#granted only other anime that did this is Fullmetal Alchemist

[misterbaritone]

Every time I think of Blue Exorcist my very first instinct is to say “That show sucked” but then I remember I only watched the anime which, after episode 3, deviated from the manga completely and did its own non-canon story which means I don’t actually know what Blue Exorcist is really like.

[charliethemanticore]

Hi! I watch/read a lot of anime/manga, so I figured I'd discuss the filler thing with you! Hope that's ok!

That's actually a very good point, I never thought about it that way! I think people disregard filler and don't consider it a regular addition to an adaptation, like it happens in other movies or shows, because in most cases its point is not to add anything worthwhile to the story, but to gain some time to not catch up to the manga.

So then, particularly in longer anime such as Naruto or Bleach, there are these entire arcs that completely deviate from the story and are ultimately pointless and stick out like a sore thumb. Whatever happened there is never brought back again, and its characters are promptly discarded as soon as the arc ends. This is something that doesn't happen in adaptations in other media (as far as I know), and what makes filler such an unique thing to anime.

Then there are cases where from some point on the anime completely deviates from its source material, such as Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 or Soul Eater. People don't refer to its original content as filler anymore because there's an understanding that they're doing their own thing.

I think what ultimately draws the line on what's filler or not it's its purpose and of course this is not a black or white thing, or matter of quality. Most people would agree that FMA 2003's ending is garbage, and the episode in DBZ where Goku and Piccolo learn how to drive is incredible. But then in cases where filler adds to and elevates the source material, can we still refer to it as such? That's a more difficult question! But I think we can all agree that Naruto's filler is pretty pointless, it made the show near unwatchable, and it's as fillery as filler can get. It's there to fill time and nothing else, no one's happy that it exists but alas it's there.

Sorry this got so long haha

Disclaimer: I have a migraine so this is very rambly and not the response such a well thought-out explanation deserves.

Thank you so much for your perspective I really appreciate it. (Also I feel like my tags were misleading. I watch a lot of anime I'm just like... Sitting in the corner doing my own thing bc I find active participation in fandom tends to be bad for my specific combination of issues)

But my biggest toxic trait is I fucking love like... 60% of the Naruto filler arcs (they're the only time my most beloved shino gets any real airtime and he DESERVES IT)

BUT based on every conversation I've had with my friends about this, this is because I have very different... Requirements when it comes to the stuff I like. The filler arcs are silly and fun and I enjoy them immensely (the only one I couldn't watch to completion was the robot Naruto one). Have a lot of complicated feelings about them though. Like The Three-Tails' Appearance is great because shino gets to be competent and Lee is a sweetheart and Sakura and Ino get to work together... But if that adorable child plays that leaf whistle one more time I may cry (guess where I'm up to in my rewatch)

Bleach filler is so much worse. Bount arc wasn't even enjoyable 0/10 couldn't even be saved by hot villains. I watched all but one arc of Naruto. I did not grant the same to bleach, it burned me too many times.

DBZ filler is complicated though because a lot of the filler has canon stuff sprinkled in which I think is a more seamless way to buy time - sprinkling filler into existing arcs rather than having just... 76 episodes of near continuous filler NARUTO. I understand the constraints were different though.

(fma:b is one of my favourites and I sort of just pretend 2003 didn't happen. It has some good points but I just can't. The author told them to go with their hearts and I respect that they committed but results were questionable)

Point is I think it's really interesting to see how other people interact with media because I'm mostly just sitting here like "are my favourite little guys talking? Brilliant. 10/10 you're doing great sweetie etc" im stressed out by literally everything else, a few episodes of some kids trying to unmask their teacher is enrichment in my enclosure

[soul-dwelling]

Nah I think the fact that we already had the plotpoint of Jonah changing the looks of charachters, the later doppelganger plot feels like a later idea - so Iris was probably not planned to be some thought-form. Just the whole orphanage situation debunks it, and makes me think that probably it really was about making biological clones to power Ametarasu or something (maybe a good scientist took her away and put her into the orphanage, so she wouldnt end up like Ametarasu, but depends on how early the orphanage was hinted to be evil)

Spoiler warnings for Fire Force and, of all things, Blue Exorcist, Gargoyles, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Konro did fight his doppelganger in the Asakusa Arc, however, before the Nether Arc revealed Amaterasu looking like Iris. Granted, the story could have waved that away and insist the Konro doppelanger was also a clone, or, since Jonah was involved in that arc, too, was someone else altered to look like Konro. Maybe the story could have changed that later to make the Konro doppelganger into another clone, but I am starting to doubt more and more that cloning would have been the explanation. 

(The cloning approach also would make Fire Force become way too similar to Blue Exorcist...Granted, Fire Force is already too similar to Blue Exorcist: Shinra is pretty much a Rin lookalike with similar powers, similar angst over parental and sibling issues, maybe a little similar personality, similar interest in a Kamen Rider expy, and a similar devil and flames motif.) 

And yeah, your thinking is pretty much the same as my friend elliotthezubat, who, before the doppel reveal, thought that Iris was one of a number of lookalikes who were periodically sacrificed to keep the Amaterasu power plant running. Then the manga did the doppel stuff, then seemed to imply that for all the talk of all the religions being bullshit that “gods” still existed, then did the confusing explanation about Shinra and Sho’s mother and the Evangelist--and along with all the other nonsense in that series’s final arc (Ohkubo using Tamaki for his gross soapbox speech), I had lost patience with this shitty series. 

I do wonder when the orphanage was first hinted to be evil, because even the reveal about who Sumire really was felt, not like a retcon exactly, but definitely a "this could have been set up better and earlier" problem. You couldn't have made it more obvious that Sumire looks like someone we already met before? Even Gargoyles hanged a lampshade pointing out how similar Owen and Vogel looked before that shocking reveal--a reveal that was foreshadowed a long time ago.

What was the worst the orphanage did beyond discouraging Hibana from using her flame ability? That wasn't the worst practical advice ("little kids shouldn't be using fire, everyone is jittery because people keep turning into pyrokinetics"), but maybe it was hinting at hypocrisy within the religion ("we preach that we should worship the sun but hate fire")...except, you know, the sun is all the way out there, that's not quite the same as fire--ugh, my self-doubts about the logic of this series would not be so bothersome if the series ended better.

I can appreciate not revealing the evil origins of the orphanage and the Church and on and on until far later so as not to inundate an audience with more than they can process--but sometimes you want a series to not toy with the audience just for the sake of a stupid plot twist (I am irate about recent Bungo Stray Dogs episodes...), or you want a series to fix stuff in adaptation (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood fixed so many problems I had with the original manga, and all they did to fix it was have Episode 1 say, "We're already starting with Father and alkahestry so that the Ling stuff later doesn't seem like such a narrative swerve or potential retcon that will confuse new manga readers who only know the 2003 anime").

[sepublic]

Construction Relic Theory

           In the Relic Room, we see magical relics representing each of the nine covens, such as the Green Thumb Gauntlet for the Plant Coven, Oracle Sphere for Oracles, Healing Hat for the Healing Coven, etc. The only exception is, curiously, the Construction Relic; There is no artifact for the Construction Coven! Now, speaking from a meta animators’ perspective… Perhaps there is no Construction Relic, because this could imbalance the otherwise symmetrical layout of the relics, four on each side from one another… Or, maybe the crew forgot to include the Construction Relic, and decided it wasn’t necessary alongside most of the Relics anyway, as it’d just be another static background detail.

           But what if the Construction Relic is intentionally missing- What if it was Belos’ castle?

           I mean, think about it- What we know of Construction magic, and how we’re specifically introduced to it, is the creation of buildings. And Belos’ castle is obviously an incredibly important location for him, pragmatically and thematically, and I’ve speculated in the past that it might serve an additional function as well; Perhaps something to do with the Titan’s heart? It’s also chock-full of pipes and technology, the likes of which we’ve never seen before…

           So what if the Construction Relic was used to create Belos’ castle… Or even, it took the form of it? And that’s why it’s not present with the other artifacts; Either it’s in another location, serving as the core and foundation for the castle itself… Or it just straight-up turned into it, as the culmination of Construction magic, devising and transforming into a massive fortress!

           Alternatively- What if it was Belos’ staff, instead? We’ve all talked about how technological it looks… Perhaps Belos built and upgraded the Construction Relic into the staff we see today, in order to better enhance his magical abilities? Again, he’s associated with the creation of technology, machines, and automatons- Construction magic fits well with engineering, so it makes sense that this would be the artifact most important to Belos, and the only one he keeps on his person… And it’s potentially how he managed to create so many things such as the portal, and even the castle itself!

           Furthermore, we see how Belos can essentially ‘create’ fleshy monsters, like the Intro Worm, and those stone and meat constructs when fighting Luz. This could also fit into the speculation of Belos shaping people, such as members of the Emperor’s Coven and Guard, into uniform bodies… His power could be related to that of reconstruction, of transmutation; But he does so with living bodies, and not just buildings or technology! Maybe it could play into how Belos is able to reconstruct his body, how he’s able to create his own version of the portal…

           In fact, maybe that’s how Belos would’ve been able to heal Eda; Not with the Healing Hat, but by using his Construction Relic to literally reconstruct her body, back into its original, normal self! Maybe that’s even how the Curse works in the first place; Maybe it’s actually Construction Magic, and it reconstructs the victim’s body into an Owl Beast! Construction magic, but the building materials are the parts of a person’s body… And so all this time, Luz and Lilith were looking for the wrong artifact; The Healing Hat was not the solution, it was the Construction Relic- Because the Curse is Construction-based, and unlike Belos, they never realized this!

           In fact, whether or not it’s Belos’ staff, maybe that’s why the Construction Relic is unseen- It’s deliberately hidden so Lilith can’t just steal and use it for herself on Eda, and then be done! Maybe Belos even intentionally put away the Construction Relic, to manipulate Lilith for this reason! Getting into a meta perspective, Dana Terrace says that her choice of Magic track would be Construction, given how artsy it is… And Belos is possibly that favorited masked character of hers she alluded to, in the Reddit AMA; Although it could just as easily be Owl Mask. Additionally, Belos has a bit of brown in his color scheme himself, in the form of his cowl-mask… Maybe THAT’s the Construction Relic, even! And Construction magic fits Belos as someone with a machine motif, who wants to build an entire empire and Coven System.

           Construction Relic is unusually underrepresented, despite it being Dana’s choice- Aside from Mattholomule, we barely see any practitioners. Perhaps Belos could help to fill that role in the story, even if he’s also capable of other forms of magic; Coven Leaders notwithstanding, it’d be neat to see each form of magic get fleshed out with a witch tied to it, with Construction being Belos’ favored manner of magic. If the Curse is Construction Magic, maybe it was made by Belos, given the red coloration it gives off; Though whether Belos intended for Lilith to use it on Eda, or if he just lost it and it passed through hands on the black market, until Lily bought it… And then Belos was able to recognize his own work and thus reverse it- I can’t say.

          And once again, I’m going to bring up Fullmetal Alchemist; Because if I AM right and Belos and Father have parallels, and transmutation and alchemy from that series helped to inspire the Glyphs… Then given how Fullmetal Alchemist places emphasis on the terms construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction as a central part of alchemy; Perhaps this could factor into Belos, who’s essentially doing this show’s equivalent to Chimeras and Human Transmutation… Possibly on himself, even! 

          If we got by his ability to create living constructs AND buildings with this theory, then suddenly this could recontextualize all of those buildings in the Boiling Isles that have body parts in them… With Belos either having a hand in their creation, or Construction Magic being foreshadowed as including some meaty bits as well! This could even tie into Hooty, who himself is a meaty part of a building, and is even brown himself! Maybe House Demons are a variety of demon created by Construction Witches, who incorporate body parts into buildings (possibly supplied by Beastkeepers) and bring them to life- And Belos is using the same principle with the Construction Relic, just with more emphasis on flesh!

          Buildings probably require a lot of stone and other earthen materials, and Belos can create rock formations and even move statues, or make them out of people... Suddenly I’m wondering if the Petrification Machine is connected to this relic? And if we go by the idea of construction magic assembling and fusing parts together, perhaps House Demons are regular demons who have been disassembled, and put back together with building materials to create a living house! Beastkeepers could supply body parts and demons, and maybe even help tame/subdue the resulting House Demons for usage afterwards- Working with the Construction Coven to create things like living alarm bells, watches, etc.!

           And if you even want to get REALLY meta, Construction Magic being underrepresented could be as part of a twist to get the audience to not think about and notice it… Before it REALLY comes into play! I guess amidst the comparisons to Hooty and Construction magic, that’s another similarity, based on @fermented-writers-block and their speculation on Hooty being intentionally played off as a joke for distraction…

           Granted, part of the problem with this theory is that the Relics are revealed to actually be pretty weak; Or at the very least, not particularly legendary- Anything they can do, a decent Witch trained in that magic could also do as well, I imagine. It’s why Lilith has no qualms with destroying the Healing Hat… But then again, if the Healing Hat didn’t work because it had no effect on a Construction-based Curse, then maybe it WAS powerful, but Lilith dismissed it as weak, because it couldn’t fix the curse like she needed it to?

          Perhaps the Relics are indeed what they’re hyped up to be, but because Lilith misunderstood the Curse’s nature, she thought the Healing Hat was much weaker than it actually was for not being able to fix it… If so, RIP- Lilith DID destroy a powerful artifact, then! Maybe Belos drained the Relics of most of their power, but saved the Construction Relic because of how important it was. Or, the Relics aren’t normally powerful, as Lilith claimed- But Belos was able to perform modifications to the Construction Relic, turning it into the mechanical staff we see today! Maybe the Construction Relic even created machinery that could enhance the original relic’s own magic; Potentially making it the most dangerous Relic, for its powers of Creation that enable it to bypass its own limits, unlike the other Relics!

          So of course Belos would want to keep it… And we’ve seen him capable of adding technology to supplement magical artifacts, like with the portal in the Season Finale. And with how Construction Witches from the Emperor’s Coven are clearly vital to Belos’ creation… Then it’s possible that Construction magic will be the hidden, overlooked, but ultimately invaluable ace up Belos’ sleeve, that everyone has been dismissing and underestimating this entire time! Construction magic being overlooked yet so important would be an interesting theme- Especially since out of the Coven Leaders, the Construction Head is the first and only one we’ve seen, and yet HIS appearance was played off so normally, that the viewers wouldn’t have recognized his relevance until The First Day!

          Just a normal part of the background, just another witch… But like the magic of his that is underestimated, the Construction Head turns out to be far more important than we could’ve imagined; And initially, we dismissed him as just an extra, as part of some minor world-building and even a brief joke! Suddenly, the Construction Head empowering Tiny Nose, Dana’s self-insert, with a Power Glyph derived from her magic of choice, takes on a WHOLE new meaning…!

[askfallenroyalty]

Hi! I'm a really big fan of your art style with comics, and I'm just starting to draw comics myself after a few years of regular pieces. I was wondering if you could share what kind of outline you do when you draw bodies or poses? They look very lively when you draw them, and I was wondering if you had any tips on how you do them? Sorry for the bad English

your english is wonderful! no worries <333

i wrote a post a while back on my main that covers my introduction material i recommend, and some general advice.

I’ll try my best to go over how I pose characters! here’s the end result (minus the goop on susie, for visual clarity)

Here’s the line art:

now here’s the sketch:

wow what a jump in quality! what happened?

i pushed the line of action! to give the illusion of momentum, Susie’s hair is falling behind her and her body is pushed forward. she’s posed in a < shape, using the consistant line of action. note how the face, elbow an hair all have the same ( shape, while the other arm and hair follow that shape outward

meanwhile feylow has a similar situation, the hair, face, (even the horns!) and arm all flow to point in the same triangle shape! its a very static, closed off mountain like pose. You can almost imagine a surprised jump, or gasp from the character. so always keep in mind the line of action and general shape of the character

i can’t quite remember where i first saw this, but i remember this was from spongebob’s staff that was given to storyboard artists to help push clarity in the artwork. to keep it simple, imagine your character in silhouette and if you can still tell what they’re doing/holding, than you did it right!

muah. line of action. it’s a beautiful thing. the hair is still flowing as if still in movement (notably, susie’s is still moving forward even after her body is in the process of stopping. this is called follow through, and it’s an animation technique that implies time and physics. when move your head, your hair starts moving, but when you stop, since your hair weighs less, it’ll keep moving for a moment later.)

the two characters are connected by the arm, and the line of action is almost the exact same line (only broken by susie’s stretched out arm for visual clarity.) to even further it, the leaf foliage above continues this curve!

also! use curves and straight lines! contrasting the two creates for a much more dynamic drawing. if you look at your arm, it’s not just a tube. it’s got lines and curves that give your arm shape and form.

actually, here’s a great resource and where i first really started to learn some of this stuff. (granted, doing figure drawing is the best way to go, learning from real life is the most valuable experience you can get in art) but having some simplified, easy to understand tutorials like these will help a ton!

and lastly, i recommend reading a ton of comics -i mostly grew up with Fullmetal Alchemist and Calvin and Hobbes, having a variety of inspiration and different influences will go a long way. hell, even trace the comics! study them! do anything you can to soak in that good good knowledge. the scott mcloud books i recommend also go into detail in learning not just how sequential art works, but also how the human body expresses itself and how to best show it

i wish you (and everyone else reading this!) the best of luck with your art! i know it’s a bit of a challenge to get into comics -after all, it can be daunting to learn so many things at once! but with persistence you will find yourself improving before you know it! happy drawing! ^_^

[miraculouscontent]

Hi! I read one of your tags saying you didn't like Madoka Magica or where it was going, and I just wanted to know why this is so. Personally I detested how the show punishes the girls for being "selfish", wanting to be MGs so they can grant their wishes and defend themselves, and even has the nerve to say that boys can't be magical because they're not EmOtIoNaL enough to be exploited by an alien jackass race. Magical girl shows are supposed to empower women but this show does the opposite.

Gonna keep this “short” (for my standards) and to bullet points:

100% agree that both the gender thing (it just gets really boring just from a visual standpoint, though that’s more of a criticism I have with a lot of magical girl shows) and the “punishing the girls for wanting something” is... yeah.

Saw the Homura twist from like ten thousand miles away; her not knowing Madoka, Madoka apparently being super special, etcetera.

Going off of the previous point, I really, REALLY hate the idea that some girls are just inherently more “destined” for greater magical powers than others; I know it’s supposed to be ironic because Homura trying to save Madoka is the exact thing that made Madoka so powerful but that doesn’t make it GOOD.

The head chomp at Mami in Episode 3 that is literally just there for shock value? Yeah, I felt nothing. It’s clearly there and set up to get a reaction and nothing else which... it’s the same for Miraculous: if a show is deliberately setting up situations for the sake of shock value (think about Chloe and how they made sure Ladybug only said, “I can’t give you the miraculous back because IDENTITIES,” and not, “I can’t give you the miraculous back because you’re a terrible person who does terrible things,” just for the sake of shocking the people who were still hoping for a Chloe redemption; meanwhile, the head writer for Madoka Magica LITERALLY lied to people about something as basic as a character’s name origin so the fans would be misled to think that the show was sweet and innocent), then it’s doing a terrible job.

I get the soul gem “WE’RE ZOMBIES” thing in concept, but at the same time... it’s still a soul??? It was just placed in another form and the user still has control of their body and now they’re super strong unless the gem is harmed?? If anything, I think it could’ve (if the show cared about anything more than twists and shock value and angst and tonal shifts) led to a bunch of really cute scenes of one magical girl giving their soul gem to them significant other/friend to just hold onto while they hang out as a sort of, “literally trusting you with my life,” gesture. I had the same feeling while playing Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (except I’m actually having fun with that so far) where it’s like wait why is having this half-cyber body bad, i can literally hop into TVs to escape my responsibilities and travel through cyberspace.

I don’t buy that Homura gets these magical time powers and yet somehow still couldn’t find a way to save everyone because of reasons that are there just for angst.

Whaaaa, Kyoko the “jerk” character is actually just really tragic and a good person deep down and the narrative will have her sacrifice herself to make sure you care about her? I’m about as shocked as rubber.

+ her whole sacrifice for Sayaka thing was so rushed and ugggggh.

This is my only real nitpick here but I don’t like the scene of Homura and Madoka about to be corrupted because I don’t like any scene of anything where it’s like “let’s die together” and then the other one is like “lol actually--” since that person is basically saying, “I’m just gonna casually let you deal with the guilt of knowing that I had to sacrifice something to save you and also make you mourn me being dead while knowing I had to die without you so you could live.” I understand the concept of “if you can save a person then do it” but then there’s the emotional toll that puts on said person.

I despise the Rebellion movie with a burning passion. I know the symbolism of the flower scene and I still don’t like it because Madoka talking about how she “wouldn’t leave her friends” or whatever is the trigger for Homura to act on it and it’s a total misunderstanding because Goddess Madoka literally hasn’t left ANYONE because Sayaka is basically her right-hand woman. Also, apparently Homura can just grab the hands of a LITERAL GODDESS and that stops her and Homura is just lol I’m a demon with the powers of a god now. (completely missed opportunity to punish Kyubey by giving them emotions 0/10 would never watch again) It’s all so contrived like you know, these other incubators who are casually going to set up a trap for a freaking goddess.

This series is angst. It’s just... a lot of angst. Someone got with some people and did a “subversion” of the “happy magical girl anime” by making everything angst and that’s it’s. The needless drama, the entire witch thing that is basically inevitable (because needing to just stay emotionally and mentally healthy to keep one’s Soul Gem going would be actually compelling - showing a girl’s struggle between fighting witches to keep their Soul Gem healthy which is “easier” but not as sustainable, or working on themselves as a person which is “hard” but better in the long run - so they just have the Soul Gem deteriorate regardless of magic usage instead), the fact that basically all wishes turn sour anyway or their life goes downhill which defeats the purpose of wishing, and all of the shock value (again, lying to people so they’ll be surprised; sound like anyone we know?). Some people eat angst up like it’s candy and I just... don’t. I demand more because seeing what is essentially nothing but suffering is incredibly boring. It just feels like a step-by-step process on how to make everything progressively worse, and having Homura essentially become the villain in Rebellion so that a truly happy ending can’t happen despite all of the angst throughout the entire series was just way too exhausting.

In conclusion, Madoka Magica is just angst with a “cute magical girl” coat of paint slapped on for the sake of shocking people. I feel no reason to grow attached to any of the characters because I know that they’ll all be met with a terrible fate at some point anyway. I don’t necessarily mind angst in general (if something is tagged “Angst With a Happy Ending” then I’ll probably sneak a peek) but it has to serve a purpose and I’m not seeing it here. I hear the characters talk about certain expectations (like Mami being excited not to be alone) and I’m just, “okay so you’re becoming a witch in like two episodes then.”

Same thing happened when I watched Fullmetal Alchemist (yes, both of them,  which I also don’t enjoy for similar reasons): I saw characters who were clearly very happy-go-lucky/lame/had nice lives and others who were just obviously made to be sunshine and rainbows on Earth and I’m like, “Yeah, you’ll be dead within the hour at maximum.” I guess it’s just hard for shows to emotionally manipulate me like that because I can pick up on cues too easily which ends up making things incredibly predictable?

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #317

i’m tired as a motherfucker and don’t feel like thinking up some lyrics, so here, jus have the survey.

Have you volunteered in the past 6 months? No. French fries or onion rings? French fries. I don't like onion rings. Do you suffer from anxiety? Very badly. Favorite healthy snack? "Apples and peanut butter are one of them." <<<< Same, actually. Good shit. Favorite Disney movie? Forever and always The Lion King. If you see a bee in your house.. are you going to kill it? I hate to say it, but I'm killing it. Do you normally take a shower in the morning or at night? Morning. Do you have a cat? Yeah. What is your favorite animal? It will always be meerkats. Always. Do you know what time you were born? 10:30 AM, I believe. Do you like McDonalds? I'm gonna be real: I've never understood the McDonald's hate. I enjoy it perfectly fine. I mean it's certainly not gourmet, but I'll choose it over other fast food places sometimes. It's cheap and decent food, imo. What's your favorite flower? Orchids. Have you thought about joining the military? FUCK no. Who is the person that has impacted your life the most? Given my PTSD, I think it's pretty obviously Jason. Have you ever had a pet fish? Yeah, but not a lot. I never enjoyed them much. Have you ever wanted to be on a game show? Not seriously, no. I wouldn't want to be on television. Have you ever vaped? Nah. Who was the last person to give you a hug? Either my niece or nephew. Have you ever been on TV? I don't think so, no. What's your favorite store in the mall? Hot Topic, ugggghhhhh take me there. Has anyone ever told you that you have an accent? Yeah, especially when I was younger when I definitely did have a clear Southern accent. Do you have any piercings? Yeah, six. I have been DYING for a new one lately... How did your parents meet? Work. What was your first word? "Dada." Do you eat more healthy food or junk food? Somewhere in the middle, I'd say. What do you spend too much money on? When it's my own money, tattoos. I think I'll be perfectly capable of doing it, but when I'm employed, I'm going to have to watch how much I invest into those. What is a disturbing episode of an otherwise non-disturbing show? What is a disturbing show (or one you would describe as one) is enjoyable to you? Meeeh I don't watch enough for this. What is the most memorable song in a movie? How about a show? Oh wow, I dunno. "Circle of Life" from TLK is a beauty, as is "Strangers Like Me" from Tarzan. There really are a lot. As for shows, "Carry On My Wayward Son" from Supernatural will immediately get fans screaming the lyrics, haha. However, I don't know if that song properly counts since it wasn't written just for the show, but whatever. What is something you’re grateful for that humans have made/have continued to make exist? What about something that you wish that humans didn’t destroy? The Internet, whew. I wish humans would stop destroying the fucking environment. It's heartbreaking how many woods are wiped away here for construction, only to never be built on... While evil men are commonly talked about, what woman would you consider the most evil? I don't know, but it would probably be a rapist or pedophile. Those are probably the people I abhor most. Do you believe children can be evil? If so, what child from history do you believe to have been the most evil? I don't really think children are born evil, no. I've never heard of a diabolical baby or anything. I think the environment they are raised in molds them as they age. I don't know about the last question. Name one way that music can be bad for humans. It can be depressing sometimes, actually dragging your mood down, especially if you already feel low. What has been one of the most blatant advertising in a movie, show, or music video? Some of these questions are hard man, idfk lol. What book have you read/listened to that “messed you up” (or made you have a lot of negative feelings afterward)? Johnny Got His Gun left me feeling so spiteful towards and disappointed in the world. It definitely made me feel down for a while. If you have a pet, what is the best thing that you have for them (either a toy, a highly rated food, etc)? If you don’t have one but would like one, have you thought about what you would get your pet? We definitely don't have the money for "high quality" stuff. What works, works. Did you ever know anyone who was (previously) a part of a cult? What cult? Were you ever a part of one? No. What is something that is legal right now that really shouldn’t be? I'm stealing the previous person's answer by saying fireworks. They have a horrible effect on animals and PTSD victims and is just litter and a fire hazard. What is a movie you consider successful/good that did not have high reviews? I'm not educated enough on movie rankings. When you met the person you now like, what happened? We hugged and cried a bit lmao. Did you realize anything today? No. What do you want to do today? It'd be nice to get off my ass and get Emerson's birthday pictures into Lightroom so Ashley can finally have them... Can you honestly say you’d risk your life for someone else? I know with certainty I would for some people. Could you forgive a boyfriend or friend who physically hurt you? Ha, nope, byyyyeee~ What’s the cutest thing someone’s ever done for you? Ugh... So one night when I was lying down to go to bed but also texting Jason, I was being playful and joked for him to sing me to sleep. He sent me a video for "The Mortician's Daughter" by Black Veil Brides (one of his favorite bands) and just pasted the lyrics, and I thought it was the cutest fucking thing ever. I went to bed listening to it and just smiling. It's why I just don't listen to it anymore. I shouldn't have even talked about it, soooo next question. What are the top five places you wish you could go before you die? Ummm South Africa, Yellowstone National Park, Germany, Alaska, and the Bahamas, maybe. How many tattoos would you like to have? I'm gonna be a fuckin mural. I want tats pretty much everywhere. What question do you hate to answer? "What do you like to do for fun?" What's your favourite animated or cartoon program? Fullmetal Alchemist. What do you think the greatest invention has been? Electricity. What's your favourite movie quote? I dunno, I don't really have one. Do you prefer digital or analogue clocks? Analogue clocks are way more elegant and can be beautifully decorated. Who is your favorite foreign singer/musician? Do you translate his or her lyrics? If you exclude English-speaking foreign bands, like from the UK, Rammstein for sure. I can translate some of them. Say something in a foreign language? "Liebe" means "love" in German. What is a weather-type that you like that not many others do? Snow, for sure. I've never understood the "ew, snow" type of people. It's so pretty. Granted, it's rare here, so it's more of a treat down here, but still. Who do you know personally that has a nice singing voice? Sara has a beautiful voice. What was the last word you learned? I have no clue, given how bad my memory is becoming... It's hard for me to learn anything nowadays, because it doesn't stick. What is your favorite culture? (that you find most interesting): I'll be honest, I'm not very well-informed on foreign cultures. Due to taking so many classes though, I do find German culture to be quite appealing. They are very serious about honesty (for example, telling someone you're okay when you're not is frowned upon in small talk, even), as well as manners. I would love to experience their lifestyle. Have you ever watched anime porn? I've never watched porn to begin with. If you got paid $3 million to smoke meth one time would you do it? Nope. I'm not risking addiction or death. Are ladybugs cute? Yesssss. Will you leave the house without fragrance on? Yeah, I usually do. Do you make good money doing what you do? I'm unemployed. I've only ever worked minimum wage jobs. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries, yum. And kiwi. What do you think of horses? I love them! Are you doing something with your life that matters? Ugh, I don't feel like it. Do you like gravy on your mashed potatoes? I hate gravy. What is the dirtiest rap song you have ever heard? Nicole played "WAP" once when I was in the car and I wanted to die. What about a dirty song in any other genre? "Bitches" by Hollywood Undead MIGHT be rap, but idk? What even is their genre???? But anyway, as much as I love the song, it's dirty as shit. What is a genre of music you simply can't stand? Rap, generally. What is, in your opinion, the best way of dealing with a break up? Lots and lots of self-care and focusing on loving yourself and realizing your worth lies in yourself and not another person. What flavor of Doritos do you like best? Cool Ranch, of course. Would you ever go to a comedy club? Yeah, sure. Why is it that photography is becoming a trend? Because it's art, and people enjoy art???????? What is the funniest movie you have ever seen? White Chicks gets me way harder than it should lmao. Would you ever consider dating someone who lived across the country? I guess, so long it was the plan that we'd eventually move in together, and effort was being made to achieve that once we got pretty serious. Do you have a tattoo? If you do, describe the pain you went through when getting it done. Well, I have six, so I'll just talk about my first one, which was on my wrist. It really isn't bad, especially once you've adjusted to the pain. I think the best metaphor would be that it's like lightly pinching a cat scratch. Outlining is the worst part, imo. What is your favorite bookstore? I don't have one. Who was the last person to tell you that you were cute? I have no idea. When was the last time you had a fever? How high did it go? Oh, I couldn't tell you. Those are very rare for me. How many times do you think that you’ve truly been in love before? With who? Twice, with Jason and Sara. Do you prefer French kissing, or regular kissing more, and why? I mean, this depends on the mood as well as how serious we are. Have you ever been married before? How many times? No. Who do you know that gives the best hugs? Summer has always been a big, strong hugger like I am. Have you ever dated someone of the same gender before? Yeah. Who do you consider to be your hero? My mom. Who is your best friend? Tell us about them. Sara. She's a very caring, strong, creative, just overall amazing person who stands firmly for what she feels is right, and we can't forget about her incredible loyalty, nor her absolute adoration for animals, reptiles especially. How much did your car cost? I don't have my own car. What is the last picture you received on your phone of? Sara sent me a photo of Martha, her ball python. Do you have any friends that actually model? No. Do you keep condoms in your room? No, considering I have no reason to. Do you follow any special diet? (dairy free, vegetarian, gluten free etc.) No, but I desperately want to return to being vegetarian. Vegan would be even better, but I know I'm absolutely not capable of that. What is an appliance you don’t have, but would love to have? uhhhhh Which keys on your keyboard are worn out the most? My "a," "s," and "d" from gaming. If you could be any supervillain, which would you be? Ha, I could probably pull off Harley Quinn pretty easily. Though "super"villain sounds a bit strong for her. What’s the most historic thing that has happened in your lifetime? Either Covid or 9/11, probably. What’s the scariest non-horror movie? I personally think the idea behind Johnny Got His Gun is fucking terrifying. What’s the most amazing true story you’ve heard? More beautiful than "amazing," but whatever. I can't think of anything else. Jason's mother actually left his father to go back home to New York when he cheated on her, but he followed her all the way there, and they wound up reconciling and were very happily married since. They were a spectacular couple, and I miss them a lot. What brand are you most loyal to? I have no idea. It's hard to be loyal to any when you're not the one buying products. Where are you not welcome anymore? Well, speaking of him, probably Jason's house, haha... I feel that if I just showed up there, his parents would honestly be super happy to see me and want to catch up, but Jason, not so much. I doubt Colleen would welcome me into her house, either. What’s the most recent show you’ve binge-watched? Avatar: The Last Airbender w/ Sara. What’s a common experience for many people that you’ve never experienced? Just... adult stuff. Paying bills. Having a stable job. Passing their driver's test. What are some misconceptions about your hobby? We'll use forum roleplay here, in which case I know a very common misconception is that it's sexual in nature and is a kink. It's never been that for me. It's about building unique, complex characters in a vast universe of your creativity, meshing with other's. It's a beautiful thing to me. What’s the dumbest thing someone has argued with you about? Oh, I'm sure something with Mom... because she is absolutely never wrong. What’s the longest rabbit hole you’ve been down? Conspiracy theories on YouTube, aha... What odd smell do you really enjoy? I really enjoy the smell of lilacs, though I know people who think they smell too strong and/or just stink. If you had a HUD that showed three stats about any person you looked at, what three stats would you want it to show? Hm, interesting question. Maybe approachability, moral alignment, and mood. What is your favorite flavor of pop tart? I really like the chocolate sundae ones. Gum? I really like fruit-flavored gums, especially watermelon or strawberry. Last song you sang along to? I sang a bit to "Second Chance" by Shinedown. Are you fascinated by rivers? Yeah, sure. Streams, more specifically, because you can see the bottom and walk more safely in them. I love exploring those. Do you live near a volcano? No, and I plan on keeping it that way, haha. How big is the screen on your digital camera? I dunno, the normal size for a Canon? Do you find train whistles comforting? No. What bird is the cutest? Oh, that's so hard. I love the pastel-colored ones, and hummingbirds are like, universally cute. Are you scared to look at your own organs on x-ray or ultrasound? No, that's actually really cool. Do big eyes freak you out? On people? Generally, no. I tend to find them cute, actually, especially on girls, but I've definitely seen people with big eyes that instead look kinda creepy. Have you ever walked on a frozen lake/river? Hm, I'm actually not sure. I don't believe so, though. Have you ever held a real sword? No. Have you ever seen a tree over 100 years old? Uh, realistically, probably? That's not that old in the grand scheme of trees, is it? Do you feel uncomfortable at fancy restaurants? I can sometimes, yes. I feel very out-of-place.

[antihero-writings]

The Empty Throne (Ch2)

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood & Manga)

Fic Summary: It's been a long time since that word died on Ed's lips...but relationships may be the only thing that can come back from the dead. || Exploring Ed and Hohenheim's relationship using the songs "Stumbling in Your Footsteps", "The Alchemist", and "Youth" as prompts.

Character focus: Van Hohenheim

Notes: I'm so sorry for taking so long with this one!! Hohenheim proved very difficult to write for... I hope you like what I ended up coming up with though!! And do let me know if there are any inaccuracies!!

This chapter is written for the songs "The Alchemist" by Nathan Wagner, and "Youth" by Daughter (with a little of “Stumbling in Your Footsteps” sprinkled in there from the last chapter). I highly recommend listening to them before reading!! (I can put links in a reblog!)

 FYI There is reference to a scene from Ch40 from the manga in here that I don't remember being in the anime!!

If you enjoyed this, if you could leave me a comment I'd really really appreciate it!! As always, I would absolutely love to write more about this fandom, so feel free to give me FMAB prompts!! You can drop them in my ask box!!

Chapter 2: Dying Angels

Van Hohenheim walked the streets of Xerxes for two days before he gave up believing that there was someone still alive out there. That there was hope. That he was just trapped in the most feral breed of nightmare.   Now he wandered into his home, though it didn’t feel like his own, rather just some place to rest his feet. An empty shell.   They’d all died. So why did he feel like the corpse?   “How?! How could you do this?! I thought you were going to make theKing immortal, not me!”   “Oh? But what do I care for a nameless king who will be dead in but a few years? It’s you who gave me life. How could I allow you to be sacrificed for his avarice?”    “How could you allow meto be sacrificed?! What about the people?!” He threw his hand behind him, gesturing to the empty city. “What about my friends?!”   “Didn’t I teach you of equivalent exchange? Immortality isn’t bought on the cheap.”  

“They’re all dead?! That’s your price?! Everyone I ever loved?!”   “Not dead just…” He pondered the right word. “redistributed. To be perfectly frank, I thought you’d be more appreciative of my gift.”

“Gift?! Who in their right mind thinks this is a gift?!”

“Doesn’t everyone want immortality?”   “Not at the cost of an entire kingdom!”

“Interesting…But now that you have it, free of blame, is it really so bad? You have everything you could ever want. Why, you could walk into the palace right now and take all the king’s treasures. No one would stop you.” He chuckled like this was all a grand joke—(he hoped it was). “Technically you’re the only heir left. …Unless of course you’d like to battle me for it.”   Hohenhheim held his head in his hands. No, too much was happening at once. Everything and nothing at all. This wasn’t possible. His friends, the entire kingdom, it couldn’t just be gone. There were cosmic rules about this, surely. Surely this couldn’t happen. The gods wouldn’t hit reset any second now.   Hohenheim leaned back against the door. …He didn’t really want to keep going, but, then again, he wasn’t sure this body would let him die.   There was supposed to be a bazaar happening that weekend. He would have liked to go to it. 

He had that book he borrowed from Meiyo. Van himself had taught him to read, so long ago. He would have liked to give it back, to discuss it with him.    He still had to ask Rhinemile if his son was feeling better...well, he surely wasn’t now...

—(Oh, god, not the children)—   He wanted to apologize to Willard for his rather rude behavior the other day. He was in a hurry but, well, it still wasn’t excusable.    And there was that girl down the street he’d always wanted to ask if she’d like to get dinner together some time. The one with flowers in her hair.     He sank to the floor.    He’d never get to do any of that now. Couldn’t rewrite the past few days with them filled in the gaps. Tomorrow, so much of life, snuffed out like all the promises of a better future, their lives pinched out like a candle.   Though they’d all died, he was the shade, wandering the streets of a manufactured hell. A vessel for all these wandering ghosts of everyone else.   He’d believed in god once. He wasn’t sure he did anymore.    They’d all died…so why could he still hear them? If he sat still long enough he could hear his friends’ dying cries, their pleas for mercy, as if his memories, like ghouls, decided to reanimate themselves. An eternal echo of their deaths. Dead…yet not dead. Their souls ensnared before they could reach the light at the end of the tunnel, trapped forever in this pitch black passage, bracing themselves for the end, which never came. Their voices, their emotions, ocean waves in a sea of bloody despair, and if he wasn’t careful, surely his own soul would drown in that sea of faces.    The more he tried to block them out, the louder they became.    Was this real? Or was he just insane, sitting in his house, and these voices were the calls of everyone trying to save him?    He pleaded with a nonexistent god for insanity.   The flashes still lingered across his brain; all the golden light turning to a sinister, haunted violet, those black hands still waving before his eyes, clawing at his sight, that eye still tasting his soul, and the blank Truth...   He was so cold.    His body, full of souls…cold as death. A walking gilded corpse; all that was left of his illustrious kingdom. The last survivor of a grand disaster…the unwitting accomplice of said disaster.   Why hadn’t he realized it sooner?   His kingdom had become a bone yard overnight. He wondered if future historians would come across the skeletons of his friends and the standing ruins, and wonder what could have possibly killed a flourishing kingdom in one night. 

Was that all they'd be? A question to history? Not a living, breathing, bleeding people? Would their blood, their legacy, be lost to the world?

The voices clung to him, begging for a mercy he was incapable of granting any of them, like he was a cliff, one they were at risk of plummeting down. Like he was the single branch keeping them all tethered to life.

Could they not hear him snapping at the seams?

The voices were so close. He hated how close they were. Like a bug on his back, but worse, a thousand bugs crawling on his brain, and they weren’t bugs at all…they were people. They were his friends. Everyone he once knew, and plenty of people he never met, swarming his thoughts every moment.     It’s sickening to have something crawling in the corners of your mind.   It’d been two days, but it already felt like a century. He wasn’t sure how much of this he could take.    But he would have to take it.    The Philosopher’s stone. He’d read about it in his master’s books, the Homunculus told him about it. At the time it had seemed like the best of dreams; the ability to bypass equivalent exchange, to turn lead into gold… maybe even bring back the dead? 

Not them though. He knew their souls were too lost to return home.

Now he knew what nightmares were made of; the best of dreams. That the worst thing humanity can get is three omnipotent, irrevocable wishes.

He’d walked around enough to know by now, he had the whole kingdom to himself. The Homunculus was right. He could march into the palace, pick up the jewels, sit on the throne. He had it all.   If only he didn’t feel so damn lonely.   He sat, and he thought, and he thought… and he thought. For there was nothing left to do but sit and think, and be swallowed by the quagmire of his own thoughts. Turned inside out. If only he could talk to someone, anyone. A fight with a neighbor would have been relief.   Was this what war felt like?    The silence was the worst part. Just how quiet the kingdom became in a single day. The shops devoid of customers, stoves left on, potters wheels still spinning, the streets empty; no kids playing in the.   The worst part. The silence…and the noise inside his head.   He held that infected head in his hands and, knowing the very worst nightmares are real finally allowed himself to weep.

******

The first time he died was from thirst, the second from starvation. Traveling the desert isn’t a riskless business you know. The third from that weird plant he thought was safe to eat (spoiler, it wasn’t). The fourth from exhaustion, the fifth from heat stroke. Each time he died he felt the weight of their souls lessen, become a little less active.     The sixth was at his own hands.   He wished he could grant them all mercy. It wasn’t long before he tried to end the suffering of all parties involved. The seventh and eighth were too.   He’d lost track of how many times he died by the time he came across a little mining town in the dunes, full of poor people, whose leader was bleeding their pockets dry.   What was it that drove him to help them? Was it sympathy? Pity? Some sort of hero complex?    There was a little girl in rags. He pulled a golden coin from behind her ear, so she and her family would be able to eat that night.    Next thing he knew the town was after him with pitchforks, wanting to know his secrets…willing to carve him up to search for them inside.   He never wanted to cause them any pain. He still believed there was good in them, that this didn’t have to end in blood.   They tore him to pieces.   They were just a little misled, it was his mistake for dangling treasures before their hungry eyes.    There was a general goodness to people. He still believed in it.   And he was right about some of them. Some were kind, there were plenty who appreciated his alchemy, who genuinely wanted to learn, who were grateful to him.   But it was probably around the seventh—or was it the seventeenth?—time he was killed for the crime of helping that he didn’t trust people so much.   They say compassion is weakness, and when he found it was so easy to help…so easy to die for it, he started to believe them. It became more difficult to have compassion when there was such a high price.     He could have created a palace out of nothing. He could have sat on a throne of glass in a kingdom of gold and disbelief. Walled himself away in a tabernacle to ungod beneath the ground. Never dying. Never living.    But he didn’t. He was too weak. Too kind. Too restless. So he continued to walk the world, without a home, hope, or a single fiend to call his own. A golden wanderer in a world of lead.   They’re right when they say history repeats itself.    He wished someone would just reset the needle. The gods should do it any second now.   Another day, another war.    For Hohehnheim, really, though he’d lived through many wars—(best have the immortal fight, yes?)—there was only one war: himself, and the world.    Trying to help, to save, people is much more war than it is peace.   Far too many people desire immortality. Far too few know what it really signifies…what it costs. Every time he heard another foolish mortal bragging of the path to immortality he longed to wrap his hands around them, and shake them to sense. But he didn’t. He let them follow their misguided ways, for their boasts were but empty air. They didn’t know what it cost, and surely never would. They’d be granted the mercy of death in the end, and Hohenheim would stand before their corpses, a heart full of envy.   It’s cruel to desire sickness in front of a sick man. Immortality was but a disease, and he longed for a cure. 

He grew used to it. To the dull repetition, and the petty goals, and the scorn, and the screaming.   Every day he woke up to the sound screaming within his own head. Ever those flashing lights of yesterday. Every day he fell asleep to the lullaby of cries for mercy. That endless black and red sea. He tried to row through it, but each new wave sent him tumbling to nothingness. Nothing, and everything; every emotion they ever felt.   He learned to block them out so he could hear his own thoughts. He learned to listen to them, so he could know they were people, once. Hard to do in tandem.    He tried to remember that they were all people once, and were still, despite the fact that there were little more than cries for mercy left on on the stove.   He tried to treat them as people even so. He tried to get them to sit down so he could talk to them. Tried to discern individual waves from the sea. Tried to urge them to speak of more than just pain. To speak of life, and dreams, and who they once were.    They were the only good part in all this.    It wasn’t a happy life, but he got used to it all…until he met her.    Was it selfish of him to want something for himself? 

******

 It’d been ten years. Ten years since he’d seen Trisha. Ten years since he’d seen Edward and Alphonse.    It went by like days to Hohenheim. Sometimes he forgot that a few years is a very long time to people who still feel the sting of the clock.  

And children feel it most of all.   What had happened in those ten ticks? Were they happy years? How would they have changed? Would Trisha scold him for taking so long? And Edward and Alphonse, well, they’d be teenagers now.   What kind of people had they become?   Would they take after him or Trisha? He hoped it was the latter.    Excitement and nervousness together flowed through him—though would could never tell by looking at his stoic figure. 

He walked up the hill. When he looked off in the distance to where his house was...he couldn’t see it.

He couldn’t have misplaced it, could he?

As he advanced the nervousness took precedence over the excitement.

Trisha said she’d wait for him...they couldn’t have moved, right? 

As he got closer the tree came into view, the one he tied a swing to before he left...except it wasn’t a flourishing oak as he knew it; it was barren of leaves, the top half of it painted black, its branches like a claw tracing the sky, still as death.

Horror twisted in his gut, his expression pulling taut. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and continued onward at a level pace.

When he arrived he fell to his knees.    His home, the place he loved, the place the golden wanderer had finally settled down...was a pile of charcoal. 

How was this possible? 

The excitement became a twisting, writhing, questioning thing.   He would have said some horrible disaster befell the neighborhood… if the other houses weren’t standing tall.    Was it some accident? Where was Trisha? Where were Edward and Alphonse? Were they okay? Why hadn’t it been rebuilt?   He turned to the house next door, like it was a sanctuary. The Rockbells. His last hope; there was Pinako at least. Hopefully she’d still be there, and could explain.    Slowly, trembling slightly, he picked up his suitcase, the handle digging into his palm, and stood up, marching to her door. When he raised his hand to knock his breath caught in his throat.

Maybe he shouldn’t knock at all. Maybe he should just leave, spare everyone the pain.

Maybe they didn’t want him here after all.

An old lady opened the door. The sight was like time slapping him in the face. He hadn’t realized quite how long it’d been till he saw how the years lined her face, like a well read book.    “Pinako…” He spoke, time catching in his throat. “I seem to have lost my house.”

******

They built a country out of nothing. It was incredible to be there when a nation was being delivered; it wasn’t in a hospital or a house, with blood and screaming, as it is with children, but in these empty fields, these barren sands, and was much softer. From their forests and fields arose houses and farms, and from the stones arose governments and laws.    And in this nation there was born a girl. Just an ordinary girl. He’d met many like her.    …He was much too old for her.   But she looked at him, and she asked him to dance…and he felt young, and like he hadn’t been wandering for centuries.   Why? Why would she pursue him when he was too old, too cold, too empty? What did she see in him?   He couldn’t let himself get close to her. Because, after all, she was human, and therefore going to die some day…And he wasn’t going to die, and he wasn’t even quite sure he was human anymore either.    She told him she wanted to be with him, even so. Even though he was like an old god, cracked and put together out of the souls of his people, and he wasn’t quite sure if he was allowed to be human.    She told him humanity was more than he knew. Stronger than he realized. It was only because they were weak that they were strong. That they were more than just an amalgamation of mistakes. That they could change. And that the knowledge that they were going to die was what made the whole not-dying part worth it all.   Trisha Elric was unlike those he’d met before.    They didn’t get married. He didn’t want to chain her to him. But they decided to start a life together in a quaint town in the middle of nowhere. 

There he could hear the sound of birds chirping, and the wind rustling through the trees.

The wandering god, the golden corpse, rested his feet for the first time in a few centuries. 

Family. The word once meant the world. He wanted nothing more than to start one. To meet a girl, to have children with her. Long ago he told the homunculus that’s what gave life meaning. 

Now he wasn’t sure his life was allowed to have meaning.    So when she told him she was pregnant...that slave boy staring at the sunset, thinking he had a bright, short future, held her in his arms and twirled her around him. All the while the golden wanderer’s heart grew weary, and scared.

Was this really okay? Was a thing like him really allowed to sit down while? How would it work with him the way he was, with bullet holes in his heart and all these voices in his head? Could he possibly be a father, have a family, after all?   He liked kids perfectly well…he just wasn’t sure about his kids.   Would his affliction be passed on to this unsuspecting child? Would he hear voices from the moment he came into this world, unaware there were people out there without voices in their heads? Would they keep him trapped in a bottle desiring freedom from his own head?

And if the child was normal…how could Hohenheim be a father in his condition? How could he speak comforting words when his head was full of unrest? How could his child love a monster?   They named him Edward, because they wanted him to be rich in spirit, and protect the hopeless. He kicked in her tummy a lot, and Trisha told him that surely meant he’d be a fighter after all.   When Edward was born he cried. Frequently, and loudly. Hohenheim protested much himself when Trisha handed him to him, but Edward wrapped his tiny grip tight around his finger, and while his golden eyes were soft and unsure, there was fire there. And, as he calmed down in his arms, Hohenheim smiled, and cried, and was pretty sure he’d melted.

And the voices said He’s beautiful.   Edward inherited the same golden hair and eyes that belonged to a people long gone, and Hohenheim was glad their blood ran through his veins, that the legacy of a people snuffed out, who should have had generations more, existed at least in him and his son.

And they were happy. And he thought he might stay a while.    When she told him she was pregnant the second time, the slave boy jumped for joy, and the butterflies in the wanderer’s stomach turned to bats.   Trisha picked Ed up and asked if he wanted a brother. He couldn’t talk at the time, but he made a gurgling sound they thought that translated to “Only if I’m still your favorite.”    And Hohenheim tried to hold on to that. This was for Edward. Not for himself. This was for Trisha. And Ed turned out well enough.

…No, he turned out better than “well enough.”   This one was much gentler; less tummy kicking, and when he came out he didn’t cry so much.   They named him Alphonse, because they wanted him to be noble, and prepared for anything.

The four of them were joy incarnate.

And the voices said It’s okay. You can have this.

So he tried to listen to them.

He wanted to spend every moment with them, every minute he could, and some moments he didn’t have to spare.

But the more he did, the more a darkness crept in.   How could they love a silhouette? They’d surely just forget him…and in a century or two, they’d be taste on his tongue he could never spit out.   Hohenheim grew used to immortality.    But when he looked into those lost, golden eyes he wanted to bleed. He wanted to age, and feel the aches and pains of it. 

He wanted to die.    For the living, death is ever approaching. For the gilded shades death is not easy to find.

He wanted to live, for them. He wanted to die, for them.

But he couldn’t find the cure sitting still.

******

 The glass previously in Hohenheim’s hand was in pieces on the floor, but he barely heard it shatter, the echoes of Pinako’s words the only thing in his head now. 

No. No this couldn’t be. Surely the gods would hit that reset button. Come on, any day now. 

Trisha couldn’t be dead. 

The woman he loved, decided to settle down, start a family with, she couldn’t be dead. No, that wasn’t possible. 

Pinako grimaced, adjusting her glasses.

“I’m afraid there’s more.” She took a drag from her pipe. “I wish I knew what they were planning, I would have tried to stop it... Edward and Alphonse...they attempted to bring her back.”

His eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat.

“They attempted human transmutation?” he breathed. The words were coarse as sandpaper in the air. “You’re…sure?”   “Quite sure.”   He sat down; the weight of his own body, his own thoughts, too much to bear.   For far too long, the thought of seeing Trisha and his sons again had kept him going, kept him sane when he preferred to go crazy.

Coming home to find Trisha was gone, despite their promise to each other, that the last he would ever see of her was her standing at the door saying she’d wait for him. The woman he loved, the ordinary one, who told him people were more, the one he wanted to spend his life—as much of it as he could—with, the one who’d tethered the golden wanderer...he’d never, in all his millennia, get to see again.    And Edward and Alphonse had become accomplished alchemists…but they had had more of a chance to grieve, and that grief, sitting alone in the dark, became an animate beast. In their despair they had tried to bring her back…and weren’t entirely whole anymore because of it. They had seen the immaculate truth, and it tore them apart for the crime of loving their mother.    How could he possibly face them?

******

He saw the circle. The Homunculus drew a circle on the world as a line to know where to cut and make it bleed.   The images of the past redoubled, the voices coming to a crescendo, telling him together they could spare this world from their fate.    He had to stop it this time.    Last time he stood by, ignorant. He wouldn’t now. He was determined. There was no other choice.    And the price of saving this world, his family…was losing his precious years with them.

Equivalent exchange after all.    He had to destroy the middle for the sake of the finish line. 

He told Trisha he didn’t even want to say goodbye. He couldn’t bear to see their faces. If he did...he just might stay. 

When he stood at the door, and she handed him his coat, and they came of their own accord, he knew he was right.

Those golden eyes, those beautiful eyes he adored so much...seared him like a brand. In later years he would be certain they scarred him. He saw them and though the boys said nothing, blissfully ignorant of what was truly happening, everything in him—and was this really him, or the voices still?—pleaded:

Stay.   But he left anyway.

He had a world to save, after all.   He stood on the hill overlooking Resembool, staring back at his house, the shadows draping across the place where he spent his better years—where he heard the crickets, and the frogs, and the birds, and the wind, and his wife’s lullabies, and his sons’ laughter—forsaking the quaint town, his family, his life for the sake of the sea of faces, for the sake of the cure. 

“I’ll be back before you know it, Trisha. Just wait for me.”   They were the lucky ones. They got to breathe instead of heaving through corrupted lungs. He wanted to breathe too, that’s why he had to leave, after all.   The world was so empty. An emptiness that bored into his chest and made a nest there.   Long ago the Homunculus had wanted to leave his flask. He swallowed the pieces of Xerxes; the pieces of the world he once called home, now nothing more than evidence to be disposed of.    Now the Homunculus wanted to surpass god; cast a fishing line to bring god down and swallow him. To raise himself above all the spheres and look down upon them.    He wanted to create a tower high enough to reach heaven. A door that could open the stars.   He created a mark that no one could miss…except everyone standing on it.   And, with a body of his own—or something close enough, surrounded by people: by another country, by all the souls inside him, the Homunculus still sat alone in a jar.

******

He visited Trisha’s grave, if nothing else, to get proof that she actually was there. That she couldn’t be touched, kissed, hugged, spoken to, or otherwise loved.    If he had stayed…could he have saved her? Could he have kept his son’s from being torn apart in attempts to rewrite the past? 

Now she was just a name on a stone. He stood there, not entirely believing it, not entirely sure where to go from here.

Back to wandering, I suppose.   He wasn’t expecting—   When he saw that boy again, the boy from the doorway, the one with the sad, fiery golden eyes—the eyes that belonged to the sea of faces—he wasn’t a boy anymore. He was a teenager, and he wore grief like a medal, and Hohenheim knew there was real metal beneath those flashy clothes. There was fire in those eyes, still, but now it was fierce enough with a single look his gaze threated to scorch away his resolve.   That look. The same look from when he left all those years ago. That look that he couldn’t bear.    Edward was angry. He had every right to be…But the gilded sadness behind that anger was what he couldn’t bear.

Because it reminded him too much of himself.   No, I had to do this, I had to stop him, don’t look at me like that.    From the bitterness in his words, it became clear he was more than just a stranger in Edward’s eyes.   As they spoke, Hohenheim tried to look for any similarity, any connection, anything to tie them to each other, like clinging to threads on a fraying sweater.

Edward was reckless and wild, chasing visions of his future that would leave him bleeding, and that made him lucky. Hohenheim wished he could chase visions and bleed. That he would feel something anymore.

…But it wasn’t a fire that wrecked their home.   He hadn’t realized just how much he missed them until he tasted that taste again. Had his eyes been damp these ten years?   That night he drifted to Edward’s room like a lost spirit, walking up to where the boy lay sleeping.   The last he knew of them they were tiny things bumbling at his feet. Full of potential energy, waiting to fill out the molds of their bodies and names, and he didn’t dare touch them, for fear of infecting them with the sound of the sea.

Now that potential had become kinetic, and that name was more than just a word pronounced over him, it was something he was beginning to grow into. Time had begun to shape him. Though the more Hohenheim saw this, the more it seized him by the throat, asking him why he didn’t stay.

There’s nothing I could have done for them.

He wanted to talk to him. To ask him about the things he liked, the things he hated. He wanted to ask what those years were like, the good and the bad. To speak of those ten, and so much more. To watch the sunset and speak of tomorrow.

He wanted to touch him, for his touch to be gentle. He wanted to hug him, and cry on his shoulder and say I’m sorry and I wished I’d stayed and I‘d bring her back if he could. He wanted to help him on his journey, growing into that name he gave him. To be his father, even if it was just at the end.

But monsters have no right to touch children, especially not their own.

[justice4sasuke]

(1/?)Hi! really liking your posts about Sasuke, it helps me make more sense of why the series left me so confused, and I really think that ,like you said in your about Section, many of Kishi interesting bits of narrative and characterization are flukes,(I'm a Hopeless Madara fan speaking,it is really hard to like characters from a show you dont like) I do have to admit tho that his world building looks really insteresting (even tho not explored properly) ,I was wondering however, if there is

2/? anyway of interpreting kishis insistence on making sasuke the “bad Guy” as a proyection of the “generalized”(and I mean “in general”, everyone is diffent) Japanese view of life and comunity?,as in “endure the hardships for the good of everyone , even if it cost me my own well being” kind of mindset .I mean, as a westerner, I did enjoyed anime and manga growing up, but many times I do tend to forget that many of the tropes present in them and narrative desisions are taken by the authors who

3/4authors who have a completely different world view from mine, and their values of what is wrong and right diverge greatly from what mine could be; I do want to point out, I DO NOT agree with A LOT of the so said “lessons”the series wants to transmit, I think it fails in delivering any true message exactly because of making that said mindset the final destination of the series(and also having a DBZ final battle), leaving the whole uchiha and ame gakure things with no final solution, I mean

4/4, I mean , it is shonen, why would I exept any real resolution on things that seem to matter …but still!!But yeah, that was my question, how much of the bad of the series do you think is Kishi just being a bad author and how much do you think is kishi being too into the conformative mindset and wanting to transmit that to the public?Sorry for the long ask, I was just curious on you pov, thank you for reading all of that! and sorry 4 bad english, I do not speak it as first language.

yooooooo I love Madara so I get it. I got a whole load of interpretations about him and I’m planning on talking about him and most of the Uchiha members we know when we get to them in shippuden since the Uchiha clan is a big part of Sasuke’s character (and as an excuse to drag Obito because I hate him with a fiery passion). 

I completely understand what you are saying and a long time ago I probably would have at least thought about it more, if not agreed with you, but there is this one thing I have read that has changed a lot of my expectations of the shonen genre.

It’s called One Piece.

One Piece is the best selling manga or comic by a single author of all time and is primarily popular in Japan (testimonial) because the initial dub got fucked over which affected it’s popularity in the west and also western audiences have shit taste. 

Now, surface level I think everyone knows One Piece is the pirate shonen manga, but something you can only get from reading it is that what One Piece is really about personal freedom. Pirates in One Piece aren’t actually, like, people that pillage other ships or towns. They can be that, but that’s not inherently what a pirate is in-universe. I’m sure many people have heard that the main character Luffy wants to be King of the Pirates through secondhand knowledge, but what you might not have heard is that to Luffy the King of the Pirates is the person on the ocean who is the most free.

And, not to get spoilery, but there’s the World Government which, actually, here’s a post that puts it better than I ever could.

Also I just make this joke a lot: in Naruto the Revolutionary Army would be the bad guys. Because there is a Revolutionary Army in One Piece. And I think we all know how the word Revolution is treated in Naruto.

All of this is to say that given that One Piece is the most popular manga in Japan I think it would be insulting to say that these themes in Naruto should just be seen as an outcome of Japanese culture. I’m sure Kishimoto is not a bad guy and he is a person shaped by his circumstances and culture like anyone else, but people can leave the box that the world has drawn them into and, especially for a creator, you should be able to do that. The creator of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, was also born into Japanese culture and his series goes the complete opposite direction of Kishimoto because in One Piece you don’t endure, you fight, and his series is way more popular with the Japanese public (granted, Oda is also just a rare talent in character writing, world building, and loooooooong story telling). One Piece alone is proof that Naruto’s failures aren’t cultural, they’re just the author’s.

Also everyone should read One Piece, but if you want another example that is less of a commitment try Fullmetal Alchemist. 

[naysaltysalmon]

Shoutout to @tiburme for tagging me~!

Rules: Name 10 favorite characters from 10 different things and then tag 10 people.

Oh, massive spoilers below btw.

1. Gon Freecss from Hunter x Hunter: My favorite shounen protagonist by far. At first you think he’s your typical happy-go-lucky bouncy boye :D who definitely doesn’t have abandonment issues or self-destructive tendencies that literally actually almost kill him later on, and then, uwu... The amount of complexity that Gon has as a protagonist who hardly ever has stand-alone development is nothing short of astounding. How during the Chimera Ant Art his characterization totally dips off to the side to become an unknowable entity even to the audience, while still retaining amazing character development regardless -- not to mention how brilliantly daring his decision to threaten Komugi is that nearly every other author with such a happy-go-lucky protagonist would shy away from in cowardice -- is absolutely surreal to me. The more I think and write about Gon, the more I fall in love with him. If I ever meet his father, and by that I mean his real father, the creator, Togashi, I have nothing else to say but,,, well done, sir.

2. Tanjirou Kamado from Demon Slayer: I’m really hoping the Demon Slayer movie comes out soon because I absolutely love this boy and how charming he is. Unlike most protagonists, not just of shounen anime but of seemingly macho story lines that involve power-ups and training in general, Tanjirou never lets go of his kind heart. (Welp, except maybe in some cases when he’s facing the Upper Moons later on -- I haven’t caught up yet -- but WE’RE GONNA IGNORE THAT for now.) From the beginning, Tanjirou’s kindness isn’t an obstacle holding back his power, though other characters pose it that way, but rather he cultivates his empathy to grant peace to the demons he faces. He smiles in the face of anyone who treats him poorly because of his cluelessness, and that’s just so heartwarming to see, and dare I say subversive to the hardened, calculating, and cocky male protagonists we so often get. Good job, Gotouge.

3. Joseph Joestar from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Giorno Giovanna was a close second, but I gotta go with Joseph. He’s the one who made me fall in love with the series, and with the later parts too. Unlike Jonathan Joestar, who was chivalrous and manly, Joseph was a riot: colorful, arrogant, funny, but also extremely clever. I absolutely loved his, “Next you’ll say...!” because at first I expected it to just be him being an overconfident asshole and eventually he’d be proven wrong at the ~Dai Pinchi Moment~ (please excuse my weeb speech, I legit didn’t know what else to call it), but then he hit the mark every time and eventually I was just waiting for when he’d pull that out and it was so hype. Also I surely can’t forget his transformation as an old dude in Part 3 -- him screaming “OOHHHH MY GAAAWDDDA!” and “HOLY SHIIIT!” murdered me every time. And of course, last but not least, the raw fucking emotion when Caeser died -- the dude actually gave a shit and wasn’t made entirely of wit and absurdity, but heart too. Joseph set the tone for what JJBA was as a whole for me (fuck off with that “but Part 3/Part 4 is the best Part” bullshit, Part 2 will always be top tier for me because of Joseph Joestar’s brilliant, bright, and beautiful absurdity -- but Part 5 was really good too). Araki really is a genius.

4. Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: My love for this series is a bit older than the series I’ve already mentioned, and TLoZ: TP was actually probably the first time I got seriously obsessed with a fandom. I love all the Links in their own ways, but Twilight Princess really drove home the “lone wolf chosen by the gods, fighting against the world” narrative for me. It made me feel important and strong at a time when no one cared about me. Seeing Link struggle silently through his quest with villagers who meant well but did nothing for him, and Midna who started out as a reluctant acquaintance and eventually became so much more, meant so much to me at the time I played the game. I will always love Twilight Princess the most because of what it did for me at one of the darkest times in my life, and because I felt completely and utterly immersed in every part of the story and gameplay through Link’s character, who was, and in many ways, still is, so relatable to me: Silent courage really is what I use to get through every day.

5. Greedling from Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood): For once I’m not naming the protagonist of a series! Lissen, I still smile whenever I see the slightest reference to Edward Elric, but now he’s more of my childhood love. He’s just a part of my personality already? LOL. Anyway, FMA(B) has so many good characters that choosing just one doesn’t feel right (I mean, same with HxH tho). I say Greedling because that encompasses both Ling and Greed though, two of my favorite characters from the series! Ling’s apparent childishness in constantly running away from fights, making other people pay for his food, and failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation (until Lan Fan’s arm gets cut off lol oops) is so adorable and entertaining. He’s the best kind of idiot asshole, and I especially love how he teases Ed. After him and Greed fuse, Ling’s stout heart becomes even more apparent, as he constantly eggs Greed on to remember his past life, his friends, and become someone outside of Father/the Dwarf in the Flask. Conversely, Greed’s nonchalance and (of course) avarice are nothing short of entertaining and heartbreaking. Greed’s realization at the end, when he finally admitted to himself that what he wanted all along were “friends like these,” completely crushed me the first few times I watched FMAB. And when he’s screaming in the tunnels under Central after having killed Bido, remembering his friends, and he doesn’t understand why, and later attacks Wrath/King Bradley... that shit was so entertaining and cathartic to watch. None of his development feels like forced redemption, nor like it was too little development, since it mostly happens in the background and away from the “validating eyes” of the protagonists other than Ling. And at the end, when Ling and Greed work together to take down Bradley and all the soldiers invading Central HQ... it’s so beautiful. Many have said this before but I’ll say it again: Hiromu Arakawa wrote the perfect series.

6. Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler: Another protagonist! And another older obsession of mine. Ciel remains in my mind to this day mainly for his heartlessness in relation to his age, and the fluidity with which Toboso tells his story. Normally when authors write younger characters into their serious stories, they make “child adults” of sorts, but Ciel feels totally realistic to the extent that he is both childish and adult to me. Obviously, Ciel is responsible and (normally) level-headed due to being the head of the Phantomhive household, but also from trauma. Yet, his cruelty at times is what sticks in my mind the most: You really feel that he’s someone who feels he’s been abandoned by the entire world, given his experiences, and that makes him disregard or use others sometimes in order to reach his own ends. Normally, authors would be too cowardly to let their protagonists, let alone child protagonists, go to such lengths to avenge their family, or carry out their duty as the dog of the military (looking at you, Arakawa -- she’s still a goddess tho). But Ciel is unforgiving. He lies to Snake and tells him his troupe is still alive. He murders the entire troupe because he’s triggered -- a childish decision, but driven with adult-like power due to trauma. It’s devastatingly riveting, and I cannot forget his unrelenting, contained rage to this day.

7. Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars: This one may come as a shock to most of you, because I hardly ever post Star Wars let alone Ahsoka content on here -- but it’s true. Other than the blatant, half-assedly inserted heteroromantic partner they gave Ahsoka in, like, idk season 3??, Ahsoka is a fucking goddess. From her origin as a wee baby in the earlier seasons who didn’t really know what she was doing and was a bit of a cocky brat, to how she matures and becomes wise, resourceful, and fierce in the later seasons, I just love Ahsoka’s design and character to this day. The episodes that stick in my mind aside from the obvious are when she’s possessed by the Dark Side of the Force on that Force balance planet and her arrogance becomes so exaggerated that she threatens and attacks Anakin, her teacher. It was so fucking cathartic. Normally female characters, let alone young protagonist female characters, are never allowed to show the ugly sides of themselves in fiction, since women are always portrayed as perfect beautiful majestic angels or some bullshit like that. (Or they’re cocky/sexy/slutty villain women. ‘Kay then.) Seeing Ahsoka devolve into her basal desires and come out of it like hardly anything happened and she’s still a perfectly valid character was so amazing to see on a meta level; it wasn’t about her learning a lesson or anything, it was a thing that happened like any other character and then they moved the fuck on. I also distinctly remember the episode where she was trapped on that island/planet and she had to take out the aliens that were after her all by herself. That was so fucking empowering to watch and god fucking dammit I need to rewatch this series now. And of course, let us not forget the fact that the entire time, we were all expecting Ahsoka to just be another domino in Anakin’s downfall -- and she was, but not through the refrigerator -- but through walking away from it all. That was so powerful and moving -- and heartbreaking. By the end of TCW, her character carried weight and agency in the narrative, and god, I only wish whoever wrote her could write more female characters in the future.

8. Tigress from Kung Fu Panda: Maybe another surprise, but I think she deserves this spot. Tigress is a female character who starts out as kind of an antagonist, given how she outright tells Po to leave the kung fu temple within the first day of him arriving. She’s even jealous of the fact that he’s chosen as the Dragon Warrior rather than her -- but that’s due to the backwash of years of trying to live up to the memory of Tai Lung in order to please Shifu (which means “master” in Chinese but ok I’ll shut up now), her master and mentor over the years. She never says this out loud in the movie, which is what makes her character more believable. Others even joke about how stoic she is (and not in bad taste). Her character development is definitely present for those who are looking -- but I put her on this list because I’m so happy the movie doesn’t make it some huge dramatic emotional thing, because so often in media women are depicted as being overly-emotional and here Tigress is just a hurt child trying to make her mentor happy. But, she gets over it, her and Po become allies, even friends to each other -- she and Po talk like equals in the second and third movies, and she even tells him to back out of the fight with Lord Shen and he listens (I mean he doesn’t stay put but he doesn’t undermine her opinion either lol, like most jokesy protagonists of Western media would -- looking at you, Marvel). I like Tigress because she’s an antagonist without being a bitch, she’s powerful without being overpowered, and she’s not sexualized despite being a well-trained, at times jealous, and even emotionally awkward kung fu master. And I almost forgot to mention the best part: There is never an indication of romance between her and Po, or any other character, for that matter. She’s perfectly capable, complex, and lovely on her own terms. And that’s that on THAT.

9. Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit: I wanted to include at least one character protagonist from a live-action movie/book, lol. I feel like Bilbo’s pretty self-explanatory. He doesn’t wanna go on an adventure because he likes his doilies and warm sheets, but then Gandalf seduces him with the call to the outside world and possible death (LOL), and he fucking goes for it, grumbling the entire time. Isn’t that what any of us would do if given such a proposition? I like to think so. Bilbo obviously has his own gradual, evil transformation with the One Ring, becomes murderous and uses it to disappear, and grows a strong bromance with the King Under the Mountain (which happens in both the movie and the book), but I think what I like about him is that he really feels... down-to-earth? Like even though the adventure changes him, it never feels like he’s been stretched in a way that makes his core character traits of grumbling and bluntness disappear. He gets better at the whole adventuring thing, for sure, but he remains Bilbo, at least, to me, throughout the journey. It was heartwrenching watching him try to save Thorin in The Battle of Five Armies, honestly, but Bilbo’s the kind of character that I feel like has his own story and mythology aside from The Hobbit, and maybe that’s just the result of J.R.R. Tolkien writing the lore for every aspect of his universe, but My Point Still Stands. He feels like his own man apart from the series he’s in, yet he’s still so much fun in his series.

10. Barley Lightfoot from Onward: And last, this one is because I saw Onward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the characterization in it -- and anyone who thinks differently can kiss my *ss. :) I was not expecting the movie to take the twist of fleshing out the “annoying” (more like adorable) overconfident nerdy big brother. Normally those characters are swiped to the side because God Forbid The Comic Relief Have Any Sadness In Them. I was expecting the movie to focus on Ian’s journey to meet his fatha and that the movie would pull something stupid at the end like “oh actually there’s another phoenix gem underneath the school” or “actually since only his legs appeared then you still have 24 hours with him” or some shit like that, but I guess this isn’t an anime so those absurdist explanations wouldn’t hold water anyway. But still, for a kid’s movie, I was NOT expecting this movie to go so hard with the characterization. For once, the main character doesn’t get what he wants at the end, and instead realizes it’s his big brother, Barley, who’s been looking out for him his entire life. Meeting his dad would betray that reality. What happens instead is that the lovable big brother never actually said goodbye to their dad before he died, because when their dad got sick, said brother ran away from the hospital room in fear of all the life-sustaining equipment. (Is this some meta thing about Chris Pratt and Guardians of the Galaxy? Off topic and call me stupid, but I didn’t realize Chris Pratt plays him until I saw everyone freaking out about it afterward on Tumblr laksjdflak.) So instead, the lovable big brother talks to the dad at the end, and unconfident younger brother grows confidence and thanks big bro for being with him his entire life. It was so touching, dude. I cry. But the moment that sticks in my mind the most was when Ian was crossing the invisible bridge... Ian needed to have confidence in himself to be able to cross over a chasm in their path, and Barley knew that if Ian didn’t believe in himself, he would fall and die. They tie a rope around Ian for good measure, and Barley encourages him the entire way, but halfway over, the rope comes loose and slips off. Barley sees this and starts panicking, but of course continues to encourage Ian so that Ian will get to the other side. What got to me wasn’t the fact that he faked it for Ian, but that there are actual tears running down his face as he’s encouraging Ian to get to the other side, because he knows otherwise Ian wouldn’t have the confidence and would fall to his death. Like dude, that raw, complex emotion in a kid’s movie?! DUDE?! I was fucking surprised. The clear anxiety and grief in Barley’s face as Ian’s totally clueless and even dancing around in the air was just too much, omfg. Of course, then it’s played off for laughs, but... I guess that makes sense for the annoying overconfident nerdy big bro character. :’)

Okay these are way longer than I anticipated and I’m sorry, but also I’m really not. Hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on my favs!

Seems I don’t talk to that many people on here anymore: @stupidbluejay @mirycactusito @chronicstarlight

[recentanimenews]

Fullmetal Alchemist Commits Where Other Manga Don't

Warning: this piece will have HUGE spoilers for the ending of Fullmetal Alchemist! If you have not yet read this popular series, be warned.

Fullmetal Alchemist was my introduction to Japanese comics, and I adored it. I loved its gothic sensibilities — the reanimated dead, mad science, and bonds forged through guilt. I wanted to be like Edward Elric, though in retrospect Alphonse was the best. As the series continued, though, what most overwhelmed me was its sense of scale. If the 2003 anime kept its focus on the Elric family and its hangers-on, the manga expands to a ludicrous conspiracy plot covering centuries of history and countless casualties. The villain’s ultimate weapon isn’t just alchemy, but something worse — Amestris, Ed, and Al's home country.

  I’ve kept Fullmetal Alchemist close to my heart as the years have gone by, even as I’ve come to love other manga and anime just as much if not more. But it’s only in the past few years that I’ve started thinking in earnest, as an adult, about what the series was really about. Fullmetal Alchemist sticks to the well-worn themes of friendship, struggle, and victory. Edward and Alphonse overcome their difficult background to excel at their chosen hobby and become the best in the world, like other shounen heroes did before them and others would afterward. If it’s in a darker tonal register than some other Shounen Jump titles (wait a minute, Ed’s rival is an older man and a war criminal??) the difference is made up by bad jokes about Ed’s height. But Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t just a story about training with your friends to become the greatest. It’s also about overthrowing the state, and that’s where the story starts cooking for me.

Image via VIZ

  There are plenty of shounen comics and anime that play with anti-authoritarianism. Japanese media is awash with absent or disappointing fathers, arrogant superiors, and unfair systems. Naruto and his friends grapple with abandonment and familial betrayal. The hero society of My Hero Academia has its share of overbearing parents, and even well-intentioned teachers like All Might are made to face up to past mistakes. Ushio's dad is annoying.

But the arc of shounen comics bends toward the status quo. Naruto and Sasuke come to realize that their families loved them after all, or at least had good intentions behind their cruelty. All Might is unquestionably a good guy, and even antagonists like Endeavor are given a second chance. Ushio’s dad’s incompetence was an act put on to protect his son. And so on. Of course, in our world, many kids go through a phase where they dislike their parents or try to run away from home. As time goes by they realize their parents’ point of view, and come to understand them a little more. But some parents are abusive, and some systems are irredeemably cruel. Outside of One Piece (where each arc climaxes with Luffy punching the villain through larger and larger government buildings) the benevolence of authority is often taken for granted in shounen comics. Any harm inflicted is not the norm, but an unfortunate mistake.

  By contrast, as Fullmetal Alchemist continues it becomes clear that there is nothing normal about Amestris. It’s a state devoted to wiping out surrounding nations so that its secret ruler can bargain away the lives of its people in exchange for godhood. We come to love many of those people, but the state itself has no other function. Its alchemy magic, useful in a pinch, is fully in the hands of the country’s rulers. The philosopher's stones that fuel the greatest acts of alchemy are powered by human lives. Amestris is death. It is a country that has committed genocide. It cannot be redeemed. It must be destroyed.

Image via VIZ

  Fullmetal Alchemist is a story about overthrowing Amestris. Edward and Alphonse come to realize, along with their friends, that it is the responsibility of those born within the country’s borders to destroy it. Roy Mustang and his compatriots, who have killed many people in the service of their country, decide that the only moral thing to do is to lead a revolt against their boss. Hohenheim — Ed and Al’s absentee father — abandons his family because he realizes that the only way to liberate Amestris from its master’s control is to find a different set of tools. Through their collective efforts, they end the reign of a government whose reason for being is endless conquest and torture.

  Of course, Fullmetal Alchemist is a story for children. You cannot undo years of imperialism by punching an ancient artificial demigod in the face. You cannot substitute a cruel ruler for a just one, keep the engine of the state intact and expect that a country will magically redeem itself in the eyes of its neighbors. Fullmetal Alchemist does not attempt to grapple with the question of whether its heroes, who despite their past sins are seen in the present-day as fundamentally good,  have been fatally compromised by their time working the gears of a death state. No, at the end of the series Roy becomes Fuhrer and everything is fine. Amestris is not rebuilt, but reformed. Today in 2020, knowing what I do now, I do not think that is enough.

  Still, Fullmetal Alchemist is a story for children, and that is why it is useful. It set me on the road to Revolutionary Girl Utena and its fairy tale world of cruelty. Fullmetal Alchemist taught me not to take the words of adults for granted. In today’s world, where we are more aware than ever of our responsibility to others, I am reminded of Jason Thompson's old review of Fullmetal Alchemist, written as part of his House of "1000 Manga" columns on Anime News Network. That both Amestris and America begin with the letter A.

  What do you think of Fullmetal Alchemist? Did you grow up with the manga and the 2003 anime, like I did, or the Brotherhood remake some years later? Is "Again" a better or worse song than "Rewrite?" Let us know in the comments!

Adam W is a Features Writer at Crunchyroll. When he isn't rereading Hiromu Arakawa's omake comics at the end of each Fullmetal Alchemist volume, he sporadically contributes with a loose coalition of friends to a blog called Isn't It Electrifying? You can follow him on Twitter at: @wendeego 

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[heartfeltheart]

Alchemy: Magic Vs. Science

Chapters: 2/25 Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Rating: T Relationships: Edward/Winry, Lan Fan/Ling, and May/Alphonse. Primary Characters: Edward Elric, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Crossover, Teacher!Edward, BrOtp Edward/Severus. Sassy beyond measure. Series: Part 1 of 9. Summary: Magic and Science, are they the same or are they completely different? It just takes one person to point out all up and downs. Along with breaking the stereotypes that come up with being a wizard, alchemist and most of all being human. Thank you, @amynchan!

D/C: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist.

Discord: La Red(Mesh Mash of… stuff.): https://discord.gg/KYjmVAb Alchemy Series: https://discord.gg/DejEYNJ

“English and Edward’s accented voice.” “Amestrian or another foreign language.” “Written notes.” ‘Thoughts.’ First Name: Informal Last Name: Formal (Or used to annoy others)

'Magic...Magic!' Edward ran a hand through his hair for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last hour alone. He sat on an empty bench in a seemingly empty park with far too much information swimming through his mind. It had only been three days since he last spoke to Severus and that crazy old man Albus. 'Magic, magic school, magical bars, barriers and...'

Edward let out a sigh, he once again ran his left hand through his hair, this time successfully letting it out from his hairband. His hair, now let loose, hung over his shoulders. He rummaged through his dark brown traveling coat, looking for a particular item. With tense shoulders, Edward pulled out a business card.

Said card has been giving Edward a headache, one moment it looked worn and overused while another it looked crispy and fresh as if it was printed just the day before. The only thing that Edward could make out was the words "Leaky Cauldron" along with an address. 'A school that solely focuses on teaching magic that is in need of an Alchemy Professor. If I do agree to this, then I will have access to their library...'

Shaking his head, Edward stood up while picking up his suitcase and heading off in a seemingly random direction. 'Magic and Alchemy...How do they coexist together?'

Many questions popped into Edward's mind that ran along the same line as his first question. How exactly had Magic and Alchemy coexisted together for this long without any consequences? All the teachings he learned throughout the years... it just didn't make any sense. Nothing made sense but at the same time...there was something in the back of his mind that made Edward rethink and think again about everything. Then his blood ran cold. Could it possibly be able to bring back the living from the dead?

That single thought made Edward's final decision for him. It wasn't that he wanted or needed to know, he simply felt that he had to ensure that it was not a possibility.

---

Snape sat in a corner of a modest-looking room with a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He leaned his head against his other hand as he sat there, deep in thought. It had been three days since he and Dumbledore had last spoken with Edward Elric and had given him a card. Said card was supposed to signal him and the old headmaster if the Alchemy expert would either take or deny the teaching position. If Elric were to deny the position then Snape would have to use a memory charm on him but he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that Dumbledore would do something sly to ensure Elric took the job to teach at the school.

There was a part of Snape that didn't want Elric to take up the offer and regretted coming to Dumbledore about Elric's vast knowledge of Alchemy. The last thing he needed was to help Dumbledore in the twisted game of survival in their world. On the other hand, if Elric were to agree then he wouldn't be stuck around with complete dunderheads. Even if Elric did have a temper and still had his childish moments, he was the only one Snape could have an actual intelligent conversation with.

Something clicked in the back of Snape's mind, a signal. "He is agreeing to the position it seems."

---

Edward stood in front of an abandoned-looking shop, staring at it with a perplexed expression. He had somehow found the address on the card and was now starting to regret his decision. Edward started to wonder if he should punch those idiots for making him look stupid.

“I knew zis vas ein pad idea ." Edward muttered under his breath, he turned away from the shop and faced the street. His eyes widened at who he saw walking towards him, it was Severus, fortunately alone. The last thing Edward needed was that old man being near him, he swore that old geezer gave off a similar vibe to the homunculus King Bradly. "Zefferus..."

"Elric..." Severus responded once he came within hearing distance, he took note of Edward's disheveled appearance. His hair was let loose from its ponytail, his traveling coat looked wrinkled despite the clothes he wore underneath being crisp and groomed. "So, are you agreeing to the teaching position?"

Edward raised his hand to signal Severus to stop talking, he then pulled out a small notebook from his coat. "Der are a couple of dings I need to clear up before I agree."

Severus nodded, he signaled for Edward to follow him towards the run-down shop. With a look of total disbelief, Edward followed him towards the shop, cursing the wizard he was currently following.

Shaking his head, Edward couldn't help but think about his adventures and compare them to what was occurring right now. At least he wasn't at knife or gunpoint...or should it be wand point now...

"Zefferus vat is dis place?" Edward asked as Severus placed a hand on the door to open it.

Severus held back a snarky remark, he couldn't blame the younger man for asking such question. For one, Elric isn't magically aware and two, he didn't want to antagonize him. From the short time they had known each other, the blonde had had a short temper and could clearly hold his own in an argument. "It's the main gate between the Muggle and Wizarding world."

"....Mug...gle..." Edward's eyes widened as he walked through the door to enter a bar filled with the most weirdly dressed people he had ever seen. "How is dis possible?"

"Magic." Severus responded he smirked when he caught Edward glaring at him. "Keep to yourself and do not speak to anyone or mention the fact you are not a wizard."

Edward rolled his eyes, already having an inkling towards what he should say and do...to an extent. "Fine. Are ve getting food? I'm hungry."

Severus rolled his eyes and headed towards the back of the area away from all the other patrons at the bar. In the corner of the room was a not so tall male drinking a colored liquid while holding a tiny umbrella. The tiny man waved towards their direction. "Severus, Albus sent me in his place as he had business to take care of. Is this the new alchemy professor?"

Severus nodded and motioned over towards Edward. "This is Edward Elric." He then motioned over towards his fellow professor. "This is Filius Flitwick, he is a charms master and teaches the subject at Hogwarts."

Edward's brows furrowed, he gave Severus a look that clearly showed confusion as he did not know what exactly charms were. Severus ignored him and signaled for Edward to sit, as he himself sat across from Filius, Edward hesitantly sat at the end of the table away from the wizards. "Hello."

Looking over at Severus, he deadpanned. "Food. You promised food."

Severus' lips twitched before he snorted, he motioned for the owner of the bar to bring them something over. "Would you like to speak now or after we eat?"

"Food."

---

Edward scoffed his food, not really caring about the magic that was happening around him. All he cared about was the food on his plate and trying to drown out the magic to prevent an upcoming headache. His companions were giving him mixed looks of curiosity and disgust. Again. He didn't really care, he had food on his mind.

Unbeknownst to Edward, the charms professor had already cast a charm over their booth to ensure no one could hear them.

Severus cleared his throat, grabbing Edward's attention, at least somewhat. Edward looked up, food stuck to his face. "Vat?"

With thin lips, Severus wordlessly held out a cloth napkin towards Edward who took it with a 'humph'. Edward wiped the food off of his face. "Dank you."

"How about we start to talk about the position you will be taking in the autumn." Filius asked with a smile.

Edward raised a hand to stop Filius from continuing talking. "I have fev questions dat need to be ansvered before I fully agree along vith changing a couple of dings."

Severus waved a hand for Edward to state what he needed to know and the change of terms.

Edward took out his small notebook from his coat, he skimmed through it until he found the page. "Full access of your library, any and effery resource dis school has."

"You have already been granted access to the restricted portions of the library if that's what you're asking?" Filius responded with a nod.

Edward shook his head, the more detail he attempted to explain with the more his Amestrian accent came through. "No, effery source available to help vith my research to comprehend magic."

Severus and Filius glanced at each other and began to mentally converse. Severus looked away from his fellow professor to give Edward a curt nod in agreement. "What else?"

"How old vould the students I vould be teaching be?"

"They would be at the oldest sixth and seventh years, with O or E in potions and transfiguration." Snape said he let out a sigh of annoyance when he took note of Edward's blank stare. "O stands for Outstanding, the highest grade a student can receive and E stands for Exceeds Expectations, the second highest grade."

"Vat is transfigurazion?" Edward asked, having a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

"It's a branch of transformation magic, changing the form and appearance of an object, human... or animal..." Filius trailed off when he took note of Edward's rapidly paling face that quickly snapped into anger. Edward tightly gripped his fork, if he had still had his automail arm then the fork would have been twisted and bent beyond recognition. "Is something the matter?"

Oh yes, that feeling was exactly right.

"...Don't mention dat vord around me for nov." Edward said with a strained voice, his jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes narrowed. He slowly closed his eyes and breathed through his nose in an attempt to regain some composure. "Hov old are zixth and zeffenth years?"

"Between the ages of sixteen to eighteen at most." Filius squeaked out when Edward's eyes snapped open. "Will that be a problem?"

"Too old." Edward responded shaking his head. Leaning back on his chair, Edward crossed his arms over his chest as he thought about it. "I started to learn about alchemy ven I vas about...fiffe or zix...and fully started my training ven I vas nine I dink."

Both teachers gave him a gobsmacked look at this. This was news for both of them.

"S-s-so young." Filius stuttered out. "And your parents allowed you to learn the lost art at such a young age?"

As Filius stated the question, Severus attempted to stop him by giving him a rather odd look, knowing first hand that asking those kinds of questions never ended well, then groaning once the question had finally been asked.

"My shitty father did not care and...alchemy made my mother smile..." Edward trailed off softly. He quickly shook his head, trying to push away the depressing thoughts from his mind. "Back to the main topic...If I start at dat age, all dey will learn is the basics and facts if dey could comprehend the material."

"What do you have in mind?" Severus asked, hoping for an elaboration.

"Many typically start deir training the moment dey apprentice demzelffes to someone who is a fully ledge alchemist, age varies." Edward explained to them. "Two other people I know are alchemist, one of dem started his training when he was in his early teens and the other..." Edward attempted to repress a shudder that threatened to come out. "His alchemy been based down in his family for generations and generations."

Shaking his head in an attempt to repress certain memories, Edward continued. "Vat ve needed to knov is the basic science and understanding behind everything. Understanding of the vorld and its...rules...Den and only den doze who understand vill truly learn hov to use alchemy."

"And those who do not fully understand?" Filius asked

"Ah, dat brings up to my other question." Edward flipped through the pages of his notebook. "Vill I be allowed to kick out students from my class? Dere vill be a punch of dem dat are not going to comprehend alchemy and I do not vant to vaste my time on dem."

"Well...er..." Filius looked over at Severus for some help on that question. Typically, it would be the student that would leave the class,not the teacher kicking out the student. Seeing as he wasn't getting any help he attempted to answer. "How would you know this?"

"My teacher sent my brother and I to an island vith just a knife, the clothes on our backs and a riddle to solve." Edward drawled out, thememory ingrained in the back of his mind. "No food, no vater, just a knife and a riddle to solve all on our own... at least ven ve vere not being chased around by a so-called lunatic and hungry volffes. For a whole month."

"You have a brother?" Severus asked blankly.

"Did I not tell you dat already? No? Eh, must have passed my mind." Edward laughed nervously, in actuality he may have purposely left his brother out from all of their conversations. The reason he had brought Alphonse was to let the two professors know it was a team effort. It had taken both brothers to figure out the riddle. "Ve had one month to figure it out, if ve did not ansver right den teacher vould not have taught us alchemy."

"What was the riddle?"

"One is all, all is one."

---

Edward carried his suitcase over his shoulder, walking alongside Severus kept a blank expression.

"Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" Severus asked Edward quietly, his lips barely moving as he spoke.

Edward stopped walking, he looked up at the darkening sky. "I do not understand hov magic is able to hide for dis long from my country? If alchemy is conzidered to be...magic...den hov is it able to be shown freely at Amestris but magic is only shown in its own vorld."

Severus stopped walking too and looked over at Edward with an eyebrow raised. "You hardly spoke about your home country."

"It is militaristic. The military is the one dat is running the show, if dey knew about magic den dey vould have used it to vin all its vars." Edward responded grimly at the notion. "Seeing as no magical users vere in the government den magic is not practice dere."

"How would you know that?"

"Because I am stuck in the military dat is compromised of the government." Edward snapped not liking the fact that this was still the case. Even though he may no longer do alchemy, he was still part of the military. The only reason he was taking a year off was that he was driving everyone stir crazy and had gained the title 'Hero of the People'. The second point being included since Edward had used it against his superior. "Even vith Alchemy, it still did not sustained deir dirst of power...Just imagine if dey had magic on deir side..."

Edward could not imagine how different things would have been if magic had come into play. Would it have saved lives or taken more in the process? Could it have helped those Edward couldn't save...

He shook his head, trying to erase the melancholy thoughts from his head, the last thing Edward needed was to relive the past. What's done is done. Nothing was going to change that.

"...We have a theory about that." Severus broke the tense silence that followed after Edward's burst.

"Zo do I. If I told you vat it was den I vould most likely get in serious trouble vith said government." Edward responded with a dry chuckle, his eyes showing mischief as he spoke. "Dat is a story for another day."

Severus debated if he was telling the truth or not, seeing as he couldn't get into Edward's mind to figure it out. "Hn. Where will you be staying for the remainder of the month? Classes start on the first of September."

"Have been staying at a small hodel the last couple of days. It is right across from dat café." Edward responded, turning around and heading towards his destination. "I vill be spending the rest of my time taking into account vat exactly I vould be teaching."

---

"He agreed to the position as long as we keep to his terms." Snape said, leaning against a wall in Dumbledore's office. He glanced over at the old headmaster skimming through the contract that had been created for Elric to sign to finalize him becoming a professor along with the modified terms of an agreement. By the looks of it, the gray-haired wizard wasn't fully reading the contract. All he wanted was an alchemy professor and didn't particularly care how he got it. "He is opening the class to all years, only requiring the understanding of muggle science. Which he himself would provide to an extent, along with other information needed for this class."

"Is that so..." Dumbledore trailed off, peering down at one of the pages of the contract. "Did he mention what materials he would be requiring for his class?"

"Muggle pens, pencils, spiral notebooks and a periodic table." Snape said remembering the list. "We are going to have to provide most if not all of these materials as most will have difficulty... acquiring them."

"Textbooks?"

"He will be providing his own." Snape responded offhandedly. "He didn't like any of the textbooks that are currently written; he said they are not up to his par."

Without much thought, Dumbledore signed the contract; the moment his pen lifted from the page the stack of papers sprung up and folded itself into an envelope. Dumbledore picked up the envelope and held it in Snapes direction. Snape pushed himself off of the wall towards Dumbledore and took the envelope from him. Tucking the item in his robes, Snape headed towards the fireplace.

"One more thing before you go..." Dumbledore took out a pouch from his desk. "This will cover any magical supplies Elric requires. You will help him, yes?"

Snape huffed under his breath, he could already feel the upcoming headaches. He wouldn't be surprised if Elric questioned his ear off during the trip. "Anything else before I go...?"

"That is all."

---

Dear Brother...

Edward stared down at the barely written letter, twirling the pen in his hand. Nothing was coming to mind on what he wanted to write down but at the same time he had so much he needed to say. The problem was that if the things he wanted to say were to be intercepted or end up in the wrong hands there would be more trouble than the both of them could handle. It wasn't just that he wanted to talk to someone about his current situation, Edward also needed to contact Alphonse about several books and notes he would need to teach.

Fully knowing that Alphonse was nowhere near where said books and notes were, the younger Elric could easily send a letter to someone (most likely Granny or Winry, or if worst comes to worst then the bastard colonel, excuse him, General Mustang) for them to send said items. The main problem being a way to make sure his letters would not be intercepted by the wrong people.

"This is harder than I thought it would be." Edward's grip slackened, dropping his pen he pushed away from the desk he was using. Standing up he began pacing around the hotel room he was renting for the remainder of the month. It was a modest room, a single bed, a small desk, a night stand, a single chair and a dresser. There was also a closet and a small bathroom. The only thing that Edward liked about the hotel was that it was close to the café and bookstore. "This place is driving me crazy. It's too quiet!"

Shaking his head, Edward sat back down on the solitary chair in the small room and stared down at the barely written letter. He tapped his fingers on the table in an attempt to think of something. Picking up the pen with his right hand Edward began to write, the words having seemingly no correlation with his current situation. Countryside? Ships? Automobiles and the busy streets of London? It may have not made sense to just anyone, but to the people the letter was intended for it would be clear enough for them to crack the code and find the underlying meaning.

Edward stretched his writing arm out an in attempt to loosen the tightened joints, still having some trouble writing with the arm again. He was about to finish the letter when a curt knock broke his trance. With narrowed eyes, Edward silently headed towards the door, prepared for the worst. Looking through the peephole, his tension was swept away. It was Severus. Opening the door, Edward motioned for the wizard to come in.

"Vat did your boss dink of the contract?" Edward asked once he had closed the door. He turned around to see Severus taking a sealed envelope out of his robe.

"This is your contract, as promised, here's the physical form." Severus responded handing Edward the envelope.

Edward smugly regarded the envelope, then quickly placed it on his desk. "Danks."

"And this..." Severus said as he took out a pouch from a concealed pocket in his robe, handing it to Edward as well. "Will help cover for any materials you will need at Diagon Alley."

"Dat is the magical shopping blace right?"

"Yes."

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[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

2010s Art: Music, Games, and TV

So I love all forms of art. It may not seem like it since I tend to stick mainly to movies, with the odd cartoon or video game thrown in, but that’s really because movies are more my thing due to not being massive time investments. Like, don’t get me wrong, I gamed, I watched TV, I listened to music, but it was a lot more casual than my deep dive into becoming a major cinephile.

With games and TV, it was mostly issues of money and time respectively. I have a few consoles, mostly Nintendo and Sony ones, and my wife helped me experience Xbox games, but I just don’t have the money needed to experience every good game that comes out. With TV, the time investment is the biggest roadblock, especially when all the best shows have hour-long episodes these days. With movies, I just have to spend 90 minutes to two hours on average; for TV, it’s countless hours I could be watching movies. As for music… well, I listened to a lot, I just don’t feel totally qualified to properly rank and list songs and albums.

So instead of the big decade-spanning list for movies that I’m doing, I’m going to go over some things I enjoyed from the past decade and maybe a few things I didn’t in music, TV, and video games. Here’s a little guide so you know what stuff is something I consider one of my absolute favorites in any given medium - if it’s from this decade, it will be in bold, and if it’s from a previous decade but I experienced it this decade, it will be underlined.

Television

I figured I’d get this out of the way first since it’s the medium I have the least experience with. Let me put it this way: I have seen only one season of Game of Thrones, the first one (and by all accounts I dodged a bullet by dropping that show). I also had the misfortune of jumping in to The Walking Dead right as it was gearing up for its abysmal second season, which turned me off that and led to me only watching an episode here or there. 

I had better luck watching live action shows on streaming. I managed to get through almost all of Pretty Little Liars on Netflix, which was a chore in and of itself; it’s a good show, but boy could it ever get arbitrary and frustrating. Speaking of Netflix, I think it goes without saying that Stranger Things is their best effort; from the likable cast of kids to the awesome soundtrack, even though it never really surpasses season one the show always has something cool going on in one of its plots. My other favorite from Netflix would probably be their take on A Series if Unfortunate Events, which is how you do adaptation expansion right; everything they add feels like it’s in service of fleshing out Lemony Snicket’s dismal world, as well as giving Patrick Warburton an incredible dramatic role as the Lemony narrator himself.

Amazon managed to score two hits in my book. The first is the unbelievably fun and charming Good Omens, a miniseries that somehow got me to love David Tennant and Michael Sheen more than I already did. The second was the gory joyride that is The Boys which while not the smartest or most original superhero satire is definitely the most fun.

While I didn’t watch the whole show and would not consider it one of my favorites, I do want to give props to Hannibal for introducing me to Mads Mikkelsen. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the only person aside from Hopkins worthy of playing everyone’s favorite cannibal. Another show I DO consider a favorite despite slacking on keeping up with it is Ash vs. Evil Dead; I only needed to see a single season of Bruce back with the boomstick to know this show was a masterpiece.

On the animated side I have much more to talk about. Not since the 90s have we been spoiled with so many genuinely great and varied cartoons. We got Adventure Time, Regular Show, Steven Universe… really, Cartoon Network raised the bar this decade and made up for an awful 2000s. They even finally gave Samurai Jack a conclusion, which despite the mixed results, was still a real exciting phenomenon to experience.

Of course, my favorite CN show came from Adult Swim. I am of course referring to Rick & Morty, a fun sci-fi adventure comedy that attracted the most obnoxious fanbase possible in record time. While certainly not a show you need a high IQ to understand and having an atrocious third season, it still manages to be funny and thought provoking in equal amounts. Seriously though. Fuck season 3.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is another great show that I sadly fell off the wagon of around the fifth or sixth season. It never got bad of course but it never really engaged me like the older episodes, though what I’ve heard of the last season makes me wish I’d kept up with it. It was a great show with a lot of heart and character, and I’m not sure we’ll ever see a show like it again.

Netflix did not slack in the animation department; I didn’t catch their most famous show (it’s the one about a certain Horseman) but I did catch their fantastic take on Castlevania, which as a huge fan of the series was a real treat. Where the fuck is Grant though?

My two favorite shows of the decade, however, are what I see as the pinnacle of East and West: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Gravity Falls. 

JJBA is a series I had vague passing knowledge of, only knowing its existence due to seeing Stone Ocean referenced on the Wikipedia page for air rods when I was younger and, of course, the memes that spawned from Heritage for the Future, which were inescapable back in the day. As soon as I got into the series, it became one of my biggest inspirations, teaching me you can be deep, complex, and filled with great character interactions while also being so batshit insane that every new and absurd power is incredibly easy to buy (looking forward to the rainbows that turn people into snails, animators). They managed to get through the first four parts and start up the fifth over the decade; so far my favorite part is four, mainly due to the magnificent bastard that is Yoshikage Kira (played time perfection by D.C. Douglas) and in spite of serial creep Vic Mangina playing the otherwise lovable asshole Rohan Kishibe.

Gravity Falls on the other hand is just a fun and engaging mystery show that manages to excel at being episodic and story-driven all at once. There’s only one or two “bad” episodes across two seasons, and it lasted just as long as it needed to, wrapping things up with a satisfactory ending that still gave fans a few mysteries to chew on. It also gave us Grunkle Stan, perhaps the greatest character in all of animation, the pinnacle of “jerk with a heart of gold” characters who is hilarious, badass, and complex all at once. This is my favorite western animated show…

...but then the last year of the decade threw a curveball and, if I’m being honest, is on par with Gravity Falls: Green Eggs and Ham. Netflix really wanted us to know 2D animation is back in 2019; between this show and Klaus, the future is looking bright for the medium. It’s a fun, funny roadtrip comedy that knows when to be emotional and when to be funny, and it’s all filtered through the wubbulous world of Dr. Seuss. It’s just a wonderfully delightful show.

And on the subject of JoJo, I had a kind of love-hate relationship with anime this decade. The attitudes of anime fans turned me off from anime for a long while. Sure, I checked out stuff like Attack on Titan and Sword Art Online, but neither series really clicked with me. The main anime I loved this decade were ones that started in the 2000s and ended in the 2010s, like Dragon Ball Z Kai and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I suppose I did enjoy My Hero Academia, which is a really fun show with an awesome and varied cast and great voice acting. Love Froppy, best girl for sure.

One of the most unfortunate things about this decade was how many great shows got screwed over by their networks. Sym-Bionic Titan, Thundercats, and The Legend of Korra were all great shows in their own right but were treated like shit by their respective networks. It really makes me upset that stuff like that not only happened, but continues to happen to this day.

But let’s not end on a bad note; let’s talk about the astounding returns old shows got. Invader Zim got a movie as did Hey Arnold, with the latter in particular finally wrapping up the dangling plot threads, but those are actual TV movies so they don’t really fit here; what DOES fit is Static Cling, the triumphant return of Rocko’s Modern Life. A forty minute special, it follows Rocko and his friends as they navigate the modern age, trying to bring back Rocko’s favorite cartoon. Rachel Bighead’s arc in this in particular is pretty groundbreaking and awesome. 

Also awesome was the first few episodes of Samurai Jack’s return, though it did end up petering out halfway through the season and ended on an anticlimactic note. Still, Tom Kenny’s Scaramouche, the sheer amount of continuity, and the awesome final curbstomp battle against Aku are worth giving this a watch. And if nothing else, stuff like this gives me hope for future revivals. What will we see next? Gargoyles comeback? Batman Beyond continuation? KENNY AND THE CHIMP REVIVAL?! Chimpers rise up!

Music

Much like everyone, I listened to a lot of music this decade. There was a lot of shit, and I definitely used to be one of those “wow no one makes good music anymore” morons, but I grew out of that and learned to look in the right places.

Let’s start with the albums I loved the most. Continuing her meteoric rise from the 2000s, Lady Gaga drooped her magnum opus, Born This Way, an album that successfully showcases her skills as she takes on numerous pop styles. No two songs sound the same, and with a couple of exceptions every song slaps. While we’re on the subject of pop stars, Gaga’s contemporary and lesser Katy Perry managed to hit a home run with the fun bit of pop fluff that was Teenage Dream.

Weird Al was sorely missed for most of the decade, but what albums he did drop featured some of his best work. While Alpocalypse doesn’t hold up quite so well, it’s still solid, but even then it is blown out of the water by Mandatory Fun, an album that just refuses to stop being funny from start to finish. And that’s not the only funny albums this decade; aside from artists I’ll get more into later, George Miller AKA Filthy Frank released Pink Season as one of his last great acts as his character of Pink Guy. The album is as raunchy and filthy as you’d expect. And then for unintentional comedy, Corey Feldman dropped Angelic 2 The Core, an album so musically inept that it ends up becoming endearing; it’s The Room of music.

As I gamed a lot this decade I got to experience a lot of great video game soundtracks, but the two I found to be the absolute best were Undertale and Metal Gear Rising’s. I couldn’t tell you which soundtrack is better, and I’ve actually made a playlist on my iPod containing my favorite tracks from both games. Pokemon had solid soundtracks all decade, but they definitely were better in single tracks such as Ultra Necrozma’s theme from USUM and Zinnia’s theme from ORAS.

And speaking of individual songs, there were a lot I really loved. The disco revival in the easel ide half of the decade lead to gems like “Get Lucky,” “Uptown Funk,” and… uh, “Blurred Lines.” The controversy to that one might be overblown, but it sure isn’t anything I really want to revisit.

Corey Feldman may be the king of unintentional comedy, but this decade was seriously ripe with so bad it’s good music. The crown jewel is without a doubt the giddy, goofy “Friday,” but I think the equally stupid but also endlessly more relatable Ark Music production “Chinese Food” is worth some ironic enjoyment as well. 

Meme songs in general were pretty enjoyable, though it came at a price. Remember when everyone tried to be funny by ripping off “Gangnam Style?” Remember when people took that Ylvis song at face value? Irony and satire were lost on the masses. I think the best mene song of the decade, though, is “Crab Rave,” a bouncy instrumental dance track with a fun music video and an absurd yet hilarious meme tacked to it. And then we have “The Internet is for Music,” a gargantuan 30 minute mashup featuring every YTMND, 4chan, Newgrounds, and YouTube meme you could think of (at the time of its release anyway),

Then we get into artists. Comedy music was great this decade, with Steel Panther and The Lonely Island putting out great work all decade, but by far my favorite funny band is Ninja Sex Party. Dan “Danny Sexbang” Avidan and Brian “Ninja Brian” Wecht are pretty much my favorite entertainers at this point, with them easily being able to go from doing goofy yet epic songs where they fuck or party to doing serious and awesome cover albums where Dan flexes his impressive vocals. A big plus is how all of their albums are easily some of my favorites ever, with not a single bad CD, and that’s not even getting into their side project Starbomb. These guys are a treasure.

Then we have Ghost, a Swedish metal band who play up the Satanic panic for all it’s worth. These guys captured my interest when I heard the beautiful “Cirice” on the radio, and despite that song rocking the fuck out, Imagine my surprise when it ended up being only middle of the road awesome for this band! With killer original songs like “Rats,” “Mary in the Cross,” and “Square Hammer” to a awesome covers like “Missionary Man” and “I’m a Marionette,” it’s almost enough to get a guy to hail Satan. I think they appeal to me mainly because they have a style very in line with the 80s, most evident on tracks like “Rats.” 

While I’d hesitate to call him one of my favorite musicians yet (he is really good so far though), one of my favorite people in entertainment is Lil Nas X. From his short but sweet songs that crush genre boundaries to his hilarious Twitter feed, this guy is going places and I can’t wait to see what those places are.

And finally, the guy I think may be one of the greatest creative geniuses alive and who has nearly singlehandedly shaped Internet culture with everything he does… Neil Cicierega. While it’s not like I only discovered him in the 2010s - the guy has been an omnipresent force in my life since Potter Pupper Pals debuted - he definitely became the guy I would unflinchingly call the greatest artist of our time over that period.   Whether he’s releasing the songs under his own name or as Lemon Demon, you can always be sure that the songs are going to burrow into your brain. His Lemon Demon album Spirit Phone, which features songs about urban legends and the horrors of capitalism, is easily my pick for album of the decade. And then under his own name he released three mashup mixtapes: Mouth Sounds, Mouth Silence, and Mouth Moods. All three are stellar albums, but only Mouth Moods has “Wow Wow,” the bouncing track about homoerotic bee-loving Will Smith and outtakes so good they deserve to be on the next album.

Video Games 

Having a PC this decade was great because it let me experience a lot of games I probably wouldn’t have otherwise, like Half-Life, BioShock, Earthnound, Mother 3, and Final Fantasy VI and VII. All of these and more are among my favorite games of all time now, but we’re here to talk about the stuff from this decade I consider great.

It’s hard to talk about this decade in gaming without mentioning Skyrim. Yes, it has flaws and the main storyline is a bit undercooked, but there’s so much fun to be had dicking about in the wilderness it’s hard to be too mad. And if you have mods, there are endless opportunities to expand the game. The same is true for the other game I have sunk countless hours into, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Not only is there a thriving modding community, but it has been supported and encouraged by the creators and some mods have even made the leap into becoming fully canon! It’s always a blast to revisit and see how far I can break the game with item combos.

Surprisingly, Batman managed to get not one, not two, but THREE awesome licensed games this decade! Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and the unfairly maligned Arkham Origins all kick as much ass as the Dark Knight himself. The former two reunite Mark Hamill and Kevin McConroy as Joker and Batman while the latter features numerous stellar boss battles. The combat in these games is so graceful and fluid, you WILL feel like Batman at some point, be it after flawlessly clobbering two dozen mooks or silently eliminating a room of thugs before they even realize you’re there.

Pokémon had a bit of a rocky decade; it started out strong with the fifth generation, the best games in the series with a great story, region, and sidequests and then just went downhill from there. Not incredibly so, of course - the games were always fun at least - but gens VI through VIII were not the most graceful steps into 3D. Still, every gen managed to produce some of my all-time favorite Pokémon. Gen V had Volcarona, Chandelure,  and Meloetta; Gen VI gave us Hoopa, Klefki, the Fairy type in general, and a gorgeous mega evolution for my favorite Pokémon, Absol; Gen VII had the Ultra Beasts and Ultra Necrozma, some of the coolest concepts in the series, as well as Pyukumuku; and Gen VIII gave us Cinderace, Dracovish, Dracozolt, Polteageist, Hatterene, Snom, and Zacian. And those are just samplings mind you, these gens are full of hits.

Bringing back old franchises yielded amazing results. Look no further than the triumphant return of Doom in 2016, which had you ripping and tearing through the forces of Hell with guns, chainsaws, and your bear fucking hands. This game is HARDCORE. Less bloody and gory but no less awesome was the return of not just Crash Bandicoot, but Spyro as well in remakes that are easily the definitive ways to experience the games. And don’t even get me started on the remastered DuckTales!

Platinum games did not fuck around this decade, delivering Bayonetta 2 and Metal Gear Rising. The former is a balls-to-the-wall sequel to the amazing original Bayonetta that, while lacking in bosses quite as impressive as the first game’s, is more polished and has a fun story and a better haircut for Bayonetta; the latter is an action game so insane it makes the rest of the Metal Gear franchise look tame in comparison. The latter in particular is in my top ten games ever, with every boss battle feeling epic, all the music kicking ass, and Raiden truly coming into his own as a badass.

Speaking of Metal Gear, the divisive The Phantom Pain easily earns its place here. While much fuss has been made about the game being “unfinished,” it still has a complete and satisfying ending even if it doesn’t totally wrap up the dangling plot threads the young Liquid Snake leaves behind. The overarching themes as well as Venom and his relationship with characters like Kaz, Paz, and ESPECIALLY Quiet make this game, with his and Quiet’s being particularly beautiful and tragic. The Paz quest, Quiet’s exit, and the mission where Snake has to put down his men after they get infested with parasites are all some of the most heartbreaking moments in the franchise. But it’s not all tears; there’s plenty of fun to be had harassing Russians in Afghanistan while blaring 80s synth pop from your Walkman. Oh yeah, and fuck Huey.

The Ace Attorney series also thrived, with both Spirit of Justice and Dual Destinies transitioning the series into 3D a lot more graceful than some other franchises while still maintaining the with and charm the series is known for. And if that wasn’t enough for my point-and-cluck adventure needs, Telltale had me covered with The Wolf Among Us and the first season of The Walking Dead. The stories and characters of those games are so good, it’s enough to make you sad they never got a timely sequel or sequels that weren’t shit respectively.

This decade is when I really got into fighting game, though I’m not particularly good. I supported Skullgirls (and am even in the credits!), and got into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (and I also got into its spiritual predecessor, Heritage for the Future). But by and large my favorite fighting game of the decade and the one I’m actually pretty good at is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the most ridiculously ambitious crossover in video game history. The fact that the game is STILL getting more characters added is a testament of how insanely great the game is because instead of being mad that there’s so much DLC, people are going rabid waiting for news of more. It’s such an awesome, complete game out the door that the DLC feels earned rather than half a game being held hostage. Other devs, take note!

A lot of franchises put their best foot forward for sequels. God of War III was an awesomely bloody finale to the original journey of Kratos, with more epic bosses than ever; now he’s off fighting Norse gods, and I hear that game is even better! Portal 2 is just an absolute blast, and easily surpasses the first game on the merit of having Cave Johnson alone; the fact we get Wheatley and the malfunctioning personality cores honestly feels like overkill. Then we have BioShock… 2. While it’s certainly not as good as the first game, I think it was a lot of fun, and it got way too much flak.

 I think it definitely aged better than Infinite which, while still a good game in its own right (it’s hard to hate a game with a character as endearing as Elizabeth), definitely was not warranting the levels of acclaim it got with such a muddled narrative. “Overrated” and “overhyped” are not words I keep in my vocabulary and I certainly would not describe Infinite as such, but I do feel like people got swept up in the gorgeous visuals and the story bits and characters that are effective and so weren’t nearly as critical of its flaws. It’s still a good, fun game with an interesting world, but it pales in comparison to the other two BioShocks. I feel like The Last of Us is in a similar boat. That being said, I couldn’t tell you why; it has a great story, good characters, plenty of replayability, and fascinating enemy design. But despite all that, I appreciate this game more than love it. It’s the Citizen Kane of video game sin that regard at least.

I’d be remiss to not mention the big indie successes of the decade. Shovel Knight is easily one is the greatest platform era ever made, taking everything great about the platformers on the NES and SNES, removing the bullshit, and delivering numerous bonus campaigns with unique playstyles. Then there was Abobo’s Big Adventure, a marvelous mashup of all sorts of games starring the beloved Double Dragon mook as he goes on a bloody quest to save his son. It’s a blast and there is tons of variety but some sections are definitely as hair-pullingly difficult as the games that inspired them. And then there is Doki Doki Literature Club, the free visual novel that brutally subverts your expectations. Sadly, I do feel the game loses some impact on subsequent playthroughs, but it’s still a great, effective story that skillfully utilizes meta elements.

Still, the greatest indie success of them all is Toby Fox’s masterpiece, Undertale. Charming, funny, emotional, and populated by a cast of some of the most fun and lovable characters ever conceived, this game was an instant smash and is still talked about to this day. Sure, things like Sans have been memed to death, but it’s hard to not just love and cherish the beautiful world Toby Fox managed to create. This game may not be the greatest game of all time, but for what it is I wouldn’t hesitate to name it the game of the decade.

There was a lot of great art in the 2010s, and while I couldn’t get around to all of it, I’m so happy with what I got to experience. Here’s hoping that the 2020s can be just as amazing!

[thegeminisage]

alright now that i’ve finally seen both fullmetal animes here’s my compare & contrast

spoiler warnings!!!!!

2003 does this better:

better soundtrack. brotherhood’s ost is SUPERB but 2003 still wins. it’s iconic and historic

wack-ass ending aside 03 is MUCH cleaner and more self-contained. brotherhood zooms out a lot and takes a bigger look at the world than 03. that’s not to say one is better than the other, but something i like about the 03 anime is that a lot of minor characters came back in the end when they deviated from the manga. everyone was connected somehow

like ok in 03, winry’s parents were actually murdered by mustang, and the homunculi were created by regular old alchemists - i think little plot stuff like that is what i mean by “self-contained” - everything is so weighty and it matters so much and there’s nothing that isn’t important in the end

similarly, 03 has really good character development...brotherhood has a lot to accomplish in a short time, so the pacing is much faster and more oriented towards action where 03 has time to really slow down and dig into everything...we got a much longer time to get to know characters like nina and maes and marta/martel and even yoki

03 is a lot darker i think both thematically and literally as in they used darker shading which is like...obviously everyone has their own tastes but i really enjoy it

hohenheim, scar, lust, and envy all get like 10000x more character development in 03...in fact, almost all the homunculi save for bradley get more development, 03 is very definitely character based. i like 03 hohenheim a LOT better actually and i think his rocky relationship with ed gets more closure in 03, even with 03′s wack-ass ending

03 did a better job of exploring the fallout of having to do really and truly horrible things during wartime...it’s talked about a fair amount in brotherhood, but in 03, the weight of those sins is made much more tangible and horrifying

03 had better voice acting. sorrryyyyy but some of the new guys they got for brotherhood (to replace scar, marcoh, and breda, most notably) just aren’t as good! i did like the new al though in spite of myself

brotherhood does this better:

brotherhood actually knows what the fuck it’s doing as far as plot goes and the ending was cool and satisfying

since brotherhood does take that zoomed out view of the world we got to learn a lot more about it, which was really cool

some brotherhood-only characters are dope as hell. specifically the characters from xing but i also really loved general armstrong, brotherhood’s pride, & kimblee’s ex-men

brotherhood has more WOMEN. not that 03 is a slouch in that department but brotherhood is even better

while brotherhood didn’t do as well showing us the fallout of committing atrocities in war i DO think it did a better job exploring what it means to be marked by committing a taboo - how that changes you forever - in a way that 03 just didn’t quite reach

while i love 03′s darker look, brotherhood’s animation style is like...really so much easier on the eyes it’s GORGEOUS and i like the brotherhood openings better too. sometimes i had trouble skipping them bc they are so good and i just wanted to watch ‘em over & over. that plus the fact that it’s not a square (we didn’t all have widescreen TVs in 2003 lol) is like...a big bonus

brotherhood is just plain cooler in a lot of ways - the creatures are cooler (envy’s true form?? PRIDE?? HELLO??), the environments are more diverse (xerxes! briggs! amazing!), the FIGHT and ACTION SCENES (roy vs lust, greed vs wrath, SCAR USING ******* AGAINST WRATH), and lots of the action has nice little twists, such as al sitting in the dark with pride, or the briggs soldiers freezing sloth in the blizzard...yeah brotherhood has less character development but the action scenes are absolutely gripping. sometimes i forget how much i love a good fight scene when they’re actually choreographed well & brotherhood reminded me

brotherhood is scarier because the stakes are higher. the main villain in 03 had much smaller ambitions than the main villain in brotherhood. granted, i think dante is a cooler and more fun villain than father, but he’s definitely much scarier. dante wants to kill a lot of people. father wants to kill ALL of them. father can disable ur alchemy. father can force mustang thru the ******

brotherhood is a LOT funnier. i was surprisedd at how often i actually laughed out loud. this is a result of 03 being more angsty in general i think

brotherhood has no nazis. zero of them.

brotherhood DIDN’T KILL IZUMI CURTIS in fact i don’t think there’s a single character death in brotherhood that i disagree with which is REALLY rare for me. there were a couple in 03 that i thought were dumb and stupid

anyway, this concludes my comparison. neither is necessarily better than the other, they’re just Different, & i really love both of them

[prettywitchiusaka]

Hey everyone. Remember when Nostalgia Critic tried to do a review of Sailor Moon? Only he came off looking like an absolute mysoginist?

Well about a week ago, MisAnthroPony made a response to Doug’s video, and I’ve watched it more times than any human regularly should in a given week.

I won’t regurgitate what MisAnthro already said -though I may go back and elaborate on certain things I feel he should’ve talked about more-, as I feel he did a pretty good job at ripping apart Doug’s “take” on Sailor Moon.

But there is one thing I do wanna talk about, and that’s Doug getting on Usagi’s case for being a coward in the First Season.

Let’s put aside the fact that Doug doesn’t seem to think it’s unrealistic (even by anime standards) to assume a fourteen year old girl would be combat ready instead of terrified beyond all belief fighting monsters. You know, like ANYONE would!

Instead, let’s delve into something I would personally love to ask of Doug.

Hey Doug, you said you’ve seen Fullmetal Alchemist, right? I know this because Rob is a big fan of that show, and you’ve said several times he got you to sit down and watch it with him.

Do you remember that whole scene with Barry The Chopper? The one where Ed hunts down, gets knocked out by, and is then held hostage and nearly killed by a psychotic serial killer?

If so, then let me ask the following; why is that okay in your eyes? Because I don’t know if you remember, but Ed was TWELVE when that happened!

Yet Usagi is fourteen and terrified of the monster she first faces, and somehow you take offence to this.

Hell, it’s even worse in Usagi’s case, if you really think about it!

Ed at least was a WILLING child soldier!

Usagi got drafted into a war she knew nothing about! Now granted, that makes sense later with the reveal that she’s the reincarnation of Princess Serenity. But she didn’t know that!

Are you seriously gonna tell me you don’t make a big stink when other shows do something similar, but you’ll get prissy and crack jokes about Sailor Moon cowering in the corner (before backpedaling at the end to say the fights always show her in a positive light)?

Jesus Christ, Doug!

If you’re gonna review something, review it right! Not shove lessons about Japanese consent laws down our throats to cover up for the fact you didn’t know Usagi was fourteen!

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

[the-velociruby]

Earnest Discussions with Velo C. Raptor, #1

My Experiences with Bumbleby

I wanna try expressing my opinions & opening up a little bit here, if no one minds. This’ll be a first in a bunch of personal discourses, if anyone wants to see these kinds of posts from me. So as I am making my presence known on this site (probably a bad idea), I’ve been representing myself as a Bumbleby shipper. I wouldn’t say I’m the most devout shipper out there, nor do I really want to be viewed in that way, but when there’s a pairing that I really enjoy I’ll latch onto it tight. And Bumbleby happens to be one of them. Why do I enjoy it so much you may ask? Well, let’s dive right into that.

When I was first getting into anime, with Fullmetal Alchemist & Attack on Titan being my firsts, I was really getting into it. But my interests in most of the shows I watched died out as I finished them, and I felt a little empty without a show to be obsessed with. I was also an avid fan of Red Vs Blue at the time, so when they first announced RWBY as I was getting into anime, I was really interested. After watching the trailers, I was hooked. After watching the very first episode, I was in love with it. Granted, I didn’t like Volume 2 all that much (despite the bees’ dance), so my interests in it did die a little; that was quickly remedied by Volume 3, and then I was officially obsessed.

So while watching RWBY in its early years, I came to a few conclusions that others may have had at first: that Cinder Fall was the biggest bad, Adam Taurus was supposed to be some sort of mysterious badass (cue vomit in mouth), and everyone was gonna have a happy ending of some kind. Oh, and there was also something really important I concluded at the time: I thought everybody was straight. To me, it looked like almost everyone had a love interest of the opposite gender, such as Jaune & Pyrrha, Ren & Nora, Weiss & Neptune… and Sun & Blake. I didn’t really look hard enough into the show to think otherwise; I just assumed that Sun and Blake were gonna hook up while Yang was just gonna have her adventures happily by herself or with Ruby. It didn’t really bother me when I thought Rooster Teeth was gonna go for an all straight romance; I was pretty much fine with it because I would support the show I enjoy no matter what. Although admittedly, I did find that somewhat boring.

So if I thought RWBY was gonna go a heteronormative route, what got me into Bumbleby? Back to me first getting into anime: a thing I would do was go on the internet and search the shows I watched in the hopes of finding more content, which was how I came upon the world of fanfics and fanart. I remember how I’d look for & read FMA fanfics nonstop. RWBY was no exception; thus, I was introduced to Bumbleby through the fan-made works of its supporters (same for White Rose, which is also my favorite but a guilty pleasure because I think it’s much less likely to be canon). At first I was confused by such work, thinking ‘why would anybody ship Blake and Yang together if Blake had Sun?’ It didn’t make sense to me at first, but I found myself drawn to the numerous depictions of Blake & Yang together nonetheless.

And then it hit me: they look good together. GREAT, in fact. I was stunned, never having thought that such a relationship could have ever been conceived before. It was as if nothing could compare, nor the other RWBY ships could stand up to it. Not even Arkos, probably one of if not the most significant ship in RWBY, was designed so perfectly like Bumbleby was. Just everything about those two complimented & contrasted with each other so well – black against yellow, amber eyes complementary to lilac ones, and their fantasy inspirations intermingling with one another. The more I would find fanart and fanfics of it, the more I would fall in love with it. It was by far the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, and it was the works of other fans that convinced me that they were the perfect ship.

But to me at first, it didn’t look like Rooster Teeth agreed with that train of thought. I still believed that they were gonna put everyone in a straight romance (and by that I mean I still thought Blake and Sun were gonna hook up). I didn’t really have any of the investigative skills I have now to look deeper into the show to think otherwise, though I did question moments in the show that wouldn’t have made sense for a friendship-Bumbleby or a romantic-Black Sun. Still, I was certain that Blake & Yang were straight at first, so I pretty much made Bumbleby a guilty pleasure. Honestly, I would’ve still supported Rooster Teeth and RWBY if they went with Black Sun, as I didn’t fall for the series simply for the romance.

Then Volume 4 came out, then Volume 5, and now Volume 6. Now, I have come to new conclusions: RWBY has a bigger n’ better bad in the form of Salem, Adam is the bull-horned bastard that he is who deserved damnation, and everything is a lot more greyer than previously thought (as in not morally black and white). Oh, and I concluded something else that’s really important: not everybody is straight. Black Sun turned out to be a friendship more so than a romance; Yang and Blake were painfully missing each other during their separation; then they were reunited and that’s all that matters (music reference haha); everything just started pointing towards a deeper relationship between the ex-partners. Bumbleby was more than likely to be canon, and it pretty much is at this point. Their stories were practically woven together, setting everything up for them to be together. Everything about Bumbleby just seemed right now. I couldn’t have been more elated.

So some individuals outside the Bumbleby fandom may think that I’m “delusional” for believing in its confirmation. Some of those people may think I’m approving of something “toxic” (which is a ridiculous sentiment might I add). Frankly, I don’t care for any negative things others might say about my preferences. This is the internet, only real life can hurt my feelings. It also never matters to me if the characters in a canon or non-canon ship are of the same gender & sexuality or not, what matters is that they’re depicted to be happy and in love. I ship two characters I adore because it makes me happy. Frankly, I’m always afraid of never finding a special someone. The thought of not having a partner and living alone severely depresses me, and I have these thoughts constantly. But when I see two amazing characters I appeal to in a happy, healthy, and fantastically developed relationship, especially one like Bumbleby, it will always give me a little hope for my own future. Or if a ship’s simply canon then I’ll just love it like a blind puppy dog.

So I guess that’s all I have to say. I enjoy the Bees, they’re on their way to canonization if not already, and I couldn’t be happier. I also couldn’t be more thankful for the contributions of others in the RWBY fandom to Bumbleby. If I didn’t find the passion behind Bumbleby that others have, a passion I learned to share & understand, I’d probably be a generally more miserable person than a joyful one. Thank you for taking your time to read this earnest discussion. If anyone wants to see more of these from me, please be sure to let me know. Also, send me any asks if you want me to elaborate on anything!