#one minute i was talking about fma

[brobiwan-kenobi-412]

Being normal is nice, but have you ever staged a trial in which Edward Elric was accused of biting Leon Kennedy from RE4, who was then accused of killing Edward for biting him, which then turned into a kidnapping trial, which then turned into a missing persons trial, which then turned into a secret mission to get them both back from the moss??

Me neither pass the bottle /ref

[patron-saints]

i was tagged by @memesmadefullmetal in a "list 5 topics you can talk on for an hour without preparing any material" post, which, what an honor, hello <3

so!

fullmetal alchemist brotherhood/manga (but i could honestly just do an hour on femslash rarepairs no problem)

tenchi universe: character analysis, ship dynamics, writing choices, inconsistent timelines, gender, you pick

MDZS/CQL/the untamed: recently @waitineedaname and i did a phone call where we basically talked about the untamed for 6 hours without stopping so i'm pretty confident i could carry just one on my own lol

trying to think of things that AREN'T fiction is really hard because most of the stuff i'm really passionate about is fiction BUT i actually am developing somewhat of an academic expertise on queer culture in the 1940s-60s in the US or at least an expertise on how to best research it! i made a guide with over 150 sources and i've written a paper on historic butch/femme culture too

cheese! it's my favorite food and i used to work at a cheese shop so i know a lot of fun facts

tagging: @waitineedaname @acornered @iernos @bunramen and @princeheathen but no pressure!!

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

Can I ask, if you have top favorite romantic couples (can be canon or non canon) of all time from any media? Why love them? Thx :D

... now this, took a minute to answer in some ways. There a lot of ships I like, so this was really easy and hard to answer at the same time. Some ships it was an immediate yep yep and others I had to go '... but is it a fav of all time, though?" But I think I got it narrowed down.

So here we go, fav ships of all time from any media, no particular order. I didn't get any specific no. to do so I'll just list a handful until I can't think of any others. (Anyone who comes across this that sees a ship on here you don't like and feels the need to say something about it, stay in your lane this ain't about your opinions it's about mine.)

The main FMA ships

Arakawa Hiromu, nigga, you cooked. Imma just put the FMA ships as one and leave it there because if I do it separately, we'll be here all day. But if you wanna see me diving into why I like these ships in a manic ramble, here's a post I made on that here. The romance in FMA is literally a category and a discussion all on its own that I can go about on for hours. FMA has the best romances in shounen so anyone who has consumed FMA will know what I'm talking about. Like, whenever anyone tries to use a manga being 'shounen' to justify shitty romantic writing, I point at FMA's brilliant riding. An animanga's demographic is not an excuse for terrible executions in romance. EdWin, RoyAi, LingFan, AlMei and all the side ships drank and left no molecules.

NaruSaku

Toxic shippers, again, stay in your lane, I don't feel like dealing with y'all any day. I have been shipping this shit for years, always have, always will. Ignore the fact I ship Sakura with literally everyone from the Akatsuki to Hinata to Sai to Shikamaru. (Y'all I used to look up Kisame/Sakura fics, unironically TAT). (Same for Naruto honestly, I've shipped him with Sasuke, Ino, Temari, Tenten, the list goes on and on.) The way Sakura goes from finding Naruto annoying to almost dying multiple times to keep him safe, I will never EVER be over that. Naruto's love going from puppy to something as passionately red as the thread of fate itself. The MinaKushi parallels. I have a lot (and I mean a lot) of ships in Naruto pertaining to these two, but NaruSaku is my absolute favorite. Like it was literally confirmed that Sakura got over Sasuke and then it got retconned for some bullshit. Saying it with my whole chest, argue with a wall, it should have been them. I won't dog any other ships, but yeah, it should have been them. 699 chapters of Naruto being in love with one woman, I sing the praises everyday.

SakuHina

Hinata's prince charming is literally Sakura. I have a whole ass fic I am slowly, painstakingly writing about what Naruto would have been like if Hinata had a crush on Sakura the whole time. I just think they're really cute together, have amazing chemistry and balance each other out. I didn't expect to like SakuHina as much as I did but here we are.

Kyoru

I mentioned it before in another answered ask but Fruits Basket was my first manga (if you're curious what my first anime was, it was Yu Yu Hakusho) and Kyoru was probably my first OTP. There are two characters I think upon so many rewatches and rereads that were prime game for who Kyo and Tohru could have ended up with had things been different (which, I do really ship as well. Multishipper here guys) but I'm not mad about the endgames that we got. From start to finish, Kyo and Tohru's relationship is beautiful and you can feel how strongly they feel for one another. It's like, wow, Takaya really gave us one of the best ships in shoujo and didn't even apologize for it.

Klance

Red + Blue = True. They had chemistry, supplemented for what the other lacked and we really don't need to have me diving into the bs that was VLD. That show wasn't even out long, my god, it was a mess.

NeuviFuri

Should I explain to you the romanticism of Hydro x Hydro? Oof how I love them. A Genshin ship after my own heart, truly. But if anyone is trying to against MiHoyoverse (I was here from the Mihoyo days, leave me alone) in terms of seeing who ships NeuviFuri more, we all lose. They literally paid people to do an ice dancing program in NeuviFuri cosplay, paid a guy to make a companion piece to Furina's song from Neuvillette's perspective and several other animations concerning their relationship in some way. But the Mihoyoverse shenanigans aside, it's the build up of 400+ years of working together, the care they still have for one another and yes the complementary abilities and color palettes. Not enough time in the day to talk about them, I don't think.

AriDante

Almost thought I wouldn't have a gif for them, then I remembered THEY GOT A MOVIE. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is one of my favorite books in the world. I have reread it once a year religiously since 2017 when I first discovered it. This is such a beautiful novel and relationship and if you haven't had the pleasure of reading it or the sequel, please do yourself a favor and buy it or rent it from your local library. It's just, the way Ari has been in love with Dante for so long and didn't even realize it but it's so, so clear to the reader because of just how he talks and describes him? I don't even want to go to deep into this one just in case there's someone here that hasn't read this book because it deserves to be read and experienced blind. Just, just please y'all read it.

[obligitory-fma-blog]

I watched the second fma Netflix adaptation. Here’s the best of my notes:

They had the whole fma original soundtrack to use for this movie and tHEY DIDNT??

Purification arts of Xing?? Just call it Alcehestry like they do in the show?? (No I didn’t spell it right I was noting stuff as I went and didn’t look it up)

Okay the weird pause before Lan Fan pulled out the smoke bomb…

ITS AN ACTUAL BOMB?????

Lots of weird pauses and slow-mo’s to mimic anime fights but it reads weird as live action and I don’t like it

HUGHES THANK FUCK PLEASE MAKE THIS LESS WEIRD

Wtf never mind hi envy with your shit ass wig (I forgot they killed off Hughes in the first one 😭😭)

LAN FAN BODIED HIM LMAO

Ed really be like “you do you ig”

“Yeah people exploding today!” Is my favorite line so far. (English Captions with Japanese audio; this was the train hijacker guy from fma 03)

Ed’s expression when Mustang shows up is the most in character thing I will say that (after train stuff)

I will say they did better on characterization this time around I feel like they’re close to the actual characters

But it’s hard to get close to them since they aren’t, well, animated characters. Trying not to judge too harshly.

Not terrible so far actually

Okay nevermind about the cgi WHAT IS WITH XIAOMEI

“I mean, we’re just some decent human beings.” -Ed who wanted to leave Mei behind

GO OFF MEI YEAHHHH TELL HIM THE BITCH

Okay we’re gonna have a really awkward explosion-over-short moment that just will not work because it isn’t animated

GIRLIE ARE YOU HAVING A SEIZURE

Mei being a bitch back is warranted

They be running

“You’ll never catch me, tiny rice man!” -Mei (rice man?)

The dialogue being altered where Ed says he doesn’t have a god to pray to before scar kills him bothers me

I like Alphonse’s movements on the ground when he’s incapacitated, I think the cgi works well there

Hi Mustang good on you for saving your pseudo sons

Riza with the side eye lmao

The slowmo’s again like hello

ARMSTRONG HIIIII You look really fuckin weird tho But HIIIIII

Okay the flexing I can do without thanks it looks weird

Yes Breda why is he shirtless

The red eyes don’t look good either. (For scar)

N ow see why wouldn’t you put in a leitmotif for the brothers theme in this scene with Ed and Al and instead just put in sad piano that sounds vaguely similar to it

WHERES THE LINE ABOUT THEM BEING BROKEN BUT ALIVE WHY WOULD YOU CHANGE THAT

Riza being the best and putting her coat over Ed >>>>

Mustang go comfort your son’s PLEASE

Okay just ignore that I’m on the found family train

Girlie that looked like a bad PowerPoint presentation WHY WOULD YOU DO IT LIKE THAT?? (The part where the officer shot the ishvallen child)

Gluttony… hi… again…. Can’t wait for your cgi…. (It didn’t look as bad tbh)

Sorry but with the military uniform off and just the white collared shirt he looks LIKE A DAD LIKE CMON (Mustang)

“You’ve grown… at least I think.” -Hoenhiem, observational genius

“I think I like this scene better than canon a bit actually? Cause Ed gets to express his emotions more than just calling him a bastard

Okay Hoenhiem just ignore him??

Uh oh they have to walk back together

“Our hair matches :D” -Hoenhiem

Ed immediately takes his out of the ponytail

Im not gonna lie I chuckled at that

Also I love seeing Ed with his hair down we don’t get enough of that

“stop following me” -Ed

“we’re going to the same place? 😥” -Hoenhiem

Okay we’re talking about Xerxes instead of Ed and Al’s mom or…?

And the bitch is gone

YOURE GOING TO XERXES WITH AUTOMAIL YOU DUMBASS YOURE GONNA OVERHEAT

Ooooo love the look of Xerxes ruins

Awwww Winry’s parents :D we get more of them

They’re gonna die tho and I hate that :(

This is gonna be so hard wrenching actually-

GIRL IM GONNA CRY

5 minutes into Central and you’re already causing trouble, good job Ed

Al I feel like has the weakest characterization so far in this adaptation he’s just reacting to stuff rather than doing stuff as far as I’ve seen

Scar when Winry is having a breakdown🧍

Ruhroh Winry’s got a gun

Okay the slowmo makes more sense here

Ed saves the day :D

Also we finally see scars brother after getting no context on him

Good acting on Lan Fan’s part

Also why is this calling her Ran Fan? Is that a dub thing (they called Ling “Lin” but this was all in the captions so I’m confused)

“King Bradley is a Homonculus” very serious Ling “hUh.” -Ed

Any Mustang and Hughes content is good Mustang and Hughes content I don’t make the rules

Also it’s good they didn’t change the layout of Riza’s explanation montage for Ishval because it works really well in canon and translated pretty well to live action

Riza and Roy’s speeches near the end >>>

Oh great the bros are gonna try and catch scar alone this can only end well

Well they definitely didn’t catch him

WINRY HOW TF ARE YOU HERE??

MUSTANG WHY TF ARE YOU HERE???

Oh hi Riza :D

Mustang’s like “let ur gf speak to him if she wants like damn”

Ed’s like “bb girl if he says anything shitty I’ll fight for you”

WINRY GIRLBOSS LUV HER

“Hell no I don’t forgive you for shit, but I’m gonna patch you up anyway.” -Winry

Okay cool message, someone must endure pain if it means they can prevent further suffering and cycles of violence

Uh oh Gluttony escaped

He be runnin

YEAH ED AND AL SAVE UR DAD

YEAH SCAR SAVE WINRY

YEAHHHHHH

“Wait I won’t leave you behind” MUSTANG BEING A DAD AHEGWIWNWN

“Colonel your fight is elsewhere” SCREAMING

Oh hi envy

ED SAVINF LING

and they got eaten lmao

Yay we’re all trapped in Gluttony’s stomach :D

Envy is so cynical what a bitch lol

“Tf is a portal of truth 🧍” -Ling

Oh great we’re gonna get cgi envy this will go well right?

EW

Could be worse but

EW

Conclusion: it was okay. There were parts I genuinely liked. There are things that also bug me to no end. The soundtrack from the original series would’ve fit way better and a lot of times it sounded like an off brand marvel track. Acting and cgi was a lot better (at times.) An improvement on the first one, and a semi-worthwhile watch if you have nothing else to do and you like fma. Cannot and will never be a substitute for the original obviously. Seems like less of a cash grab and more of a genuine effort this time which I appreciate. Overall? 6.5/10

(Lemme know if y’all want my full notes version because it has way more of me screaming and being goofy)

[weatheringtea]

FMA Cafe

While I was in Japan, the FMA cafe opened up :D I've never been to an anime cafe before, so this was perfect! I went once a week (so 3 times in total) so I could try a bunch of different dishes and collect coasters lol

I tried to put this under cut because it's long and full of pics, but adding the read more ruined the formatting of the pics so I'll leave it.

The first trip was March 22, kind by accident LOL. I was in the area to see Shinjuku Gyoen and the cafe was on our walk back to Shinjuku stn. The lobby was empty, so I gathered my very out of practice JP skills and asked if it was possible to get a seat as a walk-in. They said yes :D

Word hadn't gotten around yet it seems, so it was very empty upstairs too LOL. Great for pics :D

There's a ¥1,000 sitting fee and you get a drink with that. There's a QR code given to you for the menu (it matches to your table number so your orders are tracked). Menu was a bit clunky, probably because my JP reading skills are in the toilet, but I figured it out! They played the same 10 minute video the entire time (for the FMA mobile game).

Because I showed up late I only bought one thing to eat (last order for food was 18:00 and I didn't really sit down and get things figured out until 17:45-ish), and it was Lust's chocolate cake. It was very good (and very heavy lol). I got the Edward Elric drink first and the Roy Mustang drink second. Both came with mystery coasters. Ed's drink was better imo.

At the end the couple of us on the 2nd floor snuck up to the 3rd for pics before leaving.

I went back the day before I left for Osaka :D (27th)

Word had gotten around by now about the cafe and merch shop and it was busy this time! I popped in at 12:15 and asked if they had any seats available. No, they're full. He offered to book me in for 14:30 though! So I putzed around Shinjuku for 2 hours and went back :D

It was packed this time!! On both floors.

Winry's pie was alright. Heavier than I was expecting. Ed's fries were fun! They came with a white paper bag that you transfer the fries into, and you add whatever mix of spices you want from the spice cups it came with, then shake in the bag. Neat! Also tasty.

Drinks were Olivier's, Bradley's (with matching coaster!) and Ed's drink again (I should have gotten Roy's again dammit, I tried to take his glove hand home from the first time, but it got wet, the ink bled, and it ironically fell apart...)

Olivier's was the neatest looking drink, but also my least favourite. Bradley's was my favourite drink - very good!

I went back on April 4 before I went home ;A;. This time I made a reservation. I asked for a seat on the 3rd floor, since my first 2 had been on the 2nd, but I think seating is actually based on how early you get in line. I got in line early and noticed everyone in front of me also got 3rd floor, so I think they just fill the 3rd before dealing with the 2nd.

ANYWAYS

Great seat. A+. My spot had 2 table numbers and I asked if it was okay and they just were like "yeah yeah it's fine no worries". Okay!

By this point they must have been besieged with tourists. Poor woman hosting the floor couldn't speak English to save her life (and half my floor was tourists). She got to me and tried to suffer through a few English words and I stopped her. I'm fine with the instructions in Japanese :') please don't suffer more on my account.

Bradley's drink again, Ed's Milk Hater drink, and the classic FMA drink BECAUSE I CONTINUE TO FORGET ALL ABOUT ROY...

Ed's milk drink though... you pour the milk into the mug filled with soda(??) and ice. It tasted like a float without the cola?? It was unique... the most interesting drink to try for sure (Bradley's still my favourite).

I bought the mug at the gift shop :')

LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS AL PUDDING. This was amazing and fun. There is a little cake, there is a little ice cream, there is a little pudding, there's a little idk what it was but it was chocolate and good, and there are cat themed cookies under the pudding cup LMAO. Then there's the blood seal inside the tin. A+ Al wins. That was so much fun, I'm sad I left that until last, I probably would have gotten it again.

You could have totally sold me on this mug too if it had been for sale.

Look, I did remember Roy sorta :') I got his doughnut. It was HEAVY and the icing was so thick on top it was rock hard. Sticky, messy finger food.

So that's it :D I've run out of picture space lol. I wish I'd gotten to taste test things in the second round later in April (ARMSTRONG'S HASHED BEEF ;____;) but I hope they enjoy all the money I gave them while I was there LOL. I had some neat food and had fun doing it :)

[peoplesrazor]

Oh boy...

So in her introduction, Lily names five shows she thinks people talk about the most often for important LGBTQIA+ Rep. Those shows are Legend of Korra, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, and The Owl House. She mentions three other shows that I'll talk about later that she says people don't talk about, but which either had rep earlier, or had just as good or better rep.

She doesn't mention Ducktales or the Daria movie Is It Fall Yet ?or any other shows. Just in case you're wondering. She talks about Braceface, 6teen, and Lloyd In Space. Now, Lily has mentioned the other two as they were shows she watched growing up. I think Lloyd was a suggestion on her blog. I remember someone mentioning it there.

I'll let her arguments for these stand as she is mostly talking about how "early" they were. I do want to point out these characters were only in couple of episodes in one case, and a single episode in the others. So, Daria should have certainly been at least mentioned as an early example, even if it wasn't a very good characterization.

The three shows she says have better rep then the five she thinks are held up so much:

Craig of the Creek has several couples that fit this description and it's good rep, because it's so low-key. People talk about them though. The show, though very good, can be a bit niche to begin with so it just doesn't have a large vocal audience.

The Loud House has Luna and Sam, which does get talked about too, but it's a contemporary of the other shows you mentioned. Which means Luna and Sam, by your standards for the more modern stuff, have to be main characters. If you count Luna and Sam as main characters, you have to count, at least, fifteen other people. Kind of easy for their couple of 15 minute episodes to get lost in that shuffle.

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is one of my all time favorite shows. Lily says people are sleeping on Benson and Troy due to racism. What? Kipo is very popular in the fandom circles I hang around in and Benson and Troy are like THE ship. Did you sleep on this one, Lily? Did no one in your circle recommend it because it's a serialized fantasy adventure? Is that why you never did a dedicated video on it, despite it's rep being so good?

It wouldn't be a Lily video if she didn't tear down the shows other people like. First, there is something she repeatedly gets wrong, as far as I know, about Korra. She again says that Korrasami was a popular ship, true, and that they threw it together last minute, false. At least, by everything I've found. No, it wasn't planned from the start, but it wasn't last minute, either.

They started discussing it while writing book one. Writing. Not during it's run, not while animating the last few eps. While writing it. Why wait then? I suspect it's for something Lily has actually complained about before that actually happens. For some reason, showrunners want to wait until the end of the series to have the couple end up together. I suspect it was never anything deeper than that.

Okay, onto the Catradora thing. I'm not going to argue with anyone, not even Lily, who finds the relationship toxic, unhealthy, abusive. Though, now that I think about it, Lily, you sure seem to like to repeatedly show that footage for someone who gets triggered by FMA.

Anyway, I want to point out this hypocrisy:

Lily: If I have to hear it on a live stream, read it in production materials, or on Twitter, it doesn't count. I base my criticism only on what is in the show.

Also Lily: Let me once again call Catra and Adora sisters based on a single line I found on one page of outside materials, despite the show never once giving any indication that is the case.

She also lies and says it does indicate that. It does not. Hey Lily? Are Kyle, Rogelio and Lonnie also siblings? Wait. You never actually watched the show, you probably don't know who they are.

Should have just posted the bingo card again.

[lilaczx]

Live Blogging TMAGP: Ep 27, Driven

Aww that’s a sweet thanks.

Oh this is a long thanks message

Thanks to @itsclydebitches for getting me to listen to the series.

Okay is about someone being driven to Murder?!?!?

Oh, Hi Lena, how are you?

Wait why is there a self.

Lena can you please be chill about the files.

Sam does has a point about keeping up with cases.

Gwen can you not be a Karen for a minute.

Bruh, Gwen you suck. Lena asked you to do it.

Wait are they TMA cases

A statement from 1845, oh neat

Welll, I mean Sam will.

Okay Augustus statement

Transmutation, the principles of alchemy insert FMA music

Wait did you did the unforgivable transmutation?!???

The institute.

JONAH?!?!??! Is that you Bitch?!?

Are we reading Jonah’s diary?!?

Oh the Oil Skin great coat that’s cool.

Wait is that Oliver Banks?!??

Getting fused with your work and your self.

That is fair, for a disguise. I am from NYC and honestly most people don’t bat an eye at weird things. So it makes sense a power would be able to blend in of shorts.

It eats the passengers doesn’t it.

The coachman has the right idea, getting the fuck of there.

I mean the Dark would disagree.

Oh this definitely is Jonah with the quote “I cannot help but feel that to understand this thing may be to finally unlock the world as yet unknown to us. And in pursuit of that, there is no cost too great.”

Oh you sent the youngest to die you did.

Hmmm, yeah foundational power does get people to do wild stuff

The MAGNUS INSTITUTE?!??!?

Okay Archibald, that’s the kids name.

His Skin his Eyes

So the more fear the longer the digestion is?

One of the many reasons I couldn’t do that is because of my Dysgraphia

Augustus was very human like for most of the statement

Yeah it should be illegal to be a Bitch at work

Wait Jon did you send an email?

“You ever get any weird emails?” “I’m openly trans on the internet.” Yeah I hate how true that is.

Wait is Elias the MP is that why Gwen is freaking out so much about the visit.

The funniest MP choice is Tim, season one Tim who is an immense flirt and the definition of malicious compliance.

Yeah as some one who works in IT I always use the department printer for my personal work.

How much property did they buy?

Are they this universe’s Catholic Church or Royal Family ?

The archivist special interests are special interesting.

Breaking and Entering let’s go

Wait they are talking about it.

Glad that Sam is decent at sex good for them.

Poor Lena and the eye and probably having to listen to this.

Are they having the do you like, like me talk?

Celia is not wrong.

That hasn’t stopped Celia in the past from dealing with Death.

HILL TOP ROAD

LETS GOO!!!!

Yeah as a portal to another universe will do that

Wait it’s the one since that statement?!??

Oh my God they are Magnussing

Let’s go blowing up the PM.

Is Alice day drinking?!?

Trevor Herbert okay that’s the PM wait a fucking minute the Vampire Hunter, Julia’s Dad, and that fucker hurt Gerry?!????

Wait Alice drinks Coffee know the COFFEE theory.

Wait does Alice know that are in a relationship.

Wait does Alice know about the Archivist from last statement?!??

[saturnaous]

I realize I'm not sure I saw, and I haven't asked: what got you into the FMA kick? Did you watch it for the first time recently, or was it a rewatch? What made you want to watch it? Gimme all the context of your obsession.

OKAY OKAY. so actually what made me BE like "holy shit fma? ohhhhh" was. uuhhhh one, one of my mooties (red-r0ver thank you) like not often posting about it but agreeeing when things about it happened or something. there's a media axis thing somewhere on this website that like was like :"well made art-udder dogshit" on Y and "ok.-I will never be the same again/made me eat glass" and ON THAT. in "wellmade art-neverbe the same/made me eat glass" side of it was Fullmetal alchemist. and like it got agreed with or something idk. anyways that's how it fell on my radar. as a like "hmm I don't know anything about it but I wouldn't be opposed to this. it seems like it'd be enjoyable." and yeah. also I should feel I should mention that in the vauge void of it not quite existing in this time period it conisitantly connected in my head with Doctor Stone for some reason. I've literally only seen doctor stone or whatever through crunchyroll adds when I was wtaching that time I got rencarnated as a slime but it somehow got mixed up with fma. wirse crossed or something. idk.

but what ACTUALLY made me watch it was a video that was talking about Disabilities and Queerness in the Owl House. and DURING that. The person who had made the video brought up FMA and Izumi and was going through scenes of stuff of it. I'm pretty sure they were talking about Izumi with her organ damage and not being able ot have kids(how having disability rep can become related in points of your life), but it was going through some scenes of the show.

BASICALLY. I've seen Alphonse around very vaugely. I knew that he existed to an extent. I knew he was a lot of armor or a robot or something. But I had no clue where he was from and who he was. but he existed in a vague void of "cool character design that I want to kiss SO BAD" but nothing else really. did not know jack about him. not even his name. So I saw HIM in the scenes they were playing and I basically went

so. knowing me. an absolute sucker for armor and robots and things of that sort.(stares at ultrakill longingly). I went into a gc with my friends(it's called monster fucker faggot central btw. mffc. it's great) and I. WAIT I can actually get my exact words hold on. FUCK my screenshots are broken on my computer hold on. I will remedy this.

LIVE SPENXER REACTION.anyways. that's how my friend told me before his account got hacked that fullmetal alchemist is supposed ot be like thr greatest anime of all time. and then he told me to watch brotherhood and I DID and then I became OBSESSED and then I read the manga and now I'm watching 03. from literally the first 5 minutes I became obsessed with Alphonse. Alphonse. . . save me alphonse elric. . . alphonse elric saveme. . . anyways. yeah. I also have uerhmmmmm liveblogs somewhere skewed abount my servers and stuff of when I first watched it and when I read the manga. there's actually an image of me bawling my eyes out when I finished bh that my friend saved bc it's his favorite photo of me ever. teehee.

[blorbobutworse]

I live. I have also consumed criminal amounts of FMA:B crossovers. So here's my take....possibly with a real fic on AO3 on the way (for once)

Mutant Edward Elric AU. As Usual, there's two different AU's.

one is a mutant Ed and Al AU, and the other is literally just Edward from FMA being thrown into the Marvel/ X-men Universe.

I lost my marbles guys. I want punkin piee

1.Actually a Mutant Edward (AAME AU)

In this one, he's a rural Appalachian kid who, after trying some crazy shit with his powers, ends up being taken into a special part of the military called Shield. They tell him he could help the world with his abilities, help people like him thrive, not just survive. And with his little brother hidden with Winry, the granddaughter of the mechanic and G.P. in town. In this AU, Edward is essentially picked up from the get go, and thus only gets to talk to Alphonse through military means.

Little does he know, his commanding officer knows about HYDRA. And he doesn't want a young mutant kid getting corrupted the same way he did, much less this kids little brother. So he secretly starts pulling old strings, and asks Madam Christmas for a favor in contacting one Charles Xavier.

(please note i have never been to the deep south so i can only assume how rural life there is, though i too, live somewhere rural.)

Edward lives in an extremely isolated town, growing up happily chasing goats and killing bugs by playing with a cup like a magnifying class until his mother, a retired Shield/Hydra Operative, finally dies of an illness/injury she had gotten before she had been forcefully retired.

As you can probably note, this 'little rural town' is actually where a lot of Shield and Hydra agents retire to. Which, because it's so isolated, also tends to bring in other more visible mutants, in hopes that they can live their lives safely there.

In this AU, Hohenheim would have been one of the Original Mutants, probably around the same age (If not older) than Wolverine. Unlike him though, Hohenheim did his best to NOT influence the world. That is... after the first time.

He was born in 1548, and he's born in the ottoman empire. He tries to live his life, terrified that, some day, people will turn against him for being a Witch. Still, at 25, with insane powers and a family who don't know about his abilities. he becomes desperate for a companion. Someone. Anyone, that he could speak to truthfully about his fears, and hopes, and know that he will be accepted, despite his tainted soul. And, when hired as a soldier to attack Cyprus, he goes. And there, fare away from home, he activated the largest 'circle' he'd ever attempted.

He tries to create life Frankenstein style, resulted in an entity called Father, essentially a bastardization of Truth.

However, due to his rush to make himself an immortal companion, his circle looks for enough energy to create this... being. It results in the decimation of the city he was living in, converting it into a ghost town in under three minutes.

It's the first time he disappears from a country, from a family...but it won't be the last

Unfortunately, all that energy didn't just go to Father, and this grants Hohenheim a sort of immortality. He feels he has to kill that which he has created., so they essentially play a game of cat and mouse for years.

He ends up in the US under asylum during the first world war, lives his life, and finally chooses to put down his rage at a creature that has been haunting him for the past 430 years, and he moves to a small town in the Appalachians. He never expects to meet someone who would bring him so much light and life and joy, and just as his little Alphonse is born-

There are mutterings of Father stirring again.

And.

He leaves. He has to finish what he started before Father finds his children, his love. Hopefully it won't take to long.

But he'd never been the best at keeping track of time.

...

Back to Edward, his superior, on one of his missions when he turns fifteen, results with him in the middle of nowhere, New York. He's

Although the students are very wary of him, despite his short stature, Xavier realizes that this is who he's been contacted about. A little too similar to Wolverine, what with the mutants being turned into weapons, he puts them in a room and hopes for the best. They both come out a little bloodied, but instead of running or calling SHIELD, Edward leaves with a...contemplative, look on his face.

Wolverine just huffs, and says 'That little punk packs a punch."

T.B.C.

OR

2. Edward Elric in Marvel AU

It's literally just Edward Elric, and as with most cross overs, Truth wants him to fix some stuff int he marvel Universe (which shall be my beautiful bastard baby AU of the movies AND the comics), with only the knowledge of English and the knowledge that he has to fix something.

(it's infinity war guys he's gonna go to space he's going to kill Thanos with the power of Elric: No and also Fuck OFF

guys please do u see the visio-)

He gets dropped in front of Xavier's school for gifted children, manages to waltz on in thanks to this thing called making a tunnel out of alchemy,, and although the team initially tries to attack him, after seeing a 15 year old CHILD WITH TECH THAT ONLY HYDRA AND ONE SPECIFIC HERO KNOWs HOW TO MAKE

they call Tony Stark. He is very exited to look at this kids incredibly detailed arm.

In the meantime though, all the people get to know him, and with Edwards dialect essentially being like. a super rural old version of German, they bring Kurt in to be able to interpret what he's muttering to himself.

Cue the Edward not so gently arguing his Atheism Points, offhandedly mentioning that he has met something that Totally Wasn't God Trust Me, Wolverine steps in, and gives him a nice little talking to, that makes

This, in turn, makes Edward freak the fuck out. Obviously this guy is a chimera. or something. Fuck. Not more of these guys.

And then they have to forcefully sit him down and explain that mutants Are A Thing. It's even more confusing for them because everyone assumed he already knew, considering how he got into the building.

A few weeks later, Tony finally get's to them, and is pleasantly surprised to see a little blonde boy with his nose in a mechanical engineering engine systems textbook. Of course, he makes the mistake of calling him little, prompting a swift evisceration of his ego via Edwards signature move: being a teenage bitch.

The real question is how Edward reacts to the Scarlet Witch.

T.B.C.

Als I wanted to write more about him and Kurt in detail but i am. so tired rn, so I shall leave that up you YOU GUYS TO IMAGINE YIPEEEEE

[rizaposting]

10 5 good things/things I'm proud of this year

Thank you to @aicasey for tagging me! ;w; I shortened it to 5 because hhhuuuuuuu it's been a year lmao

I successfully moved out of my apartment on my own. With the exception of one of my friends coming to help me move boxes down the stairs to a uhaul box for a few hours, I was completely on my own to plan, decide what I was going to do with my stuff, pack everything up, clean, get a permit, and all the other shlock that accompanies moving. It was extremely annoying and stressful but I did it! And I somehow got my full security deposit back so hell yeah.

Hot! Girl! Summer!!! Which is what me and my dear friends call it when I drive down to see them (regardless of gender or the time of year). We got together three times this past year! Which is great because we lived at minimum 4 hours apart but after I moved I DID drive 8 hours to see them so we could have Hot Girl Halloween and watch the FNAF movie together. I love them both so much :] I love them so much I would brave the Jersey Turnpike for them, even.

Over the summer I got into Berserk. I started by watching the 97 anime and was so enthralled that I read all 373 chapters that were available at the time in two weeks. I'd never had two hyperfixations at the same time before (FMA and Berserk) and I think it accelerated the speed at which my cells die. Berserk is currently on a kind of hiatus due to the circumstances of its production, so the hyperfixation has died down a lot, but I still cry and wail about Casca whenever I think of her on a regular basis, I love her so much. I've never binged through something so long in such a short period of time before hahaha.

Earlier this year, my beloved dnd group finished our first campaign! We started in ~February 2019 and ended ~Feb/March 2023 so it was almost exactly four years. It's the first long campaign I've ever finished, and it was so emotional and fulfilling and I LOVE those characters and the world so much!!! My character was Osirah Dirncath, a dragonborn paladin shunned from her templar order and exiled to what she was told was a war-torn wasteland, only to find out she'd been fed propaganda her whole life and the world outside her home was indeed thriving and beautiful and worth saving. She was a slippery lesbian lizard with crippling Catholic guilt who stayed kind and hopeful no matter what. She had to sacrifice her own patron god to kill The Devil, From Bible. She fell in love with our group's monk, Compassion, and in the epilogue they get married and have a baby together named "Mercy".

Maybe it's a bit of a cop out BUT my last one is going to be: producing more insane Rizaposting content (and art and writing!) and reaching out to other people who have similar brainworms. I had been putting off getting back onto tumblr, but it has been so neat getting to talk to more people. I'm always so self-conscious about things so it's nice to just... embrace being weird and silly and unwell, and just have fun with my creative endeavors. I'm looking forward to talking to more people and drawing more and writing more and posting more riza-ramblings in the new year. Gotta feed them leeches, babygirl!

This year was rather uneventful but still hard for me, mentally. It's nice to try to pull some positives from it haha. I'm not even going to say anything that could possibly jinx 2024, so all I'll say is that I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year's. We never do anything special, so I'll just be vibing with a cheap bottle of fruit wine.

I'm a bit late getting around to this, so I don't want to tag anyone and have them feel obligated to do anything last minute. If you've read this far and want to do it, I'm officially tagging you!!!

[neversetyoufree]

I just realized that there are a lot of similarities between FMA and VnC; from certain characters and their dynamics to story beats. And that’s because Mochijun’s inspiration was Hiromu Arakawa. Isn’t that right?

Hey anon, I'm super interested to hear what dynamics and story beats you think parallel between FMA and VNC, because I'm personally having trouble thinking of any? Like I genuinely really want to hear more about this idea and what connections I'm missing.

I suppose you could make the small angry+strong sunshine duo comparison between Ed and Al and Vanitas and Noé, but just about every other thing about their dynamic is very different lmao. It's been a hot minute since I read FMA though, so I could be forgetting something.

As for Mochizuki being inspired by Hiromu Arakawa, I actually didn't know that until you said it here! I did some googling, and here's an interview (in French lol) where she talks about that for anyone else curious. Thanks for the fun fact, anon :D. I know they've also talked in public before about being fans of one another's series, which is extremely cute. It's always exciting to me to see the creators of things I enjoy supporting one another's work.

That said, though, I'm not sure how much I think FMA was an influence on VnC specifically? Mochijun has talked about her inspirations for VnC, and a lot of it came from Interview with the Vampire, Sherlock and Watson, and her actual visits to Paris. I suppose the whole thread of Paracelsus and the Babel Incident could be inspired by Van Hohenheim's whole deal? But we know so little about all that right now that it's hard to say if there's much parallel beyond "mysterious alchemical history."

Now that I've finished saying, "huh, I dunno about that" in various tones to every part of your post, though, I do have one way that I agree FMA and VnC are similar! I have a longer post about this in my drafts that I might dig up someday, but I think they're similar in the way that they approach their shonen/action elements.

Shonen tends to often be really driven by fights/action. The characters want to get stronger, and the process by which they get stronger forms the heart of the series. It's why training and tournament arcs are such staples lmao. With FMA and VnC, however, the action isn't really the series' core. There are a lot of fight scenes in both, but the fighting and getting stronger is never really the point.

I hesitate to get more into the specifics of what I mean by this now because, frankly, I haven't reread FMA in like six years, and I'm almost certainly going to forget something big and/or say something wrong if I try to talk about it in too much detail. But I hope you can kind of get what I mean?

They're both series that are very invested in forcing their characters to examine certain themes and question themselves. To be a little reductive, FMA is about ethics and VnC is about death and salvation. It's just that sometimes the means by which Ed, Al, Noé, and Vanitas are forced to question those ideas is by fighting.

A lot of shonen (though certainly not all) falls into the category of "stories about action and fighting that also have themes," whereas FMA and VnC are more "stories about themes that also have action and fighting."

[tipsy-scales]

Happy FMA day! Fullmetal Alchemist and my great love of it was a huge inspiration in making my YouTube channel. FMA is still the topic I have the most videos on and I’m grateful for how it inspired me. So here is a collection of all the FMA videos I made. I added a summary of what they’re all about and the length. I make my videos sort of like tv episodes with segments and I also like to talk about my process. The videos are intended to be enjoyable even if you don’t know much about the topic. I’m trying to improve my thumbnails and titles so that makes it more obvious LOL.

Needlefelting Gluttony

This was my first ever video! It’s very different from my current ones because of that. It’s mostly me talking about FMA over progress of felting and I talk a little about what needle felting is.

18 minutes

Lust nendoroid Doll

This is my most viewed video. I make a nendoroid doll of Lust and talk about making customs with premade parts. Includes skits about Pride, Gluttony, & Envy getting ready for Lust to arrive.

17 minutes

King Bradley Figure Review

Review of Megahouse’s King Bradley figure. Has skits with the Pride, Envy, & Lust. I did this review in cosplay because why not.

18 minutes

King Bradley Figure Comparison

Comparing the Megahouse King Bradley scale figure with Goodsmile Company’s budget figure. In this one I talk about how much I like the Bradley family.

14 minutes

Painting Selim Bradley anime badge

In this one, I repaint a can badge of Norman from Promised Neverland into Pride. I talk about repurposing merch for characters who don’t get much made.

14 minutes

Selim Bradley Dollfie Dream

My long and treacherous journey of making a Dollfie Dream of Selim Bradley. Includes info about Dollfie Dreams and what they are, my history with these dolls, a little about Pride and what made me want to make a doll of him, and my first time doing faceups on dolls and making my own custom. This video needs an update so the faceup stuff isn’t my best work anymore but hey!

1 hour and 9 minutes

Selim Bradley Cosplay

The longest video I’ve ever made. Is about how this very simple costume took me 2 years to complete. I talk about FMA, the character and why I like him, and my many nitpicky attempts at this cosplay. Is a bit more about my state of mind and what the cosplay came to represent than the craftsmanship of it. There’s a photo shoot at the end too where I talk about my process.

1 hour 25 minutes

[randombook4idk]

What do you like about 03 Royai compared to what you dislike about BH Royai? I'm curious :3

Hi, thank you for the question!! And I'm sorry for the long wait!

Before I answer I do want to make some things clear - I haven't re-read FMA for a time now and the same goes for re-watching FMA 03, so do take my answers with a bit of grain of salt. Also opinions about pairings can change as the time goes so be aware of that as well.

I know you're asking about canon!Royai as in BH version, but I will refer to them as manga!Royai, since that's what I'm talking about.

My problems with manga!Royai will be put in 2 categories - The Petty Reasons (aka fandom) & The Writing Reasons. After that I will list what like about 03!Royai.

I will (attempt to) answer your question, so, let's get started and lets hope my rambling makes sense :D

What do I dislike about manga!Royai:

The Petty Reasons (aka mostly fandom focused):

• The hype - Before I got into FMA, I had come across some Royai stuff and heard how many loved the ship, making me invested in them as well, despite not being part of the fandom as well.

I even read their ship wiki (juts the trivia section, because didn't want to get spoiled like I did about the tunnels scene), which made me like the ship, but I also got the feeling that many of their huge moments only happened during the other half of the story/near the end, but I brushed it off.

The I finally read FMA and to be honest, I was a bit let down as the hype didn't pay of to me, since they didn't have much moments at the start and even with the moments they had, Royai simply didn't stick to me as a ship as the story went on.

For example, when the scene of Riza shooting Lust happened and Riza cried, believing that Roy was dead, I felt pretty much what I felt during Nina's Arc and maybe Hughes's death as well - nothing much really, because outside of those tiny moments between Riza and Roy and Riza standing next to Roy while he talked to Edward, there wasn't much that made me care for them that would make this scene emotional for me.

Sure, I will admit that near the end (mostly during the time in the tunnels) they stuck to me, I like them and even made a playlist for them (ended up deleting it later, but whatever).

Still, they ended up slipping out of my interest, with times me liking them and while my feelings whether of not I like them is complicated, I will say they're the ship you don't mind and even like in some aspect, but at the same time wish the fandom would shut up about for 5 minutes, because they're not the only ship here and you wish the fandom would stop acting like it's the best, perfect ship in existence that everybody loves, which ironically makes you dislike the ship.

• Fandoms OTP - This problem is present in almost every fandom, it would be foolish to deny that. Anyway with Royai being this fandoms OTP, I get this feeling like I should love Royai too and not just love, but also have them to be my number one FMA ship.

And as someone who's liking towards a ship can change even with ships I really adore and hates giving these huge ship labels as "OTP" even to my own ships that I really like myself, it only annoyed me and sort of pushed away from the big, popular ship.

I'm aware the way I ship differs from how another person ships and that's okay. Everyone ships differently, but this whole thing which is present in almost every fandom, of that one ship being everyones main ship does get on my nerves a bit.

Yes, it would suck if I met someone who didn't like some of the FMA ships that I like, but at least the person can say their opinion of the ship without worrying they might offend half of the fandom. Even if my ships would get spotlight, I wouldn't like if they got the spotlight by the fandom hammering it as the main ship that you should love.

(I know this complain isn't really Royai centric, but mostly a complain about shipping in fandoms)

I know this is a bit off topic, but once I read this lovely Gracia x Roy fanfic and I saw on the author's notes being like: "Oh, don't worry Royai is still my OTP, I still love them. I just wanted to write these two" or something like that.

And like the author didn't have to reassure the readers they still ship Royai, because, who was doubting the author's love for Royai in the first place? No one was gonna take away the author's shipping badge, because they wrote a fanfic for a different ship which has Roy be with a (female) character who isn't Riza.

This doesn't mean Royai shippers have to feel guilty about their shipper being popular, btw. Like hell no, go be happy and enjoy your ship.

I just have a problem with how unintentionally there's this whole expectation (?) of loving Royai, because of the ships popularity. (again this problem isn't present only in FMA fandom)

• "But I did chose my wife on my own"- Ok, this will be the most petty reason, but you can correct me if I make a mistake here.

I will admit that I don't know if people do in fact take this line by King Bradley and view it though Royai lenses and if they do, they mostly view it as a Royai moment, ignoring King Bradley & Mrs Bradley focus.

(I don't want to like put every Royai shipper into this one box and claim everyone view his line as Royai moment, ok?)

And I will admit that I also did view it also as Royai proof, when I first heard about the line and I am also guily of viewing Bradley's last words he said to Lan Fan through Lingfan lenses as well (while also viewing it as Bradley x Mrs Bradley thing).

But yeah, when did get to that part where he said it...I honestly didn't see much connection to Royai, in fact to me the line was 100% about Bradley.

Does it mean Royai shippers aren't allowed to make connection to their ship with this line?

No, they're allowed to do it, but if in fact people do view the line as 100% Royai moment and believe Bradley only brought up his wife, so he could rub it in Riza's face that she can't be with Roy, because everyone in the story, even the villains, can see how these two are deeply in love...then yeah, I am feeling annoyed.

I am annoyed that a moment, for a ship like Mrs Bradley and Bradley, a ship with a little screen time already and not much fanbase, gets taken and turned into a moment for a popular ship with a big fanbase.

• Fanon seemingly being treated as canon - Another petty reason and you can correct me on this one as well, but as I said, I had heard some things about Royai, before I read FMA and one of the things I heard was that Roy and Riza were childhood friends. Again, I didn't know much about them and assumed it was canon.

But when I finally got to the flashback of their past...I didn't get the vibes they were childhood friends, much less even friends.

I don't know if Arakawa confirmed somewhere that Roy lived with Berthold and Riza, when he studied Flame Alchemy, but with how he and Riza interacted they honestly felt like strangers, who might have (?) known each others existence, but never really have spoken to the other.

So, I wouldn't have much problem with Childhood Friends!Royai if it was treated as fanon and I don't know if it's treated like canon among the Royai community and again don't want to place all Royai shippers in one box.

But yeah, my dislike towards this being treated as canon (?) is that it feels like it feeds into this whole thing about how they "they only love each other", "how they've been in love since forever", "they're each others one true love" and all that vibe I get in this fandom.

Y'know like, it feels like people just push Roy and Riza together in almost everything, because idk they have to be together.

• Berthold & Ao3 - Can I please have Riza & Berthold centric fics without Royai and Roy? The same with Roy. Thank you.

Now with my pettiness aside, lets get to the Writing Reasons :D

The Writing Reasons:

• Riza's character - This is my main and biggest issue with manga!Royai, so Anon if you're a huge Riza fan, please don't take this as an attack towards the character or the ship.

Riza character feels mostly tied to Roy and in a way she can feel like a plot device/point for Roy's character.

And to me this flaw is more present, when Riza tells Edward about her POV in Ishval, but we end up following Roy's POV, with Riza having to come in her own supposed story to say what she thinks, saw or is doing, which honestly didn't leave much impact on me and didn't help me to connect to her character.

We're not shown her reaction to getting sent to Ishval. We're not shown her reaction and feelings towards her becoming a war criminal. We're not shown her belief in Roy's dream breaking. We're not shown how she felt seeing Roy using Flame Alchemy for war. We're not shown her finding the dead Ishval kid and deciding to give the child a burial. We're not shown how all that she witnessed in the war building up to her wanting for Roy to burn the Flame tattoo her father burdened with.

With all the things that happen in the Ishval arc, we barely actually get Riza's POV, because that time is spend on Roy's POV. When Riza gets screen time in this arc, it's mostly through Roy finding/coming across her. And then she tells Roy/us the audience what she saw/thinks. That's what happens. She just says things and that's it.

While this isn't a criticism aimed at Royai exactly, the way one of the/or both characters are written can affect how I feel towards the ship involving the two.

And with how Arakawa wrote Riza and Roy, my criticism towards the character (Riza) affects the way I feel towards Royai.

And I want to make it clear, despite this, it doesn't mean Royai is ultimately a trash ship.

One of a ships from a different fandom, that I like/ship is Sasusaku and that ship isn't well liked if we're being nice here. Despite me shipping Sasusaku, I am aware there are flaws in the ship and the character/s involved in the ship.

But unlike with Sasusaku, with Royai people mostly say praises about the ship (which isn't a bad thing, don't get me wrong), but by holding Royai up as this perfect ship, people can make it hard for others to voice their criticism to the ship or say they don't ship as they can become worried they will anger the fandom (or for some other reasons)

(Then again, I'm haven't been in FMA fandom for a very long time, so I don't know how criticism is viewed here).

Also, I just wanted for Riza to interact with other characters and whenever it happened I found myself liking her character more. (I feel neutral towards her most of the time)

• That Scene At the Tunnels - When I first read FMA I didn't pay attention much to it, but upon thinking about again, it made me sort of uncomfortable how Riza told Roy she'll kill herself after killing him, as she no will to live on and will erase the secrets of Flame Alchemy as well...I hope you see my problem with this.

Not only did it felt like Roy got guilt tripped into not killing Envy, I also had a problem with how in chapter 107, when Riza thinks back to what she said to him about having no desire to live on alone, she thinks how Roy, despite becoming blind, still hasn't given and how could she been so foolish.

(toxic positivity vibes in FMA? It's more likely than you think)

Which is just huge uuuugghhhhhh.....why? for me. The scene at the tunnels, including Riza saying she'll kill herself, at the start was just an angsty Royai moment, but now it's just that part of the story I wish had either handled way better or just not included at all.

(also, I don't think that Riza's...suicidal thinking - giving up when believing Lust killed Roy, the Tunnel scene - really got resolved in the story, at all) (and when I think about it, her wanting to be dead, if Roy is dead as well...I'm sorry, no offence to unhealthy codependency enjoyers, but this one is no for me)

What I like about 03!Royai (aka the shortest list known to man):

• No hype, no expectations (sort of petty) - Outside of the ending of 03 and CoS, I didn't hear much about Royai and watching the 03 anime I could understand why. They didn't have huge screen time, but from the moments they shared together, I came to like the ship.

• Their dynamic - This is mostly a preference, I personally prefer 03!Royai dynamic as it feels more lively (not that manga!Royai dynamic is bad, btw)

While I don't have the best memory, the moments between Roy and Riza in 03 stuck to me more. For example, one is that of Roy leaving Bradley's office, with Riza looking surprised/relieved and the next second being like "maybe you should get you hands slapped once in a while >:[" while Roy looks at her smugly.

Even of the scenes that is in the manga stuck to me better in the 03 anime - Hughes funeral. Riza is shown awkwardly telling others who are leaving that she and Roy will catch up and instead of her being confused by what Roy meant saying that it's raining, in 03 she understands it and goes along by agreeing with him.

The main point is - their dynamic in 03 speaks more to me and even with there not being a flashback to show us their history, I still get the feeling they have been by each others side for many years.

But I would have liked if we were given some hints about their past which would have given us more context to the moments like Riza's speech to Winry in train, the look in Riza's eyes as she stops Winry when she shouts at him about her parents.

• CoS movie - Is the fact that despite Roy being away, in the mountains, Riza continues her life at the military.

Whelp, these have been my answers. Sorry for the long wait to read this. I also have trouble putting my thoughts out on paper, so I hope my answers were good enough :]

[medea10]

My Review of [Oshi no Ko]

Oof. The spring anime season of 2023 was kinda lax with the sequels and reboots. This was welcoming news for me as I was happy to take on any and every new anime that dropped. And I was ready to give the top prize to Skip and Loafer or even My Love Story with Yamada-kun. But then, this anime smashed in like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. This anime was already seen as the most, highly-anticipated anime to enter this season. Of course, the creator also made Kaguya-sama. It’s going to be awesome! And that’s stiff competition as Demon Slayer and Dr. Stone both returned with positive feedback. On the day of its official release, the first episode alone was seen as #1 on all of MAL. Gee, how long did it take for the FMA fan-idiots to nuke the score of this series? About four weeks. Guys, get another hobby.

Besides becoming the #1 anime on MAL with just one episode out, Hidive received the highest amount of traffic to their website for the first time ever. The music video released by YOASOBI for Oshi no Ko trended for a full week and as of May 17, 2023, the video reached 100 million views. Add to that, YOASOBI’s single has been dominating on the global Billboard charts. Manga sales have exploded. This anime is definitely one to behold. Let’s hope that nothing happens to the anime to make it falter.

Before I talk about the synopsis, I should really go a little further when it comes to the first episode. We all know, the average anime episode is roughly 21-25 minutes as it varies. This of course doesn’t include the length and time of recaps, openings, ending themes, or previews. But then, you get several episodes that are 40-50 minutes. I call that the, “Aniplex wants your attention episode”. Yeah, it’s because most of those I see are in Aniplex animes. Especially the Monogatari series. But in most cases, these are just the first or last episode. I just learned to accept it and enjoy the extra-long episode of SAO or Demon Slayer. Plus, it’s just their way to fill in as much content for the season. Oshi no Ko’s first episode clocked in at a whopping 82 minutes. This first episode alone could have been a feature-length movie. Japan actually did put the first episode on the big screen weeks before the television premier. This seems to be a missed opportunity for Sentai Filmworks.

A REQUEST: I do have a request for those blindly stumbling upon this review. If you are reading this part and have not watched at least episode 1, I kindly ask that you close this page and go watch Oshi no Ko’s first episode. Do not even read the synopsis to the episode. It is best that you go in blind. If you have already done so, please disregard this message and let’s get at it!

Ai Hoshino is an idol in a group called B Komachi. She is loved all around Japan. One particular fan (Sarina) loves her dearly. It’s the one thing in her life that gives her joy as she is currently battling a rare form of brain cancer. She dies. She was only 12. A doctor (Gorou Amemiya) who befriended her kinda got into Ai shortly after Sarina’s death. And now he’s hooked. One day, Gorou gets the surprise of his life as one of his incoming patients is 20 weeks pregnant with twins. And surprise, it’s famous idol Ai Hoshino.

Oof. I’m sorry, seeing them talk to a 16-year-old girl who is pregnant is not a pleasant topic I like to talk about nowadays. You all know the country I hail from and how angry I get talking about real world topics.

Gorou took care of Ai for the next twenty weeks to ensure a safe and healthy delivery. The night Ai went into labor, Gorou was murdered by a man who asked him about the whereabouts of Ai. In his final moments, Gorou recalled a conversation he had with Sarina about what it would be like to be the children of a famous idol.

With that, Gorou died and is reincarnated as one of Ai’s twins (named Aqua). The other twin (named Ruby) was Sarina reincarnated. We watch Aqua and Ruby grow as Ai’s children. But their identies were shielded from the public due to fear of Ai’s career being ruined forever. Still though, when Ai is with her children, it’s some of the happiest moments of Ai’s life considering her life prior to idol fame was dreadful. As for the kids, Aqua got into acting and Ruby got into dancing. And even though it took several years, Ai’s popularity began to grow past just being a teen idol and was ready to perform at a super dome. This happiness was shattered.

The stalker that killed Ai’s doctor stabs Ai in her residence and with Aqua as a witness. In Ai’s final words, she was able to give out a sincere “I love you” to her children. Ai is dead. The stalker killed himself. The children’s biological father could be the source of all that has just occurred. Aqua is ready for revenge.

Now, at age 16 is when the real story begins for Aqua and Ruby. Ruby has ambitions of becoming an idol like her mother, but Aqua wants her to steer-clear away from that business because of what happened to their mother. That doesn’t stop Ruby’s ambitions as she ends up restarting her mother’s old idol group B Komachi. As for Aqua, he gets several television appearances. He has no interest in that stuff, but this is the only way to get answers about Ai and their possible biological father as he might be the key or the reason behind Ai’s demise.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Oh good! Rie Takahashi is in the main cast. Oh…she plays Ai. That’s just sad. So, is Ai still technically a main character even though she gets killed by episode 1? Just curious! As for the sub, Sentai has a dub out. My premature thoughts went straight to Monica Rial. I’m sniffing around to see if she’s even in this. I can sense Rial up in here.

several research voice actor moments later

Okay, Monica Rial isn’t part of the main cast…but her sister is. I was close and thought that either one or both Rial sisters were going to be there. I thought these people did a good job considering the major hype to the anime. I know I usually never give glowing recommendations for any dub done by Sentai. This, they did fine with. This is my first time hearing most (if not all) the main cast.

JAPANESE CAST: *Aqua is played by Takeo Ootsuka (known for Tem on Beastars)

*Ruby is played by Yurie Igoma

*Ai is played by Rie Takahashi (known for Emilia on Re:Zero, Tomo on Tomo-chan is a Girl, Megumin on Konosuba, Ena on Laid-Back Camp, Sumi on Rent-A-Girlfriend, and Mash on Fate/Grand Order)

ENGLISH CAST: *Aqua is played by Jack Stansbury (known for Mendou on Urusei Yatsura 2022)

*Ruby is played by Alyssa Marek

*Ai is played by Donna Bella Litton (known for Ran on Urusei Yatsura 2022)

SHIPPING: This…can get really ewwie really fast.

Gorou’s obsession with Ai was borderline Lolita fetish. A grown-ass man obsessing over a 16-year-old idol can get really creepy really fast. I do give him props as he remained completely professional as Ai’s OB-GYN. Now, what happens when Gorou dies and is reborn as Aqua? Oh, he loves Ai! It’s just that Aqua was careful as humanly possible. That’s my tip-toeing around the scene where Aqua turns down being breast fed by Ai. Ruby doesn’t mind drinking from Ai’s teat.

16-year-old Aqua kept getting asked by his castmates for the reality show he was in what his ideal woman was. He tip-toes around it, but we all know he’s describing Ai. His mother! A woman who died over 10 years ago. And again, HIS MOTHER! Though, nobody else knows that fact so he just tip-toes around it by being as discreet as humanly possible. Because of Aqua’s looks, he’s a prime target for thirsty girls at his school. But thanks to the reality show he was in; he ends up in a fake relationship with Akane. Totally doesn’t help that Akane starts acting like Ai! Because those two “hooked up” during the reality show, they must keep up appearances with their relationship in the public eye.

We could end that shit topic here if not for little miss Kana being little miss tsundere whenever Aqua is around. Oh boy, Kana is a true tsundere here.

SADDEST MOMENT: That first episode killed it in more ways than one. There’s no doubt that every main character here has had their hardships in the past. Ai had parents that abandoned her and she winds up in an orphanage. When Ruby was Sarina, she was suffering from that rare brain cancer where it was a struggle just to walk. And as for Aqua, they never did find his original body. But I was not prepared for what happened when Ai answered that door in episode 1.

I was thinking that stalker guy was the father of Aqua and Ruby and we’re going to have this whole thing throughout the series. Instead, when I watched this guy try to kill Ai, I immediately got flashbacks of Selena. Oh yeah, who could forget that death?

Yes, everything about Ai’s final words killed me. The animation, the delivery, everything! And Rie Takahashi knocked it out of the park!

DO THESE STORIES LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU?: So, I might be going out on several limbs here but hear me out. Watching Oshi no Ko, do you draw any kind of correlation to any character’s backstory and seen it with an actor who might have gone through this same sort of thing? This story delves into the dark side of the entertainment industry and mostly in Japan. But being American, I can’t help but draw connections to the sad stories I would see in the entertainment industry in the U.S.

When I watched a crazed fan attack Ai, I will always immediately think of what happened to Selena. Seeing Kana try to stay relevant due to being a child actor, I think of a lot of child stars that went on after the height of their careers and while there are some success stories, there’s…well, it didn’t end well for actors like Bobby Driscoll and Dana Plato. Look both of those up, it’s quite tragic. I know these are American actors and most of the story is revolved around what happens in the Japanese entertainment industry. I’m just using these an example because I learned about these tragedies and lived through some of them (especially Selena’s death). Despite all of those stories being decades old, a lot of dark things still take place in this day and age. And with the addition of social media, being an entertainer has become worse.

The Akane storyline…ouch. First of all, social media comments are toxic. I will admit, I used to “Egosurf” a lot in my 20s when I was somewhat relevant on certain sites. It did not do well for my mental health. But I’m not like Akane. I’m not an entertainer. I’m a dork that likes to write reviews for animes and proud of it. If someone on Tumblr tells me I suck, I just ignore it. I probably won’t even see it knowing me. Tee-hee! Back to the matter at hand though. Akane wasn’t really seen as anything special in the reality show she was in with Aqua. She didn’t stick out as much as her other co-stars. Despite it being kinda like a reality show, these kids are still acting or doing what their supervisors say. Akane decides to do something impulsive and it backfired. BADLY!

This resulted in people on social media exploding with hatred for Akane with the most disgusting of messages telling her she’ll never act again or just blunt ones that say “Just die”. Despite the episode clearly stating this is a “work of fiction”, you know they got inspired by the real-life tragedy of Hana Kimura. Kimura was a female professional wrestler for the most part. In 2019, she was in a reality show called Terrace House. During an episode, Kimura got in a verbal argument with one of the castmates. From what I’ve read, they asked her to stir the pot a bit and fight with the other castmate. After this episode aired, fans took to social media and posted a lot of hate-filled messages towards Kimura. This sent her in a deep depression. Two months after this episode aired and all of the horrible messages were blasted at top speed, Hana Kimura committed suicide.

I don’t want to say Oshi no Ko blatently used this one particular story for the Akane storyline. But I’m also not saying that either. This is eerily too similar. It also doesn’t help that this episode aired days before the anniversary of Kimura’s death. I know it’s coincidence, but weird-ass timing. Thank God Aqua saved her from jumping off the bridge. While Oshi no Ko is a work of fiction, what happened to Hana Kimura was not. And bullying the woman’s family is not helping anything whatsoever. Yes, Kimura’s mother is pissed at the anime for airing a story similar to the events that drove her daughter to suicide. She has that right! Don’t bully her because she’s mad at everyone involved with Oshi no Ko. If I was in her shoes, I’d probably be pissed too and for a long time too. Moving away from that dumpster fire…

And the biggest kudos goes to Hidive. At the end of episode 6, they put up a message to prevent suicide and well, you know what? I’m going to do so here too.

As someone who has unfortunately been in dark places like some of these characters, I encourage others to seek out help as well.

ENDING: Since the events of episode 1, we watched what Ruby and Aqua want to do with their lives. Ruby is committed to becoming an idol like her mother. Slowly throughout the season, she and Kana joined Ai’s old production company and started up the idol group Ai was in, B Komachi. It was just the two of them until the end of the reality show Aqua was in. That’s when Aqua suggested to his castmate Mem-Cho that she should become an idol in the B Komachi revival. This is an interesting mixture for an idol group with the daughter of an idol (though nobody knows that fact), a former child star, and a Youtuber that’s 25 going on 16 depending on her applications.

Kana puts up a brave face in front of Ruby and Mem-Cho. But you can tell that Kana is scared. She’s been tossed around since becoming older, nobody bought her single when she recorded songs, her own mother even gave up on her, and all of these rejections kinda caught up to Kana. Regardless, Kana went up on stage with Ruby and Mem-Cho as a rookie idol. B Komachi got their chance at an idol festival to perform. It’s a start compared to a lot idols in other animes. On stage, it was clear that the audience was mostly there for Mem-Cho due to her popularity through the reality show and her Youtube channel. But Ruby got some attention from an audience member who remembered the original B Komachi and noticed Ruby kinda got that same aura as Ai.

Kana felt a little despair while performing on stage. But then we get a déjà vu trip as Aqua is in the audience doing a glow stick dance. Yeah, it was a lot like what happened when Ai was performing, doubt was swarming her, and then the twins start doing a glow stick dance. I guess the performance went well. It’s just that after that we see more tsundere moments from Kana. Mem-Cho finally sees that Kana likes Aqua. And then there’s some friction when we learn that Kana and Akane know each other and are rivals. And when I say rivals, I mean they are like Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak in the first season rivals, they are catty bitches. They’ve been at it since they were children.

A popular anime is about to be adapted as a stage musical. Akane and Kana are set to be in this production. The gentleman that Aqua has been in contact for a while now set him up with a role in that same stage musical. This theater company was apparently where things changed for Ai when she was an up-and-coming idol.

Could this be Aqua’s big lead to possibly meeting his biological father? That’s a question that won’t be answered today. At least season two is greenlit.

Soooooo…after watching episode 1 and the hype that came along with it, did the rest of the season grab my attention? Yes. It totally did. I mean it wasn’t at the hype it was when I had just watched episode 1. After one viewing of episode one, I had to tell anyone who would listen to me that this was awesome. There were however several other episodes that grabbed me. Yes, it was the Akane-centered episodes. Let’s just say any time I saw moments with Kana and Ruby trying to do idol stuff before Mem-cho came were a little boring. I just felt like they were just there and nothing else. Probably just a reminder that yeah, they exist, now let’s go back to Aqua doing what he’s doing.

Am I excited for season two? Oh yes, I am. I’m doing my best not to look at any manga spoilers. It’s hard. Every so often, a spoiler drops on Twitter and you just want to look. Or someone on Youtube will say something about a new chapter and you just want to take a quickie. NOPE! I’m going to stay strong and just practice good patience.

Medea read up about Aqua and Ruby’s father

No self control whatsoever! Not one iota of it. Whenever season two drops, it’s going to be a biggie. Will the anime continue to be a smashing hit when it returns? That’s for the future to decide. I truly hope for the best. As long as they stay with the original material and the same studio that’s animating it, I think we’ll be good. Full recommendation!

FINAL (IDIOTIC) THOUGHT: So, is Ai going to be the next member of Franchouchou on Zombieland Saga?

…I’m going to sit in the corner and think about what I just wrote.

All 11 episodes are available on Hi-Dive.

[nyxcaelum]

My Fanfics Masterpost

These will be sorted by length, and each by fandom underneath. They are all on AO3, I moved all my works to their archive.

I keep this list up to date as good as I can. In this case, all fics unless stated otherwise are written romantically, just to make it easier I use & instead of / for the Ships.

Works in Collections will not be listed each one by one, but instead can be found under the "Collection" tab.

Yuukoku no Moriarty/Moriarty the Patriot

Rated 18+: All are Sherliam unless noted otherwise

Three Minutes in Heaven

The color of Depression - Albert & Mycroft

Sinful Indulgence

Desire, Flavor, Bliss

On Fire

General Audiences, Teen and Up:

Memories lost at Sea

Watching Fireworks together

Dancing in the Moonlight with you

Between Strawberry cake and coffee

Trigun

And we took the leap (explicit), Vash x Wolfwood

Love your next like you love your coffee, with or without milk and sugar. (CW: Incest) Plantwood /Vash x Wolfwood x Nai

Bungo Stray Dogs

Soukoku:

Kissing Strangers

Addictive Whispering

Oda & Ango:

A Promise of a lifetime

Sunshine & Pancakes

I´ve always liked you, you know

Hypnosis Mic

A heartfelt talk at dusk - Hitoya & Jakurai

Sugary sweet Sleepover time - Fling Posse Fluff

Drunken Confessions - Doppo & Hifumi

Persona

Signs of Love - Protag/Akira & Akechi

Arknights

Cold, cold, twisted hearts and an unusual proposition - Doctor & SilverAsh & Gnosis

Sk8 the Infinity

Usagi to Yuki - Reki & Langa

Prickly like Soda, Sweet like Juice - Reki & Langa - unfinished, probably will never finish it

Shall we Date? Obey me!

Maybe you´re the reason I can´t sleep - MC & Belphie Sleepy Fluff

Idolish 7

A Confession - Tsumugi & Gaku

Vanitas no Carte

Tarte Tatin, for my beloved - Vanitas & Noe

Fate Series

Under the Christmas Tree in NY - Saber & Gilgamesh (was a work for secret santa)

Be naughty and you pay the price- Gil & Gudako R18

Dango, Dango - Miyamoto Iori & Yamato Takeru

In rememberance of a good time gone by - Bazett & Krei R18 + Warnings apply!

Deeds, not words - Ritsuka & Murasaki Shikibou

Oh so bitter sweet, is young love - Gray & Waver Velvet

FMA

And do they? - Roy & Riza

Fairy Tail

A drop of Sake - Jellal & Erza

Tears of Themis

Curry together tastes better than having it alone - Rosa & Vyn

Honkai Star Rail

Always make sure to pay your bottoms well - Sampo & Stelle R18

Desire and blood, between spider lilies of another world - Luocha & Blade R18 - Collab Event Fic

Ohh to be the ducky in his tub... - Ratio & Stelle R18

Sleeping Together - NuCarnival Fluff One Shots (All guys)

Tunas DOA & Hunting Dogs Crack One Shot collection

Tunas Genshin Reader Fics (Eng, Ger, and 18+ available separately inside)

Tunas Writing Requests (EN, mostly Prompts Fulfillfing for Fate Series Kink Prompts. Some 18+)

Yuukoku no Moriarty/Moriarty the Patriot

Oh woe me, my sick heart - Will & Sherlock

In solving Crimes, we find Love - Will & Sherlock

Tales of

The sun and the moon and the stars Mikleo & Sorey mainly

These are all basically German works.

Nur jeweils eine Fic:

When the Devil meets the Fox - BSD Soukoku

Empty Dreams - LoL SettPhel

-> LoL Novel lange Fanfic Collection

Cantarella - Arknights Doctor & SilverAsh

Blindfold of Love - Riza & Roy

Mein Servant und Ich - Fate Grand Order Misc. Geschichten

Rabenschwarz - Tekken Jin & Reader

The little Sweets - My Hero Academia - Ochako & Bakugo

In the name of Love! - Soul Eater - Blackstar & Tsubaki

At the end of a long escape - Resident Evil - Sherry & Jake

Grandiose Stadt - TEWY - OC & Joshua - freundschaftliches Ship

Der der die Sonne stahl - Noragami - Iki & Yato

Winterwunder und blaue Jeans - Miraculous Ladybug - Adrien & Marinette

Persona

Schwarzer Kaffee - Protag/Akira & Makoto

About the Pleasant Boy - Nur Goro Akechi

Tales of

Abends in der Taverne - Zaveid & Eizen

Memories of Brother - Eizen & Edna Drama

The tale of the time traveling Girl - OC/Autor Insert & Zaveid

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy x Reader Short Stories - Collab mit Schwester , mit den 15. Protagonisten

Nacht des Kristalls - Generelles Abenteuer mit Luna, Noctis, Ignis in AU

[fivekrystalpetals]

My thoughts so far (mainly the arc from Retrace XXXVI to Retrace XLII—trio investigates Sablier arc?)

1] Glen Baskerville: so, we get a face reveal for the ‘evil mastermind’ behind the Tragedy of Sablier. But before we talk about the meeting between Glen and Oz, I want to talk about Lottie’s bits of memories from the Tragedy.

—out of all the events shown to us through Cheshire’s dimensions and even at Sablier itself, I can only trust these bits of Lottie’s memories (surprise!)—why? Because, for one, she has no reason to lie about her treasured master; and two, she is still alive. Alice from 100 years ago is long dead and the chain Alice has no memories of her past. She is just like us, readers, clueless of the actual events. And whatever memories we do see, I can’t trust them, being all shaky, distorted and twisted and traumatized.

Anyway, I felt something was off about the three panels even during my first read but I couldn’t place what exactly. I simply assumed it was because Glen’s face was shrouded in darkness and mystery, looking all cruel and villainous.

But I think I know what rubbed me wrong about the panels. It’s the urgency in his behavior. Why is he so agitated here? If the plan was made to sink Sablier into the Abyss to appease(?) the Will, then he should sit back and enjoy the game, no? Like, say, Father from FMA, who had a similar masterplan and motive to sink Amestris and make a Philosopher’s Stone out of all the souls. Not to mention, why did he give the order to Lottie and Co. to kill all the people? They might have been sacrificed to the Will, dead or alive, right?

Here we get the answer from Glen himself—

The Will of the Abyss didn’t exist in the beginning. The Abyss itself was probably some sort of an energy source before it was granted a vessel. I am not yet sure of the exact details but what I strongly believe is that the White-Haired Alice is in reality a human and the actual twin sister of our Alice who was kept trapped inside Rapunzel's castle. But that raises a ton of other questions like—who placed her inside the Abyss? If it were the Baskervilles, did they believe she won’t have a ‘will’ of her own? Did they really think she would simply be a robot for them to use? And again, who is ‘Alice’? And how is she special to make them think she could act as a vessel for the Abyss?

Okay, well, that aside, Glen’s logic here actually makes sense to me? (or maybe I just listen better to dark-haired emo guys ahem so don’t take this seriously lol I am not trying to condone his actions or anything just trying to understand both sides of the argument) It’s similar to what Break said in Retrace IX. The power of the Abyss is malfunctioning, has pervaded the human world, currently disrupting it—the only way to set it right is by obtaining the Intention of the Abyss. Well, how Oz calculates into his equation or why he is called a Key is not yet clear but this—

—seems important. It appears before Oz existed, only the Baskervilles, the servants of the Abyss, could access it but after Oz’s ‘birth’, everyone can do so.

Soooo, taking away all that ominous shading from around Glen, that’s what he too is saying, right? I am almost starting to believe that Glen was actually trying to set right the accident—not planning for it—because that way I get the answer to another one of my questions: why did he give the order to kill all the people in Sablier? Why could the people not have been sacrificed alive to the Intention, if sacrifice of so many people was to be the end outcome anyway?

Honestly, from his agitation and his overall urgency and his apparent hurry to even pause to answer his subordinates’ very valid question, it felt less like a planned affair and more like a last-minute rush hour, more like he was running out of time. Why was he running out of time if this Tragedy was planned in advance?

On the other hand, if–if he didn’t know this Tragedy was gonna take place, and if the Intention suddenly started to pull down the capital, his reaction would make sense. I think, so I ask, was he trying to save the people of Sablier from a Fate worse than Death, as they say? Anything that gets dragged into the Abyss gets converted into Chains or something worse (see: Vincent shot down Phillipe’s dad before he got dragged into the Abyss?), I think Glen gave the urgent yet baffling order to kill the people so that they ‘die’ before they get dragged into the Abyss.

[Well, I think I am wrong anyway; somehow none of my guesses are working for this story lol. Two faults I can easily pick on in my theory: 1] Lottie and co. were alive and well in spite of being dragged into the Abyss and 2] the people could have been evacuated from Sablier, no? or perhaps it was too late for even that?]

Next, this—

Glen is not a memory, is he? He is actually talking to Oz. At first, he wrongly assumed that Oz was Jack and addressed him so; but then he realized his mistake.

And then, comes the familiar line—the Baskervilles said this, his dad said this and now, Glen too—

Your sin is your very existence.

—let me tell you I didn’t take this line seriously until now. Eh, it’s some line that is being repeated to make a Tragic Hero with a Tragic Backstory out of Oz—is what I thought. But now, a guy who has no connection to Oz whatsoever repeats the same line, out of nowhere, without any outside influence or knowledge, merely by looking ‘inside’ the boy; and I am suddenly being forced to wonder what it means (perhaps in a literal sense)

Oz should not have existed.

Alternatively, Oz shouldn’t have been born.

Xai Vessalius said the same thing too. Pretty sure this has something to do with Oz being the Key to access the Abyss, but what exactly he can do is unclear to me.

(Oh, an additional complaint (of sorts?): uh, I didn’t like Jack’s attitude toward Lottie and co., they were merely asking for an answer from him (they were even quite casually polite unlike their usual attitude towards the others); while the answer he gives them is: 1) he is trying to protect his friend’s reputation (before his own subordinates?? Please. The Baskervilles seem too loyal to their master. Even if the truth is too hard and too cruel to digest, they would have accepted it as one of their master’s orders anyway.) and 2) that Lottie won’t stand a chance before the B-Rabbit’s power… which okay? Doesn’t answer their question though? Honestly, feels like he is trying to scare them away from the truth more than anything else. And if my theory is right, and Glen was actually trying to save the people, then why would he (or the Baskervilles) want to bring about another Tragedy of Sablier? *shrugs in idek anything at this point*)

Moving on,

2] Vincent, Gil and the Will of the Abyss: (or, as I believe the girl talking so rudely to Gil and Vincent. I won’t have it that it’s our sweet Alice being the one mocking him about his eyes but if it is so, then well…)

Anyway, she is the one that tells Vincent about Glen and five chains that exist within his body: Jabberwock (the one Glen had in the scene with Oz), Raven (Gil’s), Dodo, Owl, Griffon (Xai’s chain) (all creatures from Alice in Wonderland). Also, that Glen is an undead spirit that keeps changing bodies (like atla!avatar), that he rules over the Baskervilles, that Gil would be the next Baskerville head and so unless Vincent stops the ceremony to transfer Raven into Gil’s body, Gil will die. Why would Gil die if he is meant to be the next heir; it makes no sense. Pretty sure the Will was simply lying to make Vincent open the Door.

The solution—open the Gates of the Abyss (real reason: so the Abyss could creep into the human world, huh?) which Vincent believed and did anyway… kickstarting the Tragedy of Sablier. (So, that’s all Vincent remembers? I hoped we could learn more from him; but the next thing he was seeing after opening the Gate was the massacre in Sablier.)

So, in the present, Vincent desires the Will of the Abyss so he can reverse time and make it so that the Tragedy never happened in the first place. yk, this is one rare situation where I actually wish Time could be reversed and the past could be restored because Vincent was only a little child at the time. He just desperately wanted to protect his brother (and prove that he is not a curse or burden to his brother) but the adults around him used this vulnerability to manipulate him into committing acts beyond his full comprehension. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing indeed. Even then, and taking Break’s case as an example, even if he manages to reverse the Tragedy, something even bigger and more tragic must happen.

Also, about Raven: apparently, transferring this chain to Gil was the first step to make Gil the next heir to the Baskervilles. Vincent was against this 100 years ago yet he willingly shows Raven to Gil in the present (ten years ago i.e.). Why? Is this some part of his plan? To try and make Gil remember his past? Or, so they find an irreplaceable position in the Nightray household? Or, considering his calculations to change the past, this contract won’t matter anyway—is what he thinks?

I am worried about Gil, too. What is the ‘kill him, kill him,’ saying going on inside his head? Break correctly points out that those thoughts aren’t his own. I can’t explain why but I feel like it’s Raven that’s feeding him these thoughts. Or, it could also be the B-Rabbit chain that is under his control or something. Uhhh, idk what’s going on with Gil, nothing good obviously.

About Gil, Jack and Glen: I thought Gil was Jack’s servant in the past, that’s why he feels so bonded to Oz but turns out this is not so. Although strange why—

Even in Cheshire’s domain, Gil is the one that ran into Jack first. I wonder…

Another thing: Gil obviously doesn’t remember anything from his past, but did he know Glen? There must have been some communication between Glen and Gil 100 years ago if he was chosen to be the next heir and all. Was Glen Gil's master, if not Jack?

Either way, it’s sad—the two brothers’ relationship. In spite of all their hardships, they clearly cared for each other even if the thought seemed to have entered Gil’s mind several times to just up and leave Vincent behind (which he thankfully didn’t. He is his only relative, after all.) Vincent too cares a lot for Gil, if not for anyone else. And was ready to listen to the words of some strange lady in strange robes (kids, never accept candy advice from strangers, okay?) to help his big bro.

3] Miranda Burma:

Ah, this lady.

And this lady:

are the same, right?

This bitch lady was the one manipulating the hell out of a little child. She has played an important role in the Tragedy by getting to open the Gate to the Abyss. Perhaps, as a member of one of the noble houses, she was granted entry to the Baskerville Mansion, and she decided to misuse this trust to bite the hand of her own host.

Anyway, her existence in the story makes me all the more certain that the Tragedy came onto the Baskervilles as suddenly as Vincent opening the Gate to the Abyss. And that the four Dukedoms each have something or the other to do with this Tragedy. Perhaps, they were jealous of the power the Baskervilles held, that they alone could act as the Servants of the Abyss and wanted the Doors to the Abyss for themselves?

Oooh, could it be that Jack Vessalius too is part of the plot? What a twist it would make yum! Did he betray his best friend’s trust in him to plot with the other Dukedoms against him? After the Baskervilles were defeated, he must have been declared the ‘Hero’ by the other Dukedoms for all his help, eh? Perhaps, there is some truth to Lottie’s accusation, after all? Jack didn’t defend himself then—simply scared her off with the B-Rabbit’s power.

Also, very interesting that four of the five chains that originally belonged to Glen were shared between the Dukedoms like spoils of the war.

This scene is a red herring, yes? Glen’s Evil Smirk TM is supposed to be taken as—ah, obviously he is in cahoots with her and the Plan, but that seems too obvious to me; I rather feel like she was someone he trusted a lot and was simply smiling in acknowledgement, not knowing of the secret betrayal going on around him. I have read too many detective novels to fall for something this obvious hahaha.

side note: she is totally a manipulative bitch but her hair is beautiful lol

4] Xai Vessalius: oh yeah, and what about the Vessalius' household head? The one who hates his ‘son’ so much that he is ready to personally cast him as far as possible into the Abyss to maintain some distance lol. The Burma Dukedom was clearly ‘in’ the Tragedy, but seeing that Xai Vessalius and Duke Nightray are working together (at least in some capacity, for the Duke vouched for Xai’s alibi while the latter was def in the Coming-of-age ceremony) makes me wonder (once again)—who is on whose side? Who is telling the truth? What are they hiding? The truth behind the Tragedy of Sablier?

Plus, Rufus Barma reads out (from a book that no one but he can read which in itself is suspicious lol) that Jack sacrificed his body to stop Glen (the spirit) from resurrection but… that might also be because the four Dukedoms don’t want Glen to awaken (otherwise the truth might come out).

Not to mention, there is this and idk what to make of it—

The more I continue with this story, the more it feels like Oz came into existence from very dubious sources just like the Intention of the Abyss.

And what about sweet Uncle Oscar? Is he as good-natured and jovial as he appears? In spite of Gil repeatedly telling him that Xai was the mastermind of the Incident at the Coming-of-Age ceremony, he simply brushes his statement off. Are both brothers (and Duke Nightray) in this together?

But Xai also seems to be acting with the Baskervilles. Maybe, in his own faceless (lol why is his face not revealed already?) methods, he too is simply trying to uncover the truth from 100 years ago and really, nobody knows anything?

5] Alice and Jack (and Lacie): Well, I didn’t learn anything new about these two except for that the eerie tune we’ve been hearing right from the first chapter and the grave belongs to ‘Lacie’. She was someone very beloved to Glen and had to be made into a sacrifice for the Abyss. (Well, that’s a lot of things to unpack but for now I am not gonna make wild assumptions bc i am gonna be wrong anyway.)

only thing: if my theory that “the Tragedy of Sablier was orchestrated by the four dukedoms to get hands on the Doors to the Abyss and get rid of the Baskervilles who were caught right in the middle of a crossfire when Vincent opened the Gate” is wrong, then the other theory could be something like: Glen sacrificed the people of Sablier to the Abyss as a cost to get back Lacie or something. (yk, the trope of the villain ready to throw away the world for the sake of one ‘beloved’ person)

6] Human Experimentation: arrgghhh I was right about this and now I am sad I was right, bc Phillipe is gonna be used for these experiments, right? The so-called facility to take in kids whose parents were illegal contractors seems above board and done in a good cause and all (or so our main trio and Leo-Eliot believe; Leo is esp. good with the kids) so the author can hit them (and me) hard when they find out that the kids have been used in experimentation and never gonna return. ‘Endless supply of human guinea pigs’ are you kidding me?!! I already had a hunch that the organization of Pandora was shady af and now I have proof.

7] Eliot Nightray: I don’t know what to make of this boy yet; but I am warming up to him anw because he is such a tsundere lmao. He clearly wants to react positively whenever Oz loudly offers to be friends, instead he is having this ‘stoned’ expression on his face ///>^<///

(lol he is so funny; He is literally the anime single-canine-in-mouth-when-mad catboy in this whole dark affair lmao)

or has a constant nerve popping on his face somewhere lol

Another curious thing: he claims he wrote the song Lacie (the same song Glen wrote) so...... what does it mean? Is he destined to be the next host for Glen? Does he share his memories? And he even has the nightmare of burning buildings and people dying (Tragedy of Sablier, right?) Eliot as the next Glen is something I’d definitely want to see. He’d look so cool with all those layers of robes.

okay he looks really handsome here; had I read PH 10 years ago, I might have crushed on him so hard hehehe

8] Baskerville clan: now that Zwei and the one who cast Oz into the Abyss, Xai are both revealed to be /not/ Baskervilles, I believe only Lottie, Fang and the other guy are the only remaining Baskervilles. Oh, and the new young girl who appeared from the Gate still in possession of the Baskervilles–Lily.

I am actually warming up to this little ragtag group of mass murderers. They might be villains to this story (or not from their pov) but they are still family—Lottie being the older sister,

Fang gives off Tired DILF of FourTM energy (how did I not notice him before? I am in love with the way he talks &lt;;3),

Lily is the little sister.

Lottie came across as super weird in the beginning but I feel like that’s all just a cover to hide her hurt feelings at her own helplessness and their inability to find their master’s body and give him peace.

The scene where she is consoling Lily and recounting her own experiences:

She looks so sad here :((

And, just like that, I am down for the villains once again lol

9] Oz and Alice: lol I am not even trying to understand what’s going on with Oz anymore. That he is able to use B-Rabbit's power on his own is one thing, but why is he wielding the scythe as well all of a sudden? Does the power of the B-Rabbit keep transferring to Oz’s body the more he uses it? What will happen to Alice then? Will her soul disappear? Because as I understand, B-Rabbit merely assumes the form of Alice bc it is harder to maintain the whole form,, but Alice was already dead 100 years ago. So, what is in the B-Rabbit chain must be more or less a small fragment of her soul. If the B-Rabbit finds a stronger host, is it automatically transferring to it? Maybe then, Alice can finally rest in peace ;-;? I just hope she finds the whole truth of her life before she passes for good this time. This girl is becoming lonelier and more lost as the story proceeds. And even her chipper and boisterous attitude is more forced these recent chapters unlike the first few chapters. Oh, I can’t even remember the last time she was hungry for meat TT~TT

To end this long essay on a funny note, have a panel of Alice ‘kissing’ Oz in the end—I am laughing at the shape of Oz’s cheek at the end of the ‘kiss’