#FMA chapter 14

[313i]

i did the blorbo bingo with edling :3

ramble / explanations for my writing under cut!

for ling:

most fandom takes are incorrect: maybe it’s just me but ive seen a decent amount of people make ling out to be a pervert or just reduce him to a stupid silly character. ling yao is NOT A PERVERT! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM! he would never even do HALF OF THE THINGS YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!!!!! and he is so far from just being a funny guy that makes the audience laugh. his motives and character as a whole are so incredibly strong and i’ve never been so fascinated with a character like ling yao. please give him more attention.

that also goes hand in hand w/ stop putting them in situations!!: he would not be looking up girls skirts or something 🙁 be kind to him i think he deserves the world also. the cast of fma consists of a bunch of 14-16 year olds who traveled across the world to fulfill what they feel is their destiny but they end up on a journey of pain and suffering instead. they are children they should be playing roblox and minecraft and brain rotting like me ……….. i need a 500 chapter fic of ling being happy and joyous and eating all the wonderful meat in amestris.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NOT ENOUGH CANON / UNDERRATED: as much as i love greedling and understand the combo … i wish ling got more screentime alone separate from greed. he is really such an interesting and unique character with a banging design and sometimes i feel greed robbed him of his iconic features (his yellow jacket & sword) and people just forget that greedling exists because ling was strong enough to withstand the homunculus in his system + LING IS THE BODY!!! he is serving that facecard and body 24/7 because that’s all ling yao!!! i still do really like greedling because they have a lot of room for interaction but i feel like ling yao is one of the characters who is often forgotten when it comes to merch n whatnot. he’s not as much of a main character as ed of course but he is just forgotten!! he is really such a cool character i wish there was more of him everywhere

there’s probably a deep seated reason why i love him: yes. because he is me and i am him (not really). i just project onto him and he is just me at this point! i will forever be such a huge ling yao fan the first time i watched fmab i instantly got attached to him i am so happy he is alive. i hope being the king of the yao clan is treating him well though he didn’t look to happy in that one photo of him as emperor….. it’s a tough job so i get it man! i hope he explodes

for edling:

pretty privilege: they are both pretty. brotherhood art style is a bit inconsistent at times i feel but their designs are both so gorgeous (their colors complement one another!). and also the bloodhell episode. ling yao fighting envy with his cool sword and handsome face…. ed somehow still looking pretty despite all the traveling and fighting. they are pretty!!!

projection had entered the chat: well, yes! who doesn’t project onto their faves??? :p

don’t typically discuss irl because of fandom: more and more people nowadays seem to forget fma franchise as a whole 🙁 it makes me so sad because this series is so fire and i wish it would keep its popularity but it obviously makes sense that more relevant shows and animes will overtake its light. i’m also afraid most people don’t like edling (edling nation consists of like 10 people) so i just don’t really talk about fma irl at all! no one here has a Fullmetal heart..

everything else is just me wanting to bite them (lovingly) and stuff them in my pocket and hold them in the palm of my hands to show them off to the world. i do not actually want to plot their demise and i am not actively doing so. i would put them in a wood chipper in a loving manner

for ed:

has done nothing wrong: he’s innocent, your honor… everything he’s ever done has been for his family. he’s committed a huge taboo in the alchemy world by trying human transmutation but him and al just wanted their moms back. they were TOO YOUNG TO BE ORPHANS AND HAVE TO GROW UP WITHOUT THEIR MOTHERS LOVE! he ended up becoming a dog for the military but he had to do what he had to do to get closer to that philosopher stone… in 03 he did end up taking some lives too i think. he’s only 15 and never intended to Actually murder someone. seeing him after the greed scene is so incredibly heartbreaking. 03 and cos are such horrific renditions of fma (in a good way) and it makes me so sad to think that’s how he ended up??? he had so much hope as a little kid and was so full of life but by 18 he’s stranded from the last bit of family he knew and is left a depressed alcoholic who keeps losing people. edward elric has done nothing wrong..

there’s probably a deep seated reason why i love him: even from the outside HE IS SUCH A COOL CHARACTER. a character who canonical has prosthetic limbs is already so cool. knowing the story behind those limbs and his brother is so 🙁☹️☹️… his iconic red jacket!!! his LEATHER PANTS WITH HIS PLATFORM BOOTS? his striking gold eyes and bright blonde hair? how he wears his stupid pocket watch…. his dumbass belt… i love edward elric’s flamboyant style so much i’ve never seen a more bi-coded character ever. i love everything about his design and his personality is unlike most shonen anime protags and that adds to his charm. he is hot-headed and will bite your head off if you comment on his height or call him pipsqueak but he is still such a sharp and intelligent young man .. He is literally an Alchemy God…. he is so capable even at such a young age and carries himself so well because if i were him i would be breaking down crying every step of the way! he is dedicated and loyal to his cause of finding the philosophers stone to return their bodies back to normal and doesn’t even hinder once throughout the journey. he loves his brother dearly and it makes me so joyous to see a strong sibling relationship in this genre that isn’t Weird. Edward Elric is a fire character thank you for listening to my TedTalk

[hua-fei-hua]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @justpastsaturn~!! man it's been a while since i've partaken in something like this lol

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

63! 64 if you count the random anon one i don't technically write but for which i do overly-elaborate html for a friend. and um. a lot more if we want to also count each chapter of the single-ship ficlet collection works i have as a separate work ehe.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

heh. 772,261 words since june 2016. C:<

3. what fandoms do you write for?

these days just genshin, but in the past i did jjk, bnha, soul eater, flip flappers, and attack on titan. a number of years ago i also had a fma fic up on ffn, but i deleted it and never ported it to ao3. should still be on my google drive, though.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

//HEAVY SIGH.

sparklers (BnHA), 939 kudos

Orchid in Bloom (BnHA), 476 kudos

the diner at the end of the night (JJK), 474 kudos

Fermata (BnHA), 413 kudos

Veneer (BnHA), 368 kudos

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i do!!! mostly it's bc i have can't-shut-up disease, but through the years, i've also found it to be a really good community-building exercise!!!! i'm not the type of person to get involved in fandom discord servers, so i've come to really treasure the friendly environment the comments section of a wip can foster, as well as the friends i've made because of it~

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i am actually a hardcore happy-ending person myself, so pretty much all of them end with some sense of hope. there's a kagerou days au i wrote for bnha back in the day, though, so i guess time looping to die for one another infinitely counts here.

7. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

tbh i have a hard time quantifying the happiness of all the different endings i've written, esp since it's been years since i've written simple self-indulgent "and then they all lived happily ever after the end" kinds of endings ahahaha,,,

8. do you get hate on fics?

no but someone impersonating me left a hate comment in my name on a fe3h byleth hannibal au back in may 2021. that was crazy i hope ao3 user dikhotomia is living their best life writing whatever the fuck they want after that incident.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

i wrote exactly one (1) explicit fic which was literally just a 16k word sex scene bc the logical endpoint to xiao genshinimpact's character arc is that he needs to get fucked. i don't make the rules. outside of studying blorbo, though, i don't really feel any compulsion to write smut

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

nah. i'll write fusion aus, where cast a goes into setting b and may or may not try to retell the story of canon b, but i like to put the "transformative" into "transformative works" in those situations, to the point where people sometimes can't tell what story i'm basing the narrative off of LOL

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my memory or knowledge, no.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

yes, several times!! mostly back in my bnha days, where i had one fic (partially) translated into chinese and russian, a different fic reviewed and fully translated into chinese; going even farther back, i also once had a query to translate one of my snk fics into french, but i never really heard back from that person so i assume that one fell through.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

i'd say yes. there's the aforementioned fic i do the overly-elaborate html for, but also back in high school, a couple friends n i sat around my computer between rounds at a speech tournament and took turns turning one of my kouhai's scripts into a bnha fic that kept on going off the rails bc i implemented a "no backspacing" rule and once our turn typing was over, we had to have our hands-off the computer until it was our turn again.

14. what's your all-time favorite ship?

let's just cut to the chase and make this post timeless: i like it when a ship is basically just MONSTER x MONSTER FUCKER. if not on a literal level, then a spiritual/metaphorical level! bonus points if both parties think the other person is the monster fucker!!!!

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

well i actually recently decided to let go of zenith, so i don't really have any "i wish i could finish this" thoughts abt it anymore tbh... i think abt finishing my html sanitizer 2.0 so that i can post the notes for it more conveniently though lol

16. what are your writing strengths?

heh. bitches love my characterization. and imagery/use of metaphor!

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

SOMEONE will probably snipe me if i say poetry, but i still find my poems to be rather stiff and overly-literal, so i still consider poetry to be a weakness of mine. and fight scenes. DEFINITELY #1 weakness fight scenes.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

for a word here or two there, i don't mind as long as it's culturally appropriate. (you will pry my dearly beloved "aiya" out of my cold dead hands) like that's just how people talk in real life. for longer sentences or conversations, then i'd like it if there are translation notes left somewhere. at the very least, i'd kind of like a narrative or aesthetic reason if the meaning can't be parsed from context alone.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

pokemon, if we're counting my being five years old and unaware of what fanfiction is! otherwise, attack on titan or my little pony.

20. favorite fic you've written?

tbh i try not to play favorites w/my fics anymore, since if a darling of mine doesn't get the attention i think it deserves, i end up having a tough time getting over it emotionally, which has sometimes led to unnecessary bitterness and resentment towards the fic or even fandom/community itself.

tagging~ @kanonavi, @cadriona, @tempests-bards-and-birds, @followerofmercy, @chickycherrycola, and anyone else who might feel like it hehe

[dairogo]

20 Questions for the Writer

Tagged by @griseldabanks ^_^

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

Only 18 :O I have a bunch on fanfiction.net that I never transferred over, but they're all an extra 10 or so years older than the Ao3 ones so ... there's some disparity of quality, partly in the writing but also very much in the content present.

2. What is your total Ao3 word count?

168,935

3. What fandoms do you write for?

FMA! I had other things when I was younger, but FMA bit and it's the one that stuck with me.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A Bed Too Small (Mustang POV, same bed trope, tongue-in-cheek)

Wayward Youth (Hawkeye POV, learning about crushes and affection from the girls at her boarding school while seeking her father's attention)

Order 3066 (Hawkeye and Mustang POVs alternating, Ishval fic about being broken and coming out of it [still broken, but moving])

Partiality (Mustang POV, post-canon, broaching the topic of a relationship)

The Next Step (shifting POV, written soon after giving birth to my youngest and in a bit of a family-related haze. Mostly fluff.)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I certainly try to! I might have missed some along the way, but I usually get there!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hurrrghgh, one from my ff.net days: The Manga-ka Has Her Reasons. It was basically saying, hey, they can't get together guys - things will go bad if they do. And so it ended with them both dead.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I'd say The Next Step, because it's just fluffy and lovely :)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. The last time I remember feeling taken aback by a comment it was over a decade ago and it was someone rightly pointing out a factual error I'd made. The FMA community I've found myself in is largely positive, and I don't know if that's about the FMA community in general, or that the stuff I write appeals to people who are just cool about community instead of looking to be jerks. Whatever the reason, I'm very grateful!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nah

10. Do you write crossovers?

I've got a half written FMA/HP crossover that I started in like 2005, resurrected a few years ago, and then haven't touched for the last year and a half. Sigh. It's probably going to be stuck in my brain forever.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not a fic

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Royai for suuuuure <3 I'm so big on romance as a side-plot, and if that's not the perfect way to explain their relationship I don't know what is. Like, FMA aside, their own personal story is that romance is their side-plot, not their main thing.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Wayward Youth! I have a few really rough drafts of later chapters that need to be edited, but I still haven't written all the way to the end and I'm happily working on another project with all the time/headspace I have, so I don't want to interrupt that flow. But I'm hoping to slowly accrue the last of it, then go through and make it presentable and post it one day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I can write fairly clear action. And I like putting together a lot of threads to tug on as I go - not all big plot things necessarily, but just things that repeat again later to add an extra layer.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I don't know. I feel like I can write in a very blunt way sometimes, so I have to be intentional about adding in colour and emotion - that doesn't always come through on the first try.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I wouldn't do this to show to a native speaker, oh boy oh boy nosirree! Currently reading a book on English idioms and my main thought as I looked at it today is that this is exactly why I'll never consider myself fluent in other languages.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

In year 5 we had to co-write a story and my best friend and I basically wrote an AU of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Look, it depends on my mood. If I want something light and short, I can't go past Desperately Hoping He Didn't Look Like an Idiot (modern AU, Royai without angst). But I'm probably proudest of Order 3066, because it took a lot of work and a lot of emotional catharsis to get through that and I ended up with a bit of a deadline for when I had to finish it up and made it! So I feel good about it.

Tagging @scienceoftheidiot and @fullmetalscullyy if you're interested :)

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 70

If I had to assume any one major thing in FMA was not originally planned from the start, it would be Kimblee's bodyguards. My primary bit of evidence is when we're first "introduced" to them, we only see three soldiers.

But there's a FOURTH bodyguard. The fourth one pops up randomly in the background and he's so obscure, the FMA wiki gives the wrong chapter for his first appearance. He actually makes his first appearance in a single panel this chapter.

While Kimblee is lying about his intents to help the Rockbells, he is being honest about his admiration for them and his respect for Winry as well.

I love how Ed and Kimblee have a moment of solidarity here.

In case anyone's interested in knowing, here's a list of all the mistakes Ed made while reciting the Periodic Table:

He lists Flouride instead of Flourine. Flouride is an ion of Flourine caused by Flourine gaining an additional electron

He states Sodium Carbonate, a compound which has uses in things like cleaning detergents, rather than Sodium

He jumps from Silicon (Element 14) to what is supposed to be Element 24 (This is between panels so it's not a big deal)

Instead of Chromium, Ed uses Chrome, which is what you call Chromium that has been electroplate coated over some other metal

He skips Selenium which comes after Arsenic

We know in this chapter that Smith's party had gone into the tunnel a week ago. ctually makes the timeline slightly awkward though. So now I have to re-contextualize a few things to fit this new data. I had thought the party that was wiped out was a third party that went in after Armstrong and the Elrics. But now, I think they went in sometime between chapter 66 and 67.

In chapter 67, a scout team returns to report what they've found. Then Major General Armstrong takes the Elrics into it. I'd thought the returning scout party was the entire team. But now I think only some of the scouting party came back to report their initial findings while the rest of the team went ahead.

So that means there wasn't a third expedition team that just got unlucky. There was only a single team and within 24 hours of their expedition, they delved too far and were discovered by the shadows.

And speaking of which, we now know who it is.

This is one of those reveals that feels so out of nowhere. There are some hints, primarily from the chat Wrath and Pride have in chapter 49. I mentioned it in that chapter, but there's enough hints that Pride is short.

And Pride's shadow having to leave the rescue team alone implies his shadow cannot act independently of his physical body. So when he has to be Selim, he can't guard the tunnel.

As far as Ed and Al know, Major General Armstrong has sided with Central and Briggs has fallen into their control. We know that's not the case and the scene with Roy shows us how very much that is not the case.

Major General Armstrong may absolutely hate Mustang on principle, but she does trust him with her back. Considering what she's learned about the corruption in Central, she may have chosen to contact Roy because he's the only person she can be certain is not compromised. This benefits Roy. He's been busy amassing his own pieces to play his games. He has a gun with which to shoot his opponent. Now he has a shield to defend himself.

And why would Central demand Ed's help at this point? Are they hoping to break him? Do they want to show Ed how powerless he is to stop them to the point that he has to help them instead?

back

[buffaloborgine]

I saw people saying that maybe Asuma would end up like Kimblee but I think since Asuma is not really 100% Kimblee but more like a "What if..." Kimblee, his fate will be different.

First of all, Asuma's background is not yet fully revealed but as in chapter 15 and chapter 21, we can see that something must have happened with his mother and the relationship of him with both Kagemori and Shingou are not good at all.

While Kimblee really enjoys destruction and bloodshed and it is shown on very early chapters (FMA chapter 13), Asuma doesn't seem to indulge in destruction or bloodshed at all. In fact he even seems to be caring towards those working under him as seen in chapter 14 where he talks to Asagiri about retrieving the remains of those who got lost.

And the biggest difference between Asuma and Kimblee is the way they are introduced.

For Kimblee, he is shown to be some kind of maniac very early, and then he is shown to be haunting Scar and finally revealed to be the one doing the most killing in Ishval. This would eventually lay path to his ending as karma comes to strike him.

Asuma while keeps being shown in a shady atmosphere, funny enough, hasn't really done anything bad. Even killing people doesn't seem to be on his menu while Jin and Gonzou Kagemori are already shown murderous intent.

So I believe unless Asuma Kagemori really did or would do something real heinous, there is a big chance he may not end up like Kimblee at all. Hopefully so.

[dragontamer05]

I can not urge enough to check out Yomi no Tsugai.

For those fans of FMA, it very much carries it in spirit that you can feel through out Arakawa’s writing.

The story itself is very much different and who knows where it’s gonna go and what’s gonna happen but there’s so many little things, character interactions, dialogue what have you that you read or see and it’s like ‘yup that sure is Arakawa’

Or you can just feel the essence of an FMA character coming through one of them- of course not exact and still very much their own so I’m not saying it feels like she copy pasted one of her characters from FMA and plopped them into Yomi no Tsugai but you can def make connections and tell Arakawa certainly likes writing certain types I guess.

It throws you into the action pretty quick and I’d argue a lot of trigger warnings you might give fma (violence, blood, ect) apply just add in supernatural and more magical influences instead of your alchemy stuff.

Yomi no Tsugai more then has the makings of a series that would be a great candidate for anime adaptation one day- once there’s enough written material to work with and not worry about catching up with the manga.

First volume of the English manga comes out in April

- it has like 14 chapters out and all can easily be found to read on Mangadex (or I’m sure whatever your preferred manga reading site is)

--

The condensed least spoilery description is it follows brother and sister, Asa and Yuru, a pair of (fraternal) twins separated only by one being born at night and the other the day.

They live up on a mountain in seemingly sorta feudal era esk Japan- with most tending not to descend down to what is known as the “lower lands” Things seem pretty peaceful till their village gets attacked.

And frankly that’s about as far as I want to go so as not to spoil anything - if you do want to learn more go to the wikipage or simply read the manga

[thedramasummer]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

19 (as of today)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

115,459….in 4 months (with another 4440 as of today)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

RWRB on AO3 but I started writing Kingdom Hearts, Fullmetal Alchemist and a litany of other things in AIM messages back in the day

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54451198 (the stars are in your eyes)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55120552 (of all the people on hinge)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54270691 (snapshots of you and me)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53698612/chapters/135933751 (5 Times Alex Claremont-Diaz was Bad at Self-Care and One Time He Got it Right.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55339042 (tell me again when you don't have a fever)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why? Why not?

Yes! Sometimes I fall behind, but I always make sure I reply just because I appreciate it. I'm still kind of a newbie writer in the fandom so people responding to my work means the world to me.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Currently, in terms of completed fics, probably forgiveness (can you imagine?) aka Catherine apologizing to Henry, Bea, and Philip. I'd say it's a hopeful ending at best, but it isn't wrapped up nicely in a bow because that whole family dynamic is super messy and it needs a lot of work to make better.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Gotta say it's the follow up to snapshots--paint me a pretty picture, because not so spoilery spoiler--Alex awkwardly proposes without actually proposing and it's nauseatingly cute imho.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't and I really hope I don't. I'm always open to receiving constructive criticism.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

So the funniest story in the world is that I was afraid to write smut until January and now half of my fics are smut, because it's kind of a palate cleanser for all the angsty, heavier stuff I'm writing. I really try to keep the smut light and fluffy and I'm working on stretching out my writing muscles when I write smut in terms of getting out of my comfort zone.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haven't finished one yet. I have a dungeons and dragons inspired fic, isekai style (Alex and Henry falling into Faerun with look alikes for the rest of the Super Six) that I started when I first started writing FirstPrince that I need to remix and clean up.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I'd be honored if anyone asked

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Why yes. Wrote a lovely one with @cactusdragon517 (: The Joys of Mild Narcissism - MayQueen517, acheinmybones - Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston [Archive of Our Own]

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Gotta say it's FirstPrince. In my pre-tumblr days it had to be Roy/Riza from FMA or Axel/Roxas from Kingdom Hearts.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I started a Hadestown AU and it's kinda sitting in GDocs, hanging because I have no idea what to do with it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I gotta say it's dialogue and setting scenes. It's my favorite to write. I am also good at the analytical/cerebral stuff.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The more flowery language/straight prose. I sometimes am a bit too straightforward and I'd like to be a bit more descriptive in my writing

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I tone check it constantly and double check with friends who are native speakers to make sure it isn't clunky but I love it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

If we're getting SUPER honest...Warrior Cats

20. Favourite fics you’ve written?

My two favorites are the birthday fic (birthday blues and smiles too)--I love the found family vibes from Super Six in the resolution of the fic vs. the hurt caused by Ellen and Oscar respectively. I think I did really well with the comfort part of the hurt/comfort.

Figure Me Out--my demi Alex character study. I myself am demisexual and I see a lot of myself in Alex. Demi!Alex is one of my favorite headcanons and being able to explore his different relationships with different people and how he shows and receives affection and comes into his own is very personal and important to me.

I was tagged by @anincompletelist

If anyone else wants to do it, feel free!

[blorbologist]

Squinting at the blorbos like rats in a lab

Tags are minimal unfortunately, this is a personal blog so it’s a barrage of all sorts! I DO tag critical role spoilers with #critical role spoilers and #cr spoilers, given I often liveblog, and will tag until the episode is on YouTube. 

I also do fanfic! You can find me on AO3 at umwelt! 

My main ongoing project is my 'Age of Arcanum Perc'ahlia AU', where Vax is the Warden of Ravens, Vex'ahlia his (lonely) Champion, and Percival is the creator of aeormatons. I tag posts about the au #age of arcanum AU if interested!

Prologue ... CH 3

Cat's Cradle is currently a WIP on hiatus, under #cat’s cradle AU, a lil modern Perc’ahlia AU with foster kittens. Compiling chapters on AO3, but tumblr stays a few chapters ahead:

CH 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

My big completed project is my 'Raven Queen’s champion instead ' AU. You can find posts about it under #vex is the raven queen’s champion AU.

Some writing, sneak peaks and ask games happen here on tumblr, too. More than some. oops.

You can [hopefully, assuming Tumblr behaves] find my writing under the tag #my writing, and ask under #ask game usually!

Like what I do? Consider buying me a coffee so I can stay sane enough to finish these WIPs! And my thesis! 

I do not take requests. Prompts are only when I’ve RB’d a relevant prompt game - I’m in gradschool, assume I’m busy by default lol

Projects:

Architect of our demise [onwards to Vasselheim!]

Cat's cradle / Kitten AU [on hiatus for Uni]

Daughters or Dolls [plotting, title is a wip]

Second chapter to My heart’s a vessel for ill intent? [not started]

Perc’ahlia travel troubles comfort fic [half-done?]

Recoil chapter 2 [dusty wip, like a quarter done?]

And so will I chapter 3, Jester [dusty wip]

Nursery rhymes as told by briarpatches chapter 4, Greypool [dusty wip, half done?]

Vex’s menial duties as Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt [got one thing done?]

Kyssandra hide and seek fic [birthday gift for Burr <3]

Vex and Vax in the Slayer's Take in TLOVM [Vexahra for Nova <33]

AUs:

Vex is the Raven Queen’s Champion AU [One for sorrow / Two for joy]

Modern AU bottlefeeding kittens [Cat’s Cradle]

Age of Arcanum AU [Architect of our demise]

Delilah controls Laudna’s heartbeat [My heart’s a vessel]

Filles du roi Perc'ahlia AU [historical Québec au, plottin]

Ruidusborn!Percy AU [just ideas]

Leona runs off to the Cobalt Soul AU [maybe a quarter done?]

MILF and DILF Perc'ahlia marriage of convenience [posted part 1!]

Percy is the pact weapon AU [Get your hands dirty]

2/3 Vampires Bashter AU [got that one snippet to work off of]

Tiefling!Percy AU [brainchild with Essay <333]

FMA AU [A whole mess, one ficlet posted]

Fox woman dreaming AU [1/2 posted]

Just tons of random Gilmore/Vax’ildan/Keyleth shit bc i lov the thems

Perc’ahlia Atlantis AU [just in my brain and that One Screencap Redraw]

Accurate Jurassic Park AU [just vague mushing my two special interests together thots]

'The tale of Merciful and Lex' [Jester reads a smut novel 100% inspired by the de Rolos]

Ships:

OTPs are currently Perc’ahlia, Imodna and Laudmoore in that order. I usually only read fics of these ships bar rare exceptions.* NOTPs that are common enough to be worth mentioning are Widobrave, Widojest, Riprolo, anything remotely incesty or toeing the grooming line. I don’t want to interact with this content don’t fuckin make me.

Ships that aren’t my absolute feral loves, buuut that I’d be happy to write for are man. All canon CR ships, plus Beaujester, Bashter, Kiki/Vax/Gil, Callowmoore, Dorym, Chetney/Fearne, Widomauk, Kiki/Vex/Percy [with a huge *], onesided Tary/Percy, all fun! Also getting into the rarepair of Cassandra/Laudna for Reasons, and any Ace!Cass x NPCs her age.

Beyond that, just, y’know. Use basic critical thinking. Do I really need to write ‘hey! Don’t send me, a stranger, things you wouldn’t talk to a stranger about’? I have faith in y’all not to, for now ktrgnkrtnkgn

Have fun foraging through my blog - hope you find a few things of interest, writing or otherwise! <3

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

a fanfic writer questionnaire that you should absolutely do

Filling out my own questionnaire :) For funsies.

THE BASICS

Name(s): Lurkinglurkerwholurks

Where do you post fic? AO3, with Tumblr crossposting

Primary/current fic writing fandom: BatFam

Secondary/past/rotating fic writing fandoms: MCU (3 fics) with secondary tags on the BatFam posts to Stranger Things, Tenet, and Queen’s Thief.

Are there fandoms you write for but don’t read, or vice versa? I don’t read any of those secondary tags. I don’t write but very selectively read Star Wars, Star Trek, and FMA. (I used to read TAZ but don’t anymore.)

THE STATS

How long have you been writing fics? Since March 2018. I posted my first fic that April.

How many have you written? 91 (holy cow)

How many have you posted (complete or incomplete)? 91. One of those is incomplete and one is in progress. I have fragments of a couple more, but not enough to even count as half fics.

What’s your word count by year? Not totally sure because my two big fics stretched across multiple years. According to AO3:

2018 - 83,394

2019 - 102,244

2020 - 164,370

2021 - 114,915

2022 - 79,981 (so far)

But with the understanding that Nature and Nurture (109,065) started in 2018 and ended in 2020 and The Return (52,589) started in 2020 and ended in 2021.

What was your first posted fic? Mother Bruce and His Baby Birds

If you write in more than one fandom, which is your most popular? BatFam. By far.

What is your most popular fic by bookmark? The Return. 2,496.

What is your most popular fic by subscription? Also The Return, lol. 1,171

What is your longest fic? Nature and Nurture. Word count listed above.

How long did it take you to write it? Published dates are from 5/3/2018, to 3/5/2020. SYMMETRY. I can’t remember how long that first chapter took me to write, though, and I had the last chapter written at least a week before I posted it.

What is your shortest fic? Choose - Lose. 699 words.

How long did it take you to write it? Less than a day. Maybe less than an hour, even. I kind of went into a writerly fugue state and banged it out.

How many series do you have? 14. That is so many.

Who’s your most commonly tagged character? Bruce Wayne (66)

What’s your most commonly tagged relationship (slash or &)? “Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne” and “Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne” are both tied at 16. I... don’t think I have any /.

What’s your most commonly used other tag? Whump (26). Thanks, Whumptober.

THE EMOTIONS

Was there a fic or writer who inspired you to start writing your own posted works? @audreycritter​ and @unpretty​. Unpretty intrigued me with a Batman I didn’t hate. Audrey reeled me in with CEC. But also @starknjarvis27​ because I wanted to surprise her.

What do you remember about writing your first posted fic? Nerves. So many nerves.

Is there a fic or fics you’re most proud of, and why? I answered that here and the full answer is way too long!

Is there a fic you would redo completely if you could? Mother Bruce. Not because I don’t like it (I do! very much!) but because it was my first fic ever. I’m a better writer now, for one, and also while I think that BatFam is a nice BatFam, it may not necessarily be my BatFam, you know?

Is there a specific detail (setting, interaction, quirk, dialogue) you stole from your own life to use in a fic? Oh gosh, so many. I steal little bits and pieces from people I know all the time, because those tend to be the things that give the fictional people I write about texture. “How did you ever think to make up ____.” Eh, if it’s a small things, odds are I didn’t. I can’t come up with an example right now, but when I do, I’ll ETA.

Is there a line in your fic that makes you smile/snicker/chuckle every time you remember it? I give most of my best lines to Jason, but Tim’s breeziness never fails to delight me. “His therapist would call that a red flag, but que sera sera, YOLO, and so forth” is a classic. Also Bruce’s flummoxed “Did you just try to batarang me… with me?”

Is there a line in your fic that makes you sad every time you remember it? lollllllllll. Well. I have 6 works tagged “I Made Myself Cry,” so. But Damian’s I’m sorry I was difficult. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to be a good son. I’m sorry I was such an awful brother. I’m sorry I made you so angry. Please don’t be sad for too long. Please don’t forget about me. still hits hard.

Are there any story ideas you’ve considered but are too nervous/intimidated to attempt? What are they? Yes. No spoilers, but one of these days I’m going to recreate a specific scene from a specific non-DC show that has stuck with me for years.

[klecrone]

I created a painting, entitled “Shadows of the Past,” to accompany a chapter of FMA (Fullmetal Alchemist) fanfic way back in 2007, and while I was really proud of it at the time, it always bothered me that the background was a little too warm, and never quite read as snow. So when I decided to cross-post this story to Ao3 in 2022, I figured I’d spend a few hours trying to freshen it up. About seven hours and change later, I feel I was able to update the painting to be more like what I originally envisioned, while also maintaining the spirit of the original.

The story can be found here:

(Read on Ao3) "Threads of Time" Summary:

FMA Divergent AU where, among other things, it was Ed that ended up bound to a suit of armor by his brother, Alphonse, when their attempt to resurrect their mother recoiled and went horribly wrong. Their lives have been changed forever since.

This story takes place approximately two years after Alphonse Elric became the State-Certified "Fullmetal Alchemist," making the brothers 13 and 14.

[obsidianchild]

Man, I'm seeing FMA again (Brotherhood, of course) and it really surprised me. When I see the story of Ed and Al for the first time I was like 14 and, yeah, it was really good, iconic moments, etc. I thought that watching it again would be disappointing in some ways, like "still is a good anime, but I didn't notice all those problems back in the day".

It's crazy how good this series got older. The 14 years old version of me knew nothing, I think I'm really aprecieting it just now.

The story is as crazy as I remember. First of all, there's no character (aside from the villains) that is isn't prone to share information. Is not easy in a story charged with that much information to make the watches (or readers in the manga's case) have a clear understanding of who knows what in every moment. In others fantasy stories like this, specially Shonen manga, the authors tend to create artificial tension by making they characters not sharing what they know, deliver that information in the form riddles or, even worse, don't let the reader know who knows what until the characters require to know the information. This last one is specially frustrating to me, becouse it's teaches me to not care about the impact that relevant information of the plot could have on the characters and how they know what they know. Without care, the necessary pieces of the puzzle that the story have starts to feel vague, like anyone could know or not know anything at any moment.

Now, I understand that it's not always necessarily focus on this storytelling resource, but FMA really succeeded in show how to done it well. The mistery behind this country is revealed slowly but nonstoping and I'm here being surprised whit the characters at every step.

This really supports the tone of the story. Arakawa want to reflect about what means to be human. The story puts in the table question like "how does one achieve redemption?" or "is there a place for kindness in a world full or horrors?" and there's no place for easy answers. Every character (and there's a LOT of those) have their own baggage and trying to deal whit it sometimes mean to damage someone else.

The comedy is use to accentuate the tense moments, as expected, but it also do this cool thing in which even the worst villains will have this silly moments. Even when we know we're dealing whit really atrocious people, we have this moments to make us remember that they ARE ALSO PEOPLE. The opposite is true for the good guys: even when we have the most fun and sweet moments whit them, we are not allowed to forget the true: most of this people are war criminals. Again, there's no easy answers. We are all just people trying to do our best.

The first chapters could fell really 2000' edgyness, but the rest of the journey really pays. There's a lot of things more I would like to say about FMA, like the awesome music in which Arika Senju shows how well he understood the manga, or the iconic character designs, but it's really difficult for me to write in English and I'm just practicing here.

I'm really not saying something that nobody already know: FMA is a good story. I'm just really glad that this anime that meant so much to me in the past is equally or even more enjoyable today as a grownup.

[wingsofescape]

20 questions for writers

I was kindly tagged by @alighted-willow for this (thank you friend, you know how much I love these!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2 for now, but I have ideas for many more I keep shelved in order not to get distracted from my main project.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

88,706 (but 82k are from one fic)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So far FMA 2003, but I did attempt a Yugioh fic a decade ago that luckily never saw the light of day. I started watching Detective Conan so maybe there will be a fic from that one day, depending on what my brain will decide to rot on.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I only have two fics published, soooo

in the cracks of light - 87 kudos

there'll be happiness after you - 32 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always! I love discussing observations and mutually scream with my readers. Also I really appreciate when someone takes the time to comment so the least I can do is return the favour. Equivalent exchange, if you will.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It's complicated? there'll be happiness after you seemingly ends well, but since it's a prequel and shit unfolds in in the cracks of light... it's a fake happy ending and a prelude to loads of angst *kicks reveal chapter under the rug*

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I haven't finished it yet, but itcol will be getting a happy ending! I know it seems unbelievable now, but I promise it's a fix-it and it will end happily.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't gotten hate per se, but I've had some... disagreements over the genre and some "I expected [character] to react [a certain way] because that would rush the story along" where I'm like "it's called a narrative choice that I have fully analysed and can justify, what's your problem", but other than that...

Although there is a certain very divisive topic I'm handling in my fic which could lead to hate, but I've explicitly stated I would be very liberal with the block button if someone left hate, so I guess the haters know how to stay silent.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes! I'm actually sitting on a sex scene that was written two years ago and I can't wait to unleash it when the time comes (get it? Okay I'll see myself out).

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Nope, but I would be tempted to maybe do a HTTYD/FMA crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I sure hope not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but if anyone would like to translate a fic of mine, feel free! I'm a translator and editor by profession so if you would like a fic translated to either French or Danish let me know and I will do my best.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope! Me and two friends did have an idea two years ago but we never developed it to fruition.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Do I even need to say it... CoS Edwin all the way.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

As long as I finish itcol, I'm happy. It's more about wips I want to write but haven't started yet.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've gotten the most positive feedback on characterisation and relationship building, as well as metaphors. I also think that for a first time mystery writer I didn't do too badly with plot twists and red herrings and kept people guessing till the end.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I overthink a lot and will get stuck until something is perfect. I overwrite a lot and I think my sentences can get clunky, and I really struggle with describing internal sensations and will overuse body language related to the eyes. Working on it, but urgh.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I speak four so it wouldn't be a problem, but I also know it can take a reader out of their experience, so I try to stick to just a few words.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Unpublished, Yugioh. Published, FMA 2003.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

It has to be in the cracks of light. That fic is my baby, it rekindled my love for writing and gave me the best community I could ever ask for. I'm really proud of myself for still being on this story even after two years of working on it and I love its plot and of course giving Ed and Winry the happy ending they deserve (and I like to stick it to the CoS director).

Tagging with no pressure @asthmaticbee @woahpip @darkpersonapeace @maples-pages @wickedcriminal and anyone I forget who would like to do this!

[nolawrites]

20 questions for writers

I was tagged to do this by @isnt-it-pretty , so thank you for that!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I think 16

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

535,969. Most of that is from my longest fic tbh.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I actively write for BHNA and FMA. I also have a crossover with Death Note, and have written for Les Mis (crossover) and Naruto too. When I was younger I wrote a fic for Undertale and a couple for Avengers which I've now orphaned since I know I won't be continuing with those fandoms or fics.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Eraserhead - 8153 (BNHA fic)

the tin can man - 3124 (BNHA and FMA crossover/fusion fic)

not the first time (but hopefully the last) - 985 (BNHA fic)

When The Rain Falls - 834 (FMAB fic)

Izuku has a guardian... something and his name is Light Yagami - 810 (Death Note and BNHA crossover)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do my best to within a couple of days on my actively updating long fic. I try to respond on my other fics too but because those fics aren't at the forefront of my mind sometimes it takes me until the next update to get around to responding.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I would say not the first time (but hopefully the last) since even though the ending is sort of hopeful, it's definitely still angsty.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Eraserhead? It's a crack fic but like All For One retires to become a botanist by the end so I'd say that's a plus.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I actually have done before. When I was eleven on ff.net I wrote a twilight fic and decided that speech marks were too much effort to bother with. Definitely regretted that choice and received some pretty cruel feedback for it. Eleven year old me definitely learned a lesson that day.

Since then I've not really gotten hate hate, but there have definitely been a few comments that have been a little negative about my choice of plot device or something like that which is okay. It's not something I take to heart (and sometimes the advice is good.)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've never written smut and tbh I probably never will because I find romantic relationships the hardest to write!

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I write quite a lot of crossovers. In terms of craziest it would have to be the tin can man because that's just become a thing unto it's own.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Same as above!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Never! I'd like to say I'd be open to the idea but tbh I'd probably have a lot of trouble sticking with it as my schedule is all over the place.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I think Erasermic just for the comfort.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

When The Rain Falls. I've got so many other projects going on its just fully on the back burner at this point. I would like to finish it so I might just devote a month to writing solely that and get it to some sort of conclusion, but we'll see.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I would probably say characterisation and plotting/world building. I do think my dialogue can be quite good but it depends how invested in the scene I am. I'm definitely better at writing angst than regular conversation.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I don't have a beta reader and I have a tendency to skim read so I know I post chapters with mistakes even after combing through them. Plus I'm impatient, so it'll be little things like words missed out of a sentence that my brain has automatically filled in, in my rush to get it published! I think also I make my sentences too wordy and quite often can't seem to find the right structure. Like I know what I want to say but I can't get it onto the page in the right order.

Also I think my plots can become a bit too unwieldy meaning I have to work very hard to keep up with all my odds and ends of character arcs and plot devices etc. which is also fun!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I personally wouldn't as I don't want to make a fic less accessible and I don't trust myself to get it right. French is the only other language I have enough understanding in that I probably could muddle my way through finding the correct grammar etc but I don't want my readers having to break out google translate for my fics.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

That would have to be Twilight when I was eleven.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

the tin can man - a BNHA and FMA crossover. It's everything to me and I've put so much of myself into it. I know I'm going to finish it, even though it is a huge project. I have adhd and anxiety and so projects for me are difficult and even just finishing it would be amazing so I can prove to myself that I can do it!

I'm tagging @alighted-willow @aobawilliams @dumbassrasure @shadowwolfsworld

no pressure to do this! :-)

[griseldabanks]

1, 2, 3, and 29 for Ao3 wrapped!

How many words have you written this year?

Best guess? 90,692 ಥ◡ಥ Yeeeeaaaaahhhh...no wonder I'm feeling very burnt out even after an entire month of taking all the pressure off and only writing when I feel like it.

2. How many works did you publish this year?

Loooool, after all of that...one XD The only fic I've posted to AO3 this year (not counting the old fics I'm steadily cross-posting) is the most recent chapter of my FMA fic The Other Side of the Coin. Unless you count Let Me Count the Ways, which is currently only on Tumblr, in which case I've posted 14 in total so far.

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

So, if we're going by "works published on AO3 this year," obviously there's only one to pick from. If bits of writing posted only to Tumblr count, I think I might actually say my most recent addition to Let Me count the Ways, a Detroit: Become Human fic about Hank and Connor that I decided to make dialogue-only. It was a fun challenge to work with, both because of limiting myself to dialogue and because Hank was very stressed and angry, but I wanted to write my way around his foul mouth - oh, and humor is my nemesis, but the prompt was inherently funny XD So it was hard, but I like the results!

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I mean, the whole last three scenes or so from TMI...but you could probably guess that already ^^' But for a non-spoilery paragraph I'm still quite proud of:

Sharon looked up at him, dead serious but with a quiet joy practically glowing behind her skin. They stared into each other's eyes, locked in a moment that stretched into a thousand forevers.

AO3 Wrapped

[isnt-it-pretty]

20 questions for writers

I was tagged by @comfort-questing! Thank you, this was fun.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 55

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

576,498! That's over six years of posting

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I've written for many! Currently I have active WIPs for Genshin Impact, Tamora Pierce, Persona 5, and Demon Slayer. (I also have a couple unposted for Mistborn)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

By Only a Flicker (FMA)

Into Darkness and Howling (Genshin)

Maelstrom (Demon Slayer)

Pray to Blades of Grass (Genshin)

Fingernails the Colour of Rust (Genshin)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! Sometimes I miss some but in general I try to. It encourages involvement, which I love. Fandom as a community is really important to me.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm okay so. I'm going to list a few because I can't decide because they're all very specific.

Fragile Things isn't really an angsty ending, per se, but it isn't happy. You know that long term it isn't going to get any better. Xiao is still chronically ill; Collei is still terminally ill. They have each other but that doesn't change the circumstances.

A Dream of a Memory (Genshin Impact) is Hurt No Comfort because it's a prequel so idk if that counts

Still Too Similar (Tamora Pierce) is a modern take on a canon death, which I'm also not sure counts because it's based off canon.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

It's probably between The Sea That's Painted Black and Pray to Blades of Grass

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! I don't think I ever have but I wouldn't really be bothered if I did. I'd just delete the comment.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Once! It was kinda angsty, kinda sweet. I write smut like a wealthy Edwardian woman who would die if somebody so much as said an annotomically correct word.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

No I haven't but I've seen some great ones.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Sort of? There is a person who was inspired by my work and wrote theirs without credit (which is whatever, it's all fic) but they paraphrase plagarized my first chapter, which was devistated. It made me stop writing for a couple weeks because it just killed my desire.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah! Several into Russian, and then a couple other languages.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

None currently posted but I did with @currentlylurking when we were younger! And I've helped my friends as a sounding board for fics for years. I just don't have time to co-write, sadly.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I don't really have an all time favourite. Currently I write a lot of cynonari/tighcyno from Genshin Impact, which I love, but I think my oldest ships are Alex/Thom and Numair/Thom from Tamora Pierce? So that might count more.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

*Sigh* at this point? Probably Into Darkness and Howling. I love the fic and the concept, but the general discourse around the character ruined any writing of him for me. Everybody gets so mad about characterization and localization that even if the fic never got any complaints I'm just not comfortable attempting. Also the popularity of it really scary even if the character wasn't contentious. There's too many expectations of it now.

16. What are your writing strengths?

My ideas are amazing. I come up with great canon divergent AUs.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes it feels like everything lol. Spelling is definitely my worst, you just can't tell since I use a beta reader and spellcheck. Characterization and making my characters unique in thoughts and dialogue can also be a struggle.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I haven't done it but I like it when it's done well! I think you have to intersperse it with the original languague of the fic and make sure it contextually makes sense without needing a translation.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically Tamora Pierce in an old notebook but officially my first works were Soul Eater. (They were really really bad)

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I like a lot of them but Fragile Things is held close to my heart.

I'm tagging @faelynny @currentlylurking @marcellebelle @lavenders-writing @clementinecoastline no pressure to do it though!

[ssaalexblake]

FMA official translations reread/read, vol.2

I’d forgotten how brutal the pacing of this story was. The last chapter of vol.1 was Ed and Al comically stopping a group of protestors/terrorists working against the military as the hijack a train with a high ranking general onboard (this is in the story Before we explicitly learn that the amestris military is even slightly awful, let alone rotten to the core. Or that it’s a dictatorship. This is a gift for re-readers to find if you’re not the type of person to immediately question the benevolence of the military.) using absurdist alchemy and just buckwild strategies to gain the upper hand. All the while Roy is waiting on the train platform for Ed to do this work For him cuz he doesn’t want to. 

(RIP to General Hakuro’s left ear. I can’t say I feel sorry for you.)

Then in the very next chapter, the opener in volume 2, is a quick scene of Ed getting info on a bio alchemist and a scene change to Tucker and Nina’s house and the playful shenanigans, and then a mere 14 pages later (14 single, 7 double) Nina and Alexander have already become uncomfortably close. 

Brutal mood change from the light-hearted train sequence. 

Also want to smack Roy for his lack of compassion for Ed after this goes down because Ed Chose To Be A Dog Of The Military, conveniently missing out the part where he manipulated a small child in an exceedingly vulnerable state both physically and mentally, to join the military. And without him it’s exceedingly unlikely Ed would have ended up here. 

I love Roy, he’s wonderfully written and his motivations make sense, but here he’s just being an absolute asshole to Ed who is uh, 15 years old years After he was egged on by Roy to join up. I have an inherent disdain for how military recruiters prey on the vulnerable, which Roy absolutely and knowingly did to a 12yo, so this is the one area where i just want to punch Roy. 

I mean, if there’d been a reason to even talk to Ed and Al Maybe, but there wasn’t, he seemed to just not be able to help antagonising them. Gallingly rich for the man who was all ideals and The Military Helps People when he was way Older than the brothers. He’s just taking his own self disdain out on them. 

Can’t wait to see Riza wipe him out just for the satisfaction of witnessing it. 

Also, lol @ Scar telling the kid with a very close relationship with her dog that he’s letting her “go in peace” as what was done to her cannot be fixed. He then proceeds to effectively explode her head to murder her. That is not my definition of going in peace, but then again, i do not have Scar’s background. 

Chapter 5 over.