#ppl talking about the dangers of the game (which IS a discussion that needs to be had) over something that has NEVER HAPPENED IN FOOTBALL

[gordontheengineswifenirmal]

Absolutely LIVID. FUMING.

A few days ago, I shared that I had talked with another Tumblr user about our similar experiences of being harrassedn falsely accused of things in the fabdom. Much of the false accusations, and subsequent hsrrassment ocvuredwhildt I was in the hospital, nearly dying. I had surgery to save me life. I recuperated.

Ok, so another Tumblr user (and former friend on discord) went quiet. I have been busy moving into a one bedroom in basement of the place I currently stay in, n haven't really gotten to keep up as much. Today, I finally check in on the person. This is her -

Ok, sooooo this is the conversation -

Now, she even asked other people if I had done anything inappropriate with other members. They said NO. Mind you, she’d been active in two discords I run. She saw the messages. I didn’t hide anything. I’ve discussed the situation many times. Even here on tumblr, I do not flirt with anyone. if anyone tries, I report n post about them. I’m NOT interested. Why the hell can’t ppl get that in their head? I’m ESPECIALLY not inappropriately interested in minors. I will b friendly n b a mentor if they r friendly, but that is it.

This is what I got when I DMMed her - (names blurred for privacy)

She had REAL evidence right in front of her bloody eyes. The term ‘staying neutral’ means u secretly have doubts. U secretly still have some shred of belief for the troll who harassed several of us (which was why I created the servers to begin with, as a safe space!)

It’s THIS mentality that allows the real predators to go free. This mentality that allows fascist, convicted felon perverts to rule us. U take power from the victim n give it back to the abuser. No. SOD THAT. I’m speaking out, because I’m bloody sick of people thinking that’s ok to do. U either grow the feck up, or sod off either this behaviour.

U add to the trust problem when u pull this shite. Young ppl can’t trust adults, n then put their false hopes in other minors, thinking that they’re the same age group, they will never hurt me. This is WRONG and DANGEROUS. ALL age groups r equally potentially dangerous. Look, if u want to be friends, cool. If u dont, fine. Leave me alone. It’s that simple. I’m not interested, n will NOT be flirting with u. U need to respect me, not only by not flirting, but also, by not going behind me back n pulling stupid stunts. If that’s how u operate, I don’t want ur friendship. I don’t need your friendship. Go play games with someone else. It’ll cost u in the end anyway when ur ignorance catches up to u. This is also why id often rather talk to AI than real people. Because I’m at the point where I can trust ai over people. I know ai is imperfect, I’m not going to abuse it, but I can’t trust people, because they keep being stupid bloody cunts. I even have friends on here who know people in me actual life. They can verify I’m innocent.

This is also a form of aphobic prejudice. I’ve told her that I’m sex n romance repulsed. She’s asked me about bfs before, which is fine. I gave her solid advice about not rushing, n focusing on other things, u want to then be a sketchy twat, go behind me back, n believe the harasser? No. We’re not doing this. I’ve blocked her. She can learn that this isn’t cool. N she can suffer the consequences.

I will continue love me Thomas, Gordon n gang. I don’t give a rats funky arse for fake friends who want to play games. I don’t need them.

[ilikeyoshi]

😭😭😭😭😭😭💞💞

damar had the breathing tube for his ventilator removed and is 100% breathing on his own!!!!! :') i am SO relieved and amazed by his recovery so far..... just miraculous

[7habitsofhighlyeviceratedpeople]

Hi I have some concerns regarding your server. I don't think it's a good idea to have your Outlast server be all ages... Outlast is a very adult game and isn't appropriate for teens to be discussing with random adults in a discord server, even if the discussions aren't necessarily bad, ie just gushing over a character or whatever; it's because of the nature of the game itself that makes it inappropriate. Red Barrels themselves don't want underage ppl interacting with their content either, their website has you put your date of birth in to even look at anything, and their official server actually is 18+. There's a reason why they do that. If there are minors in the server that get upset over not being allowed in anymore, if you do decide to make it 18+, then they can create their own Outlast server only for people their own age, so that its teens talking to teens with less risk of anything sus happening. I could never tell a 14 yr old to stop liking Outlast because I was a 14 yr old who loved Outlast, but being in the fandom and discussing aspects of the game with adults wasn't appropriate for me then and it still isn't now. I'm saying this from experience. Honestly I don't think any discord server even if totally SFW and clean should have both adults and teens in it because theres too mush risk involved. I think having a server for fans of Outlast is great and I'm sure fans in the server are happy with how it is, but making the server safer for both adults and minors in the server would probably make people happier

Hello! Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you, I just saw this today and needed some time to collect my thoughts because I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach this in a way that aligns with my own personal values for the server and also tries to adhere to what you are asking of me. I take the safety of people, especially minors in my server extremely seriously. I also got into Outlast at a young age and have had my fair share of experiences in the fandom with creeps, usually adults or just plain weird people. My server is 13+ to be the most inclusive, while trying to simultaneously make the space as safe as possible for everyone involved. While I agree that there are absolutely sus people in this fandom (more so than others) and that it can be extremely dangerous for minors to even coexist in the fandom with these people, as i’ve literally spoken about in the past, it’s very easy for bad situations to happen. That being said, I personally find it easier and more safe to curate my space in a way where it’s inclusive to minors while also keeping it as safe as I have control over making it. The rules are specifically designed to make sure that weirdos DONT get in, and we have a very active community with moderators enforcing these rules. We don’t allow anything NSFW to get in the server outside of the specified channels, which BY THE WAY are role locked. You HAVE to be 18+ (unless you feel comfortable lying to me which I can’t really control and i don’t want to completely lock minors out of the server just over the potential of a person lying to me which will result in an immediate ban) We don’t allow any sort of discussion about anything NSFW in any channels, including conversations about sex, drugs, etc. The rules are insanely fine tuned to make things as safe as possible, and as of right now myself and mods feel it is safer to keep the server the way it is, than to kick all the ppl who are younger than 18 out to go find some other worse server or make their own which i personally don’t find to be a super safe option either. Here they are more protected imo than if they went to seek out other servers/made one that was ONLY minors. This is my personal stance on the matter, and I understand that this isn’t what you wanted to hear. For that I apologize but I will always be prioritizing the safety of the people in my server in the best way i feel that I can. I feel like under the rules we have and the safety measures instated they are the most safe in this server than one that’s completely lawless and i feel like one minor lying to me about their age is less dangerous than a creep lying about THEIR age to get into a server full of fucking minors. Doesn’t sit right with me, once again I am sorry. I will consider making the server age requirement older and speaking to the mods and members about putting even more safety things in place but like i said I just feel safer with the way things are. My dms are open for concerns btw 🤞 There is more I could say on this but I feel like this gets my feelings across the best way I can :) to me it’s like banning smthn like abortion. (weird example i know) it doesn’t stop ppl from getting them but it just makes for a safer, more sterile environment! Remember it is a FANDOM server at the end of the day and this is a very different situation than Red Barrels putting an age thing on their websites (which ppl can just lie to with yr logic lol)

[magnoliamyrrh]

Hey, sorry, just adding on to the pile of stories from the Balkans. I also grew up with family groping me and being uncomfortable with it, but never being allowed to say anything against it. My mother and father often made sexual comments about me, or when I went through puberty they would occasionally grab at my breasts and butt and comment on them. It's mostly stopped now, thankfully. It always felt so invasive and in general I hated how much focus there was on if I was growing up beautiful or not. My grandparents often did so as well. Whenever I would try to make any of them stop, show discomfort, or have a negative reaction I would get treated as if there was something wrong with me and I was being rude. Looking back I can't believe just how much we have made this sort of behavior normal. Ugh. Family members should not be calling children sexy under any circumstances. There is no possible reason for there to be discussion around a kids genitals. This should not be normal and so many of us shouldn't have stories like this. I'm glad to hear other's speak of it but it has made me so disgusted. We really are taught to ignore any bounderies

heyo anon <3 no need to apologize. yea its.. jfc. this whole thing has left me disgusted too. and frankly, baffled. i just feel so baffled. i keep trying to wrap my head around all of it, try to make some damn sense of how and why, and yet all it leads me too is just.... bafflement and being grossed out. when i asked on here if anyone knew what i was talking about i was not expecting this many ppl to get it. i wasnt sure if anyone would get it

im sorry u went through this, it really is a fucked up way to grow up. and the gaslighting that goes on - bc i rly do think thats what it is - tends to rly mess with your head. its immensely messed up that somehow in all this its children who keep being blamed and made to feel bad for.. v much having normal reactions to things. its a very jarring feeling to know something is just.. wrong. and not be allowed to feel that way. im sorry again that you were put through this, tho i am glad its no longer going on; i hope eventually you'll be able to heal from it all <3

and youre right. were very much taught to not have any sort of bounderies with our bodies. weather its this shit or the beatings or generally being treated as if were property, were really raised to not have much of a say.... it sets a very bad precedent and teaches a very bad and dangerous lesson

i was thinking abt this last night actually. when i was around seven or eight i would spend a lot of time with my cousin at my uncles house. he was some years older than me, by five i think. we used to get along well because i was a tomboy and he didn't make fun of me for it, he liked it. but i remember this one time he started showing me sexual games on the computer they had, some game in which you would give virtual money to a woman to see more of her naked, and it just made me feel so gross. i never looked at him the same, i felt he thought women were just pieces of meat. other times i remember laying in bed with him and he would want me to show him what's under my clothes, though he never took it further than that i don't think. he would occasionally grope at me but basically everyone did that anyway. i remember being upset with him, and him taking me to the candy shop down the street to make up for it

i always wondered if he had been abused first because i found out later his dad had molested another family member of mine. but looking back maybe it was the things he saw on the internet or from other boys. anyway, i tried to tell my mother and grandmother about it but they never took it seriously. never even scolded him. "boys will be boys" mentality and i was told i was being dramatic and shouldn't take it to heart because it's normal for boys to do things like that sometimes. it was normal to be felt up by family in general i guess bc. idk this culture is a fucking nightmare sometimes. now when i see him we just pretend it never happened i guess. it really is fucked up how much this sort of behavior is normalized, excused, and frankly defended at the expense of the saftey and comfort of kids... like what lesson does this teach other than, its ok to let people do whatever they may please with you, regardless of how much you dont like it? it must be some form of grooming i swear to god

[silver-wield]

Can we talk about the scene where Cloud and Aerith wake up after inhaling the gas and when Tifa is telling Cloud why she decided to go see Corneo, Cloud drops his hands and says “seriously??” to Tifa, clearly upset that she put herself in a dangerous situation. It was my first time playing FF7, but I can definitely see how much Cloud is in love with Tifa - it’s so obvious.

Hey, Nonny, ff7 and remake is a wild ass ride so hold on tight and enjoy lol

Ok, spoiler warning for ppl who haven't played – do I still need to do this? Eh ok, (I tag FF7R spoilers as final fantasy 7 remake spoilers) and for once this is gonna be short and sweet.

Also, this is one person's interpretation of the scene, so if you disagree that's cool and we'll agree to disagree.

You're also gonna have to excuse the janky quality on some of the screens, I'm grabbing them from Youtube and it's frustrating af trying to get the exact moment I want.

Other analyses if anyone's interested.

Shinra HQ vision scene (Cloti/plot analysis) 

Chapter 3 (Cloti reblog) 

Tifa character analysis 

Aerith Resolution (plot analysis/theory – I should probably update this since I've had other ideas since then) 

Train graveyard (not really an analysis, but I got some sweet screenshots of Cloti) 

Clotiscrew tunnel analysis 

Cloti reunion analysis 

The Promise Analysis 

Andrea's approval (Cloti ask response) 

Leslie analysis (not mine, but a good read) 

Cloti action touching 

Aerti friendship analysis 

Cloti body language chapter 3 

Now, strap in and enjoy the ride.

Quick recap time. Cloud and Aerith successfully infiltrate Don Corneo's place, get knocked out and dumped in the basement. Cloud wakes up to see Tifa leaning over him.

The scene starts off with Cloud looking relieved af that Tifa's not hurt. We know he acted like he wasn't worried about her, that he knew she can kick all the ass, but he totally pouted at not being allowed to help her and was probably hiding that worry throughout the entire section. This is further backed up by his expression in the seconds before he agrees to dance. That firm nod and eyes squeezed shut, you can hear him think to himself that he's doing it for Tifa, and I honestly don't think he'd have done it for anyone else.

I'm sorry, I'm fucking dying at that second screen! It's like he's literally just come back to himself and realised what he's wearing in front of his crush! This is not how he wants her to see him lol This is definitely a real!Cloud expression and I love that we get to see these deep hidden feelings come to the surface, but they’re also not just “omg I love Tifa”, so Cloud’s personality is very much mutifaceted and not just one note.

Poor bby is so embarrassed. He's lucky Tifa agrees to never bring this up again, which she doesn't when we get a callback to it later in the game. His eyes are everywhere but on her and as I've pointed out like a million times in other analysis, Cloud and Tifa do eye contact very well. Usually Cloud is all for staring into her ruby reds, but this time he's doing his best to avoid her. There's no judgement from her, she's just surprised. We probably won’t get this since we’ve moved well past this point, but I’d like for Tifa to acknowledge the lengths Cloud went to for her and thank him -- cue another cute moment?

And this is the moment you're after, Nonny. Cloud is feeling very self-conscious and defensive, which is why he has his arms crossed. He can't do much about his appearance besides put up with it and go full on SOLDIER!Cloud until this nightmare is over lol

At the same time, he can’t go full on SOLDIER!Cloud because he’s with Tifa and his real feelings always surface. He acts instinctively to protect her and shows her favour all the time. He’s always aware of where she is and how she’s feeling, so it’s nice that this hard ass persona he’s crafted to protect himself has such a big flaw that Tifa isn’t even aware she breaks through.

Remember, I just said he's avoiding Tifa's gaze out of embarrassment? Well, now his eyes are back on her and this is one of the few times he's disapproving towards her. Which is actually a good sign because most of the time Cloud is soft af towards Tifa, but this shows he's not just some weak ass puppy with a crush. He doesn't view her through rose tinted specs. He understands that she’s just as flawed as anyone else and can make mistakes.

Conclusion

This is very much a couple moment for Cloti, like plenty of others. It's different in that we're seeing something close to a lovers' tiff. Cloud is disappointed in Tifa's method and shows it, which is good for him because having him be infatuated with her and never question her judgement doesn't make for a healthy relationship. He knows she's mistaken here and doesn't hesitate to voice that to her. Tifa doesn't get a chance to engage with this side of Cloud because Aerith jumps in, so we can only speculate what she's thinking. I didn't get the impression she was about to throw down with him though, more like a lengthy discussion which would likely end in them agreeing they need to continue with her insane plan because they need the info, though Cloud would not be happy about it. All in all a nice bit of relationship development for them.

[ukaiknowsbest]

Review: Two Car

After years of watching just sports anime with boys I've become increasingly bored with every new release. My main problem is that the tropes among animes are just recycled over and over again. Moreover I have developed an aversion to being able to identify male voice actors across different works. Watching animes have sometimes turned into a "guess the voice actor" game with myself and eventually I hated it.

Therefore, since 2021 I have started watching sports anime that feature girls.

Anyhow the first anime I'm reviewing is called Two Car [CONTAINS SPOILERS]

Setup

Highschool girls. I forgot what year they're in. They live on this island where racing is a Thing. Their school is a powerhouse for sidecar racing. And sidecar racing enthusiasts all over japan go there and hang out. Basically their whole island is a sidecar racetrack. Their culture revolves around it. Yuri Miyata and Megumi Meguro are the best highschool racers in their island, and also in japan.

The team is composed of these 2 athletes, 2 technicians and their coach. Before the series started, their coach left them to pursue his dreams of being a pro racer in the Isle of Man in England. He could leave the girls behind coz they were already skilled af and they had a local lady coach who could handle things. Now Yuri and Megumi may be partners but they are also rivals. They want to beat each other guts. Think momoshiro and kaido from prince of tennis. They work quite well together coz they're so competitive with each other.

Now make no mistake, Sidecar Racing is an extreme and dangerous sport. People legit die from this irl. The trust between pairs (a driver and passenger) is important because they need to balance each other AND the vehicle or else they'll steer off-course and crash (and then die).

From what I remember, this 12-episode anime focuses on the national competition in sidecar racing. Therefore the best pairs all over japan have come to the island to be the national champion. 5 other female sidecar pairs are introduced. For some reason, the drivers and the passengers are housed separately, but the pairs train and plan together.

The anime follows the histories and conflicts of each pair as they all practice to get used to the race track. This culminates to the final battle at the end of the series.

My Rating: 3/5 -the plot is pretty meh. I was honestly curious about how it will unfold though. The characters are weird and meta af, combine that with girl power and "female flavor" (for lack of better word), it's a different POV on things honestly.

Art and Animation

It's pretty decent ngl. I enjoyed watching the racing sequences and how the sidecar pairs moved while operating the vehicles. It is smooth and the colors are pretty.

Technicality

I'm not into vehicles but there were technical aspects discussed. Modifications and etc. are often shown and you can see how the characters manipulate the different parts of the vehicle (like clutch and accelerator handling, etc.) Techniques to improve speed and handle curves/bumps are also briefly explained among other stuff. I dont know how realistic or legal some of the stuff they're doing tho so..watch with a grain of salt. XD

Characters

I'd say the characters were interesting. The main characters aren't beginners and are smh treated as pros even in their own island. So you dont get that "dumb beginner idiot with freaky abilities vs loner genius" partnership that is so common and overused in shonen series.

It's refreshing to see adults enjoy the same sport too and they also help the characters.

next part is under cut because [spoilers]

The MC's rivalry is honestly so..uh...petty and icky if you think about it. Both of them got this crush on their coach (help me pls) and they want to defeat each other to become their coach's partner in the sport. It's honestly so childish? but also reminded me of CLAMP/CCS bullsht and if I survived CLAMP then this plot point is basically peanuts.

They have healthy competition tho. Both of them grew up together (childhood friends) and developed love for the sport together because their moms were the og teammates. (yeah their parents participation and love for the sport is a big thing in this series).

The other character pairs are interesting too:

announcers

twins

master-servant

lesbians (like legit sailor neptune and uranus type)

osaka girls

and etc.

Each had their own drama and they resolved it within the series.

Realism

Honestly this show is more meta than sport. Like... it's not for casual viewing. I remember there was some deep psychological issue which the twin pair portrayed. There's a lot of drama okay? HOWEVER!!! I've only been exposed to Shonen type of drama (like the USTs and hero complexes) so whatever Two Car had was unique to me!! Girls are really written differently. It easily reminded me of my interactions with fellow girls (albiet more extreme).

Fanservice

They are always shown to be in the onsen after every practice day but honestly it doesnt count as fanservice. Only their busts are shown.

You'll have to get used to shots of the butt especially in sequences of the passenger manuevering the vehicle tho. I guaranteet that there is no excessive boob action sequences and other sht.

Look I have seen stuff over the years and since this show didn't provide see-through-shirt stuff, Two Car is "fine" in my books.

HOWEVER There is a dream sequence (one of the characters dream stuff up) which is straight up bdsm (i think that's in ep 6). NGL I dropped this show for a while because of that but hah it's honestly just a few dreams for one episode.

I TOLD YOU THIS SHOW IS META ALREADY.

Final Notes

Would I recommend this show? Honestly...no. But watching this was an Experience. Against the highly sanitized world of shonen anime, it's an interesting change of pace.

First of all, in girls sports, there is a lot of casual skinship because it's normal and comfortable. And there is more communication. Maybe it's a writing flaw that conflicts aren't as dragged out but idk, we dont have a lot of decent female sports anime to see what really works. Because I am often frustrated with how slow burn most shonen are, seeing characters resolve conflicts BY TALKING IT OUT is the most rewarding experience.

Honestly I really had fun watching the whole thing. The ending made me want to flip tables tho but the rest was quite enjoyable.

Personally I think ppl have more freedom in writing girls/women. There is just so much you can do with them.

you can see my live reactions in this twitter thread lmao

[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

[mimiplaysgames]

I like your thoughts on Luna. I do think the problem is how her character was presented in game it's the total opposite of what Tabata have said. It sounds too good to be true, eventhough it actually could. In Stella's case however, it was mostly shown in past trailer how she would behave so ppl had brief idea who she was. Too bad she didn't make it to XV and that characterization was given Sarah instead from a game I barely knew. Awesome.

Ahhh Nonnie this is definitely the point of contention in between fans when it comes to discussing Luna. I myself agree with the concept that a woman doesn’t have to be physically competitive or to fight in order to be a badass. I do believe in emotional strength and vulnerability (hence why Namine is my favorite female in the Kingdom Hearts franchise). I know these are qualities that Luna fans like to hang on to. However, there are certain qualities that I find in a character like Luna that mark her as a sexist and misogynistic nightmare for me, and I do have to say that on a personal level, Tabata’s comments on how she is Strong™, and how her emotional maturity as a foil to Noctis is proof of her Strength™ holds no weight. On paper, that is true, but agency in writing is far more than superficial definitions given by public relations. I cannot find inspiration or Strength™ from a character who has no reason to exist outside of a man (I mean, seriously, I almost feel like if Noctis had died beforehand, she’d kill herself out of her grief, and this is ironic - she does not have a plot-driven or character-driven existence out of Noctis, so without Noctis, there is no reason for her inclusion in the story and this is still a point of debate. Noctis can actually achieve what he needs to achieve without her, so there is no plausible reason for her at all. Period.) So yes, while Tabata attempts to prove his point in his comments, the structure of the story really betrays his intentions.

Stella, though, is her own demon. I’m wary of being a Stella-stan because even if she was included with her own devices, it isn’t proof that I or anyone else would adore her. There is no way to gauge how anyone would feel upon meeting her, and since she was cut, she is at best an unfilled promise and nothing else. But what Stella did offer was something very unique, in both of the roles she was given:

1) In her original designs, you can see there were some Romeo and Juliet-esque elements in her relationship to Noctis. A major theme of Versus XIII was that not everything is black and white, and what we see isn’t indicative of the truth. From Noctis’ perspective, being that his family worshiped what might have been Lich; being that Insomnia was in a never-ending night yet the country is called Lucis (Light); being that his family dressed in black and was a mafia structure; being that Stella’s family dressed in white; being that Tenebrae meant “dark” in Latin - I wouldn’t have been surprised if the original intentions were that Stella realized that certain things regarding Noctis’ family were a danger to the world (or at least that’s what she and Ravus were raised to believe) and she had a duty to put a stop to it (hence why she would fight him). This is a very unique concept that we barely see the surface of in other Final Fantasy games, and it would have been w o n d e r f u l to see it come to fruition. 

2) If the leaks by one of the developers were to be believed, Stella’s designs changed from someone Noctis met at a party to childhood friend, and her character arc changed along with that. She instead was someone who has died at a event (Leviathan encounter), but Noctis, being someone who can see the light of expired souls, still talked to her. She would have been an informant for him and the Chocobros. She would have been in constant contact with him, where she would meet in him and meet him after her death. Though this wasn’t supposed to be obvious to Noctis or to the player. The twist was about finding out she had been dead all along at the end of the game. This is also highly unique and a great approach to similar themes in other Final Fantasy games where lovers were separated by death.

All in all, based on what Shimomura and other developers have said, the ending of Versus XIII was always supposed to be tragic and there are such strong similarities between that and the ending of XV. Noctis was supposed to die and join Stella in the afterlife.

BUT (and that’s a big BUT) these kinds of roles need a lot of character development and time. It’s no wonder that Tabata, under such stress and tight deadlines, needed a female heroine that was flat and simple by comparison. Considering the popularity of characters such as Aerith and Yuna, it makes sense why he opted for a clone of those two, just to appease fans with similar tropes (which isn’t something I admire as a writer, but it makes sense. I do sympathize with him because the tech industry, especially the video game industry, is highly unforgiving, and I would not ask for his job. Three-hour sleeps for several years? No thank you. No one who is sane would want his job.) So, Luna in a way is more a necessary evil than anything else to me (and no, there is really nothing that can change my mind. My thoughts on Luna are based on my personal values that I expect out of female characters, and those values are non-negotiable.)

[comicteaparty]

July 8th-July 14th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 8th, 2019 to July 14th, 2019.  The chat focused on Court of Roses by Kelsey Peterson.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Court of Roses by Kelsey Peterson~! (http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until July 14th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you think is the story behind Merlow’s bad dreams? What demons is Merlow fighting exactly, and why do some of those “demons” want him to hurt others? What does it have to do with Merlow being triggered by Nocturne?

khkddn

1) hmm visually speaking I think my fave scene is when Diana shoots all those arrows http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/117/ it just looks so cool

But I also liked when merlow bonded with the kiddos who were curious about his bagpipes, that was a cute moment

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What do you think is the cause of Nocturne’s unfortunate circumstances that he mentions having to make due with? What might this have to do with his poor amount of stamina or immense magical gifts?

RebelVampire

1) Probably the scene where Nocturne and Merlow sleep in an alley under the rain. I am a sucker for rain, and I liked seeing Merlow's acknowledgement that he was kind of a dick but that Nocturne was still able to forgive him. Plus, the atmosphere the rain added was too perfect. Somehow a spot of warmth among the cold and bleak. 2) I see this going in one of two ways in terms of my current theories. Way 1 is that Merlow's dad wasn't just an elf, but like, ultra evil wizard elf. And his dad is trying to control Merlow and use him as a beautiful and dangerous pawn. Way 2 is that Merlow got possessed by a literal demon and that fighting the demon from taking control is a daily battle. I think in regards to hurting others, asides it just being that's what evil things do, having Merlow hurt others is a pretty quick way to break his spirit and just have him cave to the dark side. Nocturne kind of looks demon-y so there could be that connection. Or maybe whatever Merlow has within him just hates Nocturne's species since that seems to be a common theme in the world.

3) Nocturne. Nocturne is classy, powerful, but has that cute smidgen of vulnerability that makes him endearing. Also very classy, and how can you not like classy people? 4) Nocturne maybe had a fight that did not end well due to overconfidence maybe. And this left him permanently weakened with poor stamina. I also get the sense that there is some deeper emotional trauma hidden in this. Like the person that caused his weak stamina was someone super close who probably betrayed him. Cause every story needs a good betrayal? XD Alternatively, maybe he just had a poor dice roll to begin with for the game.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Those theories with Merlow and Nocturne are really cool, Rebel! aaaaa it's so neat to see people speculating this stuff.

That alley scene came out so nice too, I was happy with it. My own favorite scene so far... it's hard to pick, but I think it was the whole sequence of the main bards fighting the bandits that stormed the festival. Getting to let everyone show off, from Sven's muscle, to Feliks' conjuring madness, to Diana's enchanted tidinit, to Nocturne's mysterious power saving Merlow.(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What do you think the background stories are for Feliks and Sven? How might Merlow’s pre-established friendship with Feliks affect his interactions with the rest of the bards given they have more history?

Attila Polyák

I like had no time the entire week and could only read till the page where we see Sung from a distance. I didn't want to comment before I catch up, but now that I found a bit of time I get a server not found error. My luck is horrible. :( That said I do feel like my favourite scene will be the bit where Merlow performed and the cats came to listen. That was soo hear warming, but I'd like to read the rest before saying anything.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Ugh, sorry, comicfury just, goes down sonetimes...

khkddn

3) merlow is my favorite character, he just seems so nice and sunshine-y! Diana is also cool too though, and I also like Feliks... decisions is Hard

ErinPtah (Leif & Thorn | BICP)

I don't feel like I know any of the characters well enough to have a favorite yet! I know how they act on the surface -- so far Merlow is the most entertaining and Nocturne is the most aww-inducing -- but we haven't gotten into the depths yet. Anyone could become my official favorite with the right reveal.

Was Merlow actually "triggered" by Nocturne, or just upset? Important difference there! I took it as the standard fantasy trope of "these two species have a history of antagonism, but after fighting on the same side for a while they'll develop an Unlikely Bond, and discover that they are Not So Different After All."

Favorite scene so far, hands-down, this page. Perfect cinematic smash-cut, makes me laugh every time. http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/22

...no elaborate backstory theories from me, pretty sure Guilded Age permanently ruined me for theorizing about fantasy comics. Just looking forward to seeing where things go.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

That's a really popular page lol!!!

keii4ii

I have yet to catch up with the archive, but omg that is an awesome-tastic page (and now I wish Discord had a horrible bleeding music note emote to go with this)

snuffysam

real talk? my favorite scene in the comic was this: http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/ not even technically a scene, but the two panels side by side of merlow drinking alone, followed by merlow having a good time with all his friends, just got me right there in the feelings instantly. and the way the panels link to the first and latest page respectively is a stroke of genius. instant hook.

besides that, my favorite scene is the one of diana, sven, and feliks banding together to stop the bandits. these three were at each others' throats a second ago, but having to fight off those attackers brought them closer together. and we got to see them performing as a band while doing it. really makes me look forward to more things to come with the protagonist quintet working together.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

That makes me so, so happy, Sam, I was really excited to make those and code them properly, and I'm happy they have such an impact. :3

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Do you think Merlow will ever meet his father or open up regarding the subject? What about Diana and her mother? Will something regarding Diana’s enchanted instrument and the history behind it come to play in the story?

RebelVampire

5) Favorite illustration is definitely this place. http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/135/ I adore the particle effects, the change in colors and tone, and everything just works really well together. It's super awe inspiring to see Nocturne get a moment of badassery. <3 6) Feliks probably got banished for too many shenanigans. Since I'm pretty sure Feliks is a bit too comfy with spending nights in jail. As for Sven, I don't know. Maybe he's the one without some sort of tragic back story. Or maybe Sven has a tragic backstory but the tragedy of it all just flew over his head and he didn't notice. I do think there's gotta be at least something bad that drove his desire for justice. Like maybe he had a hero who died tragically or something. I don't know. But I do think Merlow and Feliks' past relationship is gonna drive some wedges. Cause Feliks seems like the type to go "well I've known Merlow longer than all you have" so ya know, everyone will be mad cause it can mean nothing while also being still true and itll just make everything awkward. And Merlow will make adorable faces and try to peace keep.

7) Merlow and Nocturne. They're both really different in terms of their relationship with being bards (or w/e Nocturne wants to call himself). And I think that their different viewpoints really bring out different sides to them that we wouldnt normally get to see. And theres no like bitter conflict either. Just two ppl filled with warm fuzzies trying to get to know each other and navigate the world. 8) Yes to both. The latter because I think he'll have to explain his past more in detail at some point, and that probably means telling everyone the circumstances of his birth. The former because wishful thinking cause there's nothing like meeting your long lost dad who went to get some milk and never came back. Diana too, of course, will probably have to talk about her mother who probably died tragically or, at the very least, when Diana was least prepared for it. I do think Diana's instrument will create conflict. In that someone will go, "Let's steal that enchanted weapon." And then it gets stolen and Diana freaks and everyone does bard battles to get it back for her.

Copper Mouflon

Been reading the comic and so far I'm really enjoying it! Didn't expect to as it's not what I usually read, but hey you kept me hooked and going for the next page! Absolutely loved http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/118/ made me laugh out lout. There's obviously a lot of backstory in these characters and I'm curious to see where this will go!

Copper Mouflon

NNNooooo! I reached the end! Job well done! It only gets better as the story goes along, by the way, Nocturne is BAD ASS, but most of all I love who they all seem rather normal (in the context of the story) yet they all turn out to ... well be so awesome.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

:D!!!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Besides getting hired for a murder investigation, what other consequences do you foresee for the group in regards to what happened at Saung? Will it gain them notoriety, or will it be swept under the rug?

RebelVampire

9) Honestly the detail I'm addicted to is Merlow's hair. Like I like the thought that goes into that colored bit of it, cause that seems like it'd be annoying to remember to include all the time. But more than that, I like seeing the fact that Merlow will actually undo the braid http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/70/ . Like there's several scenes like this where theres recognition that hair isn't plastic and displaces and people don't wear their more elaborate styles to bed usually. It's a nice realistic depiction of how hair works in everyday life. 10) I 100% think they're gonna have some notoriety from it. Cause what makes a better story than some bards who beat up bad guys at a festival. Plus, I'm sure other important people will sing their praises as well. Of course, this notoriety doesn't always mean good. Like sure maybe the king's 2nd cousin's butler will hire them for a job, but now bandit dude's secret twin brother can come and exact revenge on them. It's gonna be a dual edged sword where benefit and trouble will both come looking for them all.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Who do you think murdered the count and for what reason? Was there any specific reason the murder took place during the festival? Do you ultimately feel Merlow and company will be able to help?

Attila Polyák

Okay, so questions, yummy! 1, Definitely playing for the cats in the alley, buut the beginning of the bard festival was pretty cool as well. That said, I just feel like that scene grabs the essence of performance so well. I really liked it. 2, I feel like his demons are literal demons and they cause his nightmare, tho I have no idea how he met/got posessed by them. Connection to Nocturne? Probably looks, he is an infernal after all. 3, Torn between Merlow and Nocturne. Merlow is just an ultimate positive dude even tho his demons seem to be rather messed up and Nocturne. Well... He's just plain awesome. 4, I think Nocturne is in this state mostly because of his own decisions. While we do not know much about him, we do know that he is: Not a bard, Someone used to having money around but not in any fear of not being able to use it, Fond of music, Is, magically speaking, rather powerful, In general a sophisticated person, In possession of some rather unusual items. While these circumstances could mean a lot of things, my guess is that he's kindof an alchemist and he somehow traded his stamina for magical capabilities in pursue of another, probably greater, goal. 5, I think my favorite illustration is the middle panel on http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/134/ but really anything on this and the next to pages are. Just. Pure. Awesome. 6, I don't think Merlow's earlier friendship will influence the rest of his relationships as he seems to be generally friendly with almost literally everyone. 7, Merlow and Nocturne. I just find it to be a cool friendship, even though there are quite a few hints that there should be some friction between them for very real and serious reasons. Also Merlow "fanboying" about cool music is just adorable to see. 8, For Merlow... Yes, and I wouldn't be surprised if the topic was very eeply connected to his demons. Diana and her mother... I donno, maybe, but I'm more leaning towards no right now, but it could still happen.

10, I think that being part of the murder investigation will literally mean that they will be doing less bard stuff, which is obvious, but considering that they specifically came to town for the bard contest, it's still a shame. Now... beating the bandits already started them on an inevitable ride to notority, and being involved in the investigaton of such an inportant murder case. That will also boost them on their personal hype trains'. 11, Imo the greatest strength of the comic is the simple fact that even though a lot of not so great things happen to the characters (being thrown out to the streets for night, a murder case, bandit raid, inner demons, etc...) both the characters and the general tone of the story manages to be very positive. That's kinda odd, because this should be like... a bit of a dissonance. But the positive tone is just, simply there. I'd attribute that mostly to how Merlow reacts to everyone around him, but still since we see the story mostly from his perspective it just shines through a lot. Even when he is in pain, literally at times, he just somehow manages to feel positive. 12, I'm really unsure about the murderer, but I kinda feel like it's somehow directly connected to Merlow. Thus I ultimately think that the party will be able to help, one way or another, but the entire situation still feels a bit hazy.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Overall, do you think the new troupe of bards will be able to get along? What obstacles do you think there will be in them learning to cooperate with one another?

RebelVampire

11) While there are a lot of strengths, the one that stood out to me the most was the character designs. They're all so individualistic, yet each one is very specifically tailored to the character's personality. Like the minute I saw Merlow I was like "this is just a nice dude who maybe is a bit sensitive." and thats exactly what i feel like i got. and i always appreciate when the writing and visual design go hand in hand. 12) I think the count was murdered because nice counts disrupt the order of corruption and makes all the other nobles look back. As for the festival, yes. I actually think someone is trying to pin it on a bard. Especially if that bard's name is Merlow cause Merlow seems to have shitty luck. As for helping, I mean, I'm sure Merlow and company can find something. Although I personally feel like investigative wise Feliks and Nocturne are probably the best suited for the task. But hey the others can provide moral support?

13) I'm looking forward to just finding more out about Nocturne and why people seem to hate Nocturne's species. But just more Nocturne being fancy and classy is fine too. 14) I think the group will get along, but I think some relationships will fair better than others. Like I don't think Feliks and Sven are gonna become best pals anytime soon. And I kind of feel like Sven is gonna struggle fitting in cause he seems a lot more high energy than a lot of them can handle. Outside of that obstacle, I do also think that the biggest obstacle for them will be secrets. Cause they all seem to have something they want to hide, and hiding things from people who are supposed to be your allies can lead to bitter feelings. as everyone wonders why they arent trustworthy etc. etc. so i guess a better way to put it is trust will be their biggest obstacle, and that theyll have to accept a certain level of vulnerability.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

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[izzy-b-hands]

In the weirdest fucking headspace today over two very intense dreams I had (that utterly fucked up my sleep last night, hence why I'm waking up at 12 in the fucking afternoon when I had an alarm set for ten lmao.)

Warning in advance that I'm on mobile and this post will be long, my apologies but I need to get this out now or I'm not even gonna be able to roll out of bed. TW for parts of the dreams which feature: a funeral, a funeral procession, issues with family, drowning/death via being swept out to sea, and also some odd romance/implied sex because sure why not apparently.

The first woke me up at like five, and was v weird but distinct:

Mum and I were getting to her car, that for unexplained reasons was parked at a local funeral home, which for some reason was on a hill (we don't have many hills here, v flat place, but in the dream it was all hills, almost mountains.) The implication I got in the dream was that it was the only parking spot left which is weird but sure I guess.

We didn't actually attend the funeral going on inside, but it finished up as we were trying to leave, discussing usual stuff we do before we go home like do we have the cash/feel lazy enough to get fast food on the way home instead of cook. And before mum could back out of the spot they started loading the hearse and ppl were all over the lot which pissed mum off, so she drove OVER THE FUCKING SIDEWALK AROUND PLANTS IN CEMENT PLANTERS ON THE SIDEWALK to get past them!

Which was half pointless anyway, because my grandparents were in their car right by the entrance/exit and made fun of her for doing that and for not wanting to be in the procession to the cemetery. Grandpa specifically told her 'theres a word for ppl who do what you do, we have a saying about you' and laughed at her, but wouldn't explain that further.

This next bit had me legit looking up funeral procession laws when I woke up. Because mum did get caught somehow behind the hearse even tho we'd left the lot well before it did? And was somewhat understandably flipping out because we weren't actually meant to be a part of the procession, we'd only parked there because there was nowhere else to. And if we looked back you could see my grandparents laughing at us for panicking, so finally mum broke the procession and headed up this v hilly road, winding, again almost mountainous. The last thing we saw was my grandparents looking at us and glaring. Mum kept freaking out abt how it wasn't her fault she'd had to break the law and break the procession, but she wasn't going to lose her job over all this (no idea what in the fuck that has to do with it all frankly, but she said it in the dream.)

I kept trying to calm her and said we could turn around, or pause in someone's driveway (the roads were all lined with familiar houses we've driven past irl) but she wouldn't calm, and the last thing I remember before I woke up was her turning the wheel harshly and hearing the tires skid on the edge of the very high up mountain road.

So needless to say that fucked me up and I didn't sleep again until abt eight, because I went to shower and try and chill out before crawling into my bed in my room, before I'd been passed out on the couch.

Only to then have this dream before I woke up just recently:

No family in this one, only band members from bands I like and their family (which is just my brain making a good casting decision I suppose lol.) Specifically, Queen and Avatar.

The issue was...odd. We were stuck very near the seaside, near a boardwalk that looked alarmingly similar to the one in GTA/that tbh you would see in any game modelled after the West coast. In a building that Brian (though in the dream, it was hard to know it was him?? Like him and Bri and Freddie and John kept switching ages, one minute it was 70s Bri, then suddenly Bri now, and it was hard to follow for some reason) knew and explained to us was an old boarding school building, often used for safety for folks during times of flooding.

And in the dream I just went sure yeah okay because I had no reason to believe otherwise, and also a storm was raging outside and had been for the entire dream. Like we could hear waves hitting the building constantly.

Which was extra dangerous, because the Avatar lads and their family members (I was told all their families were there, like Henrik's wife and kids plus Paky and Jacob with Johannes, Tim's pup was there, but I only saw them randomly for the rest of the dream after being told by John (Avatar John, to clarify lol) that they had brought everyone with them) were up on this balcony that we had been instructed (by who, no fucking clue, but we trusted them implicitly apparently) was the safest place in the building and measuring from it and the iron rod fencing around it that matched the same on the building across from us would ensure our safety more (if the waves hit with a certain strength on buildings too far apart, the buildings would both be washed out to sea. Does that make logical sense? Probably not anywhere irl, but it did in the dream.)

So the entirety of Avatar are up there trying to make these measurements, arguing with Bri and Rog especially over this even being helpful to do when

And you can laugh at this, because I did too when I woke up.

There were canoes we could rent (RENT. As if we would be able to bring them back lmao) downstairs instead!! In like a surf shack thing that was in the fucking school building apparently? And bless them for a bit they really thought we could ride out the storm in them (Tim offered to share one with me and his dog. It was v sweet lol.)

Unfortunately, we then immediately (all of us now somehow crowded on the balcony which was way too big for a balcony tbh) watched a bunch of ppl outside the building try to do just that. And they failed. Miserably.

We didn't see bodies, but you just knew they were dead. Paky was crying, John (Queen, since we had two Johns to deal with in this lol) was v upset and kept talking abt how that wasn't a baptism that would get them into Heaven.

So the canoe idea was abandoned even tho the salesdude kept calling up to us and offering what he had left. Nice dude, immediately got swept out to sea by the end of the dream.

Cut back to us on the balcony, panicking. Tim keeps thanking me for holding his dog so she doesn't jump into the sea (she had no intention, and spent the entire dream in his arms, mine, or Jonas's, snuggling and whimpering and it was Honestly Heart Wrenching.) I remind him we're in this together and it's no problem. He pulls me aside for what I'm going to politely censor and just call a v weird and frankly ill-timed makeout session (then again, maybe being about to be swept out to sea is the best time for that?? Idk, but I digress except to say he was a wonderful kisser, but also we both kept crying abt realising we were going to drown, so it was A Lot for both of us I think.)

When we return, Brian has let everyone know that the final calculations are that we will certainly be swept out to sea, but so long as the building stays upright?? We won't drown and die. How does he know this? No explanation was given.

I end up hunkered down with Freddie and Jim and Tim and his pup (the cats for Freddie and Jim I never saw, but heard yowling in their crates so. As safe as can reasonably be???) My Nisha apparently didn't get to go with me for this dream, because I did look for her at points, but couldn't find her (Tim cried with me over that too and helped, v supportive, and now outside of the dream may I say v kind of dream him to do that for me.)

And we just...waited. Knew death was coming, and could do nothing abt it. The only comfort we could reach was that it would be like a museum at the bottom of the sea. Freddie and Tim reasoned that the Titantic, if you could walk in the ruins, might be like that. All old clothes and bones and ppls stuff. And so the school building we were in would be like that too, and we all agreed we liked museums, so maybe it wasn't the worst way to go.

Then the wave actually hit though, and it was just fkn chaos. Tim hanging onto his dog and my waist, myself hanging onto Freddie and Jim by the loops on their jeans (how tf that didn't just rip my fingers off, no idea. *Dream Magic*)

I realized horrifically that as we went down, the building was literally falling apart, bricks and iron work bars flying around us. And all I could see were bones when I looked down into the water, bones from every era but particularly Victorian by the clothes on them for some reason.

What was particularly cruel in this dream was that it ended with a false awakening. I 'woke up' to Tim's arm around my waist, and his nose nuzzling at my neck, asking me wtf I was dreaming abt because I was kicking him and could I pls stop? (Fair request, that's honestly an irl problem that my legs apparently have always tried to fight off bad dreams on their own, much to the bruises and regret of anyone who shares my bed.) And just as I turned around to answer him and tell him how fkn scared I was and how grateful I was he was there and ya know, not dead and drowned,

I woke up for real, alone, in my actual bed.

So now I'm feeling extra lonely, fucked up, and honestly peeved that the dream interpretation dictionary I usually use isn't helping much to make sense of any of this.

[sideblogintervention]

gons arm

ok this is preparation for when u finish or not claire and i can finally release the full extent of my stupidity upon u. one of my favorite things about caa is how it recontextualizes the entire show up to that point. up until gons explosion in caa, most of hxh is played straight as a shounen and doesnt engage in a particularly pointed way with its genre. beyond maybe like. kurapikas revenge quest being much more focused on the tragedy and self destructiveness of his revenge quest than maybe would be expected of a shounen. but caa takes the typical shonen protag traits in gon that it previously praised him for and turns them into tragic flaws. and the build up is SO PLANNED!!! LIKE the very fact that gons signature recklessness, confidence, and desire to be responsible for the well being of those he cares about is tied in nearly every arc to the motif of losing his arm i think shows that this was the endgame for gon, that part of the story of hxh is that of caution and critique of the very shounen typical traits of “bravery” . ok so like

hunter exam: gon breaks his arm while fighting hanzo. he is rewarded for his disregard for his own personal safety, with other characters admiring him for it and it winning him the battle and his hunter licenseship. during the killua rescue, gon is again rewarded for his determination and feelings of responsibility for killuas safety, which wins him the respect of the zoldyck butlers and inspires killua to leave his family. 

heavens arena: i almost forgot heavens arena LMAO its such a minor arc but. gon does break his arm again while ~testing his limits~ and it is followed by the first hint of rebuke from the story via wing! but its quickly glossed over and used to further emphasize gon’s uniqueness. i see this as just more buildup until the fall in caa

yorknew: i dont remember if gon breaks his arm in this arc actually LOL but it solidifies gon and killuas dynamic of gon being reckless and vengeful on the behalf of his friends and killua bailing gon out from the consequences of his actions. theres a really revealing piece of dialogue also, when theyre captured by nobunaga and killua outlines a plan where he sacrifices himself for gon to survive, to which gon tells him that gon is the only one allowed to talk about sacrificing himself for his friends, not killua. (AND WHAT HAPPENS IN CAA. LOL) 

greed island: in the fight against genthru, gon’s recklessness starts to tip over into portrayed as a NEGATIVE trait. still not completely, as it does get spun as indicative of his determination to push himself and he suffers no lasting consequences for it, but the tone of the fight is markedly different from that in hunter exam. in the hunter exam, his defiance in a needlessly life threatening situation is almost unequivocally portrayed as positive, despite other characters noting that it is extreme and worrisome. the genthru fight is marked by darker music, imagery, and a more serious appraisal from genthru as dangerously reckless. gon suffers much more severely for his disregard for personal safety too, losing an entire hand and severe injuries to many of his other extremities, vs the more temporary loss of a broken arm. his reaction is severe, and he only recovers through the miraculous use of the game card. other ppl have said this, but greed island was boring as hell LMAO but did a good job setting the scene for caa. its the beginning of the slope downwards for gon, and killua’s penchant for putting gon on a pedestal and understanding self sacrifice (see: fucking up his hands in the volleyball game) as a way to measure his closeness to gon is elaborated on in greater detail. 

caa: it all comes to head ! god there’s a really good flowchart of key quotes from the manga and the anime that someone put together for gons thought process during caa, but it all boils down to: gon’s need to be responsible for his friends’ well being means he feels wholly responsible for kite’s death. gon has a penchant for self destruction in the pursuit of what he desires (self improvement, finding ging, protecting his friends). when discussing why meruem might have caused intense damage to himself (RIPPING OFF HIS ARM......I HAVE MORE THOUGHTS ON THE MERUEM GON PARALLELS BUT THATS FOR LATER), gon admits that he would inflict great amounts of damage to himself if he were unable to forgive himself for something. and thats the gon pitou fight. revenge, but also repentance. gons dialogue during the fight (apologizing to kite, telling kite that he finished the job like kite taught him to, telling kite theyre almost even now when gon loses his arm) makes it very clear that gon is lashing out in betrayal, yes, but also in an effort to redeem himself for being unable to save kite. gon loses his arm fully and nearly loses his life, if killua hadnt been there to save him. i have som thoughts on what caa says about maturity and how that fits in with empathy, connection to others, and power, but ill. ill post that separately lol. 

[ladysophiebeckett]

me trying to talk coherently about ‘steele at it’ vs ‘steele trying’ but i talk about Cannes Agreement for a chunk of it. 

also, let me know if you guys have other thoughts as to when you think laura realized she was in love with steele. 

steele in 3x01 is unapologetic about his actions. he makes excuses and only explains things to laura when he has no other choice. he was unaware that laura (most likely) saw the stanford glee club tour as a couples trip (despite mildred being there, and i totally think it was his idea to bring her, only for laura to also think ‘oh he’s so kind’).  

prior to 3x01 i dont think he was aware that his own feelings ran deeper than lust (bc he uses that word a lot post Cannes Agreement). and I dont think laura knows her own feelings either, only that she was willing to take the plunge and consummate the relationship bc she stopped being afraid and was high on happiness of spending time with him. 

they never make a mention of ‘woman of steele’ again in s3 (except wardrobe bc they understand what’s up) but Cannes Agreement is absolutely influenced by ‘woman of steele’. actions have consequences; laura was standoffish towards him the last two eps of s2 (bc his past came back and it caused her to doubt everything) only finally warming up to him again in 2x22 based on his secret admirer ruse to get her back. 3x01 his past comes back again (and we all know what happens) and laura doubts his feelings again only this time she ends their undefined relationship. which she could have (and had a right to do so) in 2x20. 

they were definitely on thin ice post 2x20--whatever we didn’t see pre 3x01 caused laura to be on cloud nine. im not saying laura at this point realizes she’s in love with him but she does want to be with him (in the sexy way) and i do think that in her mind, at that time and place, she considered solidifying (and defining) their relationship through sex. steele is right (tho i feel like when he said it he was grasping for counter arguments) that consummating their relationship needed a discussion between the two of them. 

personally, headcanon wise---I think laura thought (assumed) she and him were on the same emotional wavelength based on her comments to mildred (...’he’s been more responsible, more caring, and i feel more bolder, more confident...’) in other words, she trusted that she could trust him and bc of that she allowed herself to be a little bit freer, a little more impulsive. only for it all to backfire in the worst way possible. 

the core of s3 is ‘i trust you to be my partner but i don’t trust myself to trust you with my heart anymore’. ( thats a whole other thing that i cant get into rn)

(you: but what does this have to do with---

me: i am getting that 5 ppl that will read this, hold on)

post 3x14, they kind of get back together--but its not the same anymore. the whole second half of s3 is them trying to take another (couples) trip. steele is actively trying to pick up where they left off in cannes and that is A Fact. All the trips are his idea and laura goes along with all of them. For steele, I think he’s trying to make up for what happened in cannes. Thinking that a real trip, just them together (away fm the agency) will be enough to catch them up to speed. (but we all know its not). (but like, i also absolutely believe that steele’s insistent couple trips post 3x14 was him trying to solidify their undefined relationship through sex).

For laura, of course she wants to be with him but too much time has passed, too many snide comments fm steele have been said, too many games have been played between them consisting of making the other jealous only for both parties to be hurt (the wiki s5 article waves at me---hey shut up)---whatever confidence laura had in cannes is long gone and she is floundering. 

‘steele trying’ (3x21) is a good complimentary episode to ‘steele at it’ bc the ruse steele invents is for laura, not against her. laura is shown to admire his skills, not necessarily when he uses them for good, but rather when he includes her. it’s when he excludes her and goes behind her back that both hurts and offends her (and makes her doubt everything). 

steele going to all the trouble of creating a fake case, to lure them to san francisco; all because he wanted time alone with her? on top of that, he confesses it to her, she doesn’t figure it out. he tells her the truth, is regretful, feels awful about it and expects her to be angry. he’s ready to face her anger head on and instead laura is overjoyed at his effort and later on, overwhelmed---bc this shows laura that he cares A LOT. 

steele’s actions in 3x21 are a huge leap in character development from his attitude and actions in 3x01. he’s trying very hard to make their undefined relationship work. the problem continues to be that it is undefined. (this is for a different post i have too many feelings and thoughts its hard to keep them organized) 

Unfortunately, in 3x21 theyre still not on the same wavelength. Laura is afraid to become Bold Laura, afraid of the person who causes Bold Laura to come out---herself, influenced by the feelings Steele invokes in her. (did u think i was gonna say steele? no buddy, this is all psychological. laura needs to see a therapist asap) and that is too many feelings for laura to handle. that is too much vulnerability. what if she ends up being in love with him??? that’s too dangerous. she must abort fm this undefined relationship immediately.

and she does. only to realize that it’s too late. the feelings she was afraid? she’s had them this whole time and she didn’t know until he left her. 

(you know? abandonment. her biggest fear, lol) 

(that’s not to say that im mad at him for leaving. the creative execution of 3x22 makes it impossible for me to be mad at anyone except the old dudes who intervened in their agency’s business). 

[survivormarmoreal]

Episode #13: "im so EMO (TION)" - Bryce

I cant believe that im still here. And we have majority. 3 vs 2. Matt is coming to me know saying that he wants to work with me but like. Bruh. But that could be good tho having him. I have to see what happens with immunity first.

OKOKOKOK CAN WE JUST DISCUSS HOW AM I A FUCKING GOAT. FIRST OF ALL Jock destroyers was a pretty dominant alliance i played a SNITCH RAT GAME with exposing plans and i was lied to but like can i get some credit here like first of all it was my fucking ideal to even force a tie, bryce wanted sharky out he didn't want rocks i wanted rocks when my ass was literally on the line here and i was still willing to go to rocks because i don't want to be a fucking goat and do what bryce or sharky wants this is the only way i could get brian SHARKYS #1 ALLY out of the game so that you know who sharky's #1 ALLY IS NOW FUCKING ME. so you know what yeah i'm a goat, greatest of all time actually and i at least deserve some level of credit or respect here to pull some shit off like this. only person on the fucking tribe with the balls to do this shit and i don't even have balls. OK BYE.

i literally dont have words. i keep having meltdowns and like its so not like me i usually just treat games as fun but im just so upset bc brian went home when we could have prevented it and now im in a spot where annabelle and sharky control things and im basically going to get 5th. i really thought i was doing something and life came at me real quick and said learn ur place KJFSHKJDFHSKJ. like the play anna made was smart so go her i just hate that i got played and that brian left with the vote steal and that my game is ruined and i came so far and i thought i was playing alright also i hate how everyone and their mother keeps calling me out for playing the middle KJSFHFKS like grow up and shade me in ur confessionals not to my face im SENSITIVE AUBRY. basically the point is: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/506665419092918273/541697763788980225/image0.jpg

I'm SHOCKED. I swore to Annabelle I wouldn't right her name down. And yet she writes my name down! And just as I was thinking I could trust Bryce HE RALLIES VOTES AGAINST ME! I'm so pissed off, and scared, and hurt, and now I have to scramble to figure something out.

Okay let recap everything that has gone down in this 24 hours since I was betrayed. So I talked to Annabelle A LOT. Basically we've talked to each other a ton. I discover that Anna made the plan for the tie and then Bryce was only willing to flip if the vote was for me. SHADY. I knew I should have never trusted him. So basically either I convince Annabelle to save me, everyone goes to rocks, or Matt and Brian flip on me and I go home. I would have said the last one was super unlikely. So I start busting my ass to sway Annabelle. We have really opened up to each other about our games, she is feeling like she has to make a big move. I talked to her about how I feel hurt because I've busted my ass all game to save Anna and Matt and now they both seem unwilling to save me. I tell the guys we just have to be nice but imply to her she stands no shot of making the end without me and how Bryce is going to win. She has no idea we have the vote steal so Brian/Matt would definitely get Bryce out next. So I go to sleep thinking we are making progress. I wake up an Anna is like "Matt was rude to me so I'm definitely not flipping" so I'm starting to feel really hopeless. And then Matt and Brian both started to dodge the idea of rocks. And Anna is telling me Bryce thinks Matt is probably going to flip. So i'm thinking it's over. And in the FB Bois chat Matt and Brian both keep being like "I'm so conflicted" "we'd be guaranteed f4" "blah blah blah" So now I'm realizing these two aren't willing to go to rocks for me. I've spent this whole season trying to save our alliance at any cost. And now that I'm the one in danger...they aren't willing to take the risk. SO now I get it. I've been too nice. If they are going to put their games above mine and aren't willing to risk it so all 3 of us can make F5...I'm going to have to make sure we take that risk because it's my only shot. So I pitch to Anna a way she can get her rocks and I can be safe. We tell them that Anna agrees to save me. That way they think were set and it'll all work out and then it'll go to rocks and I'll be safe. It's super risky and I'm putting all my faith in Annabelle and I feel so scared and guilty and idk but this is the only way I survive and there is a chance Anna goes and it all works out. But...it's also not lost on me that Anna is willing to risk her own game to save me...but my own alliance isn't. I'm feeling...weird.

Brian went home. I...honestly am just feeling horrible. And he was so mad at me. Like mad to the point that I'm worried I ruined a real life friendship over this game. And Matt is furious too and he's going off on me in our group chat which fucking sucks. Like that was the worst case scenario for me. And it sucks. But I shouldn't have to feel bad about this. Like both Brian and Matt were willing to vote me out so they didn't have to go to rocks. They put their game first so why am I a villain for doing the same thing? And they want to be like "we were up front with you about not being sure" like that's supposed to make me feel better. Yeah of course you were honest you weren't the ones in danger. It's easy for y'all to be honest when you're just going to vote me out. I couldn't have been honest with them or they would have flipped and I would have gone home. How do they not see that? Was I supposed to just give up? How is that fair? And how is it that they can vote me out and I just have to accept that but they can't accept that I saved myself. I'm feeling super alone, like I can't trust anybody, and like my best friends won't even take a second to look at it from my point of view. Of course I feel terrible. I just hope this doesn't come between genuine friendships.

ANNA REALLY JUST CLOCKS ME AND SHE KNOW SHE CAN BC WHAT ELSE AM I GOING TO DO. me matt maynor better be this f3 matt might win tbh but idc! anna has CROSSED ME and like laughs in my face FKJADSHFKAJ like yes ur iconic yes u did #that but im in this game with u and its a lil rude to flaunt ur success at me FKJADSHFAKJ when i do sth good i would never constantly bring it up (btw i won immunity once and got that cute blue color so everyone is jealous prob...) also im so emo i miss dennis and i miss brian they were the 2 ppl who i felt close to in the game and theyre both gone i literally am so upset i feel like if i wasnt so busy before tribal i could have talked to brian more and convinced him he had to vote sharky bc i KNEW anna was voting sharky but he bought her lies and i was convincing enough so i just feel its my fault i lost my closest ally (and his vote steal) although maybe he would have beat me in the end so this is good thing? nope! like i think i played alright in the middle but ppl prob wont respect it and idk if i would bc clearly im biased and maybe i am just a goat and thats why im still in like i rly tried to do sth this round but didnt i just ugh so demotivated hehe but maybe ill snap or sth insert positive uplifting quote here i just hope that i can turn this around and defeat anna and her pet shark. ALTHOUGH ITS LIKE WHERE THE BIG DOG PULLS ITS OWNER AND WALKS IT INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY AROUND. im so EMO (TION)

yesterday i was feeling a LOT of emotions and now that i have distanced myself i realize that my emotions were VALID and i am perfect and had the RIGHT to be upset that everything went wrong. i am speaking my immunity win into existence it WILL happen. i HAVE done the homework and even if i flop it (which i wont) i will still NOT GO HOME bc matt and maynor are hopefully on my side. OK BUT LIKE IM JUST SO JKAFSHKAJDSFHADSKFJA

This immunity is very important. We cant let Matt or Sharky win it. We need to have the opinion for them available to be voted out.

So like.... I am upset and feel very alone now in this game. Brian got rocked out and i was lied to again. I am just like so over it. I feel manipulated when I did have all the power and could've got a big threat out. but NO sharky and anna the fucking dynamic duo they are decided it would be fun to go to rocks! I am just so over it. Im getting fucking 5th place and I am MAD.

OR AM I? I decided to lie last night and say i gave my idol to brian last night. Why? It would paint an even bigger target on my back so i can go idoling. Cause of course I am not dumb enough to go and give my idol away hell naw. Instead, I need to knock sharky out of the immunity comp tonight but then get everyone on my case so they vote me. then boom idol. i know that this should get me to f3. I hope. If sharky goes next, and anna/maynor win FIC. then i know i can get at least maynor with me cause Bryce will then be the clear winner out of us 4. then maybe i will have a shot at the win but eh, need to get there first. I hope to god this can work and if not, final juror here i come!

I woke up feeling TERRIBLE. I feel so bad about the Brian situation. Matt won't respond because he probably hates me. I feel like a trash person. And tbh I'm questioning if I even deserve to be here.

I feel sick. Literally this is the worst case scenario. If anybody else had won everything would be fine. And now Matt has like given up which makes me even sadder. I'm honestly considering asking everybody to vote me out. So that Matt at least has a shot of making FTC. This sucks.

I WON IMMUNITY WOOOH IM SO ICONIC IM LITERALLY A LOSING FINALIST AND EVERYONE WANTS ME OUT I FEEL LIKE ILL LOSE IN THE END BUT THAT WONT STOP THESE PPL FROM GIVING ME 4TH WHEN I LOSE THE NEXT IMMUNITY AJKFDSHKFAJ THEYRE ALL LIKE SO VISIBLY DISAPPOINTED I WON IM SO SAD NNNN I WOULD BE HAPPY FOR THEM! i really hope they vote out sharky now bc its literally the smart move but im willing to bet theyll keep him to spite me annas gonna be like sharky needs to stay we get him out NEXT round and maynor might be convinced or sth idk and matt idk askdjfhdkjf i thought we were good but he ghosted me all day today so hm. club 96 nina and tina really falling apart

Matt is literally shutting down. Like I'm trying to talk with him and mend things and try to rally him so we can figure out how to keep us both safe and honestly he's just not interested. He seems disinterested and honestly he's being kind of a brat. Stop pouting! Sack up and help me fight. Because yes I was selfish last round and that put us in a tough spot but It was never my idea to trust Bryce or my idea to ignore that we had a vote steal to secure our vote at F6. I'm not the only one who made mistakes. So come on and let's freaking recover! Or are we just supposed to lay down and award Bryce the win? UGH

I was really on the brink of asking everybody to vote me out. But Matt is being so useless right now. If he's going to act like that he'll just get picked off at F4. He has no fight. So I'm over it. I really do love him but at this point I'm going to have to just try my best to get Annabelle and Maynor to believe that they stand the best chance at FTC against me, instead of Bryce or Matt. I've already ruined my reputation so I might as well at least try to fight. I feel over everything but I have to get it together.

The vote hopefully is between Matt and Sharky. I know Bryce really wants Sharky gone. Annabelle and I are talking and seeing which route is the best for us to make it to the end.

Like wow. My brain is so big. Im pretending that I threw away my idol to brian at the last second, and that I am leaving this round. Whereas in actually reality I still have my idol and sure as heck im playing it tonight and making final 4 YEET. like woe is me, woe is me, lol no bitch im here to stay. Sharky like, needs to leave as well. I love him but 2 big if a threat and I would quite like to well, win.

Oh and as I write this annabelle needs me huh. Well listen here, you lied to my fucking face and got brian out. Thus, you also need to leave bish. I am fed up of being lied 2 constantly by these fuckers called my tribemates and I am NOT here for it anymore. Time to play the lies and deceit game myself huh

This round is so weird for me. I felt like I was in such a tough place and feeling really defeated. But now Anna is getting paranoid and there is a very slim chance I could get her to to vote Maynor and then Matt and I both make F4. But my issues is I can't trust anybody. Because I don't think anybody trusts me. Like Maynor is being very noncommittal. Anna keeps flip flopping and maybe she'll flip onto me. Matt seems on board but honestly maybe he deeply deeply hates me and is just lying and will vote me out.

There is a little over an hour left before tribal. I'm convinced that it's me going home. Everyone seems to be too easy to agree to vote with me. It's not looking good.

Literally wtf. The Biggest plot twist of the century is occurring. I'M THE SWING VOTE?? Like since when in hell was I going to be the deciding factor. I mean I like it, I have the power for once and I am safe but still omg i LOVE IT! I am bunsen the Berner in this image, deciding between 2 fates: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DzD8lXwUwAAgTlp?format=jpg&name=900x900

Having a panic attack. Im really nervous. Like i know its between Matt and Sharky. But there is still a chance that somehow me or annabell could still go. I hope it doesnt and its clear cut with Sharky and Matt. Fingers cross. Or imma die.

i had a good talk with anna today and i kind of love her (as long as she votes sharky) i think maynor might go now which is sad bc anna says matt/sharky are doing that but like matt says that he wants me maynor him f3 so who knows! anna like was honest with me about not knowing who to vote and seems to be voting sharky but literally anything can happen so whomst knows.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH okokok i feel so fucking badly about this move like so badly ughhhhhhhhhh but i feel like it has to happen i'm so so soooo sorry sharky like you have no idea i've been torn all day on what i should do and idk i feel like i lose no matter what this fucking blows

Sharky is voted out 4-1. 

[ts-nightingaleislands]

Episode #10- “Is Cheatham actually high regularly or is it just a figment of his imagination?”- Sara

that was such a HARD tribal for me. i loved having noah on my side and stuff but also i know he would be one of the ppl to make a big move on me if he stayed . its getting harder and harder for each vote . i just gotta stay focused and hope my alliance stays strong another round or two . tumblr survivor gods i hope your pulling for me!

Austin and Vincent have to be testing me. I dont get why Austin is playing dumb with me or why he act like he didn't know. According to Vincent Austin was in on it. I mean regardless I know who Im just wanting to stick with but yeah, the weird jumped out. Cheatham is also saying this was a week or so then went MIA so thats cool

(LATER)

Austin and Vincent are coming off super sketchy. I mean it is nothing new with Austin, but Vincent oof. I dont mind it all that much because of who I prefer to go with, but it is interesting. If these guys are coordinated then, well, seems uncoordinated

(LATER)

So right now Austin, Cheatham, and Vincent have added me to a chat I guess to work together. I actually worry I am not Natalie Anderson, but Sierra Dawn Thomas Worlds Apart. Nonetheless, I think its smart for me to wait til F7 or so to make the move against Austin/Cheatham. I can't allow enough time to pass for the idol to bite me in my butt!

(LATER)

I now see that Austin probably thinks he can manipulate me, so I have to time when I vote him perfectly. Him feigning ignorance on the Noah vote tells me he likely feels I'm naive enough to believe him and hey people do prefer to keep the ones around they feel are lesser than themselves!

(LATER)

Ive had a change of heart- I think now Kyle is going to get dragged by people, however, I strongly believe he would choose me over anyone so its just a matter of navigating 6 tribals

Inane ramblings from Vincent's cf, dated 3 AM on December 26, formatted terribly bc this cf is dated 3:06 AM on December 26: >i'm looking ahead to the future >austin is likely going to want liam out >bc when he said he wanted to make a move he'd have to mean one of them >them being liam/am/sara >and as far as i can tell liam is being perceived as the glue >so if he goes then am/sara become lone wolves who are easier to manipulate >however if liam stays then the other one, maybe am, is linked with them and they will be mad at austin for doing this >so those are numbers on our side >my previous boot order (EDITOR'S NOTE: never discussed in a cf, but will be discussed at length later) changed due to the unexpected development that austin is willing to flip on his group >however i'll note now that there is a very good chance he's faking >although if he is i can't imagine why he'd put his true allies in such blatant danger when kyle is literally right there as a vote >*person to vote >so let's say 5-3 vote up next >me/cheatham/austin/chris/kyle all against liam's trio >ideally voting out sara >bc she is the messiest and the one i trust least >my goal will be to convince the others that this is the best vote >liam and i are good and he is my decoy f2 >too early for goat stuff but am is a better goat than sara imo >just keeping my options open >liam/cheatham/annmarie could easily each be in my f2 >but not in a "ideal f4" way >so if austin is with me for this vote then he should at least appear to establish further connections with me >he can't do anything without one of chris and cheatham >or kyle i guess >kyle is easily the most expendable of those 3 >so to limit austin's options we need to vote kyle >we >my old boot order is more or less the same >just kyle vote goes from getting austin's trust back to weakening him >then at f6 cheatham chris and i stick together >vote out am unless liam becomes dark horse threat >f5 austin goes >f4 chris >f3 liam >then maybe i win >wow this seems so real >like usually in orgs when i'm at the merge im like'well maybe it's still possible that i could maybe end up at the ftc but lmao imagine getting votes' >oh no i'm becoming overconfident >wow meeting noah in jury again is going to be awkward huh No matter how I place this is honestly one of my better confessionals. Either full of dramatic irony and I look stupid or I win and I look good. One outcome is significantly more likely than the other, of course. But neither isn't so bad, is it?

God I feel this challenge is gonna stir up so much shit! I just hope my target dont get bigger because of it.

Where I stand now is that Austin is very willing to have Kyle go this round quote unquote, but what is to say he may not actually want somebody else? It is interesting seeing him discuss his perception and everything. I guess he cannot help but try to downplay himself, but I feel the ship has sailed for him and now it is only a matter of time. Watch him pull a W

(LATER)

I can't wait for someone to get offended by this Touchy Subjects challenge. I know I won't. If anything, I'll just adapt with it! I also feel like now, it's important to see how AnnMarie and Sara handle things from here on out- either they're willing to try and go for Austin/Cheatham/Vincent, or they'll settle for Kyle. If this happens to go the way I think, I may end up as a potential swing in F7, but I sure as heck am not about to be like Miss Sarah Lacina Cop-Turned-Criminal in Cagayan. No Ma'am! I'm not ever feeling safe until I'm sitting in the Final 2

(LATER)

So Austin asks me for a name and I am like ok I dont mind if it is Kyle unless you guys are up to do someone else. Austin proceeds to say he wants to have options and just wants a name and I'm. It really feels like a bit of a bait just to go to X to say I said their name. I could be wrong but its just weird becaise I haven't heard him say a name yet

(LATER)

Austin! Do not think that Ive forgotten your leaky faucet ways! Like that's the odd thing about it- Austin has shown what he is capable of and it is just weird of him to press about this when I know he has lied to me before. Like right now I literally told him I am fine with anyone going and his response was to know who I actually want out. I really don't know what he wants me to say other than a name to implicate myself but nuh uh! Not I!

(LATER)

The way it looks, I can make the move to get Liam out but I highly doubt I will last much longer. All it will take after that is to say Chris did X lets do him  and so I want to try and wait at least to chat to Kyle. I also want to see how willing AnnMarie and Sara are willing to talk about this vote instead of waiting. I definitely do not want Cheatham/Austin/Vincent all in F6 or at worse F5 however that is easier said than done for this lot

Wowza, Cheatham is playing hard now. SO, basically the votes are supposed to go 6-2, Chris being voted out. Now I do not wanna go any further with Sara, AM, and Liam bc they will take out me and Austin first. So I talked with Chris and now there is a 4 person alliance with Austin, Me, Chris, and Vincent. Im going to use my idol on Chris and then Chris and Kyle will vote out one of the others. Kyle is a wild card and we don't wanna tell him EXACTLY what's going on because he is kinda crazy. So we are thinking about having Vincent vote with Chris to ensure that one of the others go home. This is yet again ANOTHER big move on my part. Im getting worried that people will think that I'm the biggest threat with MORE idols in my hand and doing all the big moves. All I can do is wait. If I keep winning individual immunity like this week then I'm golden.

I think I've had an epiphany and it took talking to Cheatham to figure it out. Apparently I am the vote for tonight, though he wants to do something I've been wanting Cheatham to do in this merge and that is take advantage of the idol system- in doing so he gains a lot of leverage and I felt disppointed that he wasn't optimizing it. Having that said, I think I got a little sad because he told me people feel like I never give a name and truth be told I don't and it is a mistake on my end. I feel like I'm so scared to say a name because it failed miserably for me in the first half of this game and now that I don't do it anymore, people use it as a reason to vote me out. I do feel like its like I can't win with these people, but I want to change as much as I can to give myself a chance

(LATER)

HI am seeing that Austin, Cheatham, and even Vincent legitimately want to work with me and so perhaps I should consider going with them. The question with this vote is how I do I go about it. I've already named Sara because I have the most reason to do her AND I know Austin/Cheatham lowkey wanted her so its a win win for all of us, but it would be interesting to split it if the idol were used on me. Regardless, I just want this to end greatly for me, be that new start to a Chris that has what it will take to make it to the end and win.

I have...lots of questions right now... Am I being voted out tonight? Wouldn't surprise me. Does AnnMarie have a f2 w/ Austin? Cuz I accidentally caught her in something the other day where she told me she knew Austin was asking others for finals. But it might have been an accident because I mentioned that Austin asked for us 2 in a f3 with him....never said f2. Is Cheatham actually high regularly or is it just a figment of his imagination? Why do people get weird and quiet when they're planning a blindside or change loyalties? I literally brought this up to Liam last night a while after results. Gwen/Rizo/Chris did this exact same thing. It's Survivor. Lie and make a move if you have to. I'd respect that a whole lot more. Ignoring people is just shit jury management and I'll totally call Cheatham out at tribal now if I go! At least Vincent gave me an ANSWER! *Giggle* And also...is Austin actually that nice or is it game? Cuz I lit dunno if I'll ever be able to write his name down if that's really his personality. x)

Cheatham wants to invent a situation in which he would play his idol and gain full access to two others. This really feels like a resume padding thing more than a legitimate move out of necessity, because we have the numbers to vote out our target now, and there's no reason that would change any time soon. To me, this solidifies that Cheatham really can't make it to the end, just like Austin. Ideally I want to be able to choose between Liam and Chris because I think I have an ok shot against them both, and it's reasonable for both of them to make it very far. Of course it's the final 8 so it's still way too early to think about the end, but I definitely can't take Austin or Cheatham with me bc they both have a good shot at winning against me.

Sara me and Liam are apparently a strong group so there are plans to usurp our place on the throne! I'm watching a documentary about Queen Elizabeth while writing this. Cheatham apparently wants us gone as well, which hurts. I thought he was with me. I guess not. That is all.

So this round is insane, originally it was gonna be Chris but apparently Cheatham is gonna idol him so we’re having to take out the biggest goat in this game, which is so annoying, but if it must be done to save Sara so I have a shot at making it to the end then so be it. There’s still so much game to play so I need to make the most outta it.

5 votes Kyle (w/ self-vote), 2 votes Sara, 1 vote Chris (negated by idol.)

[comicteaparty]

April 15th-April 21st, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from April 15th, 2019 to April 21st, 2019.  The chat focused on Synthetic Life by Eve Z.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Synthetic Life by Eve Z.~! (http://www.slwebcomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until April 21st to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Why do you think Alinski is out to destroy any androids that have migrated into human society? What do you think his plans are exactly to take down Lundstrom?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Do you think Crystal will come to accept Michelle? If you think Crystal can change, what do you think it will take? If not, do you think Crystal would resort to hurting Michelle? What will Michelle do in general in this case?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene so far is the one where nigel brings michelle to play volleyball. i was greatly satisfying to see michelle included cause up until that point nobody seemed to have consideration for how michelle might be feeling. i enjoyed seeing her getting to be innocent and just experience life a little and also being accepting for the first time. it was just all around adorable and touching. 2) I think Alinski is one of those sorts of people who hates the idea that mankind could make a better human than is biologically natural. so thus seeks to destroy this so he, and by association humans, can continue to believe they are perfect and can never be outdone. as for his plans, i think hes going to try and get close enough to lundstrom so lundstrom will inadventantly tell him where all the human posers are.

3) michelle is definitely my favorite character. shes just so sweet and innocent. and even her flaws are endearing since shes basically just a child who doesnt know any better. plus, being able to experience thsi sort of story from her perspective rather than a "humans" makes the whole experience all the more worthwhile

4) I am ardently cheering for Crystal to be redeemed where this is concerned, but honestly i dont think she will change at this point. I think Crystal has dug herself into a hole to the point that no matter what Michelle does, Crystal is gonna mental slap herself and remind herself to hate Michelle. All because I think at the end of the day, she's jealous of Michelle. Not just cause her husband is spending so much time with her, but just because Michelle doesn't have to deal with aging or addiction problems or jerk moms like Crystal does (at least in Crystal's mind). That being said, physically hurting Michelle? Nah probably not. I think it'll be mostly emotional scarring. As for what Michelle will do? Sadly keep trying over and over and over again until she runs out of options and becomes confident enough to realize that crystal shouldnt be allowed to make her feel bad.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. How do you think Nigel and Sean wound up working with the organization that is instructing Sean and providing Michelle’s software? What do you think their goal is in regards to integrating androids into human society?

RebelVampire

5) i really adore the last panel of this page http://www.slwebcomic.com/ch2pg22.html im a suck for nice backgrounds and i love balance of detail and simplicity in the city scape. i also really like how distance was handled with the colors becoming more blending together as the depth increases. i also think this was a great shot choice for the moment since it really expresses how large of a job sean has in front of him with finding michelle 6) i feel as though nigel must have met someone in the science field and he mentioned his son wanted to build a robot. and then some eavesdropping dude was like "orly" and then suddenly he was contacting sean and setting him up with an AI. and sean and nigel just went along with it cause theyre kind of...innocently gullible and dont seem to appreciate the full ramifications of what theyre doing. As for the goal, I think it's actually something like unlocking the true capabilities of AI and the joy of creating life from nothing. Or something like that. And if they can create life that is able to blend into humans, then its a benchmark where they can declare that yup, they can create true life and look at their godly powers or something.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think will happen in regards to Michelle’s school social life? Do you think she’ll get to see her friends more given her software breakdown? Also, will she remain hidden, or will suspicions about her being an android get her and Nigel exposed?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What do you think Lundstrom’s goal is with the kidnapping and upgrades he’s doing of integrated androids? What risks do you think are involved with his activities, and why do you think he risks them?

RebelVampire

7) I think the characters i like seeing interact most are Michelle and Darlene. I like seeing how their genuine friendship blossoms in the face of Michelle's situation. And overall I think Darlene offers a good contrast to other ppl in Michelle's life. She isn't making a bit deal about Michelle being an android, and i think she offers a spirit of hope to the story that otherwise felt absent. 8) I think eventually Michelle will wind up going to the school in a guise to blend in with humans. Granted, after everyone develops some sympathy that if they leave her locked up all the time, that's going to leave her bored out of her mind is borderline abusive. If anybody exposes Michelle, I don't think it will be the girls at the school. Not that they won't try, but I don't think they're ahead of the game enough to make everyone believe them. That and I'd think after a point it'd become the boy who cried wolf situation where they tried saying she was an android so much everyone would just like "yeah yeah sure."

RebelVampire

9) I really like the subtle details in technology. Like the world doesnt seem more advanced then ares, but then theres these small things like the books that actually need to be plugged into the computers. I think it really helps separate the world just enough from our own to make an android as advanced as michelle and all the others feel completely plausible. 10) I mean the obvious assumption is that Lundstrom is part of the secret organization and is trying to increase android's ability to blend into society. But really I think he's just kind of just trying to create whatever he considers to be the true version of life from a machine. Which to a person obsessed with that, thats worth any risk usually. as for risks involved, well i mean, hes kidnapping. imagine if jade or onyx got caught in the middle of it. cause at that point they can a) go to jail or b) confess the person theyre kidnapping is an android. neither of which are good and honestly, they seem like they have a good chance of getting caught.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Do you think an A.I. could ever be considered to be a human? In other words, do you see Michelle as a human? Further, what moment in the story was your favorite in regards to this topic being explored?

keii4ii

I haven't had the time to read the whole archive, but can I just mention that I really like the covers? It's an approach that I don't see often in webcomics, portraying sceneries/ still life images with no characters. They are visually interesting, and convey an interesting vibe, especially when juxtaposed with the comic's themes about AI, androids, etc.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. In general, how do you think Alinski and Lundstrom’s plotlines will tie into Michelle’s? Is Michelle in danger, or will the two tie together in some other way?

thats very true @keii4ii . I really like how they kind of make the chapter mysterious and dont give away whats to be expected.

11) i think this come really does a great job in portraying its themes an conflicts about AI. Its honestly really refreshing to me because this is a subject i see covered in novels a lot but never webcomics. So it's really nice to see a webcomic tackle the topic about what it means to be human and if an AI can be one. It does it in a fascinating way too since its from the perspective of the AI, not a human. so it really opens your eyes up to the possibilities. 12) That is a loaded question that depends on how were defining human. If we're talk species, then no. an AI will always be a machine while a human will be a homo sapien. an AI will always be mechanical and a human will always be biological. Thats just set in stone facts. However, if we want to talk metaphorical human in the sense of loving, empathy, having human emotions in general, then yes. And I definitely see Michelle as that. Is she the most perfect AI in terms of human likeness? No. But do I empathize with her and wnat her to find equality and happiness in society regardless of what shes made of? then yes. as for my favorite moment in the story regarding this topic, i really enjoyed the library scene where michelle was exploring the human biological processes and trying to understand why she couldnt have a baby. cause that ties back to what im saying earlier is about how are we going to define a human and that always really complicates the topic in a fun way thats easy to discuss.

13) im really looking forward to seeing michelle with darlene more. cause while darlene is being super duper nice, i feel there could be interesting convos still to go. cause i severely doubt darlene is fully ready to accept michelle as "human." i also think that michelle will learn insightful information from darlene about being a human and come to accept how she is different from michelle. 14) i do think michelle is in danger and inevitably gonna get kidnapped by one of the two. though i also consider it a possibility that sean or nigel will have a convo with lundstrom somehow about michelle and about what lundstrom is trying to do. but down the line alinski is definitely gonna be coming for her

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Synthetic Life this week! Please also give a special thank you to Eve Z. for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Synthetic Life, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.slwebcomic.com/