The funny thing is, this could apply to either Kendal or Stefan. I would love it if both of them think they’re playing the other, but only Kendal is right.
I’m sure that talking to Death Squads Gerog, who commands 10,000 Death Squad soldiers a day, will prove to be an outlier adn should not be counted as a bad guy.
“because that Stefan guy definitely does”, honestly I would consider his following words to be pretty low-quality lies but… he’s just testing Kendal on how blatant he can be without getting caught.
but yeah I was worried about this for a page or two now.
Ah kendal, you sweet baby boy. Absolutely love getting to see the paragon overcome a manipulator not by seeing through his lies but by simply being Too Paragon to lose. Yes sweetie absolutely keep empathizing with the enemy like the hero you are, I’m sure Stefan’s going to respond by being suuuuuper chill and normal about it.
Also, absolutely loving the Falst-and-Tess commentary from up in the gallery.
I would *love* to see Stefan getting a facefull of Kendal-“I told you so”, even if it’s unlikely to happen. But, Stefan, come one… “could be our greatest ally!” is slathering it on a liiittle thick.
Ohh goddd the battle of will and wits being signified by the fact that Stefan has physical high-ground during the conversation, and then when he agrees with Kendal’s idea (though is presumably lying) he is on equal grounds
While Kendal doesn’t know how to lie, I wonder if he can tell when someone else is. It’s entirely possible for a completely honest person to tell a specific truth in a specific way to illicit a reaction to determine deceit.
I was just thinking about that. Kendal doesn’t lie. But he’s “seen a hundred thousand mortal lifetimes.” He has all the wisdom of Vash. We’ve never seen him fall for a lie or a trick before. He was the first one to doubt Dr. Jolon’s story back in his first sef of life. I think it’s really really cool how Red’s built a character who comes off as so naive because he simply never lies but is actually quite wise and insightful and knows better than to take people at their word, unless he’s had good reason to believe he can trust them. I’m even thinking about when Dainix was confused about who was in charge and Kendal told him that he knows it’s hard to explain things to Erin so he just does them and lets Erin figure them out. Kendal, with all the wisdom and insight of Vash’s life, is perhaps the most qualified to know better than to take people at their word. But instead of using that knowledge to manipulate them back, he insists on being the kind of person who can invariably be taken at his word and I think that’s really really cool.
You know, I think the audience is forgetting that Kendal has an entire city’s worth of people behind him. He may be only a month old, but he’s still the echo of a city god.
Personally, I’m convinced that Kendal is putting on a Soft Boi act to get everyone to think Stefan is pulling the wool over his eyes. Exhibit A: “Which are you disagreeing with? Your Champion, or your God?” He tried to unbalance the entire army facing him by striking at the weak point of any religion, then pivoted when it didn’t work, switching over to trying to convince them that they can negotiate with Erin. Exhibit B: he’s dodging every attempt by Stefan to fish for information, distracting him with the ticking bomb he was running the clock down on, and generally leading the direction of the whole conversation.
In summary, Kendal can actually think now that he doesn’t have 10,000 people screaming in his ear and he’s got a million collective man-years’ worth of experience to draw on. He’s nice, not stupid, naive, foolish, or blind to how people are.
I definitely think that he’s catching on to Stefan’s lies and trickery. He’s just choosing to respond with things that are truthful so that on the off chance this *isn’t* the paladins deciding to betray them, he never gets caught out in a lie that would makenthem immedietly turn on the party
Yeah I’m on the same page, I don’t think Kendal is completely writing off Stephan and the paladins and diplomacy but I also think he *does* know what Stephan is doing and he’s not planning on risking Erin on the chance that this diplomacy works. And he may not lie but he is good about giving a certain impression with his information! Also Stephan does NOT know he is talking to an unprecedented living incarnation from a city god, we don’t know what exactly he DOES think but he is not prepared for someone with thousands of years of experiencing hundreds of thousands of people.
Love Kendal’s complete change of demeanor once he thought they could be on the same page. It’s been too long since we saw his “I was literally born yesterday” face. Though I also think he has definitely picked up on the fact that Stefan is trying to take advantage of him and might be purposefully omiting some details. I’m loving their interaction.
Too much at stake. Walter breaking out would doom the entire world. Leaving that particular ember to smolder because of a “maybe” isn’t logical, especially if the alternative solution killing just the one guy who messed with things he really shouldn’t have been messing with.
Of course, “logical” is not necessarily “right”, but I can hardly fault him here.
Anyone else imagining Tess and Falst’s conversation like supporting characters in a shonen anime commentating on a battle from the sidelines? … No? Just me? Ok then.
Looks like Kendal has a similar idea to mine last page about how Erin’s tattoo could be turned agains the dragon. I’m in agreement with Falst that Stefan is most certainly lying or half-truthing right now and isn’t going to agree to such a plan, but it does introduce the idea to the Paladins in general. Some members of that crowd might start thinking it could be worth a shot, maybe even one of the Sept too.
Kendal has shown time and again he believes in the goodness of people; Erin when he was seeping Void energy, Falst when accused of making chimeras, and now here. He’s not stupid, as @DadyCoool explains above, he isn’t revealing his name or giving an indication where Erin is, but that hope that something could work is genuine.
As is his desire to keep Stefan and his soldiers safe; no one dies for him and, if he can help it, no one dies against him either.
Prediction for next week: Kendal’s suggestion of evacuating separately and reuniting later will be read by Stefan as a trick for him and the others to give the Paladins the slip. Next page will be the escalation, or at least Stefan will show his true colours. I’m not sure what the nature of the next confrontation will be, if there even is one; Kendal still has the opportunity to leap back into the water to avoid a fight.
I find myself honestly a little surprised to see Kendal actually *say* “Erin is one of the most brilliant mortals I’ve ever known”, I admit. I have always kind of gotten the feeling most of the gang thinks of Erin as kind of a doof that thinks he’s smarter than he is and needs to be cautiously managed.
Also, Stefan, your lying needs a little work, come on, man, “how narrow-minded we’ve been!”, really?
OOF sending quick-healing vibes! For future appointments, I recommend pain meds 30-60 minutes before, and plan on a protein drink for the meal after the appt.
I feel like Kendal is also making this play to make Lord Stefan step away so they can see how he approaches re-engagement.
Once everyone has gotten out of the blast range and made sure everyone is safe, they figure out where to meet back up.
Does Stefan try to make a cautious but good faith attempt at talking? Or is he going for an ambush?
OH what I wouldn’t give to be in Kendal’s head right now! I agree with a lot of other commenters that he’s purposely seeming naive, but MAN I want to know his thought process… (Also, rewatched the Paragons Trope Talk this morning and got lots of extra Kendal and Secret 7th Floof Squad member…)
“So just let us talk to the Elemental Magus and we can definitely solve this peacefully”
“Can’t”
“Wh–Why not?!”
“Volcano gonna ‘splode”
“Oh. Yeah, I forgot about that”
And here we see Kendal’s *actual* win con for this situation. The entire time since the Paladins have been in play here, the floof squad’s stated goal has been to evade and escape. Kendal knew that Rakhn was getting ready to blow, which was why he brought down the dragon quickly. The moment he saw the general and his forces, Kendal seemed to be pretty clear in his intentions: distract and delay. Kendal and Stefan are both playing a high speed game of verbal chess, each with their win cons in mind. However, despite the numbers he has on his side, Stefan is in fact at an extreme disadvantage. The floof squad is 5/6 people who need to escape the island as it erupts. The Paladin forces are an entire army that would need to evacuate. Therefore, as long as he doesn’t give anything mission critical away, such as where they’re headed or what exactly they all are, Kendal *can’t lose*. None of the Paladins are fast enough to grab him before he gets fully underwater, and they don’t have prisoners to use as hostages. What he actually *says* is immaterial. Or it would be if he isn’t also very intelligent and has the experiences and memories of a war god to rely on.
Everything Kendal has said in these past few pages has been a phenomenal piece of theater and potential sowing of dissension in enemy ranks. Stefan’s too canny for the easy bait of “disagreeing with champion or god” to trip him up, but all Kendal needs is one seed of doubt to be planted in any of the Paladins present, and it makes things down the line easier. If Stefan or one of his subordinates *actually* believes Kendal and follows with the idea that maybe they could work *with* Erin to take down the dragon, that’s the best case scenario, if not one that would take a lot longer to achieve than Stefan’s trying to make it appear. If they don’t, then it’s no skin off Kendal’s back, and he’ll know he *tried* the diplomatic route. Which means he can fight without hesitation the next time. Plus he gets tactical intelligence on Stefan and the kind of person he is.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: this diplomacy shit is easy. hey man why is your face obscured in shadow like that
Image source: lie
“no bro it’s just the scene lighting i swear! thank god we’re in a visual medium or my bgm would have given it away”
Tumblr text: I told you this was going smoothly
Bluesky text: Tune in Monday for More Diplomacy probably!
The funny thing is, this could apply to either Kendal or Stefan. I would love it if both of them think they’re playing the other, but only Kendal is right.
I’m sure that talking to Death Squads Gerog, who commands 10,000 Death Squad soldiers a day, will prove to be an outlier adn should not be counted as a bad guy.
“because that Stefan guy definitely does”, honestly I would consider his following words to be pretty low-quality lies but… he’s just testing Kendal on how blatant he can be without getting caught.
but yeah I was worried about this for a page or two now.
Surely by this point, Kendal can weaponize his Soft Boi demeanor and get Stefan to think he’s leading Kendal around by the nose.
Ah kendal, you sweet baby boy. Absolutely love getting to see the paragon overcome a manipulator not by seeing through his lies but by simply being Too Paragon to lose. Yes sweetie absolutely keep empathizing with the enemy like the hero you are, I’m sure Stefan’s going to respond by being suuuuuper chill and normal about it.
Also, absolutely loving the Falst-and-Tess commentary from up in the gallery.
Falst and Tess are the Statler and Waldorf this world needs.
I would *love* to see Stefan getting a facefull of Kendal-“I told you so”, even if it’s unlikely to happen. But, Stefan, come one… “could be our greatest ally!” is slathering it on a liiittle thick.
Falst and Tess being absolute stars though <3
Ohh goddd the battle of will and wits being signified by the fact that Stefan has physical high-ground during the conversation, and then when he agrees with Kendal’s idea (though is presumably lying) he is on equal grounds
Yooooo I didn’t even notice that! Thanks for pointing it out!
While Kendal doesn’t know how to lie, I wonder if he can tell when someone else is. It’s entirely possible for a completely honest person to tell a specific truth in a specific way to illicit a reaction to determine deceit.
I was just thinking about that. Kendal doesn’t lie. But he’s “seen a hundred thousand mortal lifetimes.” He has all the wisdom of Vash. We’ve never seen him fall for a lie or a trick before. He was the first one to doubt Dr. Jolon’s story back in his first sef of life. I think it’s really really cool how Red’s built a character who comes off as so naive because he simply never lies but is actually quite wise and insightful and knows better than to take people at their word, unless he’s had good reason to believe he can trust them. I’m even thinking about when Dainix was confused about who was in charge and Kendal told him that he knows it’s hard to explain things to Erin so he just does them and lets Erin figure them out. Kendal, with all the wisdom and insight of Vash’s life, is perhaps the most qualified to know better than to take people at their word. But instead of using that knowledge to manipulate them back, he insists on being the kind of person who can invariably be taken at his word and I think that’s really really cool.
You know, I think the audience is forgetting that Kendal has an entire city’s worth of people behind him. He may be only a month old, but he’s still the echo of a city god.
Personally, I’m convinced that Kendal is putting on a Soft Boi act to get everyone to think Stefan is pulling the wool over his eyes. Exhibit A: “Which are you disagreeing with? Your Champion, or your God?” He tried to unbalance the entire army facing him by striking at the weak point of any religion, then pivoted when it didn’t work, switching over to trying to convince them that they can negotiate with Erin. Exhibit B: he’s dodging every attempt by Stefan to fish for information, distracting him with the ticking bomb he was running the clock down on, and generally leading the direction of the whole conversation.
In summary, Kendal can actually think now that he doesn’t have 10,000 people screaming in his ear and he’s got a million collective man-years’ worth of experience to draw on. He’s nice, not stupid, naive, foolish, or blind to how people are.
In short, go kendal!!
I definitely think that he’s catching on to Stefan’s lies and trickery. He’s just choosing to respond with things that are truthful so that on the off chance this *isn’t* the paladins deciding to betray them, he never gets caught out in a lie that would makenthem immedietly turn on the party
Yeah, I really think plenty of people have tried to fool Vash for one reason or another, and Kendal would know every way Vash has fooled them back.
Yeah I’m on the same page, I don’t think Kendal is completely writing off Stephan and the paladins and diplomacy but I also think he *does* know what Stephan is doing and he’s not planning on risking Erin on the chance that this diplomacy works. And he may not lie but he is good about giving a certain impression with his information! Also Stephan does NOT know he is talking to an unprecedented living incarnation from a city god, we don’t know what exactly he DOES think but he is not prepared for someone with thousands of years of experiencing hundreds of thousands of people.
Oh yes, Stefan can completely change a lifelong set of religiously held beliefs in an instant!
I like that: “Is he somewhere difficult to reach?” Why don’t you just tell me where that is and I can shake his hand?
Love Kendal’s complete change of demeanor once he thought they could be on the same page. It’s been too long since we saw his “I was literally born yesterday” face. Though I also think he has definitely picked up on the fact that Stefan is trying to take advantage of him and might be purposefully omiting some details. I’m loving their interaction.
Really, Stefan? Really? I know you don’t like that Erin has to die. Are you incapable of considering alternatives here??
Too much at stake. Walter breaking out would doom the entire world. Leaving that particular ember to smolder because of a “maybe” isn’t logical, especially if the alternative solution killing just the one guy who messed with things he really shouldn’t have been messing with.
Of course, “logical” is not necessarily “right”, but I can hardly fault him here.
Anyone else imagining Tess and Falst’s conversation like supporting characters in a shonen anime commentating on a battle from the sidelines? … No? Just me? Ok then.
Looks like Kendal has a similar idea to mine last page about how Erin’s tattoo could be turned agains the dragon. I’m in agreement with Falst that Stefan is most certainly lying or half-truthing right now and isn’t going to agree to such a plan, but it does introduce the idea to the Paladins in general. Some members of that crowd might start thinking it could be worth a shot, maybe even one of the Sept too.
Kendal has shown time and again he believes in the goodness of people; Erin when he was seeping Void energy, Falst when accused of making chimeras, and now here. He’s not stupid, as @DadyCoool explains above, he isn’t revealing his name or giving an indication where Erin is, but that hope that something could work is genuine.
As is his desire to keep Stefan and his soldiers safe; no one dies for him and, if he can help it, no one dies against him either.
Prediction for next week: Kendal’s suggestion of evacuating separately and reuniting later will be read by Stefan as a trick for him and the others to give the Paladins the slip. Next page will be the escalation, or at least Stefan will show his true colours. I’m not sure what the nature of the next confrontation will be, if there even is one; Kendal still has the opportunity to leap back into the water to avoid a fight.
I find myself honestly a little surprised to see Kendal actually *say* “Erin is one of the most brilliant mortals I’ve ever known”, I admit. I have always kind of gotten the feeling most of the gang thinks of Erin as kind of a doof that thinks he’s smarter than he is and needs to be cautiously managed.
Also, Stefan, your lying needs a little work, come on, man, “how narrow-minded we’ve been!”, really?
I doubt Kendal is fully falling for it, and is mainly playing along with Stefan to save his troops from the volcano.
Wow this is not how I thought this would go.
Also I just got braces yesterday!
I am in visceral pain.
OOF sending quick-healing vibes! For future appointments, I recommend pain meds 30-60 minutes before, and plan on a protein drink for the meal after the appt.
I feel like Kendal is also making this play to make Lord Stefan step away so they can see how he approaches re-engagement.
Once everyone has gotten out of the blast range and made sure everyone is safe, they figure out where to meet back up.
Does Stefan try to make a cautious but good faith attempt at talking? Or is he going for an ambush?
OH what I wouldn’t give to be in Kendal’s head right now! I agree with a lot of other commenters that he’s purposely seeming naive, but MAN I want to know his thought process… (Also, rewatched the Paragons Trope Talk this morning and got lots of extra Kendal and Secret 7th Floof Squad member…)
Kendal, I love you. You’re so consistently kind you actually throw less-kind people off, and I’m cracking up. Never change.
I mean to be completely fair, under water, deep underwater at that, and entombed in ice is fairly difficult to reach.
Exactly my thought. Also, I don’t think Dainix’s Crucible form would like the appearance of an entire f*ck-you army.
“So just let us talk to the Elemental Magus and we can definitely solve this peacefully”
“Can’t”
“Wh–Why not?!”
“Volcano gonna ‘splode”
“Oh. Yeah, I forgot about that”
And here we see Kendal’s *actual* win con for this situation. The entire time since the Paladins have been in play here, the floof squad’s stated goal has been to evade and escape. Kendal knew that Rakhn was getting ready to blow, which was why he brought down the dragon quickly. The moment he saw the general and his forces, Kendal seemed to be pretty clear in his intentions: distract and delay. Kendal and Stefan are both playing a high speed game of verbal chess, each with their win cons in mind. However, despite the numbers he has on his side, Stefan is in fact at an extreme disadvantage. The floof squad is 5/6 people who need to escape the island as it erupts. The Paladin forces are an entire army that would need to evacuate. Therefore, as long as he doesn’t give anything mission critical away, such as where they’re headed or what exactly they all are, Kendal *can’t lose*. None of the Paladins are fast enough to grab him before he gets fully underwater, and they don’t have prisoners to use as hostages. What he actually *says* is immaterial. Or it would be if he isn’t also very intelligent and has the experiences and memories of a war god to rely on.
Everything Kendal has said in these past few pages has been a phenomenal piece of theater and potential sowing of dissension in enemy ranks. Stefan’s too canny for the easy bait of “disagreeing with champion or god” to trip him up, but all Kendal needs is one seed of doubt to be planted in any of the Paladins present, and it makes things down the line easier. If Stefan or one of his subordinates *actually* believes Kendal and follows with the idea that maybe they could work *with* Erin to take down the dragon, that’s the best case scenario, if not one that would take a lot longer to achieve than Stefan’s trying to make it appear. If they don’t, then it’s no skin off Kendal’s back, and he’ll know he *tried* the diplomatic route. Which means he can fight without hesitation the next time. Plus he gets tactical intelligence on Stefan and the kind of person he is.