#but seriously. i want to be more like alphonse

[westywallowing]

I want to feel again

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

Remember that scene where Heinkel implores Alphonse to use the Philosopher’s Stone against Pride, arguing the souls within it would want him to fight?

That should’ve been Scar and his mentor. Those are Ishvalan lives, and while Heinkel at least wasn’t involved in the genocide and has also been dehumanized and experimented on by the system, he’s still a white man and a former soldier, imploring a white boy to use these resources to save Amestris.

Idk I think it’d be soooo much more compelling if Scar’s mentor went from being skeptical of his violence to recognizing the need. To see him remind Scar that he’s ultimately committing an alchemical taboo anyway for the sake of his fellow Ishvalans. Something about Ishvalan souls reclaiming actual agency via the mentor being a fellow Ishvalan himself, acknowledging they would likely want Scar to use them.

And not to protect Amestris, but to protect the Ishvalan refugees within the circle. That isn’t talked about enough, if at all; Scar says he’ll save this country so he can change it (so he can save his people) but what about the fact that we’ve already seen two communities within the border of the circle?

What about him doing this to prevent the remaining Ishvalans from being sacrificed into a Philosopher’s Stone, and how the lives of a prior stone would feel the same way? What about Scar recognizing that the Promised Day transmutation circle was what his people were slaughtered for, and so he won’t let anymore die in direct fulfillment of it?

And then when Scar is mortally stabbed by Wrath, whose mindless violence is contrasted with Scar’s meaningful, justified violence, he actually gets to use the stone to save his own life and live and heal. Because these Ishvalans would give up their lives to save their kinsmen. That’s exactly what Scar is doing. It would give them peace to reclaim their objectification as energy that is instead used to prevent further harm to their community. All while giving their souls peace by freeing them.

At least it’s not a white doctor who created this specific stone from their lives speaking on their behalf to a war criminal who’s killed more Ishvalans than anyone else, saying that Mustang needs to heal his eyes and ultimately use these souls for the good of the remaining Ishvalans so if you think about it this is what these Ishvalan souls would REALLY want. Because there’s no way Mustang could possibly give reparations to the Ishvalan community as a blind man who is still wealthy and with connections to the new Fuhrer (reminder that state alchemist payrolls are huge and there’s multiple jokes about this too).

Man I wish instead of Father talking hot shit about how life is unfair in a neutered take on Dante’s Equivalent Exchange is Bullshit speech, with Ed rebuking him, Father did the opposite; Contrasting Dante’s speech by suggesting this ‘injustice’ of Roy losing his sight IS the rightful toll for his genocide. Maybe even insinuating that Hughes’ murder was also justice, too, ever think about that human? Both villains in either version of the story having different takes on whether equivalent exchange is real, yet ultimately using it to deliver the same brutal wake-up call to our MC.

If this had been what Brotherhood served instead of the hot garbage that is its actual canon I'd have been over the moon. (Would still dislike a lot of other things, but at least I'd be able to say I enjoyed it enough to not want to launch it into the sun.) Seriously, I love this take on the last chunk of mangahood.

We were absolutely robbed of any opportunity for a dialogue between Scar, his Master, living Ishvalans, and the souls that comprise that particular stone. How that could have eventually led his Master to rigorously challenge both Scar's and his own clashing spiritual, culture-honouring, and political philosophies. Perhaps have some other monks of Ishvala (is there a specific way to refer to practitioners of the Ishvalan faith?) bring up their own shift in perspectives, some agreeing with the methods of rebel fighters and Scar's tactics. And contrast these opinions with those who are resistant to adapting their beliefs and goals (because of course some will not budge). The dissonance between passivity feigning as tradition, leaving Ishvalans at the mercy of Amestris and other powerful nations for the foreseeable future; versus an active stance of principled violence and land reclamation, that seeks to give Ishvalans a fighting chance against full annihilation/unending displacement/amalgamation. Coming to a head with the Master imploring Scar to use it as needed, in a form of restitution and ceremony that finally grants the dead to peace.

And man, how that would enhance Scar's battle against Bradley. (What you wrote about how this could change that showdown, and what that would mean for the transmuted Ishvalans, Scar, and his people-!!!! 🥹) That he has to allow his own people to heal him, while reminded that Ishvalans are actually in his corner. That he isn't doing this for Amestris, that countering Father's nation-wide circle is to protect surviving Ishvalans. Having the knowledge that if he is forgiven and cared for by his own people, then salvation need not come from prostrating himself to Amestris whatsoever.

All of this would of course require Scar to have never fully reneged on his own actions against the State, even after being cornered into agreeing to aid the military insurrectionists. Some part of him cannot swallow their chauvinistic idealism that still centers the protection of the existing imperial nation. Slowly returning to a rejection of this rickety compliance with the military writ large. And you wouldn't necessarily have to retcon the fuck-awful Briggs recuperation of Scar either. It just can't go from the canon bs "Woah yeah, being an Ishvalan ~changing minds~ in the military is so based, unlike me, who is shitbad," to a sudden "We need violence to upend Amestrian domination of our people". Some part of him, even with his coerced comradery, would have to be internally rejecting that premise, and increasingly so. Without that, the change wouldn't scan imo.

Scar and his Master actually tearing into the meat of Scar's and his brother's blasphemy; what Scar has seen in his path of vengeance, as well as what he's seen/overheads regarding the attitudes of the military members who wish to overthrow Bradley, with their obvious bid for self-serving power rather than seeing Ishvalans and other occupied peoples as anything more than bartering chips; the will of the transmuted Ishvalans pushing through the stone just enough to rally their wishes for liberation of their living kinsmen; Scar and his Master having to reevaluate some of their long held beliefs and their distaste for all forms of alchemy. Hell, getting to see Scar admit to his Master what his brother had been studying and what he discovered in the process when he was recruiting Ishvalan refugees for the coup effort would have been a huge character moment for them both!

We could have had it all.

Rip to what could have been, but bless those few fans with taste and the wide range of changes/ideas you all have shared so far! You guys make talking about mangahood far more enjoyable than it has any right to be.

With the Ishvalan stone, I wouldn't be surprised if Scar would have to reclaim it out of Amestrian possession secretly. Maybe, without yet fully tapping into the unheard voices of their souls, he could feel them resonate and rejoice being in Ishvalan hands. The weeping of the damned who cannot bare to be used by Amestris for one second longer stirring his (re)growing suspicion and anger against the people who forced him to ally with their cause at the cost of his degradation and threat of imprisonment (and let's be real here, the threat of execution by the State was guaranteed if he rebuked Miles and therefore got arrested). He could feel their storm of memories and regrets, their hopes and their sorrows. If the stone could have called for action against the homunculi, they would just as much call for action against the human monsters as well.

But no, instead of all of that we focused on the will and humanity of the Xerxian philosopher's stone exclusively.

(Super love the military getting to exploit Scar's deep-seated self-hatred and suicidality for their own gain. Cool moment all around. Awesome. Really good stuff there. Very reformed. Checkmate, Scar.)

Everything you mentioned re: Father, his neutered approximation of Dante's speech, and what you would have preferred his perspective to be is 💯💯💯. ESPECIALLY with how he would mock Roy for having his eyesight taken in order to fulfill his own plans for yet another nation-wide sacrifice. It would serve as a biting counterargument to the nonsense excuse that Roy and friends "had no choice in joining the military and killing Ishvalans". His choices led him to desecrate so many lives for himself, to transmute as much of a (smaller) country as possible for their own goals (thus having already served Father). How would this be any different then? Mustang can argue with Truth and Father that he was forced to perform human transmutation, but why did that ever excuse anything in the past? Did clinging to the nation "betraying" Mustang's naivete ever spare any suffering for anyone? He has part of himself nonconsentually sacrificed now because of his continued pigheadedness, suffering only a fraction of what he's done. And Roy thinks he's going to make reparations for so thoroughly incinerating Ishval by vying for the Fuhrership? The very system Father and scores of humans built? This is the toll for everything foolish people like Roy have done. It's not random or unfair insofar that equivalency can merely be another way of describing consequences. Survivors might interpret Mustang's maiming as justice, so why should he resist that when he still wants to hold the power that decided their fates to begin with?

Father could have been a more cold, conniving fucker who grinds Mustang's remaining fortitude into dust. From there Roy would either have to have the greatest reckoning of his life as the eclipse fast approaches and understand that reforming what Father and his legions have created is not worth it after all, or be a husk who falls crumbles under his desperate need for a seat of power that would never be his anyway. Buuuuuuuut that would ruin the big fun shonen fuck yeah humans rock we're all best pals slapping faux-god wowowowow action scenes and alchemic-jojo punching and our protags were always right and just and super cool finale that 99% of the fanbase has been fellating since 2010. So. 💩

Total aside, but the design for Father's humanoid homunculus form (when he sheds Hohenheim's appearance for the eclipse) sucks so much ass lmao

[starberry-cupcake]

I come here with further updates on my gideon the ninth read as per the favorable responses in my previous shares . You asked for it, so you're gonna have to hear it (@lady-harrowhark maybe you'll have fun with this one)

previously, in gideon the ninth:

this happened

currently, having just finished chapter 29:

gideon had tea with the eighth

actually no, scratch that, gideon sat in a chair while mayonnaise uncle's hair got braided, they never got to the tea part

false advertising

mayonnaise uncle gave half info, as people seem to like doing here

duracell bunny nephew stepped up and called him out

good for him, actually

you go, duracell bunny nephew!

it's gonna end terribly for him, but we stan

gideon left that Situation and found teacher saying ominous things

gideon left that Other Situation and found regina george twin being intense with swords

chad came in and she bit him

I see a trend alert with these third necromancers and the biting

gideon left that Yet Another Situation and went to the ninth room

gideon proceeded to open the closet

gideon got brad pitt-ed in the movie seven, but instead of gwyneth paltrow's head it was protesilaus'

it's not gideon's best day

now, hear me out

I know how this will sound, but hear me out

I haven't read past this scene, I haven't started chapter 30, all I know is she found the box

but hear me out here

just, just listen

hear me out

I still blame dulcinea

no, no, come back, I have a theory

I don't trust her, she's shady, she's too suspiciously fake kind, she's desperate and she has mentioned wanting gideon as a cavalier

I think it was back when gideon was turned into a blood sprinkler during the whole temple run key second trial thingy

or maybe later, after jeannemary left the mortal plain, but she said it at some point

and gideon has told harrow she wants her to free her to be dulcinea's cavalier

which, over my dead body

or maybe not, people here are dropping like flies, but anyway

dulcinea knows things others don't seem to know

she says things that gideon doesn't follow up on because she's horny and dense (affectionately)

I don't trust dulcinea

in case that wasn't clear

so what if

hear me out

seriously, I swear I have a point

what if harrow was set up?????

no, no, come back, listen, listen

gideon said something like the box wasn't well hidden

and I doubt very very very much that if harrowhark harrowldine harrowmina nonagesimus would have ended a bitch, she would have half-assed anything, much less the hiding

like, she'd either kill in plain sight and make a show of it or make it disappear and nobody would know

harrowhark harroweena harrowline nonagesimus pulled an edward and alphonse on her parents and only 3 people know she did

the entire system of these houses is unaware of that fact, as far as I know

so, if she wanted to hide a murder, I think, I hope, she would do better than this

also, keeping a head in a box doesn't seem her style, that's very haunted mansion and she's more halloween horror nights

so

what if she's been set up????

and gideon has like 3 brain cells working right now so she might fall for it??? hopefully not but maybe????

and side with my mortal enemy dulcinea instead?????

am I crazy????

am I too latina for this and seeing things???

is dulcinea the soraya montenegro of this story??? or is it me??? am I the drama???

this might all be absolute nonsense and in like 1 chapter I might be proven wrong but I don't trust dulcinea del toboso the seventh and I never will

if you pictured the always sunny meme while reading, that's the right energy I'm trying to share here

[olvitier]

Sorry its so late buf i am in an Edling mood tonight and I will never stop thinking about the idea of how theyre the epitome of right person wrong time.

(obviously in a context of like fandom shenannigans where canon events arent 100% set in stone like edling arent canon but also idc !! they are to me! im ignoring it let me be insane) ANYWAY

Even if they wanted to be together post promised day Ling has all the responsibilities of Xing and his clan and Edward would never hold him back from that for a second. Im of the opinion that brotherhood Edward feels a lot of guilt for wanting love from the people around him particularly those he sees as good (winry, alphonse, etc) especially if hes done things hes perceived as hurting them (maes’ death, the transmutation, etc etc). Which is why I think Edward connects with Ling so well cayse he doesnt carry the weight of a lot if his past mistakes, and then when the stone happens its like goddamn it i roped this guy into my shit again. Like i dont know Edward doesnt really dedicate himself so fully to people outside of winry and ed a lot so its interesting like!!

He cares about a lot of people like the majority of the allied cast and we see him be openly affectionate towards Nina and Hughes pre their deaths but I think Ling is the only person hes ever decided to stick with WITHOUT alphonse? I may be wrong but the whole sure Ill stay with you and trust my brother and Winry to stay safe and follow you around the outskirts of the east for a week till the promised day to protect my new friend is so??? what?? huh???

But anyone my point is post promised day Edward cant really ever see a future with Ling because of all the responsibility Ling holds outside of him and its veyr tragic imo like especially because in a different scenario if Ling didnt have those responsibilities and Edward wasn’t so dedicated to the people around him to a fault of never thinking about his own desires I think they could have the possibility of a future.

Like I have read a lot of fanfiction abiut Ed traveling to Xing and living with him there but?? I realistically cant see him ever doing that just solely because Edward is not the type of person to settle down! like its my one and only criticism of the fma manga is that I cannot see Edward ever being satisfied with a simple life? Like even in Fma 03 which is my favourite interpretation of Edwards character once he gets stranded in our world he learns?? Rocket Science?? For the chance to get back to Amestris but he doesnt really seem to take that goal all that seriously especially considered Alfons ends up getting involved in a lot more aircraft projects than Edward like Edwsrd genuinely enjoys learning!!

Im pretty sure he was the one who dragged Alphonse into Hoenhiems office when they were kids after he left, probably to Al’s reluctance of if they were allowed in there, and started ripping through all of his old books just to learn. Edward never stops and it gets so bad that he never stops to even consider himself constantly worrying about getting his brother back or improving the states of others lives especially when! ya know! the whole country is at stake!!

So in a circumstance post promised day where Ed decides what he wants to do (my personal favourite interpretation is either an alchemical researcher outside of directly performing alchemy, ie revolutionizing the circle matrixes and discovering nee combinations or becoming a professor of some kind) I dont think he would give that up to settle again. And obviously Ling cant exactly up and leave being Emperor unless he decides he doesnt want to, im not the most knowledgable on Lings characterization so I wont speak there but!

They have so much fun together and compliment each other and genuinely care about each other so much but their happiness and fulfillment as people to themselves and others make it so its nearly impossible they would ever realistically end up together and its really doomed and tragic!! idk i think about it a lot.

[recreationalfanfics]

Okay okay so a few years back when I was very much into the NATM fandom (almost embarrassingly so), I was obsessed with Al Capone.

Imagine Al Capone meeting the fish mafia and either loving their whole vibe (especially the lounge) or not trusting them one bit and just pulling Daley!Yuu (a.k.a his pseudo-child, much to Larry's annoyance) to the side like 'I'd be careful o' these fellas - they seem like trouble'

(Cut to Larry like - You and your gang tried to teach them tax evasion last week!)

No but he would meet Deuce and would it would be like instant respect because one gangster recognises another (even though Deuce is trying to reform)

Imagine if he and Vargas had shooting competitions

Valid, Jon Bernthal as Al Capone was too powerful, he is a beautiful man♡

- YEAH, NO, UNCLE AL SOMEHOW APPEARING IN RAMSHACKLE (maybe various NATM characters appear in your room, so like one day it's Rexy, the other its Teddy, and so on and so forth) and maybe Battle At the Smithsonian happened when you were pretty small and Al and his Crew had to hold you hostage but ended up adoring you instead.

- Essentially, Al and the boys are confused but SO HAPPY WHEN THEY SEE YOU AGAIN. You walk downstairs to Ramshackle and see them standing in your living room only to lighten up when they see you♡

- They attend the school as if they're your bodyguards, like Ace and Deuce getting scared when these random monochrome men grab them and demand who they are but once you tell them that they're your friends, they're letting them go and fixing up their uniforms.

- Right off the bat, Al prefers Deuce more than Ace. This is shown when he tells Ace: "See, if you were alive in my time, that obnoxious mouth of yours would be filled with lead." and then he moves onto Deuce and he's all: "But this kid here has a look to 'im. There might be a place for you-"/ "ALPHONSE, NO."/ "What's with the government name, kiddo? M'just saying!"

- While he does find some elements of Twisted Wonderland odd and different, he absolutely knows mafia when he sees it and he immediately clocks the Tweels. Like, he walks into class with you and he's all: "Oh, those two are definetly mafia or whatever they got here in Disneyville." and the Tweels instantly look at him which only seems to confirm what he said.

"Prefect~ Whose this? Another friend from your world?"

"Haha, hope he can swim, Shrimpy!~"

- Al isn't very intimidated by these two and once you explain who he is, or, well, who he represents, then the Tweels are much more calm. They're not gonna outright tell you they're mafia but you hate how well they get along with Al after you told him who he was.

- NOW, Al might play wingman here. If you've got your eyes set on someone, good! His boys will either intimidate or black mail them into asking you out or, if Al decides he doesn't want to scold them, he'll be nice and try to gently nudge them in your direction (aka, just tell them that you like them and to shoot their shot).

- If you DON'T have someone you like, he might push you in the direction of Deuce, Floyd, or Jade.

- Preferably Deuce. He's got a good heart and a fair amount of muscle to protect you and from what he's heard, and he seems to want to keep you safe. A nice kid whose got a good head on his shoulders.

- However the reason why he considers Jade/Floyd is only if YOU like one of them and make the mistake of telling him or he finds out. First of all, he teases you about it and is all: "Wanna follow in your old man's footsteps, eh?" and you roll your eyes and Larry doesn't know why but his dad sense is tingling.

- But seriously, he will most definetly support it since you're very capable of handling yourself, he's seen you grow up into the troublemaking teenager you are but he also knows you have a tendency to land yourself in danger so he'd feel at ease if someone like Jade or Floyd had your back.

- But also, watch him be all: "But just so you know, there might be mistresses in the picture. If they're decent guys, obviously they won't have any but just keep an eye out and keep that in mind-"

- Jade and Floyd just being offended when he puts that idea into your head and assuring you that none of that will be happening-

[youngersiblingstournament]

Younger Siblings Tournament Bracket Reveal

A few things I want to mention before I reveal the bracket (and make the post really long because all the matchups will be listed in text):

Seeding of fictional characters in tumblr polls is inherently subjective. I did try to make it so that more popular characters/media would (most likely) face off against each other in later rounds, but I may be overestimating or underestimating the popularity of some characters/media, especially ones I'm not familiar with. There are some round 1 matchups that are probably a closer match but none of them are between the strongest candidates... I think.

The more niche characters will probably get obliterated in the first round as per Squimbus' Law. This is a tumblr poll and I do fully expect more popular characters to sweep, but that doesn't mean you can't encourage your friends to give your niche faves a fighting chance.

Also there are some matchups I literally just thought would be funny. Please don't take this too seriously.

I'm sorry BNHA fans.

(Preliminary Patch Notes 3/14: Swapped brackets 2 and 3, and brackets 19 and 21.)

[Image description: A 64-person tournament bracket labeled "younger siblings tournament" with a smiley face. The top-left quarter is labeled "quarter A" and color-coded red, the bottom-left quarter is labeled "quarter B" and color-coded green, the top-right quarter is labeled "quarter C" and color-coded purple, and the bottom-right quarter is labeled "quarter D" and color-coded gold. The starting brackets are labeled 1-32 and are as listed below. End ID]

Quarter A:

Ritsu Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs. Ame (Wolf Children)

Malo (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) vs. Cat Valentine (Victorious)

Danny Fenton (Danny Phantom) vs. Fern (Adventure Time)

Skeletor (Masters of the Universe) vs. Shuri (Marvel)

Ryotaro Nogami (Kamen Rider Den-O) vs. Princess Luna (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Lilo Pelekai (Lilo & Stitch) vs. Sir Agravain (Arthurian Legend)

Dewey Wilkerson (Malcolm in the Middle) vs. Siobhan "Shiv" Roy (Succession)

Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto) vs. Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts)

Quarter B:

(9) Maya Fey (Ace Attorney) vs. Louie Duck (DuckTales)

(10) Falin Touden (Dungeon Meshi) vs. Saburo Yamada (Hypnosis Mic)

(11) Noelle Holiday (Deltarune) vs. Krel Tarron (Tales of Arcadia)

(12) Melinoë (Hades) vs. Han Yoohyun (The S-Classes That I Raised)

(13) Abel (The Bible) vs. Hiro Hamada (Big Hero 6)

(14) Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons) vs. Greg (Over the Garden Wall)

(15) Dante (Devil May Cry) vs. Alisaie Leveilleur (Final Fantasy XIV)

(16) Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia) vs. Kofuku (Real Life)

Quarter C:

(17) Luigi (Super Mario) vs. Genji Shimada (Overwatch)

(18) Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist) vs. Saki Tenma (Project Sekai)

(19) Fleabag (Fleabag) vs. Emerald Haywood (Nope)

(20) Sam Winchester (Supernatural) vs. Jiang Cheng (The Untamed)

(21) Nico Di Angelo (Percy Jackson) vs. Gaz Membrane (Invader Zim)

(22) Manny Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) vs. Jimmy "Saul Goodman" McGill (Better Call Saul)

(23) Sunny Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs. Sunny (Omori)

(24) Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Mugman (Cuphead)

Quarter D:

(25) Michelangelo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. The Knight (Hollow Knight)

(26) Vash the Stampede (Trigun) vs. Ruby Rose (RWBY)

(27) Sensei Wu (Lego Ninjago) vs. King Clawthorne (The Owl House)

(28) Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs. Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

(29) Jinx (Arcane) vs. Caduceus Clay (Critical Role)

(30) Damian Wayne (DC) vs. Alluka Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

(31) Hop (Pokémon Sword and Shield) vs. Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)

(32) Rhyme Bito (The World Ends With You) vs. Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Round 1 is ongoing! Matchups are linked (or if you prefer to scroll through the matchup posts, go to the "younger siblings tournament" tag on my blog)

[broodwolf221]

Vivienne de Fer

I love her so much, she's absolutely fascinating to me. i had to split this up into parts because it was taking WAY too long to write, so for right now i'll be addressing the following four actions of interest:

in the circle, didn't join any fraternity

became court enchanter

joined the Inquisition and dealt with Marquis Alphonse at the same time

fought alongside the Inquisitor in the field

in the circle, didn't join any fraternity

this seems fairly remarkable to me because Vivienne openly vies for positions of political power, and the fraternities do have political and social power. but she rejects all of them and instead proceeds alone - why? standing alone wouldn't necessarily make her stand out from the crowd, and even if she disagreed with the particularities of the each fraternity's politics, that hasn't stopped her from throwing in with other groups.

i can think of a few reasons: being a little more naive in her youth (possible but least likely imo), being overwhelmingly assured of her ability to get what she wants on her own, or, the one i think is most likely: she didn't want to be tied down or locked in place. by aligning herself with a fraternity, she would have expressed support of their goals and she wasn't willing to do that, because of the doors such support might close in her future. she keeps her options open

became court enchanter

not only is this a remarkable achievement in and of itself, one which might have benefited from her not having joined a fraternity (leaving people a little more uncertain about her particular politics and stances), but she also fundamentally and radically changed the position. instead of being something akin to a magical entertainer, she instead became a political advisor. think about that. a mage becoming a political advisor to Empress Celene. she has a deep mastery of the game from having been entrenched in it for so long, and having had to use it to gain that position in the first place. she is remarkably cunning and always, always playing the long game. but seriously, i think it's easy to forget just how big of a deal her changing the nature of the position really is. and Orlais is racist - banter between Cole and Vivienne reveals as much. so to have a Black woman, a Black mage, become the first magical advisor to the empress? to have her be able to weigh in on matters of politics at that level? she is remarkable.

joined the inquisition and dealt with Marquis Alphonse at the same time

so, she arranges a party and invites the Inquisitor to attend. i think it's quite safe to assume that she arranged the party primarily in order to join the Inquisition, something she very much wants to do - because, as ever, she wants to be in a position where she can shape change, and she wants to be part of the largest political entity at the given time. she sees early on that it's going to be the Inquisition

but she has another reason: Marquis Alphonse. there's a bit of banter between her and Cole that reveals that he'd insulted her before and she manipulated him into attacking the Inquisitor at the party, allowing her the opportunity to repay his insult and possibly gain the Inquisitor's esteem. also, by allowing his fate to be in the Inquisitor's hands she subtly strengthens the view of the Inquisitor's power and control, and thus the power of the Inquisition.

she wants to join the Inquisition, but she also wants the force she allies herself with to be strong, and she knows the Inquisitor is the face of it. the Inquisitor's power, grace, cunning, everything will ripple out and reflect on those who are aligned with them, as Vivienne well knows. so regardless of the Inquisitor's choice, the Inquisition is given apparent primacy in deciding the Marquis' fate - but really, it's Vivienne setting the stage, creating a scene that bolsters the burgeoning force of the inquisition, and dealing with a poltical insult all at the same time.

she doesn't do anything for no reason, and rarely does things for just one reason.

fought alongside the Inquisitor in the field

i mean, yes, she's a companion, but i still find this quite interesting. she's clearly pursuing some lofty goals in her life... so the fact that she joins the Inquisition on the field of battle? is remarkable.

she's absolutely confident about her own capability, of course - and with good cause! she's a force. but you can end up fighting a LOT of templars, and it's just... she's a mage. fighting templars. it no longer matters that she has a very pro-templar view, because these are largely red templars and they don't care, but they're still able to disrupt magic.

and ofc no one knew when she first joined that you'd end up fighting red templars, but everyone who joined the Inquisition did know that they were going into a very threatening situation. but she was willing. she put herself in harms way. i believe she was originally designed to an advisor but then later became a companion, and that interests me, too, because it really shifts the narrative - she would have made a really good advisor! like, seriously! she's directly connected to the Orlesian court and to the circles and whatever loyalist survivors are left, she's powerful, political, shrewd, and it would have been so interesting to see her perspective at the war table

but instead, a companion. an ally on the field of battle. putting herself at risk. why? to save the world? to shape it? to do both? to gain political power and prestige? i feel like the main reason she joins is because the Inquisition holds the most potential and she wants to see where it goes - and, yes, have a hand in shaping it. she understands how much impact the inquisition in particular will have on the future of mages, although i don't think even she realizes at first that the Inquisitor will end up impacting who becomes divine - the sheer scale of the Inquisition seems to be a bit of a surprise to everyone. but she sees the potential. she gets in early. she shapes it.

she wants to control the things that frighten her, the things that are powerful and unchecked, and the best way to do that is by being hands-on about it. she can't shape things from a safe distance and she's willing to take calculated risks in order to be a part of a massive force of change and direction.

[raffa-taff]

HI UM UR PROBABLY NOT GONNA FIND THIS LMAO BUT I LUV UR ART AND I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THE BH ALPHONSE HEADCANONS U MENTIONED IN YOUR ART A WHILE AGO SRY

Sorry this took so long BUT headcanons!! Above is pretty much all (that I can remember atm) my physical hcs for Alphonse :)

Other hcs:

I don’t have too many hcs about Alphonse that aren’t based on his physical appearance, but here are a few

* I think his hair is important to him especially when he was in the armour because it’s the one thing about his physical appearance that he had control over, aside from maybe the loincloth thing he wears. I might draw a little mini comic abt this hc someday, so when his hair had to be cut in briggs he was really upset (which he was actually pretty upset in canon so it’s kind of building on that in a way?) . I also like to think that sometimes they braid each others hair or do other things with it.

* He loves music, especially the type of music that makes you want to dance. Another thing I like thinking about relating to this is him maybe taking a walk during the night and watching live performances in local pubs etc. He has to have some sort of feeling being in the armour I think otherwise I don’t think he’d be able to move as well as he does, maybe not a physical feeling but I think he can maybe sense vibrations which is why I think he would like music, especially LOUD music.

* He has a bit of a stronger accent than Ed does (they both have pretty heavy country accents imo and I love seeing things like that included in fan work) mostly because Ed does most of the talking and had to deal with higher-ups etc therefore trying to hide his accent a bit because of maybe not being taken seriously.

* This is purely projection but the elrics are Irish, I’m Irish so THEY ARE TOO. Or at least half.

* Nightmares 😁 horrible, horrible nightmares. I feel like the things he’s been through get ignored sometimes by a lot of fans. Eds already sort of had the worst of his nightmares but since Alphonse only got his body back AFTER like almost every single traumatic thing happened to him I think he would have them pretty intensely and for a while, it would probably take a long time for them to settle down.

* A fear of blood, or at least others blood. You do not go through things like carrying your blood-covered, dying older brother to get help and someone literally being murdered inSIDE of you without developing some sort of fear or trauma response when it comes to blood I think

* He tries to pick up an instrument or two over time and tries to get Ed to aswell, I think he’d probably play piano or something like a fiddle maybe

* Has autism and PTSD along with a probably not great immune system

* Has a lot of trouble seeing himself as a person and not just an object. Times when, for example, people grab his helmet and chuck it or the multiple times people take control of his body without his consent. The little comic I did recently kind of explores it and is sort of another little hc I have for him where even though he can’t feel gestures like hugs or pats on the back etc he still likes it for the most part because it makes him feel more human (but I feel like that’s kind of canon tbh) little comic linked below v :]

That’s all! For the moment at least, long post, very sorry again!

[gayuu-the-necromancer]

William Rex

Chapter 4

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Liam: "Ah, Good morning, Kate. Come over here, eat with me."

The next morning, when I went to the dining room for breakfast, Liam's cheerful voice greeted me.

Kate: "Good morning."

Liam: "So, how was your date with Will?"

Kate: "Huh!? Er..Ummm....."

The word 'date' reminded me of what happened last night.

----FLASHBACK-----

William: "Then I'll commit one sin."

Kate: "Eh?"

William took my hand and lightly kissed the back of it.

Kate: "...!?"

It was a reverent kiss of greeting like one would give to a noblewoman, but my face suddenly became hot.

Kate: "W-What was that for.....?"

William: "Kissing someone without asking for their consent is a fin sin. Now you have something to report to her Majesty."

Kate: "Ha.....? Ah....Ehh...."

(Is he caring for me....?)

Kate: "Thank you......"

Not knowing how to react, I could only reply in a hushed voice.

----FLASHBACK ENDS-----

There was no way I could write such a thing as a 'sin' in the report, and therefore, the report for the memorable first day was not submitted.

(I went along for the mission, but I didn't accomplish anything)

(Besides, if I call it a 'date' then it may be seen as I'm not taking my Fairy tale master job seriously....)

Liam: "Hello, Kate? Are you there?"

Kate: "Oh! Sorry. I just spaced out for a bit there. Last night was..."

Harrison: "....Liam."

Harrison, who was sitting across from Liam, puts down his salad fork as if to help me out when I looked dazed.

Harrison: "You don't have to ask her every single thing."

Harrison: "Look at her face. From the moment she entered the dining room, you can see that she had a good time."

(Eh)

Liam: "Hmmm....you think so?"

Kate: "What face are you talking about....?"

Harrison: "You don't have to make excuses. Most people who go out with Will end up looking like this."

('Most people'....Looks like he has been on dates with many people)

(Then maybe...it's the same as what I heard last night)

"If he likes someone, he is willing to support you."

Looks like even I was counted as one of them.

(I'm going to be here for a month, so...I think it's better than being annoying)

Harrison: "...But you should be careful."

Kate: "Careful of what?"

Harrison: "Will is quick to love others. But....his love is like rain falling on grass and trees."

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Harrison: "Will is quick to love others. But....his love is like rain falling on grass and trees."

Kate: "What do you mean?"

Harrison: "All I can say is that, don't get too hooked."

('Too hooked'.....)

Harrison's minty eyes cast a meaningful glance.

(....Romantically you mean?)

Kate: "Yes....I'll be careful."

(He certainly doesn't seem to be the incomprehensible psycopath....like I first thought he was)

(Whether or not to fall in love is a whole other matter)

He's in the business of killing people, and he's destined to meet a tragic end.

I can understand him as a person, but it was too dangerous to fall in love with him.

Alphonse: "Good morning, everyone."

Elbert: "........."

Liam: "Good morning, you guys. It's unusual to see you two at the breakfast table."

Alphonse: "Now we wouldn't want our Lord El to pass away, do we? So I thought I would bring him here to give him some nourishment from time to time."

Harrison: "Seriously, what the hell is going on inside your body? .....You're always greedy, but when it comes to food, you never eat."

Elbert: "..........I don't know about that either."

Alphonse: "In El's case, isn't that kind of ironic?"

Master Elbert sits next to me and Mr. Alphonse sat across of him.

Kate: "Good morning."

Elbert: "........Good morning."

Master Elbert looked down languidly at his plate and then only sipped water with sliced lemons in it.

(Maybe he's sick....?)

As I stare at him with concern, he suddenly turns his gaze toward me.

Elbert: "......."

His deep ocean-colored eyes twinkled as if he had found a shell on the beach.

Kate: "....?"

Elbert: "........Did something happen?"

Kate: "What do you mean?"

Elbert: "You look.......more beautiful than you did yesterday."

(B-Beautiful....?)

Being admired by someone who is the literal personification of beauty is more awkward than joyful.

Alphonse: "Elbert. Don't tell me you're going to turn Miss Kate into a silent object in your room?"

(Silent object....)

I remember noting in my notebook that Master Elbert is looking for the 'most beautiful' thing, and he locks them all away in his room.

Elbert: "...........If she is what I'm looking for then...."

(Huh.....!?)

That means if he likes me, he will lock me up in his room too!?

When I turn to look at Liam and Harrison for help.

Harrison: "You're guess is as good as mine, isn't it?"

Liam: "I have yet to see an actual human being locked inside of Master El's room, too."

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Kate: "Um....! I don't think I'm what you're looking for....!"

Alphonse: "Yes, I think 'best in the world' is an overestimation."

(You're right, but it's hurtful when you say it so clearly....)

Elbert: "..........Oh."

Master Elbert's profile sank into sorrowful melancholy once again.

(Thank god...I'm not going to be locked up)

(I'm sure that 'beautiful' is a misnomer)

(I am the same person I was yesterday)

To regain my composure, I brought my breakfast to my mouth.

(Anyway, today is the day I will officially start my duties as a Fairy tale master)

(I have to observe William with my own eyes and find out what I need to write in my report)

(To do that, first, I have to find William)

Kate: "Thank you for the meal."

Liam: "Are you going to look for Will?"

Kate: "? Yes."

Liam: "Fufu, you're smiling. Cute."

Liam pokes my cheek with his fingertip.

(Eh....?)

I rushed to touch my cheek.

(Oh that....)

I was surprised to see that my mouth seemed to have relaxed just a little.

(.....Why.....)

Kate: ".......It's nothing like that."

With pursed lips, I left the dinning room.

It's just my job to find William.

There is no other reason.

........

(Is he not here....?)

I knocked on the door of William's room to compose myself, and I was.

I looked around, feeling shrugged off by the silence that returned.

(I wonder where he is. I should have asked for his schedule yesterday....hm?)

Then, softly, as if sunlight was flooding through the clouds, the sound of a piano could be heard.

(Piano....)

(....This song is)

(Yesterday's stage play song)

I started walking as if I was lured by the sweet whispering melody.

..........

On the grand piano set up in the hall, I find the silver hair I was looking for.

(....If I call him now, the music will stop)

I stopped a little far away, feeling regretful but the melody stopped suddenly.

Kate: "....Sorry, did I bother you?"

William: "You don't have to. I was playing it to lure you out and it worked as intended. Good morning."

(Me...?)

Suddenly, the sweet words were spoken to me, and my heart fluttered.

Kate: "Good morning....."

The voice that came out of my mouth sounded like it was filled with confusion and a little bit of joy.

(No...it's just)

(I'm just...weirdly conscious of him because the other guys told me I looked happy, beautiful, etc)

Kate: "From today onwards, can you tell me your plans for the next day so I can come to find you."

William: "Haha, you will come looking for me?"

Kate: "Well....of course, because it's my job."

William: "I see, so it's for your job."

-----Options------

Yes, for my job.

Why did you repeat it?

Is there any problem?

-----------

Kate: "Yes, for my job."

William: "Hmmm? You have a strong sense of responsibility."

(....When I'm talking to William, I still get restless)

Kate: ".....You are...really good at playing piano."

William: "I'm honored to receive your compliment. If you're interested, come sit next to me."

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

William: "I'm honored to receive your compliment. If you're interested, come sit next to me."

William's bright red eyes were staring back at me.

(......Next to him?)

Hesitation crosses my mind.

(I have a feeling it's going to be dangerous)

Thinking back, I also had to bathe in the blood that night I met him.

It was because of his performance that I was drawn to him.

(There's no reason....why I should accept all of his invitations just because I'm on a mission)

(There is .....no reason)

But I was so attracted to William's gaze.

I found myself sitting down next to him.

(.....What am I even doing?)

(But...I wanna see his fingers moving and playing that melody?)

(I want to know....)

William: "Try to imitate me."

Kate: "Um....I've never played the piano before."

William: "It's okay. I'm sure you can do it."

William tapped the keys slowly with five fingers as if setting an example.

The simple melody resonated pleasantly, shaking the air in the hall.

William: "See? I told you didn't I."

Kate: "....Yes, you're right."

Kate: "Maybe, I can play it."

Piano keys are heavier than I had imagined.

When I moved my fingers, I heard a popping sound, and even though it was just that, it made my heart skip a beat!

(It's a beautiful sound)

William: "Good job. Keep it up."

When the same melody is repeated, William begins to move his hands next to me.

With the addition of the accompaniment, the simple melody instantly flourished.

It was as if I had become an amazing pianist.

(.....It feels nice)

Like grains of light, the sound bounces in the air and makes my heart skip a beat.

The world looks so different next to him.

(It's like I am dragged out onto the stage, unknowingly)

(And it looks like I can't go back to the audience....)

I don't know if that would be a good thing for me....though.

William: "What do you wish for the most right now?"

William asks me as he plays.

(My wish....?)

When my fingers slip due to a lapse of concentration, the accompaniment modulates to pick up the offending note.

(My wish is....)

Kate: "Well, of course for now...I want to go back to my peaceful life."

William: "Really?"

William: "Did you ever look this greedy in your peaceful life?"

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

William: "Did you ever look this greedy in your peaceful life?"

(....Greedy?)

----FLASHBACK----

William: "There you go, my lady."

Kate: "....Thank you."

William: "You're welcome."

----FLASHBACK ENDS-----

(You mean that's how I looked like when we first met....?)

Kate: "There is no such thing...."

Kate: "I'm happy with my daily life, working in a worthwhile job....and occasionally going to the theater."

Certainly, there were times when I thought that if I took a step forward, a different world might open up to me.

However, I am sure that I have never felt that I am missing something so much as to be called 'greedy.'

(....Rather, it was more than enough for me)

I felt the weight of my notebook grow heavier in my pocket, and my hand stopped playing the piano.

Kate: ".....Why do you think I am greedy? You don't even know anything about me."

William: "Hmm......I wonder why?"

William's accompaniment also breaks off abruptly.

The afterglow faded away and silence fell.

William: "I don't know, so I want to know. You were staring at me with those eyes that evening."

William: "Why are you still obsessed with your 'everyday' life, stifling yourself?"

(Those eyes...?)

I wonder what kind of eyes I was looking at him with that evening.

I feel as if he is staring at me, whom I don't even know, and my heart is stirring.

William: "Tell me, what do you want?"

Kate: "Why would you care so much....?"

William: "Because I'm interested in you."

William: "Any other reason would have been a red herring anyway, wouldn't it?"

(.....Ah......)

William's red eyes stare at me from a distance that almost touches the tip of our noses.

When I realized this, I finally remembered the closeness.

We were sitting next to each other on a narrow piano bench, and if one of us moved our arms just a little, we would bump into each other.

(I....)

The scent of the roses he wears grazes my nose, and my heart begins to beat loudly.

Kate: ".....I...I..."

I get that feeling again.

I want to escape. I need to escape.

His voice, his eyes, trying to get deep into my body and uncover something.

(I'm going crazy)

William smiled gently as if he could see through my impatience.

He gently put his lips to my ear.

William: "....Let's start with something a little more rudimentary."

Giocondo: Happily - Normal Story

[astrofons-highderich]

Random Alfons Heiderich headcanons:

- Snores when he sleeps, even before his lung issues. That does make him breathe heavier though and he is self conscious about it.

- Too lax about personal safety, like forgetting to lock the front door and looking up at the sky while he's walking.

- He loves birds, partially because they inspired his love of flight but also because he was raised around chickens. They were basically his pets and first friends.

- gay gay homosexual gay

- His favourite song is Claire de Lune. He thinks it's what floating through space sounds like.

- Has bad posture from leaning over studying. (Ed doesn't thanks to his physical training routines despite being even more of a bookworm, and constantly prods Alfons to sit up straight or stretch when they're working)

- Has a thing for guys with scars. (as was the style at the time)

- Finds it very hard to lie convincingly, but has become good at avoiding direct questions. He gets away with it because those that know him assume he's too honest to be able to do that.

- Gets flustered easily when complimented or flirted with, but can be seriously intense when he's the one expressing romantic intention.

- Thought Ed might have been an angel when he first met him and started talking about other worlds, and felt compelled to help him no matter what. He figured out pretty quickly that couldn't be true but it was still too late by then lol

- Would fall into super good friends with Winry right away if they met, but I think Alphonse would take a loooong time to get beyond civil.

- He has a big sweet tooth, and has a secret sweet stash for when he's stressed or wants to reward himself. He only shares any with Ed if it's an emergency. (Like Ed forgetting to eat and collapsing when his automail takes too much of his strength)

- He spends more time than he'd like to admit getting his hair how he likes every morning.

- Loves the feel of oil and grease on his hands when he's working but hates getting any on his shirt.

[proshipping-polls]

>there seems to be some ships that awakened the proshipper in you, like, the first problematic ship that makes you realize fiction has no rules It's a bit different for me having started shipping slash pairings in the early 2000s. There weren't really any limits then. You were already shipping two guys and that was 'weird' enough. All a little age gap or incest did was make it a bit spicier. Roy x Ed from the 2003 verion of Fullmetal Alchemist was probably the first 'problematic' ship I had. No one really discussed it in terms of ethics/morality at the time, though. Even the english voice actors openly joked about it. I don't think people back then really cared about age gaps when one of the characters was at least a teen or already going through some considerably adult shit. In fact, people were more likely to complain about the homosexuality. Then I started shipping Edward x Alphonse and I knew that was a little weirder. But there was fan art and doujin everywhere, and a bustling little community on Livejournal I was happy to join with my main account. We didn't have to worry about antis raiding spaces like this. Antis as we know them now didn't exist. My tastes in ships didn't change much as I aged. To this day, I still enjoy a good age gap. But the first ship I had that I actually saw called "proship" was sheith from Voltron. Because that was the time people (especially the younger generation) began taking shipping "seriously" and anti culture truly started to form. I admit I was pretty confused at the time. Sheith does have a bit of an age gap but nothing about it was unusual for a slash ship. Hell, nothing about it was unusual even for a straight romance! I was also too old by then to really care about the naysayers--they really weren't so different than the homophobic trolls of the old days--and of coure I could easily understand the difference between fiction and reality so I just kept shipping it. I still ship whatever I want, and everyone else should too.

It's so interesting that two anons have listed Sheith specifically!! Maybe I'll check VLD out.... I do love a black/white colorscheme ship...

It's confusing!! What people decide to pick on seems absolutely arbitrary!!

Someone mentioned the big increase in fandom activity during and after the pandamic as a possible reason on why there has been a spike of people so intent in not minding their business recently, but I remember being horrified at some stuff I heard about almost a decade ago. Razors in cookies at cons and all that. Taken absolutely too far.

I'll be only too happy when people relearn how to calm down.

[hedgionary]

GO ON ABOUT SHAMBALLA!!!! I have the same dilemma where I can’t just ignore it… it is so good and yet. So very. Ah…

Alright, so here we go! I may not be as sleep deprived and obsessive and I was when I wrote the first (now eternally lost, RIP) draft, but I'll do my best!

This post contains spoilers. So in case this showed up randomly on your dash and you intend to read it, please keep that in mind. I'll be going over literally everything that comes to my mind.

1. The length and what was cut

SO MUCH WAS LEFT UNEXPLORED! SO. DAMN. MUCH. START, MIDDLE AND ENDING.

Start

If they were going to cut so much anyway, why did they leave the whole castle sequence? I'm not saying it's not entertaining at all, ("Let's go. This whole place is about to blow up." "Brother, why?" "Because I don't like it >:]") it just seemed really detached from the rest of the movie. And considering how long it is, there could've been quite a bit of story packed into the space it took. That's not to say Edward with a fishbowl on his head wasn't funny.

Dunno how they found a lake that big in a landlocked country either.

Middle

Let's start with where the movie picks the main narrative. What exactly was Edward doing when he met Alfons? What was their relationship like? How bonkers did Alfons think Ed was exactly?

Mustang. Depressed Mustang. Riza having to deal with it. How bad has he gotten when even Hawkeye isn't by his side now? Team Mustang were also such a BIG part of the story. Their presence in CoS was definitely lacking. The scene in the North deserved to be longer though.

Envy my little blorbo, I want to put you in the Salad spinner. Both versions. Into the spinner, you. Is there another one of you on this side of the gate??? Would he, or they, have shown up in the life of the Elrics, possibly making it more difficult for the two of them than it already is? And as much as I hate to say it, Nazi Envy is still less annoying an idea than Hughes. The whole military cast all sad little war criminals anyway :[

Wrath. My baby was supposed to have more screentime :( Sure, his death would've been even more painful if he'd had it, but stilll, more Wrath content!!! That's always good!

Izumi's death. I've got more of a love-hate relationship with that woman than I have with the whole movie, and that's something. While I adore BH Izumi with every fibre of my being, '03 just... Rubs me the wrong way. It could've been such a painful scene. But still I get why they chose to do it off-screen.

Ed's fake arm and leg deserve more screentime. You can fight me on this one. While we did get the "This is a carnival! Go have some fun!" Scene for Ed's arm it was... That. And literally nothing else save for a quick shot of how he attached them. How did Hohenheim's replacement affect him? How many times did he assume it was metal and broken it? How delicate is it in comparison? Does his leg also require a pull-start, or is it constantly running? (Haha. Leg. Running. I'm so funny, I know.)

Eckhart get out. 🚪👈🏼 Seriously? After Dante? Now Dante was a Villain with a capital V. Eckhart? Maybe if she'd had enough time to stew on-screen. As it is, she's been stewing in our minds off-screen and getting progressively more pathetic as time goes by. Movie could've worked out without her being the way she is.

Ending

I. Hate. Open. Ambiguous. Endings. WDYM WE GET TO DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS? I DON'T WANT TO. I WANT TO SEE THE ELRICS BEING MESSY. FIGURING IT OUT. FINDING THAT BOMB THING. ALPHONSE WITH A GUN.

Because let's face it; we got Edward with a gun. He doesn't have alchemy anymore. I stand my case. Alphonse with a gun.

Also, hello? Scar and Lust? What could we get from that? Ed and Al both going "Noah, of all the people in the world, you had to find... Them." And just having to roll with it. (Don't let Ed drive. Please don't let Ed drive. What we didn't need was a third car crash and the repercussions of that.)

Most importantly. We all know of Ed's coping habit on this side of the gate. Did he manage to get out of that? Is Al gonna grow slowly aware of how different and broken his brother is? Depression doesn't go away just like that and Edward was already in a difficult place before the brothers were separated.

Something that irks me but probably shouldn't is the fact Shamballah didn't end on a train. Every other piece of Fullmetal media, be it the manga, Brotherhood, or the episodes of '03 ended with Ed on a train, looking out of the window. And then we have Shamballah where they're looking at... Scar, Lust and everyone else in that car. The only reason we know Ed and Al lived is that little OVA from 2005 that said Ed would be 100. And I don't remember if that even mentions what happened with Al.

2. Muuuussiiic

Just to think there could've been more of these treasures. "Alchemic World~Two Years Thereafter" being a variation of the first verse of Brothers. The silly little soundtracks like "Castle of Science Goes Kablooey" or "Automated Mechanical Arm"

Maybe an actual instrumental to "Kelas (Let's-Dance) not just an instrumental version that's a nightmare to attempt singing to. Seriously. It's easier a capella. If you have someone to sing it with, that is. (I don't)

"Requiem" during the funeralll. That track is just... Chef's kiss.

The last track to play is "Lost Heaven" and oh boy doesn't that pack a punch. While Amestris was not heaven, at least it wasn't torturing Ed psychologically 24/7 (Nazi Hughes will haunt me until the end of my days...)

I actually enjoy writing to the CoS soundtrack on random! Gives a weird mood to the story, but when writing scenes as wacky as I am currently... Definitely helpful!

3. Winry and Automail

More if her time with Edward. They didn't even get to say goodbye??? Also, how did she guess his size perfectly??? He is, after all, still short, even at eighteen years old. Poor boy.

Anyway. This doesn't even give me angst potential. They aren't even together long enough to talk, chat, let any feeling resurface. The whole Amestris sequence feels like a fever dream or a badly paced fanfic. I don't drop fics just because they're badly paced, even if I have to fill events in on my own. But a movie? Uhhhh. Yeah. Difficult.

They're just kind of accepting the fact the other exists as if they were benches in a park. "Oh cool. A new bench next to the monument. I'll come back tomorrow. Oh no, no more bench? Weird, but okay."

Edward came back? Cool. Let me give him new automail and skim over the fact he hasn't had any attached in years, so at least some of the nerves shouldn't be working quite right. Definitely not combat ready. Besides, I'm fairly sure Edward is out of practice. Who was he to spar with? Hohenheim's prosthetics were also definitely inferior to automail, meaning his fighting wasn't as good as it had been back home. The weight difference too. So that just felt weird. Even if I personally can't fight. Probably. Haven't tried. Aren't very fit though.

4. The knowledge that we will never know. It's been what, almost 20 years since this movie aired? We're never getting a canon sequel and I can't find a good fic that I can just confidently go "Yeah. That's what happened." to. That's not to say there aren't any that I've enjoyed, just none that feel close enough to canon to work.

Also the fact this has so much crossover potential that's, essentially, ignored. You have both Ed and Al here now. There's so many stories that happen or at least start in our world, having important events around the 1920s. And even if not, it's FANFICTION! You can give the most random excuses such as "Their ashes and dust cannot be laid to rest here, for this is not the earth that birthed them" and you'll have yourself immortal Elrics! Just phrase it poetic enough. Or go with the fact energy cannot be created or destroyed. By all means, there's too much energy here and too little there because of the boys crossing over. Idk. I should've failed physics years ago.

Anyway I wish we could get a redo. Either the three movies idea or the 13 episodes. I just wanna know.

5. Positives

I've been mainly going on about what I dislike in this movie, so let's go on what I did like!

Al. The little thing. Copying your older brother like that? Peak sibling energy. I wonder if you ever did it later just to mess with Ed. You're so much like your brother. Especially the BH au of him. You two would get along like a house on fire. Worse than Ed and Mustang. Al, you're adorable. Just a little critter. Also, memory problem buddy! Yay! I am glad you got them back though. You deserve it. Even if I do wonder how it changed your perspective on the past few years, remembering both your solo travels and the ones with Ed. Your voice was also really silly.

Noah. I liked Noah. I just did. Most of the time. Gave me Rose vibes. I also liked the music her appearance brought in.

Gracia. I liked the fact Gracia was there. I hope she and Maes made it work, maybe even had their own Elysia. Maybe even siblings for her :]

Edward's mental health. Although a heavy topic, I liked the fact the repercussions of being so far from home were shown.

The jokes. Although I haven't actually watched the whole thing in English, I quote this movie at my friends, much to the annoyance of the ones who aren't interested in Fullmetal. Even if I do translate them for conversation purposes.

THE WAY THE COLOURS ARE DIFFERENT IN OUR WORLD AND AMESTRIS. Our world having dark, faded colours. And then Al's bright cloak flashbangs you! Yay! Even when he moves worlds, the colours are a bit dulled.

I liked how Ed looked out of place in Amestris. That his hair wasn't as golden as it had been in the series, at least to my memory.

And yeah, I could go on, but I risk repeating and becoming illegible. I've also been writing this over the course of an entire day after I lost the first draft :')

I did my best to make it coherent, but I definitely forgot some stuff.

[the-real-dev]

i was told you wanted questions about gothic lit 👀 i want to know more about the Guys i keep seeing on my dash. like all i know about frankenstein is that victor makes some guy and fucking hates his guts (my brother in christ you made the guy) and i’m vv curious as to who all these other characters are

YAYY TYSM FOR ASKING ^_^

okay so i will try to do a frankenstein summary, or at least introduce the characters. if you want the full proper experience you should read the book!! alternatively osp has a pretty good video (but u should. seriously read the book)

so, lets start. meet the characters :3

-> victor frankenstein. the guy himself. our miserable protag. best friends with henry clerval, engaged to elizabeth lavenza, made the creature slash adam (<- this is a fanon name! He never gets named in canon which is sad)

-> adam frankenstein slash the creature, the Guy that victor created then subsequently abandoned. he makes me so sad dude his story is so. AUGJHGH

-> elizabeth lavenza! she was adopted by the Frankenstein family out of poverty and is victors. er. cousin. slash sister. slash future wife. yeah it sucks. shes pretty chill though, i like her

-> henry clerval! victors best friend (totally not boyfriend /j) and perpetual ray of sunshine. hes so silly i love him so much

-> justine moritz, william's nanny, also kinda got adopted by the frankensteins. best friends with elizabeth

-> william frankenstein, victors youngest sibling & ernest frankenstein, the middle child. ernest gets mentioned once and is never brought up again for some reason

-> alphonse frankenstein, victors dad & caroline beaufort, victors (dead) mom

-> captain robert walton, the guy who finds victor in the artic. hes technically the one writing the story since hes writing down victors narrative to. send to his sister. like the whole book. he is also down bad for victor which is really funny tbh

-> the de lacy family (+ safie) , they're important to adam's story but otherwise irrelevant

i think that's it for the characters!! might do a quick summary sometime later

[snarkspawn]

Eyy, thank you for often answering ask by "Using references" I'm an aspiring artist who's pretty confident in fundamentals but still having difficulty on coming up with a composition, pose, or idea. I keep using reference when I'm stuck with those and I honestly feel guilty because I already drawing for years but really struggling with coming up with Idea, knowing great artist like you keeps saying to use reference really gave me validation in some way <3

Heyyy!! I'm so glad haha ♥

I know there's this idea (from mostly non-artists I think, but it bleeds into artists spaces too because people pick up on it and don't know that their favourite artists that they look up to do in fact also use references) that using references is somehow 'cheating' or whatever but that's not true!! It's not true!! Whatever helps you create the image you want to create is valid (I mean, obviously do not trace other people's art (!! seriously don't) but apart from that even tracing photo references can and does help. It's all good and can be a great shortcut to build on! Plus, it teaches your muscle memory and your understanding of how the thing works you're trying to draw)

Artists throughout history have always, always, always used references, and for good reason! You can't be expected to just magically know everything and visualise it perfectly in your head, and using references improves everyone's art significantly.

A great exercise is to take something that you know, say a cat. Everyone knows what a cat looks like, right. So try to draw a cat from memory. It'll probably look somewhat like a cat, sure, a thing that is cat-shaped, but then draw it again using a reference. I guarantee you it will look better. And then maybe draw the cat again using your referenced drawing as a reference so you get to meet in the middle. And the more you do that the less you will have to rely on the reference too.

These pictures and others like them have been used in other posts before but I think they help to drive the point home perfectly so:

(Norman Rockwell)

(Alphonse Mucha)

They're from this article that also goes into more detail on the subject so if you're interested give it a read!

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 83

I missed Lin so much.

We finally have the name of the lion chimera. He's Heinkel.

Y'know, Lin has effectively gotten what he wants on his journey and the only thing left is to either wrest control from Greed or convince him to go back to Xing. Lin has no personal reason to tell Ed about Father's plan.

So yeah, Lin really is Ed's friend and wants to help him out.

The Homunculi like to go on about their pride and superiority to humans, but what they have is less pride and more like ego. They all mindlessly follow the orders of their "loving" father who has some grand ambition for himself and never once question what they do. And they continuously look down on people calling them weak, powerless, foolish, etc. Meanwhile, they have no actual ambitions or achievements to call their own. They just have their empty egos.

And I think Greed knows that. He is ambition made manifest and he cannot tolerate being bound to someone else's will.

But another thing the Homunculi lack is camaraderie. They exist only for Father's purpose and there is no true love between them. Ed gave him an unconditional offer to be his ally, and Greed didn't know how to process that. And then he turned it down because of his Homunculus ego.

Greed, you feel empty because you've actually experienced true friendship and had it all taken away.

No but seriously, why do Darius and Heinkel follow Ed around?

Olivier Mira Armstrong is showing us her Armstrong heritage, complete with the Armstrong sparkles.

This is the most Armstrong she's ever been. I suppose being around her family will do that. The only thing missing is she never mentioned her skills which were passed down the Armstrong line for generations.

We have the first main chapter appearance of PHILIP GARGANTOS ARMSTRONG, Mrs. Armstrong, and Catherine Elle Armstrong. And you can just feel the sheer Armstrong vibe in the room.

Olivier Mira Armstrong and Alex Louis Armstrong's fight is one of those moments that you need to watch in the anime. In the manga, we just hear all the fighting while the rest of the family packs their things to go on a vacation. In the anime, we actually see miscellaneous background events while the shot is still focused on the family packing up and leaving.

When Alex asked Olivier if she sent the family away so they couldn't be used as hostages, she just smiled and told him to get out. It kind of implies she was doing it for her own sake, but I'd say she did it for Alex's sake.

Olivier is the kind of person who is willing to act even if it would put her family in danger. But Alex is not. By sending the family away, she's telling him "When the time comes, you can do what you think is right without worry."

And now let's check the information chain. Hohenheim knows when the Promised Day is and he told Alphonse. Al then called Izumi's store and passed the message to Mason. Then Sig called Mason to get the information and they went to Briggs to pass the message to Miles and Buccaneer. Falman then passed the information over to Graman who gave Rebecca Katarina leave to go to Central and visit Hawkeye and Sergeant Major Black Hayate. Rebecca passes the message to Hawkeye, who hides it in a pack of cigarettes she gives Havoc, who then gives it to Roy.

The only major outlier to that information chain is Izumi and Sig. It feels like wild happenstance that they would happen to be traveling north and Sig just happened to call the shop and got the message from Al. Also, Al is not privy to the North-East alliance against Central.

I guess if I were to headcanon-conspiracy theory a guess, Izumi and Sig have allied with Hohenheim after meeting with him again. They may have headed North to check for signs of the underground tunnel there similar to how Hohenheim went to Reole to check for it there. And Hohenheim was planning to inform Izumi about the Promised day after he'd gotten confirmation.

Then Hohenheim told Al about Izumi's involvement and Al added that she should seek out Miles and Buccaneer to give them the info as well. Al knows Briggs is on their side. The fact that the East HQ is allied with them as well is just an unexpected bonus.

Meanwhile, Ed found out from a direct source. Maybe he'll try and contact Roy about it only to find out the Colonel already knows. Roy is surprisingly competent at gathering intel.

Quick note: Rebecca appears in the title art for chapter 53. She's on the photo in the bottom-left corner, just hidden under the chapter title.

And I guess Black Hayate is neutered.

And y'know what? I had thought Roy's team were the ones who came up with all these secret code systems to share information. But after seeing this insane display of covert information sharing, I'm going to guess they were all trained by Graman. He's known ever since Raven approached him that Central has been up to something so he's probably been training every person he can trust in the art of espionage.

back

[sunflower1me]

So I was recently tagged by @lily-alphonse to do a self-rec of five of my works! Here goes nothing :D

Be sure to check the tags on Ao3 before reading, as I won't be listing content warnings here!

At The Riverbed

"At The Riverbed" is a Pokemon fic centering on the polyamorous relationship between Wallace, Winona, and Steven. It's my first and so far only polyamorous fic, but I really want to write more! I enjoyed tackling this cute little trio. Steven is a rock enthusiast, and the fic centers around a rock-hunting trip going awry.

2. Right As Rain

"Right As Rain", a That's Not My Neighbor fic, is definitely my most successful work. A classic, low-stakes M/F sickfic with caretaking and fluff. Requires very little information on the game, as their personalities are fanon and I only briefly mention the Doppelgangers that the game is primarily about.

3. Migraine Mornings

"Migraine Mornings" is a Stardew Valley Gus/Elliott fic(The first of it's kind on Ao3!) that centers around Gus caring for Elliott when he wakes with a migraine. It's fluffy and sweet! It's also the first of a set of fics about Elliott having migraines, which I intend to eventually make into a trilogy.

4. Cool Baths

Another Gus/Elliott fic, this time about Elliott caring for Gus! You can see I really like writing caretaking dynamics, hehe. This one was a lot of fun, showing these characters having casual conversation as Elliott does things for Gus like wash his hair.

5. Ceremonial Spouse

My only Not Safe For Work fic on this list, and an Original Work at that! I chose this one despite not being as confident in it as the rest here, because I think it sets an important groundwork for me. It was the first sexual scene I'd written in about 10-ish years! While it's far from perfect I'm pretty sure it's better than whatever I was making at 14, lmao. Seriously though, I enjoyed these characters I made for this story, I enjoyed pushing my limits, and it'll be great to see how much better I get with time. It's also the longest fic on my entire Ao3, being 3,773 words! I know that's not huge, but as a writer of few words, that was a lot!

Thank you sooo much for the tag! I can't lie, I have no idea who to tag, but I encourage every fic author to try this! Hyping up your own work is so good for you! <3