I’m kinda laughing at the idea of someone trying to comfort Mustang with this like, “Hey buddy come on statistically way more of your team should be dead so it’s pretty cool that only Maes got brutally murdered ya know?”
You know, I think one of my favorite points of contrast between Ed and Roy is how Ed handled Shou Tucker vs how Roy handled Envy
And maybe youre thinking “hmm, no those were pretty similar. Ed beat the shit outta Tucker until Al was like ‘knock it off ur gonna kill him’, and Roy….beat the shit outta Envy until Riza/Scar/Ed were like ‘knock it off ur gonna kill them’” and okay. That’s definitely similar. But there’s one piece that Ed and Roy handled in exact opposite fashion and I think it says a lot about them.
Both Tucker and Envy try to pull the “Well aint you a monster too?” card. Tucker tells Ed he’s just as bad for messing around with his brother’s life. Envy tells Roy he’s horrible for killing Maria Ross if he knew she was innocent.
And Ed goes absolutely ham on Tucker. He starts yelling and punching up a storm about “No you’re wrong!” as if Tucker’s opinion matters to him. Ed cares what Shou Tucker of all people thinks of him, or maybe it just cut deep enough that Ed halfway believes it himself, and is desperate to deny it.
For Roy–Roy had the perfect chance to pull an absolute zinger. To waggle his finger and go “aha! foolish creature! this is where I’ve bested you, showing myself to be a clever and upstanding man, for I have not killed her!” But Roy just….doesn’t. He doesn’t bring up the fact that he got Maria out safely. He brushes the topic aside and doesn’t let Envy detract from the matter at hand. Roy does not care at all what Envy thinks of him. He’s got no desire to fix his image right there because Envy’s opinion is less than garbage. And he probably doesn’t take the insult to heart, like Ed does, because at this point Roy’s already aware he’s a monster.
In conclusion, this is why Roy is a politician, and Ed isn’t.
My BIGGEST pet peeve when it comes to Tolkien is how people will sometimes characterize Melkor’s rebellion as being about him wanting to do his own thing and rebelling against Illuvatar’s oppressive sheet music.
THERE WAS NO SHEET MUSIC! Illuvatar wasn’t forcing anything. The Ainulindale was improv. Illuvatar just gave them the theme, the idea, the feeling, the starting point. The Ainur were drawing inspiration from the thought of Illuvatar, sure, and so long as they were in harmony the music played precisely as Illuvatar intended because Illuvatar had created them and knew how they worked together. But the music of the Ainur before Melkor’s dissonance was quintessentially creative, as well as corroborative. It was spontaneous, perfect harmony of free individuals perfectly in tune with each other, whose improvisations were constantly building upon each other.
Melkor’s rebellion was not about asserting his freedom of expression, because his expression was already free. Instead it was explicitly about making his own voice louder and more important than anyone else’s, and subjugating the creativity of others to instead convince or force them to follow him exactly in repetitive unison. And so, when Melkor’s goal became drown everyone else out, instead of make beautiful music together, his music became less creative, less innovative, and less his.
So it kind of annoys me when people talk about Melkor like he’s all for freedom of expression when he’s pretty much the opposite of that.
How.many of y’all been in jazz bands and gotten lead sheets for a song? Just the chord structure, some rhythms jotted out and maybe a few bars of a unifying theme? I played in student jazz bands for 6 years and let me tell you, the truly good musicians listen and feel out the structure of the song and when it comes to their solo, they’re ready and their expression shines. But then you get that one jackass who pulls something weird out of his ass during a performance and doesn’t follow the chord structure and you have to either let it sound bad or drown him out. It’s not freedom or creativity. It’s just being an asshole because you won’t play well with others.
OKAY some MSA Hellbent things that I have to talk about
THE ENTIRE MYSTERY AND SHIROMORI CONFRONTATION
BECAUSE THIS
is like Mystery being caught in the act of cheating. in a relationship, friendship, power contract, or whatever his history was with shiromori-
she even blushes hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
From what we can tell of the flashbacks
They had a pretty good relationship. With her name meaning “white Forest” and the difference of the state of the forest in the pictures above and below we can see that Mystery helped her grow powerful.
And then teaming up against the samurai- an ancestor of vivi? (notice the vines around her wrists)
And also note the mask and sword- a dead family member? Either way-
it ended badly for shiromori (the dead vines in the bottom)
Then comes the blank spot of how Mystery came to be with vivi. EVEN mystery just explains it to shiromori with an “ITS COMPLICATED” shrug. Maybe penance for killing the owner of the helmet and sword? All we can do is hope that it gets explained in the next video.
The writing on the bat! (can anyone read japanese?)
Besides that-
Arthur didn’t even try to hang on. he just- lets go out of shock. IM STILL SHOOK
SHOTGUN
RIP shiromori- Uncle Lance doesn’t take treaspassers lightly
All in all im still reeling but i had to write all this down
A jubokko is a tree yokai that was once a normal tree… but was fed blood at some point. It then decided it liked the taste, and became a blood-drinking monster.
Let’s talk about Shiromori’s relationship with Mystery.
Mystery happened upon a small flower in an otherwise dead forest… and, in true trickster fashion, decided to use his own blood to feed the flower, allowing it to blossom and grow strong…
…to the point where the flower overtook the entire forest, and the resulting “white forest” (literally Shiromori’s name) once again thrived. Judging by the size of this forest, it had to be drinking MUCH more blood than Mystery could offer – and judging by the discarded helmet and katana beneath the tree on which he’s perched, as well as the fact that our mysterious blue warrior (Vivi’s ancestor, it looks like) seems determined to fight him, we can assume that Mystery has been killing the warriors come to slay the Fiendish Fox in the White Forest and allowing the forest to drink their blood.
The result: a very proud fox demon, lording over his own vast and impenetrable territory, and a very fruitful forest who seems to love her caretaker dearly.
Enough to feel utterly betrayed and embarrased when her caretaker chooses to be with somebody else.
The descendant of the one who slew him, no less.
And speaking of which, let’s touch on that.
We can see in this flashback sequence that Mystery has all nine tails. However, in Ghost, he has six… and in Freaking Out, he has seven.
A kitsune, a Japanese nine-tailed fox demon, can gain tails through experience, wisdom, honor… but can also lose a tail by breaking kitsune law, or occasionally, by dying.
The fact that Mystery still had nine tails when confronted by mystery-warrior-woman implies that what he was doing with the forest didn’t break any kitsune laws, so that’s not how he lost his tails. We can see in this image that Mystery was having quite the fearsome battle with the warrior… I suspect she managed to actually slay him, and when he came back, it was as a defenseless one-tailed kitsune once more.
Eventually, Mystery found his way back to Vivi’s family…
…the Yukinos. (art by @mysterybensmysteryblog and @artsyfeathersartsyblog, respectively) Judging by the blue, we can probably assume that Vivi gets her Japanese heritage from her father’s side… but while her grandmother looks very traditional, her father is wearing modern clothes. He probably doesn’t believe in any superstitious Japanese yokai stuff. Gramma Yukino? Another story entirely.
Mystery has probably been in disguise the WHOLE TIME, and has never properly revealed himself ot Vivi’s family… though Gramma Yukino doesn’t seem to trust this strange white puppydog. After all, the Yukino family has a story about a white canine from long in the past.
ANYWAY. THE MORAL OF THE STORY: DON’T FEED BLOOD TO PLANTS. WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, SEYMOUR KRELBORN
I think it was very right and good of Scanlan to apologize for his treatment of Pike throughout the episodes, and to promise to treat her like a person rather than a goal. If he realizes that he did something that may have hurt her, even if it was not his intention, or! even if she wasn’t actually hurt, of course he should apologize and make changes to instead be considerate. However, I never actually read his behavior towards her, even in the early episodes, as “creepy”?
A good part of that may be the players bleeding through to the characters–for instance when Scanlan was waxing eloquent about Pike and ended his description with “Breasts firm, supple–” it was definitely Ashley who said smugly “True, true”, not in character as Pike: but a big part about their interactions that made it not bother me the way a lot of ‘guy pursuing a lady who’s not into him’ stories was that Pike never seemed to be made particularly uncomfortable. A bit awkward at times, but then she also gets awkward when Vax says glowing things about her perfection, and even when she would kind of stammer “Oh, Scanlan,” it read to me as part exasperated, part flattered, part amused, but never frightened or uneasy (except inasmuch as she is uneasy about potentially hurting him [”I didn’t mean to be careless with your feelings.”]). It’s less of a pursuit and more of a dance, and Pike never doesn’t hold her own. Everything comes with a context, and something that might be harmful from an enemy or a stranger can be very different coming from a friend.
i made a comment about wirt’s reaction to beatrice’s betrayal last year but i never got around to actually posting about it, so here are (finally) some thoughts:
@allieinarden has a great post considering Wirt’s dad and his own insecurities that have led us all, instinctively, to conclude he’s been left (rather than his dad has died), and i’m just gonna quote a small part of it here rather than paraphrase bc she’s Too Smart to not read:
It fascinates me that with all the guesses I’ve run across, even in a series fraught with specters of all shapes, I’ve never seen anyone speculate that Wirt’s father might be dead. There’s nothing to contradict it–we only have mention of a remarriage, not of a separation–and Wirt’s attitude toward his mother’s new husband could just as easily be explained by a stubborn, Hamletesque devotion to his father’s memory. But no one’s gone there, because we instinctively feel that Wirt was not merely bereaved but abandoned. His particular line of insecurity–namely, an almost total lack of trust in his fellow human beings–is very telling, as is his refusal to make a stir in the world. That children of divorce commonly blame themselves and their own actions for the separation is proverbial to the point of cliché. Wirt has survived the years since his father’s departure by keeping his head down, beset by the fear that if he does anything noticeable–confess to his crush, play the clarinet in public–something bad will happen.
Going off that, Wirt doesn’t really seem to have friends. He keeps people at a distance, and it’s more than just being nervous to talk to his crush. He watches the football game (or, well, mostly Sarah) from the other side of the fence before Greg steals his tape and forces his hand to talk to the other girls; he won’t go into the party because he wasn’t invited even though everyone seems super cool about him being there and they all say hi to him. He won’t go to the graveyard bc Jason Funderburker will be accompanying Sarah.
As Allie points out his particular brand of insecurities, too–he’s constantly explaining why he does the things he does, like he’s trying to justify it. He’s proud of his costume until someone asks him what he’s supposed to be and he just stammers out some “I just thought”s and never even gives an actual answer. He’s terrified of being Known, of, as Allie says, even being Noticed.
But Wirt opens up to Beatrice. He tells her his Secrets that are Too Secret (and she validates them! He’s normal, not Too Weird for her!). He talks about things he knows–housing styles, clarinet. He even sings and dances around her when they’re on the Frog Ferry, happy enough about almost being home that he doesn’t seem to remember to be insecure–even better! She encourages him to play the Basoon after he protests he’ll be bad at it and “nobody wants to hear that” (albeit bc she thinks it WILL be bad and she’s trying to get them kicked off the ferry but he doesn’t know that)…and…he does!! he plays the basoon in front of someone!
Her betrayal, I think, is the start of his despair. It’s funny because he’s definitely mad at her, but what he says is “I thought we were friends” and then, later, “I shouldn’t have trusted anyone.” It’s self-recrimination–he’s mad because he knew, he knew, not to trust anyone, he knew (if anyone knew him) he’d be abandoned again. As Allie reminds us: His particular line of insecurity–namely, an almost total lack of trust in his fellow human beings–is very telling
The one time he does trust someone, she betrays him. He’s angry enough to leave, but he thinks she’s left them first. He doesn’t need her, he tells Greg. He tells Greg he, Greg, can do whatever he wants. It’s an implicit he doesn’t need Greg either. Wirt doesn’t need anyone (but, lol, if that were true he would’ve been lost to the Unknown a long time ago).
(The immediate next episode, he finds Lorna and as soon as he starts kinda liking her, she tries to eat him. He manages to save Lorna, which you’d think would be a positive! But it’s not his to stay with her, or Lorna’s to leave Auntie Whipsers, and so she never really Knows him. I’m inclined to think he wouldn’t let her even if they had more time together.)
And that’s when he starts despairing–he’s been betrayed by Beatrice, who he never should have trusted or let Know him in the first place. Beatrice was also their Only ticket home–she’d promised Adelaide would help them. Their other option was to follow the Woodsman, and Wirt thinks he’s the Beast. Without Beatrice, Wirt has no plan–he can’t trust anyone to get them out of the Unknown, but as much as he says he doesn’t need anyone, he can’t get them out himself either. What else is there to do but lay down and submit to fate?
But Beatrice comes back. Greg being taken is already a wake up call for Wirt, and he’s terrified and recognizes how much he’s failed his brother, but he also has to be rescued by Beatrice and she’s the one who helps him find Greg again.
Cinderella “plot holes” I am tired of hearing about
“Why didn’t her step family recognize her?” Because royal balls were basically the candle lit equivalent of clubbing in terms of both lighting and sheer numbers. Even if they were right next to her, they probably wouldn’t get a good look, especially since it would have started after sundown. Also, she was the help; they probably hadn’t looked at her in years.
“Looking for someone based on their shoe size is stupid!” See above.
“Was he going to have every size seven in the kingdom try the slipper on?” Prior to industrialization most garments were made by hand to fit the buyer’s measurements, including shoes. It’s why poor people only had one pair. It’s a lot smarter when you consider that they would’ve fit her like a glove.
“You can’t run down stairs in heels!” I know this is a misconception resulting from historical revisionism and disneyfication, but high heels were not originally women’s shoes. They were worn by men. Women wore slippers, which were basically ballet flats. So it’s debatable.
“Glass shoes don’t make any sense!” Okay first of all, it’s called the suspension of disbelief, and secondly, they’re gold in every other version but Perrault decided to change them to something else expensive.
“She just went to the ball to find a man!” I know this isn’t a plot hole but listen. As the daughter of a widower Cinderella would’ve been running the household finances and acting as hostess if he hadn’t remarried. By demoting Cinderella to a servant, her step-mother essentially guaranteed that she would never escape the house, because the only way for her to escape and maintain her status was to marry well, and no one was going to marry a servant. It was essentially the historical equivalent of your mom stealing your college acceptance letters out of the mailbox.
this was not an analysis i was prepared for, i’ll tell you that
definitely ddamd, it’s a treasure trove of ford information and ford’s first proper introduction
it got me to fall in love
i reference the transcript so often that google just knows to add “ungeons dungeons and more dungeons” when i type “gravity falls d”
“don’t let it taste human flesh!!!” said so dramatically, plus ford has custom 6-fingered shock gloves, plus everyone knows he staged the whole thing because just wants to get to know his family
“i’m sorry, dipper, but on the dark weird road i travel, i’m afraid you cannot follow. –well, call me for dinner!” said with such an abrupt change in tone and making for such a perfect example that i repeatedly use this single moment to check & confirm the validity of my ford characterization, time and time again
“my work is far too dangerous for a single living soul to spend even one second i– wait! is that a 38-sided die from dungeons, dungeons, and more dungeons?!” like WHAT DID I SAY, this is the exhibit 1b to the exhibit 1a above
“my boy, do you know what this means? we must stop everything i’ve been working on at once… and PLAY!” this says so much about him and what it says is that he’s perfect, i love him
“hm. the old boy looks a bit different than he did back in my day.“ fuckign… using “my boy” and “old boy” like some sort of sherlock holmes era gentleman… what the fuck i love this weird old man’s use of language
“if i rolled it, anything could happen. our faces could melt into jelly. the world could turn into an egg. or you could just roll an eight. who knows.” i love how he explains things because it prevents him from leaning too hard into the whole scientist thing he tries to have going on for himself. not once does he go on and list elements or compounds while staring at some sort of specimen; not once does he rattle on for ages using copious scientific jargon. all you need to see to know that he’s a scientist is the work he’s done and the concepts he understands; all you need to hear to know that he hasn’t quite been here for a while is his use of words. he’s just so… well-crafted.
and that’s hot
dipper going “and he doesn’t make fun of me all the time” just confirms, ford is a sweet and sensitive man (who won’t hesitate to throw a punch if he needs to, but like, still sweet)
“no dice! […] now, dice!” like do i even have to say a word, what a dork i love him
ford stopping stan and saying “move that and pay the price” like he’s so fucking intense
like i– this is why i’m fine with writing ford all passionate… emotional… sincere. he feels so genuine in his emotion that i…
there’s just so much feeling in him that i can’t help but be drawn to him
“your math is no match for my gun, you idiot!” i’ve said this before but, again, he offsets the typical scientist/nerd thing by just pulling out a sci-fi gun. the true thinker is dipper, who thinks everything over twice and thrice– same goes for fiddleford– and to say the same for ford is somewhat of a mis-characterization. ford will just jump right in, and in the heat of the moment you’d find he’s a mix of 2/3 rash action and 1/3 rational thought. this is also my main critique when i read ford in fanfics… but that’s a whole other discussion lol
“if my hands were free, i’d break every part of your face” like this continues to be ford’s absolute hottest moment, he’s all tied up and yet he remains confident, defiant, and ready to punch,,,,,,,,truly attractive
ford: boasts about his highly organized and scientific mind // also ford: gambles for a die banned in 9000 dimensions and after nearly losing his brain to an accidental roll, tells his great nephew that if he ever needs that die again– even though it could potentially KILL EVERYTHING– it’ll be right there in the basement. safe. secured by a cheap lock that stan could pick in his sleep
but then ford fondly tells his great nephew to get himself to bed and all is forgiven because he loves dipper so much already and i… i love ford
The relationship between Van Hohenheim and Trisha Elric is so important, guys. You know why?
Van Hohenheim has lived for hundreds of years. He’s seen thousands of people come and go, he’s probably never really allowed himself to fall in love, but he sees Trisha and is like, “YES. This is the one. She’s the one. “
What a nerd, right? I bet you my computer it was love at first sight. Also, Hohenheim probably though she was way out of his league and pined for a while. Which is adorable.
But, guys, he probably tells Trisha the whole story. About his body, about his past, about the Dwarf in the Flask, about Xerxes, about his mistakes, about the hundreds of innocents who died because of his mistakes. And she’s just like, ‘Nice, I still love you.’
He decided SHE was the woman he wanted to grow old with, the one he wanted to raise children with, the one he wanted to spend his life with. This young, small-town girl.
They made a promise to die together…. But Trisha got sick. And Hohenheim didn’t know. He was probably on the other side of the country. He thought she was fine, taking care of their boys, that he would return to them soon, and be the father he never deserved.
But Trisha dies. And he finally, finally returns home, but it’s so different. The love of his life is dead, his house his burnt to the ground, his little boys committed the taboo. Al’s an unfeeling suit of armor, Ed’s a child soldier. He blames himself.Maybe, if he had stayed, Trisha would be alive… Ed and Al would definitely have their bodies…
And when Ed tells Hohenheim Trisha’s last words… Hohenheim completely breaks down.
Hohenheim probably didn’t cry until this point. He’s seen hundreds of people die, and he’s loved all of them. But hearing his wife’s last words, his straight out SOBS. This isn’t the classic, single man-tear that most characters display. This is real sorrow: face-crumpling, sobs that tear themselves out of you, tears that burn… the kind of crying that hurts.
A lot of sad things happen in Fullmetal Alchemist, and this is probably one of the saddest, right up there with both Nina’s and Hughes’ deaths….
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