#I have re read fullmetal probably 4 times by now

[realitys-ex]

Now, Everyone can agree that the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga is a banger (I assume both animes are too, but I haven't watched 'em so no comment).

What a bunch of people don't know is that the artist/writer Hiromu Arakawa has written 2 other original works (one is complete the other is ongoing.

Silver Spoon: About a kid from Tokyo who, to get away from the demands of his parents/the stress of academia, attends a Farming School in the middle of nowhere where he is p.much the only one without a farming background. Hilarity, character development, etc. ensues.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm: A dude is raised in a mountain village, farming, hunting. etc. Until one day a fucking helicopter comes out of nowhere, his village is 50% slaughtered, turns out that the village existed for the sole purpose of breeding him and his sister, and it is not the 1400s anymore. Oh and Demons are a thing. Violence, humour, character development, etc. ensue. (This one is ongoing)

Now they are both 10/10, and I highly reccomend reading them both But that is not the point of this post.

She has drawn hundreds, if not thousands of faces at this point, so it is no surprise that you will see some repeats between the mangas.

BUT DO YOU KNOW HOW JARRING IT IS TO SEE EITHER INCARNATION OF GREED, HIS CREW, OR ROY FUCKING MUSTANG HANGING OUT IN A SCHOOL TALKING ABOUT COW BREEDS?

REALLY FUCKING JARRING! (somewhat less jarring to see them in tactical gear murdering people, or speaking with demons, cause that feels slightly in character)

Anyway, that aside, if you liked her worldbuilding, realism, in depth characters, approach to romance, etc. I do really reccomend them both.

(She also did another one entitled 'The Heroic Legend of Arslan' but as I haven't read it yet and it is a collaboration, I didn't mention it above)

[nbwriteschaos]

re: writing commissions.

---- my writing commissions are OPEN! all info can be found within this post or in this google doc. please dm for any inquiry or request!!

!!!fiction, nonfiction, original works, smut, etc!!!

1 thousand words ♡ $10 USD

2 thousand words ♡ $12 USD

3 thousand words ♡ $15 USD

4 thousand words ♡ $20 USD

5 thousand to 10 thousand words ♡ starts at $25 USD

---- all payments are processed through paypal only. payments must be submitted first before i begin the commission. refunds are not available but i will rewrite a commission if you are not satisfied :)

more below ...

(this may format a little funny as i'm copying and pasting some info from my doc, sorry!!)

-- as for pricing

((I do not accept negotiations as far as pricing! I’ve priced my commissions based on what I think my time and effort is worth while also maintaining affordability. There are to be NO REFUNDS.  If you are unsatisfied with the result of your commission I am open to rewriting it once more to ensure your satisfaction. All payments are accepted through Paypal. I am working on opening some sort of website to provide the best experience for commissions as well, but for now, Paypal and Tumblr are the best I’ve got. 

Please let it be noted that although I am an experienced writer, I do not have the qualifications of a professional published author. I am simply a person at their laptop trying to build a future career as a writer :)

You will not be charged if I go over your paid word count!!

Custom word counts between 5k and 10k will be charged based on how I see fit. **It will not go over $60 USD** ))

-- as for boundaries

i will write mostly anything. even if it seems a little questionable, i'll probably do it. for example:

a super sad angsty character death probably nobody but yourself would want to read, that one coffee shop/tattoo artist au you've been wanting to read but can't find on ao3, or like, idk, a fantasy involving d*bcon, f*rry, p*ssplay, whump/whumpee, mpr*g, terat*philia (monster fucking), obscure s*xual organs, g*re (ask me about this one if you are looking for smut involving g*re), v*yeurism, size differences, or other common k*nks.

i do request some sort of age verification if you are commissioning for smut.

strict NOs:

No extreme depictions of SH or s*icide. No animal a*use, death or g*re. Nothing depicting extreme homophobia or transphobia. No politics or opinion-based pieces of writing. No depictions of child or adult a*use of any kind. No extreme drug use. No underage, fe*derism, sc*t/f*rts/underarms/feet/sneezing, be*stiality, n*ncon, age pl*y/massive age difference, inc*st.

i have a right to deny any commission for any reason!

-- as for fandoms

I can and will attempt to write for any fandom I am not familiar with so long as there is enough info that has been provided for it!! However, I can’t guarantee it will be perfect. Here are fandoms I am familiar with and will write for: 

Anime/Cartoons: Genshin Impact, My Hero Academia, Tokyo Ghoul, Toilet Bound Hanako Kun, Fullmetal Alchemist, Death Note, Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Melody, Free!!!, Haikyuu!!!, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100, Demon Slayer, Hunter x Hunter, JJBA, Black Butler, Bungou Stray Dogs, Yuri on Ice, Kakegurui, Attack on Titan, Noragami, Adventure Time, Steven Universe. Probably more, just ask! 

Books: The Raven Cycle, The Dreamer Trilogy, Simon Snow Trilogy, The Foxhole Court series. Monstrous Series. Anything more obscure check out my Goodreads profile!! 

I am 100% down to write your original characters and plots!! In fact, I encourage it! For maximum accuracy, please provide as much information as you can for each character, plot, setting, etc! 

if you have any other questions feel free to send a DM or an ask and i'll get back to you as soon as possible! you can also check out the doc to see if it is answered there!

if you read this far, please feel free to reblog just to spread the love. i'd really appreciate it! thank you!!!

[whumpalicious]

Hi!!!! Trying to get active again here and haven't sent anything in forever!!! So...

Any new shows you've seen? (New to you, not new as of 2024 necessarily)

Any new favorite whump scenes added to your list? (Same as above)

Any new tropes you've discovered you love?

Any oldie-but-goodie shows or tropes you've been interested in lately?

What are your three go-to tags on Ao3?

Hiiiii Shadow!! Nice to see you back!💕 These are fun okay hmm let me think.

1. I have seen maaany new shows this year. I watched the new star wars show (and liked it), I've also started two popular ones that I never really got into, Futurama and Doctor Who. Am currently watching those two and I'm enjoying them! Then there was also this fun short Norwegian drama show. And probably more that I'm forgetting😳 Watching netflix is my down-time before going to sleep hahaha.

2. Aah I can't remember the scenes but there are actually some pretty nice Fry whumpy scenes in Futurama. I will try to remember them (or of other shows) and reblog if I do. There were some whump scenes in doctor who too, but I haven't yet gotten attached enough to him to really feel it, so so far that's been kinda "meh okay 🤷🏼‍♀️" I feel like I'm missing something tho, I definitely saw some good new whump scenes in other shows and movies too but my memory is leaving me behind

3. I've gotten a bit more love for environmental whump. I did already like it, but I'm getting more into it now, there's so many possibilities there. It's fun to think about

4. Gotten back into my fullmetal alchemist brotherhood obsession, so I have been re-watching and reading lots of fics, it's pretty much a comfort show to return to hahaha. So so good. And for tropes.. I still love a lot the kidnapping/captured trope, as well as fainting and a good old fashioned beating with bruises, broken noses and the works😍😍

Oh yes edited to add: I've been writing some things for OC's of mine from a star wars game as well. Whumpy things obviously, but yeah I've returned to there in full force as well.

5 "Hurt/comfort" and "whump", obviously, but that feels like cheating so I'll count it as one. Just like "hurt [character]". Angst is a good one too that I often add. And, if I'm in the mood for it, emotional whump as well. Or alternatively, search for fics with the graphic violence warning, set to complete only and maybe add a min or max word limit, and there's a recipe for a good time lol.

What about you?? Did you discover a new favourite trope/series/character? How are you doing in general?

Thanks a lot for asking❤️❤️

[wulfrann]

10 Fandom, 10 Characters, 10 People

Thanks @moondal514 for the tag!

Rules: name 10 of your favourite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people to do the same

This is an impossible task so I'm filling this up with how I'm feeling right now, impulsively, without thinking about it too hard. Ask me tomorrow it would be different. Also the order is arbitrary and means nothing.

1) Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist

THEE original gender envy. The boy. I thought I wanted to be with him when really I wanted to be him. and kiss Winry. Manga of all time. What else is there to say.

2) Ellana from the Ewilan & Marchombres Series by Pierre Bottero

She's the best Marchombre that ever was. She writes poetry. She's hot. She has claws. She is my childhood hero and role model. She is the best Bottero character ever. I am in love with her.

3) The Biologist from The Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer

I don't know her name and I don't care. If the first tome wasn't from her perspective I probably wouldn't have been so invested. I would never want to fix her because whatever's wrong with her is way more interesting. I wanna go look at tide pools with her even though she'd hate that because she'd much rather be alone.

4) Joy Wang from Everything Everywhere All At Once

Honestly choosing just one character from this movie is impossible, but Joy telling her mother that she's just tired is Top 10 moments of cinema that made me burst into tears. Also: she's gay. Also: she's depressed. Also: what a fucking icon. Also: her costumes.

5) Dean Winchester from Supernatural

Choosing between him and Castiel is fucking impossible but I had to follow my heart of hearts and if I had to choose I knew I had to make this choice. It is very cringe of me to shun THEE gay angel like this and I am very ashamed of myself but he would agree with me, so. I had to. Dean is simply too deeply unwell in such specific ways that I cannot resist the brain worms. Although, without destiel? He would be nothing to me.

6) Captain K.P. Hobb from Dimension 20: A Court of Fey and Flowers

Tragic furry goblin man. His pathetic devotion to a court and its values in spite of their being drastically at odds with his honorable and rigid nature has bewitched me.

7) Fi Carmichael from Planetes by Makoto Yukimura

Everytime I re-read the arc that's centered on her and her family I sob like a little kid. Also she almost died to prevent a terrorist attack just because she wanted to smoke a cigarette.

8) Cliopher Mdang from the Lays of the Hearth-Fire by Victoria Goddard

Kip my best friend Kip. He invited the Sun on Earth, God-emperor of the world, to take a vacation, and it changed the fucking world. Number one most epic secretary ever. He has 50-something cousins. I want to be invited to one meal with him so bad, I just wanna talk to him like for 5 minutes, I know he's the busiest man in the Empire and also he's not real but like. Pretty please.

9) Sam Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings

THEE holder of hope for the whole trilogy. He's in gay love with Frodo and he can't carry the ring but he can carry him. I wish to kiss his forehead.

10) Andrew Minyard from All for the Game by Nora Sakavic

It's really hard to pick one character from this insane series but I mean. I had to.

Tagging: @aoquesth @lackluster-violet @poetic-ivy @planavarium @polzkadotz @newbornmoon @svnroom @cupcakedyke @herobrineawakening @makebelieveanything

[haleigh-sloth]

Hi... can I ask your top 10 favorite anime ever (can be series or movies)? And why do you like them (if you don't mind me asking)? Thanks....

I can do manga rather than anime because I don't watch a lot but:

1. Fullmetal Alchemist: I think it’s one of the best stories ever, best ending that I think any story within the genre should have. Also nostalgia, but I genuinely think it’s a series to look to when talking about quality manga series. I re-WATCH this one every year because this is one of the few series where the anime (Brotherhood) does it true justice.

2. Boku no Hero Academia (for now, depends on the ending): idk, too many reasons. The characters, their relationships, the darkness in the story but how that darkness is used to instill hope. Lots of things I love. My favorite character of all time is in this story so that gives it points.

3. D.Gray-Man: probably the most flawlessly written manga I’ve read. It’s not done yet and it’s moving agonizingly slow, but it is unlike anything else I’ve ever read. My second favorite character of all time is in this story, so again, points.

4. Fruits Basket: Nostalgia I think. I read it in middle school and it just made my 13 year old little heart feel things. I re-read it almost every year. It’s a great love story.

5. Ouran High School Host Club: Nostalgia again. Super simple, super dumb and ridiculous in a lot of ways, but one of the few love stories that gives me those butterflies from watching people find love lol. I re-read this one almost every year.

6. Attack on Titan: The only tragedy I'll ever recommend lol. Not a fan of stories like this, but it has nostalgia points (I started it in high school at a sleep over with the same friend who got me into BNHA ಠ_ಠ ) and it's honestly just, fantastically well written. It's unique also. The ending it has, the way everything plays out is just *chefs kisses*.

7. Naruto: Ugh. Basing this off of pure enjoyment. I read it last year and loved it instantly. It just drew me in. I love Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi and Itachi and Obito. It has a lot of great stuff in it. It's *yikes* in some ways, and it's become very much meme material, but it's still a good story overall and I enjoyed it. It also made me legit cry. Twice.

8. K Project: Okay this fluctuates between anime and manga. It's weirdly organized but it works, somehow. I love it because it has a large cast and does them justice, has a lot of different storylines going all at once and they all come together and make one giant story that has so many different elements to it. One of my fav ships is in this story so bonus points. Also, nostalgia. This was def a high school experience for me lol.

9. Durarara!!: I'm still working my way through the manga but it's easily one of my favorites based off of what I have so far. Large cast, does them all justice. All the different storylines come together in the end. Izaya gives the story bonus points for just being in it.

10. Blue Exorcist: I'm not done and it's on hold for me right now but it's fantastic so far. One of the reasons I desperately need BNHA to end is so I can focus on BE lol. As for why, well, it's fun and light hearted but also has dark elements to it. The main relationship focus is two siblings, which for some reason just reels me in quickly and tugs at my heart. The story itself is just purely enjoyable and entertaining imo.

[doctorweebmd]

Nobody asked but here’s a list of animes that gave me absolute batshit insane brainworms in no particular order since for some reason I was thinking about this today:

(literally just me ranting under the cut lmao) 

1.) Sailor Moon - god, which little girl didn’t love Sailor Moon in the early 2000s? I was obsessed. Watched it like a religion. The manga. The art. The homoerotic overtones. The cute outfits. The princess that can fight. It still has a stranglehold on my heart. Although I tried to watch that Sailor Moon Crystal reboot and they just... bastardized it. It looks so bad lmao. 

2.) Dragon Ball Z - I think Gohan specifically made me insane. Oh, you didn’t try to do kamehameha blasts? You didn’t try to do Fushion-Ha with your friends? You didn’t pretend you could fly just by sheer force of will like Videl? Get out of here. I may or may not have written some self-insert fanfics that were DBZ/Sailor Moon crossovers as a kiddo. Lmao. 

3.) Yu Yu Hakusho - this is by far the worst offender on this list and probably still tops my favorite anime/mangas of all time. I’m talking obsessed. I can’t describe how many times I’ve seen it, collected all the manga volumes, collected the trading cards, bought and played every video game. Delinquent with a heart of gold? Second chances? Being alone and not seeing the point of your life but finding friends and a purpose and joy? Damn I sure wonder why this took over my entire teenage existence.... Also on a fandom note I think at this point I started being old enough to like, seek out fanfiction and get into slash. Fanfiction.net was a fuckin’ warzone lol. I was very weirdly into Yusuke/Kurama, too, and there wasn’t shit with that pairing anywhere. It holds up incredibly well. Spirit Gun?! Bad bitches only. Come on. 

4.) Gravitation - this one I don’t really have an excuse for. It was like 15 episodes but it made me straight up crazy. I collected all the manga. The fact that it was a BL book didn’t even like, click in my teenage brain. But the mysterious writer with a dark past? The naive and sweet lead singer of a band that acts like an idiot but has pipes for days? Urgh. As a concept, its still like, the best band anime I’ve seen. Plus all the songs fucking SLAP. It does NOT hold up on rewatch lol. Shuuichi is frankly annoying and Erie is a fucking dick. Plus on re-read the author is... uh.... kind of obsessed with physically and violently raping Erie in her own doujinshi and painting gay men as predators. Leaves a bad taste in your mouth. 

5.) My Hero Academia - *shows you around* yeah. here we are. Mind you, I haven’t been weird about anime in a solid like... 10 years but something about it activated my weeb sleeper cells and it has lived rent free in the my brain ever since. Everyone who shits on MHA is a hater lol. Story wise, character wise, design wise it tops my ‘greatest anime of all time’ list. 

Speaking of the greatest animes of all time... the list above does not represent what I think about them in terms of quality, just that they scratched an itch that I can’t really put a finger on. Now in terms of objective quality, I’d definitely remove Gravitation, Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball and replace it with Fullmetal Alchemist and Hunter x Hunter. 

Fullmetal Alchemist is the best, full stop. The power system is beautifully thought out and really interesting. The entire plot if heavily character driven. The ‘villains’ are engaging and you feel some degree of sympathy for them. Its probably the anime I would recommend to anyone who wanted to watch anime for the first time. Absolutely stupendous. 

I think if I watched HxH at a younger age it would have probably had the same stranglehold on me as the above mentioned. Its so outlandish and weird, the characters are all memorable, the villains are fascinating, and its just driven so heavily by this perfect, pure friendship of Gon and Killua. There’s no other relationship in shonen that I can think of that is just that... good. They’re literally best friends. They would literally rip the world apart for each other. The fight between Kurapika and Uvogin will forever be one my favorite animated fights of all time. ALL TIME. 

Honorable mentions that I’ve watched probably multiple times and enjoyed significantly: 

Ouran High School Host Club - god its so campy. So cute. So character driven. Beautiful. 

One Punch Man - really really enjoying it so far. Will continue to watch. Super hilarious. 

Regarding some really popular animes right now (AKA me shitting on people’s faves... sorry. I’m just a hater) :

Jujutsu Kaisen - am watching right now. I like it enough to keep watching, but I will say their power system and character introduction has been a tad lackluster and I’m not super into it. The animation is beautiful, though. 

Demon Slayer - am enjoying for sure. Will continue to watch. Same thing - the designs are beautiful, the art is breathtaking and it's an interesting concept, but I don’t really feel that invested in any of the characters. It just doesn’t have that emotional pull for me. What they built with Rengoku’s character and arc surpasses the emotional development of the rest of the characters in the series for me, easy.  

Haikyuu! - y’all got me to watch a sports anime. How. Overall, I liked it. Will continue to watch it. But damn does it do, like, NOTHING for me. Hinata’s and Kageyama’s friendship/rivalry is really the anchor of this whole series. Plus I love a short king underdog upbeat protagonist, what can I say. 

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure - I’ve seen most of it and... yeah, it's really just not for me. I sincerely do not get the hype. The outfits slap though. 

Death Note - read it before it got animated and really liked it as a standalone, but wouldn’t reread. Amazing plot, engaging characters, unique in every way and the art is mesmerizing. But honestly I’ve tried to watch the anime multiple times and it's just... eh. Can’t get through it. There’s just some stories that aren’t as good when you animate them. 

Attack on Titan - fascinating concept, cool outfit/power system design and super engaging. I’ve seen a lot of it, but they kinda lost me with the ‘twist’ of where Titans come from. It's like the author had this amazing concept and literally didn’t know how to execute it. Also like... Levi literally carries that show. Eren? Bitch. Armin? I wanted to like him so bad, but uh. Bitch. Mikasa? I think you know where I’m going with this lol. Stopped watching. 

I’ve never seen Bleach, One Piece, Naruto, Inuyasha and never will lmao. I think next on the list will be Mob Psycho 100. 

[alltheworldsinmyhead]

Fic writer interview

I was tagged by @marauders-groupie - thank you so much love, this was so fun!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

51

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

287865

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin (17)

The 100 (TV) (13)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga (11)

Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo (3)

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas (3)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2)

Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan (1)

Miraculous Ladybug (1)

also, not on ao3, but during Dark FF.Net Ages: Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Teen Wolf and Mortal Instruments and probably dozens more I can’t remember rn.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All of them are for Gendry x Arya from A Song of Ice and Fire

1. I’ll spend this summer by your side - childhood friends to lovers, arranged marriage, canon divergence

 2. your lips, my lips, apocalypse - modern au, smut

3. on and on it spins - modern au, outsider’s POV

4. it was a pretty good bad idea, wasn’t it though? - friends to lovers, smut, modern au

5. our love full of storms - domestic, hurt/comfort, kid fic, modern au

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do - I love interacting with readers in the comments section and it gives me a chance to re-read said comments (which instantly makes my day. every time and without fail)

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

For ASOIAF: somewhere between sorrow and bliss probably. It’s also easily the most controversial thing, fandom-wise, I’ve ever written hahah. for now i am winter and be still, my tongue are pretty damn angsty too

For FMA:B : soon you'll get better cause this fic is high-key me processing my mom’s death and i’ll never get used to it

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

No

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yup, most notably on here's to the mess we make - oh, good old days of bellarke vs clexa fandom war. Miss it now

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yup, both explicit and kinda vague. I think I wrote vanilla a few times too, but I definitely most enjoy writing kinky sex with BDSM elements

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

If I had, I am unaware

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Same as above

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

As you can clearly see in the list of the fandoms I write for, it changes quite often. I would say my all time fav OTPs are probably gendrya, royai, stydia, bellarke, victuuri and kanej, but tbh this list is never-ending and never-closing

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I’ve got a few gendrya stories started but I don’t think I’ll come back to writing for this ship 

15. What are your writing strengths?

Tbh, I have no idea. I was praised for my descriptions a lot and I guess I am generally happy with the flow of my fics. 

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plots, PLOTS! I cannot construct plots for shit. Also, English is not my native language so I obviously make lots of mistakes which I cannot always detect myself. 

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If it’s done well, it’s a fantastic technique (Murder Ballad comes to my mind especially). But it is not very often done well and it can be very distracting and irritating for the reader. 

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Probably Harry Potter, but it was over 15 years ago so who the hell knows. 

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

it's still you (the 100) - I have a deep, deep fondness for this fic, even for how unpolished it is

our love full of storms (ASOIAF) - probably the best thing I’ve ever written, tbh

somewhere between sorrow and bliss (ASOIAF)  - the one fic where i went with my guts instead of choosing the ending my readers wanted me to choose

i’m tagging @yanak324, @duskandstarlight and @whatanybodygets cause i am VERY curious of their answers

[deadlyglacier]

20 Questions tag~

I was tagged by @mythicamagic thank you senpai~<3

How many works do you have on AO3?

40 right now, plus 1 that is still hidden because of the SOFA Exchange event.  (I’m still a lil fish.)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

486,920!  That’s so amazing to me!

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

InuYasha - A Feudal Fairytale (18)

FullMetal Alchemist (18)

Mass Effect Trilogy (3)

Let’s Play (Webtoon) (1)

Kingdom Hearts (1) But I hope to write for many more fandoms in the future!  I have ideas for fics for Castlevania, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Last of Us Part II, and more!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

#1.  Stardust FemShep/Garrus, Mass Effect Trilogy, Rated Explicit. A retelling of the Shepard/Vakarian love story, with lots (and LOTS) of sexiness, from Garrus' point of view. Starts from before the Omega-4 and will end sometime after the end of ME3. Trying to stay as true to the game as possible, while adding some things happening off camera and a new ending.

#2.  Flamingo Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome's method of beating the summer heat attracts a certain demon lord...

#3.  Hawk Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome and Sesshomaru discover they have a mutual attraction for each other after a battle and a slight comedic incident brings them together. At first their relationship seems entirely sexual, but eventually evolves into something real. What will this romance mean for Naraku? Or even the future?  *TRIGGER WARNING FOR CHAPTER 6! MAJOR VIOLENCE AND TRAGEDY* Very, very loosely based on "A Mere Digression" by elle6778

#4.  Daisy Sam/Charles, Let’s Play, Rated Mature Sam wakes up somewhere unfamiliar with a splitting headache with no memory of the night before. Takes place right after the S2 finale.  First chapter was my prediction for what would happen next, and then three other “wishful thinking” chapters happened, lol.

#5.  Chemistry Ed/Winry, FullMetal Alchemist, Rated Mature A look at how the relationship between Ed and Winry developed after Brotherhood ended.  Cute, sweet, funny, and hot (eventually—y'all that know me know I gotta have some NSFW in there).

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to respond to everyone, especially when a fic of mine has just been posted, but sometimes I just forget.  If I haven’t responded to your comment, please know it’s just because I’m a big dumb and forgot!  I love getting comments, and I reread them all the time!  I just feel like there’s a time limit to when I can respond to them--if I let too much go by, it’s awkward if I reply.  Gah, but that’s just me getting in my own head, I guess.  I’ll do better!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oof, definitely Psychology, a fic I wrote for RoyEdOTPoly this year.  The prompt I got was dark, and I didn’t see any way around an angsty ending.  Read at your own risk!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Well, aside from the last fic, I try to write happy endings for all my fics!  But, if I have to name names, I’m torn between Zoology (another FullMetal Alchemist fic, RoyEd, for RoyEdOTPoly this year) and Stardust (my Mass Effect fic, which is long, but so worth it, in my opinion).  Both are very fluffy in the end!

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Argh...  I don’t really like crossovers, to be honest.  I actively avoid them when looking for fics to read.  But that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought of writing them myself.  (I’m a total hypocrite, I know.)  I had an idea for an Inuyasha x The Sims fic, years ago, that I never did anything with.  The premise was basically Inuyasha and Kagome would get trapped in the game somehow (via the jewel or magic or something), and they’d be controlled by Souta, Kagome’s friends, Hojo--all sorts of different people who think the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha are in the game is just some kind of silly mod.  I probably won’t write it, so if anyone is interested in that crazy idea, have at it!  You have my blessing. <3 I also have a crazy crossover idea for what I call an “Ultimate OT3″ of mine that I’ve mentioned to my friends, but I haven’t actually written down yet:  Sesshomaru/Alucard/Sebastian Michaelis.  So be on the lookout for that!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn’t call it “hate” so much as “mansplaining,” but I have gotten a couple of comments that made my eyebrow twitch on Stardust--both on AO3 and FFN.  Just dudes (and I’m fairly certain they were dudes, just from their tone) trying to explain why a certain plot twist wouldn’t work, or tell me how to save Sidonis in the actual game (which I already knew, that person just didn’t read what I wrote). I’ve also gotten a comment on one of my more controversial fics, Hippology, on FFN, where the person asked me if I thought my summary was K-Rated (which, admittedly, it does need to be for the site, and mine wasn’t--because of a single word).  I changed it and messaged them saying it was fixed.  Going to that commenter’s profile, however, proved to be fairly enlightening...  They’re nuts.  They have another profile, too.  Read at your own risk.  Yikes. There’s also a team of people on FFN who make it their life’s mission to report stories with rule violations.  I’ve gotten a comment from one of them as well.  These people are not mods, they just like to pretend they are--one of them even made their name look official!  “CU Administration,” gtfo dude. I also recently got one of my fics removed from FFN.  It wasn’t even one of my sexiest ones!  They put me in timeout for 48 hours, and when I was finally able to publish something new on the site again, I posted Hippology (my centaur smut), and it’s still up as I type this.  (Wonder how long it’ll take them to notice?)  And since the fic that got taken down was a SessKag fic, I’m thinking it might have been a petty SessRinner who reported it to the “authorities” of FFN, because another friend of mine got hers taken down not long after mine, and it was also SessKag.  Just my tinfoil theory, anyway!

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes, yes, yes.  It’s practically all I write.  I do all sorts of smut, from romantic, sensual stuff, to specific kinks, to monsterfucking--all that good stuff.  Can’t change me~<3

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

God, I hope not!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t think so.  No one has asked me if they can translate one, anyway.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet!  I’m open to the idea, and I’ve had little discussions with my fic-writing buddies about it, but nothing’s come out of it just yet.  Keep your eyes peeled!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Oh, now come on!  I can’t pick just one!  But I’ll give you a top 3 (in no particular order, because they change places a lot, depending on how obsessed I am with them at the moment). Inuyasha:  Sess/Kag FullMetal Alchemist:  Roy/Ed Mass Effect:  Garrus/FemShep

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I have a couple of stories that I deleted from my original FFN account that I’d like to re-write and re-post on AO3, but I don’t think I’ll ever get around to it.  There were a couple of Inu/Kag fics I had in-progress, and then a Koug/Kag fic.  I recently rewrote and reposted my SessKag fic from years ago, Hawk, on FFN, AO3, and Dokuga!  So maybe all hope isn’t lost.  I’m even writing a sequel for Hawk! All the stories I have in-progress right now I plan on finishing.  At some point, lol.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, without a doubt.  It’s my favorite thing to write, aside from smut, of course--which is another strength of mine.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions, ugh.  I try to do them well, but I always feel like they get stale.  So I keep them somewhat vague, because in my mind, I think readers will fill in the gaps themselves whether you describe something immaculately or not--they’ll see what they want to see, and that is totally fine in my book!  Or maybe I’m just making excuses, lol.  I’ll only describe something in a lot of detail if I want the reader to focus on that--usually an outfit, accessory, or weapon--otherwise, I leave it up to their imagination (I don’t want manipulate it too much, I suppose).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Wildly unnecessary unless that author speaks the language as well, or if certain words already exist in the fandom’s translations (ex. “youkai,” “alkahestry,” etc).

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Inuyasha, and the fic(s) I wrote in the beginning were terrible.  I want to burn all traces of them off the face of the earth.  I was in middle school.  I was young and stupid.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I gotta go with Stardust.  It’s the longest fic I’ve ever completed at more than 160k words.  I was so immensely proud when I typed “The End,” and I was able to say to myself “I did it.”

I tag: @glassesmcfancyhair @willowsrain 

[kingofthewilderwest]

You Probably Shouldn’t Read That

Synposis: Edward Elric finds himself alone in Mustang’s office, and uses the opportunity to check out the colonel’s alchemy research notes. Research notes which are... despite being in his desk... not all that “safe for work.”

A/N: Heyyyy look who’s actually posting fanfiction! I wrote this sugar-high at 3 AM, though... don’t expect award-winning quality. ;)

The second Colonel Mustang left the room, Edward Elric darted for the desk.

Al stood up, confused and concerned, while his brother dived into every drawer, fishing out folders, papers, pens, reports, and what seemed to be an endless supply of paperclips. Seriously, an endless supply of paperclips: when Ed tried to chuck them out, he created a long-lasting hailstorm that clattered against his brother's metal shoulders. That shower lasted over ten seconds. And still the desk-searching continued. A few more sheets of paper. Fifteen hundred more paperclips. A paperweight. Five hundred more paperclips. Something that resembled an orange peel but was distinctly the wrong color. Three more paperclips. A paper airplane made from what might have been a confidential military report. Another paper airplane that was definitely a confidential military report.

Before Al could ask what Ed intended with this ransacking, the elder Elric brother shouted "BINGO!"

His hunched back straightened.

Ed brandished a simple leather journal.

Excitement twinkled in Edward's eyes.

Al knew that look. He shuffled forward, standing clear of the new mountain range of paperclips circling Mustang's desk, but tried to catch a glimpse at what his brother held.

"That's the colonel's alchemy research, isn't it?"

"Yup!"

"What do you need it for?"

"For something useful, of course." Ed buried his nose deep into Mustang's spider-scratched handwriting. "Don't you think fire transmutation would be cool?"

"I think 'cool' and 'useful' are two different things."

Ed ignored the comment. He mumbled a few lines under his breath, rolled his eyes at whatever he saw, and then flipped a few pages forward. The only thing Al could catch was "damn colonel" before Ed's muttering subsided.

They stood this way for several minutes: Al awkwardly hovering beyond the desk, Ed scrutinizing the text of unknown alchemical secrets.

Ed suddenly spoke.

"Get a load of this," he scoffed. He deepened his voice, mockingly imitating a radio advertiser - or maybe a certain colonel - and bellowed out the tag line: "Roy Mustang: his flames aren't ALL that's hot!"

"Brother…" Al sighed in ashamed exasperation. "Be serious and read the journal. Don't make something like that up."

"I'm not." Ed shoved the book in his brother's face, where Al could, indeed, find the colonel's blatant self-advertisement. Any hope that it wasn't an innuendo vanished. Armor withered in second-hand embarrassment. A once-proud suit of steel crumpled into a ball of discarded tin foil. Corrosion was not the key to deteriorating metal: all that was needed was a few lines of Colonel Mustang's creative writing.

Al handed the material back to his brother.

"He… he coded his alchemy research as a date journal."

"Shouldn't have expected anything else from that pervert."

Ed made sure to emphasize the word "pervert" with particular disdain.

The other Elric, however, spoke with discomfort. Distinct discomfort. "Brother, there might be an alchemy code in there, but this isn't very appropriate!"

"Eh. It's nothing you don't know already."

"Brother…"

"I think the word 'fuck' here is coded to mean 'transmutation'…"

"Brother…"

"Does every time he bang someone mean that his transmutation was a success, or…"

"BROTHER!"

"Wow, he even has his team coded in here. No clue who 'Bradykins' might be…"

"BROTHER?!"

"Al, I'm trying to concentrate. Okay, so, Breda's boobs…"

"BROTHER, THE COLONEL IS BACK!"

The entire room fell silent. Slowly, slowly, slowly, Ed forced his neck to turn. He twisted it away from the pages of the book. Looked past the desk. Noticed a pair of crossed arms. Noticed a black-eyed stare. Realized that Mustang was standing just a few feet away, boots buried in paperclips, as he glared down at the younger alchemist.

Well… perhaps 'glared' wasn't the perfect term here. There was some disappointment. Lots of annoyance. And some… was that… bemusement?

"What was that about boobs, Fullmetal?" he said, loudly enough that everyone else entering the room could hear him. It seemed that Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery were all returning from a lunch break. "I know puberty makes you -"

Ed snapped the alchemy book shut with one hand and slammed it into Mustang's chest. "Nothing," he hissed. Knowing he'd now long outstayed his welcome, and that Mustang would probably say something very untoward unless situations changed, Ed began stomping for the door, forcing Al to tiptoe after him.

But before Ed could slam the office door behind him, he heard voices igniting conversation. Mustang's officers appeared to be talking all at once, heating up to grill and taunt their superior.

One loud voice rose clear above the rest.

A bit more accusatory than the others.

Heymans Breda.

"SO THEN. COLONEL. DIDN'T KNOW. YOU CARED.

"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT MY BOOBS?"

[ship-ambrosia]

A Year in Review for ship-ambrosia - Fanfiction Writers 2018

So I saw a blog I’m a huge fan of do this sort of year reflection of fanfiction writing, and since this was the first year I’ve ever posted my fanfictions, I thought it’d be fun to do!

First off I wanna thank @sweetmemories2606 @allie-and-her-fandoms and @a-fairy-tail44 for constantly encouraging me, being there to bounce ideas off of, also basically being beta readers for me and my hype men... you guys rock. I’m so glad I met all of you.

total number of completed stories

- “Completed” is kind of relative isn’t it? Lol... I have 13 stories posted on AO3, 4 that are on tumblr only, and of those 17 three of them, Heavens Bringer, A Fool Like Him, and Inherit Thunder (previously Heir of Electricity) are unfinished. Three of them are a collection of one-shots from Gruvia, Jerza, and Nalu week, but they’re all so short I’m going to count them as all together.

- There is so much unposted stuff in my backlog that you wouldn’t even believe lol most of it is unfinished though

total word count

- 81000 on AO3. I don’t even want to go and count otherwise

fandoms written in

- Fairy Tail

- My Hero Academia

- RWBY

- Persona 5

- Voltron (behind the scenes)

- Fire Emblem (behind the scenes)

looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?

- Let me just say that posting the first two fanfictions, Inherit Thunder (BNHA, kamijirou) and Liberation (RWBY, Blacksun), were totally on a whim. My roommate encouraged me to do it and see what kind of feedback I got on them. Boy am I glad I did. So let me tell you my motivation and progress has been absolutely astounding to me.

what’s your own favorite story of the year?

- This is so hard, because I’ve been in love with all the stories as I posted each of them, like oh yeah this is it this is my best one. Every time lol. I’d have to say though it’s probably The Droplet (FT, Gruvia). Reading my first gruvia fanfiction Four Degrees, and then going to The Droplet, you can really see not only how well my writing has improved, but also how much better I’ve done in understanding Gray and Juvia. Also I happen to find the beginning of it still really sexy lol that was difficult for me, writing a scene that was sexy that was going to be posted for the world to see.

did you take any writing risks this year?

- I think the style that I wrote A Sound Like Thunder (BNHA, iidamei) and Beauty and the Crow (P5, Akeharu) was a different style than um used to, with the story being told in chunks that didn’t quite fit together perfectly but still built off one another. Basically they could have been multi chapter fics but I wrote them like a short story and both of those stories I had to have read over a thousand times because I wanted them to be perfect.

do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year?

- One, to finish Heavens Bringer which I think is very plausible since I’ve been working on the last chapter a lot lately. Another is just to get more consistent with finishing and posting works, because right now it’s just like, here from me every so often and going like a month or two without posting any sort of writing. Maybe even to write less ship-focused works. I love ships but I don’t think all my writing has to be only romantic

best story of the year?

- Certainly one of my Fairy Tail fanfictions, though I’m not sure which. Heavens Bringer definitely has the most effort put in, but both The Droplet and A Fool Like Him (Ft, stingyu) have such in-depth, emotional breakdowns of Gray and Sting respectively and how I see them viewing their primary love interest that I think both of those stories have a fascinating draw. Also, I’m extremely proud of my Nalu Angst week prompts, I go back and re read them all the time. I think some of my best work resides in that collection, most notably the story titled “Miles Apart, Two Inches Away” from when Natsu and Lucy reunite after the post-Tartaros timeskip.

most popular story of the year?

- That’s easily Everything was the Same (Except when it wasn’t), my first Nalu story. On AO3 it has 755 Hits and 72 kudos, the most for both of all my stories. Which I find so funny because I wrote that story in under an hour lol.

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

- Heavens Bringer, by far. I like to think it’s amazing, and my friends seem to love it, but it’s gotten very little recognition. I’d love for more people to read it, and it has all the big four ships and I’ve devoted soo much time to it. But the feedback I HAVE gotten has been absolutely wonderful!

most fun story to write:

Beauty and the Crow, A Sound Like Thunder, or Nalu Angst Week. I hurt so much while writing all three, but I loved it. Beauty and the Crow because Akechi and Haru’s relationship would be just as tragic as I’ve written it, A Sound Like Thunder because iidamei is normally such a goofy ship and I literally almost killed Iida and made Mei Hatsume cry, and Nalu Angst Week because well... painful feels. But I enjoyed the dark places that my writing went.

story with the single sexiest moment:

Haven’t written (read: published) a ton of sexy scenes. I think The Droplet wins for the part where Gray almost pulls off Juvia’s underwear with his teeth, only to be interrupted by their baby.

most sweet story:

- Nuclear Fusion. No angst, it’s straight up injecting Nalu parenting fluff into your bloodstream lol

“holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you!” story:

- Nothing yet?? Maybe hurting Iida and Mei in A Sound Like Thunder. I need to write a goofy fic with the two of them, honestly.

story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:

- I’m going to say Inherit Thunder. I used to think of Kaminari as just a total goofball. Coming up with the idea of his parents as villains gave so many deep possibilities to why Kaminari wants to be the “trendy” popular boy or where he could come from, what his motivation for being a hero could be. I could be totally right, or totally off. But it definitely made me so much more intrigued by what Horikoshi could have planned for him.

most unintentionally telling story:

- When you read Heavens Bringer you see exactly what kind of Fairy Tail fan I am. Lol

hardest story to write:

- Heavens Bringer! Lol. Also worked on Beauty and the Crow for a long time, because I couldn’t decide what direction I exactly wanted to take Haru and Akechi - did I want to follow the plot? Did I want to make Haru and Akechi fall in love, or make it a series of moments? Did I want lots of dialogue, or did I want it to be more narrated? It was a lot of stylistic choices that went into that one but I’m totally happy with how it turned out!

biggest disappointment:

- I worked on a Baccana story for sooo long and then I ended up deleting it because it was turning into very cliche, Gildarts-doesn’t-approve-so-he-challenges-Bacchus-to-a-fight and I didn’t want to write a fic that had already been done 30 times (not that Gildarts and Bacchus fighting because Bacchus likes Cana isn’t great... it’s just that most people who like that ship have already written that).

biggest surprise:

- Uhh, Inherit Thunder being as popular as it was received? I’ve gotten dozens of messages asking for a sequel and it’s really an incredible feeling to know people want more of a story. It was originally gonna just be a one-shot, but now I’m writing a second chapter that will probably come out after Heavens Bringer is done.

some stuff in the works for the new year:

- Obviously, Heavens Bringer part 5 and chapter 2 of Inherit Thunder

- Working on several more chapters to A Fool Like Him, it’s basically just all suffering for Sting lol

- A multi chapter Baccana fic AU-ish in which Cana joins Quatro Cerberus during the Tartaros timeskip after Fairy Tail is disbanded

- Multi chapter Gruvia and Gale fic about Juvia disappearing after leaving to search for answers to her origin, leaving Gray and Gajeel desperate to find her

- Stingyu Cinderella/Princess and the Pauper AU

- A Yang x Ilia piece (FINALLY! LOL)

- May eventually clean up and post an experimental fic where I practiced writing combat with Sun and Neptune vs Mercury

- Ryuji x Ann getting together post-canon

- Future Ryuji x Ann single dad Ryuji AU

- Haru x Akechi Military/sort of Fullmetal Alchemist AU?? Idk it was inspired by fanart

- Maybe post some of my Voltron/Fire Emblem stuff eventually? Idk about those

If you read this entire post seriously thank you!! And thanks to everyone who’s read my fics, sent me messages about them, or just talked to me in general!! I love interacting with the communities!!

[birbofathena]

twitter has a character limit, which is why we’re here

hi there. it's been a lil while, huh.

scrolling through my twitter, i found this (seen below) and i'm in the mood for rambling on and on so woo here we go.

Have you ever

1. skipped class

never with the intent of skipping class. i've missed quite a lot of class in my time, but my brain gets awful sick in the winter, which really inhibits my ability to do "normal human" things. i see a therapist every two weeks.

2. done drugs

nah. addiction plagues my paternal family line, and we're seeing glimpses of it in my brother as well. will i try drugs? maybe weed. anything that can be a one-and-done thing, just to try it. never nicotine. never alcohol.

3. self harmed

nope. i have an irrational fear of the consequences that might come of that specifically, and frankly i'm better off for it. heaven knows i've spent enough time thinking about that for one lifetime.

4. drank

see question two. it's funny that a differentiation between alcohol and everything else exists, imo.

5. shoplifted

i don't think so. i'm really starting to wonder about the demographic that this question set was originally made for.

6. gotten a tattoo

nope! maybe one day. probably a nice little flower, with an inkling of color peeking at the edges of its petals. probably on my back somewhere, so that i'm always a bit surprised when someone points it out. "oh yeah, i have that. cool, huh?"

7. broken up with someone

once. even then, we weren't official. my reasoning was that i wasn't ready, though frankly i think we both weren't. i didn't even know what i wanted. perhaps what i do want is something that maybe not a lot of high-schoolers want - something pragmatic, honest, somewhat more private. or that could be what most people do want. i really don't get out that much.

What's your favorite

8. show

my gut response is over the garden wall. i love, love, love fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood too, though i'm waiting until i have the chance to watch it with a friend of mine to finish it. it's sooooooo intense. don't spoil me, please!

9. movie

i'm not a real movie type of person, so i always default to the movies that i grew up watching whenever this question is asked - the incredibles, the lion king, monsters inc. ...

10. song

you might as well ask, "who's you're favorite child?" there are simply too many. here, if you want to feel out my taste for music, this is my main playlist. feel free to follow that (and me) for more! i get a kick out of having followers on spotify, for some reason. (sidenote: i created a whole new account so that i could change the username, so that account really needs some love again. curse the constant state of toil for consistency i'm in. everywhere the world must know me as birbofathena.)

11. artist

i read a lot of webcomics, so while i can't speak of any historic artists, i do think you should definitely check out ari (and his comic here), owen (and the comic she writes and colors for here), toby (and his comic here), and vi (and her comic here).

12. singer / band

this is an easier question, because i can just take a look at whom i listen to the most. now, i listen to a lot of ambient music, so right off the bat, i can recommend moby, ulrich schnauss, balmorhea, and chihei hatakeyama. speaking about the more "mainstream" artists, i like marina, mgmt, elton john, the 1975, patti page, and tessa violet.

13. memory

lately i've been thinking a lot about how i, as a kid, spent my time laid on the cement by the yard of my first house, watching the bees work on the clover. from one small flower to the next. watching them dig through the petals in search of nectar. it may not be my favorite, but it's what comes to mind.

14. book

i'm reading the poisonwood bible right now, which has been so fantastic. seriously, read it if you haven't yet. aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe is another excellent book.

This or that

15. invisibility or the ability to fly

invisibility, because violet is my favorite character from the incredibles. she's so cool. also worth noting: you start flying everywhere, and soon enough you'll find that you've become a living carnival ride.

16. cookies or cake

when done right, cake every time. cookies produce more consistent results though - as far as pleasing me goes - so long as there's chocolate somewhere within. ~~cookies without chocolate are an atrocity.~~ EDIT (10TH MAY '19) - jamie, u ignorant slut. i completely forgot about sugar cookies, in their entirety. forgive me. cookies can live their lives as they please. i know nothing.

17. twitter or facebook

twitter. hell, anything that isn't facebook. facebook's the place that moms go to to eat each other alive. having a facebook account is plain unhealthy.

18. movies or books

depends, really. there're awful movies who have awesome book counterparts, and vice versa. and to be fair, each medium offers things that the other one can't. if you were to ask me though, i'd say books. the feeling that you get when you reach the end of a book is like no other.

19. coke or sprite

this is a lame question, and everyone knows it. the real question on everyone's mind is: coke or pepsi? and i am a pepsi drinker. though the flavored cokes that've been coming out lately are pretty tasty as well. f me up with that strawberry guava, yes please.

20. blind or deaf

anxiety or depresson? brain cancer or pancreatic cancer? alzheimer's or parkinson's? need i say more?

21. tea or coffee

i haven't actually ever tried coffee, though i've been told that i'd like it (due to my liking dark chocolate so much)! i don't really like most teas though; i'll only drink this one herbal tea called bengal spice which is a pseudo-chai tea.

What's your

22. age

i'm 18. i was born 18th february, 2001, at 18:18. whew.

23. sign

pisces sun, capricorn moon, virgo rising

24. height

5′8″ or 173 cm

25. sexual orientation

gay

26. shoe size

9.5 in US mens

27. religion

i don't associate myself with any one religion. i think it's one of those things that's good for some and terrible for others. just do what makes you happy.

28. longest relationship

tbd. the non-relationship described in question 7 went for nearly three weeks.

Opinion on

29. gay rights

i always hear that a lot of homophobic people are lgbt themselves, which is strange to me. though i suppose it's in my nature to be unforgivably confrontational when it comes to inner turmoil, so i'll never really be able to understand homophobic lgbt folk. it goes without saying, then: i support "gay rights," if that's even a differentiation we want to make. i also support "women's rights," "homeowners' rights," and "dogs' rights."

30. second chances

i think for the most part i can empathize with those whom have struggles and missteps i haven't personally experienced. i am a very feeling person. there is an exception to this, but only when one's done something so blatantly wrong - decisions driven by greed or malice.

31. long-distance relationships

tough and complicated. having a relationship through messaging allows both parties to understand how the other thinks - their opinions, their emotions. essentially how their brain functions, because there are few things more idiosyncratic than language, and writing allows one to take full advantage of that. however, having a relationship in-person grants this knowledge, and so much more. (no one said that in-person relationships can't include any messaging, anyway.) we don't speak with just our tongue. what about the silent conversations? what about physical compatibility? like i say, it's tricky, but i think it's more-or-less doable.

32. abortion

i'm pretty pro-choice. if one'd like to offer up their child for adoption, that'd be cool, but no one should feel obligated to do so. whatever you're comfortable with is what i'll support you doing.

33. the death penalty

absolutely not, not ever. it costs more to pull that trigger than it is to sentence someone to life in prison. they must be absolutely sure that they have the guilty before killing them, which takes a long time to decide, and attorneys' time is expensive. and if a mistake is made and an innocent person is killed, boy, do you have one hell of a lawsuit on your hands. not only that, but it is so hypocritical of us to be killing someone... for killing someone. the whole thing doesn't make sense, and i'll tell you why it's still around: people want to kill, kill, kill anything that is bad, bad, bad. dog bites your child? kill that monster. say goodbye to the family pet. people feel so strongly that they've triumphed over evil when they see this drastic result - a carcass underneath their feet. to hell with that.

34. marijuana

i keep saying this: do what you want. marijuana doesn't hurt anything. humans have been doing it ever since we discovered fire. it's absurd that we regulate it now.

35. love

love. it's different for everyone, but for me, it's an enhancement of life. not something necessary, but something that's nice to have. to have someone to bounce ideas off of 24/7. to have someone to turn to in a crisis. to have someone who mourns with you after a loss. indeed, one can face these alone with relative ease, but it's just easier to have someone by your side along the way.

Do you

36. believe in ghosts

yes. old houses might just as well have a mouth, they have so much to say. brand-spanking-new houses are barren, lifeless. i know you know this feeling. ghosts aren't necessarily the malicious, turbulent spirits everyone wants you to believe. they're the vestiges of life, left behind by anyone who's ever felt strong enough to leave them.

37. shower facing the shower head or away from it

away from it, always. who faces the shower head? do they shower with their eyes closed the whole time? just... what?

38. sleep with the door open or closed

i sleep with it closed, though i need to start leaving it open more. it's been getting awfully stuffy.

39. love someone

no. it's not something i'm currently looking for, though my therapist did ask in my last session... i don't know. will it be something i will ever truly look for? i hate the idea of online dating, though that's just my first impression. i just don't know.

40. still watch cartoons

of course. i watch plenty of anime, but if that doesn't count as "cartoons," i also watch and rewatch steven universe, over the garden wall (as mentioned above), and gravity falls.

41. have a boyfriend / girlfriend

nope.

42. like yourself

hell yeah.

[imaginationenthusiast]

Fullmetal Alchemist Live Action Review + Fun Facts

I'm going to try to keep my review as simple as I can, but I have been a huge fan of the FMA manga/anime for years so that might be a little tough. I am also going to try not to put spoilers so everyone can read this. 

Casting: 10/10 (I really could not imagine anyone else playing any of the characters.)

Acting: 10/10 (Amazing. just great. The way they worked so hard and brought the characters to life was just beautiful)

CGI: 9/10 (It's not that it was bad, but I liked some of the CG better than other parts. Like the fire and Al was my absolute favorite! And the way everyone interacts with the CG is amazing)

Story Flow: 8/10 (I agree with most, there was a few parts that were a little slow/a little fast but overall it was a great story. I especially really enjoyed the 1st half and most of the 2nd)

Costuming: 12/10 (don't even get me started. They did perfect my dudes. Ed's coat was epic and the blue uniform were just the best)

Dialogue: 10/10 (The fact that most of the dialogue was word for word from the original content brought me to tears)

Music: 9.5/10 (There is actually only one place that I noticed that I didn't like the music. Actually, it was that there was no music that bothered me, and it was only like 3 seconds long. Yeah maybe I'm being picky, but to me music is very important, and so I couldn't help but be pulled out of the flow a little in one scene. besides that, they were totally spot on)

Accuracy to the Original: 9/10 (True, they don't stick to the timeline very well, but 90% of the content in the movie has happened at some point in the series, so I can't give them any less than 9/10)

Over all I'm going to give it a 10/10. mainly because I have never seen an anime to live action adaptation do as absolute wonderful as they did with this movie. 

Now, there will be people who don't like it, and that’s fine. It does have a specific taste and feel that not everyone will like. 

I will say, if you go into this movie expecting it to be a recreation of the original manga/anime then you will probably be a little disappointed. 

But if you go into it understanding that they had to create a story that fits into 2 hours, not knowing if there was going to be a 2nd movie, and understand that it is an adaptation not a recreation, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

FUN FACT TIME

Now, because I’m a huge nerd, I Have a few fun facts that I would love anyone who has watched, are going to watch, and are thinking of watching the movie to know. They are not in any particular order, just numbered to make cleaner. At the very end I’m going to put up some links to interviews about the stuff I have written here, so if you are interested, please check them out!

1. The director, Sori Fumihiko and the actor that plays Ed, Ryosuke Yamada are huge fans of the manga! They worked so hard to bring this story to life.

2. Sori consulted with manga creator, Hiromu Arakawa multiple times over the movie because he wanted to stay as faithful to the original content as possible, and she loved it.

3. This movie was actually an idea for about 10 years before they started filming. Sori refused to make the movie until they could get a hold of a better CGI Program.

4. According to an interview, they used the same CG program that Marvel uses.

5. This was the first time Japanese studios ever used that high quality CG. and it pays off, especially with Al. HE LOOKS SO COOL!

6. Ryosuke Yamada re-read the manga's and watched the anime to get in the head space for Ed. He wanted to do Ed justice so he worked hard to do even the small things, like to run like Ed does and say Winry’s name just perfectly.

7. Ed’s hair is not a wig. Well, not all of it. The braid is an extension, but Ryosuke actually bleached his hair for the part. Of course, he didn’t have enough time to grow it out.

8. Director Sori knew 10 years ago that he wanted Ryosuke Yamada to play Ed. Sori said that if Ryosuke was not going to accept the role, then they would not be making the movie.

9. Netflix had no hand in the creation of this story. It was done by Square Enix and Warner Bros. Japan, Netflix only bought the rights to stream it outside of Japan and put their "Netflix Original" logo on it.

10. Ryosuke is actually short. 5'5". Maybe not as short as Ed, but in the band he is in with 9 members, he is the 3rd shortest.

11. (this isn't really a fact but a few theories that the fans have, but Im adding it here so you guys can read about it) A few theories for the reason the actress who plays Winry, Tsubasa Honda didn't bleach her hair is that bleaching hair can severely damage it and perhaps her hair is sensitive to bleach. Also it's possible that they wanted Ed to stand out a little more, and the contrast between Ed and Winry looks a little better with light brown hair in live action. It is also possible that she didn't bleach it because in the Japanese culture, it is sometimes severely looked down on for having blond hair.

12. this was a movie made in Japan, for Japan. They did not expect it to grow so big. that is why some scenes may seem a little campy and animated. Their comedic style is very different from the U.S.

13. Hiromu Arakawa gave Ryosuke a letter of thanks and praise. She absolutely loved everything about the movie. She even drew a scene of Ed from the movie!

Link to the news clipping

14. During the script writing part of making this movie, director Sori talked to manga writer, Hiromu Arakawa so much that she told him to stop sending her stuff, that she trusted him to do good and to send her the script when it was actually finished.

15. They were not promised a second movie. Unlike in the U.S. where you get promised a 3-6 movie contract, movies like this are rather risky in Japan, so they have to play it movie by movie. That's why they could not leave it with too big of an open ending.

Thank you for sticking with me for this whole post. Over all, this was a fantastic movie created by amazingly dedicated people. I am so proud of all the cast and crew for bringing such an awesome world to life. I hope that you will give it a shot and maybe find at least one thing that you can enjoy about it. 

Interviews (Warning: the interviews contain spoilers!)  

Interview with Hiromu Arakawa

Interview with Romi Park and Ryosuke Yamada

Interview with Sori Fumihiko and Ryosuke Yamada separate 

Interview with Sori Fumihiko and Ryosuke Yamada together 1

Interview with Sori Fumihiko and Ryosuke Yamada together 2

[justsaya]

I got bored so here some things

I'm a huge fan HP:Mystery, so in these i was reading a lot of Headcanons and i was thinking about my MC and also about my Big Brother's MC(in my family is the only one who support my omosexuality...bc to him "So you're lesbian...well probably my future wife probably will be an alien(i know how huge fan of Mass Effect 1,2,3 he is...so he's joking but i know him enough to say that probably he'll be married with some kind of alien for real)" so then i asked about his MC and now i'm going to say something about him(don't worry give the time to find and re-copy my MC's Headcanon and i'll post them too ^_^) Prepare yourself my Brother mostly love 3 things: FullMetal Alchemist and Dramas(and here Jacob is Rowan's big brother), Harry Potter

Name: David "Jager" Denneth(His Dad call him Jager/Hunter, He is German and her mother is English or Wells, he isn't sure for now...but she's born in Great Britain)

Family: Father(Fritz Denneth, He was orphan and adopted by a old wandering Monk who use Alchemy "FullMetal Alchemist Style"), Biological Mother(Christine Wellburn, she is a pureblood witch with a disease who block her ability to do magic but her family was rich and powerful enough so she went to Hogwarts anyways mostly for study a possible cure),Big Brother(Glaive Denneth is a Jacob's friends but David knows about him during the Sorting Hat thing and he was a normal wizard without disease and mostly a curious Ravenclaw like her mother but without disease then).

Born in: Second Half of August in a little village on the borderline between Germany and France there are like 1000 people around the area and mostly they're working adult or old enough to go to retirement, not much child like him or his best friend/like a sister, Elizabeth(She hate get called by full name, even the teachers call her Liz, bc she thinks it's such a long and uncool name)

Hair: Ginger like a Weasley and his father and they haven't a good Father/Son relationship until the end of Year 4(and even then...it's like "Can we just try to not argue everytime and enjoy a meal with shouting?" kind of relationship)So he hates his hair color but when got invited by Bill to Weasley's house, Molly was like "Charlie finally you're out of your room...wait..you're not Charlie...Bill, who did you take here?"

Eyes: Blue like a Sapphire and like his mother

Background: He grew thinking to be a only child in his family, and without a mother(Dead some days after his birth, Fritz says he get killed by an evil monster called Severus Snape, later he'll discover Snape try to cure her disease and...something went bad...but for that time Christine was mad/insane unable to be a mother even when she already had Glaive, Snape usually insult David by saying "Not even your mother wants to give birth to you, how can you think we want you here in Hogwarts?"). His Dad just buy a house in Germany right after his wife's death, and leave Glaive to some relatives of his wife and time from time Fritz disappear and go to Glaive trying to be a good dad and neglecting David who grew by hanging out with Liz and her mother(a muggle who also married a wizard, dead by a muggle landmine leave it there during WW2 while he's going in a near forest to take some ingredients for some healing potion, his wife knew he was a wizard and know mostly about it. She knows that someday Liz will go to a magic-school). David feels lonely while his Dad put him in the forest and force him to learn Alchemy/Trasmutation, mostly because he don't want another mage-child, so he tried to keep him with him even if he go often to Glaive to support him. So feeling lonely someday tries to do the thing(you know...the same resurrection thing of Edward and Alphone from FMA) he failed in the worst way possible losing the right arm and left leg(God Said "So you couldn't enjoy the feeling to braid the fingers with Liz when you feel scared and lonely during the storms and the leg to chase her till the lake where you both swam") He got panicked like hell, alone in that house while was dying...Liz came there just in time to save him, carrying him on the shoulder while he was losing so much blood. Got saved but unable to explain to Liz and her mother(she's a doctor in that place and wizard and muggle in that place stick together pretty well), too scared, so much traumatized to refuse to talk about that. Without his father for almost an year so, almost 11 years old while this kind of mother was making the impossible for making him some prosthesis enchanted with magic(found it while she was investigating in her dead husband study) not the best ones, but enough good to move, run and trying to be happy again. He got his letter for the Beauxbaton's accademy(the nearest from that village) and he was also thinking about to go, to find some help, but when his dad came back, he just listen his voice for freak the fuck out the window and run away in France where he meet Minerva during a travel. Fritz talk a lot about how scary wizards really are, but she was kind and he try to be gentle by help her with her luggage, he's not so strong but his trasmutation's ability made McGonagall curious enough to takes him to Hogwarts and pays for him. During the travel he tried to talk about what he did in his house, how he still feel about that horrible day and how he can't sleep well because the nightmares scares him enough to prefer to stays awake or just napping when he feels to need it. At hogwarts got sorted in Griphyndor but the Hat want him in Hufflepuff for a lot of reasons, but Minerva during the travel talk a lot about her job so he wanted be in the same house(OT: and other reasons but i can't traduct them pretty well..sorry).

FINALLY OH MY GOD, I LOVE MY BROTHER BUT HE IS SUCH A HUGE CHIT-CHATTER AND THE WHOLE BACKGROUND WAS NECESSARY FOR SHOW SOME SENSE IN HIS HEADCANONS(and nope, he doesn't have a tumblr account, and i wrote all i know about his CrossoverMC because tonight i'm bored like living in a bored hell, sorry if you reading this)

Headcanons:

- Everyone in Denneth-family have a personal diary/agenda where to write their discoveries or their thoughts about what they do, David wrote things about Magic, Alchemy and experiments with both, for a short period even wrote his feeling about everything. Nobody is sure why he writes so much, but he could hate someone forever if they read without permission, after a bad joke by Merula trying to steal that diary he begin to use a secret code based on cooking recipes that he likes, so nobody is sure if they're reading about a secret alchemy experiment or a very sweet lemon cake recipe(also thanks to that he learned how to cook and begin to cook for his friends).

- David meet Rowan at Diagon Alley but with Minerva by his side because he was still nervous about the whole magic-world thing, Rowan use some jokes and loose him a little even in the train they're reading Hogwarts: A history together trying to calm him each other

- During the train-travel Rowan noticed the metal arm of David, but he didn't want to tell the reason and Rowan was even more curious but he was sympathetic enough to don't ask, so no problem still pals.

During the first year when he noticed Snape for the first time he assults him asking question about his mother shouting a lot, Minerva came right before he could punch him and has reassured him but losing so much house points

- In the dorms he always take the bed nearest to the windows, it helps to sleep a little better even when he had nightmares.

- Watching Ben get bullied by Merula makes boil his blood and he confront her even when the whole school was laughting at him because(they still don't know) because how can a mage unable to cast even Lumos, to duel a real mage? Ben thought David was the coolest first year because is uncapable as a mage but still fight knowing to lose, and he lose, until someday tried to fight back with trasmutations and took off the wand from Merula hand, totally pissed off and even Flitwick secretly cheers him after so many times he lost those duels, and he permitted to use Alchemy during duels and he gotta admit(and the other students who watched him) he's pretty fast and agile, even without using Alchemy at all, so Flitwick just say "It's good have a duel with different kind of enemies, so we should be grateful to have an unique student like Mr.Denneth"

- Minerva bought him a female cat and he called her Ortensia(it's the italian version of hydrangea) and mostly he talks with her and try to fight his inner nightmare but it's real hard, he doesn't even feels hungry, and during winter the metal limbs hurt so much, even get up from bed it's hell, but Ben helps him without asking question, but by listen him screaming and sobbing during the sleep, he has some idea but it's alchemy/trasmutation things so he knows but without understanding.

- Meeting Penny was heaven, so cheerful, so funny...one day just tell to Rowan(he is a Ravenclaw and the jacob thing is hell for him, but David likes to listen him talk) "Penny's smile is like coffee, without her, days can't start for me". Rowan just laughts but also agree with him

- In the third year, knowing Penny sad story, saved him from suicide...he wanted to put an end to nightmares..but knowing about someone like Penny go through almost the same hell like him, was inspirational so he just fight back the pain, even during the whole boggart in the cursed vault where thanks to Minerva intervetion got saved and go to German for repairing his metal limbs, still scared and that's why Bill went with him. His almost-mother was so happy to see him, she was crying a lot while she was hugging him, Liz was pissed off enough to insults David a lot, but after some hours she calmed and tell about the fact their parents got married while he was at Hogwarts during those years...so Liz now is his step-sister for real. David was so surprised like almost fainted during dinner at home also watch his dad eat dinner calmly without even talk about the whole Human-Trasmutation thing was like "Ok, this whole travel is a joke and i'm imprisoned in some Cursed Vaults without even know it, and i'm watching something i would love to be real" They laught a lot

- His way to say "I love you" is "A world without you is not a world i want to live in" and he said these words only to Penny when is God-Boggart tried to attack Penny in the Cursed Vault. She took almost the whole summer to understand why he said those words, literally she write to him asking some explanations and he was like "You saved me that day in so many different ways" and wrote the date of the day she talked about Scarlet, she took a very intimate moment when they meet during summer to totally knows what David was going to do that day...and he got slapped and then kissed on the same cheek he got the slap.

- Barbaby, Charlie and David are the Kettlerburn's most enthusiastic students, also the most favourite ones, Barbaby for his caring about creatures, Charlie for his curiosity(he does a lot of questions), David mostly plays with creature, he is such emphatic with them, he treat them well like human-friends, even the scariest creature loves David, who just enjoy like a kid those lessons and still get good grades by taking notes when he isn't unsure to remember something, also David called his step-mother for taking care of mechanical limbs of Kettlerburn, totally free, because metal limbs are such a pain when it's raining or during the winter, they hurt like hell, so David take care of Kettleburn's hard job with creature when he doesn't feel well, sometimes Kettleburn doesn't show up during the lesson for that pain, so David, Barbaby and Charlie hang out with the creatures just for fun.

- Barbaby tried to learn Alchemy from David, it didn't went good, so for now David will be the only Alchemist in Hogwarts but David repays his attempt by teaching him some magicless-selfdefense because he need a sparring partner and Barbaby is pretty tought to fight, David wins most of the times but Barbaby is pretty strong so..he loses a few times

- Talking about Melee-fighting, David NEVER hits people with his metal limbs, mostly he use them as shields trying to block dangerous spells or hunt dangerous creatures

- Before Penny's secret, he loves the way Tulip doesn't care about rules like him, and he tried to make some bad jokes to Filch and Mrs.Norris, with Tonks otherwise ask some love-advice, but he didn't use them a lot those...he just be honest with Penny and got lucky(even when someone ask him love-advice now that he dates with Penny, he just says "I was lucky most of the times, i just tried...but i feel like she did the all love-thing...i asked her after our first kiss if the kiss meant i'm her boyfriend now...and she said yes, i was unsure if i was doing a good job by trying to take her to hogsmeade or to watch some movies during the summer, i asked her everytime...") they all laught about those story but they think an "In love David" is the cutest and funniest thing ever because after the third year David was joining the Quidditch team and he was really good, so confident during the matches and the lessons, so listening about how shy he is when he is near Penny is so funny and cute..

- His favorite '80s movie is Breakfast Club, he watched it at cinema trying to take Minerva as "Lesson about Muggle-world" he chose that film totally at random and love it, then invite Penny for watching it with her, thinking she probably will likes it, and she finds it a really good movie.

- His Favorite love Song is Nothing Else Matters, but of course it's came out during the 1991 so...until then, the other love songs feels like "This song doesn't describe how i really feel when i think about Penny, it's a good song but not enough to like it"

[valiantarcher]

11 Questions

Round One - tagged by @lover-of-the-starkindler; thanks! :)

1. Would you rather be a famous author, or a famous actor? I think either is equally unlikely, but it would be easier to maintain anonymity as an author, I guess...

2. Can you recite your favorite poem? Not in whole, no. But I can recite phrases from some of my favourites.

3. Dogs or cats (or other)? Dogs in general and in particular, but cats only in particular (mostly our cats).

4. What’s your favorite cookie? I love all sorts, but a gooey chocolate chip cookie is hard to beat, as is a strawberry cake mix cookie.

5. What book is next on your to-read stack and why? Hmm. I think it’s a slim little book about women writers in the western US during the expansion that my sister picked up for me at a booksale; the why is because I’m currently working through the books on the shelves at my place and that was the most interesting looking one there. For more interesting reasons, consider all the books I want to reread because I love them.

6. If you could own a costume from any movie, what would it be and why? UMM. Stealing from @windwardrose, Hawkeye’s uniform from the live-action Fullmetal Alchemist IS very nice and is the only rendition coming to mind that feels real and not just a costume. However, I would probably have to go with one of Eowyn’s dresses from LotR (perhaps her green one, or the iconic white one) - I believe they first got me interested in costuming and all though that has never translated into anything, I still would love to make/own some of her dresses.

7. What is a joke that makes you laugh? I can’t think of any right now. I know there are bits in books that always make me grin, but am not sure if those strictly fit as jokes.

8. Late nights or early mornings? In theory, early mornings, and in practice, my mornings are fairly early now.

9. What hobby would you like to take up? Costuming/sewing...and millinery.

10. What’s a song in your collection that you’d recommend? “Irish Day” by Iona (and the rest of their music!).

11. Does spring make you want to get out and garden? Sometimes. Not this year, though, at least not so far.

Round Two - tagged by @windwardrose; thank you! :)

1. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We don’t really do much in the way of holiday traditions, but we’ve celebrated Midsummer’s a couple of years and that was nice.

2. Swimming in the ocean: yes or no? In the stories one always gets washed out with the tide or comes on with cramps, but if one was careful - yes.

3. If you had to teach a 3-hour class on something, what would you want to teach it on and why? I feel like I don’t know enough to effectively teach something, but I might be able to do an introductory class on thermal science. Probably would be better to do an introductory class on knitting or cooking, though.

4. What’s a smell you like? Bread baking.

5. Do you re-read books/re-watch movies? Yes, but not very often simply because I either get distracted or don’t find the time easily.

6. If you could gain the power to shapeshift (not permanently, but as long and often as you’d like) into one species of animal, what animal would you choose? Hmm. Maybe a bird, such as a hawk or an eagle?

7. Preferred season: summer or winter? Summer.

8. Would you want to be one of the explorers of a new planet (supposing this was a possibility)? My practical/comfortable side says no, but the side of me that loves space says yes...

9. If you had to pick 1 piece of media to amuse yourself with for a 6-hour stretch (assuming food and breaks are available as needed), what book/movie/show/video game would you pick? I was thinking this would be hard, but then I remembered that I really want to do another watch of the LotR EEs and now it’s easy. ;))

10. Would you rather hike up a mountain or bike down one? Biking down one sounds terrifying, so as hard as hiking up is, hiking up it is.

11. What is your favorite mythical creature and why? Hmm. I’ve always liked Phoenixs for their ability to rise from the ashes. But I also like werewolves, and there are some fictional ones I’m rather fond of.

I’m going to take a round out from tagging folks, unless someone would like me to come up with some questions and tag them - in which case, sing out.

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

At the time this post goes live on my blog, we should be either at an Irish pub, enjoying some delicious shepard’s pie, or at a Scottish pub, enjoying scotch eggs. I am not typically someone who does the whole bar hopping thing; it’s usually not fun for me. But considering I’m with people who are more into the food and atmosphere than drinking themselves silly, I enjoy it while we’re in Indianapolis for Gen Con.

It was another pretty good week for reading, helped of course by the fact that I didn’t have to work the past couple of days. So let’s go ahead and get into a quick wrap up of everything I’ve read and watched in the past week, as well as what I’m reading now, and what I plan/hope to read over the rest of the weekend.

The first book I completed was The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen. Of course it was also The Reading Rush time, so my reading took a boost when I decided to go on a reading binge on Sunday. I read Akame Ga Kill! Zero Vol 1, One-Punch Man Vol 5, Delicious in Dungeon Vol 4, Spice & Wolf Vol 1, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Vol 2, and Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 Vol 1-2-3. Then on Monday I picked The Rise of Kyoshi back up and finished it.

My current read is what I’m carrying with me around Indianapolis, because we have discovered that it is wonderful to show up for Gen Con the day before the convention. It gives us time to pick up our tickets before the convention center is swarmed by fellow geeks, and then we also get to hang out and relax, and probably the biggest part of it is that we don’t have to wake up super early on Thursday to make the three and a half hour drive.

I finalized my Gen Con reading list and I’m pretty happy with it. The books I’m hoping to read during Dewey’s 24 Hour Reverse Summer Readathon are The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan. Both of these books are re-reads for me, which I think will work perfectly for this readathon, and I also just feel like I want to read them again.

My other books I have with me for the duration of Gen Con and may or may not be read include The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, Green Rider by Kristen Britain, Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard, and The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

Weekly Wrap-Up (24) Hey all, Dani here. At the time this post goes live on my blog, we should be either at an Irish pub, enjoying some delicious shepard's pie, or at a Scottish pub, enjoying scotch eggs.

[gzw1689]

For that anime ask thing you posted a week or so ago, if I can ask multiple simultaneously, then #4, #7, #9, #23, #29, #30, #37, #38, and #40. If I can only ask one, then I guess #4.

This ask is in response to these questions.

I’ve gotta admit, I found some of these questions kind of tricky, but I suppose all of them have an answer that’s hopefully satisfying.

This goes against my usual way of doing things, but I also decided to use a lot of Western names (with a few exceptions) when talking about the anime. I don’t really know why, I guess I just felt like it.

I put it under a “Read more”, since it ended up getting pretty long. Here goes.

4: If you could make a spin-off of any anime, what would it be?

The way I understand the question is this: what if I could make a spin-off myself?

Hmm… I don’t know. To me, that almost sounds like writing fan fiction, and I’m not sure if I’d really want to do something like that. Even though I like fiction writing, I don’t really feel the desire to extend the universe of any of the series that I like with my own contributions. At any rate, I think I’d really need to improve as a writer before I’d even be confident enough to do such a thing.

If I had to choose one though… This is probably going to sound kind of odd, but Welcome to the NHK. I have a story idea in my head that I kind of liken to a Canadian take on that series’ premise (though I think it still has a lot of developing to do; like, years even), so if that idea could be taken as a spin-off of the series, then sure, maybe. I think the series kind of fits with my current writing style too, so I suppose that works.

7: Have you ever watched an entire anime in one sitting?

I’m not sure if it was one sitting, but I distinctly recall watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica for the first time until like 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. I might have taken breaks during the earlier episodes, but by the time I got near the end, I was really hooked and had to know what was going to happen next.

I think I’ve probably done this with other series too (especially when I was first getting into anime; these days, I usually feel like I need a few breaks in between), but that one is probably my most vivid memory of doing something like that.

9: Name an anime character you absolutely hate

I thought this question would be difficult, but it turns out it’s not. These next few paragraphs may seem a little out of character for me, because I don’t think I usually get so fired up about something like this.

Sora from No Game No Life. Almost four years of watching anime (and three years since I’ve watched that series), and for me, he has always been the definitive answer to questions like these.

I think it was about the second episode when he started to get on my nerves for how smug he is about how much of “genius gamer” he is (quotation emphasis mine). Then I think it was around the fifth episode when it really went into hate territory, where–if I remember correctly–he starts harassing and intentionally humiliating Stephanie (who was the character I probably felt most inclined to identify with at the time) for his amusement (and I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to find it funny too).

Every time I see that smug smile of his, I want to punch him in the face. I’m sorry. But I’ve never found any other character that pisses me off as much as him.

23: What is the most times you’ve re-watched an anime?

If we’re only talking series, according to my AniList profile, I’ve re-watched Madoka Magica twice (which, now that I think of it, maybe isn’t all that much).

If we’re counting movies too, I’ve seen Kimi no Na wa, the 1995 Ghost in the Shell movie, and a few of the Kara no Kyoukai movies that many times as well.

29: Has an anime’s fanbase ever made you hesitant to watch an anime?

This was a bit tricky. Usually, I don’t think I really look into the fanbase of an anime much before I watch it. When something like this happens, I think it’s usually due to something having a massive amount of positive hype surrounding it, and fearing that I’ll be disappointed. In cases like these, I like to wait until the hype dies down a significant amount (or I’m just less surrounded by it) before I start to get into it.

For a non-anime example, I can think of The Dark Knight. My peers were calling it things like a masterpiece or the greatest movie of all time, and the sheer excessiveness of the praise sometimes made me think that I’d be disappointed if I set my expectations too high. When I eventually watched it though, it did end up becoming one of my favourite movies.

Here’s the thing. When I go into any piece of media, I like to do so with as few expectations as possible. I don’t even really expect it to be “good”, whatever that means. I just want to be able to meet the thing on its own terms, no baggage or preconceptions about it. That said though, I realize my experience of it will be influenced by my own past, values, opinions, and so on; so based on that (rather than preconceptions about the work itself), I’ll decide how I feel about the experience. Of course, this can be hard to do with some works, but in cases like those, I try not to let any preconceptions influence me too much.

Sometimes I do think something is really artistically well put together, and I really like it. Sometimes I might find something kind of silly, yet still find it entertaining in its own way, and that’s fine. Sometimes I might even find something that I think is “good”, but that I just find boring or that I don’t really care about. That’s always an interesting experience, because I think people tend to think that we all naturally like “good” things, but I find that’s not always the case.

Anyway, I digress.

To finally answer the question, when I try to think of it in this way, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is probably the closest candidate. Before I got into anime or even learned what the series was, I could see some of my peers quoting it on Facebook. When I found out what it was, I saw so many of its fans talk so passionately about it and how much it means to them. I think one or two of my friends who watch anime were really into it, too. I had to give it a few weeks for my expectations to settle down, but I finally watched it at one point.

As for what I thought about it… I don’t know exactly what it was, but I didn’t really care for it. I think a lot of it had to do with the style. I found the hot-bloodedness of it all exhausting rather than energizing, and I didn’t really like how the characters yelled so much of their dialogue (I felt the same way about Kill la Kill). I guess I just couldn’t really get past that on my first (and, so far, only) viewing.

I think there were other things that I didn’t like about it substance-wise, but it’s been so long, so I don’t think I can really go into any detail about it.

30: How many anime episodes is ‘ideal’ for you?

Hmm, this question could be answered in a number of ways.

In terms of storytelling, probably however many episodes it takes to effectively tell the story. Some work with just 12 episodes (eg. the aforementioned Madoka), and some work with more (maybe something like Welcome to the NHK, which is based on a novel, and whose adaptation could probably have been very different if the episode count was different).

On the other hand, there’s some that maybe feel rushed with only 12 episodes (like Tokyo Ghoul’s second season), and some might feel padded and stretched out when they’re given more (arguably, Your Lie in April).

In terms of myself (as in, what would I prefer to watch?)… Usually anything that goes above 26 episodes feels like too much for me. For example, I’ve still been kind of holding off on watching both Fullmetal Alchemist series, even though I have them on Blu-ray, haha. I think anything under maybe 70 or 80 episodes is something I could possibly get into though; I’d just need to gather the motivation to get through some of the longer ones.

On the other hand, anything above 100 episodes is probably off the table for me. For example, I would probably never start something like One Piece or Naruto just due to the sheer amount of episodes there are.

Something like the Monogatari series might be an exception to this, in a way. That also has a lot of episodes, but I think their separation into distinct seasons (and, perhaps, the fact that I got into it early in my anime-watching “career”) makes it easier to digest.

37: Name a popular anime you love

To be honest, I don’t really know what counts as “popular” when it comes to anime. I get the impression that some of the anime based on long-running shounen manga like One Piece and Naruto are considered the mainstream stuff (maybe because their localizations saw very wide distribution? I dunno), but I don’t think I really know many people who like those ones.

And going to an anime club, anime conventions, and seeing what people talk about online, I find it kind of hard to tell what’s considered most popular.

Based on what I can tell though, Madoka is probably the prime candidate for something like this, but maybe that’s just because I hung around quite a few people who are really into it. I’ve talked about that one so much already though, so I want to pick something else.

Maybe Love Live! Sunshine!! could count. Whenever I go to something anime-related, Love Live! culture is pretty visible and audible, whether it’s in the clothing and accessories people wear, the visuals they use in general anime presentations, or music playing at an event.

I’m not sure if I’ve talked about it on this blog much, but while I wasn’t really that into the original Love Live! anime, I really liked Love Live! Sunshine!!. I think it was because, especially in the latter half of the first season, the themes it incorporated–the worries about being a creative person in a world where there’s so much competition, the issues that can occur due to lack of clear communication–really resonated with me on a personal level. I don’t know if it can really be considered a “good” series (for example, I’ve been seeing quite a bit of negative criticism about it–particularly when it comes to how they handle the characters–some of which I find understandable), but I love it nonetheless.

38: Name a popular anime you hate

The only one I can think of is No Game No Life. I can tell it’s at least somewhat popular, since I still see people walking around with “I❤人類” shirts at anime events every now and then. I’m not exactly sure if I “hate” it per se, but I can say for certain that I disliked it.

Other than what I’ve already said about Sora earlier, I wasn’t really into how the series mostly revolved around Sora and Shiro basically winning everything, and how the series presented it as so easy for them. From what I remember, quite a bit of their winning involved a lot of loophole abuse (ie. “the rules never said anything about this, so we’re allowed to do it”). In quite a few cases, the way the world responded to this felt kind of implausible to me. On top of that, it made them come across as kind of underhanded, unethical, and condescending (not sure if that’s the right word; but from what I remember, they seemed to like making their opponents feel stupid for not thinking about the same things they did), which was really irritating to me.

There’s also this quotation I found on TVTropes when I looked up the page for “Loophole Abuse”:

“In No Game No Life, one of the Ten Pledges everyone in Disboard is bound to states, ‘Being caught cheating during a game is grounds for an instant loss’. Sora quickly realizes this means that if the other person can’t prove that you’re cheating, you can cheat all you like and get away with it. Of course, he’s not the only one who realizes this.”

The show seemed to go out of its way to make Sora and Shiro look cool for doing things like this, so I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to be rooting for them. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t do it.

40: Thoughts on live-action adaptations?

As a whole (including Japanese-made ones), I guess I’m kind of indifferent toward them, and I’m generally not really that interested in watching them. I am a little bit curious about the new American Ghost in the Shell and Death Note ones though, just to see what the filmmakers did with them.

As far as American/western live-action adaptations go, I honestly don’t really expect them to be that faithful to the source material, especially if they’re adapting to an American setting for an American audience. I actually think it could potentially be interesting to see how taking the same premise and putting it into a different setting (like America) could change things.

From a lot of peoples’ responses to these adaptations though, it sounds like they don’t turn out very well to say the least (though I wonder if that has more to do with the execution of a lot of these adaptations, rather than the very idea of setting them in or adapting them for America), but I have yet to see and judge for myself.

Of course, I suppose I’d probably feel very differently if it was an adaption of something that I really care about. Like for example, if someone adapted Fate/Stay Night for an American audience and significantly changed the very substance of it, I think it’s possible I’d be really upset about that. I probably wouldn’t be able to watch it without constantly comparing it to the source material, likely unfavourably. And if such an adaptation becomes a major part of the mainstream cultural consciousness, and the more niche consciousness surrounding the Fate series (and, consequently, likely confusing people even more), I’d probably get really annoyed by that, haha.

So in the end, I guess it’s just a matter of me not really being affected very much by the whole thing.

Well, I guess that’s it. Thanks for asking, this was fun to write! I might just end up doing the other questions too, like you said. :P