#I do think this plays an underrated role in their reconciliation.

[langernameohnebedeutung]

There is something to be said for the period in early season 3 that Don E is working for Angus and becomes more and more disillusioned because Angus (surprise, surprise) treats him with extreme condescension, bosses him around, insults him etc. and favours another lackey (Dino) over him. But the irony is, the way Angus treats Don E in those episodes is not so different from the way we see Blaine treat most of his employees.

It's just that with Blaine, Don E is the exception to this treatment because he's his special little guy who gets away with treason and gets included in his plans etc. But here he is getting treated like the others.

[matchbookarmy]

The War is Over and We Are... by Hecate

Rating: Teen

Summary: After they beat Thanos, Steve and Tony muddle through what is left of their relationship.

Ending: Open/Ambiguous but hopeful with a hint of Happy for Now.

Why I'm Reccing: So, I'm not sure why this one comes up at the beginning of the alphabet. Maybe there's a space in the title or something, I don't know. But I am so so so pleased that this was the first fic I read upon returning to Stony fic.

I actually almost didn't click on it, and I waffled back and forth for a bit, because while this takes place after Endgame (edit: this was actually published *before* Endgame came out, but after Infinity War, but for me, it still works just fine with canon if we just ignore the last 15-ish minutes of the movie -- which I do!) , it is ultimately a Civil War fix-it. And I'm always so nervous with those, because a lot of them tend to paint Steve as being completely in the wrong and that's just very far from my own take.

But this fic doesn't do that! Steve feels guilt for the role that he played in Civil War, and everything that came after it, feels guilt about not trusting Tony more at the time -- but he also still has his own feelings about the things that Tony did (including in Age of Ultron). Not a lot of CW fix-its focus on the fact that it happened in the wake of AoU, and I'm glad that this one did, because I think it provides another necessary layer and nuance. Not that this dwells on Ultron, but it does come up as Steve is contemplating how they started to fall apart, and what he wants his relationship with Tony to look like in the future.

Y'all, this fic.... I haven't even finished reading it yet, but I had to start typing this up because I knew it was going to be my first rec. It is just an amazing character portrait of Steve (and also Tony, in a way, through Steve's thoughts about Tony) that feels incredibly in character for Steve in a way that stays true to who he is in canon, while also adding more depth to his character.

Since this is ultimately a reconciliation(ish) fic, it kinda gives those early 2012 post-Avengers getting to know one another vibes in parts of the fic (though everything is tinged with heartache and grief -- even the "happy" moments). Which I actually think is sort of a nice bookend to their relationship. And while this fic is short (only 4.5k) and so never actually gives us a complete reconciliation, we are left with hope that they will find their way back into one another's hearts, that they will work through their guilt, and their trust issues, and find a way to make it work this time.

I don't know. It just feels like a very realistic portrayal of where they would be post-Thanos. And the thing that I really like about this fic is that, in staying true to Steve's canonical characterization, we can feel him holding himself back from Tony, keeping his emotions close to his chest, and just how much it's hurting him to do that. In fact, we see a lot of Steve's recklessness in this fic, the way he's almost careless with himself. Steve is not a perfect character, he is flawed, and I wouldn't want him any other way, and this fic hits his flaws perfectly.

And look, I just need to add something. This fic is, in my opinion, extremely underrated. It only has 146 kudos, but whatever. I've read some truly atrocious fics with thousands of kudos, so kudos aren't everything. But when I went into the comments, the very first comments were from people complaining about the fic, about how Steve didn't do enough for Tony in the fic, and frankly being outright argumentative with the author (this argument made up the bulk of the fic's 18 comments), and that.... that really sucks. Cause this was a truly beautiful fic, and the author didn't deserve that. No author does, but it was especially shitty to see it on such a brilliant character study of Steve.

Anyway, if you give the fic a chance, and I really hope you do, especially if you are a Steve fan, please show the author some love.

~.~.~

Follow me on my journey as I make my way alphabetically through every Stony fic on AO3.

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 124 Poll Results

The chapter 124 poll closed with 2,065 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

This month’s poll team: @erensjaegerbombs @momtaku, _Puppet_ ,  @shifter-lines and @ladymoe6​

  RATE THE CHAPTER 1,926 Responses

Fours and fives still dominate but there’s no denying that this chapter lacked the hype we’ve seen recently. “Thaw” had the lowest number of 5’s this year, performing similarly to the Zeke-centric flashback chapter in 114, “Sole Salvation”. (There’s a pun to made here about us “warming up to Thaw” but sadly I am not smart enough to make it.)

The Chapter of Necessary Filler & the Obligatory Cliffhanger

I love that Isayama isn't rushing everything and is actually focusing on little details and small interactions between characters. He really isn't glorifying an "apocalyptical scenario" just for the sake of destruction in itself or shock value.

This chapter felt like a nostalgia trip, but I wasn't in for the ride.

This chapter was a breath of fresh air ngl. These past chapters were mostly full of either a flashback, monologue or just having two characters talking in a realm where nothing happens and time is frozen, but, at last, the plot is moving foward in the real world too. Not only it contained long gone titan action, but also great character development/moments as well. I missed this.

The leaks didn't give this chapter justice

A weaker chapter overall, I hope all this buildup will be well spent in the next chapter.

I actually loved everything about this chapter, I can't believe Isayama finally gave me a reason to kind of like Gabi. I'm sure she'll do something to immediately change that…

Isayama-sensei is the best, each chapter is a 10/10 for me. I do agree that this chapter is not as great as as the last 5, but it's still great. This year is impossible to choose the Top 5 Best Chapters of SNK

It was good, but I was hoping for a crazier year closure.

  WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?

1,995 Responses

There were many great moments in this chapter, but Annie’s highly anticipated return to the active plot takes up the largest amount of votes! Other notable moments were: Shadis taking command, Armin realizing Annie’s crystal must have unhardened, the 104th discussing Eren, and Jean’s salty reaction to Floch’s continued survival.

A N N I E is BAAAAAAACK!!!

as someone too invested in the gabi-nicolo-braus plot thread by i love sasha i am absolutely Fed with that excellent "get out of the forest" talk. thank u for the good food nicolo

It's great to see the other 104th members discuss about Eren's actions. At least we got a glimpse on what they think about Eren's plan.

For once I'm gonna forgive Isayama for putting off Levi and Hange. I FEEL BLESSED TO HAVE ANNIE BACK ON MY BIRTH MONTH!!! BEST PRESENT EVER

I like the parallels to Trost, especially the part with the thunder spears sort of mirroring the thing with the guns and the elevator from S1

  WHO WAS THIS CHAPTERS MVP? 1,988 Responses

Despite the influx of negative commentary, 38.2% of respondents agree that Gabi’s persistence to save Falco and reconciliation with Kaya earned her the MVP title this month. The strongest contenders were Shadis and Jean.

Annie saved this chapter from the Gabi / Kaya focus

Connie- the underrated suffer boi

Gabi best girl!

I am proud of Jean for taking charge, he acted like a real commander.

Reiner Best character 😔👌

SHADIS IS THE MVP AND I LOVE HIM

  WHICH CHARACTER WERE YOU MOST DISAPPOINTED WITH? 1,998 Responses

“None of the above” was a popular suggestion (25.2%) but Connie edged that choice out by a percentage point (26.3%) . At least you guys listen when the evening news says that stealing children is bad.

Silly of you to ask us which character we're most disappointed with. We're always disappointed with Floch in every panel he shows up in

it's good to have a connie development, but I was a little sad about his attitude

I'm not so much disappointed with Connie in this moment as I am with the direction his character arc has gone lately in general. I miss when he was fun instead of angry all the time.

I think everyone is acting super irrational. Eren is going to destroy the world but all the SC are "accepting" of it. I think deep down they are all horrified and in a completely insane mental state causing irrational decisions and thoughts such as Jean being okay with genocide.

I understand that Connie is desperate to find a comfort after all the ppl he lost, but I'm still extremely disappointed in him for wanting to murder a child. Not just Connie tho, the same goes for Jean and Armin. Armin didn't say "Let's not kill a freaking child" he just objected because he didn't want to provoke Reiner and Pieck.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF REINER’S ROLE THIS CHAPTER? 1,889 Responses

Reiner takes a back seat this chapter, and just barely over half of the fandom believe he deserves that nap after all he’s been through.  Another quarter, at 25.8% are wishing he could just die at this point, for better or worse.

"Enough already. Just sleep." - Reiner to Eren in 117

Can Reiner pick an opinion and stick with it for .2 seconds. he's like hardcore ready to kick ass and then immediately turns around and is ready to die again

Game over man

He's cute. End of the story.

I think it was bizarre that Gabi just let him fall asleep and left him in an enemy territory where he could be captured or eaten by a mindless titan

I understand him being tired an all, but sleeping in the middle of a warzone and at the start of the apocalypse???

Helos needs his rest and good dreams of Bert

I think it is set up for his future death : saving Falco by being eaten by Connie's mom (he was there with Connie in Ragako village)

Madlad goes to sleep instead of dying

Man literally too tired to die

There were certainly worse ways than "passed out from exhaustion" that he could've been written out of the chapter. At least we know his current status this way, unlike a certain duo...

He need some milk

Reiner votes for “Can’t he just die already?”

  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE EREN PARALLEL IN GABI AT THE MIRROR? 1,869 Responses

Gabi’s design is based on Eren, and she’s had similarities and parallels to him in the past, what does the parallel in this chapter mean stacked on top of all of that?  About 70% say it’s to further emphasize how similar she is to him at her core.  12.7% don’t think it was an intentional parallel to that Eren scene, 7.7% say she’s going to receive his titan, and a solid 1% wrote in the eloquent thesis of “Fuck Gabi.”

A bit too on the nose

Both have the common factor of determination and the desire to fight to save someone else. "Fight, fight" = "Like I'd give up" In Eren's case, his scene in the mirror is portrayed in a darker, more aggressive environment, he must fight to save his loved ones, but for this goal he must destroy everything. On the other hand, Gabi shows a more heroic/pure attitude, the light is predominant, and his words refer to the desire to fight to save Falco without taking this violence path unlike Ere

Eren cant copyright this hairstyle

How dare she stand where he stood.

I didn't like any parallels that include Gabi. Not this one, and most certainly not the one with Sasha.

It definitely foreshadows something, but I don't think it's that she'll inherit his titan. I think she's going to be the one to end this madness and break the cycle. Unlike Eren, who fights for freedom both for himself and his loved ones, Gabi will fight for peace and equality: a different kind of freedom.

It symbolizes Gabi's character arc starting to go in the opposite direction of Eren, rather than showing them being similar.

It symbolizes Gabi's change in motivation to do anything to save her friends. Just as Eren's motivation in the mirror scene really marked the moment he turned genocidal to protect his friends.

  DO YOU AGREE WITH JEAN’S CONCLUSION THAT EREN IS DOING WHAT HE’S DOING TO PROTECT THOSE HE LOVES? 1,950 Responses

Jean believes he’s figured out why Eren’s doing what he’s doing, does the fandom agree?  The large majority think that’s at least a part of it, as 40.8% think it’s solely that goal in mind, and another 53.5% believe it stemmed from that desire but has evolved and become more complex.  3.3% of fans don’t believe that’s where his motivation stems from at all.

But if that's his goal it still doesn't explain chapter 112

EREN is doing it to protect his friends. YMIR wants vengeance and bloodshed.

I agree, because I really don’t know what else could have been done. The Eldians were hated all over the world and Talk-No-Justu is a folly.

I don't know what to think. At first, Jean seems to be in denial (like most of the 104th), but perhaps it's his way of realizing things. No, Eren must love them a lot, there's absolutely no way that his genocide is unjustified. Right...? Wait…

I think he's being pragmatic and analytical. Like a real leader. Something I expected from Armin. However Armin has strokes of genius during critical times so I'm expecting something.

In a breaking bad way, yes

Yes, although I believe Eren's old and complex relationship with the idea of freedom also plays a big part in this situation.

No, because he isn't doing anything about the mindless titans and treated his friends like trash. I didn't see any kind of concern while they were in danger. I think he's more eager to set his ideals into action.

  WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO WHAT TO DO WITH FALCO? 1,958 Responses

Another serumbowl type discussion arises, yay!!...?  The vast majority, at a combined 81.4% don’t want to feed Falco to anyone, and just want to wrap him up and not start any more conflict.  11.6% think he should be fed to a known titan such as Pixis, and only 4.3% side with Connie’s reaction of feeding him to his own Mama Springer.

Falco is too important. He and Connie will probably have an arc.

Feed him to Floch, jaw titan always dies stupidly and Floch never dies so it should cancel out

Feed him to Levi that way we get jaw Levi and his hand back.

Feed Zeke to Connie's mom instead and take Falco somewhere safe

I don’t have anything against Falco personally, but it makes since to feed him to someone else

I like Falco, but Connie has lost far more than anyone outside the Walls. If feeding Falco to Connie's mom gives Connie some semblance of peace, so be it

NILE !

In a perfect world Connie can have the satisfaction of feeding ZEKE to his mother. Kinda proud that I predicted the “Connie tried to revive his mom” plot point but I think the fact that it’s falco means that Connie fails

There's no right answer here, but I can't imagine any mother would be able to live with the fact that she ate someone else's child in order to live again, so that's probably the worst option.

Well, logically speaking, Falco should probably be fed to Pixis. But my heart calls out for me to wrap him in a blanket.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF CONNIE SEEMINGLY SNAPPING ON THE OTHERS AND INSISTING FALCO BE FED TO HIS MOTHER? 1,947 Responses

Understanding prevaled with close to 80% of the fandom selecting “I don’t agree with his actions but I wholeheartedly sympathize with his reasoning”. Only 13% indicated that they were disappointed with him.

Falco's a kid, man! You don't cross that line!

Connie, if your mom needs a kidney transplant, you don't just shank another person to steal their kidneys. Just saying.

Connie has been pushed to his limit. He needs a nap and a minute to cry.

Although Connie is not thinking clearly, I'm glad they're not blindly hating on him like some have been doing for Eren.

Connie's break is truly amazing to me. The guy was always so good and chill and dedicated before these hard times. To see him at his breaking point, horrified by everything that is happening and overwhelmed by the situation, and thus reverting into single-minded dedication to one fundamental goal - saving his mother. It's tragic to see him like this and it's probably not the best "logical" action, but it makes complete sense that he'd do this. He's sick of this clusterfuck. He has a ticket to save his mom and he's gonna take it. Poor Falco though, of course.

I didn't see it coming, but it's not like it's unthinkable. When the world collapses we often want to run back to our mama.

I disagreed with him, but I thinks his feelings are understandable and, also, I liked a lot that he pointed out 104's hypocrisy. The serum drama is coming back to bite their asses.

I understand he wants to see his mom again but does he really want to give her the cruel fate of becoming a titan shifter?

I understand his reasoning, but this is literally the WORST possible time to cause an internal crisis

I'm sad for him & deeply uncomfortable by it.

I’m mad at Connie only because he straight up abandoned his duty to pacify the Titan situation.  He left Jean, Mikasa, and Armin to take care of it without him. Lucky Shadis was there to help.

  REGARDLESS OF YOUR VIEWS ON CONNIE’S ACTIONS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HIM FINALLY GETTING SOME TIME IN THE SPOTLIGHT? 1,946 Responses

More than half the fandom was happy to see him speak his mind and get some character development (53.3%). 16% were absolutely thrilled. Those who don’t care, and those whose disappointment over how he returned soured the moment came in at 10%... I’m willing to bet at least one of those votes is because he doesn’t have a new hair style.

Going to the dark side doesn't suit the former sunshine called Connie.

My man has been in the story since the beginning. He is well overdue for an arc.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

But why FALCO? He's the ONLY character outside the Walls I actually LIKE!

Finally we get to see him say something about his mother. Yeah, maybe he's not one of the most important charcters overall, but what he lived through when he saw his mom on that roof finally deserves some thoughts and emotions. Connie was on the margin of the story for way too long, and I'm happy we get to see him talk about how he feels.

Glad he’s doing stuff but he’s 100% going to die

I haven't really liked his development. He's, altho understandably, just an angry dude that can't help himself from getting overcome by his emotions. Not a good look.

I really liked his whole "Eren's crossed the line", now he's making the same mistake. A bitter irony, but does Isayama have time for that?

I'm really disappointed in Connie's "friends" for basically telling him to "chill out, you can't save your mother because we need to make our enemies happy". Hell no to that, I completely sympathize with Connie far more than his "friends" especially since Armin is being the world's biggest hypocrite

It's good because it now opens up the possibility of Connie finally getting his revenge on Zeke

My Boi Connie deserves his own plot-line, so I'm really excited

  TITAN ACTION! BUT OF THE PURE AND AVERAGE VARIETY INSTEAD OF COLOSSALS, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT AS THE FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER? 1,936 Responses

A chapter in the endgame that’s almost reminiscent of the defense of Trost with respect to mindless titan action and defending a base.  Despite many other happenings such as the rumbling going on currently, 46% were totally fine with the focus on mindless titan action and thought it was written well, whereas 35.6% enjoyed it, but wished there was a bit more beyond checking that box.  10.8% wanted a larger focus on the titans in the rumbling, and 5.5% would have preferred a focus shift away from Shiganshina entirely.

I love the fact that shows how prepared and easy fighting mindless titans is for them now. When the titans attacked Trost they were hopeless and Jean was the one frozen in fear. Now we get to see him clear up the titans with ease.

I think showing smaller happenings before the big reveal of Eren's titan and the effects of the rumbling are important buildup.

I would have rather focused on what's happening to Pieck and the others near the wall.

I didn't feel that was the focus, but either way, I liked it.

I wish more would’ve happened outside of it BUT it’s important to show them being dealt with otherwise readers would be like “wait, what about all those people who turned into titans?” So not the best, but necessary.

I'm not crazy about fighting scenes, I prefer the ones where they discuss stuff, but these were really emotional with Shadis and Pixis and everything. Like, it wasn't even so much about fighting itself, for me at least, but about Shadis uniting people again and Armin setting Pixis free finally.

I wish the chapter had explored the idea of Titans appearing now that the Military has begun using weapons which are more effective against humans than Titans. I had thought that the reappearance of Titans would do much more damage since the Military is no longer equipped to handle such threats.

Reminds me of the Trost arc and I love it, but it will probably end up being the last time we see pure titans as this much of a threat.

I love the Season 1-esque fan service. How this series has evolved.

I just wished they didn't have to kill their comrades...C'mon this poll question is so heartless wth?

  AFTER EREN GAINED THE FOUNDER, WHY WHERE THE MINDLESS TITANS STILL ATTACKING THE SOLDIERS? 1,944 Responses

Nearly half of the fandom are giving Eren the benefit of the doubt that he simply cannot control the titans, rather than not caring about them or using them. Although many believe that he’s too focused on other things to concern himself with them, and many others feel certain that mindless titans attacking the soldiers is part of his greater plan.

3 times it was mentioned that Eren/Zeke can't control the Titans, I think someone else is controlling them. Possibly Ymir, maybe we'll see Eren getting betrayed.

Eren can't control the mindless Titans because they're Zeke's Titans

It's highly likely the Founding Titan's power and control over Pure Titans has a collective effect of sorts. That is, it can turn Pure Titans back into humans, but if it did, it would happen to ALL Pure Titans, not just a specific group of them. It's possible that is how the Fritz royalty used the Pure Titans while maintaining the Eldian population during ancient times. Here, if Eren were to use that aspect of the Founding Titan's power, both the Military Branch Officer Titans AND the Wall Titans would be turned back into humans. Right now, Eren is bent on using the Wall Titans to flatten the World, so he most likely does not want to use the power of the Founding Titan to turn all the Pure Titans in Shingashina + Connie's mom into humans; otherwise, the Wall Titans would turn into humans again too, and that would ruin his rumbling plan.

Regarding Eren and the mindless titans, control issues aside, I just don't think he cares.

  WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE TITAN KILL THIS CHAPTER? 1,968 Responses

In a chapter full of titan action, several titan kills stood out as both awesome and tear jerking.  Just over half of respondents, at 51.6%, most remember Armin taking out Pixis after thanking him for his service to the cause.  In a very narrow battle for second place, Keith Shadis sowing the recruits how it’s done won out over Gabi taking a cue from Sasha and saving Kaya.

All of them were pretty darn cool

Gabi's and Mikasa's tie for me

Hard to choose, they're all good

I didn't find any of them memorable if I May be honest

Can I choose all? Because I am.

It's a tie between Shadis arriving to save the recruits, Gabi saving Kayo from the Nile Titan, and Armin killing the Pixis Titan. If I was forced to pick, I'd say Armin's scene because of his sorrowful dialogue upon seeing Pixis as a Pure Titan and the flashback to one of Pixis's earliest highlights when he believed in Armin and Eren shortly after they first met.

Literally all of them what kind of sadistic question is this how could I possibly choose

Loved all the kills!!!

ALL OF THE ABOVE

  THERE WAS A LOT OF DEBATE AS THIS CHAPTER WAS COMING OUT ABOUT GABI, AT THIS POINT DO YOU LIKE HER AS A CHARACTER IN THE STORY? 1,985 Responses

Nearly two-thirds of of the fandom currently enjoy Gabi’s overall character, despite what their first impressions may have been (65.1%) . Though there are still many who have yet to warm up to her, if they ever do (34.9%).

Gabi is beginning to grow on me enough I feel neutral about her.

Gabi is a LITTLE more favorable to me, but I still hate her and I wish she never existed. She can never earn forgiveness for Sasha.

gabi is good you guys are just mean

  WHICH THOUGHT BEST MATCHED HOW YOU CURRENTLY FEEL ABOUT GABI? 1,977 Responses

One of the most controversial characters in the story is of course Gabi Braun, but what do fans truly think of her?  Almost half, at 45.9% don’t profess love for her character from the mountains, but understand why she’s important to the story.  In contrast, 19.6% firmly believe the story would be better off if she never existed, and 17.6% want to see even more of her in the upcoming chapters.  16.9% just think she’s been in the spotlight a little bit too much.

Fuck Gabi, Eren will always be better, not this carbon copy Mary Sue

gabi fucking GANG

Such a great chapter! I’m glad that the Gabi hate is stopping now.

Don't know why are people surprised about Gabi. Her closure with the Braus family is something I figured was gonna happen eventually. Guess Isayama wanted to get that out of the way early.

Of course my opinion of Gabi is unchanged. I still hate her no matter how much "development" she gets.

Gabi is a super uninteresting character to me

i really liked gabi’s character development in this chapter, especially since i was previously a gabi hater.

She is the new MC now. Upgrade.

I see why Gabi exists but she’s just such a forced character. The parallel between her and Sasha was so forced and just felt wrong. Don’t care about her killing Sasha her character is just a forced rehash of eren.

I'm disappointed in her as she is becoming more likeable

Gabi's character development finally completed in a brilliant way

Like Eren, she's fighting for people she cares about, even if she's wrong/vicious with her methods.

I’m tired of Gabi

Really wish we wouldn't have Gabi shoved down our throats, she's not a good character, let alone person

I'm really proud of Gabi and how far she's come from her original POV. I'm really hoping that this influences Eren and I really hope Falco and Gabi get to reunite.

yams wants us to like her more

She has the same motivations as Eren once had, to save the world, basically.

I will admit Gabi has gone through a lot of development. But that doesn't mean I have to like her. I still hate her, and I will NEVER EVER forgive her for what she did to Sasha.

Gabi's haters being mad is so funny. My girl truly shined this chapter, I love her even more.

Gabi.... I feel like I would absolutely hate being around her irl but I guess I do appreciate her as a character in the story.

Never wanted to kill a child so badly in my existence

Death to Gabi Braun!

I don't hate Gabi enough to want her dead, but "too much spotlight" is the understatement of the year, especially when there is still a lot that has yet to be resolved with the main characters

She just wants to protecc

I love Gabi but she gets too much screen time at this point in the story. I want to see Historia and hopefully Eren later.

I LOVE GABI SO MUCH SHE IS THE BEST GIRL

I like Gabster. Gabi Gang Gabi Gang

Me no likey bad bad

  NOW THAT ALL OF THE ORIGINAL BRANCH HEADS ARE GONE, WHO SHOULD BE IN CHARGE OF THE PARADIS MILITARY? 1,955 Responses

The head of all of Paradisian government, Darius Zackly, went out with a bang, and now we’ve lost the interim head Pixis, as well as Nile Dok.  Who’s going to pick up the torch?  There’s a big three that seem to have emerged as popular choices, with Jean winning out, Hange coming in second, and Shadis taking up third.  

A combination of several people noted above.

Hanji+SC Armin+Garrison Jean+MP

Anyone but Floch

Jean. He's the only one that can view the Rumbling objectively and not rule it out as bad because their enemies are destroyed

Armin for strategy, Jean for leadership, Hanji for progress

Daz

Shadis should take over, but only untill Jean can get a little more experience leading.

As long as they agree Marley needs to be wiped out for the sake of Paradis, I'm okay with any leader that accepts that responsibility

Definitely not Hange. She wanted to make peace with Marley. Not leadership worthy at all.

Rico ;-;

Hange may be commander, but they are unfit for taking on as the head of the military. Same goes for Keith, though in this chapter he shows courage by stepping up to push the trainees to fight, I doubt he is willing to go back into a similar position as he was before as the Survey Corp's commander. Among the candidates, Armin may seem like a promising candidate, but aside from his proven intellect, just like Hange both do not possess the level of prowess of leading all three branches (four if count the training squad)of the military. More I think about it the "best" candidate in this list may surprisingly be Jean, but so far he hasnt been giving me the impression as someone who can take on such a massive role.

Erwin

  WHY DID FLOCH ARREST THE VOLUNTEERS? 1,903 Responses

The fandom is fairly divided on Floch’s motives, with a three-way split that comes close to being even. The highest amount of respondents feel he is arresting the Volunteers because he doesn’t trust them based on past actions. In the middle, people feel that he doesn’t want to be associated with any non-Eldian people. And in third place, people felt that he doesn’t trust Yelena specifically, and is taking her group down with her.

As far as I've seen, Floch is on Eren's side, not Zeke's. So that would make Yelena, who hasn't heard about her boss and the euthanasia plan, dangerous as fuck. Even with that, Floch's following his own principles. He has different reasons than Eren, but he just needs the "devil" figure to project his own will.

He always knew Yelena and Zeke's intentions because of Eren, and now he's arresting them to prevent more trouble caused by them. I think Eren "trusts" and is working with Flcoh more than the fandom expect.

Because they conspired to sterilize/euthanize the Paradisians.

He's a completely inconsistent character whose personality and character motivations change at the drop of a hat in order to create conflict in the story.

He thinks Yelena can take over his position of the best Yeager fanboy and he can't have that.

He was never really on their side at all! Just like how Eren saw them - they were a means to an end, a useful tool but a dangerous one that could never really be trusted. Now that Eren has made his intentions clear and the ideological split is visible, he's fully turning on them and suppressing them from potentially pursuing their own agendas further.

There’s not enough room on Paradis for both of those eccentric hair cuts

  GABI AND ARMIN BOTH SEEM INTERESTED IN PUTTING ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES: WILL THE SURVEY CORPS AND WARRIORS TEAM UP? 1,928 Responses

After having been warring factions since the beginning, will the warriors and Survey Corps finally team up as one?  62.9% feel a team up will happen, but not everyone from both sides will want to be involved, and a solid 30% believe a full team up is in the cards.  Only 5.8% don’t feel that it’s possible at this point.

Any cooperation will be a compromise, so maybe?

At this point I really don't know. Their passivity disappointed me fully this chapter. They need their TRUE leaders who are MIA at the moment.

I hope it happens but I think Armin is acting under Bert's influence

I hope not, it sounds lame.

i think maybe they will be forced to work together to stop the titans because they are attacking both sides.

It's the ideal scenario I suppose

Only until the Rumbling stops. After that, the SC needs to dispose of all the remaining Warriors to end the war for good.

PLEASE MAYBE REINER WILL GET SOME CLOSURE OUT OF IT

Probably but it’s waaay to cliché. Please don’t Isayama

They'll team up to stop Eren, if that works they'll be enemies once again

Yes and Yes! I've been saying this for months: warriors and SC are going to have to work together. Magath is going to play a role in this too.

  ANNIE!! THOUGHTS: 1,948 Responses

91 chapters.  91 Months.  7 and a half years.  Longer than we were with the characters pre-timeskip.  Annie has been in a crystal, but now she's free!  33.4% think she came back at the perfect time and Isayama has nailed his writing once again.  18.4% are excited for her return, but don’t feel there’s much time left in the story for the wait to be worth it.  15.7% aren’t worshippers at her crystal, and so aren’t too hyped out of their minds.  29% however: A N N I E

akueeoekskfnfjyfjekqwiruuri MY GIRL IS BACK BITCHES, AND I NEED POST-AWAKENING MIKANNIE FANFICTION NOW

glad she's back but the plot has nothing for her to do anymore

How he brought her back makes perfect sense and I love it. If she chose to come out at this time rather than being forced, it would have been awkward and forced to be honest. But Eren taking away all hardening is the best way to bring her back AFTER SEVEN FUCKING YEARS.

glad to have her back but sceptical of her importance

go back into hibernation

Good in-story reason, great writing, but waited far too long. Not sure if she will even be relevent for the remainder of the story that already has a lot of loose ends.

Hentannie

I am not hyped because it took too long and the series has gone too far down a path I can no longer follow.

I DID MY WAITING! TWELVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!

I don't know what Annie can do at this point of the story that will make her return worthwhile

I don’t think Isayama and his editors would allow her to be brought back for a poor plot point/reason, so I’m curious to see what role she’ll have.

I wasn't too concerned about Annie at this point in the story but I'm glad that her return makes sense with the events currently taking place and I'm interested to see what Isayama has planned for her.

I'm no fan of her so I'm not excited at all, but I assume she'll drive the plot somewhere soon.

She's got a lot of catching up to do. Concerned it won't be handled well.

The reasoning is sound, and I am glad that Isayama thought that part through, but we have a limited number of pages left, so I am worried about how this will play out.

Took too long so it ended up being very 'meh' for me, but congratulations Annie-stans, have a drink tonight

Should've been way sooner, her potential as a character feels wasted since we're almost done now. All she'll have time to do is get caught up on what happened and then have a couple reunions.

I honestly have no idea what Isayama plans to do with her but I’m just GLAD SHES FINALLY FUCKING BACK!!!! MY BABY GIRL IS BACK!!!!

  ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT ANNIE WILL DO NEXT? 675 Responses

Annie will have a run-in with Hitch, get things explained and head towards the main conflict.

Dare I say it, Assist With Armin’s Talk No Jutsu with Eren

"Run"

Definitely try to get to her dad.

Try to find her warrior friends

Determine her situation and act accordingly

She won't be too surprised at what Eren's become. She remarked how when the "good guys" take power, then it's all over to Marlowe in Season 1.

A girl can dream of her and Pieck being badasses.

All the titan shifters will come together (location-wise), it seem like a flag? Since all the shifter's powers is a part of Ymir herself, having them close might have significant meaning.

ANNIETHING

Be traumatized by manga spoilers? Wonder wtf happened?? Try to find Reiner??

Annie will join Eren.

Not give a shit about anything apart from Papa Leonhardt

Annie will play a huge role in stopping Eren, in some way.

be a badass like usual and FEMALE TITAN ACTION?????

Change her clothes because why is she wet

umm take a shower lol

Character development and teaming up against Ereh

I think Hitch will be the one to find her - she was in charge of guarding the crystal. I think she'll be too weak to fight right now though, so I'm worried that she's just going to be used as a Titan Shifter snack :(

Somehow affect Eren's mindset. Not sure exactly how.

Go kiss Armin pls

I'm hoping for Armin to transform into the Colossal Titan. Annie will see this thinking it's Bertoldt, and then have a good character moment upon finding out that Armin ate him.

Her endgame is to at least partially counteract the rumbling with her scream ability.

Confused --> Shocked --> Mad --> or all at the same time. Anyway, she will probably meet up with Armin and the gang and they will explain the shit situation to her and somehow they will come up with a plan or smth.

I think she’ll be forgotten about for a few chapters then show up in the battle. It’ll be interesting to see what side she takes at that point. I’m sure someone will conveniently fill her in on the last few years.

She's a wild card, but the last we saw her she wanted to get back home. I'm sure she will be invested in saving the world from annihilation.

She is FAR away right now. I think dealing with Annie is a good wind-down after all this World-ending stuff has been dealt with, like when they save the Shire after defeating Sauron

Crystallize

Yeet to Marley and die with her papa.

Annie's first move will be to find a toilet sure she must be dying for a pee like

  HOW HAS YOUR OPINION ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS CHANGED?

Shadis, Jean and Gabi are the big winners in the opinion poll this month with the majority selecting “More Favorable” reaction to them. Shadis had 1379 respondents selecting “more favorable”, Jean had 1076 and Gabi came in third with 980. Fighting titans so soon after surviving a bear attack is impressive, so I’m not surprised with these results. At the other end of the spectrum, Connie (542) and Floch (496) had the most number of “Less Favorable” selections. While the good outweighed the bad, Gabi again proved to be polarizing with 432 people choosing “Less Favorable” despite her positive development this month.

  FAVORITE NEW TITAN DESIGN? 1,926 Responses

Isayama’s nods to his television viewing habits continue with the appearance of the “Better Call Saul” titan. Our appreciation of Isayama’s sense of humor continues with more than 50% of us selecting it as “Favorite New Titan Design” (51.5%). Pixis was a distance second with close to a quarter choosing his titan form (23.7%) as their favorite.

Still laughing over the Saul Titan. Good ol' slippin' Jimmy

the Better call Saul titan looks more like Bolsonaro (Brazil's president)

one last hurrah to the Pure Titan mayhem the series was originally known for, and witnessing the tragic end to Nile and Pixis

  WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,926 Responses

The three elements of the story which have been absent for months, or even years, take the top overall votes for what the fandom would like to see next. 33.6% are dying to see present-day Levi and Hange again. 24.1% are still eager to get Historia’s perspective. 23.6% are still hoping to one day see Eren’s inner thoughts.

All I want for Christmas....Is Historias POV

I'm missing Connies adventure on the 'What are you hoping to see next chapter?' question.

Bitch give me Levi. It’s been more than half a year.

I literally only care about the 104th characters so the more of them we can see next chapter the better

Give me more Eren action pleaseee

So why is Annie pov not an option for next chapter?

I have waited for 7 years, finally, Annie is back. I wanna see more of her story and  character development. I cant wait to see her conversation with Hitch and Armin!

Please Isayama give me more good Shadis content

I really want to see Eren's full complete titan. Issayama, stop blueballing us please!

I would actually like to know more about that spine creature that is evidently the source of Titans.

Is there a Kiyomi option?

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,843 Responses

With close to 200,000 members it’s no surprise that Reddit continues to dominate the discussion field (47.7%), followed distantly by Tumblr (15.5%), Real Life (9.8%) and Discord (6.7%). Amazingly, 9% don’t discuss it at all. This month, FIVE of you said Snapchat, up from four last month, so while there’s still technically a possibility that you guys are actually forming some weird snapchat cult and this isn’t an elaborate psyop, I’m still not convinced. But regardless of where you discuss the series, or if you even do, we truly appreciate your participation in the chapter poll!

  ADDITIONAL COMMENTS? 416 Responses

OMG! Okay, it's happening! Everybody stay calm! Annie! Annie! Annie!

Annie got crystalized in chapter 33, and now she's out, 91 chapters later. Since 12 chapters are published in a year, we have been waiting for her (not including flasbacks and her just chilling in the crystal) 7 years and 7 months. I salute all the diehard Annie fans, you had a long wait.

Once again I have marked my calendar. May 9, 2012 - December 5, 2019. After 7 excruciating years our queen is FINALLY awake. This deserves a new record for longest amount of time a character has been comatose in real life. Thank GOD it's finally over I still can't believe it.

I'm a big fan of all of the smaller storylines coming together, hoping for everything to be wrapped up nicely and characters from different factions (i.e Hange, Annie, Historia) all coming together to address the rumbling.

It felt a little like a breather chapter, despite all the action. It was nice to slow down and get some character development for everyone.

“Everyone has a devil in them” is a great message. Hope they all team up and stop Eren. Very curious about what Annie will do!

The parallels to Trost arc were nice, but I felt like the endgame was finally amping up only to be put on hold.

Great chapter! I like Pathland, and the flashback with Levi and Hanji was great, but it was a relief to get some current time action. Gabi is best girl, Armin just went up by leaps and bounds in my book, and Annie is back!! So excited for the next chapter…

Great one ! The fear from the mindless titans in back, like in Trost. Many side characters development/deaths (Nile, Pixis, Shadis, Kaya, Nicolo, Gabi, Annie, Connie, Jean...). So much good stuff, I almost forgot about the rumbling going on !!

Amazing. If Isayama maintains this quality til the end, then this will be one of my favorite series, of any media, ever.

I'm wondering what Annie can realistically do at this point. Sure she beat Eren before but now he's in another level.

Guess we don't have to deal with the genocidal jock for a while

REINER HELOS BRAUN WILL SAVE THE WORLD (after his power nap)

ANNNIIEEEEE; Shadis' comeback was wonderful. I hope he can make up for the loss of Pixis and Erwin and such. He has great potential and he's a well developed character. Jean is asking the real questions, but the showdown between him and Floch is about to go down.

I said previously that if Floch survives I wanted my money back. But you know what? I'll take my refund in Annie store credit. Thanks for that bright spot, Isayama!  Also: this chapter pointed out how many good people in the world will suffer if Eren succeeds. And I felt as frustrated with the remnants of the 104th as Gabi. Nicolo and Shadis became my unexpected heroes this chapter.

Is Zeke still alive? Is he still controlling the mindless titans?

Floch didn’t do anything particularly bad this chapter but every time I have to see his face my opinion of him becomes less favorable. When Jean said “so you lived...” I FELT that disappointment lol.

I love the Braun siblings interaction in this chap. And Nicole's "we'll try to get out of the forest" sends chills. I think that's one of the point ISTM is trying to get across.

Does Connie realise that if his mother was given one of the nine titan powers she would be made to fight? Getting one of the titan powers is very much a curse not a blessing (especially with the Jaw titan)

At this point the Eren/Gabi parallels are feeling a little overdone and forced.

If Gabi receives Eren’s Titan it will be the stupidest most disappointing thing to happen in this- no all of manga! Besides, what is the damn point of her “paralleling” Eren anyways? But the Sasha paralleling was even more gnarly YUCK!

It's true that the people of Paradis will benefit from this shit, but I highly disagree with any justification when it comes to Eren's horrible actions. GENOCIDE IS NEVER THE OPTION. I think Jean is disappointed too but he's trying his best to rationalize the crap Eren's carrying out for he still doesn't want to believe his friend is committing genocide. I expect he comes back to his senses soon otherwise I no longer will appreciate him as a character.

That "who are you most disappointed" will sadly be filled with Armin hate tbh. And in the end he was just wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict... tbh Anyone hating on Connie, Gabi and Armin doesn't seems to know how humans emotion work in helpless situations...

What Yams is doing to Connie is further proof he is ruining his main characters (the good ones) to make room for his precious Marley characters (the crappy ones)

Connie's regression and frustration was more and more visible since Sasha died. He's lost everyone close to him. I am happy to see him finally snap at Armin and go his own way. This was foreshadowed for a while now.

I hope Isayama sensei doesn't forget to include World Millitary's raid in the action. They already mention in some previous chapter by Zeke.

Quantity-wise, the chapter wasn't centered around Gabi, okay. But. BUT. Gabi got quite a few powerful scenes, very Gabi-centric scenes, and I'm not happy about that. I don't see how and why the fandom so easily forgave her for what she's done. Isayama drawing parallels between Gabi and Sasha was insulting and distasteful.

It is highly likely that this is the last time we are going to see Pure Titan mayhem in the series now that the Rumbling is taking place, so I think it was great to that focus in this chapter. I thought it was handled well, especially with Shadis's scenes, the parallel of the new recruits seeing the Pure Titans peaking through the hole of the fortress tower much like a similar scene in the Trost arc, the tragedy of seeing Pixis and Nile (two of the last remaining head honchos of the military not counting Hange and Shadis) as Pure Titans and getting killed off for good, and how characters like Armin and Jean fought those Pure Titans.  

WARMASTER FLOCKE, TO LEAD THE ARMIES OF ELDIA TO VICTORY! Haha no I guess not. I'm torn between Flocke, Jean, Eren, and Shadis. All could be good picks but all outcomes would have different implications on the story and what it means. I guess if I had to pick, it'll be Shadis or Eren for now and then perhaps Jean later when things have settled and they've grown up more.

I honestly can't keep up with how many faces Floch has.

With how the pacing is handled there's no way this is ending in 6 chapters. The real climax is Eren having to go against his friends because there's no way in hell Mikasa is allowing him to genocide kids

As heartbreaking as this chapter has been, I already had my hopes destroyed when 119 was released. Today has been the confirmation for two awesome characters, who fell because of the non-veteran rule. I don't know why I still hope to see Keith staying alive, but at least we got an awesome moment of his.

Characters are being balanced relatively well. Isayama's got a lot of characters and plot threads to deal with, and while Levi, Hange and Historia are getting less focus than I would like, I think he's doing a pretty good job of keeping each character relevant and giving them all some good arcs/ moments

Everything (except for Gabi scenes) was perfect for me!

Eww Gabi-focused chapter…

I simply hate how cowardy the 104th is acting. It's clear they're only fighting in their own interest and are just pulling excuses after excuses for supporting Eren. At least Floch is honest about it.

Man, the 104th always been the group I care the less in the story, but this chapter they're being so annoying (apart from Mikasa). Well, I can forgive Connie because of everything he went through, but Jean... why are you saying this ""there was no other choice, eren is protecting us"" bs ? Nice of you to be complicit of mass genocide. (Yes, I know his face shows he's conflicted, but he still sides with eren) Also Armin... at least he's horrified at what's Eren's doing but when he said that if they don't kill Falco there would be no conflict with the warriors since Marley will be gone....that's just dumb. Their home and families are going to be destroyed, but ok Armin, go off. And getting into another serumbowl situation, with one of my fave uncounscious while the SC decides who will eat him... I don't like it. (I don't think Falco will be eaten tho, the whole thing raised many death flags on Connie)

Great chap, Isayama seems to finally give closure to certain plot parts. End is near.

Here's a crazy idea: feed GABI to Connie's mom instead of Falco, there would be nowhere near as much arguing with that

Highlights that people can rise above their conditions to become better people, offering a counterargument that humanity should be wiped out.

I don't get why the story pacing was disrupted so much. Why build up to a climatic cliffhanger with the rumbling, only to basically ignore it for the entire following chapter?

I honestly wonder if titan shifting still works as it used to. I'm afraid of seeing Falco get eaten for nothing. Honestly I'm worried about Falco dying for nothing while people right over him as a pawn in general.

Quite interesting chapter. Had fun with it. Much, much slower paced than expected almost. But then again we need time to cover all this stuff. And I'm happy it all took place in the current rather than another flashback. Not really a fan of the Gabi stuff but it is what it is. The other character developments were quite nice. Reiner literally just falling asleep tho lol. Overall I guess I wouldn't say it's a "big" chapter but it is necessary to bridge what came before with whatever comes next. And at long last Annie is back, so that's GLORIOUS.

I hope Annie will have such a big role she gets repaid for the all years she's been gone😞

I hope Isayama uses the slowdown in the pace to better sell the scale of the rumbling, we already see part of that by hoe Eren's dino titan still isnt complete, even after all this time

I love how the story is progressing.The next chapter is always something I personally don't expect and it's always exciting. The hype at the beginning/end of the month is unreal. As for the chapter itself, it's always refreshing to see Jean's perspective on Eren's plans because I love his interpretations on him. #TEAMJAEGER

i love my waifu annie i missed her so much

I love you Connie and I'm sure your mom is nice and all but Falco is a precious bean who needs to be protected.

I really hated the Gabi-Sasha and Gabi-Eren parallels. I also still think Gabi was never needed in this story, in fact I don’t know how I’ll be able to stomach season 4. Ugh, the first half will be completely and utterly Gabified. Gabi in color and motion plus speaking, YUCK!  Anyways I hope that the next chapter will have an update on Hange, Levi, and Historia. And maybe Floch getting punched by Shadis that would be the Cherry on top.

It was an average chapter, not bad but nowhere near as good as the previous ones. Plus I'd appreciate if other characters, outside of Gabi, had more spotlight. Her arc and development is done, give more development and screentime to other characters such as Mikasa please.

Just being disappointed. The pacing is very slow. Also the main cast's reactions were too passive. I hated it.

Just great. Just great. The drawings were incredible and the plot just keeps getting better.

Less Gabi, more Historia!

Levi and Hange better return in some way, shape, or form, or Yam's is in for it.

Levi is the new Annie

Love getting to see thoughts from many different characters and where they stand. A lot of them are still left behind trying to rationalise things to make it emotionally palatable, or simply stuck not being able to accept the reality, whereas Gabi has kind of gone ahead and realised there's evil on both sides, and she's willing to kill Eren or work with him if she can best protect the people she cares about (eventually probably not just her friends and family either, but the outside Eldians as a whole).

My baby is back!!!!!!!! I wanna see more of ANNIE!!!!!!

Nicolo talking to Kaya and Gabi was cringey af. Did they really do back to that derpy forest analogy? If this series ends with them holding hands and singing around a campfire imma legit be so disappointed. I need me my Rumbling!

This chapter felt like a nostalgia trip, but I wasn't in for the ride. It was a mess of short catching-up moments when I just want to pick Eren's brain. I want to see Levi and Hange alive or hear what Annie and Historia think about the events, but at the moment I don't care about even those storylines. I just want to know what the relationship between Ymir and Eren is now that the walls came down.

The first panel being Mr. Leonhart was a pretty strong indicator to me that Annie would be released in the last panel, and it was. I felt that to be extremly poetic, and the timing is good too. Another wildcard in the plot. Excellent.

Compared to the previous chapter, this one turned out to be very disappointing. I was excited to see the rumbling and getting a glimpse of Eren’s thoughts and feelings. But instead I got Reiner going to sleep, Gabi being paralleled to Eren (again) and Sasha, the 104th busy arguing over what to do with Falco instead of, you know, focusing on THE RUMBLING

Good chapter, but if S4 is the final season and airs Autumn 2020, and with a monthly release, curious as to how isayama might tie up these "last minute" plot threads such as the new developments with Connie and Falco.

What else can I say except it's amazing and it was worth the wait

Where is Levi damnit

[standbyphoenix]

How River Phoenix’s Coming of Age Anticipated My Own by Rebecca Bengal [Vogue, August 23, 2015]

He was born, hard to believe, 45 years ago today, in Madras, Oregon, which later became a setting for the dreamy, disoriented roadside flashbacks in My Own Private Idaho. He was given the name River Jude; River for Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, Jude for “Hey Jude.” His last name then was Bottom. So, yes . . . River Bottom.

His siblings were Rain, Liberty, Summer, and Joaquin. His parents, fruit pickers and missionaries, took the family to Venezuela where they sang on the street for money; only after splitting from the Children of God movement and stowing away on a cargo ship to Florida did they change their surname to Phoenix, after the Ancient Egyptian symbol of rebirth. Later, in Los Angeles, in a somewhat more settled-down life but still singing on street corners, young River was discovered, cast in commercials and films, eventually Stand By Me, where his performance as Chris Chambers first marked him as one of the most talented and promising actors in Hollywood—a prophecy he would live long enough to only partially fulfill.

Most of the early parts of this biography were chronicled in the terrible magazines I obsessively collected about River Phoenix, along with the standard height and weight and astrological and favorite color info. I didn’t care about that stuff. I was going to cut out all that and pin up his pictures all over my wall. I knew it was beneath River anyway: He said elsewhere that he lied to reporters half the time, and that made me like him even more. The favorite idiotic headline back then was usually some variation on “River Is Deep,” which seemed to me to hit even below the dubious abilities of whoever was running the show at Teen Beat. But River was deep. It was because of him, for instance, that I became a strict vegetarian in my small North Carolina town where no one had heard of tofu; for nearly a decade after he died I still didn’t eat meat. River was older; River was wiser. River was hot.

He was for me, simultaneously idol and crush, cast in the dual role of being both who I wanted to be like and who I wanted to make out with. I didn’t relate to the vapid girlfriend characters that proliferated on screen—the release of The Diary of a Teenage Girl this summer makes all the more apparent the lack of any girl characters at the time who were not only cool and worth aspiring to emulate, but remotely relevant to anything resembling real life. Meanwhile the boys were permitted to be dirty and funny and free.

River had some years on me, sure, but he was just the right age to look up to: older brother, older crush, the first person I saw every morning on the wall of my bedroom. His movies were about my own struggles—growing up, first loves and sex and first heartbreak, rebelling against your family, against the world; being drawn to darkness and escapism, but still, deep down, trying to be a good person. His coming of age anticipated mine.

“Kids lose everything unless there's someone there to look out for them. And if your parents are too fucked up to do it, then maybe I should,” said River - as Chris Chambers, tough and baby-Brando cool with his pack of smokes rolled up in his T-shirt, telling off his hoodlum brother Eyeball, his teachers, his parents, running away into the woods and perilously over a train trestle with his three best friends to find “the body of a dead kid.” I spent my own summers building forts in the woods, sneaking through bridge tunnels, desperate for that kind of adventure, as morbid as their mission was. He was sensitive and sage but he also had a pretty stupid, sarcastic, perverse sense of humor that struck a nerve with me, as vital a part of growing up as losing your virginity, gaining a sense of your own mortality, figuring out who your true friends were, and learning how to tell your authorities, now and then, to fuck off. Put me in front of a screening of Stand By Me and I can still recite every line.

In the canon of River Phoenix, the best of which also includes My Own Private Idaho, The Mosquito Coast, Running on Empty, and the underrated Dogfight and The Thing Called Love, there is a lot of learning to tell authorities, parents and otherwise, to fuck off, but that’s mediated within a larger, moral context: How do you simultaneously rebel against your parents while still loving them? How do you stand up to the rest of the world and its deep flaws, while also finding your own way in it?

Here’s River as Charlie Fox, son of eccentric inventor Allie (Harrison Ford), who uproots his family to a Central American jungle in The Mosquito Coast, Peter Weir’s film based on the Paul Theroux novel: “Once I had believed in Father and the world had seemed small and old. Now he was gone and I wasn't afraid to love him anymore. And the world seemed limitless.”

Running on Empty, directed by Sidney Lumet, for which Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, is loosely inspired by the Weather Underground—his character’s parents, played by Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch,jumpsuit-clad seventies radicals, are in constant hiding from the government for an activist bombing they took part in years prior, and as a result the entire family abides by a code of constant name changes, hair dyes, an implicit agreement to never become close enough to anyone to reveal their true selves and thus incriminate the family. Their tiny homespun parties, dancing around the house to “Fire and Rain” are anonymous, bittersweet ones—“On our birthday, we’re all called Sam,” Danny tells his girlfriend Lorna, played by River’s real-life girlfriend Martha Plimpton. It’s the ultimate overprotectiveness, loving but suffocating. Wanting to go to college is as shattering a rebellion as falling in love, and in the film River does both.

Even My Own Private Idaho, Gus Van Sant’s brilliant 1991 film costarring Keanu Reeves, is essentially a film about family, as much as it is a gay film, as much as it is a drug film, as much as it is a road movie—“a crazy quilt of family romances” as critic Amy Taubin describes it. River’s narcoleptic street hustler character searches for reconciliation and connection, with such beautifully wrought, homesick desperation that he rebels even against himself. "He's put his lips as close to any street-gutter ooze as you can," Phoenix told The New York Times. "His cut-open flesh is as close to a stone brick wall as anything. He's part of the street. He's like a rat." It’s the darkest turn in Phoenix’s career; looking back now, it’s hard not to see it foreshadowing the end of his own life, two years later, and fates that very nearly befell certain people in mine. But by then, he’d gone somewhere beyond me.

“Everyone should survive their first rebellions. Dying defeats the whole point,” wrote Miranda July of River earlier this year in Vogue. If I’d relied upon River during my own coming of age, the sense of loss I felt at outliving his was a distant survivor's guilt, coupled with a loss that a larger world has publicly acknowledged, in angry and heartfelt and honorific ways, in song lyrics and apologies and speculation.

I don’t want to dwell on the details of River Phoenix’s death—today would have been his birthday after all, and it’s pointless, I think, to endlessly pontificate on what his life would have been had he lived beyond his earliest years to see it. 

If he were here, I could only thank him for helping me make it through mine.

[portfolio-]

Thoughts about Ruler: Master of the Mask, Part 1

If you’ve been following me for a while now, you will notice how loyal I am to the television series that I watch. I loved Descendants of the Sun even if it took time for me to warm up to Song Hye Kyo. I loved Goblin despite all talk about pedophilia and shit. I love Chicago Typewriter for many reasons I am yet to talk about despite the series being underrated. And now I have a new baby to defend – Ruler: Master of the Mask. Even with all the talk about wasted talent and injustice to Kim So Hyun’s talent, I am more likely to see the end of it (with Seven Day Queen on the side, but that’s for another entry).

Let’s start from Yoo Seung Ho. From the moment he appeared on my screen, I knew I was going to love him/his character. Being the central character of the show, it was a given that he would have the most progressive character development. He is a sheltered, idealistic, and kind-hearted boy who was slapped by reality in the face upon the revelation of his father’s ambition. He is a victim of his fate, and while he stumbles, he eventually finds the light at the end of the tunnel. He identifies his ultimate goal, and has learned to decipher his way into the mess brought about by his birthright. The problem with him is his noble idiocy and his tendency to blame himself for something he had no control of. He fell on his own sword because he was pushed into it out of someone else’s selfishness. Because of this, the former manifested, and we were down to the push-and-pull of his relationship with his lady love.

Thoughts so far: I am still pissed at his character (by a bit), but I admit I melted because of the most recent episode. How could I not? YSH is the powerhouse of this show. He knows how to live his character. He acts the conflicts as if it were his own. And because the ball is now on his court, I am curious as to how he will break the truth into Ga Eun. I want him to tell her, and I want her to be resentful of him face to face. I want them to face this obstacle head on, otherwise their separation would be senseless imo. I am already amazed by his ability as a leader, and I am excited to see how the dots will connect for him.

Kim So Hyun. In truth, it was actually my first time to watch a series with her as the main lead (sue me), but I like watching her cameo/side character roles. As Ga Eun, she may appear boring because she is almost saint-like. I digress. Ga Eun is the type to look after others first. People could have forgotten that she had to be a leader of her father’s – and now her – people so they could survive after being kicked out of their homes earlier in the drama. There was nothing productive to do with her father dead and her life in a standstill. She knew where her priorities should lie, as evidenced by her choosing the people over “Chun Soo”, but through it all he was at the back of her mind. Everything about her is very maternal. (She kind of reminds me of Boon Yi from Six Flying Dragons). In terms of character trajectory, Ga Eun is more of an underdeveloped character at this point. The recent episode felt like a pick-me-up for her so that she could catch up with the others. The path now opens for her, but with “Chun Soo” back in her life, she had a difficult choice to make.

Thoughts so far: I love Ga Eun, period. Really. I like watching her and the PDs did a piss poor job in the past few episodes. They did disservice to her character. I want to say that they wasted her, but then with the Queen involving her, I have high hopes that the ruckus will be insane. Also, KSH makes her animated, and she could easily steal the show should she be given the opportunity. I also love her chemistry with YSH!!! COME ON FIGHT ME!! Maybe it’s because they’ve been doing this for a very long time, but they know how to build the atmosphere required of them. Ahh, my poor babies. I hope their reconciliation and their story would be given justice.

As for Kim Myung Soo, wow. I didn’t expect I’d root for him, much less like him. Peasant turned pupper prince suited him. I haven’t watched any of his shows, nor am I a fan of Infinite (However, there’s Hoya from Reply 1997!) He was a boy born out of luck, who happened to befriend the Crown Prince. His transition from a strong-willed, recklessly brave boy to a restricted and near hopeless man could be seen by how he carried himself as the puppet king – stooped, sickly, and enslaved to a throne that wasn’t his. He was one character who held on his innocence even if Pyunsoo Group manipulated from almost all angles.

Thoughts so far: I was quite relieved that the Queen Dowager has gotten into him. He was that one character I am conflicted on whether he would go evil or not. I want him not to. I want him to preserve his humanity for his sister (who I adore a lot) and his mother. I want him to remain loyal to the real owner of the throne. For a moment, like I’ve said, I actually rooted for him as Ga Eun’s end game, because of how pure his intentions are. He remains, imo, good through it all. I actually fear that he would die at the end, but then I have to brave the storm should it happen.

Yoon So Hee. Daughter and possible heiress of the villain of the story. I didn’t like her from the start, because her actions caused every hardship that took place in the lives of the characters. I would commend the writers for making her very Slytherin (but they’re selling her or the actress too much it’s unfair for the main female lead? Why?) In terms of character development, I would say that her selflessness is an act of selfishness, and that never sat well with me. I do pity her for pining after the Crown Prince, but I don’t think I could forgive her for causing all the deaths (and subsequently, the grievances) that haunt our main leads.

Thoughts so far: The character made me hate her a lot, so I guess Yoon So Hee is an effective antagonist. However, she doesn’t exude the same threatening aura as the man playing his grandfather. She felt more tired when she’s becoming angry. I really couldn’t say much because I would probably say something not nice (shakes fist again to Ruler PD-nims!!)

So, that’s it for now? I still have a lot of idea digesting right now, and will hopefully write about them soon.

[maneaterwithtail]

In defense in celebration of Teen Titans Go(spacebattles crosspost)

I just got exposed to some later and non backlash/response episodes of ttg. . My assessment its a good comedic spinoff with more dc references and exaggerated Personalities with a nice use of gags. I mean they have one episode where the queen of Britain brainwashes the Teen Titans by getting them hooked on Tea then takes a Mecha-weaponized Big Ben and Robin went to the fight with the aid of the American bald eagle and Lady Liberty. How is that not awesome?

 Also I do like that they can basically do episodes that poked at the somewhat semi-serious nature of the original series or premises. Such as the fact that Raven’s magic can technically solve anything if she has time to prepare and actually wants to put in the effort. So we can get episodes like Cyborg becomes real boy; Robin get super powers; and similar. Honestly some of my worst parts were when it felt like they were trying to go for a moral and the moral seen absolutely awful 

One example would be Meatball Party. You see this is one where supposedly Cyborg has to learn a lesson about not trying to insist on his way all the time. The thing is the person who was insisting on their way no matter what was Raven. Cyborg basically wanted everybody to get together and have a combination of a food eating contest and fight. It was goofy. It was silly. It perfectly made sense. More importantly, he included everyone and everyone was enthusiastic about it that includes the well remembered vegetarian Beast Boy who Cyborg made tofu balls for specific. So, in short, the one person who should have the most disagreement, Beast Boy, was on board the only one who didn’t want to play along was Raven because she was so self-serious.

The rest of her team basically are insistent at various times in order for her to join them on the fun and get she sits off in a corner looking grumpy flipping through a book. Now they do get very insistent but when she agrees to eat the meatball inexplicably not only does it have robot Parts in it but it ends up breaking her tooth and this leads to the team getting Eaten. There’s this long reconciliation of where Cyborg supposed to learn a lesson about not always forcing things through and respecting others own things. But in many ways I have to agree with what his defense was.

 Raven always says no and the team always insist in forcing her to expand her Horizons.

Well I won’t defend Return of Slade which actually wasted a damn good opportunity to give us Ron Perlman as a comedic supervillain. They did bring back Terra for an episode and I think it worked absolutely well. Playing into both the shows own continuity and the interests of the Fanboys. In particular the debate “is Terra actually into Beast Boy or not” being something of the thread throughout the episode mixed with Raven being the most suspicious so everybody basically treats her as jealous. I think the Ridiculousness honestly worked here. As was Beast Boy’s obliviousness because he was utterly in love. So you got a lot of people saying swarmy snarky things about each other and taking them plain face or rejecting.

Simply put this isn’t going to be an extension of the Teen Titans show. I think the biggest problem was that a very well-loved show was killed and then had it replaced and then the network exploded with Teen Titans Go. Which was even more than kiddie than even The Darlings of the network at the time like Adventure Time or Steven Universe or excetera. But honestly I think that there’s plenty of room for zany and I think that the show’s format as well as the use of the characters are actually quite funny at times. It’s at its worst though when it’s needlessly trolling the audience with episodes like Return of Slade, Let’s Get Serious, and so on. But when it basically uses as stock plot such as “Raven solves one of the characters issues that was baked into their core concept because technically she could always do that” it both pokes fun at itself and lets us go on a route that we couldn’t explore otherwise.

Another thing that they seem to have knowingly Fallen upon like piranha is the idea of Robin effectively being the team’s only sane person. So they basically make fun of that by constantly making him a know-it-all.  He’s trying to lead them on this or that activity that Robin effectively read something on Wikipedia or becomes obsessed with one or two cool things and then tries to get the entire team to join in. He does this when he tries to get them hooked on soccer. He does this on the episode where he’s trying to defend patriotism in America.  And he does this when he tries to make them go to school. That’s right we get episodes of them trying to go to school. And even separate episodes of them trying to play teacher!

And it’s fun seeing all the voice cast being able to do this as well as sort of explain or play with their characters. I’m likely more amicable to this Arrangement since I’ve just started to get hooked on Fangbone! and Captain Underpants. I think in a way we kind of become more self-conscious and want comics and cartoons to always be serious. So having a property associated with a WB and DC Comics that intentionally is Goofy and self denigrating and celebrates all the joy and Wonder and Imagination the animation and Comics can you give is nice. 

Such as Robin becoming addicted to avocados and just turning into an avocado theme super villain. Hey it’s funny for a one-off! And it’s like the TTG team use the opportunity goes crazy as they can! Such as with boys night out and girls night out so we got to do the equivalent of actually seen a villain and hero who seem like interesting characters interact with each other. Same as them kind of giving Ravens and necessary character development by actually hooking her up with actual bad girl Rose Wilson

Eta: I feel this way about other series that tend to get a little bit on stuck up nose thrown in their face. Such as Uncle Grandpa Mighty magisword and Clarence. That last one particular your I think gets underrated. For every identity politics liberal accolades that you want to give to Steven Universe clearance in my opinion earns four times over just because it’s set in a much more grounded world. Complete with queer families female role models atypical and even questionable male role models and an imaginative slightly not all their child who shows amazing promise in terms of his thinking and full of heart. All that and of course all sorts of diverse female characters.

[portfolio-]

Thoughts about Ruler: Master of the Mask, Part 1

If you’ve been following me for a while now, you will notice how loyal I am to the television series that I watch. I loved Descendants of the Sun even if it took time for me to warm up to Song Hye Kyo. I loved Goblin despite all talk about pedophilia and shit. I love Chicago Typewriter for many reasons I am yet to talk about despite the series being underrated. And now I have a new baby to defend – Ruler: Master of the Mask. Even with all the talk about wasted talent and injustice to Kim So Hyun’s talent, I am more likely to see the end of it (with Seven Day Queen on the side, but that’s for another entry).

Let’s start from Yoo Seung Ho. From the moment he appeared on my screen, I knew I was going to love him/his character. Being the central character of the show, it was a given that he would have the most progressive character development. He is a sheltered, idealistic, and kind-hearted boy who was slapped by reality in the face upon the revelation of his father’s ambition. He is a victim of his fate, and while he stumbles, he eventually finds the light at the end of the tunnel. He identifies his ultimate goal, and has learned to decipher his way into the mess brought about by his birthright. The problem with him is his noble idiocy and his tendency to blame himself for something he had no control of. He fell on his own sword because he was pushed into it out of someone else’s selfishness. Because of this, the former manifested, and we were down to the push-and-pull of his relationship with his lady love.

Thoughts so far: I am still pissed at his character (by a bit), but I admit I melted because of the most recent episode. How could I not? YSH is the powerhouse of this show. He knows how to live his character. He acts the conflicts as if it were his own. And because the ball is now on his court, I am curious as to how he will break the truth into Ga Eun. I want him to tell her, and I want her to be resentful of him face to face. I want them to face this obstacle head on, otherwise their separation would be senseless imo. I am already amazed by his ability as a leader, and I am excited to see how the dots will connect for him.

Kim So Hyun. In truth, it was actually my first time to watch a series with her as the main lead (sue me), but I like watching her cameo/side character roles. As Ga Eun, she may appear boring because she is almost saint-like. I digress. Ga Eun is the type to look after others first. People could have forgotten that she had to be a leader of her father’s – and now her – people so they could survive after being kicked out of their homes earlier in the drama. There was nothing productive to do with her father dead and her life in a standstill. She knew where her priorities should lie, as evidenced by her choosing the people over “Chun Soo”, but through it all he was at the back of her mind. Everything about her is very maternal. (She kind of reminds me of Boon Yi from Six Flying Dragons). In terms of character trajectory, Ga Eun is more of an underdeveloped character at this point. The recent episode felt like a pick-me-up for her so that she could catch up with the others. The path now opens for her, but with “Chun Soo” back in her life, she had a difficult choice to make.

Thoughts so far: I love Ga Eun, period. Really. I like watching her and the PDs did a piss poor job in the past few episodes. They did disservice to her character. I want to say that they wasted her, but then with the Queen involving her, I have high hopes that the ruckus will be insane. Also, KSH makes her animated, and she could easily steal the show should she be given the opportunity. I also love her chemistry with YSH!!! COME ON FIGHT ME!! Maybe it’s because they’ve been doing this for a very long time, but they know how to build the atmosphere required of them. Ahh, my poor babies. I hope their reconciliation and their story would be given justice.

As for Kim Myung Soo, wow. I didn’t expect I’d root for him, much less like him. Peasant turned pupper prince suited him. I haven’t watched any of his shows, nor am I a fan of Infinite (However, there’s Hoya from Reply 1997!) He was a boy born out of luck, who happened to befriend the Crown Prince. His transition from a strong-willed, recklessly brave boy to a restricted and near hopeless man could be seen by how he carried himself as the puppet king – stooped, sickly, and enslaved to a throne that wasn’t his. He was one character who held on his innocence even if Pyunsoo Group manipulated from almost all angles.

Thoughts so far: I was quite relieved that the Queen Dowager has gotten into him. He was that one character I am conflicted on whether he would go evil or not. I want him not to. I want him to preserve his humanity for his sister (who I adore a lot) and his mother. I want him to remain loyal to the real owner of the throne. For a moment, like I’ve said, I actually rooted for him as Ga Eun’s end game, because of how pure his intentions are. He remains, imo, good through it all. I actually fear that he would die at the end, but then I have to brave the storm should it happen.

Yoon So Hee. Daughter and possible heiress of the villain of the story. I didn’t like her from the start, because her actions caused every hardship that took place in the lives of the characters. I would commend the writers for making her very Slytherin (but they’re selling her or the actress too much it’s unfair for the main female lead? Why?) In terms of character development, I would say that her selflessness is an act of selfishness, and that never sat well with me. I do pity her for pining after the Crown Prince, but I don’t think I could forgive her for causing all the deaths (and subsequently, the grievances) that haunt our main leads.

Thoughts so far: The character made me hate her a lot, so I guess Yoon So Hee is an effective antagonist. However, she doesn’t exude the same threatening aura as the man playing his grandfather. She felt more tired when she’s becoming angry. I really couldn’t say much because I would probably say something not nice (shakes fist again to Ruler PD-nims!!)

So, that’s it for now? I still have a lot of idea digesting right now, and will hopefully write about them soon.