips. “He got away with nothing, Your Grace, in the end.”
Robert’s expression fell, no doubt remembering precisely why the sack of King’s Landing was a thing that happened. As well as who ran a sword through the Mad King’s back. With a measure of grim satisfaction, Jon saw Robert’s gaze jump to the door. He let the uncomfortable silence sit for a moment before he spoke again.
“Lady Loren will be here for a few more days,” Jon said, his tone not unkind. He raised his hands in an open gesture. “Why not go on the morrow? Invite the Lords and Ladies of the court, make a day of it.”
Robert shook his head. “I made a promise, Jon, and I mean to keep it.”
“Your small council has need of you, Your Grace,” Jon repeated. As he had feared, Robert laughed at that.
“I loath counting coppers. If I had known then how boring it would be, I would have never taken that crown.”
It was no news to Jon that Robert detested his lot in life. Well, the ‘tedious nonsense’ of it, as he put it. It reminded Jon of the time, now seeming so long ago, when Robert had been but a young lad and joined his father Steffon to court. He had met the boy then and had overheard him and his brother Stannis speak breathlessly about the King holding court and how noble and wise he’d been. Jon smiled. That day, King Aerys had not sat the Iron Throne, it had been his Hand, Tywin Lannister.
Robert smiled ruefully. “I should have let Tywin have it, the old lion would enjoy this tedious nonsense.”
Jon didn’t believe Tywin would have accepted the crown. He was fond of the Westerlands, was unable to give them to Jaime and unwilling to give them to Tyrion. No, Tywin was a career courtier, he wouldn’t have taken it. They might have had a King Eddard and though, outwardly, he may have done it to the best of his abilities, he would have been as miserable as his friend. In hindsight, all they’d had were poor choices.
“Loren would have been a proper Queen,” Robert asserted. “Always pleasant and supportive.”
Tywin would have sooner returned as Hand, the position Jon knew he craved more than any crown. A duty that had been his for over twenty years. Twenty stable years. Despite a King’s ever more rapid slide into madness. Early into their victory, Tywin had made a casual pass at being willing to return as Hand. Robert had responded without an inch of decorum he’d rather have Eddard. That, of course, hadn’t gone down well. And so, Tywin had left. As had Eddard, for that matter.
Jon had stepped up to council his erstwhile foster son. In the end, it had been for the best that Tywin had returned to the Westerlands for he hadn’t been particularly popular with the gentry and commonfolk of King’s Landing alike at the time. Jon had arranged the marriage between Robert and Cersei in the hopes of mollifying the rankled Lord Paramount and smoothing the slight of the preceding reign with the promise of change. They couldn’t afford to alienate one of the most powerful Lords of Westeros. Still couldn’t. Tywin was a poor enemy to have, and their impending accusation would surely make him one. Unless they could sustain his support.
“She never so much as raises a peep against him.” The wistful tone of Robert’s words struck an uncomfortable chord with Jon, jerking his wandering thoughts back to the unfortunate present.
Perhaps not in public, Jon thought. He’d never enjoyed the company of the man Tywin had become but had known the child he had been: a serious, long-limbed boy that had been a dutiful page to King Aegon, and a calculating youth who had outperformed his elders during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. Even as a child, Tywin had not suffered fools, and so Jon highly doubted he’d wed a woman who had nought but rose water and fairytales between her ears. No matter how obedient and pleasant she may seem.
“Perhaps, it is because he doesn’t give her cause to,” Jon said mildly. Queen Cersei was no kitten, but one could avoid many scratches by not wilfully yanking the tail.
“She stacks the court with incompetent sycophants. She wanted her uncle to be master-at-arms!” A hint of youthful petulance crept into Robert’s baritone, and it reminded Jon how young they all still were. What is thrice-ten, really? He had decades ahead of him yet.
“If you came to the small council together with your Queen, we might all speak on the appointing of certain offices.”
Robert crossed his arms with gruff finality. He looked away from Jon. “Loren doesn’t drown Tywin in cronies.”
Jon smiled, but it was a sad smile. * That’s because she trusts him to have her back, son,* he thought, but said: “I am certain Queen Cersei would appreciate it if you requested her to support you at council.” It would be good to have them both where he could see them. Queen Cersei desired a ruling crown with the same intensity her Lord Father did the Hand’s seat. Jon might as well try and make her wiles work for him, for surely her presence would prod Robert to engage too.
“My Queen doesn’t care to support me in anything.” Robert shrugged, though then changed the topic and added: “Jon. There is something else I wish to discuss with you.”
“Your Grace?”
“It’s about your boy, my namesake.” Robert sat down, and the chair groaned ominously as he settled in it. He motioned at Jon to do the same.
Jon did as he was bid, dread coiling in his gut. A year ago, perhaps more already, certainly before Stannis had approached him, he’d spoken to the King regarding a promise of betrothal between his son Robert and Princess Myrcella. Nothing had come of that, and he’d forgotten about it. Until now.
“Have you decided where he will foster?”
Jon swallowed his relief. “No, not yet, Your Grace.”
“I see.” Robert frowned and reached for the goblet, but he had already emptied it earlier and sat it back down after casting a reproachful look at its wine-stained bottom.
“May I ask why, Your Grace?” Jon didn’t like the brooding mood that had settled over Robert.
“Young Robert is a sensitive lad. Gentle. Delicate, I’d say if he were a maid.” Robert’s careful choice of words brought Jon’s apprehension right back. “But his Lady Mother...” Robert gave Jon a near apologetic look. “Lady Lysa is soft with him, careful. I fear she may smother his manliness, and so hamper him as a youth.”
The thought had crossed Jon’s mind, but he didn’t begrudge his young wife her doting care for the boy. It had been trying for her. Robert was their only child, and his needs were different than most. He trusted her to know what was best for their son.
“Do you have someone in mind where he might foster?” Jon said, meeting the King half-way on the question he was beating around the bush about.
The dour clouds of Robert’s expression broke with a beaming smile. “Yes. And before you protest, I assure you that I have given it some thought.”
Jon forced a calm, and hopefully encouraging, smile.
“I believe, strongly believe,” Robert continued. “That it will be best for the boy if he wards at Casterly Rock.”
It may have been good for his son, once. Jon didn’t disagree with that. There would be young peers for him to spend time with - Kevan, Helaina, their friends among their Lord Father’s banners’ children. The bracing climate and sea air might have done his health good. However, there was the matter he’d been investigating.
“Your Grace—.”
Robert raised his hand. “I know, I know. The lion doth not deign to ward.”
Does she suspect us? Jon thought. Are the betrothals a convenient ruse for an investigation of her own? If she knew or suspected, she would undoubtedly share her suspicions with Tywin. Could she have found out? They had been careful. She was a shrewd one, her meticulous image politics during the tourney had shown that. She may have.
“Not to worry,” Robert continued quite unperturbed. “I have it on good authority that his dear Lady Wife can hector him into it.”
Jon doubted anyone could hector Tywin into much of anything. People had said the very same thing when he had wed Lady Joanna. He thought it more likely that it had to do with peoples’ wish to lessen Tywin’s looming presence, rather than the reality of his relationship to either his current or late Lady Wife. Once again, the immediacy of guaranteeing Tywin’s continued support clamoured in his mind. If they knew, this could mean they were moving into a position where they could keep his only son and heir hostage. But did they know?
“I will take it under advisement if you consider it wise, Your Grace,” Jon said tactfully. He couldn’t precisely tell Robert why he was less than thrilled about this prospect.
“Excellent.” Robert slapped his knees and rose. “If that is all? I have a hunt to attend, and I will not have it said I made a Lady wait.”
Jon sighed and nodded, he’d be remiss to say he wasn’t glad the conversation was over. “May I suggest that, in the future, you could plan these events around the meetings of your small council, Your Grace?”
“I will try,” Robert said with good humour. “This one couldn’t be helped. The lady requested it, not I.”
Jon frowned. It had been plain as a plucked cockerel that neither Tywin nor Lady Loren herself had appreciated their King’s overfamiliarity during Joffrey’s name day feast. She and he had been friends, once, but that was a long time ago. And things had changed. Why would she ask him to hawk? It was no secret that hunting was the second-best thing their King liked to do, and the best-thing assuredly wasn’t on the list of acts she was willing to commit to.
“Your Grace.” Ser Jaime saluted as Robert left his chambers.
“Run along, Kingslayer.” Robert made a dismissive gesture. “Go report to your winsome sister that I am going hawking with your good-mother and save her flunkies the effort.”
Jon wished Robert wouldn’t antagonise the knight at every opportunity, lest they find out if he’d care to be a kingslayer twice over.
“As you will it, Your Grace,” Ser Jaime said, his expression impassive as the Wall. With some sorrow, Jon supposed he was used to it. He hoped against his better judgement that Ser Jaime wasn’t keeping a tally.
Jon watched Robert go, his hunting leathers creaking about him in discontent as he walked. The weather was good, at least. The hawks could soar. Sudden realisation snatched him like a falcon: Myrcella was eight. And young Kevan’s… cousin? Niece? He rubbed his forehead. The Lannisters certainly made everything complicated. Wait. He snapped up. If that is the reason—.
“Your Grace, a final word?”
Robert turned to Jon. He smiled amiably as if he’d expected the words. “Quickly, then.”
“Has Lady Loren perchance spoken to you regarding betrothals for her son?”
Robert grinned, seemingly pleased. “Not with so many words, no, but she was rather curious about my plans regarding Myrcella’s future.”
She doesn’t know. Jon blinked. Does Tywin know? No, clearly not. He may be proud, but he was absolutely not stupid. He wouldn’t stake his pre-eminence on a false claim. And he definitely wouldn’t tolerate his son be wed to… to… Jon’s thoughts baulked at thinking the foul words. None of this was the little princess her fault, but it would cost her most, all the same. Jon pushed himself to smile. “That is all, Your Grace. Enjoy your hunt.”
“I shall,” Robert said with a fat wink.
Jon watched him stride away, a swagger to his gait. He shook his head. It really would be better if their King wasn’t so transparent about his appreciation of other men’s wives.
Robert halted abruptly, some ways down the hall. “Oh, and I shall tell her about young Robert!” he bellowed as he gave Jon the thumbs up. “Loren will be pleased, I tell you!” He swore heartily then. “Seven-take-her, even my precious Queen, will be pleased!”
Jon started terribly.
“Can you believe it? I am convinced those two haven’t agreed on a thing ever.” Robert snorted derisively. “She’s twice as quarrelsome with her good-mother as with me, even.”
Cersei desired his son be fostered at Casterly Rock? That, surely, was a move to hold him hostage. Did she know of—.
“Lucky she got her practice in with Tywin, eh?” Robert chortled and waved a hand in their direction. “King slayer, tell your sister it is a done deal, while you’re at it!”
Jon marshalled his reeling nerves. He could not let on any of this alarmed him, particularly not with Ser Jaime right beside him. If they didn’t suspect him yet then seeing his reaction would assuredly make it so.
“It seems you have been relieved of your duty for the day,” Jon said to Ser Jaime as they watched the King truly leave now. His light tone sounded forced, even to his own ears.
Ser Jaime pursed his lips sideways, and it reminded Jon of Lady Joanna, who’d do it just so when irritated. How long since she’d passed, now? Twice-ten years? More? Ser Jaime resembled his Lady Mother with his delicate, alabaster features, mild cat-green eyes and hair like beaten gold.
“I will see to my young brother, then.”
“Ah yes, a squire soon. A great leap for every growing boy,” Jon said with a gentle nod. “Give him my compliment.”
Jaime smiled, and it made him look more like the late Lady Lannister still. “I will.”
Jon made his way back out of Maegor’s Holdfast, down the serpentine steps and to the small council’s chambers. By the time he passed the Valyrian sphinxes guarding the entrance to the modest hall, sweat beaded on his forehead once more. Perhaps he ought to move the small council to his solar.
The Baratheon brothers, Ser Stannis and Renly, sat on either side of the King’s seat at the head of the massive, polished trestle table. Ser Stannis, serious and prim, sat with his back straighter than the chair he sat on. Renly, his brown hair in a fashionably unkempt ponytail, reclined sideways with an elbow on the table, already bored. Grand maester Pycelle hunched, shuffling his papers. Correspondence from the ravens, no doubt. Only Ser Barristan Selmy rose when Jon entered.
“Lord Hand.” Ser Barristan inclined his head.
“Lord Commander,” Jon returned as he walked around the table to the King’s vacant seat. Two more places were empty. Lord Petyr Baelish, the master of coin, was missing. As was Master Varys. However, Jon suspected the clever eunuch only attended when he needed to verify information from his ‘little birds’. Or when he had seeds of his own to plant.
“A good afternoon, my Lord,” Pycelle was quick to say on the knight’s heels, his voice feeble.
“Grand Maester,” Jon acknowledged. For the briefest of moments, he entertained relieving Lord Baelish from his duties the minute he arrived. Not that his lateness was such a grievous offence or a regular occurrence, but it was a reason. Jon didn’t like the man and never had, and yet he could not point to any one thing. Lysa spoke highly of him, but then he was her childhood friend. He wasn’t inadequate at his responsibility, either. Still, Jon rather saw the back of him.
Jon seated himself at the head of the table. They had several pressing matters to discuss: the state of the fleet, repairs on the seaward defences, the laying of stores for the coming winter and, not least among his worries, how they were to settle the bill for Robert’s latest fete. Even though nominally, it was not in his own but young Kevan’s honour. Best they start light with the ships.
“Lord Stannis, if you will,” Jon said.
Stannis pursed his lips as everyone turned to regard him. “The construction of three carracks is well underway. It may be possible to add a fourth graving dock if we dam the eastern wharf.”
“And thin trade even more?” his brother scoffed. “It’s already impossible to get Penthosian wine.”
Though a decade hence, the royal fleet was only now recovering from the Greyjoy rebellion. It had taken years to rebuild King’s Landing after the Sack, and that had eaten into their reserves. In those early days, Tywin had refused loans, citing the need to fortify Lannisport and the whole of the Westerlands in anticipation of Ironborn activity in the regnal power vacuum. He had not been wrong. Yet a man could be right and serve his agenda - a fortune of confluence. Not for the first time in all these long years, Jon wondered if there had been more to the refusal than wounded pride.
“If trouble stirs in the east and we are caught with our braies untucked, there will never be fine wines again, brother.” Stannis’ tone was terse. He put his hands on the table, palms pressed against the dark wood.
The Greyjoy rebellion had come and gone, leaving the royal fleet limping on the quayside as surely as it had the Lannister ships. And they’d been burned at anchor. Yet the Lannisters had the means to rebuild their fleet despite Lannisport laying in ashes and had done so swift as their coastal winds while the crown tottered on its last coppers. Tywin had agreed to extend loans then and on his terms as they had been in no position to make demands.
Renly had sat up now, his attention on Stannis. “And what good will fine ships do us when the loyal subjects of our dear brother rise up against us?”
“Over wine?” Stannis crooked an eyebrow.
Now, the lion’s share - Jon smiled, amused at his word choice despite himself - of their debt was to the Lion of the Westerlands. And the Iron Bank of Braavos, which wasn’t much better. What if it was by design?
“They’ve revolted over less.” Renly turned to the Grand Maester. “Isn’t that so?”
Jon didn’t doubt Tywin would use the debt when it served him. His thoughts strayed to Robert’s words regarding Myrcella. They could definitely force that betrothal if they wished to. Didn’t they know what Cersei and her twin brother had done? Or was it all feints? Meant to give the illusion of legitimacy where there was none?
Pycelle flinched as if he’d been dozing, but Jon caught the keen look in his green eyes. “The sumptuary law of 278 AC was ill-received.” Jon leaned forward, straining to understand the Grand Maester’s stuttering account. “It restricted the wearing of Lysian silk to the landed nobility. Before, it had been available to any who could afford it. Which were not many, to be sure! But it is the idea, you see. Many a merchant or trader may see it as their future, robbed prematurely. Some of our powerful but, say, not quite pedigreed, Lords, took great offence and harnessed this ambitious smallfolk to their side to—.”
“The point, Grand Maester,” Jon said, not unkindly.
Pycelle huffed, stacking his papers. “The point—.”
“The point is: a bunch of up-shot merchants blockaded the city over whether or not their fine ladies might wear silken smallclothes between the sheets,” Renly interjected. “Hardly a life essential, though I am sure our King would disagree.”
“It has been too long the fleet has been below strength.” A vessel started to pulse at Stannis’ neck as he spoke.
“And whose fault is that?” Renly crooked a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “You’re the Master of Ships. Is it not your duty to find a way?”
“I found a way,” Stannis said through gritted teeth.
Renly waved his hand. “A poor way. Lord Brokken Lannister of Lannisport ought to take your seat. The Lannister fleet has been bobbing at the port at strength for several years now. And it was burnt to the last plank a crispy black, I believe.”
Pycelle bobbed his venerable head. “Yes, precisely so. All fifty-and-three vessels—.”
“No.” Stannis glared at his sibling. “There is enough lions at court as it is.”
Renly shrugged. “At least they know their ships.”
As Stannis looked about ready to explode, Jon quickly raised his hands in a placating manner. “We can find a middle ground,” he said. “And Lord Stannis is not wrong. The Lannisters are not well-loved in our capital. If these tensions around imported luxury goods are as you say, then their further involvement may only fuel the fire.”
“ ‘The Lannisters are not well-loved’, ” Renly repeated, his tone nasal and overacted. “People keep telling me this, and yet all I saw was crowds cheering loudest every time that little lion rode his pony at the quintain.”
“Smallfolk are fond of the children’s games.” Pycelle had folded his bony hands atop his parchments.
Renly flicked his hand and eyes in perfected unison. “Evidently, even when its the ickle-wickle whelp of the Lord they purportedly hate? Sure.”
Stannis pursed his lips. “Young Lord Kevan is a gallant little fellow and charming as they come at that age.”
Jon frowned. The Lord and Lady of Casterly Rock had been on their best behaviour for Prince Joffrey’s name day tourney, even Tywin had been near pleasant. He realised then that it had been an intelligent ploy to garner a favourable image. They had not come to court in years. For many, court peers and smallfolk alike, it would be the first they ever saw of the lions. He glanced at Renly, who had slouched once more. Might there be more who shared his blase attitude towards the Sack and the House that had permitted it?
“The Lannisters host some of the most prestigious fetes on Westeros, and they do not overlook their middling class and smallfolk,” Ser Barristan said. He had not spoken up before though Jon was not surprised he did now. Ser Barristan had been a famous tourney knight in his younger days, and he still enjoyed riding down the lists. “Lady Loren conforms to the common people their expectations of a pre-eminent peeress and the Grand Lady of a Great House. She is well-loved in the Westerlands. And it is that way, precisely, because of how she conducted herself, her Lord Husband and her children, such as she did at the Crown Prince’s tourney.”
Renly snorted. “You mean, unlike our beloved Queen?”
“Don’t let Her Grace hear you, her toes are as long as they are fair.” Lord Petyr Baelish swept into the room with a flutter of his silk capelet, striking down on the empty seat like the bird on his sigil as the fine cloth settled about his narrow shoulders.
“Someone ought to cut them down to size.” Renly shifted to lean on his other elbow, away from Lord Baelish.
“Lord Baelish, I am pleased you were able to join us after all,” Jon said before the topic of Queen Cersei’s vanity could be discussed further.
Lord Baelish smiled that soft, insipid smile. “And how I wish it was with good tidings for you, Lord Jon.”
“Out with it, Baelish,” Stannis demanded. “You’re already late, don’t insult us further.”
“You wound me, Ser Stannis. I would never delay the realm’s vital matters.” Lord Baelish’ grieved expression was as fake as the shimmering black of his short hair.
Jon had a bad feeling about the petty Lord’s good mood. They rarely turned out well for anyone but Petyr Baelish himself. “Lord Baelish, how are our coffers?”
“As empty as his promises, I am sure,” Renly scoffed. The Baratheon brothers shared their first agreeing look in weeks. They are a good team, Jon thought, when they can get over themselves long enough to work for a common goal.
Lord Baelish’ expression was pained as he folded his hands, one palm across the other. “It is the matter of little Lord Kevan’s squiring fete—.”
Apprehension settled in Jon’s stomach like spoilt supper as Lord Baelish caught his gaze. Had Ser Jaime refused? Had Robert changed his mind? Jon glanced at Ser Barristan. Have you stood by the old tradition that none but future Kingsguard may squire with its current members? For one, horrible, moment, Jon feared he had unwittingly supported the induction of a ten-year-old.
“—the King’s feast for the young squire has a tidy bill that will need paying.”
Jon stifled his sigh of relief. Monetary problems they had plenty, to be sure, but it beat having to inform Tywin another son would take up the white, any day.
“How much will it cost us?” Stannis had clenched his jaw. He wanted to fund for the fleet and, Jon suspected, the Stormlands. They had ever sat in the shadow of the Crownlands and had never recovered from the wars with Dorne.
“372 500 dragons and 8 stags, precisely,” Lord Baelish answered with a mathematician’s satisfaction.
“Three-hundred—.” Jon could all but see the calculations fly by behind Stannis’ grey eyes, which widened a fraction in shock. * “How.”*
“There’s the banquet, of course, and the tokens for guests. The honour guard and the minstrels and mummers,” Lord Baelish enumerated as he struck a finger for each item. “The throne room has been decorated, and then there’s the King’s gift—.”
“If only our brother cared to spend as much on us, eh?” Renly remarked as he tossed Stannis a look. He’d slouched again.
“Can we afford it?” Jon may not like Lord Baelish, but he was decent at his job.
Lord Baelish steepled his fingers and pursed his lips, drawing out the moment as he looked at each of them in turn before catching Jon’s gaze once more.
“Sadly, no,” he said as he folded his hands in defeat.
“Then we must call it off,” Stannis said, ever pragmatic and unable to empathise.
“We are not calling off a child’s name day party.” Renly sat up an blew a stray bang out of his face. “And certainly not mere hours before it starts!”
Stannis opened his mouth and closed it again. The muscle in his jaw flexed. “It’s not his name day.”
“Like the difference will matter to the lad,” Renly pointed out. “Besides, will you escort Lord Tywin’s sobbing child to him? Because I plan to be out of town for that one.”
“Have you been successful in your negotiations with the Iron Bank of Braavos, Lord Baelish?” Jon interrupted, steering the conversation back to the fact of the bill rather than its potential consequences.
At his words, Lord Baelish’ insipid smile became positively self-satisfied. “Yes, they have extended our credit and agreed not to charge returns for the coming two years.”
“Good, very good.” Jon chose not to wonder on how, precisely, Lord Baelish had managed to wheedle the infamous institution into wholly meeting their demands.
“However, it would be prudent to save those for, let us say, greater matters that require deeper pockets,” Lord Baelish added.
“Agreed,” Jon said with a nod.
“We have some levies that we can cover the little fete’s expenses with,” Lord Baelish said. “We can raise import taxes for the coming quarter to make up for it.”
“No.” Stannis made a cutting motion with his hand. “Traders will skip our port and make straight for White Harbour and Lannisport instead.”
“So?” Renly drawled. “I bet Lord Tywin taxes the daylight out of anyone making port in his Lady Wife’s humble town. All we need to do is stay a margin under him.”
“If we do that the Starks will have a good year.” Stannis’ lips had become a thin line as his palms pressed against the wood of the table.
“It doesn’t matter.” Renly shook his head, his tousled locks bouncing about his shoulders in such a dramatic fashion that Jon could all but hear the youths and maidens sighing. “The lions and wolves can’t stand each other. Our brother placated Lord Stark, and they may be willing to discuss import agreements to cut Lannisport.”
Robert had been cheerful the other day, when Jon had asked, in passing, after his renewed correspondence with Eddard. Jon had good hopes his foster sons had bridged the chasm that had grown between them. However, Renly wasn’t wholly correct. It was the wolf who couldn’t stand the lion. Jon wasn’t so sure the lion felt the same.
Lord Baelish smiled pleasantly. “Perhaps we should ask the wolves, then, if we might lend their tail? It’s not like they have need of it for wagging.”
“Surely, there are reserves left to us, to pay for the fete?” Ser Barristan said, a frown creasing his lined brow. Everyone looked at Lord Baelish, who pointedly turned to Stannis.
Stannis ground his teeth. “There are fleet reserves.”
“We shall use those,” Lord Baelish said amiably. “And we can entreat the Iron Bank to finance further expansion of the fleet.”
Stannis looked pleasantly surprised, but Jon shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
The fleet reserves had come from Casterly Rock, together with Lannisport shipwrights and Westerland hardwood and steel. In essence, generous ‘gifts’ that Jon was acutely aware of, as well as the stream of gold trickling back to Casterly Rock through the pay and keep of these shipbuilding crews. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, though, and Tywin had spared no ink to use it. Not that Jon was naive enough to think another Lord wouldn’t have, given the same opportunity. Charity was for the Silent Sisters, as the proverb went.
“Why not? They will easily suffice.” Lord Baelish smiled still, but the mirth had left his eyes.
Jon looked at him, gauging his intent. “Those reserves come from Lord Tywin and are intended for the fleet. If we change how we spend them, we must inform him.”
“The party is a gift from our King to the boy, Baelish,” Renly said with a look as if he considered the petty Lord both dimwitted and beneath him. “Are you volunteering to tell Lord Tywin he’s footing the bill?”
“Oh, that is very true, how silly of me, that might certainly ruffle his mane,” Lord Baelish said, and while his tone was flippant, there was venom in the look he threw Renly.
Renly snorted. “You think? A choice gift indeed if you have to pay for it yourself.”
“No doubt, Lord Tywin has spent more on the boy than most of us do in a lifetime,” Stannis said. He’d managed to unclench his jaw, for now. Although his palms still pressed on the wood, the tension not having left them just yet.
“As is his duty as Father,” Pycelle’s reedy stutter added with a disapproving frown at the King’s brothers. Pycelle was ever servile, but today his sycophantic comments made Jon frown. He resolved to be mindful around the old Maester, incase he whispered to leonine ears. Maesters were supposed to swear off all bonds of loyalty except to the Lord they served, but old allegiances died hard.
Renly slouched, his expression bored. “I am putting myself up for warding with the lions. I wouldn’t mind a few gifts like that.”
Stannis looked at his brother with open disgust.
Renly grinned. “What’s that, Stannis? Afraid they’ll forge me a dandy antlered crown?”
Stannis jaw worked.
Jon raised his hands in a placating manner. “My Lords.”
The last thing Jon needed was the two brothers trying to entice the Lannisters to either of their sides. The Tyrells were already behind Renly. They were the traditional enemies of the Lannisters. The two Great Houses bickered over their shared border like fishmongers over a cod cut. An alliance was unlikely, but Jon was wholly unwilling to chance it.
Ser Barristan crossed his arms. “If Lord Tywin puts a crown on anyone’s head, it’ll be his Lady Wife, and an exquisite Queen she’d be.”
A Tyrell-Lannister alliance would have a stranglehold on Westeros’ economy. Olenna and Tywin’s mother, the late Lady Jeyne Lannister, had been ladies-in-waiting together at King Jaehaerys Targaryen’s court. And at Joffrey’s name day tourney, Olenna and Tywin had yet been on speaking terms.
“As fine as our beloved Queen.” Pycelle bobbed his ancient head sagely. Jon curbed the urge to tell him to cut it out.
If Renly, or more likely, Olenna herself, was attempting to forge this alliance, he must reinforce Tywin’s support to Robert sooner rather than later. Twice so, in light of the matter they were investigating. However, if Robert and Eddard had reconciled, a further tightening of bonds might prove troublesome on account of the latter’s dislike of the Lannisters in general, and Tywin in particular. Eddard had never forgiven him for allowing his banners to tarnish their justified rebellion with the blood of the Targaryen children.
“Doesn’t he do so already, on her name day?” The disapproval was obvious in Stannis’ tone.
And yet, though the wolf couldn’t stand the lion, Jon wasn’t so sure the lion felt the same. Again, he thought of Eddard’s daughters. All it would take was one wolf, one young wolf, and that one-sided feud might be gone.
“Indeed,” Ser Barristan said.
“When is the tourney, half a year, thereabouts?” Renly straightened, leaning both elbows on the table.
“Eight months,” Ser Barristan said. “You mean to attend?”
“Loras mentioned it.” Renly’s tone was thoughtful.
Jon hadn’t yet forgotten his earlier comment. Few would think twice of the sons of Great Houses attending such an event, certainly one as eminent as a fete in honour of a Grand Lady of peer Great House. A chance meeting, an exchange of thoughts, a sharing of drinks together that would attract attention in any other setting. Indeed, Jon had once used the very same tactic, many years ago. He frowned. He must secure Tywin’s continued support of Robert. More so than ever, it would seem.
Ser Barristan nodded. “I will ride. The Lady Loren asked that I preside the squire’s tourney.”
“Ah, the first occasion young Lord Kevan will enter the lists as a young man, is it?” Pycelle wheezed as he stroke his beard.
Ser Barristan inclined his head. “Just so.”
“My Lords. I understand the importance of jousts to the realm, but might we continue with the matter at hand?” Lord Baelish suggested smoothly. “Whether Lord Tywin would like a crown is perchance better saved for the solar and a glass of fine Penthosian wine.”
“Good luck finding that,” Renly scoffed as he threw his brother a look. Lord Baelish’ perfect eyebrows rose, but he didn’t ask.
“His daughter is Queen,” Stannis said, the scowl contorting his mouth. “What more does he want.”
His son to be Hand, Jon thought but kept that notion to himself.
“The debts owed paid, I imagine,” Ser Barristan frowned also. “Baelish, it is your task to see to these things - and without loan upon loan.”
Lord Baelish raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “Unlike Lord Tywin, I cannot sift a bucket of gold from our sewage, Ser.”
“My Lords, the matter at hand,” Jon interjected before it could escalate. What was it today with everyone regarding the Lannisters? This was no use. Jon decided they’d settle the matter of the fete and then adjourn. He wished to speak to Stannis, regarding the matter they were investigating, but now, also, regarding his younger brother’s seemingly casual remarks. They could not afford a Tyrell-Lannister alliance as a result of Tywin choosing Renly’s side. And Stannis jilting him regarding his daughter’s offspring might do just that.
“I have modest private funds,” Lord Baelish said. He laced his fingers, smiling amicably.
“Another loan, but this time from you.” The distaste in Stannis’ tone was impossible to miss.
“Well, the funds must come from somewhere,” Lord Baelish bristled. “I suppose it is easy enough when one’s Hand sits on gold mines, apologies Lord Jon, but alas we do not have such luxury.”
“We could, perhaps, invade the Westerlands?” Varys glided from the shadows, the voluminous sleeves and skirts of his sumptuous houppelande whispering in his wake.
“Are you out of your mind?” Stannis demanded. The palms of his hands tapped against the wood.
Varys smiled softly as he folded his on his ample stomach. “Invasion by marriage, I apologise for my unclear word choice.”
No, you don’t, Jon thought. No one made comments such as that idly, certainly not someone as crafty as the eunuch. A way to gauge the room on Lannister support, he decided. The disquieting feeling of brewing unrest swam somewhere in the vicinity of Jon’s stomach. Had Varys found out? He may have. Did his comment imply he wanted a change of King? Or only Queen?
“Quit speaking riddles.” Stannis scowled.
“A marriage could bring us the funds we seek.” Varys’ puffy, powdered face tempered with a gentle smile. “Myrcella and little Lord Kevan.”
Jon flinched. If he knew, he was intentionally steering for a scandal.
“They are related.”
Jon flinched all over again. This time, it was Ser Barristan who had spoken up in distaste. How had he—.
“Cousins.” Varys unctuous smile never wavering. “As are Lady Loren and Lord Tywin.”
“Technically, the boy is her uncle.” Lord Baelish glanced up from inspecting his nails. “The Queen is his big sister, after all.”
Right. Jon let his breath slip. For a moment he’d thought—.
“Half sister,” Pycelle amended promptly.
“Lord Gerald and Lord Tywin are cousins, and maternal ones at that.” Ser Barristan shook his head. “Lady Loren’s relation to her Lord Husband is more distant.”
Baratheon, Arryn, Starks, Tully and Lannisters had once seen eye to eye. If he could reforge those old alliances, Robert’s reign would be secure. Betrothals, as they’d done then - Kevan to a Stark girl and his little sister, Helaina, to his Robbie. Jon pursed his lips. It could work. And if he committed to tutoring young Kevan, taking him with as he went about his duties as Hand, Tywin might yet stay with them when they brought their evidence before Robert and the whole of the royal court.
“Let us settle the matter of the fete,” Renly said. “I grow tired and have more interesting occasions to attend to.”
Jon gave the youngest Baratheon brother a look, but Renly ignored it. Jon sighed. In truth, he was growing tired too. “Very well.”
“Lord Baelish, you said you had some funds.” Ser Barristan had crossed his arms once more. Despite his age, they were thick with muscle. It reminded Jon how winded he’d been, coming down the stairs. He’d never been a soldier, but he knew perfectly well that he could do more for his health.
“Private funds from a lucrative venture,” the petty Lord said. He’d clasped his hands, and Jon entertained the notion he resisted the longing to rub them together. No, Jon thought. No, we shall not be indebted to you, Petyr.
Ser Barristan’s bushy eyebrows rose. “‘Venture’?”
Lord Baelish smiled, almost apologetically. “Modest funds, certainly, from an establishment I invested in.”
“Establishment?” Stannis scoffed. “You mean that whorehouse on the street of silks.”
“Well. The ladies—.” Lord Baelish stacked his fingers.
“Whores.” Stannis glared.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Varys said smoothly, his tone as slick as the silks pandered on that street.
Jon flinched as what Stannis had threatened ever since he’d put his hands on the table finally happened. The Lord of Dragonstone slammed his open palms on the wood, rising in anger. “We are NOT paying for a * child’s* fete with whore pennies!”
Varys inclined his head demurely.
Certainly not for Tywin’s child’s fete, Jon thought. Tywin had never quite softened to the plight of those women. Not after his Lord Father had squandered their gold on them and taken one to mistress right under the Lady Jeyne’s nose. Jon hadn’t forgotten what had happened to that woman when Lord Tytos had passed.
Lord Baelish pursed his lips, his feathers ruffled. “It’s a trade, like any other.”
Renly let out a snort of laughter, Stannis merely glared. Ser Barristan had straightened in his seat, disapproval on his lined face.
“A dangerous one, too, those poor women.” Varys smiled softly. “They are lucky to have you watch over them, Lord Baelish.”
The master of coin smiled, inclining his head.
Are they? Jon thought. Are they, truly?
“We will use funds from the Eyrie,” Jon said. Everyone looked at him. His House wasn’t quite as prosperous as the Lannisters - he smiled to himself, not in any meaning of that word - but neither were they poor. They could use part of the funds he’d set aside for repairs on the Gates of the Moon. Those were necessary, yes, but had been for a decade. They could wait a while longer still.
“Lord Jon, if I have given offence regarding your capacities as Hand, I dearly apologise,” Lord Baelish said, sweet and servile.
Spare me, Jon thought. That jest of Tywin shitting gold was old when you were born. He wanted the matter done with, he needed to speak with Stannis. “None taken, Lord Baelish. I will send word to my treasurer, Eryn Wyles.”
“It’s most gracious of you to provide private funds, Lord Jon.” Varys hands folded into the unimaginable depths of his voluminous sleeves. “If that is all, my Lords? I must attend to other matters.”
“Your little ‘birds’ have ‘need’ of you?” Renly scoffed. He slouched in his chair, kicking a leg idly. He flashed a wicked grin at Varys.
“I only ever tweet to my flitter-flatters, Lord Renly,” Varys cast his gaze down with a demure nod. “My… late employer left me little choice, as it were.”
Renly laughed heartily at that.
Stannis pursed his lips. “What ‘bird’ might tweet matters of equal import to this council?”
Varys looked up and right at Jon. A soft smile curving his painted lips. “Why, the fairest bird in all the realm.” Before Jon could respond, the eunuch turned and swept away with the rustle of great lengths of exceedingly expensive samite.
“Indeed, this is all,” Jon said and rose. “Let us meet on further matters on the morrow, at noon.” There were agreeing noises from around the room. Only Renly looked displeased. No doubt, he must reschedule some outing or the other. He might complain about it but what mattered is that he did it. Jon sighed. If only Robert would.
“Stannis, a word,” Jon said as the Lords filed out. He caught Renly’s suspicious look and added: “you wanted my thoughts on the fleet composition?”
Stannis halted, frowned. Jon caught his gaze and tried to signal him with his eyes. It felt as if eternity passed before Stannis gave a curt nod. “I did.”
“Let us walk, then.”
Jon meant to return to the tower of the Hand but thought better of it. Instead, he conducted Stannis to the eastern court gardens. There may be ‘birds’ there, too, but the open architecture made him feel it would be harder on them to eavesdrop. Not impossible, no, but harder, at least.
They walked in silence, each to their own thoughts. Jon tried to decide how to start the discussion. There were several things he meant to address. On at least two of the three matters, he anticipated resistance from the younger man.
“Fairest bird in all the realm,” Stannis pursed his lips. “He meant Cersei. She knows, then.”
Perhaps. Varys was tricky. He’d certainly meant the Queen. But, had he intended to let on she - he - knew of their clandestine investigation, or did he merely wish for them to believe so? “I wouldn’t go on the word of a spider alone,” Jon said. “But it is not unthinkable. The lions are not altogether clueless.”
Stannis’ lips twitched, and for a moment Jon thought he might smile. “The little lion is sharp as a dirk.”
“I imagine his Lord Father made sure the best whetstones are applied to his young mind.” Jon clasped his hands behind his back as they ambled through the lavish gardens, pebbles crunching underfoot. Kevan was a good topic to start on. He suspected Stannis was enamoured with the boy. Jon smiled to himself. Four short weeks ago none in King’s Landing knew Casterly Rock’s pint-sized heir. Now, he dared guess those who didn’t were scarce.
“He assisted me with fleet inventory calculations. He had asked to, said he wanted to impress his uncle when he came home.” Stannis pursed his lips but Jon could tell he was pleased.
“Not his grandfather?” Jon asked, surprised. Lord Gerald Lannister was Lord of Lannisport and fleet master, last he’d heard.
“He said uncle,” Stannis scowled.
“I believe you,” Jon said, not wanting to irk the younger Lord already.
“He meant his mother’s older brother, I believe.”
Ser Brokken, then, Jon thought. He wondered why the boy favoured his uncle. “He did well, I take it?”
They had halted at a fountain, water instead of fire spewing from its three marble dragons. The water clattered cheerfully, the morning sun glinting on the splashing water. Its sound would obscure their voices from any but the keenest ears.
Stannis turned to Jon. “He is serviceable with his numbers, but that was not what he excelled on.”
Jon smiled despite himself. “Don’t let Lord Tywin hear, I dare say ‘servicable’ isn’t what he’d like.”
Stannis gave a curt nod. Jon sighed. So much for striving to keep a light mood. “What did he do well at?”
“Plotting coastal patrol routes,” Stannis said. “He took one long look at the map and adjusted the current routes to overlap more efficiently, as well as using fewer ships.”
“No small feat for an adult, nevermind a ten-year-old. He must have spent a good amount of hours being drilled on similar tasks, perhaps optimising guard patrols or area canvassing.” It was an essential skill for a field commander. Again, Jon had the unnerving feeling unrest was brewing. He was positive Tywin would have his young son instructed in these matters even if they were in the middle of the greatest peace of their age. And yet, here was a ten-year-old performing a task an adult commander might be troubled with. Maybe, it was merely a boy with a knack for the same skills as his father. Or, it was another incongruity. Another leaf falling spelling the change in seasons, the end of summer.
Stannis looked him up and down, his frown wrinkling deeper. “What is it you wanted to speak about? Not ships, I think.”
There it was. Jon took a deep breath. “The matter we’ve been investigating.”
Revulsion delineated Stannis’ already resolute features harder still. “It is true, I know it.”
“It very likely is,” Jon said, his tone diplomatic. They had calculated the years, tracked Ser Jaime’s whereabouts, even visited a near dozen of Robert’s bastards. And while it was true a wife’s children might look like her, even three, four; none of the bastards did. None.
“We must tell Robert, and soon.” Stannis’ tone was firm. He was sure, had been from the start. So confident, in fact, that it had given Jon pause at the onset. Robert and his younger brother were scarce a year apart, and with no legitimate son, Stannis was his natural heir.
“There is one more avenue I wish to explore. I have been able to acquire a copy of Grand Maester Maelleon’s work on the lineage of the Great Houses, including Baratheon and Lannister.”
“A maester one-hundred years dead and buried.” Stannis’ temper turned impatient. “What possibly can ancient history tell us on this matter?”
Now it was Jon’s turn to frown. “A great deal if we have the wits to hear and wish our accusation to be wildfireproof.”
“Your wish,” Stannis pointed out.
Jon let it slide. He’d always had a cautious nature, he knew this. He also knew young Kevan wasn’t the only Lannister that didn’t lack for wits. If they couldn’t ascertain Tywin’s continued support and if there was even the smallest of cracks in their claim. He’d turn it into a gaping hole. If he could be won to their side… Lady Loren would surely side with him, Ser Kevan as well. Even the Imp might, on account of his apparent affection for his good-mother if not his father. Besides, there was absolutely no love lost between him and his sister. Even Jon could tell. Jaime would undoubtedly side with Cersei, but he’d never had the sharpest claws of their pride, and he was only one knight - one sworn white cloak: no name, no lands, no funds. And no longer vital to his father’s grand ambitions.
“Lord Jon?” Stannis’ voice cut through his thoughts, then repeated his question: “How do you mean to use this book?”
“It’s a genealogical record, famous for both its accuracy and meticulous recording. It should corroborate our theory - Baratheons’ dark as winter wood, Lannisters fair as the summer sun.” Jon sat down on one of the elegantly carved marble benches near the fountain. His back ached, and sitting afforded some small relief.
“That is all?”
Jon glanced up at Stannis’ dismayed words. “Lady Loren said she thought there may have been a Baratheon maid wed into her side of the family around the time the record was made. I mean to see if that’s true, for it could provide the ironclad proof we need.”
“You told Lady Loren?” Stannis said sharply. That boded ill for one of the other points he meant to discuss. As he had feared.
“No.” Jon shook his head. “We came to speak of lineages after I complimented her boy’s performance at the tourney and remarked on his striking similarity to his father.”
Stannis made a noise that could have been derision. “The lions all resemble each other. Kevan looks just like Lord Tywin. His sister Helaina is the Queen in miniature. Even the little fat one—.”
“Tion,” Jon corrected mildly.
“—Tion, looks like the old lion.”
Like his grandfather Tytos, actually Jon thought but he didn’t say it out loud. Poor boy. His grandfather was not well-loved by his father.
Lady Loren had told Jon her Lady Mother was dark of hair, as was her older brother, who in turn had a raven-haired daughter himself. She had confided, moreover, fear for a dark-haired child of her own. In light of Robert’s appalling behaviour ever since they’d come to court, Jon understood her concern all too well. If such a child were born, there would be talk no matter the truth.
“After you have pursued this avenue…?”
Their investigation indicated she need not fear - all her children with Tywin would be golden as the sun, like their parents. Jon had wanted to reassure her but knew he couldn’t do so without revealing what they had discovered. And so, he’d said nothing. He felt poorly about that. It had been evident that the possibility gave her much concern.
“If it confirms our suspicions we can bring our case before Robert,” Jon agreed. Then he shook his head. “We must mitigate the odds of Lord Tywin calling his banners and bringing war to our doorstep.”
“His daughter committed treason.” Stannis’ jaw worked.
“Indeed, it seems she has.” Jon sighed. “However—.”
“Treason,” Stannis repeated. “And shielding her will be tantamount to the same.”
Stannis certainly wasn’t wrong, but that was not the point Jon wished to make, and so he said: “would you not do the same for Shireen?”
Stannis’ scowl darkened. “Shireen is a child.”
Jon nodded. “That she is, but if she weren’t? If she was a woman grown and someone brought a claim of treason to your threshold?”
Stannis’ jaw worked.
“Wouldn’t it be a father’s duty to protect her?” Jon pressed. He needed Stannis to see the necessity of meeting Tywin halfway - three quarters if need be.
“It would be his duty to get to the bottom of it.” Stannis’ tone was reluctant. It was as much of an agreement as Jon would have dared wish for. After a moment of thought, Stannis added: “I would hold myself to the verdict.”
Jon’s expression turned sad. You would, wouldn’t you? he thought. He hoped no one would ever speak of the disfigured girl with convincing ill-will to her father.
“You aren’t Lord Tywin, however,” Jon said diplomatically.
Stannis gave a curt nod.
“He’s a pragmatic man when it comes down to it, and House Lannister’s honour no longer rests solely on the twins’ shoulders.” And not for the first time that day, Jon thought how fortunate they were in that. If they could ensure the futures Tywin likely coveted for his younger children, he just might be willing to cut his losses.
Stannis rubbed his chin, his brow furrowing. “You think he could be persuaded to stand aside? The Queen won’t like that.”
“He might. And no, she most assuredly won’t.” Without the tangible threat of Tywin’s swift and sharp retribution, Queen Cersei had very little; indeed, Jon thought. And no doubt, she knew it as well.
“If we can ensure certain prospects more worthwhile to retain than a disgraced daughter...” Stannis mused as he pursed his lips.
“Son and daughter,” Jon corrected mildly. It wasn’t merely Cersei who had committed treason. And they ought not to forget it cost Tywin two children, not just the one. His two eldest children, at that, the son and daughter traditionally most valuable to a noble House’s future.
“But not his heir.”
“Therein lies our gain,” Jon said. It will be a scandal, no doubt. A blemish on the Lannisters’ golden history that they will have a tough chore polishing away, to be sure. But it wouldn’t be the end of the House. * Needn’t be,* Jon corrected himself. Not the way it would have been if Tywin hadn’t wed again, hadn’t had additional sons he was willing to leave land and title to.
“You sound as if you have given it thought?” There was an edge of suspicion to Stannis’ tone.
Jon had given it quite a lot of thought, the past fortnight as they assembled their final pieces of evidence, but he said: “Some, yes.”
Stannis regarded him carefully. “And these thoughts entail?”
“I could tutor Kevan, take him with me as I go about my work,” Jon said as he clasped his hands in his lap. “Tywin has served this realm as Hand for over twenty years, and not inadequately, despite the increasing instability of King Aerys. I do not think it a poor guess that he might have similar ambitions for his son.”
The beginning of a scowl crept onto Stannis’ stern face. “It would also give him ears at court and right beside the King, at that.” Jon had considered this too and knew it would make the offer all the sweeter for it. Tywin hadn’t come to court in nearly ten years, and so there was no reason to assume he wanted ears here. However, a shrewd man wouldn’t decline an opportunity freely given. Small ears hear the clearest, as Varys once said regarding his little informants.
“It would, but if he wanted it, he already has it through Ser Jaime standing guard right outside Robert’s door, through Cersei and her ladies, or the nephews squiring for our King.” Not entirely true, for Kevan was a ten-year-old who loved his father as well as any young boy might. And Varys had once told him that: ‘small ears hear the clearest’. Jon didn’t think Stannis would consider this nuance, to him children were children, bless his stubborn heart.
Stannis’ expression soured. “It would be no promise, but the implication the boy be Hand after you is there.”
“It will still be six long years before the boy will be of age, but yes.”
“A son’s future for a daughter’s trial.”
Jon didn’t like to think of it that way, but it was true.
“Robert likes the boy,” Stannis added.
Jon knew it to be correct. Did he fear young Kevan might prove a rival? It was not unheard for kings without legitimate issue to adopt an heir. He couldn’t afford Stannis to be suspicious of the boy. And so he said: “He’s young yet, and we’d have some years to help him grow. You come to the council.” Jon smiled, though it was a sad smile. “Robert does not.”
Stannis seemed to consider this. “You think this will be enough to pull Lord Tywin’s support?”
Jon wished it would be, but he dared not hope. Tywin likely considered it within his own capacities to assure this future for his son. They would need more. Something he could not as quickly achieve himself. It was why he’d come up with his second assurance. “I will speak to Lady Loren and confess an interest in the promise of betrothal between her daughter Helaina and my son Robert.”
The way Stannis stiffened told Jon what he would say even before he burst. Jon sighed. And so came the first of the two anticipated arguments.
“You will hand them the Eyrie?” Stannis struggled to keep his voice low, to not raise it into an angered shout.
“It won’t come to that,” Jon said with more confidence than he felt. His son was sickly. He might not even make it to wed and become a man grown, he thought with a heavy heart.
Stannis gave him a sceptical look, and Jon heard the unspoken words as surely as if he’d spoken them.
“Robert spoke with Lady Loren, he wishes my son page with her Lord Husband, at the Rock.” Jon left out the part regarding Cersei desiring this also. It concerned him a great deal, to be sure, but it would only fan Stannis’ unease.
When Stannis spoke, he’d seemingly dropped the topic. “She spoke with Lord Royce,” he said.
Jon frowned, confused. “I imagine she spoke with a great many lords, including you, I presume, this morn?”
“That she did.” Stannis cocked his head. “You do not think it odd she spoke to him?”
Jon frown deepened. “House Royce is an ancient and respected House of the Vale—.”
“Of the Vale, indeed,” Stannis said. “The kings of old, were they not?”
“Yes?” Where was he going with this?
“A while ago, you mentioned you’d declined Lord Yohn’s offer to betroth his daughter Ysilla to your son.”
He had.
Stannis’ eyebrows rose meaningfully. “And now he’s talking to the lioness,” he added.
Could it…? Jon’d assumed Lady Loren had approached Lord Yohn, not the other way around. Lord Yohn had an infant son, too. What was his name? It had sounded similar to his sister Ysilla’s. Elijah? He’d be scarcely more than a babe, two years, three maybe, but Helaina was just five, after all. “Lord Yohn and House Royce are loyal.”
“Are they?” Stannis’ expression was grim.
If Lord Yohn had approached Lady Loren, that was the only time ever he’d noticed the old Lord toe the line. And, even then, it was hardly tantamount to treason if all they’d done was reflect on mayhaps and could-bes. Helaina was only five, his son an unbreeched boy. Jon shook his head. “House Royce has never given cause for doubt.”
Stannis regarded him silently.
“If Robert and Helaina wed, it doesn’t matt—.”
Jon’s voice trailed off as a stifling realisation settled in his chest like a wet towel across the face. If his son passed - and though he dreaded it, he knew his boy’s sickly nature would not see him grow old as he had - Helaina would certainly rewed. And who might then be the right choice, to ensure the support of the Lords of the Vale for the youngest Lady Lannister? Lord Yohn’s son.
“You might as well hand them the Eyrie straight away and save them the trouble,” Stannis said.
Jon shook his head. They were in a sorry situation, but he believed they had little choice. “Robert must set Cersei aside as a result of her actions and rewed. If we can, in any way, avoid Tywin raising his banners in rebellion, we need to try it. The quicker and quieter this whole affair goes, the better.”
“Lord Mace wishes his daughter wed my brother.”
You mean Olenna wants it, Jon thought. “All the more reason to smooth any ruffled manes. The Reach and Westerlands have bickered like hens over worms for generations. We don’t want Robert to become that worm.”
Stannis nodded. “Renly supports it too, though she’s a fair maid and cleverer than him by half.”
Jon knew Renly, Loras and his sister Margaery to be fast friends, much like Robert, Loren, Eddard and his sister Lyanna had been. He speculated the reason Renly supported this match was due to Olenna. No doubt, if he supported it, she would permit him and Loras to have what they had. As far as Jon knew, Olenna took no issue with it. However, he knew her well enough to know she’d use it when it suited her.
“Lord Tywin and the old crone seemed amiable enough, during the tourney.” Stannis pursed his lips.
“I’m sure they did,” Jon said. He’d been around a little longer than Stannis, though. Those two would flay the other alive if push came to shove. Not that it had happened. At least, not yet. “We know the gods are good because they saw fit to make sure those two did not wed each other.”
Predictably, Stannis didn’t smile, let alone laugh.
“Let us hope they only spoke about their children and grandchildren,” Jon said. He hadn’t yet forgotten Renly’s allusions during the small council. A Lannister-Tyrell alliance against them was the very last thing they needed. Renly would be a puppet the minute Tywin and Olenna found common ground in supporting him as the Baratheon of choice. No, if the lions and roses were giving each other sidelong glances, they better exploit the situation and marshal them behind Robert before they forged any cunning plans of their own.
“I believe so, Kevan was with them.” Stannis had crossed his arms, thoughtful too, now.
Jon feared Tywin and Olenna were plenty capable of talking right over the boy’s head in covered language if they so pleased. He didn’t share his concern.
“You support this too, Margaery?” Stannis asked.
Jon frowned. “Yes. Yes, I do think so.”
“The Tyrells are good allies to have, particularly if the Lannisters rebel.”
“We must prevent that at all cost.” Jon shook his head. He wouldn’t let it come to that if he could. They didn’t need another war, they needed stability. There had been stability until they had found out what Cersei and Jaime had done.
Stannis scowled, and Jon realised there was no more postponing. He had to tell him what he planned to do. Stannis’ stiff, recalcitrant demeanour reminded Jon of Tywin and reaffirmed to him the necessity of his plan. For if Stannis baulked, then assuredly Tywin would for he was every inch as contrary. Jon might throw morsels large and little at him, but if the lion was in no mood to eat, it was no use at all.
Jon took a deep breath and put his hands on his knees, steadying himself. His gaze wandered to the godswood. Had Robert and Loren yet returned from their hunt? He squinted into the middle distance, bracing himself and mustering patience: “I believe we must tell Lady Loren and have her break the ill news to Lord Tywin.”
“And give him a headstart to rally for war?” This time, Stannis’ voice rose well above the clatter of the fountain.
Jon made a placating gesture, urging Stannis to lower his voice. “If our accusation leads to him raising his banners, it doesn’t matter when he hears.”
“Of course, it matters!” Stannis objected. “It will give them the time to rally vassals ahead of us. Even mount a counter case to our accusations.”
“If our claim is solid and true, no counter save bribery will prevail and if they go that route, our case will crumble either way,” Jon said. It concerned him because most people could be bought, and few were more persuasive in the buying market than the Lannisters on account of their wealth. And Robert enjoyed the lifestyle he could assuredly not afford on his own. How much gold would it take to convince him to keep Joffrey as his heir? Jon hoped they would never find out. Hoped, he realised, that Tywin would be too proud to accept grandchildren born of incest.
“He could rally an army,” Stannis repeated through clenched teeth.
“We cannot risk open war, and if it comes to it, we are at poor odds even if he hears it only at trial. Last time he pitched his banners, there were 12.000 lances at the toss of a liripipe. And the Tyrells favour your younger brother, if the Lannisters join them, we might well have a coup on our hands.”
“Not last year, there were skirmishes in the northmarch - south of Silverhill, along the greentail.” Stannis’ jaw worked. He’d crossed his arms, and there was tension in his shoulders.
“Perhaps.” There were always skirmishes in the northmarch, except during the tourney season. Presumably, Clegane and Crane butting heads on the shores of Red Lake because they were bored. Jon smiled, for the landed knights had reminded him of something not altogether dissimilar. “Years ago - many, years ago, when I was younger - Lady Olenna and Lady Jeyne were ladies-in-waiting to Queen Rhaella.”
“Lady Jeyne, that is Lord Tywin’s late mother, correct?” Stannis’ jaw had stopped working, but his stance remained pinched.
“Correct. Those girls were vicious. Jeyne once put copper powder in Olenna’s bath, staining her grain golden hair a sickly green and necessitating its cutting. Olenna put dead mice in her clothes chest in reprisal, the odour of death never leaving the fine samite garments, and they had to be burnt.”
“How is this relevant.”
Jon raised a hand at Stannis’ impatient tone, bidding him listen. “One day, Lady Lyarra Stark came to court and choose her sides: she favoured Lady Olenna in a solar conversation with the Queen. Then, perhaps to seal the deal, she assured a spoilt egg made it into Lady Jeyne’s breakfast, giving her embarrassing flatulence all through a court ball. Do you know how Lady Olenna responded, to this?”
Stannis’ jaw worked once more. “No.”
“The Lady Lyarra woke up to find one of her braids cut, right below the ear, and a note on parchment bearing gilded roses that she’d better stayed up north.” Jon recalled it well, for Lyarra had been distraught and her father much peeved. Yet he’d seen the lioness and Queen of Thorns share tea in this very same garden that day.
Stannis was processing his story, Jon could tell from his frown. “You believe the Tyrells will support the Lannisters?”
She might, Jon thought. And, like Tywin himself, Olenna was a poor enemy to have. Nevermind those two combined. Jon pursed his lips. “This is no spoilt egg, to be sure, but not as certain an impossibility as one might think.”
“You mean to tell Lady Loren, then,” Stannis said. “You have already decided.”
Jon regarded Stannis for a long moment. Then nodded and said: “Yes. I will examine the genealogy tonight. I suspect it will confirm our theory. On the morrow, I will discretely approach Lady Loren. I will propose tutoring of Kevan and convey interest in a promise between Helaina and my son. If she is forthcoming, I will share our findings with her. And, if the gods are good, I can convince her of the necessity she be the one to bring this news to her Lord Husband. And of the assurance that these futures for her children are set in stone if they allow the twins to stand trial.”
Stannis frowned but no longer objected. “Will she return home, or send a raven?”
“I hope to convince her to go in person, such matters are better not trusted to ravens. And, I do not think such news should be given on paper,” Jon said. Least of all to Tywin, he thought. He needs to hear it from her, lest he think it a falsehood.
“She may bid him return here, rather than travel home herself.”
“If we’re fortunate, she will. It will be better for us to have him here at the capital. That way, we avoid the impression we went behind his back.” The less tinder this wildfire sees, the better.
“We went behind his back,” Stannis asserted.
Jon sighed. He felt old and tired. “You know what I mean.”
Stannis’ reluctance was apparent but he nodded. “Very well.”
They spoke a while longer, of matters of little import but great interest to them personally. The weather was exceptional, the early afternoon sun warm, the late summer skies clear. It was a pleasant while and Jon would never have thought it be his last.
When Jon finally rose to send a raven, which he had been meaning to send all morning, a chill ran down his spine as he stepped out of the sun and into the shadowed cloister surrounding the fair garden. He made his way to the Grand Maester’s tower and by the time he had climbed the steps to the rookery, sweat beaded on his forehead. But this time, the sweat was cold. As he watched the raven fly north, he bid it make haste. War was coming. He could feel it in his bones. And not for the first time, he wondered if he was to be the instigator once again.
O O O
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#jon arryn#gotfic#asoiaf#valyrianscrolls#game of thrones fanfiction#a saga of bears & lions#imperial fictions#I have a lot of feelings about Jon Arryn and nobody ever addresses them#so I went for it#this chapter could also probably be titled#six people talk about tywin a whole ass lot#and I am not sorry
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SnK S3E21 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)
The poll closed with 260 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Please note that these are the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!
RATE THE EPISODE
251 Responses
As usual, the episode received good ratings! A small minority could have been more impressed, but overall people were happy.
It was great, another 10/10 episode. My only gripe is that they should've cut the opening this time as well to have more time to put some great dialogues from the manga.
A bit bummed that quite a bit of lines from the manga didn't make it into the episode, but otherwise pretty damn good.
Great one, though not as great as the previous one.
Some shots were not 1 to 1 to the manga, which was a bit sad, but overall the episode was amazing!
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS THE MOST IMPRESSIONABLE MOMENT?
255 Responses
Kruger bringing up Armin and Mikasa to Grisha was voted as the most notable scene from this episode. Behind that at 18.4% was the “Attack Titan” name drop moment. Kruger encouraging Grisha to carry out his mission came at a distant third with only 5.7% of the vote.
Everyone joking about Eren’s phase was hilarious. The lampshading of generic anime protag behaviour was great.
The end gave me c h i l l s. I loved how the outro started playing in the last little bits of krugers and grishas conversation and how the outro imagery was changed to titan history images instead. That whole scene was such a pleasant surprise.
KRUGER SAID EVIL AND GOOD PEOPLE ONLY EXIST IF THAT’S WHAT THEY ARE CALLED. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
253 Responses
Just over half of respondents believe that “good” and “evil” are typically subjective terms, although there are a few who are objectively one or the other. 40.7% feel that “good” and “evil” are always subjective no matter what. A small 7.1% feel that “good” and “evil” are entirely objective with no room for argument.
Kruger's "you can be a god or demon depending on what you claim" is maybe the most overrated line in the story. He's musing on the fallibility of historical narrative and the ease with which people are deceived and made ignorant, not making some grand statement that there is no real morality.
DO YOU THINK GRISHA WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR KRUGER TO ENTRUST THE TITAN POWER?
254 Responses
The vast majority of respondents feel that Grisha was a suitable successor of the Attack Titan after Kruger, while 18.5% aren’t certain he was the right choice.
WHAT IS THE BEST NAME FOR EREN’S TITAN?
255 Responses
69% percent (lol) of respondents prefer the official English name, “Attack Titan.” 18.8% prefer the literal translation of “Shingeki no Kyojin” as “Advancing Titan.” A few fans still prefer Eren’s long-time fandom label as the “Rogue Titan.” A few write-ins also had some fun takes:
American Titan, because he loves Freedom
Bedhead Titan
F R E E D O M TITAN
Crotchless sex on legs.
Elfian Titan / Elf Titan
Attacking Titan
Grisha, this titan has a name, it is Best Ass Titan.
WHAT ARE PATHS?
254 Responses
What are paths though? Like seriously? Okay, but seriously, 35.4% of respondents feel that they are metaphysical threads of fate. Closely behind at 32.7%, people are simply just confused and still can’t wrap their head around the concept of paths. 25.2% believe that paths are like an invisible highway between time periods. What are paths really, though?
As a manga reader i still don't get what paths are
By Ymir and the walls, every time I think I understand or at least accept paths something comes out of left field and leaves me shooketh.
PATHS IS NOT A SPOILER ANYMORE!!
EREN KRUGER MENTIONED MIKASA AND ARMIN WHEN HE WAS TALKING TO GRISHA - HOW DID HE KNOW THEIR NAMES?
254 Responses
42.9% of respondents feel it can only be explained as paths connecting all Eldians like a thread of fate, something unexplainable. 33.5% believe that Kruger simply tapped into the memories of either Grisha or Eren. 14.6% think that Eren sent this message back in time to Kruger.
I think its a message passed down through the Attack Titan
Eren confused his own thoughts with the memories
I was always thinking it was someone else talking to Eren and as Eren did something, the memories were sent backwards
The Attack Titan keeps moving forward. It can glimpse further down the line into the fourth dimension.
I don't know, hopefully Isayama will explain this one day.
I noticed during this episode that Kruger looks just like Grisha as both a child and an adult. Perhaps he... is Grisha?
This conversation is a flashback alright ? Then, it’s only Eren’s wish interfering with the flashback. It’s actually Eren’s actual mind which is deforming the thing
If the theory of the time loop is real, maybe that's how the message kinda got sent, similarly how Eren got glimpses of his future when he was a kid. Maybe they've been doing this for so long now that they've tried to send messages through time so that they know what needs to be done.
Kruger was speaking as Grisha, which means he was experiencing Grisha's memory
it's the time loop guys
I have always assumed Eren's memories were mixed up with Grisha's, which is why he'd “remember" Kruger mentioning Armin & Mikasa's names, but now I'm not sure. Maybe "PATHS" really make memories a two way street.
KRUGER SAYS IN ORDER TO STOP THEIR CURSED HISTORY FROM REPEATING, GRISHA MUST LEARN TO LOVE SOMEONE. DO YOU THINK THIS COULD BE GENERAL ADVICE FOR THE REST OF HUMANITY?
253 Responses
We had an almost-tie here, but 43.9% took the lead, with respondents feeling that “love” is a primary method for breaking a cycle of hatred, prejudice and despair. 43.1% feel that while “love” is a nice, flowery solution to the world’s problems, it’s just not that simple. 8.3% aren’t sure either way, and a small amount believe firmly that “love” isn’t a reasonable approach to solving the world’s issues.
NEXT WEEK IS THE FINAL EPISODE OF THIS SEASON - ARE YOU EXPECTING A TEASER FOR THE NEXT SEASON?
256 Responses
52.3% of viewers remain hopeful that we will have a season 4 teaser will happen at the end of the episode, solidifying another season of the anime. 38.7% are confident that a teaser will be present. A small percentage have less optimism.
HOW WELL DID THE EPISODE ADAPT THE CORRESPONDING MANGA CHAPTERS?
252 Responses
This episode didn’t get as many 5/5 rankings as most previous episodes did, with quite a bit of commentary about some of the things that were cut from the adaptation:
I missed the line where Kruger said Marleyans wouldn’t exist if the 1700 years ethnic cleansing really happened.
Felt a bit rushed and they left quotes from Kruger out which I believe are important.
They cut way too much of Kruger dialogue. They missed some of the things that made him such an interesting character.
This episode was good as always but I'm mad that they cut a lot from the Kruger and Grisha scene (mainly the mention of Grandpa Jaeger or how marley keep the eldians in the camp as weapons). Those aren't essential but important to add layers and complexify the plot. Kruger speech was what I was looking forward the most this season…
The Kruger conversation was cut down too harshly imo
I was missing the scene where Kruger tells grisha that his father was a smart man & that he was just trying to prevent losing more of his family.
They decided to cut some of the most important dialogue pieces from this episode, like "a doctor to falsify his blood test”
Less rushed than the previous episode but I really hate how they cropped the entirety of Kruger's involvment. It makes him look like more of a plot device than in the manga: the implications he had an agenda with the restorationists, his view on good vs evil explained (unrealistic ethnic cleansing and unrealistic miracles), how he perceived Grandpa Yeager (a smart man who didn't want his last child to walk on the path to hell)...
The anime also omitted a couple of things: Kruger suspecting Marley would no longer have any use of Eldians in the internment zone if they get the Founder and the past of the Eldian Empire, saying they used titans as weapons of mass destruction. The last one is important as the anime is really biased towards EMA's side.
Some minor dialogue cuts but it's not nearly as bad as manga readers are making it out to be.
DO YOU THINK KRUGER SACRIFICING ELDIANS FOR VITAL INFORMATION IS COMPARABLE TO WHAT EREN MAY BE DOING NOW?
254 Responses
43.3% of manga readers feel that Eren and Kruger’s actions are comparable as necessary evils in order to reach a beneficial goal for everyone. 32.3% feel that while the actions are comparable, the goals may not be. 11.8% feel that there’s not enough evidence to say either way. 7.9% felt that the contexts for both characters are completely different and not comparable.
I think what Kruger.did was more cruel than what Eren is doing now
Need to know Eren’s actual plans tbh.
They both believe that their goal is ultimately right - although I wouldn't necessarily call it beneficial
GIVEN THE MANGA EVENTS, DO YOU BELIEVE EREN IS BEING INFLUENCED BY HIS TITAN’S MEMORIES?
256 Responses
Nearly 40% of respondents feel that Eren is influenced by the memories given to him through his titan part of the time. 32% feel that it is happening always, and 15.2% aren’t sure.
This episode wonder if the nine titans had wills and personalities of their own. It can’t be a coincidence that the Attack Titan always finds its way to Eldians who desire freedom. It also makes me wonder about the way Bertholdt addressed Armin and seemed way different than usual in rts. Mikasa thought that Bertholdt was acting like a different person than they’ve seen. I think the Colossal influenced that behavior and was anticipating a new holder. Perhaps the colossal titan is always in love with the Female Titan also, forcing its holders to have feelings for the female titan holder. Which might explain Armin’s strange behavior in other chapters. This is just rambling and the concept of paths are still confusing though.
Regarding the influence of Titans: I believe everyone is being influenced. Having the memories of a differet person, their experiences and feelings is an influence. Wether they are acting different because of these is a different story. But even then, the current holder is still the one who decides to act different, based on their (now gained) own experiences. It's therefore not different from people changing after going thorugh something horrible themselves. 'influenced' is mostly used as 'being controlled' by this fandom, which I think is simply wrong. So: Yes, he is influenced. No, he is not being controlled.
HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT HISTORIA SEEING YMIR’S BACKSTORY THROUGH PATHS?
256 Responses
33.2% of respondents feel that it was a reasonable way to recap Ymir’s story while also giving closure for her character, while 28.1% found that it only made the concept of paths come off as more confusing. 16.4% feel that this will be touched more on in future manga chapters. 12.1% disagree with WIT’s decision to put Ymir’s backstory in season 2, as opposed to here.
Historia being able to glimpse into Ymir's memories made perfect sense to me. She's done that before with Rod in a moment of emotions running high, so Royal Blood+contact with DNA+strong emotions might have a role. Beyond that, I'm sticking to my belief that paths can be compared to the fourth dimension in spacetime terms.
I didn't really like the execution of Ymir's letter to Historia. The paths looked kinda cool but it's also a little out of place and just ??? The letter also kind of lost its value as well since it was cut short and seems like Ymir doesn't tell Historia anything about her past as well. Yikes
Did Ymir write the letter with her blood for Historia to see her past ????
The path scene with Historia and Ymir was odd: at the same time the anime isn't at its first when it comes to plot conveniences (sleep darts, berserk Eren), but it's also not the same time Historia got an influx of erased memories at random times (her playtime with Frieda)
I lost it when PATHS activated for Historia
WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT YMIR’S FATE BEING IMPLIED IN THE FLASHBACKS?
256 Responses
Nearly 45% of respondents feel that WIT did a good thing by placing the implications of Ymir’s death in this episode, rather than show it as an afternote during the Marley arc. 17.2% wish the scene would have been longer. 14.5% were simply hyped to see Porco’s silhouette.
I hated how unclear Ymir’s death was. You really couldn’t tell she died without knowing from the manga, and in the manga, it was a really impactful character moment. It really showed how little Ymir cared for herself and submitted to Marley because of her guilt for eating Marcel by accident.
I think Ymir's death should have been focused on a bit longer, because I saw ppl did not quite catch what happened. Then again, people don't seem to care much about her anyway :(
PORCO THO!!!!
WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?
256 Responses
Unsurprisingly, the journey to the sea is the most anticipated moment of the next episode. There are a few who are looking forward to the moments that take place during the ceremony more, though.
next episode, we will see Hitch again and I'm not ready for that.
I'm honestly not looking forward anything in the next episode, all the really interesting stuff already happened
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?
The pace are a bit weird, they skipped several parts but i think isn't the problem if anime onlies had critical thinking/observation. Overall it's good and i though porco inherited the jaw titan after the timeskip(because how the flashback played in manga) but the anime cleared it and his lifespan is same as armin.
I noticed that Hanji had referred to Grisha as "Mr. Jaeger" and not Dr. Jaeger. 1) that just doesn't sound right to me. 2) is there any reason for that? I believe earlier in the series they had referred to him as Dr. Jaeger, so why the change?
Roses are red, PATHS are confusing, this episode was very amusing. Mina's best girl PEACE OUT
I want to hug eren. Both Anime!Eren and manga!Eren.
I didnt particularly like the way they did the Attack Titan namedrop
There were so many mistakes with the height of the characters this episode... What is WIT doing?
WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES?
244 Responses
Thanks again to everyone who participated! We’ll see you back in a few days.
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Okay, here's the deal. I feel like saying a few of my thoughts on the Seungri issue. It will most likely make some people angry & I may lose followers over it. But I'm to the point that I'm very “whatever” about this whole mess and the division it's brought to the VIP fandom.
Let me start by saying that I am neither OT5 nor OT4. I am VIP and I will support Bigbang in whatever form it exists. Which, in my opinion, right now is 4. Seungri withdrew himself from the group, from YG, and from the entertainment industry as a whole. You might not like that or agree with it, but it was his choice to make.
Now for the bigger issues at hand...
I don't really mind the prostitution. As long as they were legally of age and were willing participants, then I believe that a woman's right to her body is her own. If she chooses to sell sex for money, that's none of my business. So, no... I don't care if Seungri bought sexual services, either for himself or for others. Of course, it is still illegal and he should be punished for breaking the law, but it isn't a big enough of a deal for me to hate him for it.
I also don't mind the embezzlement or tax evasion issues. Again, he still did it & should be held accountable for that. But, I'm sure that almost all the large businesses do it & it's not enough for me to call for his head on a pike.
Admission of minors into Burning Sun/Arena/Monkey Museum? Eh, it happens everywhere. Not enough for me to warrant the electric chair.
Police/Government Official bribery? Yeah, it's a big deal. Yeah, he should pay up if guilty. Nope... not enough for me to wish capital punishment upon him.
It does upset me that he knew what kind of things his friends in the group chat were up to & seemingly did not speak up against it. It's not his place to police his associates, but I still would have expected something beyond, “Stop it, you'll get in trouble.” or telling them to delete chats & switch phones. I would go so far as to say that he's an accessory after the fact. And, while I'm disappointed that he did not report his friends to authorities, I can also see why he didn't. After all, he was a member of that chat & if he was also up to his neck in shady business dealings and hookers, then he wouldn't want to report anything to the police... no matter how fucked up it was. So, yes... disappointing, but understandable. Still not enough for me to “cancel” him.
Only two things about this really, really bother me.
The drug dealing in Burning Sun.
The supposed things that went on with some VVIP members of the club.
Now, if you are not up to date on those topics, I will not be getting into the details of it here. Suffice it to say that it's extremely fucked up. And if Seungri knew, in depth, about either of those things... then yes, I would get behind the crowd that wants him to pay dearly. (Especially the VVIP stuff. My god, I had nightmares about that shit after reading what supposedly went on.)
Like, I'm sure that he knew drugs and sex were going down. It is a club, after all. But if he knew the depth of the depravity... damn.
The bad thing is, that we will most likely never know for sure.
I mean... you can say, “Well of course he knew what was going on! It was his club. He was a manager!” OR you can say, “He was a major celebrity! There's no way that he was involved in the day to day operations. He wouldn't have had time for that!”
I can see both sides of the argument as being a possibility. And, lord knows, that he's not going to be forthcoming with information about it any time soon.
On a personal level, I am done with the man. He hurt his brothers with his selfishness. He hurt my daughter with his actions. He hurt my fandom with his carelessness.
That being said... I don't agree with trying to erase him from Bigbangs history. That's just silly, in my opinion. He was there & was an integral part of the group. Trying to act as if he never existed is futile and childish. As for me, I have come to separate the art from the artist. I will not let him diminish my love for their music & personalities.
I also see a lot of people trying to read things into past statements from members of Bigbang. And, while I do agree with the majority of you, that there was some major shade being thrown Seungri's way, some of y'all are delusional with the “interpretations” you are trying to push. It's like full blown fucking conspiracy level bullshit. Seriously, we will not know how the others feel until such time as they choose to make a statement about it. Stop peddling your little theories around! It's just making things worse.
Also, people really need to educate themselves about this issue and Korean judicial process before they blindly speak out about things or attack other people. (I'm talking beyond AKP, Soompi & Kpop Twitter.) If I see one more post about Seungri's arrest warrant being rejected & the police announcing that they won't seek another so that proves that he's innocent... I'm gonna scream. Pre-trial detainment warrant. Look it up. (For the record, I actually agree with the judges decision on that one.)
What angers me is a lot of the media coverage. There are way more important things going on here than anything that Seungri did. High ranking government official cover-ups (tied to both the former and current Presidents), rampant police corruption, Chaebols getting away with some pretty scary shit. Non-celebrities tied in with the group chat that were disturbingly depraved. (I'm looking at you Mr. Kim) Group chats of reporters spreading the videos from the “molka” group chat and making fun of the victims. And other Kpop idols that were engaged in activities that, at least at first glance, seem to be way worse than anything that Seungri was involved in.
And yet, all the media wants to talk about is Seungri. Why? Because it sells.
It's disgusting.
They put his name into headlines where it doesn't even belong just for clickbait. The story isn't remotely about him, and yet, his name is thrown into the mix. That's not journalism. It's sensationalism. There's almost no coverage of the stories that really matter! I don't know why I expected better...
Lastly, I will say that I like to think that almost everyone is redeemable. Everyone is human & everyone makes mistakes. The same is true of Seungri. (Unless of course it is proven that he knew about the VVIP stuff. In that case, eff him.) But it's my personal belief that the man is a sociopath & he needs help. It is my hope for him that can see what he's done (to himself and others), admit his wrongdoing, and get some professional help so that he can grow as a person and move on into a better life.
I wish peace upon all the victims in this mess, both the physical victims (group chat victims, VVIP/Drug victims) and the emotional ones (Bigbang members and VIPs).
I hope we can all heal & move on from this at our own pace.
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OLD NEWS
You know, every now and then when I’m surfing the SnK shipping tags, I’ll find a few negative posts. Furthermore, this goes beyond Tumblr, It’s just something I see too often when shipping is involved in this fandom. “Attack on titan isn’t about ships!”, “SnK isn’t even that kind of series! There’s not going to be any romance!”, “I don’t even like shipping that much, that’s not why I’m invested in the series...!” These are some of the reoccurring comments I’ve seen in the fandom for years, so I figured I’d address it since I’m now a more vocal participant. To those of you who feel the need to constantly let others know what SnK is really about, I have one thing to say...
PLEASE DO US ALL A FAVOR AND SHUT THE FUCK UP.
Sorry, but that needed to be said.
Here’s a news flash, we already know this! Any hardcore attack on titan fan that has common sense knows that this series isn’t centered around love, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. Despite being a shounen manga/anime, SnK doesn’t have the typical elements that come in the genre. There’s very little comedy, There’s isn’t any male fan service, and the atmosphere is generally hopeless in comparison to other shounens, like Naruto or Bleach for example.
Attack on Titan has many components that make it the masterpiece that it is and sadly romance isn’t one of them. There’s the mysterious plot, the complex characters, the foreshadowing, the world building, the realistic despair and the overall structure is what drew me deep into this series. However, there is no love story here. Disappointedly, the majority of the characters will not have happy endings and even the ones that do, the chances of them finding love are slim. But guess what? That is the main reason shipping is so damn popular in this fandom to begin with!
People get so lost in shipping because they know what type of story is being narrated. These characters that we’ve grown to love and that are dear to our hearts are doomed to either die a miserable death or live on feeling nothing but pain and anguish. Especially the shifters, they all have a 13 year time limit. Is it so wrong that we like to fantasize or even hope that one of these poor souls might find a shred of love before dying a horrible death!? No, it is not.
Many people ship characters based on dynamics, character interactions, one sided feelings, or simply because they look good together. Whatever the case, we do it because it’s fun and it distracts us from what we already know about SnK. Do some people get carried away and take things too far? Yes, there are few individuals who get too obsessed or forceful with their ship, but they’re a minority. Most mature shippers know how to treat their fellow fans, while also being able to discuss their respective pairings.
Besides, when its all said in done there will be at least one canon ship by the end of the manga. It would be illogical not to mention unrealistic, for every character to be alone or simply die and Isayama is well aware of this, which is why he changed the ending from what he had originally planned. His manga is too popular to end on a tragic note like he initially schemed.
To wrap this up, I just want to say we got the memo. At this point, a lot of you sound like broken records. So just stop. Yes, SnK isn’t about romance but that’s not going to stop people from shipping. A lot of ships have already sunk and people are still posting their fan art, fan-fiction, and head canons. You know why? It’s because they’re emotionally invested in those characters. Don’t forget fantasy is an escape from our horrible reality. In the case of attack on titan, shipping is our escape from the cold reality of the series itself!
So, to all of you who don’t ship or only ship a little but not much, kudos! That’s awesome for you, really it’s great that your focal point is solely on what attack on titan gives you at face value, but the rest of us are hopeless romantics at heart who like to dig a little deeper, so try to understand our perspective. Okay?
#snk#snk fandom#shipping#childish musings#toto rants#glad i got that off my chest#aot#shingeki no kyojin
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Speaking Of Pretentious Pseudo-Intellectuals:
Let’s talk about internet psychologist @ravenstag-wytch who thinks she knows everything because she took a psych-101 course once and likes to use every cliche trope in the book to “internet diagnose” people with “problems” which if she knew anything about psychology at all she’d know she couldn’t do. So, here’s the little DM she sent me because well...she practically BEGGED me for attention while claiming I’M an attention whore, weird right? Here we go.
I find this message interesting for a few reasons.
Look at how she starts this whole thing like she’s about to write a fucking thesis, that’s how we already know we are dealing with someone who’s about to say a bunch crap that they have absolutely know education in.
1. There are posts on your blog in which you rant and rave about people not listening to you or reading your posts correctly, yet it’s very clear that you didn’t read mine. I never said that you said no other fandom was like this; I was simply pointing out the fact that all fandoms have the crazies (because it’s true).
Yes this is pretty much what the fandom uses to dismiss my argument they never read the rest of what I say which funnily enough despite all her accusations against me she still didn’t manage to see. Even in the original DM I sent her. Where I clarified that, I know there are crazies in every fandom that was never the point I was trying to make. What I was saying is the majority of the Hannibal fandom is crazy and that’s the difference. In larger fandoms, the crazy people are the minority not the majority so they can be more easily ignored. That’s not the case with the Hannibal fandom, and as such, the majority represents the minority who are mostly good people. Weird that she couldn’t finish reading all of that before jumping down my throat right? Moving on.
I’ve been participating in fandoms for about 15 years, so I know from experience. If anything, your response showed just how quick you are to jump on the defense, to the point where you don’t bother to finish listening to the other party.
Not true I read all of what you said and what they have to say but it’s very clear from this response you did not finish reading what I told you so you are literally projecting your own problems onto me and acting superior about it. Also if people are “experts” based on how long they’ve “been in fandoms” I’ve been doing it longer so I’m more of an “expert”. Just to clarify this is sarcasm, how long anyone has or hasn’t been in “Fandoms” doesn’t matter.
These are bad debate skills, and since you seem to have made an entire hobby out of being argumentative on the internet, you should perhaps brush up on debate etiquette; you simply look like a fool. Perhaps you know this, which is why you chose to PM me instead of reblog and make your defense public.
Bad debate skills? How? I read all of what you said, you didn’t read all of what I said before writing me an essay about everything wrong with me. I’m pretty sure you’re the one with bad debate skills. Also what debate were we even having? This wasn’t a debate. I thought she misunderstood my argument and my point about the majority of the fandom representing the group which makes the normal people in the group look bad. This isn’t a debate, why is she classifying it as such? To make her feel better? To make her feel like she won? Yeah probably. Also I didn’t reply in public because I thought it was more polite to discuss it privately not because I’m a coward or my only hobby is arguments on the internet? That’s a weird conclusion to jump to.
2. ...speaking of. I see another, quite long post on the “issue” of the Hannibal fandom being “obsessive”. I find this to be really interesting as well, considering that it’s very obvious that you are inherently obsessed with the Hannibal fandom (and in quite a negative way). You have put in more effort into your posts than some of us have on actually contributing to the fandom.
I type 90 words per minute anything you’ve seen me write took me 5 minutes at most and 99% of it is copy and pasted from things I wrote years ago and are being cross posted on this blog to get traffic to my website. So...really it’s not taking as much time as you think it’s taking.
I also see you make YouTube videos doing the same - again, a clear display of obsessive behaviour. That’s quite hypocritical of you, no matter how you look at it.
Have you watched any of these videos? No? Because the vast majority of these videos talk about people in the fandom running scams, preying on young girls, and stalking celebrities. The vast majority of the videos I have done are not about the show, not about the “general fandom” they are about criminals in the fandom and the crimes they are committing. Now I’m really sorry if it’s “obsessive” to want criminals to be held accountable for crimes they are committing but if it is, then I I guess I’m just a bad person. I’m assuming that you haven’t watched any videos or looked at one or two titles if that’s what you think my channel is about. Also, that channel has existed for I think 5 years? So those videos have gone up over a LONG PERIOD OF TIME not a week. That’s pretty normal non obsessive behavior. Might want to figure out the difference.
And as an aside... I had the wonderful opportunity of attending a Hannibal convention for the very first time this year, and I was overwhelmingly surprised at how incredibly lovely the people in this fandom are. Many times, I mentioned that I’d never been part of such a frictionless, bright fandom full of caring and just overall wonderful people.
Just because you’ve never had the experience I have that means I must be lying and it’s not true nor could it have possibly happened. Very mature outlook there. You are “sorry” I had this experience because your very small, only ever attended one convention with cult members was “normal” and “fun”. Except I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that if you found these people NORMAL and inviting you are exactly the type of crazy person I’m talking about and have been all along so lol why am I even trying?
So many people have said the same. I’m actually very sorry that you haven’t had the same experience. Regarding your claims about sanity/mental illness... First, I see no facts; only opinions. Please present your proof if you are going to argue a point (this goes back to debate skills - innocent until proven guilty and all that), and also be sure to include numbers since you are saying such things as “the MAJORITY”, etc. My experiences with this fandom have been exactly the opposite as yours.
Okay so now she’s repeated herself, and once again she’s trying to make the claim that because she’s never SEEN this happen it couldn’t have possibly happened and is demanding proof which I have all over my website and youtube channel which she’d know if she’d ever watched the videos but she hasn’t. She assumed the content of the videos, then assumed I was lying or something without bothering to do the research because her experience (and this is where the narcissism comes in) differs, she can’t even step outside of herself to see maybe she’s wrong.
And I hate to say this, but the only negative I’ve ever experienced in this fandom has been this one... I’ve never encountered someone who is simply so hateful about tearing people down who are just trying to enjoy something (fandoms are an extracurricular activity). If you dislike the fandom so much, just leave it alone. ‘
If you dislike what I’m saying so much how about you leave me alone? Furthermore if you were paying attention and I know you weren’t because you expect people to read what you have to say but don’t bother to listen to them, is that my major complaint with the fandom is how they let scam artists get away with scamming and sexual predators get away with finding victims that’s like 90% of the complaint which you’d know if you were actually paying attention to anything you saw me upload or write.
On the other hand, you have Mads Mikkelsen who attended RDC several times (you know, despite the fandom being “dead”) who continually says he would love to continue Hannibal (in fact, he and I spoke about this in person - don’t worry, I didn’t stalk him. It was at a PAID meet and greet at the con). Even during interviews for other movies and works he’s doing, if Hannibal is ever brought up he talks about how he loves the Fannibals and the show, and he would make time for it in a heartbeat if the opportunity comes up. This is a drastically different picture than, say, the Sherlock fandom (and I’m not trying to pick on them, it’s just what came to mind based on actual public evidence). So yeah.
Oh because celebs don’t publicly talk about it that means they aren’t bothered by it? Really? That’s your claim here because Mads Mikkelsen has never mentioned it he must have never been affected by it? Are you freaking serious right now? Costas Mandylor who still attends conventions to meet Saw fans has had problems with many stalkers and has never spoken up about it publicly. The only reason people know is because they know who these stalkers were in the fandom, by name, because they made themselves obvious. Think you have no idea what you are talking about if you think that the only proof of people being bothered by stalkers is if they mention it publicly. God DAMN you have a narrow minded view of the world don’t you?
I guess I just don’t understand your perspective based on the evidence supplied. I also don’t understand your very hypocritical nature, nor why you seem to be such an angry, hateful person. I feel sorry for you, living with all that negative energy. 😞
No actually you don’t understand my perspective based on the 2 seconds of “research” you actually did. The evidence is there, the proof is there, I have put it up and hilariously enough you’ve been to my youtube channel you’ve watched nothing, you’ve decided your opinion based on I don’t know, vague skimming you complain that I don’t listen to you or read what you have to say when I have done that, and then you pull the bullshit “pretending to care” when you don’t really care. It’s condescending and sickening. You are literally every problem I have with this fandom. The projection, the immaturity, the unwilling to listen to anyone who doesn’t parrot back what you hear from your echo chamber. You are 100% the type of Fannibal I have been describing this entire time and you fail to realize it because you are just as insane as the people you are attempting to defend.
So, sweetie, did I give you enough attention? Though I doubt you’ll read literally any of this since you put SO MUCH EFFORT Into trying to understand me before. (That was sarcasm it’s clear you are too dumb to understand that) and for the record I’ve politely approached several people like I have you on here to get a better understanding but you are legit THE ONLY PERSON who reacted this way. Maybe you need to consider that, sweetie. Hope this is enough for you because I don’t intend to give you more.
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SnK S3E14 Poll Results (Anime Only Viewer Version)
The poll closed with 103 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Please note this is the anime only viewer version of the poll. Manga readers, please click here for the results of the manga reader poll!
RATE THE EPISODE
93 Responses
Although this episode was rated a bit lower than the previous one, there was still only one negative vote. It’s clear the fandom is still quite excited for the rest of the season.
A good set up episode!
Amazing
Another great episode, shame YouTube and Pinterest spoiled it so much for me
Pretty nice episode!
Good draw but, bad animation
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?
94 Responses
The largest group of voters (at 23%) chose the action around the Thunder Spears as their favorite moment, while 18% highlighted the scene with Erwin’s self reflection. Finally, nearly 15% of voters favored the cliffhanger scene with Reiner’s pleas.
The Thunder Spear scenes!
WIT blew their budget on Erwin and I’m surely not complaining, damn
WHO DID YOU FIND YOURSELF ROOTING FOR MORE?
92 Responses
91% of respondents found themselves cheering on Eren this episode!
WHICH SIDE OF THE WALL WOULD YOU RATHER BE ON?
93 Responses
If there was a choice to be made, 77% of respondents would feel more secure fighting inside of Shiganshina where Reiner is.
STRATEGY MAPS: WHO DID IT BETTER?
93 Responses
62% of respondents appreciated the stylistic way WIT animated the strategy maps over Isayama’s original drawing.
HOW MUCH DID YOU SYMPATHIZE WITH ERWIN AS HE REFLECTED ON HIMSELF?
93 Responses
Although there was a small minority of viewers who did not feel much sympathy towards the commander, the vast majority clearly had their hearts ache for Erwin Smith.
Honestly I just really loved the few minutes of focus we had on Erwin. How it reflected his character and showed another badass moment of him, unhooding himself and staring right at Reiner
HOW MUCH DOES IT HURT TO SEE THE 104TH ATTACKING REINER?
92 Responses
With the highest amount of votes at 32.6%, respondents weren’t too emotionally affected by watching the 104th attack Reiner. A small 12% did feel sympathy toward the situation, however.
THOUGHTS ON REINER’S ABILITY TO TRANSFER HIS CONSCIOUSNESS THROUGHOUT HIS BODY?
91 Responses
The largest group of respondents were willing to accept Reiner’s ability, without really having much opinion of it either way. On the other hand, 26% of voters felt that the ability was a cop-out. Finally, 22% of voters had a completely opposite view. They enjoyed seeing a new titan ability in action.
Sounds like plot armor. Of course it is. What would you expect from the plot armored titan?
Unnecessary
I think this is subtlety dropping a hint about how Titan shifting work so I don’t think it’s any of the above.
I don't mind, but I hope there's more to it than that
don't care why the fuck people find it hard to accept, it was completely fine with me.
That consciousness transfer is so fucking dumb lmao
WHAT’D YOU THINK OF THE THUNDER SPEARS?
91 Responses
Almost 90% of the viewers loved the Thunder Spears and everything about them, while only about 9% had a more moderate opinion about the new weapon.
Bullshit technology unrealistic
WHAT ABOUT EREN’S NEW HARDENED PUNCH?
91 Responses
Similar to the previous question, about 85% of the respondents clearly enjoyed Eren’s new attack, with only 12% not having much of an opinion on it.
Eren's punch doesn't have any impact, Sakuga is missing :/
ERWIN SUSPECTS THAT THE QUADRUPEDAL TITAN IS INTELLIGENT. WHO DO YOU THINK IT IS?
92 Responses
44% of respondents feel confident that the quadrupedal titan is a new character from beyond the walls. 22% have already had the reveal spoiled for them. 16% believe this titan is a pure titan who is controlled by the Beast Titan, and a small 7% of respondents believe this titan is someone we’ve already seen.
DO YOU THINK LEVI WILL SUCCESSFULLY KILL THE BEAST TITAN?
93 Responses
Over half of respondents believe that Levi will not be successful in taking out the Beast Titan. 25% are uncertain whether he can or will, and 20% are readying themselves for the Beast’s defeat!
WHAT IS REINER’S FATE BY THE END OF THE EPISODE?
91 Responses
The slight majority of voters (33%) felt that Reiner survived his escapade with the Thunder Spears, although a large minority (almost 29%) felt that Reiner perished. The rest of voters either could not arrive at a decision or have been spoiled.
If Reiner bullshits his way out of a dozen point-blank range explosions, I'm dialing my attorney
Berty boy needs to come save his boo
DO YOU THINK THE SURVEY CORPS WILL KEEP THE SAME HIGH MOMENTUM IN THE NEXT EPISODE?
92 Responses
63% of respondents felt that the high momentum held up by the Survey Corps won’t survive in the next episode, while nearly 32% had the opposite opinion.
No, Bertholdt will stop them
I’m not sure
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?
I missed the crazy action so muuuuuuch
Where can I get the 20 minute episodes? Mine are just 5 minutes long
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, holy shit!
It was bad
Can you do me a favor and ask WIT to release the next episode early? Thanks in advance, I really need it right now
Yes
The Eren vs Reiner battle didn’t really...click for me. I felt it was a bit too rushed... I guess
WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES?
88 Responses
Thank you to everyone who participated! We’ll see you in a few days!
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SnK S3E2 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)
The poll closed with 590 responses! Thank you to everyone who participated.
Please note that this is the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!
Rate the Episode
The vast majority gave the episode their approval, with the largest percentage rating it a five.
Levi vs MP chase blew me away and I didn't remember rest of the show except Linked Horizon.
Animation blew me away and Kenny is better than I had imagined him in the manga.
They made Levi more bishy and badass at the same time. As expected of WIT. I find myself surprised at some of the changes and the new pacing, but I’m just here to enjoy this wild ride, so I’m open to anything. I can’t wait for Frieda to finally appear and confuse the fuck out of anime-onlies.
ep2 has already become my fav episode
It feels rushed. But I can only hope they make up for it later on.
I enjoyed it, especially the fight scene! A lot of things were missing from the manga, but I'm thinking they will be included in a different context. The ED was absolutely perfect! I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
It was super enjoyable in its own right even if I'm a bit skeptical of the changed pacing.
The animation in this episode was amazing!
Rate the Ending
Respondents have agreed that the ending is a bop, with votes heavily favoring the positive. Feelings were much more mixed for the opening. We’re happy to see that most were at least satisfied with the ending!
I think it's the perfect mood for an ED. I'm really glad Historia got such a great focus; the OP focuses more on several characters an the ED on her.. I like it that way.
It's great! I love Red Swan so much and I'm happy with both songs!
Loved it a lot. You could immediately tell the signature Sounds Horizon influence, which is great. The song’s been stuck in my head for days. I also love the fact that the visuals are Historia-centric.
I don't think it should've been the opening per say......maybe with different visuals but I absolutely loved it. I'm glad that unlike the opening it didn't disappoint.
The Sasageyo in the middle caught me off guard lol
but like why did they have to make me feel so many emotions over that ending tho???
i'm literally in love with the ED it sounds like a fairy tale and i need the full version stat
the ed took me to nirvana
The ending was really beautiful. The animation with little Historia was beautiful because we will see more of Historia. Heck, this is her time to shine. This is her spotlight.
How do you feel about Linked Horizon performing the ending this time?
The majority of respondents are happy that Linked Horizon is back this season, even if it’s the ending instead of the opening. A smaller percentage still wished they had done the opening instead, however.
Who Linked Horizon is?
I hope they perform the opening for the next arc
Ending or opening I wouldn't care. As long as we have Link Horizon.
I'm glad they are still sticking around but I'm still so upset the OP/ED were 100% from some romance high school anime.
Which one is your favorite ED?
Do we as a fandom have a bias toward Linked Horizon? Quite possibly, as the new ending has already captured the hearts of the largest group. Great escape came in second, and Yuuguri no Tori remains the least liked ending of the series.
The new ending is beautiful. The scenario, music, how sad it is considering the recent events in the manga. Beautiful. I've to admit that I prefer by far the ending to the opening.
Which scene(s) did you like best?
It goes without saying that the Levi vs. Kenny/MP chase is what blew away the fandom this week. It was the favorite scene by a huge margin. The runner up was Armin taking aim and shooting in order to save Jean’s life.
I've been waiting five years to see the bar scene, BANG! BANG!
not ashamed to admit I rewatched the Levi vs Kenny chase dozens of times
Favorite anime-only scene: Sasha saved Armin this time, i couldn't be happier for my girl. She ain't useless and definitely not a comic relief, i hope Isayama will do something in the future so that people appreciate &miss her more when 105 is animated.
Also, something I'm loving this season and doesn't receive enough credit is to hear Traute's voice. Her voice sounds so badass. Love it
The animation is so gorgeous and literally jaw dropping. I enjoy absorbing every single second of action. And seeing and hearing the scene of Jean almost being shot and Armin killing somehow has made me officially ship Jearmin.
On a scale of 1-5 how much did the animation during the Levi vs. MP chase blow you away?
As expected, the animation left the majority of respondents in awe. It took one month for the animators to get in that 30 second sequence and it was so worth the efforts of the animation staff!
The Levi fight scene was breathtaking. Genius.
Best animation. Ever. Levi you awesome badass.
On a scale of 1-5, how daddy is Kenny?
While a fair amount of voters wouldn’t let Kenny touch them with a 50 foot poll, a larger portion of voters agree that Kenny is daddy material.
I want Kenny to be my daddy :P
The only thing so far that is completely good is KENNY BANG BANG ACKERMAN! They're making a wonderful job with him and I hope the dudes from Wit studio won't turn him upside-down or change some important scenes. In the end... KENNY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND COOL UNCLE/COWBOY ON EARTH. I'll always follow him
Kenny is even colder bastard than he was in the manga. I like him!
How did Erwin light the match with one hand?
Will the mystery ever be solved? We don’t know, but the majority of voters are quite certain that Erwin’s chiseled jawline may have something to do with it!
How excited are you to see kidwin’s eyebrow game next week?
61% of respondents are ready to see Kidwin moving and talking. Possibly also the heartbreak that will follow as we watch his backstory unfold. We’re pretty excited for small Erwin too!
Is your heart ready for Historia’s childhood flashback?
The majority of voters are ready for Historia’s “not very happy” backstory to unfold in episode 40. Some are eager, some just think she’s cute as a button and others are ready for their hearts to hurt. About 12% of voters aren’t as enthused, however.
I hope we will finally see Frieda in the next one !
On a scale of 1 - 5, how much do you relate to Bartender-kun?
I think we can almost all agree with the bartender when he says “EEEK!” It’s quite relatable really.
It took 4 years to finally see Bartender-kun in his moe glory and it was beautiful. 10 outta 10 would EEEEKK again.
EEK!
Would you want Levi as your motivational counselor?
68% of you would appreciate Levi’s straightforward and blunt was of saying things in order to help you cope and sort things out. 32%, however, would prefer a more gentler approach.
Does Erwin have a gambling problem?
68% of respondents agree that Erwin’s gambles are a positive thing! The thrill of it all is quite a ride for both the Survey Corps and the audience. We look forward to watching his gambles pan out in animated form soon!
How are you guys holding up?
The largest group of voters are unsure about the changes and feel pretty sketchy toward WIT and Isayama for making and agreeing to the changes. However, a combined 50% of respondents overall are enjoying the anime so far, with 31% of those voters having a great time watching the events unfold in a new way. 8% of voters have already lost all hope at enjoying the adaptation.
Jokes aside, the pacing's still left me reeling a little. But I can see how this might make sense from the studio's perspective. If I was an anime-only, I think this episode would have THRILLED me. So yes, I am still invested in the anime and am looking forward to the rest of the season!
Thoughts withheld until we see how the rest of the arc is adapted
i thought it was really good! most manga readers disagree, but i have hope that important scenes will be included later, and we shouldn’t be so quick to judge only 2 eps. i think we should be grateful that the scenes they DID include followed the manga pretty well. i have faith in the changes isayama wanted to make, he is the creator after all. have hope yall!
How do you feel about the restructuring so far?
We were quite surprised to find that 57% of respondents are still open to the changes, looking to see what happens next before ultimately deciding if the anime is in good hands or not. A small 15% are excited for the changes, while another 15% are not feeling them at all. A very small percentage aren’t enjoying anything about the restructuring so far.
I'm really trying to enjoy the season and not judge too fast before seeing all of the arc, but damn WIT, Isayama, you guys are making it so hard, I'm hella confuse by the changes you're making
In my opinion, the change of pace is for the worse. I'm sad Isayama hates the arc this much, and that he agreed to many crucial character scenes being cut. I think the arc in the manga only felt slow because of waiting for the next monthly chapter.
I'm confused by all the changes but it's only episode 2 so I'm waiting for what's coming next. The animation is beautiful, Levi is beautiful (even with his shirt on) so I like it so far!
Still generally hyped about the season, but wary of the changes. A little bit disappointed about the cutting of the minor characters' (dimo, nifa) screentime/character moments. But I'm gonna wait with my judgement 'till the arc's over.
Character development will not be the same. Hopefully they can build up Armin’s and Erwin’s characters in time for RTS or nobody will care.
What best describes what you think about the missing scenes so far?
While we’re all a bit sad to see some of our favorite scenes lost, the largest group of respondents have accepted that as a fact and are ready to just move forward. 26% are holding out hope that everything will be implemented one way or another. 13% of respondents are finding that the missing scenes are making it very difficult to enjoy anything about the season so far.
I literally want to fly to WIT Studio, go in banging a cowbell in everyone's ears until they put the cute scenes of titan eren and his dorky yet fine ass back in the anime.
I'm afraid that loosing some scenes now will take away more important ones later on. No Dimo telling Historia to give Levi a good punch. No Levi basically threatening Historia to take up the mantle of Queen. These interactions added depth to the characters. There's still time for them to include a few other things in flashbacks, but the changes have me a little on edge. Maybe it's just cognitive dissonance - I'll not write off WIT's and Isayama's restructuring efforts yet. But I will sit on my hands and bite my tongue when I ask my Anime-only friends about their thoughts on the pacing thus far.
the only thing I’m really upset they cut is the scene where Armin talks about how to manipulate the mass and everyone stares at him horrified, everyone’s bitching about the abs but the true loss is not seeing the horrifying expression Armin makes
Dimo's the real victim of the cuts here ;_;
My hype for this season died seeing how they are dealing with this arc
I think that people complain too much about snk anime. Yes, some things are different and even some favourite scenes of mine where removed but overall this is still the best anime of the season, maybe even the year.
How do you feel about the scenes they did keep?
A combined 63% of voters were satisfied with the scenes that we did still get and many of those believe WIT excelled at executing them. 29% thought the scenes were still alright, but lost some of the impact they had in the original work.
The animation of all of it is phenomenal, but all the scenes/events are jumbled in comparison to the manga. It has me like ?????
The whole bit with Jean being "shot" was better in the manga IMO
Again, as before I am not the Uprising Arc's biggest fan, but one thing I did enjoy was whenever the focus was on the 104th kids coming to terms with fighting humans, struggling with their own morality and the orders Levi was giving them. In the manga, this takes place over a longer period of them, so you really get to see Sasha, Jean and Connie question things and come to their own decision not to kill. By reordering things now, I feel that has completely lost its impact.
The scene at the end where the SC crew learns about rod reminds me a bit of the AT & CT reveal when the way in which the SC reacted to Reiner and Bertholdt possibly being titans was withheld from the viewer so I think that maybe thats what they might be going for this season in the sense that they will find a way to cram a lot of moments in flashbacks later.
Rushed. Scenes have less impact. I’m just thankful I’ve read the manga so I have the context of how bamf these things really are.
They removed way too many Dimo scenes which makes him a very different character to the anime canon. In the manga he was a good-hearted opportunist trying to avoid the deaths of himself and his comrades whereas in the anime this was watered down significantly. Also, #BringBackGesumin2018
I like the pacing but many scenes lost their impact, e.g. Reeves death, Armin's kill.
Where do you think Rod, Historia and Eren are right now?
We definitely know they aren’t in the cave, but the largest group of voters aren’t even sure where to theorize they could be right now. Although there is a near tie between people who believe they are either at the ranch or the chapel. One commenter on the poll pointed out an area we hadn’t even considered, however:
Because this option didn't show up in where Eren and Historia are: The Central MP Headquarters! The torture of Sannes was used as a way to find where Eren and Historia are, which is the original point of that mission. So there'd be a different, less redundant reason to go to the HQ in the first place! You can even add some missing scenes there.
How did you feel about the way the torture scene was handled?
Most of us did believe that WIT would censor the torture sequence a bit, but the largest group are shocked at just how much of it wasn’t shown at all. Nearly one quarter of voters are disheartened that they didn’t show it all. Commenters are mourning Hange’s memorable line about which testicle Sannes wants to keep the most.
THEY REMOVED THE “WHICH TESTICLE DO YOU NOT NEED” LINE. BUT THE BALL-REMOVING INSTRUMENT WAS THERE. TALK ABOUT AN UNFULFILLING CHEKHOVS GUN.
They cut out Hange's best line
Even though i expected it would be a little bit censored, but wasn't thinking it would that much, they turned it into a joke, a humouristic torture...like seriously wit?
I'm upset because they removed Hange's best line.
Where was Levi punching?
It may've not been directly shown, but sometimes there's more horror in what you can’t see than in what you can
I expected it to be censored but it's ok, they managed to transmit the grotesque and black humorous feeling that the manga gave.
im sad about hange’s line not being included, but other than that, i thought it was really good, and i didnt expect them to be as brutal as the manga anyways. :/
Armin contemplates how they are torturing and killing people because they have different views. How does this relate to the current manga events?
The majority of voters believe that this was a good foreshadowing for the events that have taken place much later in the manga. 17% of voters don’t feel that the situations are comparable, however.
Both sides are fighthing for their own good
Eh, that’s how human history has always been since time immemorial. It’s always people killing other people because of a difference in views and ideologies. Not saying that it should be tolerated, but everything is a case-by-case basis. Sometimes, you need to extinguish the enemy because the enemy alive is a far bigger threat to the world. That’s just how it is.
Everyone else is stuck in the mid-Uprising chapters while Armin is 57D pathsmancing his way to mid-Marley chapters
The uprising and ao Liberio aren’t comparable, but Armin is consistent through each
We didn’t get shirtless Levi, how are you feeling about it?
39% of voters are sad about not getting treated to some eye candy this week, while 34% just don’t care about it at all. 15% were happy just to see Levi’s nice bara tiddies outlining his shirt, while 12% of you are still holding out hope for rock-hard abs.
I was robbed of the abs I was promised and am like... really pissed off? Sad? Bemusedly confused? I know in the grand scheme of things it shouldn't really matter that much but dang, it hurts.
It might just be the lesbian in me talking but I don’t care they didn’t show abswin and Levi shirtless lol
Levi is daddy af. Thanks for exploding my ovaries bc I didn't want children. Super convenient.
But Levi still looked badass tho
What about abswin?
Similar to Levi, the largest groups of respondents either feel betrayed by WIT or don’t care about it. A larger portion than with Levi were completely satisfied simply by Erwin’s presence.
ABS ABS ABS!!!
Apparently this world doesn’t deserve Levi and Erwin’s abs... Looks like we’re not worthy of such a blessing.
I AM FEELING ABSOLUTELY BETRAYED BY THE LACK OF ABS I mean c'mon, WIT, you can't give me, a grown adult, just an angsty adolescent's steaming abs (from the Titan tyvm) and expect me to be satisfied with that.
The Ackerman reveal was handled a bit differently, with Kenny telling Traute about how he raised Levi instead of telling Dimo he is his pride. How do you feel about the change?
The majority of voters believe that the small change in the Ackerman reveal wasn’t a big deal. However, a pretty sizable portion do believe that the weight of the reveal was lost, with many commenters lamenting the loss of Kenny saying that Levi is his pride.
I think we'll have more impactful Acerkreveal to come when Levi and Mikasa talk.
*nervous chucking*
Levi being an Ackerman is the less secret thing anyway, the way it's reveals hardly matter
Most of the fandom read some good ol fanfic, i'd be surprised if like 95% of the people watching it didn't know he was an Ackerman (or just log in to tumblr)
Lol so many anime-only reactors didn’t even notice the Ackerman name-drop so WIT pretty much failed at that. And it’s okay for fans to feel disappointed with the anime. We’re not **obligated** to think it’s amazing especially if we think there are parts of it that weren’t adapted well.
I expect another encounter between Kenny and Levi that leads to the talk about Levi being Kenny's pride, probably directed to Rod instead. This scene, on the other hand, worked as a wonderful namedrop and setup for a second encounter.
I love how he called Levi his pride in the manga so i’m very sad they changed it, it made Kenny’s death even more emotional.
It flew right past me oops
Levi threatening Historia didn't happen, breaking the chain of events that builds up to her punching him later. What best describes your thoughts?
It’s probably safe to say that many of us are raising questions about the loss of this scene and how WIT will make up for it or whether it was truly needed in the first place. 39% believe that WIT will still work it in somehow, while the majority believe that the scene is lost forever, with split opinions about whether WIT will make up for it in another way or whether their faith in Historia and Levi’s arcs is shattered forever.
The only thing I'm keeping my eyes on is anything related to Historia and her future step up as queen. I'm sure she'll learn that she is royal next episode via her father, so I wonder if eventually deciding to take rule in place of her hidden relatives and corrupt government, will actually end up being her idea, which could explain why Levi's altercation with her was removed. That would be really interesting and I think it could work out just as well! I always thought his anger toward her was a little too sudden and misplaced in the manga, anyway, and if it's removed for good, I'm glad we don't have to live through that controversy again.
I’m kinda disappointed that they didn’t include Dimo Reeves’s redemption arc. It was very essential to Historia & Levi’s character. Maybe I’m worrying over nothing & instead Fligel will replace Dimo in that role, but Eren & Historia were already captured so I’m not sure how they intend to go about rewriting Historia & Levi’s character progression. However, the production team & Isayama do seem to understand how important character development is for this arc, so maybe they’re finding different ways to make it better in ways we didn’t even realize were possible. Maybe by the end we’ll all say “Wow! This was handled a million times better than in the manga!” But right now, it just seems like Isayama had a negative bias towards this arc & was only so accepting of the changes cause he just thought of the Uprising Arc as his worst piece of work to date despite it being the most important for character development & plot progression. I hope I am wrong though.
Which group of characters are your favorite?
Where do you primarily discuss the series?
I discuss the series in Facebook, dunno why you don't have that option :/
Additional thoughts on the episode?
Isayama reacting to S3 complaints:
“Am I out of touch?
No, it's the manga readers who are wrong.”
BUT NO FLEGEL QUESTION IN THE POLL!!!?!?!?!? THAT'S IT!!(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ I'm actually not going to do anything about it though. but still. Flegel is best boy.
I’m blown away by the animation! I’m kind of enjoying guessing what might happen next and what other changes they’re going to make. I still have faith that WIT and Isayama will deliver an amazing season three - holding out for more episodes until I lose my mind about changes. It’s super entertaining so far.
I am aware that a 100% adaptation of the manga is impossible and I'm usually not bothered by it. However, I'm slowly getting nervous that too much could get lost and that those fans who want an accurate adaptation will get too frustrated with it to continue. I really hope WIT has a plan here and listens to the fans.
I really, really, really wanted Kenny to say that he was proud of Levi. It was really bittersweet. I hope WIT puts it later on when Kenny is about to die and hopefully he tells it to Levi straight up. But I’m not gonna lie, Levi never knowing that his “father figure” was proud of him all this time puts a tragic and beautiful twist to their relationship. There’s always been something sublime about unexpressed emotions that will forever be hidden because death claimed it first.
I feel like they're sacrificing character interactions and developments for the sake of pacing and action.
I know lots of people are saying that everyone should chill before jumping to conclusions, but as far as I’m concerned all our opinions - mine included, as well as the opinions of those who are dissatisfied with the episode - are valid. And in my opinion, there was so much that the anime skipped. Sure, they were just small details. But it were these details that enriched the story. I trust Isayama, but at the end of the day, he too errs. He too commits mistakes. I don’t know, but if I feel overly dissatisfied with the adaptation even after the season is over, and in my defense am able to bring up valid reasons why I didn’t like it, then so be it.
It's a shame Dimo got reduced to such a minor character.
I felt a bit sorry for the girl who was killed by Armin. I didn't pay attention on her in the manga but in Armin's flashbacks she was more human. It was the proof that even such cold monsters like anti-human squad members have some heart.
I love it so far but Levi and Erwin need more love and they'll get it if they are shirtless and have moar scenes
Traute made me gay.
Ackerman bastards! How they can violate chairs like that?! Right now I can trust only Mikasa with my poor chair babies <3
everyone is like 'where are the abs' while my lesbian ass is sad about no gesumin smh
Thanks to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again on Monday!
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