#its giving full metal alchemist vibes

[halleyuhm]

WIP INTRO: NaNo project

"Your eyes look like tiny Moons: you are missing your pupils, and although the irises are still there, they are... iridescent. Which sounds pretty, but it makes you look dead. This was a misfire, uh?"

GENRE: Fantasy

AUDIENCE: Young adult / New adult

STATUS: Drafting

COMPS: Cottage core Over the Garden Wall meets The Owl House but the main character is blind. And there is some Full Metal Alchemist looming around.

TROPES: Found family, long lost twin, magical creatures, whimsical scenery, red herrings, elemental powers, the power of love, grief, self-worth, learning to accept one-self...

AESTHETIC: Light pouring through the leaves, walking barefoot, the chirping of birds, the tinkling of stars, the smell of incense and candles, ink and books, whispered spells, butterflies stuck in spiderwebs, refraction in water and glass, flowers blooming on ashes, breath in, nature is telling its secrets.

PLAYLIST(in progress): whimsical nature vibes, witch seances, soft yet powerful female voices...

TAGS: #wip: june, #ghost gala (for a WTW event I joined).

SYNOPSIS:

After losing her sight due to a failed spell, Juniper almost gives up her dream of winning the Witch Trials and becoming a Sun Sage. However, there might be a solution: she could find the Wildfire Hollyhock, a powerful flower said to cure any kind of ailment and that may be able to bring her sight back. Accompanied by her friend Cináed, her not-so-friend Amaya, and her little fae familiar, she departs the Dawn Grove and ventures into a dangerous journey.

However, when she finds a wounded boy in the woods and learns she's not the only one searching for the Hollyhock, June discovers there may be higher stakes at value: new friends, new foes, and a sudden quest to defeat the darkness lurking in the forest. June might be the key to defeating the curses roaming free, and stopping the night from sinking the Dawn Grove into the shadows. That, if she can learn to control her powers, of course.

CHARACTERS:

Juniper: the blinded witch. Her failed spell sets off the plot, and messes with the balance of the world. For her, healing her eyes is more important than fixing what she broke.

Amaya: the healer with no powers. Living in a world where everyone can reach out to the magic energy, she feels pretty out of place, but she would never admit it.

Cináed: the fiery shapeshifter. Found as a baby in the forest, during the worst Wildfire ever seen, and taken in the Coven for protection. His sense of belonging is a little crooked.

Athame: the vampiric guide. A mysterious individual that, as a payment for being healed, offers to guide the group through the cursed lands. Hides many secrets and knows more than what it seems.

Grian: the fae familiar. They are a support for June during her trip, a light, a beacon. Happy to be here, but has some underlying insecurities.

Elowen: the long lost twin. Communicates with June through dreams, but has an agenda of her own. Probably a ghost.

DISCLAIMER:

I'm a plantser and anything could change at any given moment. Let's hope not, but if it happens, I will update this~

[yell0wsalt]

Fandom questions! ^^

B, C, E, O, W

Heyy girl! Ooh, so many questions, I love it 🥰

B: A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind.

Any of the non-canon ones tbh. This past year has been my first time getting actively involved with fandom/shipping, so I could pull from any of those lol but S/O to @orangepanic and their Irosami agenda.

C: A pairing you wish you shipped, but just can’t.

The main one that comes to mind is Kyalin. The fan art is cute, but my heart will forever and always be Linzin. The chokehold they had on me when the show first came out and now is real

E: Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what?

Hmm I think I’ll have to shout out my Ryu/Kuvira rare pair fics. No one thinks about him and besides he’s such a bum in canon, so it is a cracky pair

Also another one maybe Date Night. It was based on Iroh slipping into dirty talk which feels odd for his canon character haha so mind you its sooo 🙈 being my first fic, thinking about it makes me wanna jump sometimes fr 😂

O: Choose a song at random, what ship does it remind you of?

I put my liked songs on shuffle and got Problems - A R I Z O N A and it’s giving Mako for me. It’s a good vibe while putting overthinking onto words beautifully. Aside from that being part of his character, he’s overly hated in a lot of the fandom, like sheesh let the boy rest

W: 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms.

Fruits basket- Hatori Sohma

My Hero Academia- Shouta Aizawa

Spy x Family - Yor Forger

Wednesday - Wednesday Addams

Full metal alchemist (brotherhood) - Olivier Armstrong

Thanks for the ask!

[pastellipanic]

Junkenstein's Legend

It isnt a secret that I like Overwatch. It isnt a secret that my favourite event is the Halloween event of Junkensteins revenge. It also isnt a secret that I get hyperfixated onto uncommon things or parts of things. So today, presented by my hyperfixating grey brainmatter, I bring you:

The Full Tale of Junkensteins Revenge

Or, you know, the The Full Tale of Junkensteins Revenge as Theorized by Pastelli During Sleepless Nights. Anyway, we shall start at the beginning!

(Everything in this story is theorized upon the tidbits of canon information from the game, the comics and details of skins, sprays and maps. You are entitled to disagree with my theorization and I will gladly take on any opposing theories if they are given to me with a constructive and positive vibe. I will also gladly have a chat with anyone who is interested in the subject or has ideas I hadnt considered. That being said, Enjoy!)

Chapter 1: The sad beginnings of a mad doctor and his first step onto the battlefield.

Doctor Jamison Junkenstein was a young lad who worked for the local Lord Reinhardt in a town of Adlersbrunn located in the outskirts of Black Forest. He was a brilliant mechanic, engineer and had no fear of working with electricity, hence he had gotten the job in the first place. While his social skills were limited and his fame in the town stained, he was a hard worker and a genius in his own field. At some point during his career, he got bored of the same old electricity and piping, and began to experiment in robotics. His first one was a crude little thing but he was proud of it, so he decided to continue on this path. He began to dream of building live automatons, creatures that could think and feel for themselves. Perhaps it was the fact that he yearned for someone to befriend whilst the townspeople mistreated and disrespected him for his oddities, or perhaps it was his pride towards his own intelligence. However it may be, he started spending more time upon making the automatons, "omnics" as he called them or "Zomnics" as they were later called by the townspeople for their ghastly slow movements. Lord Reinhardt was displeased by him giving his time to such silly things, even more so when Junkenstein came to his door to show them. Every time he made adjustments and showed them to the Lord, he waved the "useless trinkets" away, and everytime his already feeble fame deteriorated in peoples rumours. Madman, lunatic and fool were quickly becoming synonyms for his name. This only spurred him on in his quest to prove them wrong. The metal husks laying in his laboratory soon turned to dug up corpses, the wires he used to put inside turned to stitches on the flesh and what he couldnt understand in anatomy he changed into machinery. Soon he had a body, half organic half inorganic, and all he needed was to make it come alive. Bloodpumping didnt work. Watershocks didnt work. Exchanging the heart into a running motor didnt work. Atlast he tried using electricity to bring his creation to life, unsuccessfully. Junkenstein was exhausted, abused and even his trust in his skills had failed him. He was on the brink of quitting and burying that stupid project, until...

Witch of the Wilds appeared!

The Witch of the Wilds was a well known individual, feared by all near and far for her magic. It was rumoured she could turn coal into gold, make waterfalls run upwards and burn a castle with the flick of her wrist. She was also known from her coming to people at their darkest hour and offering a solution... for a price. And thats exactly what she offered Junkenstein, a solution to his problems; the spark of life. She only asked for a favor, one she would come collect in a nearby future and one that he couldnt refuse. He accepted. He had nothing to lose. Applying the spark of life onto his machine, he started the creatures heart and mind. There were a lot of things that went through its mind when it woke, curiosity and giddiness, but most importantly: Panic. In a furious frenzy it tore itself from its bindings and ran out, into the streets of Adlersbrunn. The townspeople, upon seeing the monster, immediately screamed, cried, yelled, attacked and fled. The monster had no sympathy for people so cruel as the baker who hit it or the children kicking its shins, so he let out his rage onto the masses. It was carnage.

Junkenstein was happy. He had succeeded! His monster was doing exactly what he wanted; avenging the years of societal neglect and bullying Junkenstein had gone through. Yet he had no control over the monster, and no idea how to get it to the Lords doorstep. A couple of hours of manipulating the routes and trying to get the monster where he wanted, he finally got to the door.... Only to find that while he was busy, so was the Lord. He had hired a few wanderers to protect him when he had heard of the happenings in the town. An old soldier searching for a fight, an alchemist practizing her talent, an archer running from the past and a gunslinger hunting for easy money. Only four they were against the doctor, his monster and his minions, and against the Witch of the Wilds and her fearsome ally; a cursed pumpkinheaded man by the name of Reaper. And only four they were who beat him, leaving his corpse battered onto the rocktiles of the yard. His monster was perished, the Witch had fled and the Reaper had gone with her. The wanderers went inside to claim their prize.

Chapter 2: How to tame a monster and revive a doctor.

As the wanderers left the scene, Witch of the Wilds saw her chance to do her work. She quickly used the spark of life to revive Junkenstein, giving his bruised flesh some tidying up whilst doing it, and watched as he sat up. Safe to say, he was pissed to have lost. He wanted to charge right back into fight, but was stopped by the Witch. She managed to make him change his mind, to wait for a year and build his army before trying again, and give her some time to get allies. Gathering what he could of the broken zomnics, Junkenstein found the corpse of his monster and decided to take it back to his lab for revival. He wasnt sure if the creature would run out again or stay, but he wanted to still show the town that he could make something living. This time, when rising from the cold metal table, the monster sat still and stared at Junkenstein. During the fight it had noted that the doctor didnt attack him, even defending him from the attacking gunslinger. It decided to stay near him, for no other reason than that it trusted him. Junkenstein was thrilled to have a friend, even if it did smell of decay a bit.

11 months went by in peace. The town healed, forgot about the incident and, assuming that the wrecked corpse of a homeless man was Junkensteins, buried the past with it. Meanwhile the doctor had other things to think about. He had built an army of zomnics, had tamed the monster and befriended it, had taught it to speak a little and had served the Witch on a few occasions. On some days he still liked to venture into town to see how life was going there. At one point he had almost forgiven the town, before he had come to learn of a new game for the children based after the mocking of his person. Thats when his short temper blew into pieces and he jumped to make an announcement in the middle of the town. He raged, mocked, spat at the townspeople, before revealing his identity and announcing that all of them would perish under his boot. Seeing a dead man back from the grave gave quite a scare to the town, making them panickedly run to the local Lords. They decided that a meeting was to be held to consider this new threat. Some voted to kill Junkenstein again, yet it was deemed to be an ineffective solution due to him coming back the last time. Some voted to trap him and enslave him for the rest of his days, but it was a futile idea for someone like him to be trapped. He would just squirm his way out like the vermin he was. It was decided that Adlersbrunn was to be evacuated. All people were to be gathered into Lord Reinhardts castle, to have few protectors stay behind until they could safely escape. Lord Reinhardt sent word to three people in order to get protection for this event. A Countess from a family of Hunters that had shut herself from the world. An old friend of the Lord who traveled the world, hunting dragons. And a Monk with his Apprentice, answering to a higher calling than human.

Meanwhile the Witch of the Wilds was gathering her allies, having gotten an interesting offer from a dragon in the Black Forest. The dragon offered to lend one of their servants the powers of a dragon and give that servant into the Witches hands for the battle. The Witch was intrigued but suspicious, so she asked what the dragon wanted in return. Nothing. It wanted the greater good and it knew that the Witch wanted that too. Adlersbrunn was filled with people and people were filled with fears of the unknown. The Black Forest was filled with the unknown, and therefore they were hunted. Silver bullet battles, witch burnings and burials of the undead had plagued the creatures of the forest for long enough, and it was time for the people to leave them alone. If not by peace, then by force. Junkenstein was a great tool for the Witches cause, but she still needed more power, therefore she agreed to take the servant of the dragon onto the battlefield as her ally.

Chapter 3: Junkensteins Revenge 2, Electric Boogaloo

The fight happens almost the same as last, but this time the tables have turned. The wanderers struggle to keep up with the Summoners dragonfire blasts, the bombs lobbed by Junkenstein and the gunfire from Reapers guns. While they dont win the fight, they manage to hold them off just enough time for the townspeople to flee far away from Junkensteins grasp. Instead of a petrified Lord, Junkenstein is greeted by an empty castle. At first he seems gleeful, running to hop on the throne. Once he sits down and looks around, he bursts into tears. After all these years of pain, he doesnt even get his revenge. He doesnt get to have his victory even at his brightest moment. The monster tries to comfort its creator, succeeding just to quiet him enough for the Witch to speak. Its time for the favor he owes her.

Before, she wanted him to leave the town as well, but seeing how he was alone already she wanted something else. She wanted him to be a guardian for the black forest. No town would ever become of Adlersbrunn ever again and no one would step a foot into Black forest while the doctor was alive, to ensure that the creatures could live in peace.

He accepted, as he was to do, and remained the only human left.

Chapter 4: The time that we dont speak too much about because honestly nothing happens

Some hundred years passed in quiet. Adlersbrunn collapsed and became ruins of what it once was. Junkenstein guarded the forest and helped the creatures inside it, at one point building a bride for his monster. (Nothing too much is said about what happened to her or where she went) The monster learned and lived, helping Junkenstein with his work. Due to both of them having been revived with the spark of life, they had become immortal. (Unless killed) Witch of the Wilds passed peacefully after a long life. Reaper found his head and his curse was lifted. Life was good.

Chapter 5: Junkenstein of Eichenwalde

One day Junkenstein realizes that where Adlersbrunn once was, is now something new. People have come and started building a town, so he disguises himself and goes to investigate. These people have migrated here from the north, calling this place Eichenwalde, and seem to be very nice. They offer him food and water, the kids want to play with him and the grown ups tell stories of the North to him. He doesnt see an issue with them coming here to stay, since they seem nice and the forest has few creatures left to protect. When a little girl tries to run into the woods, Junkenstein holds her back and tells her not to go. Intrigued, the little girl asks why. The doctor starts telling about monsters and creatures to scare the kids, but they are more interested in hearing his ghost stories, so he obliges to tell them one. He tells about a mad scientist who created a monster and how the monster now lurks in the woods. The kids are excited and the adults think of it as a great legend. It becomes a habit for Junkenstein to come into the town to tell ghost stories to kids. One day, when its Halloween, he notices a difference. The town has changed their style into old fashioned clothes, their mechanical cars to wooden carriage and posters of a fake Mad scientist and a Monster litter the walls. The kids are playing as the characters from his stories and running around with mouths filled with candy. The legend has come into a tradition of a reenactment.

One day, a man arrives into the town, and raises some questions in Junkenstein. The man looks like the Lord. Speaks like the Lord. Walks like the Lord. Has the same mannerisms as the Lord. He even introduces himself as Reinhardt to the disguised Junkenstein. The Lord escaped. It would make sense for him to have started again somewhere else. This could be his descendant, without knowledge of the legend. Who would want such an odd story to be passed down to their descendants? Who would even believe it? Junkenstein keeps an eye on the man and, even when he leaves, the monster follows him for a while. It doesnt seem like he is a threat of any kind. The life goes on in Eichenwalde, with Junkenstein telling stories and living his life with the monster. Every year his story is celebrated in front of him, without any idea that it is truer than any other tale told.

The End.

It took me 3 hours to write this down and I know it starts showing at the end. Also, there are still some mysteries in the story that have absolutely no canon to even start theorizing from. (Aka The Sombra Situation. Theres literally only one spray and a skin where she is linked in any way.)

Also, some very fun theories that I didnt know how to incorporate into the story are:

McCree gets bitten by a werewolf after the first fight

The first fight is the original Junkensteins revenge-gamemode. The second fight is the Endless gamemode.

Canonically the countess killed the Monks master, and I like to think its because of this they lost. They couldnt trust eachother.

When Summoner is close by the air gets heated.(Almost Canon. It is implied in voicelines)

Junkenstein is implied to be so chatty that he keeps talking/laughing during the fight

The Countess is from a family of Vampire hunters, who was bitten by a vampire and was ashamed. The reason she joins the battle is to honor her familys name and hunt for one last time.

It took me 3 separate days to research the canon elements, put them onto a paper and theorize around them and now I finally got this written down in here.

If you are interested in the notes I have, here you can read them: (Mostly in english, but might have some finnish words in there)

Now go my children! Hyperfixate onto this and share my pain!

(Also I would appreciate that if you take this theory and post it somewhere else, that you would credit me and tell your friends I said Hi!)

[redmalbec]

My top 10 favorite openings

Yeah I know nobody asked for it, but welcome to discover new music and hopefully new animes/mangas if they catch your eye. I won't include openings of romcoms or a few slice of life stories since I should make a different list for them. I'll add the name of the band if I find it. There's a couple of songs here from animes I didn't watch. If you think there's another amazing opening that should be listened to, share!

BTW I tend to listen to music on Youtube music, if you can support the work of these artists with this app, or Spotify, iTunes, or CDs, please do it!

DURARARA!! [Uragiri no Yuuyake - Theatre Brook]

Wonderful music, I don't have much to add since I haven't watched the anime but it looks interesting. This only time I'll only share the link to the video (couldn't find an official one) since I reach the limit of linked multimedia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5-4eQuExgE

MOB PSYCHO 100 I [99 - Mob Choir]

I always thought this was some uninteresting anime, and well I was totally wrong. The animation is AWESOME, the story is really cool and explores some interesting perspectives about life that other shonen (or seinen?) ignore. It has a different style, it's kinda plain at times (and this might be good because it avoids unnecessary complexity) but in my opinion, much better than some popular animes of the moment. I feel it's very original, and stays as part of my top 10 manga/animes too.

FULL METAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD [Again - YUI]

This might be my favorite song. If I ever fall in a coma, try to wake me up with it, I'm sure it will work. I might be biased because this is the first anime I watched (when I didn't care about these kind of series) and I love it, and it's definitely my favorite (I was lucky to be gifted the first volume in japanese). The melody is calm and the lyrics are heart touching. FMA is a manga and anime you should add to your watch/read list without a doubt. Sharing short version of the song to find the channel of the artist.

BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA [The day - Porno Grafitti]

I will never regret being on the bus playing this song on my phone (with headphones) being seen by people who would think something about the name of the band (like listening to anime openings almost every day wasn't already a weird thing). None of the other songs of BNHA surpassed the greatness of this song IMO.

About it, even though it gets criticism I think it's a good story, and I feel it can be incredibly creative at times - there's a reason why it's so popular after all. I should also remark that it pays attention to a lot of characters, secondary or villains have good development (something that I haven't seen in other shonen or they fail to do it, and remember BNHA has A LOT of characters).

This story is definitely going to be long, I think it's close to reach its first half, expect probably 70 volumes or so.

NARUTO [Kanashimi Wo Yasashisa Ni - Little by Little]

Wait? WHAT? Did you really pick this opening over Silhouette? I mean, no offense to Silhouette and the fantastic band KANA-BOON, but I've listened to it so many times (best memes lol), and I already didn't have it as my favorite. There are other openings that I love (Naruto Shippuden this time): 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15 (Guren is the best one IMO), 16, 17, 20.

You didn't watch Naruto? Then what are you doing here? It's a must watch! It's a shonen with beautiful messages, inspiring characters, and this song probably embodies one positive vibe of the story - best part "the most important things are those without any shape".

PSYCHO PASS [Abnormalize - ling tosite sigure]

This anime is definitely in my favorite list, I feel it's the best seinen I've watched. Its manga is an adaptation, but the original story is the one that's animated. Some people say that season 2 and 3 aren't as good as the first and honestly it's hard to do something more brilliant than the incredible season 1, nonetheless you would miss the progress of the story and interesting characters if you only leave at the first one.

It reaches some philosophical thoughts that not all sci-fi can explore on the same way. Don't expect it to be an easy watch though - you better click pause to understand every dialogue.

SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN [Shinzou wo sasageyo - Linked Horizon]

Yeah, the first opening is AMAZING, but I might have a thing for 2nd openings. I must say that the synchronization of the scenes don't make justice for the melody of this song, though. Attack on Titan might reach the top 5 best shonen (is it shonen anyways?) anime/manga of all time.

I saw everyone talking about it and praising it, so I decided to watch the first episode and I couldn't get through it because of its disturbing art LMAO. My eye is accustomed to other kind of art, but I have to say I WAS TOTALLY WRONG. Good thing the second time I watched it I felt comfortable and discovered not only a mind-blowing story, but yeah, its animation is fantastic (take a peek at a few YT videos showing the process on the making of Levi's scenes). I only follow the manga to be updated, and I'm bad at recognizing characters, but you won't waste time or money by giving this one a chance.

THE PERFECT INSIDER [Talking - KANA BOON]

I tell you, this is a list of favorite openings, it doesn't mean I've watched all the anime, but I'm going to do it thanks to these fantastic songs, and KANA BOON deserved a mention. Also known as "Subete ga F ni Naru" this seinen anime is based on a novel.

MOB PSYCHO 100 II [99.9 - Mob Choir]

Wasn't this anime already on the list? No, no it's not (?) I mean, HOW CAN'T I INCLUDE THIS ONE. Fantastic. I thought I wouldn't be able to fall in love with the new opening but after listening to it twice I couldn't get it off my mind. There's a reason, well deserved reason, why it got chosen for the Crunchyroll awards...

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION [Zankoku na Tenshi no Te-ze - Yoko Takahashi/Hidetoshi Sato]

Starts with an angelic voice to a disco-like rhythm, and it's without a doubt a fantastic song. This might be the most famous opening of anime. Pay attention or watch twice if you want to understand the story, though.

🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹

There is a song that's missing, don't you think so? This one can't be part of a top 10 because it's honestly so amazing that leaving it there would make it shine less, and it deserves the BEST recognition.

Special mention

TOKYO GHOUL [Unravel - TK from ling tosite sigure]

If I'm in a coma and the song Again didn't work, then this one will wake me up FOR SURE. I love how it embodies the angst of the story, the tragedy, the bad luck of the protagonist. I recommend to read the manga instead of keeping too loyal to the anime - it's no surprise that SP messed up with the storytelling of another manga... Did I say how hard it must be to play it on the piano? Or even sing it?

[doubleddenden]

If you're bored in quarantine, here's some stuff you can do or watch

Mind you if I'm missing stuff its probably because I haven't played or watched it.

YouTube channels

Drawfee: artists draw based on a suggestion, commentate over it, and it's funny as hell. They make cute, cool, funny, and horrifying stuff. Julia is always a treat.

Bon Appetit: a few varieties of shows, but its basically a cooking channel with personality. Professional chefs do stuff like recreating every day stuff with gourmet ingredients (hot pockets, pizza rolls, etc); recreate dishes based on taste, smell, and texture alone; or whatever the hell Brad is doing in Its Alive. It's fun. Try it!

Buzzfeed Unsolved: honestly if you haven't tried it, I get it. I tend to stay away from Buzzfeed, but Ryan and Shane basically go over unsolved cases or incidents in the real or supernatural realm and occasionally go out to real locations. Unsolved Supernatural is hilarious because they'll go to haunted houses and Shane will try to taunt demons and Ryan will piss himself. Besides being a time killer, it's funny and genuinely intriguing.

Ruining History: same network, Shane and Ryan, and a few others. Basically Shane gives a history lesson and either it's something not many knew or nobody asked for. Its fun.

Puppet History: Similar tone and vibe, Shane and Ryan again, different network. Watcher is kind of new but Puppet History is hilarious and a decent time killer where a puppet gives you a nice history lesson.

Good Mythical Morning and its affiliates: honestly it's rare to find southerners I can tolerate, speaking AS a southerner, but Rhett and Link are fine guy by my book. They try random shit or do random game show type stuff. My favourites are when they try weird food. Do be careful, some of it can be gross. There is a kitchen channel affiliated called Mythical Kitchen where their chef makes random shit or tries to make really expensive versions of every day stuff.

Snapcube: hilarious woman. Streamer, let's player, singer, voice actress, and she and her friends do Real Time Fan Dubs, where they take cutscenes from games and dub over it with non rehearsed lines. Give her a try. Her voices are really fun too.

Monster Factory: you know the McElroys? Probably. Griffin and Justin create monsters in character makers. It's a fun time. Not reccomended for people with asthma. Like me. You will laugh into a wheezing fit.

Critical Role: honestly I just started, but I'm hooked. A bunch of famous voice actors play DnD. Its hilarious tbh. I reccomend following my friend's advice and starting with campaign 2 since campaign 1 starts in the middle of their adventure.

Sword Art Online ABRIDGED: What if SAO was hilarious, actually written to make the characters likeable and the plot actually made sense in a loose way? This. Trust me when I say that you will quote everything from this series. Everything. Even if you hate SAO, this is objectively miles better than the original.

Podcasts, aka the McElroy power hour

The Adventure Zone: another DnD thing, featuring the McElroys and their dad, Clint. Its hilarious from start to finish and actually has interesting world building. Currently there's 2 finished campaigns and a third currently going along with a few live shows and short stuff, but honestly all of it is good.

My Brother My Brother and Me: Justin, Travis, and Griffin give bad advice. Its great.

Til Death Do Us Blart: the three guys above, and the guys from The Worst Idea of All Time come together every Thanksgiving to review Paul Blart Mall Cop 2. Its AMAZING.

Anime.

We're going to mix long, short, popular and not so popular in here. Google if you're curious. I reccomend these just because I like em. Do beware that if you don't watch much anime, fan service can and will catch you off guard- its unavoidable, so just a heads up.

My Hero Academia

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood (there is a distinction)

Cowboy Beebop

Gundam Iron Blood Orphans

Beyond the Boundary

Violet Evergarden

The Promised Neverland

Konosuba (warning, pretty raunchy but hilarious)

B the Beginning

Gurren Lagann

Dr Stone

Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure (warning for animal cruelty and lots of poop or piss humor. Try not to skip to part 3)

Space Dandy (also very raunchy, especially episode 1, but don't let that scare you away from some of the most unique animations and episodes I've ever seen in some cases).

Demon Slayer

Dororo

Movies

Into the Spiderverse

Guardians of the Galaxy

Summer Wars

Howl's Moving Castle

Wall-E

Lilo and Stitch

So bad, its good movies

Anything by Niel Breen. Look up a drinking game.

Zombeavers

Scary Movie 3

Games (how you acquire these is up to your own discretion)

Pokemon Yellow or Fire Red/Leaf Green, Crystal or Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Emerald, Platinum, Black/ White and Black/White 2, X /Y, Ultra Sun/ Ultra Moon, or Sword/Shield (although the others are better imo). Pick your poison, you can even pick ones I haven't listed. These are just some personal choices. I personally really like Black and White or BW2, but if you haven't played before? X and Y are great starting points. Hacks are also fun. ALSO PLAY COLOSSEUM. XD, AND MYSTERY DUNGEON 1 AND 2, THANK YOU

Sonic Advanced, Adventure 2 Battle, Colors, Rush 1 and Adventure

Mario Sunshine, Galaxy, Odyssey

Kingdom Hearts (now THAT'S a time killer. There should be huge sets you can get that bundle everything together or ps3 versions for cheaper).

Tails of Vesperia

LA Noire

Red Dead Redemption

Saints Row 3 and 4

Breath of the Wild

Wind Waker

Miitopia

Dragon Quest 8 and 11

Digimon Cyber Sleuth 1 and Hacker's Memory

Digimon Dusk and Dawn. Actually have story differences.

Lego Star Wars

Okami

Shadow of the Colossus

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Sly 1, 2, 3 and 4

Rayman Origins and Legends

Psychonauts

Fire Emblem Awakening and 3 Houses

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm games.

Persona 5. I'd also reccomend 3 and 4, but 5 is the easiest to find. Go for 3 FES and 4 The Golden if you do.

Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom

Halo ODST and Reach. I really do not care much about the others

Assassin's Creed 4 and Syndicate

Abzu and Journey

Hobbies and activities to pick up

Dream catchers. Obviously these aren't the real deal but it's nice to keep your hands busy. Vines, twigs, and some yarn go a long way.

Spriting. Do like I did and study video game sprites you're interested in mimicking and start off with some splicing. Then as time goes on, try to scratch sprite if you want. No matter how bad you think it looks, it could probably pass in some indie games.

Drawing. Doesn't matter if you're good or bad, just try it and make it fun!

Writing. Try to set 1 hour for yourself and a friend over Skype or Line or something, write what you can, and read each others results. Try not to criticize too hard.

DnD: it's fun. You probably know people who play. Find a dm, make a character at dndbeyond, and use Roll20 for maps.

Cooking, for realsies

Den's home made stew: got an insta pot or crock pot? Cool. Get some roast beef or leftover meat, let it thaw, and cut it up into chunks before you grill it a bit to brown each side of the meat. Cut up some potatoes, carrots and onions and pour them into the bad boy. Add salt, a couple of handfuls for the potatoes. Pour a box of beef broth into the thing, add your meat, more salt, and add water up to the fill line. Add about one handful of pepper, then you add garlic powder, onion flakes, onion powder, and a dash of cumin to add some smokiness. In an instapot, press the stew button and leave it until it beeps. You'll probably cook it for about 2 hours, but for both the crockpot and instapot you'll know it's done when the potatoes and carrots melt in your mouth and the meat falls apart. There you go. This will feed you n your kin for a few days. Season to taste.

Rice n Sausage: easy stuff. Chop up a sausage log and sear or grill it in a pan, boil or microwave some rice, and add a thing of steamed veggies (any kind works, I like brocolli or asian medley), salt and pepper to taste. Done. Get crazy and add some other stuff if you want, but this is a quick meal.

I'll be thinking of more stuff to add to the list. Stay safe and have fun :)

[jonghours]

hey again💕!! Please don't apologize for writing so much or thinking that you are annoying, because I did read everything you write and I was so impressed and for me it was nice and really cool✨✨ . So thank you for taking the time to the masterlist and also writing your analysis.

The same happened to me, I start liking them when Answer was out and thought 'this is very pleasant and pretty to look at' (the video and scenery not the bois). But I think I should be the one saying SORRY for writing this or bothering you with this, really IM SO SORRY. 

I do have screenshots of every video and I did try to watch them in slow speed so I can see a few small details, that is why I catch the flickering lights and WooSanSang are just looking at the floor full of white of ashes.  

I have the thought of snow because of lighting at certain moments it seems like ashes and the next second like snow, I know its ashes so I'm sorry.

Here is my second thought: they always talk about fire and bright things but ANSWER was like a COLD vibe video (winter clothes and the atmosphere was cold) but in some moments was WARM (with Sang and Yunho).

So my point was 'Maybe they need to go full circle...using all the seasons in order to get to a place or smth' like a ticking clock.

Even Hwa and JH scenes they move against and with the ticking clock. I know it is an analogy for the hourglass, but I find it funny that some scenes move like a clock. Yup I'm very dumb.

(I suck at writing so IM SORRY AGAIN).

But when you said your Idea of Reincarnation I was thinking the same!! but also I was thinking about Equivalent Exchange (yup, full metal alchemist this os why i never write or talk about smth) Something cannot be created from nothing, and so in order to obtain something, something else of equal value must be lost. So they give someone for someone, in order to make them think (to the bigger power or smth) that they have 'that thing' the others are looking and trick them so the 'real ones' can accomplish what they look for (??? I should stop writing)  

Yes, ThanxxTeez is the Beginning/ Real maybe of Halateez and they rebel against a bigger power.

But something in the Diary makes me wonder (knowing that HalaTeez = rebel) 'how is it possible for them to trust this new real ateez? How do they know they are not going to do something different? If they need to begin again, knowing the Fedora Man delivers the cromer, is it because they already try it? Sometimes I think 'you can't expect that everything stays the same if you move from dimension to dimension'

SORRY ...  i swear you are going to hate me for writing bad and writing to much also. You don't deserve this rambling of words. 

[Sorry Again for the lenght and for annoying you!! Sorry, for every mistake in the wording or if something is hard to understand. I'm not very eloquent im english and I get very nervous writing. I realize I never write about the diff rols but I do have a few things on my mind and reading your analysis did help me a lot!But with the diary film, i still got more questions or it makes me think a lot.Sorry!! For bothering you so much with this things I promise I will not write anymore!]

omg don't apologize love 🤧💕 if you do feel bad about writing long asks I could tell you to just message me directly but I understand you might not want to go off anon, but just so you know I'm not bothered at all by your messages 😌

my answer is long so I’ll put it under read more so it won’t be an eyesore in the dash!

tbh I do think ANSWER is special in the sense that it doesn't really belong to a stablished universe/timeline?? since it's the Epilogue and also that might be the reason why they decided to not release the song alongside with WONDERLAND like it was supposed to? to me it just seems like some kind of limbo, like a place of rest apart from everything else? as if thscenarios are metaphors more than real places.. but I don’t know if I’m making sense. about the clokwork like details! most of their choreograohis also have circle formations that remind of a clock, however I feel like it symbolizes more the group as one, as them forming something "whole" but I still don't know what could be apart from them needing to be together to move forward 😔

I don't think they really reincarnate per se, it hasn't been clearly stablished yet if the Cromer works to move to other dimensions, levels, or if it's also capable of going back in time like some clues suggest, but is obvious as of right now that HALAteez try to help Real ATEEZ for some reason. It's true that they have to give something in order to take this journey tho! as the AR pcs said, they have to give up everything they had, which I interpreted as having to give up on their current reality that they can never go back to, which would be a reason of conflict since some members want to go back.

I don't really think they know if they can trust HALAteez, I don't think any of them even know about HALAteez except for Hongjoong who summons the other members. And also Wooyoung for that cryptic line he got in the Diary Version...

[intersex-ionality]

What's the WAS scale? I tried searching, but couldn't find anything relevant...

The Weeb Ass Shit scale is a set of three 1-10 scales:

Weeb: How much cultural knowledge about Japan do you need to be able to follow this plotline.

EG: if there’s a weirdly overpowered student council in an anime, and you’re not familiar with that trope in Japan, it might seem confusing and out of place to you as a western viewer, but you can probably get over it pretty quickly, so that’s a 3 or so. However, if you don’t know about the ways japanese affection and dating are undertaken, you might miss entire romantic subplots in some shows, and just be slapped in the face by two supporting characters “suddenly” getting together, which is more jarring, more difficult to parse, and probably ranks around a 5. If you aren’t extremely well versed on gender and sexual politics and roles in Japan, the entire plot of Kill la Kill is going to be an absolute fiesta of confusion and upsetting nonsense, so it’s probably an 8.

Ass: How much fanservice is there in this anime, compared to equivalent genres and age ratings in non-anime media.

The average Hayao Miyazaki film is aimed at “general family audience,” much like the average disney film, and features a roughly equivalent “no sex to speak of.” So, it’s a 1. Kill la Kill, however, is absolutely slammed packed to the gills with tits and asses and sex metaphors and sex noises and just like, a lot of sex stuff, which is wildly disproportionate to its’ genre (action comedy), but since it’s rated ages 16-18+ (depending on country), it’s not super disproportionate to other raunchy young adult comedies, so probably a 5. 

Shit: A wholly subjective determination of things like, “does the narrative flow well,” and, “is the art technically engaging,” and so on. THIS is where your “I would recommend this/this is terrible don’t watch it” rating goes, independent of the T&A or Cultural Competency ratings.

So, to use a personal favourite anime, Keijo:

Weeb: Fairly low. It’s just a sports competition show. Probably a 2, just for “traveling to a special training camp in the mountains” thing, which isn’t really unique to Japanese media, but it’s got that vibe. ETA: Actually, apparently there’s like, a bunch of cultural puns and stuff, including the literal title of the show being the same sound as a children’s game, so I was wrong and it’s a 4 now.

Ass: 10. The entire premise of the show is to be a sexual competition.

Shit: 7. It’s got a tired old sports-competition-gotta-get-to-nationals storyline, and it doesn’t do much with that. But, the characters are engaging, and each one is highly identifiable in both design and personality, and they carry that narrative so well.

So the WAS that I would personally give to Keijo is 4, 10, 7.

A show like Full Metal Alchemist would be a 1, 1, 9: it requires no particular cultural competency, it has about the level of T&A you would expect from a teen rated action adventure, and the writing and animation are all exceptional.

A movie like Spirited Away would be more of a 4, 1, 10: you don’t need a background understanding of Japanese folklore to enjoy it, but boy does it fucking help. There’s no T&A to speak of, in keeping with its general audiences rating. And it’s hard to conceive of a more beautifully done piece of 2D animation, or a more heart-aching coming of age story.

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 4

Tephi: Okay, guys, it's that episode. And, as I told Ranubis, I would like to speak for my discipline and say that we do not condone Tucker's actions. #not all biologists (You know what, it's really hard to try to be funny after reading this recap, so I'm going to stop.) Onwards with Brotherhood! Last time the Elric Brothers revealed a corrupt priest, and now they’re going to report to Colonel Roy Mustang. And learn about bio-alchemy, according to the last post-credits? Let’s get to it!

We get the Narrator recapping last episode, and he says the priest used alchemy and… ‘a’ Philosopher’s Stone? Wait wait wait, what? He had the real thing? ...that raises many questions, some of which I asked last time. I’ll just keep watching to see if I get some answers this go-around. Ok, never mind then. Should have waited a few more seconds until the Narrator said “revealed to be a fake.” Episode 04: “An Alchemist’s Anguish” Well that’s not an ominous title at all. Late at night in Central (is that the town’s name, or just the keep?) with a freaking-huge moon taking up most of the screen. A State Alchemist is walking along a street and good Leto man, what is going on with your mustache?! Hold on, have to take a screenshot.

What, did you strap a boomerang to your face? How much mustache wax do you use to make those razor-sharp points? Really now, that’s just excessive. Ahem. Anyways, Mr. Mustache comes to a stop and grunts. He sees someone? [Scar] “You are Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist… correct?” Huh. So we’ve got a name for Mister Mustache, but given how we’ve never seen him before, and someone apparently named “Scar” is confronting him at night… taking all bets folks, how long is the Fresh Meat going to last? My money’s on him bowing out in under a minute. Waitaminute, I recognize you from the intro! Your sunglasses don’t fool me, you’re that guy with the white X scar on his face! Appropriate name, I guess. He says Alchemists who have turned against God shall be punished. Another Leto follower? So Basque recognizes him as a “bloodthirsty murderer” who’s been targeting State Alchemists lately… which implies that he’s faced multiple Alchemists, and is here to tell the tale. Uh, Basque? Buddy? You think you might want to call for some backup against someone who’s faced a bunch of… nah, nevermind. You go ahead and equip your engraved gauntlets, I’m sure you can handle it. Ooh, nice power! Punch the ground and summon a bunch of cannons. How effective is it? Not at all! Some chains! The same. Stick him in a vault? Maybe- oh come on dude. “That wasn’t so difficult”? You’re just asking for it now. Yup, grabbed by the face. “Now you perish.” And oh jeez that face-zapping was uncalled for… and right past the minute mark. Seriously, that “battle” went from timestamp 2:54 to 3:54. I think Scar’s credentials have been established. Hey, I know that voice! And THAT voice too! Good to see you guys again, Hughes and Armstrong! And… oh dear. Hughes warned Armstrong to be careful, that he could be the next target, and The Mighty Armstrong… just said “Understood.” No bravado, no boasting, just business. This is serious, isn’t it? Fuhrer Bradley/Fury arrives at the scene, and every Alchemist immediately salutes. Fury looks over the scene, and authorizes Hughes as the officer in charge of the case any additional personnel he needs to track down the traitor. The next day at Central, Riza’s doing paperwork and hands something to a Lieutenant Breda, and ooh a cast of unique characters sitting at a table? Breda gripes about the Colonel letting work pile up, asks for Havoc to help but the blond guy says he’s got enough already. Then [Falman] identifies some guy in the paperwork as a crooked State Alchemist that the Elrics exposed. Messing with a radio is a little guy with glasses, Master Sergeant… aw come on, really? *Sigh* Guess I have to give up on Fuhrer Fury, since we’ve got this little guy named Fuery now. Way to ruin the joke, dude. Anyways, Fuery’s saying he’ll probably have to replace the radio’s receiver… when a familiar white glove in a red sleeve reaches into frame and touches the radio, leaving it good as new. Man, Alchemy sure is handy. Good to see you guys! Now hurry up, the Colonel’s expecting you, and wipe that grimace off your face. Congrats on the Liore incident are in order, although Ed gripes that he didn’t do it for them. And the stone ended up being fake, but Cornello still got power from it. How does that work? Neither brother knows much about the field of bio-alchemy. Roy recommends they consult a specialist, pulls a file on The Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker, who’s done research into chimera transmutation. Well that’s nice of- for Leto’s sake Ed, stop ranting at your boss. He is your boss, remember? But Roy insists he’s trying to repay them for the Liore case, as “doing you a favor is better than being indebted to you.” Panning across the city now, Roy talking about how two years ago Tucker transmuted a chimera that could understand human speech, earning his certification as a State Alchemist. So it could talk? Huh, interesting. I assumed chimeras were brute-force creatures like the one Cornello used. But bio-alchemy can create communication-capable creatures? Not sure what to think about the ramifications- Oh what the hell. Concerns multiplied. “It only said one thing: ‘I want to die.’” And then it refused to eat until it got its wish. Um. Ok. I am now rather suspicious of bio-alchemy. Standard alchemy that we’ve seen has mostly been similar to basic magic or elemental control. But creating a communicative creature that wishes only for death? That sounds more like the thing a State Alchemist would be sent after to shut down, not say “Nice job, here’s a badge!” Alright, moving on. The Elrics and Roy are at a house now, Ed’s remarking on how big it is- Dog! Giant dog just glomped Ed, Al’s all worried about his big brother who’s stuck under a cheerful dog. Then the door opens? A little girl (Nina) tells her father there are people outside, he gently reminds her this was why she needed to keep the dog tied up. Heh. Inside, the camera’s panning over a bunch of dusty books and scrolls, and some very… used dishes in a sink. Tucker apologizes for the mess, ever since his wife… “ran out”? What’s the story there? Tucker fixes some tea, says that he’s pleased to meet Edward. And he’s more than happy to show his research. However, he does ask that if he’s showing some of his tricks, that Ed could show some as well. “It’s the code we live by - equivalent exchange.” EEC: 7 Outside, Nina’s playing with the dog, braids it a headband of flowers. Daw, that’s cute. Bit of a contrast with the inside, as it seems Ed’s told Tucker the story of their attempted Human Transmutation. Which begs the question, if Human Transmutation is taboo, what makes bio-alchemy different? In any case, Tucker lets the Elrics take a look at his laboratory- gah! Head in jar! Cerberus creature! Lots of other creepy stuff in jars! Guh, I’m not a big fan of biology, sorry. Tucker’s apologizing, saying he’s regarded as an authority on chimeras, but it hasn’t been going well that lately. What does that mean? They move on, reaching Tucker’s library and forget the creepy lab I wanna be there now. Look at all those books! The brothers dive into reading, and Roy says he’ll head back to work and have someone pick them up in the evening. But Ed doesn’t even hear Roy he’s so focused in the book. Tucker chuckles that they don’t even know they’re there anymore… Um, Tucker? What’s with the glasses push and grin? Like, you smiled in the lab at one point and I didn’t mention it, but now here’s a second smile and a glasses-push? Really getting some Bad Scientist vibes here. What’s going on? Uh, ok. Moving on, it’s later and Ed’s surrounded by piles of books now. Al’s over by a shelf with his own and- hey, it’s Nina! The little girl just poked her head around the aisle to look at the giant suit of armor, runs off when Al notices her. Then pokes her head back around to [Playful Music]. Ed breaks out his studies at hearing [childlike laughter], walks over to see Al giving Nina a piggyback ride. Daw. But of course Ed has to be a grump, yell at Al for playing horsie instead of- Dog! And Nina says Alexander wants to play too. Ed enters Dramatic Mode, saying that the dog’s bested him twice, but no more! And Ed races after the “mangy mutt”, while Nina just laughs. Late afternoon now, Havoc is telling the “chief” his ride has arrived. Ah, Havoc was sent to pick the brothers up. And looks like Ed wasn’t very successful against Alexander, he’s down for the count again. Havoc’s walking the boys out now, passes on a message to Tucker that “Assessment Day is coming soon”. What’s that? And why was Tucker so serious when he said that he knew? I’m guessing it’s like a checkup exam for SAs, to renew their certification. *Sigh* Look, Tucker? I’m getting a lot of mixed signals from you. First you made a creature that wished for death, but then you were a kind father, then you smirked and did a Glasses Push, then you made a dog pun, but now you’re all serious about “Assessment Day” and clutching the door handles? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think about you. Nina asks what “Assessment Day” means, Tucker confirms SAs have to do a research report once a year to keep their certification. Last year Tucker didn’t get a very good evaluation, and unless he does something really impressive this year he won’t be a State Alchemist anymore. Nina proclaims that Tucker will do great, with how much he studies. But Tucker just [laughs nervously], says that he’ll try hard… ‘Or we’ll be left with nothing… again.’ Bad feelings keep gathering. Not sure what’s happening. [Sentimental Music] the next day, the Elrics are back and studying. Al’s talking with Nina about her mother, who left two years ago to live at her parents’ house. Why’d she leave? I mean, Tucker said she “ran off”, did they have an argument? Assuming about his studies or something, not sure why though. She was clearly with him long enough to have a child who I’m fairly certain is much older than two, so she would have been around for all the bio-alchemy. So what caused the split? Al remarks that it must be lonely, the two of them in a big house. But Nina’s happy with her daddy and Alexander. Although Tucker’s been studying in the lab all the time lately. Cramming for his exam? Ooh, flashback! Baby!Elric Brothers looking through a door - hey, I know that hair! That’s that blond ponytail guy from the intro, can’t see his face to confirm the beard but I recognize the ponytail! So he’s the absent Elric father? What’s his story? Ed just shut his book? Oh, good for you! He claims his shoulders are stiff, and when Al suggests he move around some Al goes and challenges Alexander again. Daw, props to you Ed, putting aside studies for Nina. That’s really nice of you. As [Goofy Happy Piano] music plays, Ed runs around with Nina chasing him on Alexander. But then he turns the tables, transmuting his arm into a sharp-toothed puppet (complete with the little spring of blond hair) as he chases them! Al serves as a slide for Nina, Alexander gets the drop on poor Ed again… lots of happiness and laughter outside. But inside… Tucker’s sitting at a table, head in his hands. What’s wrong? Why are you so worried about Assessment Day? You’ve done it before, right? And you’ve been studying like crazy. So what’s the problem? Back in Central, Hughes is wondering about Scar, why he’s targeting State Alchemists instead of easier targets like the military police. Armstrong thinks that the fact they’re State Alchemists is the reason he’s attacking them. But for what reason? Their pay, their status? Or failure to uphold their creed: “Alchemist, be thou for the people.” A concern that alchemists are supposed to be pillars of science and truth but are turning into weapons for the military. And there are many people who have not forgotten the role of State Alchemists in the Ishvalan Civil War. There’s Ishvale again, another mention of this mysterious conflict prior to the show. What’s the story there? It’s been mentioned so often I know it’s gotta come up soon, but right now I know next to nothing about it. What was the deal? An orderly interrupts the conversation, reports that a man with a large scar on his face was seen the night before at the train station. So he got away? Later that day, [Melancholy Music] at Tucker’s house, where he’s telling the Elrics about life before his State Alchemist certification. The family was poor, Mrs. Tucker couldn’t stand living like that, and we’ve got a picture of Tucker and the wife yelling at eachother while Nina cowers behind Alexander. Jeez. Tucker’s saying he can’t afford to fail the examination. Hmm, maybe you could ask the Elrics for help? I mean, they’re crazy-good at alchemy, I’m sure they could help with your studying. Or maybe take up Nina’s offer of her and Alexander growling at the test-givers until they say yes. Aw, Tucker just offered to play with Nina the next day. Yeah, there you go, spend some time with Nina, then study with the Elrics until you’re ready! The next day… it’s really cloudy. Why is it cloudy? Oh no. No no no. Do not do this to me, show. You do NOT make things go bad when they were so cute earlier. Do NOT do this. Ok, so what’s going to happen? Doorbell’s ringing, but no-one is answering. Al opened the door, called for Mr. Tucker, but nothing. Al and Ed are walking through the house, calling for Tucker and Nina, but nothing. And I mean nothing, there isn’t even any music playing right now. Door opens to to what no nonono nonononononononononono tucker is kneeling in front of something something with dog paws and long brown hair what did you do what the FUCK did you do “I did it boys. I finally did it.” A chimera that understand human speech. Ed. Al. What the hell are you both doing just standing there. Do you seriously not realize what’s going on. Do you realize where Nina Nina The thing is just repeating “That person… Ed… ward.” I don’t want to see this. “Big Brother Ed.” And the penny drops. Ed asks when Tucker first got his certification. He confirms it was two years ago. And his wife “left” two years ago too. Oh, don’t you act so surprised that Ed figured it out so quickly, you bastard! Ed, kick his teeth in! Did… did you really just say “this is how we progress” in regards to transmuting your dog and your own daughter to make this creature?! To maintain your fucking CERTIFICATION?! Human experimentation as a necessary process? For WHAT?! You’re comparing yourself to Edward, saying you’re the same? Far from it! He made a mistake trying to bring back a family member! You’ve used yours to get paid! Al just grabbed Ed’s arm, said that if he keeps the beating up that Tucker would die. I am really, really having a hard time seeing that as a bad thing right now. Oh. “Edward… no.” Not in front of his daughter. “Daddy, do you… hurt? Daddy?” I can’t. Al’s apologizing to… the chimera. Saying that with all their power, they can’t change Nina back. The chimera just asks if they can play. And Tucker just rants about how he “passed.” Riza and Roy are discussing the case. Ed and All are sitting on the steps outside of Central in the rain. Roy tells the Elrics that they are likely to see more cases like this in the future. And have to get their hands dirty. Then he asks if they’re going to shut down like this every time. Ed says that them being called dogs of the military, cursed as devils… it doesn’t matter, they’re still going to get their bodies back. They’re not devils. They’re not gods. They’re only human. They can’t… “even do anything to save one innocent little girl. So what good are we then?” … In a room, the chimera and Tucker are facing each other. Tucker is whining about how “no one’s capable of understanding me.” And then someone enters the room. It’s Scar. “You’re Shou Tucker, correct?” … … ...do it. But the chimera saw it. Scar walks towards the chimera. “God… hear me. Two human souls have just been returned to you. Please accept them into your loving arms. Please grant these poor, lost souls everlasting peace and salvation.” ...credits. “The rain pours down in East City. Still grief-stricken over the death of Nina, Ed and Al are attacked by the mysterious man, Scar. In a moment of crisis, Ed must make a desperate decision, while the life of his brother hangs in the balance. Next time, on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-” Episode 05: Rain of Sorrows”

[twitchesandstitches]

Matriatrix - Great Hunger, Great Potential, and SUPER Weird

I don’t believe I’ve done a write up or explaination of Sierra’s vore/pregnancy themed magical artifact, the Matriatrix, so here’s a quick one to clarify some things:

It’s largely based on the Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts, with a hint of a more benign form of All For One’s powers from BNHA (with some of the way that One For All works), but themed around vore and hyper pregnancy, with a thematic association with mutation, and evolution. This also sets up the MILF Fleet’s own theme of constantly changing and evolving, and having something of a Thing about body modification.

It’s not so much a device or relic Sierra uses; it is a part of her, a battery of divine energy that is part of her soul now. It’s not that it gives her powers, but those powers are a part of her now. She doesn’t summon it, she produces a projection of it from her body.

Generally it looks like a large surfboard-shaped chunk of black metal, streaked with whatever materials it has consumed lately (and magical streaks, in the case of eating magic or living beings), with most of it taken up by a helix design like DNA, and near the base is a crossguard-like Venus design; you know, a big circle with a small plus at the bottom? That one symbol that tends to mean ‘feminine’’.

That helix can split apart into a massive pair of jaws, complete with teeth and oozing drool, and swallow whole anything it can catch. This effectively deposits it into Sierra’s stomach, and digestion usually happens instantly unless they are strong enough to escape and pop back outside her. She can also manifest a large energy tongue from it, which often lolls and wraps around her body in some very lewd, suggestive ways.

But this isn’t a great form for combat, and its powers are very limited in this state; it can only do basic functions. So she can feed it new things to give it additional forms and powers to go with them! If she consumes a sword, it transforms into a gigantic sword form, and can now cut with magic. She eats a spear, the same principle applies. A gun? Now it’s a huge cannon that shoots magic and chunks of digested attacks! A shield? Now she has an powerful defense that absorbs attacks! Any thing can become a new form for it, from forks to snowboards to high heels. Generally these forms are super weird looking, really elaborate, and bigger than she is. Imagine a combination of the weapons from Bayonetta and Monster Hunter for inspiration.

THE POWERS

Firstly, it consumes!

Sierra can devour pretty much anything; gulping things down in a single move. Whether its her jaws stretching or things just fitting in her throat. Her plush lips can suction things right into her belly with a single kiss or slurp, and other abilities let her absorb targets directly. Her digestion is very powerful, almost instantly breaking down material objects and turning them into raw power and curves. If she does this without materializing the Matriatrix, this often involves minor mutations to her mouth; bigger plump lips, sharp teeth, a metal cast to her jaws, and so forth.

She can consume people too; even friends! However this is not at all fatal. Whenever she consumes people, it is painless, even deeply pleasurable. More so as their souls merge with hers, lovingly cradled and dominated by her mind, and give her more power and access to what they know. She can eject them in their original bodies, or if they have been permanently digested, she can make new ones later on. Foes, on the other hand, can have their souls digested, genuinely slaying them, but she prefers not to do this if she can avoid it. This gives her a HUGE power boost, though.

The Matriatrix can siphon off physical traits like wings and scales from the beings she meets, either willingly or by her consuming them. She can do something like this with superpowers, and whether its powers or traits, she permanently adds them to the Matriatrix’s library, to be used with other abilities.

Another thing Sierra can do is ‘consume’ abstract things and gain them for herself. This can be physical traits and powers, temporarily taking them from a foe, or it can be things like curve size, physical mass, and so on. In the case of physical size, she will grow larger and they will shrink. Note that since she can do this in a wide radious, she could possibly shrink a huge group of people and grow massive from it all, into a full fledged giantess.

The other side of it is pregnancy vibes; Sierra can have a limitless number of children, in the hundreds or more, while her belly only seems to expand beyond ‘bigger than a beach ball’. Her fertility is impossibly strong, to the point that she can have children with people who shouldn’t be able to get her pregnant at all, or with no possibility of biological compatability. As long as she has positive feelings for them, she gets pregnant with LOVE. (At least she puts it that way.) She can extend this pregnancy however long she wants.

Additionally, she can freely alter each individual child, to the point of creating an entire new species that way. The traits she has gained can be applied to them, modifying them however she wants, and she can also give them superpowers in the same way. Of note, she can become pregnant just by willing it, using her pregnancy powers as a medium for creating life; the resulting creations have no genetic relation to her or each other, allowing them to interbreed without problematic issues at work.

And, she grows stronger with each child she creates; her fertility gets even more powerful, her energy regenerating. She grows taller, more gigantic, and her curves get even more massive. Mass reproducing and churning out entire new species on her own amplifies her powers, and restores strength she might have lost through over-exertion.

She can also absorb other beings into herself, effectively unbirthing them! In this state she can alter their bodies and mutate them as she pleases - provided she has the traits in stock - give them superpowers, and heal them fairly quickly. Around the recently deceased, she can suck up their souls and save them, and in fact, if she has a consumed soul in her - such as by digesting those she gobbles up - she can gestate new bodies for them. Note that she has a huge influence over the minds of the people she has inside her; they are overwhelmed with rapturous pleasure at being so bonded to her, and she can thus rehabilitate them or even suggest things to their minds if she so chooses.

Note that she can absorb as many souls as she wants; she gets stronger with each one, but apart from giving her bigger curves, it doesn’t mean a direct effect to her.

Sierra’s pregnancy powers also lets her gestate genuine monsters, engineered to be fighty brutes and with all the powers she can manage. They can be mindless fighters loyal to anyone she likes, or more intelligent creatures that are effectively pets. It’s up to her, but it’s easiest to create less intelligent creatures.

Sierra can also gestate powers, creating functional abilities she can then grant to others or herself, giving them complexity as she carries them, and she may have to do this in order to make those powers useful.

The last set of her powers are mutation-based, letting her transform things. She can, for instance, transmute Fullmetal Alchemist-style, breaking down physical matter and reshaping it into a new form, or using it as raw materials. This requires that she knows what she’s working with, but she could also consume it, and then transmute it with her now intimate knowledge of its composition, perhaps ejecting it as projectiles in whatever form she likes. She can create basically anything, such as working weapons and giant cannons, as long as she has the right materials on hand.

She can transform things around her, such as mutating herself with the various traits she has absorbed or giving powers to others or herself. Of note, she has to actually have them on hand; Sierra always deposits the traits and powers she has gained into magical stockpiles for her fleet to work with. She can take completed mods, powers and similar things and infuse them into people to transform them, however. She can also transform others to have deleterious effects, such as being made of gelatin or frozen solid, if she has those powers on hand.

She’s quite good at gigantification, and likes to have a store of potential size, either to grow the Matriatrix to huge sizes for fun, to turn herself into a giantess without having to draw on her own power, and to empower her allies.

Sierra’s greatest use of this power is to create the Endowed; people with similar powers to her own. She infuses a great deal of her energy into them, permanently giving devouring and fertility powers like what she has. The consuming and pregnancy powers that she has, they will also permanently have, and grow stronger with mass pregnancies and consume, just as she can! All the strongest moms of the MILF Fleet are Endowed. However, this technique takes a lot out of her.

If she has a power loaded into the Matriatrix, she can use that power more or less freely, in conjunction with the abilities granted by its current form. This is the main way she uses its powers at all!

Finally, she can directly control magic and craft spells; in theory she could do anything with this ability, but in practice, she has a really hard time getting this to work, and has to be pushed to try mastering it at all.

DRAWBACKS

It’s sheer hunger is a major flaw; if Sierra cannot consume anything or absorb energy to fuel her abilities, she will quickly be unable to fight effectively; tank-type foes are some of her worst match ups.

Additionally, it does compell her to make babies whenever possible; if she’s not careful, she will start going heart-eyes yandere over anyone that impresses her or that she’s affectionate for. While this will build up her power, this, along with her urge to consume, can rapidly cause her to become a hedonist craving only more food and mates, rampaging about for snacks and cuties. As a result, she has to limit actively using the Matriatrix, or risk getting overwhelmed. The other MILFs can be subject to this problem as well, if they don’t reign in their hungers.

More practically, Sierra’s powers are limited to whatever form she’s given the Matriatrix, or her own boosted capabilities. This basically means brute force power blasting and crude transmutation, normally, and while she has work arounds for this (a store of weapons on-hand, for instance), it is still a major fault.

The Endowed are also subject to the compulsions and hungers their powers can induce in them, as well!

[tirnelsutcliff]

It's time foooorrrr...!!!

Another edition of WTF did I just watch?

It's been awhile! Today's edition, I haven't even finished watching! I'm only like 15 minutes into it and rage quit twice. What is it I am watching, you ask?

SPOILERS

The full metal alchemist live action film!

😧 oh my god, this movie. I can't. Pretty much all live actions based of manga/anime are pretty bad, with a few exceptions. The black butler film, I knew what I was getting into and was able to enjoy it. The second Death Note (way far away from its source material) was told quite well. But this...?

When my friend mentioned it to me and how awful it was, I thought maybe he was just being picky cause it's not just like the original sources as he is known to be. And I knew not to expect EVERYTHING and a perfect retelling etc going in. Well...

We start off with Ed and Al making that little toy they then show to their mom. Some weird cgi/animation going on throughout the sequence...the transmuting, ok..kinda weird but ok. Mom dies. And of course we go into then transmuting her.

Al get...carried away into a...tornado..??????

Cut to title and then, the city of Liore....

I'm sorry. Reole. 😐.

Cornello is running down obscenely vacant streets of some Mediterranean looking city (like in italy or greece). Here comes Ed (omg, that wig) chasing after on rooftop, pounces Cornello. Cornello then starts to beat the shit out of Ed with his alchemy...Ed not fighting back for some reason, even going to the point of when being knocked to the ground chuckling and saying, "A philosopher's stone," all dreamy like.

Chimera time!!!....uh no..wtf are those?!

Spiky growly fleshy dog beasts?

He makes his staff with his weird transmutation graphics, yada, yada, Al shows up who is kinda cool looking, kind of uncanny valley. There's some weird editing where Cornello, after Al is revealed to be empty asks, "What are you two?" Then followed by revealing Ed's automail. They finally run into a place filled with people and Cornello grabs I presume Rose and holds her hostage while Ed is like, "You see? He's a fake!" They finally kick his ass (with some weird slowmo halfass punch).

The stone breaks from the ring and falls to the ground. Then freakin COLONEL MUSTANG and Riza Hawkeye show up with a bunch of soldiers...wtf is going on?! Arrest Cornello and detain Ed for "running amok". The stone is revealed to be fake.

Al does essentially the "broken radio scene" only he is by himself and he's removing a statue ed had made during battle. Winry shows up. (Eeehh..I don't expect everything and everyone to look spot on from the series and she wasn'ton long enough for me to give a definite opinion).

Then we get a nice shot of envy, lust, and gluttony and that is where I currently am. They look AMAZING.

The acting so far...eeeeeehhhh...kinda weird, not that good, in my opinion. Again, just my opinion. Like Ed during that whole battle scene. I didn't get "Edward Elrich" I got some cosplayer making a video for youtube for some fun. The only time I've sorta felt the Edward vibe is when he made that statue and it looked like something he would create.

Like I said, I don't expect for everything to be the same, but there was enough here that the changes didn't make sense in my opinion. And just the overall cinematography is bizarre, from the scenes to the directing to the acting. The transmuting takes too long. Like Cornello could have wiped Ed out by the time his transmuting was complete.

But it has Dean Fujioka in it, so I'm gonna try to finish it. Also for the sake of curiosity and I'm a glutton for punishment.

Can you hear my heart beat? Tired of feeling never enough....

[justdungeonmasterthings]

Clockwork Lives

(Kevin J Anderson)

By So really good steam punk setting book. It has a huge “full metal alchemist” vibe to it, even with a government conspiracy. It really add some neat twists and flavor to classic steam punk stories, as well as showing great character development for the main protagonist. I will say the ending was a bit less than what i expected but i still enjoyed the happy ending. I felt it moved quick at first and went through all the good bits at the beginning of the story and towards the middle was mostly filler but it did pick back up.

I’d give it a 7/10 personally

(Spoilers)

I love the idea of a quest for stories, using an “alchemicial” (enchanted) book that takes a single drop of blood and writes the TRUE story to its most simple and raw form for a person. Some people have pages some people have a single sentence. It would be interesting for a character like a bard or a knowledge domain cleric or even a wizard.

Underworld Books with its dimension hopping opalesque mirror is absolutely AMAZING. A book shop with books and maps from other universes! Don’t have a map of the desert? Well the desert is similar to the desert of another universe maybe their map will work within a slight variance

The Wreckers floating island of Salvaged ships is a neat take on a Pirate City and I’ll probably incorporate it

The pick pocket story with the “necromancer” and coming to grips with his first kill was a nice addition, though i felt the mirror with the trapped wizard was more interesting than the rest of his story.

I like the concept of quintessence, a raw form of primordial life that pulses through the earth like elemental blood. The alchemical mining operations also added a neat flavor to a world full of chemistry

[tedoculus]

Okay, I finished the last episode. My thoughts above are all spoiler free but now spoilers and more thoughts.

So I was curious what the rating/review consensus was and the aggregate numbers are really high but as I was scrolling through and the little negative blurbs stuck out to me, and I read this review on Vox.

I felt like my prediction above was ultimately wrong but only in the last final monologue, which is clearly a direct analogue to the writer's personal journey as a person. Which is that they started as a Catholic and wound up as a humanist/atheist who finds beauty and hope in a vague life is the universe experiencing itself, one is all, all is one, individuality is an illusion, Full Metal Alchemist Buddhism vibes. And that whole monologue definitely feels like direct definitive dismissal of other Faiths as Plausible, which I wasn't expecting. Like I don't think the show can make that the final Statement and still be agnostic and say to Christians maybe you ARE right and say to Muslims maybe you ARE right etc etc. The show as a piece of media is saying, "this is what I think is true, and for it to be true these other narratives must be false."

And the person in that Vox review feels left out by this show because of their atheism, and because so much benign Christianity is constantly exhibited in the show without constant direct condemnation, except by the actual plot. They make a point to say that the show feels hollow and lacks depth. But... it is THE most poignant denouncement of Faith through art and not words.

Christianity, as a whole, as a large complicated parasitic entity destroys this entire community. The people on this island with a population of 160 are a single community, they feel separated and unique from the entire rest of civilization. They feel bound to this place and they mourn its inevitable end. And it is unequivocally erased from existence by their religion. Every building, every boat, even their bodies and bones are disintegrated by the sun.

I don't understand what is so confusing for some people about the idea that you can't change people's perspectives while actively telling them you hate them. And that's what this show could potentially do, it has a potential to actually change some actual real living breathing human person's perspective from Faith to Non-Faith, or at the very least from Blind Faith to Reasonably Mindful.

The deepest and most profound way for Art to do a thing is through the experience of it, and the deep symbolic substance of what it is, and NOT through rhetoric! You cannot analyze the substance of this show and say that it does not present Non-Christians as the only real heroes of the narrative. The few Christians who perform minor heroic acts are ONLY doing it for the love of family members. The ONLY actual selfless heroes are Non-Christians. And they are saving all of humanity from this community.

It's one thing to say to Christians, this thing that gives you hope and joy is damaging to me and people like me and I don't like that because it isn't fair or nice. And it's another thing entirely to say, this thing that gives you hope and joy has the potential to obliterate you, your family, and your community from the face of the Earth. Not because it's evil, and not because you're stupid, but because of how blind you are to its influence over you, and how central it is to your community and its power structures.

holy FUCK is Midnight Mass a trip and a half.

[anvari-lockette-blog]

I've been developing this story solely based on character concepts and it's really fun. I have an innate feel, atmosphere, conflict etc. That I've established goals for but the characters depth and what not comes first. Through that, I've developed a really cool story, able to connect some loose concepts that would perhaps make the story more interesting as a whole while still maintaining its original feel. From my perspective it's giving me a full metal alchemist vibe but I really doubt they're even relatively similar considering I haven't watched it in a long time and don't remember anything about it but a few images left in my memory

[lair-of-books]

Title: Everless (Untitled #1)

Author: Sara Holland

Pub. Date: January 2nd, 2017

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 336

Format: eGalley

*Thank you HarperTeen, Edelweiss, and Sara Holland for the early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

    In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

Everless takes the title for debut YA Fantasy that surprised the hell outta me in a very good way! I read a TON of YA Fantasy & it’s been increasingly difficult to find ones that keep me invested in the story start to finish. Perhaps it’s the mystery at its core that sucks you in or the concept of time equals money in the literal sense that make Everless a solid start to this (untitled) series. In the Kingdom of Sempera there are stories passed down to children about the Sorcerer and Alchemist who were always at odds and eventually bound time to blood and metal. The wealthy tax the poor & continue to add on years to their own lives. In Everless, the Gerlings are at the top of the aristocracy and our MC Jules used to live in the palace alongside her father until they were evicted. We are given some vague details about the incident that led to them being thrown out of Everless but we know that Jules has never forgotten or forgiven those she feels are responsible.

Living just outside of Everless’ walls, Jules & her father start over however, it hasn’t been easy financially and he forbids her from bloodletting. Since rent & taxes are collected by way of blood, Jules’ dad isn’t doing to good when we first meet him. Jules tries to respect his wishes however, seeing his life be drained away each & every time he gives up blood  while she stands idly by just isn’t something she could do. Headed back to Everless as a young woman now, she hopes no one will recognize her while she attempts to earn enough blood-iron to buy back her fathers time. With each bloodletting a person loses time from their lives, Jules knows her dad doesn’t have much time left to give. She wasn’t expecting to run into so many familiar faces or for them to remember her as the blacksmiths daughter. She also doesn’t know how deeply in danger she really is being inside the Everless walls…

*Pictures from Pinterest not my own

I’m a sucker for stories that feature tight bonds between father & daughter which we get as soon as we jump into this book. Pehr aka Jules’ Dad just wants to keep her safe & live normal lives away from Everless. He definitely holds many secrets that he hopes will remain so for the safety & well being of Jules. Our MC Jules has a lot  to learn! this book was full of plot twists that often left Jules looking very naive. There’s more than meets the eye with Jules & this first installment was really about her journey to self-discovery. I am very curious to see the Jules we will be reunited with in the sequel since  the epilogue was pretty bad a**! We also meet the Gerling brothers Liam & Roan, these two remember playing games with Jules when they were children. Jules has always carried feelings towards Roan while despising & blaming Liam for much of her misfortune. In the background we have the Everless kitchen staff who instantly gave me Downton Abbey vibes & since I loved that show, this was a real treat! within the staff Jules finds a friend or two which gives us some positive f/f interactions. Last but not least we have the mysterious and cold Queen who honestly can give Queen Levana (Lunar Chronicles) a run for her $$$! She’s lived centuries off of bloodletting the poor & is no stranger to the battlefield. Whatever you do, DON’T TOUCH THE QUUEN! There are two characters I am purposely leaving out cause spoilers even though i find them to be very interesting 😉

Although Everless is a YA Fantasy, it managed to also blend in a mystery that I enjoyed piecing together. Yes, some parts felt predictable & I could see where it was going but the plot twists definitely kept things interesting. Everless accomplished what many YA Fantasies I read this year haven’t…it set down a strong foundation it can build upon for the rest of the series. It isn’t fast paced nor filled with action in every scene however, the world building is on point! the whispered stories of the Sorcerer & Alchemist keep you questioning whether or not you believe in their existence. A lot of times you are questioning things right alongside our MC Jules. It was interesting seeing Jules compare her 7 year old POV vs. now at the age of 17. Perspective really is key in Everless which I found pretty neat. The last chapter or two left me with plenty of questions hopefully setting up the sequel for a strong head start. In the sequel my only hope is to see more character growth in Jules which I have a feeling is the direction she’s going in. Lastly, this first book was very much a mystery that unravels at the very end, my hope is to see more action scenes & more of the plot twists sooner into the next book. Everless kept me turning the pages effortlessly, I had to know what was what & who was a friend or foe. At times I saw a move coming in advance & Other I was left pleasantly surprised. This is one where you’ll enjoy gathering the bits and pieces of information that form a complex history for all key players 😉

HAPPY FRIDAY BOOKWORMS!!! Everless will be hitting the shelves this Tuesday January 2nd! I’m currently trying to choose a cover since both the U.K and U.S. did an amazing job! *heart eyes* can you imagine paying your rent in blood iron? tbh it can feel like I already am, what with living in NYC all my life LOL! will you be giving Everless a go? If you’ve already read it, how’d it fare with you? Sound off in the comments <3’s!

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Spoiler Free Review: Everless by Sara Holland Title: Everless (Untitled #1) Author: Sara Holland Pub. Date: January 2nd, 2017 Genre: YA Fantasy Publisher: