For what it’s worth for the 20 people who care. And this isn’t going to be a long post because I have no talent with that, and also I don’t want to hang myself with too long a rope because obviously I’m not that familiar with the source material.
Lin has trust issues (duh, also water is wet). He doesn’t trust anyone, he especially doesn’t trust anyone who does things which are nice for him. Whether that be compliments, or gifts, or anything like that. You see that a bit in the first arc when Banba was offering to help Lin.
Lin doesn’t really want to be indebted to others due to his trust issues, (although secretly he does crave affection and attention but that’s a whole other story). Anyways Lin dosen’t want to be indebted to anyone, but Banba has sneaked his way into doing just that for him, and Lin’s not quite sure how to handle that.
I think Banba completely understands Lin’s insecurity and trust issues, because I always got the sense that for all Banba’s ‘I’m this big dork’ thing, which isn’t entirely an act because yeah he is a dork…but I digress, for all that he does the dorky thing Banba is really good at reading other people. He knows that Lin is uncomfortable with the help he’s offered, he knows that Lin doesn’t deal well with compliments – so Banba always couches his niceness and regard for Lin with jokes, and backhanded compliments etc. I don’t think Banba’s bickering with Lin, (at least some of it) is as casual as you think, I think Banba is really calculated in making sure he doesn’t push too hard to freak Lin out. To push Lin so far that he’d run.
That’s my thoughts. I think Banba might have issues (upon which I can’t even begin to speculate because I don’t know), but that despite that, or maybe because of it, he’s also got a fair amount of emotional intelligence, which he uses quite effectively with Lin (okay maybe not so much with baseball, but you know what I mean).
Anyway, if I’m right in my assessment, I think that shows how incredibly nice Banba is. And I’m pretty glad Lin managed to stumble across Banba when he was most vulnerable with his sister’s death, because I’m sure that there are a lot of people in that business who would have fucked up Lin well and truly.
Aww thank you Anon, my birthday is March 11th so you were right on time with your message! ^3^
And don’t worry, I definitely agree that the current arc isn’t the last battle. The last battle/last arc will probably take place on the Island anyway, since all the huge titans that are within the Walls and that Eren might come to use are still relevant in my opinion, without mentioning Historia who most likely didn’t come with the rest of the Scouting Legion. 🙂
Besides, that’s also the reason Willy still went with his plan despite guessing that he would die: we will probably see a coalition between the different countries after the massacre that Eren started, in order to face the threat that he and Paradis Island just “proved” that they represent (knowing that Paradis’ only possible ally is Hizuru and even that isn’t certain at this point).
As for what you said about Marley, I think it was pretty much confirmed in a previous chapter…
that Marley relied so much on Titan shifters that they slowly lost the advance that they had gained on the rest of the world.
I agree with you that I think it’s the main reason the current battle was rather shown to be ironic so far. As the post I reblogged earlier explained, Marley might have 5 shifters and battle ships and blah blah, but the Scouting Legion has been fighting at a disadvantage from the very beginning. So, in that sense, it’s rather not surprising that they are most likely shown to be winning so far, because they constantly adapted to the threat they were fighting.
Though I find Magath at least more commendable than most of Marley’s commanding officers whom Eren previously killed, because he at least knew that it was highly time for Marley to stop dreaming about past glory and dominance and, well, he was right but I’m sure even he would have wanted to be proved right in a different way.
So yeah, Marley will need to change, in more ways and aspects than just this one in my opinion and the Eldians that are following them will need to change as well otherwise it won’t lead either nowhere. Maybe the first step to evolving will be to accept a truce with other countries they were enemies with until recently, because taking down Paradis and Eren will be “more important”. Not that I want them to win, personally, but at least that would show development for sure.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Anon and for the nice message! Please have a good week. :))
Ahhhhhh, thank you so much Anon! ❤ But omg, like, I told three people on this website recently that my birthday was coming up, so unless you’re one of them, how did you know?
Oh well, thanks anyway, that’s adorable of you to send such a sweet message!
Please have a lovely day and week as well Anon and thank you for trusting me with your questions! 😀 ^3^
Oh wow, that explains it, but I’m totally in awe that you took the time to do all of this just to make sure of the date.
Thank you, really I mean it ❤ it’s genuinely sweet of you and I’m very moved. :3
Anyway, I had a great day so far, very sunny and almost warm too so hopefully the evening will go the same way, haha!
Please take good care of yourself Anon-chan and thanks again. ❤
Ahhhhhh, Anon, this is very sweet and I’m blushing, thank you!!!! ❤
I’m very probably not the nicest person though, you were just kind enough yourself not to trigger my colder side, hahaha!
Still, thanks, this is adorable and it’s actually a fairly important year to me with studies, so let’s hope it will be a great and lucky year indeed!! ❤
Have a great day, thank you again for the very nice words! ^3^
Aww, thanks Anon! ^3^
Have a lovely day :))
Aww yes it is (for approximately 20 more minutes) and thank you for being so sweet Anon! ^3^
I had a great time indeed (it was almost warm for the first time in a while) and I’m celebrating the whole thing again next weekend
(but with friends this time), so this should do just fine. 😀
Thank you again for your well-wishes and I hope you’ll have a lovely week on your end! ❤ ❤
akzjjkzenbrkjzer ACTUALLY, I LOVE INDIAN MUSIC! 😀 😀 ❤
Well, to be completely honest, I’m an avid music listener and you would find basically almost everything in my music player (and by that I mean from old classical pieces to innnocent children’s rhythm).
But.
I have had this huge fondness for Indian songs for two years now, especially when I’m under pressure for my studies and I can’t explain why, but it’s probably because they change a lot from what I can hear on radio in France (and Bollywood songs in particular have a way to really create an atmosphere, especially with their music videos). For example, last year for my exams of May, I was working like crazy and every hour I had five minutes off during which I listened to one Indian song which kept me hype & happy and then it was back to work again for another hour.
So yeah, I totally do and I can’t get this beautiful song that I discovered yesterday out of my head which is why I reblogged it, haha. :))
I currently don’t have a favorite male singer, however I looooove Sunidhi Chauhan for female singers!
I’m afraid my knowledge of Indian movies is pretty nonexistent however (I’m not into movies in general), that’s why I’m thankful to Youtube. xD
TL;DR I totally do. 😀 Thanks for passing by and asking Anon, I wish you a great week! ^3^
Arjit Singh need to umm find his way to me and wake me up every morning with his beautiful voice.
This song! is beautiful!!!
So I was rereading the whole arc today and actually, you know what Kaneki’s new body reminds me of?
And it’s somehow so very fitting, in my opinion, when Touka still has unresolved issues about her father and even spoke of her fear of abandonment with Kaneki before, without mentioning the fact that Arata still is probably experimented on in the CCG’s labs.
Plus, we know there is an indirect parallel of situation between Kaneki and Arata (and Touka and her mom), without mentioning a few similarities of characters, as Ayato pointed out before, so I’d love if Sensei were to draw a more defined link between Kaneki’s current situation and Arata’s own horrible fate.
Hey Anon! Ahhh, well I got namely one question off-Anon about the identity of the star lords and I did tell the blogger that I was hoping to see something in March’s chapter before being able to really propose a theory on the subject, but I don’t mind answering asks about real!Ciel at any time if there is any?
I just don’t answer questions with spoilers about a chapter before the release of the official English translation, but right now my askbox is empty and I already answered everything about ch137 that I received?
So I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re talking about…? If you sent an ask and I didn’t answer it, it’s simply because I didn’t receive it. :3 Otherwise f you have anything to ask about real!Ciel, feel free to go ahead, the Anon mode will stay open until Monday evening. :))
The first clash between Paradis and Marley from chapter 101-3 has brilliantly illustrated the military strategy, strength as well as weakness from both sides.
Marley, being the dominant world power, relies heavily on Titan technology. And from the beginning of the Marley arc their strategy includes overwhelming their enemies with brute military force. We see it again in the Paradis-Marley clash when Margath mobilises vast military resources to tighten the noose and close the escape route of just a few enemies.
However, in chapter 103 their weakness really shows. Having been used to dominating the battlefield, underestimates the enemies’ strategy (which I’ll explore a bit later) and never formed a coherent strategy around how to deal with them.
We see sending battleships to Paradis island. How many? 37? You think you’d start revising notes when 5 or 6 didn’t make it back. We see them planning to get back to Paradis for one last showdown. But the strategy, objective, entry, exit of the operation were all up for grasps. In fact, this is exactly the same mistakes as the Warrior mission in 845. The plan was pretty much ‘send a bunch of kids to retrieve the Founding Titan’. How? Well, it’s up to them to improvise, isn’t it?!
They had four years. Four years before they focused on the threat of Paradis island. Yes, it was because they had had a bigger war on their hands. But it did not change the fact that in this clash they were very ill-prepared strategy-wise. And let’s not forget that they knew they had been infiltrated and still didn’t come up with a proper strategy. Or at least, it hasn’t been revealed yet. But if there is, it does not seem to be working. For someone who knows there are spies, Margath is awfully lax with keeping watch of his Warriors.
Pieck and Porco’s conversation shows how the Warriors could not unify behind a single strategy.
Also, having been used to dominating the battlefield with their Titan power, they become paralysed and distracted when they see a comrade fall.
Again
and again
They became overwhelmed with shock – How could this happen? How could the mighty Ttitan shifters have fallen? – and couldn’t recover. Had they chosen to focus on changing their strategy or re-evaluating their situation, they wouldn’t leave themselves in vulnerable state for the enemies to exploit.
Porco even broke rank, when it was clear that had he stayed he could’ve protected the Cart Titan. Both of them let their emotions get the better of them.
Even smart, calm-headed Pieck was no exception.
This is exactly the opposite of the Survey Corps (the veterans at least) who couldn’t afford to let grief cloud their judgements because the stakes is always against them, had always chosen to put the survival of their cause and the realisation of their objectives first. There would be a time for mourning dead comrades later.
So while the Warriors were distracted and confused Jean and Sasha took their opportunity.
They immobilised the Pantzer unit. Didn’t bother themselves with hitting the armour, they targeted the unit’s weakness: humans behind the dangerous machine guns. Putting themselves in front of the enemy. Targeting their weakness.
The result drives further panic into the already confused the Pantzer unit.
Then the SC targeted the Cart Titans limbs to neutralised its mobility.
… and up until the last moment Pieck’s last thoughts still were
Let’s be clear. The SC is the disadvantaged party from the start, but is that any news? just the fact that they have come this far is brilliant testament to their formidable battle prowess and strategy. They were able to predict to which places their enemy would mobilise their forces, and sent Armin there. I think it was clear in hindsight that the Colossal Titan wouldn’t drop from the sky, since Sasha spared Gabi and there wouldn’t be any point in doing that if they just decided to wipe out the entire area. Which would be bad for the exposed Corps members too.
Now we’ll just consider the Paradis/Survey Corps forces briefly since everyone is familiar with them.
They have always been at a disadvantage. Disadvantage in numbers, compared to the other two military branches. Disadvantage against the Titans. Disadvantaged in financial sponsorship. Disadvantaged in public support. Hanji said it herself, in a particularly memorable moment in the Uprising, that the Survey Corps’s record has always been full of failures.
But how does this shape their strategy? Well, it has led them to:
1. Rely on small, but highly efficient and mobile groups of people. Which leads them to…
2. Rely on widespread signalling to communicate their intentions and positions.
3. Achieve the objective regardless of the means. If it means putting your body in the fire, you do it. If it means watching countless precious comrades die, you do it. Regardless of the situation, always remember the objective.
4. Follow an absolute chain of command. When there is chaos during expeditions, you don’t always know what is going on, so you have to trust your leader has the big picture.
5. Absolute teamwork and trust. Whether against discrimination or danger beyond the walls, SC members have no one to rely on except teammates.
6. Exploit your opponent’s weakness to your advantage, while play to maximise your own strength.
6. Disguise and espionage. When the public is out to get you, it’s better to blend in. Use whatever tools you have available.
7. Improvisation. Keep a calm head and analyse the situation. Thing won’t always go according to plan. There may be lags in the chain of command. Strategy may change, but the objective does not. When you see the first window of opportunity, strike.
See if you can spot how many of these strategies have the SC used during the Paradis-Marley clash.
In this battle, they understand that they have an advantage playing a guerrilla warfare rather than a match of firepower. And what a team they make. Over 100 years of battling against the Titans have made them specialised Titan killers. They have ‘evolved’ their equipment to afford max mobility and efficiency against Titans. Against a predatory force, their ranks have gone through many trials of ‘natural selection’, if you will, to become exactly suited for the purpose of killing Titans and managing the ensuing chaos. Considering how heavily Marley’s very strength relies on the Titans, I think there is a reason to be very afraid.
Marley has been fighting the wrong war. Instead of their enemy from the other nations of the world, their greatest threat has always been Paradis island, ever since Paradis was armed with the truth. Ever since the SC decided to leave the island. It is far from clear who will emerge victorious in this fight, because the SC’s application of strategy has only at most even the battlefield. Marley still undoubtedly has their home turf advantage, and superior military resources.
But despite the awesome last page of chap. 102 aka double panel of the two opposing forces, from chapter 103 it is clear whose rank is more unified, which side has the clearer goal.
Disclaimer: This is not a post to glorify war, or the loss of human life. Just an analysis of the strategies used in this battle. Tootles.
midnight-in-town 