#I can see Logan saying it’s a funny game but I can also see Kendall’s face saying it clearly isn’t 😔

[loveandthings11]

Oh oh my god 🫣

[x]

[wonderpommey]

Final stretch and you can truly feel it!

Ken has now reached the clarity that Logan was a brute but he made life, he made us, he was a magnificent awful force. The pain and the hurt are all worth it for the power, the money, the clout and the game. Without his disapproving glare on me, I’ve gotten to be just the same. Like him, I’ll make you my dog, my bodyguard and confidante, my puppet little brother, I’ll kill all the women because I can’t fit them whole in my head. The dehumanisation in real time of everyone around him for the sake of the prize that Logan made into Ken’s holy grail, his only worthy pursuit. The King is dead, long live the King.

Roman has to face that like him, Logan once was a scared little boy who couldn’t make a noise (look at him talking about fucking everyone and staring at Gerri silently). A young man who carried guilt for having killed someone he loved. He’s done that to Gerri this season (and maybe his mum and maybe Shiv before). He brought her the paternal poison chalice that killed her and that is killing him (see my post from the previous episode). he also believe he's done that to Logan...

That guilt was a notion that no one dispelled for Logan or is dispelling for Roman. Logan ‘stopped trying’ eventually and notice how Gerri is slowly fading, Roman doesn’t see her aching for him - We’re the only ones getting those glimpses. 

People unconsciously call out to Roman this season “you can’t confront things”, “Listen to her, she doesn’t think you’re a joke”, “He fed that dark mean  flame that keeps their hearts warm while another grows cold. Don’t stop trying”. The Antifa symbol as well, asking them for punishment, for fucking the deal and his relationship with Gerri but also to please kill the dark mean man in him. Refusing the helping hand; Barking at it, biting it. Fuck you for showing me a path to the light, as if I was allowed to want it. I can’t take it, yet I can’t live without it. To me, it is the most excruciating story of the show, the true heart of it. Everything he says up to that failed eulogy is pure self-loathing and self-destruction, pure projection of a facade of the kind of man he’s supposed to be and will never truly understand. A man like Mencken mocking his tears (could also be his little pink cards), like Kendall telling him he fucked it when he’s down.

Shiv had been kept out of the succession battle and developed her own motivation for wanting things because, as a woman, like Gerri, like the ex-wives pew, she could “never fit whole in Logan's head”. That kept her separate, that now gives her a chance. Chance of sisterhood? Of self-awareness? Of her own intrinsic motivation - one that is not purely Logan. 

The bottom line is Roman does not want to be at the helm, beyond of what it meant to his dad. He, at his core, if he could respect himself, wants to hold Gerri’s hand and have her at his side not in his shadow, he wants to hug his sister because he just found out she’s pregnant, he wants his mum to stroke his hair while he cries it out. 

I can’t express it any other way than : It’s women, not fascists, it’s the soft tender loving part of himself that he wants and has always wanted to protect. I just don’t know how/if he can get there? He’s still both terrified and in awe of the man who “made him breathe funny”.

[sleazyjanet]

do u think any succession characters have read asoiaf and/or watched game of thrones, assuming it exists in their world 😁 if they did do they like it? do they talk about it, have any faves? roman i don't think reads bc of the electric circus moment from s2 lol. i could maybe see kendall having watched the show

i feel like kendall is a book snob. i can see it. he has all the wrong opinions though. like he completely misses the point of everything. his fave is probably tyrion both in the show and the books. and jon. (sorry jon) (sorry kendall as well, somehow) he also thinks he's kinda a feminist for loving daenerys and arya while hating sansa and catelyn of course (i love daenerys and arya dearly, but you know what type of guy he is in this case). he hates all the changes from the books though cause he DOES like lady stoneheart

shiv and roman watched it. shiv did also read the first three books but she got bored during affc cause she's one of Those People who thinks brienne's pov is boring (couldn't be me, but i can see her thinking that). alternatively, she found davos' pov boring. SOME pov definitely peeves her. she does claims she likes all the women though.

roman loved tyrion too btw in the show. loves his quirky one-liners. also likes littlefinger for being all slimy and goofy and funny (to him). pokes fun at shiv saying she's just like cersei. shiv secretly tries to evoke the wine drinking

connor loves it. his faves are tyrion, jon and ned but in a less annoying way. he liked robert but also cannot forgive him for killing rhaegar. he loves arya as well. claims he likes sansa but you find him liking awful tweets about sansa sometimes. surprisingly, he also likes the greyjoys and martells and laments the lost storylines that were cut from the show.

tom loved the show, loved ned and the starks but also hated catelyn. refuses to read the books because he heard catelyn has a pov.

greg watched the show but thought it was kinda too gore-y so he dropped it until tom forced him to watch it again

logan refuses to watch it on the premise that it's fantasy which is fucking bullshit to him. dragons? what is he, 5?

[anonanimal]

guess who's caught up on succession

WHAT did i just watch...did kendall and roman really and truly try to tank the deal but it backfired so bad + matsson likes shiv so it actually worked. is that what i just watched. also shivxmatsson new best ship. ok he was manipulating her but it's possible he likes her for real also

ok, backing up. "speculating in a comic mode" "in a humorous vein" new words to say all the time about anything i can apply them to

the little hip-hopified score as kendall walks into the building SHUT UP (positive)

what's with uh...roman and the pills...is he just doing anything to feel close to logan? sweater not enough?

the whole conversation with shiv trying to get dirt on tom's shoes >>>>>>>>>

greg completely useless at this point idk what they're doing with him. well ok. i guess we should question where he heard there's a kill list. they're doing something with him. i guess

connor buying logan's place yes!!!!!!! connor being left behind to do the funeral arrangements :(((( connor sending roman the picture of logan's corpse oh my god

ken and roman's dynamic is getting weeeeird don't tell me ken's going to take on logan's relationships with people too

veeeery interesting that shiv saying karolina and gerri are good was enough to keep their names off the kill list but what she said about tom...also kept him off the kill list. or wasn't enough to put him on it

ken complaining about the small cabin thingy, that's a very logany, unable-to-enjoy-anything type thing to say (had to have this one pointed out to me by a review i read i'm obviously not on my a-game)

greg and tom chatting next to the spitroasting pigs lmao

"is shiv drinking and doing coke while pregnant??" GOD FORBID WOMEN DO ANYTHING also we don't actually see her do the coke. which is funny bc i think alcohol is actually worse for fetuses. assuming it is alcoholic beverages she's been drinking, that's not been made explicit either has it?

[diminutiveloser-romanroy]

“austerlitz” is one of my favorite episodes because the entire concept of it is basically logan using his children for the company’s profit and calling it all a game and i think it shows the family dynamic so well. but i also specifically love it for showing kendall and roman’s relationship in the way it did. it’s so interesting to see them estranged from one another after the vote of no confidence and then to see the way they interact in this episode despite their falling out.

roman going to get kendall because he’s using again and is not doing well is just another one of those things you can put on the pile of “roman genuinely loving, caring for and helping his family members despite what’s been said and done between them before”. but his body language when he’s telling logan about it (hunched shoulders, looking down, not sure what to do with his hands) is exactly the body language he has around logan when he’s insecure, uncomfortable or scared around him. it’s as if he knows he’s showing weakness in front of logan again by putting aside his and kendall’s differences and choosing to go help him. and then he waits for logan’s approval, even though he would have gone no matter what logan said, which is why he was so nervous about telling him. it was a statement, not a question. he was going to get kendall no matter how logan felt about it because it’s what he felt he needed to do.

this episode also gave us some very brief but kinda wholesome moments between them that can’t go unmentioned. kendall saying “he’s ok” in the midst of what’s going on between them is so much bigger than it sounds. it’s basically like he just told him “you’re my brother and i do love you despite everything” or “thank you for doing this despite what’s going on, it says a lot”. at least that’s how i see it. and the little smile roman gives kendall as he sings in the car that can easily be overlooked but is so special to me.<3

then there’s roman’s face when they get back to connor’s and kendall is acting extremely umm.. not sober i guess… and this stuck out to me a lot because kendall’s behavior in that scene is kinda comedic to most people watching the show but my feelings about that changed after willa said “it’s ok, my aunt is an addict” and after seeing roman’s face. they don’t find it funny. they see it for what it is. kendall is an addict and it’s not funny, it’s sad. roman genuinely looks sad for kendall. kendall, who is putting on a show and smiling and laughing, but roman sees his brother who is unwell and using again and he feels sad for him. he takes the situation seriously and it’s sad to see him watch his older brother go through addiction and see his reaction to just observing what kendall is doing to himself.

another thing worth noting is that roman did kinda try to stop logan from attacking kendall. it may not be the kind of stoic defence that kendall showed after logan hit roman in s2 but despite how uncomfortable and unsure roman looks, he did try to signal that it’s not ok to physically attack kendall. and it’s another gesture that is easily overlooked.

[sigurdjarlson]

I enjoyed reading your long succession blogposts aaaaa Please also consider a more outlandish but fun concept: tomgreg roommate era but the Roy siblings decide to play the long game and pretend they don't know Tom ratted them out - nobody gets kicked out of their houses, Tom asks if he can go over to Greg's for "business matters" and Shiv's like "sure why not :)" and then the siblings tail them so they can dig up some dirt. Tomgreg catch on and try to cover up their tracks, shenanigans ensue

Ohhhh I have wondered if Shiv at least is going to try to pretend she doesn’t know since it gives her a bit of an advantage. (I’m not sure the other two know yet so it’ll be interesting to see if she tells them right away too or waits)

Also they do not know Greg is involved yet so it would be extremely funny if Shiv tried to approach Greg and get him to spy on Tom for her. She could easily give some kind of excuse like I’m worried about him he’s been off lately, etc

Or she could (less likely but not impossible) tell him straight up what Tom did and try to recruit him onto their team, not knowing he’s already sold his soul. Try to get him to be their inside man

She could try to pull the family card maybe. (I’m not so sure that will work anymore though lmao)

Hell even if they figure out he’s on Tom’s side (kind of a give in) they might still try to get him to turn and be their double agent. I’m not sure they’d succeed because he currently has the better deal w/ Tom and Logan. They’ve got nothing atm and have been cut out for the future.

So they don’t have anything offer Greg.

They might just straight up try to destroy him along with Tom him out of spite/perceived betrayal.

It’s kind of a mystery right now :D

So I’d say that’s not too outlandish. The Roys do love their games. And Tom not knowing they know does give them a bit of a advantage/room to maneuver.

That scenario you described tho would be kind of hilarious.

(I find the idea of Roman and Kendall spitefully spreading a rumor Tom and Greg fucking to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen suggested. Im not sure Shiv would be down since it’s her husband and kinda reflects on her in her eyes. Roman and Ken tho? Definitely.

It’ll destabilize their position with not only Logan if he believes it (although it is Mattsson who’s in charge now, Logan doesn’t hold nearly as much power even if he thinks he does)

But given that their audience is a bunch of conservative assholes…

Even funnier would the siblings finding out in the end that the rumors they spread are actually TRUE (or became true as a result of creating it and spreading it around (and forcing them to face their feelings for one another)

Oh oh but that + your scenario and every time Tom and Greg try to cover their tracks it makes them look more and more like they’re having an affair alsjdkdlf

[fbdo1986]

Everything I've Ever Let Go of Has Claw Marks on It - A Succession Fic

a/n: Admittedly, this isn’t the usual thing I write about! But Succession has thoroughly corrupted my brain and now I care hopelessly about these siblings, so I just have to express my feelings about them. I have to give credit where credit is due, though! I was inspired by @successionsideblog’s post talking about headcanons about Kendall and Connor’s relationship growing up, specifically about Kendall as a little kid and how he would react to Connor leaving for school after they established a really strong bond, so I decided to write something exploring that! (Also, the title is a quote from David Foster Wallace). 

Warnings: Implications of parental neglect and nightmares

Word Count: 2,178

The morning after Connor’s going away dinner—he laughs to himself, somewhere, because he and celebration aren’t usually linked—he wakes with a strange culmination of feelings twisting inside himself. It’s early. Of course, there’d be no savoring his last morning at home, no gradual waking with comfort underneath the softness of blankets. Instead: lengthy, conflicting feelings left to settle in a still room. The house is completely silent, and he’s left to sit quietly. It’s a bit uncomfortable, so he turns to open a window and is met with the calming whispers of a morning still yet to unfold. Of one indicative of the rest of his life, or rather, a dive headfirst into uncertainty; a moment waiting to determine how he could turn out, without the stern, watchful eyes of his father. He wants it to be good. He doesn’t want to admit that this freedom is unlike any type he’s ever felt; he doesn’t want to recognize that he’s afraid, afraid that when he returns, he might not suit the only image he’s ever had for himself, in the second shadowy place beside a man who stands like a mountain range. 

Not far away is the bed of his younger brother, Kendall, who he hasn’t stirred from his sleep. Of all the conflicted feelings, the ones involving his brother burn fiercest in his mind. There’s the push and pull—the escape, finally, the taste of freedom wrestling with the knowledge that Kendall will inevitably be inflicted with the things he faced while he was an only child, and no one deserves to feel that alone. Sure, there’s Shiv, their sister, but she’s just a baby. Kendall will become the eldest son, the darling boy, bearing the strain. 

He tiptoes out of their bedroom, wanting to make a silent goodbye before things burst with life when everyone wakes, when the place will bustle and he’ll get caught in the whirlwind of preparation. The floor is cold underneath him everywhere. In his own room, in the hallway where Shiv’s room sits a few doors down, in hers too. Maybe he’ll remember the cold, even when he’s gone. Something tells him that he will. It’s oddly characteristic of home. 

His little sister’s room is in much the same formation as his own, a wide space with large windows, but with splashes of color—yellow and pink—that are absent on his white walls. He meanders towards her crib. She’s also still sleeping, but he wants to bid her goodbye all the same. He doesn’t see it yet, the physical resemblance to any of the members of the family. Except maybe the blue eyes, the ones Logan gave him too. And he’s not sure if he’s thankful for that—she being so starkly different from all of them. But in time, he’ll find little pieces that tie them together. The same shoulders that stiffen when she’s annoyed are the ones found on Roman, the unintentional copycat. Her downcast gaze when she’s hurt and finds it difficult to speak is just like Ken’s. 

“See you, Pinky.” He smiles as his heart softens. It aches momentarily, since he knows how much he will miss her as she grows, but he’s reminded that she will have Kendall, and if Connor’s taught him anything, it’s the value of protection.

The morning is mundane, all things considered. Mainly because the culmination of sending him off to college peaked the night prior, with all preparations made wordlessly, never by his own family. There are things to be finished, but that’s mainly stowing away what he has packed and getting a car. It’s the normal amount of silence, but knowing that this is how he has to leave it—with everything, including himself, glazed over with a mere fleeting look, shrouded in sealed silence as it’s checked over one last time—sits uncomfortably within him. So he retreats back to his younger brother, and he ensures that he won’t make it an early goodbye. They can pretend, for a little while, that there’s no time ticking until he goes away.

Ken is back in their room, fiddling languidly with a stuffed animal in his arms. It’s a teddy bear that usually sits on top of his bed. He must have grabbed it for comfort. Just another thing to not let dig into him. It’s already hard enough. So when he realizes that his side of the room is so much more sparse than Kendall’s, he pretends not to notice it. For both of their sakes.

“Hey buddy. You look so bored here. Do you wanna do something with me? We could go outside, throw a baseball around. Or I could try to teach you how to play chess again.” He flashes a smile with fondness at his little brother.

“It’s gonna take too long.” Kendall says, his gaze still fixated on the toy in his hands.

They’ve still got a few hours before the afternoon sets in. They’ll make time.

“We’ve got time. Don’t worry about it.”

Kendall’s eyes trace the table in the middle of the room, which holds a chessboard and all the strewn pieces as remnants of their last attempt.

“I almost fell asleep last time.” He hides a smile as he remembers it.

“No, you definitely did.” Connor chuckles, recalling the piece that got tucked under Kendall’s cheek as he slumped forward in his dozing. The knight left an imprint in his skin that he tried to wipe away, but by morning—spent in his bed, not half on a chessboard—it was nearly gone. “But it was nighttime then. Promise you won’t? I’ll promise it’ll be fun, okay?”

“Okay.”

So they start fresh, putting the pieces back where they belong. They line up their respective kingdoms. Once he’s finished with the rules, Connor continues to explain as they attempt to play a game. Yet that takes much more effort than expected, since Connor will occasionally prod Kendall with silly questions, just to take his mind off of things.

“Do you think Shiv is gonna like chess?” Connor asks suddenly.

“I don’t know.” Kendall shrugs it off, he’s mid-move.

“Because I think she’ll hate it. Either that, or she’ll beat the both of us with her eyes closed.”

It makes Kendall laugh to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Already, a grin spreads on the eldest son’s face.

Kendall looks back up at him. “Shiv’s just a baby. I can only think of her now. I’m just thinking of a baby playing chess.”

“You think you could beat a baby?” Connor leans forward, challenging him.

“It’s not my fault you’re not a good teacher.” Kendall jokes. 

- 

When Connor emerges from the house to leave, finally, the sky is a very distinct blue. Airy clouds hang in the sky along with effortless sunshine that reminds him of summers before this. Ones with boats out on a lake, with white curtains swept up in a passing breeze, with the haze of heat in the air and light so blinding that it made him squint, the tennis courts that burned when you hit them if you fell after a missed swing. 

As he looks back up at this house, around the entirety of this place that sprawls before them he can’t decide if he’ll miss it.

He’s broken in his contemplation by the sound that fills the silence. The same sound that acts as an alarm, that jumpstarts his instincts the way nothing else can. He turns sharply and looks down to find his younger brother approaching him.

“Please, please. Don’t go.” Kendall’s brown eyes peer into his heart. At once, as Connor moves his shoulders—maybe, maybe to turn away—he feels the sudden pressure of small but desperate hands grabbing at his leg, grasping for fabric, shoelaces, anything.

Connor’s heart sinks heavily into his stomach as Kendall latches onto him, and he forces himself to look away. Instantly he’s seeing the child he used to be, and the truly small boy that Kendall is. His face is red and blotchy, and his eyes pool with tears that don’t hesitate to run down his cheeks. It hurts. He’s terrified, stricken with grief. Connor’s whole body wrenches with guilt.

“Get up, Ken.” Logan barks. “You’re a grown boy.” But Logan doesn’t pull Kendall up to his feet, so Connor breathes a fleeting sigh of relief.

“Connie…” He pleads. “You can’t go! You can’t!” He feels how Kendall’s hands ache to hold on. It should baffle him, since Kendall’s rarely the type to fight anything kicking and screaming, but he understands.

So Connor stays put. He takes a seat on the steps where they stand and places his hands on his brother’s shoulders gently. “You have to be brave, okay Kenny?”

“I don’t want to be.” He huffs, shaking his head.

“You’ve got to, alright? I believe in you.” He steadies his gaze, looking him in the eyes. “I believe in you. You can. Can you do that for me?”

Kendall nods, shuddering in a breath.

“Good. Cause you’re the big brother now. You have to look after little Shiv, just like I looked after you.” His blue eyes spark with fondness and pride. “Come here.” He pulls Kendall into a hug, wrapping his arms around him tight.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Kendall’s voice is small, so he just pulls him closer. As Kendall tucks himself into Connor’s shoulder, he’s reminded of the nights when Ken would wake up, thrashing and sobbing, and how he offered the same shoulder to cry into, to gain stability from.

“I know, I know. I’m gonna miss you, too. But I’ll come home on holidays, I promise. And you can call and write to me. I’m always gonna be around, in some way. Okay? I’ve always got you. Always.” With one final squeeze he holds Kendall in his arms, then getting up apprehensively to face his father.

“I’ll see you, son.” His father’s eyes shine coldly. Not with pride for his own son, he doesn’t think, but with complacency. The gesture’s sincere, but even as his hands clasp Connor’s face—which is infinitely small in this moment—it’s nearly absent of fondness. It’s barely warm. All the same, he softens, because something is better than nothing. He nods solidly, acknowledging the weight of these hands that ache to be filled, and wonders if he can even come close to fitting that space. 

He turns to Kendall again, giving him a smile. “Remember what we talked about, okay bud? I love you. And remember to tell Shivy you love her too, alright? I’ll miss you.” He sees the whole picture now, his father standing stoically with Kendall at his side. Nobody brought Shiv out to say goodbye—despite his morning ritual he wishes someone did. His family, so achingly small, so disjointed, without his mother. Even as his family will expand upon later returns, they will continue on the path of inheriting the strain, the burden that being a Roy child requires. Even Shiv, when grown, will battle the same leaden shoulders, the same shaky, tormented breath so signature of pretending, and a toughness that only seems to soften in his embrace.

He’s reminded of how young he and Kendall are. Even with ten years between them, and for drastically different reasons. But regardless, they’re still kids thrust into the world with no gentle caress to soothe them. He shouldn’t have to do the job his father can’t. Kendall shouldn’t have to be tormented even in dreams, and shouldn’t have to face the world’s truths at eight years old. But Connor shoves it back, because right now he can’t be plagued with this knowing that he has no choice but to let these cards play out. There’s nothing he can do to stop it: time from moving on, Kendall being subjected to his place, all of it. Instead he has to step away, even as his eyes become glossy with tears. It’s not home, not really, but a sudden force inside of him that stirs once he turns away—into the vastness beyond this place, the world with open arms—tells him that the echoing house, with walls so blinding white, that it’s all he’s ever known. He wishes he had a slice of bravery. Because he wants to be a little kid, he wants to be protected from the unknown, even if it might mean a sense of freedom. If nothing else, he wants to stop it. Just to wrap his arms around all the things that deserve to never find out what the world has in store—claws and all, the things that make you grow up too fast—even though he can’t. Even though the moment’s passed. He can’t even help it. But he’ll swear, swear with every tear that runs down his face—that’s now concealed as he has his back to them—that he’ll try to stretch his arms wide enough to make someone, anyone, proud. Or that he’ll make himself fierce enough that nothing can sink its teeth into what he’s spent his whole life trying to guard. He’s gonna make it good, or lose it all trying. 

[david-box]

Succession 3x06

Logan's decisions spelling his doom and Kendall's decisions spelling his doom, but its STILL a knife edge. They changed the feet positions of the intro with the kids.

Kendall about to implicate himself I bet. Kendall, dude.

Kendall needed his dad to "fight back" to have any juice both emotionally and legally. Interesting. Greg switching to Logan's side. Roman is fucking funny.

Kendall *asking* Greg if he can burn him is so funny. Logan continually refusing to be nice is sad but fun. Driving in DC? Who was the guy getting kicked out?

Love the fact that Connor can count his supporters on one hand. Panhandle Pete. The one guy in that part of Oklahoma.

Holy shit mom's getting married? I wonder is Connor knew. Wouldn't it be funny if Greg and Tom went to jail together. Just say the Wine is bad hahaha.

Shiv please listen to Tom he wants PROTECTION. Tom wants a baby so bad his metaphors are funny. Roman and Shiv both pivoting but who will convince Logan.

I can't believe Tom is meeting with Greg so they can go to jail together. Or I guess just Tom. "They can't get you if you have no hope." Ahahaha.

I can't wait to see Kendall fuck up the meeting. The man has no self control. Lisa Arthur giving him 1 chance to listen. He really could kill his dad if he wanted to.

I like this black haired skinny lady. Logan hates people asking for shit to him.

He's FIRING Lisa???? Lotta fucking sharks in the water at the end meeting. He has no idea he's listening. Jesus Christ. Shiv being disrespected left and right, aw.

Everyone just agreeing Tom gets jailtime is so sad and funny. Also, how many things has Tom eaten in the last 24 hours? Room temperature water? "I have notes" is so funny has Kendall ever had a full conversation with Tom.

Oh but Kendall, Tom is committed to jail. "My case is fine". Kendall could take down his dad if he really wanted to.

Connor coughing is so fucking funny. I can't believe Logan is serious here. No way. Please don't. Depending on the opposition. Logan is in a weird mood, almost jolly. Abajhahahahab Boyer that's funny.

Kendall what the fuck is wrong with you. Don't imply your sister will leave. Shiv uh .. wears the pants a bit. Tom is hot sometimes. What's Kendall doing taking photo? And why did Tom reveal that?

Greg getting cheered on is so funny. I can't see where Toms arc is going.

Roman listened to Shiv! Wow. He's just a fascist, okay. Why is he pitching to him? Seeing if he really will dance? I like the lady smiling at Logan I think she's smart bit I wanna know what Logan's game is.

Oh shit, Logan and Shiv actually arguing? Logan being a real bitch honestly. I think she'll be right again.