#and luring them in by calling them special and offering them training in advanced battle techniques and the like

[cowlovely]

sometimes i think about the absolutely batshit insane things that happened in warrior cats that have somehow managed to remain largely unknown by people outside the fanbase and i start to lose it

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (134/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[14 November, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

King Rehval would die, very soon. As Luffa led her fleet of warships to his new home, there were a multitude other thoughts running through her mind, but she made sure to focus on her sole objective. Rehval. Must. Die.

Her grudge against him went back to the beginning. Her mother was an anti-monarchist who left the Saiyan Kingdom before Luffa was born. Eventually, Luffa's mother entered into a mercenary partnership with Orij, Luffa's father, and the young family roamed the stars in search of adventure. When Luffa was ten years old, Orij betrayed her mother. He was jealous of his wife's power, and planned to exploit her, until he realized that their daughter had inherited the same potential.

Orij's plan went into effect when Luffa was nineteen. By then, Luffa had taken a mate of her own, Kandai, and Orij conspired with him to betray Luffa to the alien Tikosi. Their ghastly experiments would seek to reverse-engineer the secrets of Luffa's hidden power, and then they would share their findings with Orij. When the Tikosi learned Luffa was pregnant with Kandai's child, they simply removed the fetus, as it impeded their research.

The horrors Luffa experienced during that awful nineteenth year pushed her body through a harrowing transformation. Eventually, Luffa would recognize herself as the Legendary Super Saiyan, a once-in-a-millennium warrior. At the time, she thought she had become a monster, too horrible for even herself to contemplate. The power was satisfying while she took bloody revenge against her tormentors, but it never really went away. Even when she transformed back into her "normal" self, it was still there, that ever-present thing lurking just beneath her skin, eager to shine its terrible light on the universe once again.

Super Luffa was great for slaughtering Tikosi, and for making easy money in the mercenary business, but the power wasn't very helpful for tracking down her treacherous husband, who had gone into hiding when he learned that she had survived. One of the main reasons Luffa founded the interstellar Federation was to expand her contacts through the galaxy. The Federation's member worlds were happy to have her on their side; in return, their spies gave Kandai fewer places to hide. But when she finally caught up to him, he revealed that when the Tikosi removed their unborn child from her body, they had given it over to him. He had sold the remains to King Rehval, who apparently had his own interests in the Tikosi's research.

And Super Luffa wasn't much use in unraveling that mystery either. It only made sense that the King of the Saiyans would see her as a threat to his rule. It also made sense that he might hope to find some weakness by studying Luffa's offspring. What Luffa hadn't expected was the sheer depth of Rehval's treachery. She had never respected the man. Any Saiyan who called himself "king" was a fool in her book, but even setting that aside, he was a statesman, desperate to turn their people into some nation-state with a place among the galactic powers. He wanted the Saiyans to assimilate with the rest of the universe: lop off their tails, dress in alien finery, and pass themselves off as well-behaved citizens of a wider community. The thought of it sickened Luffa, but it was even worse than that. Rehval was an alchemist too. Instead of testing his might in combat, he relied on magical drugs and secret potions to enhance his power. "Rehval" wasn't even his real name. He simply assumed the identity of his older brother, then usurped his father's throne when it suited his purposes.

Rather than face Luffa directly, Rehval tried to seduce and deceive her, leading her into a trap that would strand her on an uninhabitable planet. To keep her occupied until the trap was sprung, Rehval revealed that the fetus he had purchased from Kandai had survived. Rehval was a proponent of gestating Saiyan infants in life support machines, and somehow he had managed to bring her son to term. He then aged the boy to adolescence, and trained him to be his staunchest defender and Luffa's sworn enemy. But the gravest insult, in Luffa's eyes, was that he dared to give the boy a name-- "Xibuyas". It was sacrilige. By Saiyan custom, the right to name a child belonged to the mother alone.

But what did King Rehval care for Saiyan custom? To him, it was just another tool, to be manipulated or discarded when it no longer served his purposes. Xibuyas was uncommonly strong, though Luffa had no way to tell if he had inherited her Super Saiyan strength, or if he was given alchemical enhancements to make him a better enforcer. Rehval wasn't satisfied with merely ruling over the Saiyans, he wanted to control their destiny, their culture, even their very genome. He envisioned a world where Saiyans would be bred like livestock, mated to produce hardier offspring, and her son was simply the stud he had chosen to sire his grandchildren. The very thought of it made her blood boil.

She had escaped his trap, and so he evacuated his throneworld of Saiya, fearing (rightfully) that she would return and destroy everything he had built. Luffa expected to find him cowering in some remote hideaway, but instead he launched a new plan, the Jindan Cult. Assuming the name of Trismegistus now, Rehval recruited Saiyans from all over the galaxy, promising them a potion that would magnify their powers. All he asked in return was absolute control over every aspect of their lives. Really, it wasn't all that different from the plans he had as the ruler of Planet Saiya, only now he wasn't bothering with diplomatic niceties or expensive suits.

The only thing standing in his way was still Luffa, so he launched a series of invasions into her Federation, designed to exploit her compassion for its people and to wear her down. It might have worked, too, except she had help from the fortuneteller Dotz, who predicted his strikes before they took place, and from Rehval's own daughter, the Princess Seltiss. Disillusioned with her father's misrule, the young Princess formed her own Saiyan alliance to serve as an alternative to Rehval's government. Luffa didn't trust her, but they had a common enemy, and Xibuyas was loyal to Seltiss, so at least they had the power they needed to fend off the attacks.

Just when it seemed that there would be no end to the war, Guwar arrived at her doorstep, offering to lead her to Rehval's new base on Nagaoka. A Saiyan mathematician, Guwar had joined his cult, only to realize that Rehval's "leadership" would only get them all killed, or at best, reduce them to a slave species. His defection only proved that Rehval was truly mad, and that his plans were rotten enough that even his own henchmen couldn't accept them.

And so, very soon, Luffa would destroy him, utterly and finally, for the defense of the Federation, for the freedom of her own species, and for herself.

"Five minutes before we drop out of superluminous," she said from the captain's chair of her yacht's bridge. "No one's reported any unusual sensor activity. What about you, Katem?"

"Nothing," Xibuyas said, visibly irritated by the name she used to address him. Luffa would have preferred to have him aboard her own ship, if only to keep a closer eye on the boy, but the Saiyan Free Company had its own fleet, and her attack plan would require him to take up position on the opposite side of the planet. Spending time with her son would have to wait for another day. For now, she would have to settle for the image of his face on the viewscreen.

"Rehval raised you, boy," she said. "Any idea what this means? Guwar told us there wouldn't be much in the way of advance defenses, but I thought we'd see more than this."

"Rehval's servants raised me," he said with a sneer. "And he expects secrecy to be his greatest defense. He believes that no one knows where to find him, so he probably has no idea that we're on our way to kill him."

"Or he's got some escape route set up on the planet," Luffa said. "All right, we'll stick to the original plan. Group A takes the northern hemisphere, Group B takes the south, Group C covers our backs. Carpet bomb the whole thing, and we'll see what they can do about it."

"Pointless," Xibuyas grumbled. "Destroy the entire planet, and they all die in one stroke. I could do it easily, and so could you."

"Too easy," Luffa said. "He'll be prepared for that. I want to see what his preparations are. Let him think he's dealing with a conventional attack before we reveal our true strength."

"If you're so afraid that he'll flee--"

"He seems to be convinced that this planet he's on holds some sort of special power for him," Luffa explained. "If that's true, then he won't give it up without a fight. I want to lure him into thinking he has a chance. We might even be able to get a siege going."

He sighed and sank into his chair. "Fine, have it your way," he said. "There's no arguing with you. We'll send word once Group B is in position."

He signed off, and Luffa made a bloodthirsty smile as she switched the viewscreen to display the Nagaoka system, which was rapidly coming into view. Her son hated her, but he was alive, and soon she would repay the bastard who tried to take him from her. Her wife, Zatte, was in the engine room, making last-minute preparations for the battle. Zatte had elaborate dreams that this battle would mark the beginning of a new era for Saiyan-kind, and maybe she was right, though Luffa never cared for the idea of herself as a Saiyan messiah. It didn't matter. For once in her life, everything was going perfectly.

She gripped the armrests of her seat and leaned forward in anticipation.

*******

[14 November, 233 Before Age. Nagaoka.]

Planet Nagaoka was devoid of intelligent life, save for the Jindan compound, a mostly subterranean facility. Aside from the shipyard and a few other surrounding structures, the planet would have seemed deserted. A thick cloud cover concealed the surface completely, but Guwar had provided the coordinates of the compound. As Zatte escorted him to the bridge, he saw part of the planet on the viewscreen, and he knew the compound lay directly below.

"I thought you'd want to see this," Luffa said as the doorway closed behind him. She never took her eyes off the planet. "They're about to strafe the surface."

"You're just going to blow it up from orbit?" he asked.

"For starters," Luffa said. "If anything survives, we'll go from there. Something wrong with that?"

"I just... I thought you were going to send in ground troops on the far side," he said. "Advance on the compound from the surface, and fight them all hand-to-hand."

Luffa looked at him curiously. "I've had my fill of fighting with these clowns," she said. "There's enough of them down there that even I would have trouble, and I'm not going to send troops down there to die for no reason. If you wanted suicide missions, maybe you shouldn't have switched sides. Rehval would have sent you to your death soon enough."

"I... I had friends down there," he said. "Rehval's the only one you're after, right?"

Luffa turned and spit on the deck. At last, Guwar had her full attention, and he instantly regretted it. He had seen her transform in front of him earlier, when he was first brought aboard her ship. That had been frightening enough, watching black Saiyan hair glowing like molten iron. But she was in her normal form now, or at least as normal as she ever could be, and as she glared at him, he felt that the grim look in her eyes would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Now you listen to me," she said. "I don't give a damn about your 'friends'. The moment they joined forces with that bastard, their fates were sealed. Don't pretend you thought this was going to turn out any other way."

Guwar's throat went dry. "You're right," he said. "Just get it over with."

Luffa returned to her work, as if he hadn't spoken at all. He looked over to Zatte, the blue-skinned woman who seemed to serve as Luffa's entire crew for this ship. It was ironic to look to an alien for empathy, but he had hoped that she, at least, might appreciate his mixed emotions about this moment. If nothing else, he expected her to be somewhat horrified at the idea of bombing an entire planet to wipe out a single installation. But instead, Zatte had a curious sort of glow in her expression, not unlike the warriors in the Jindan Cult just before they were sent off to their deaths. Guwar had no idea what sort of hold Luffa had on Zatte, but she was fully committed to this action, come what may.

Luffa pressed a button on the console mounted near her left arm. "All ships, fire at will," she said.

A moment later, they did. Gawar watched as hundreds of orange streaks emerged from the edges of the viewscreen and converged on the planet below. It looked like most of the fire was concentrated in a single spot, which he assumed was the compound. But that was only part of it. There energy blasts raining down across every part of the planet that he could see. He could only guess that there were ships positioned on the opposite side covering that hemisphere too.

"There's... there's only the one complex," he said looking back at Luffa. "You're just wasting ammunition, shooting at nothing."

"And you really think I would trust you that far?" Luffa said with a snort. "Even if you have been honest with me, Rehval could still have other bases set up that he never told you about. It all burns. Today. And don't worry your pretty little head about our ammunition, Guwar. I made sure we brought plenty."

Guwar swallowed hard and turned back to face the viewscreen. He could sense the ki energy from the planet dropping as the bombardment continued. Were the cultists unable to fight back? Had Luffa taken them completely by surprise? Or was this Rehval's endgame all along? Maybe he knew all along that it would end this way, and he had led his flock to their doom. For a moment, he wondered if Rehval had been waiting for Guwar to betray him, if perhaps he had wanted Luffa to come to this place and rain fire upon him.

And then he noticed that the ki from the planet wasn't dropping anymore, and that the planet itself didn't look any different than it had before the attack began. Glancing back at the captain's chair, he saw that Luffa had noticed too.

"Scan the planet," Luffa said to Zatte. "Something's wrong down there."

"Life sign readings haven't changed since we started attacking," Zatte said.

"I told you about that," Guwar said. "They have a device to scramble sensors so you can't tell there's any humanoid biopatterns. That way if a ship drops by, they'll think Nagaoka's uninhabited and move on."

"Yeah, I know," Zatte said. "I'm not scanning for humanoids. I'm talking about trees, grass, everything. Nothing's dying down there. It's like we haven't put a dent in it..."

"You didn't say anything about a force field," Luffa said to Guwar. The look on her face was one of accusation, but not surprise.

"As far as I know, they didn't have one," Guwar protested.

"They don't have one," Zatte said. "I don't know what's going on here, but it can't be a force field generator. To cover the entire planet, you'd need an enormous power source, way too big to hide with a cloaking device. I should be able to detect a power signature for something that big, and there's nothing like that on the surface! I don't know what this is... I...!"

She continued tapping keys on the tactical console, and Luffa rose from her seat. "I'm going to the cargo bay," she said. "Get ready to open the bay door for me."

"You're going to attack them yourself?" Zatte asked. "But what if--?"

"Hail the rest of the fleet," Luffa said. "If I'm right, I can punch a hole in... whatever this is... then maybe we can land some ships, play it the way Guwar had in mind. You'd like that, wouldn't you, Guwar?"

He didn't answer, as he really didn't know what to say. Luffa grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the lift.

"Come on," she said, "you can watch."

*******

The cargo hold was mostly empty. Luffa and Zatte had moved most of the supplies to other parts of the ship, leaving only a small, one-person craft.

"Like it?" Luffa asked. She patted the hull of the craft with her gloved hand as they crossed the bay. "My wife captured it from some felinoid raider who tried to impersonate a Saiyan. He thought he could bluff his way to an easy plunder--" She pointed at the bridge of her nose and bared her teeth-- "but all he got was a plasma bolt between his eyes. She's a crack shot."

"Y-your wife?" Guwar asked. "You mean that blue lady on the bridge--?"

"Felinoid!" Luffa growled, ignoring his question. The brown fur on her tail was standing on end, and Guwar suddenly became very aware of his own tail being missing.

"I see that crap all the time, you know? People mistake any humanoid with a tail for one of us," she said. "So weaklings and cowards try to use that to their advantage. Trade on our reputation as a fearsome warrior race. Except we're not so fearsome, are we, Guwar?"

She went to a cabinet mounted to the wall and removed a pair of masks. "Put this on," she said as she shoved one into his hands. He strapped it to his face, letting the flexible hose attached to it dangle from his chin.

"The Saiyans are afraid," she said. "My mother was afraid of the kings, and my father was afraid of my mother, and I was afraid of my father for a while. You and your cult buddies were afraid of me, so what did you do? Run to the biggest coward you could find and beg him for some snake oil. And now he's hiding under his rock, and they're all hiding with him. Makes you wonder what they're so afraid of."

She pulled out a gas cylinder and handed it to him, then found a second and started connecting it to her own mask. As she worked on the fittings, she transformed, suddenly illuminating the bay with a preternatural golden glow. Startled, Guwar took a step back, but Luffa barely reacted at all, as if she hadn't even noticed what she had done.

"I think we're afraid of ourselves," Luffa said. "I know I am. I turned into this thing for the first time and it scared the hell out of me. It still does sometimes. But all I am is stronger. Angrier. More eager for battle. I'm just like you Guwar, only more. Why'd you cut your tail off? Was it because he told you to? So you could fit in better with polite society? Or was it because you were afraid of what the tail means? Of who you really are. Inside?"

She paused her work long enough to tap her fist against her chest, and gave him a knowing look. "Felinoids try to impersonate us Saiyans, and meanwhile we Saiyans are doing our best to disguise ourselves as anything else. We're ashamed of ourselves for being ashamed of ourselves. That's how I see it. I started hanging out with aliens, and I started to notice how crummy Saiyans can really be to people. I never gave it much thought before, but we're all pretty rotten, aren't we?"

"What are you talking about?" Guwar mumbled, but not loud enough to be heard over the steady pulse of Luffa's golden aura.

She pointed at her gleaming yellow hair. "So does this mean I've risen above all that rotten stuff?" she asked. "Or does it make me the worst of us all?"

She didn't wait for him to reply. Instead, she put the mask over her face and tapped the communicator on the nearest wall panel to call the bridge. "We're ready down here," she said, her voice muffled by the mask. After she shut off the channel, she looked back at Guwar and shrugged.

"I can't talk to my wife about this sort of thing, you know. She thinks I can save the Saiyans, but me? I think I'm just part of the problem."

Guwar could hear her voice even more clearly now than he could before they put the masks on. Then he finally realized she was speaking to him telepathically. Most Saiyans had the ability to communicate this way, but they rarely used it. They couldn't read minds-- only Luffa seemed to know how to do that, and only then by making physical contact-- but they could talk to other people with their thoughts. So why didn't Saiyans use that ability more often? Was it fear? Was Luffa right about them? Maybe every Saiyan could read minds like she could, and no one else had the courage to try.

As he pondered this, the cargo bay door opened, revealing the grey clouds of Nagaoka below. Guwar was suddenly reminded of Salziff, the Saiyan who had led him to the Jindan Cult. Salziff had been kicked out of the order, and his Jindan power had been withdrawn, leaving him weaker than he had been before he joined. In his desperate attempt to regain what he had lost, Salziff had turned to performance enhancing drugs, and ravaged what was left of his health. He begged Guwar not to search for Jindan, and said that Guwar would rue the day Salziff told him how to find it. The gloom over Nagaoka looked very much like the pallid complexion of Salziff's face. Guwar wondered if the poor wretch was still alive. Guwar wondered about his own life expectancy, now that the Jindan power had been withdrawn from him as well.

There was an invisible force field that kept the air inside the bay while the door was open. It flickered beautifully for a moment as it deactivated, and Guwar felt the air rushing out into space. Weakened as he was, he still had more than enough strength to keep his footing, but he still grabbed hold of a handrail to be safe. The temperature dropped rapidly inside the bay, but his ki was strong enough to protect him from the cold as well. The great irony of his life was that he was considered a weakling by the standards of his own species, and yet he had so much power compared to most beings in the universe. He felt completely helpless as he watched Luffa stand at the edge of the bay, raising her hands to attack an entire planet.

He could hear her screaming, in spite of the wind, the sound of her aura, even the muffling effect of her mask. Her hands glowed so brightly that it hurt to look at them, so he focused on the air tank she had slung over her shoulder. For a brief moment, he wondered if he could burst the tank and knock her out of the ship quickly enough for her to asphyxiate, but decided that this would be suicidal to attempt. Even if it worked, he would still have to contend with her wife on the bridge, and her fleet around the planet, and the cult on the planet itself. Guwar didn't know about other Saiyans, but Luffa was right about him. He was afraid, because it seemed like no matter what he did, what side he chose, he would always be under someone else's power. At least Luffa's side could save the universe from Rehval's madness, but that wouldn't improve Guwar's prospects much.

At last, she brought her hands together and launched a spectacular beam of golden energy from her hands. Guwar watched it shoot down to the planet like some impossibly straight bolt of lightning. He had never sensed such an amazing power before. It was beyond anything he had ever imagined. It was enough to destroy a dozen planets. And then, when the beam of irresistable light reached the dismal clouds of Nagaoka...

...it dispersed. The energy spread across the clouds and vanished, like so much milk spilling onto a napkin. The clouds parted, revealing a tiny section of Nagaoka's surface, but there was no explosion, no damage. Soon enough, the clouds drifted back together, and the surface was hidden once again.

Luffa stared out of the bay in disbelief, and then after a few seconds, Guwar noticed a yellow glow on the edge of Nagaoka's disk. A second later, he could sense it, too.

"What... what's happening?" he asked. He hoped that this was somehow part of her technique, but the way she moved her tail told him that she was just as confused as he was.

Finally, beams of yellow light started shooting out from the clouds from every direction. It seemed to Guwar that the planet had somehow absorbed her attack, divided it, and fired it back out into space. For a moment, he worried that this was a counterattack from the cult, except the beams didn't seem to be aimed anywhere in particular. He reached out with his ki senses and quickly determined that most of the fleet was nowhere near the paths of these beams. Even so, he did sense a few power levels that winked out of existence as the deadly energy connected with their ships.

Angrily, Luffa stormed to the bay door controls and restored the force field. Air rushed in to repressurize the hold, and she moved on to the wall panel to call the bridge. "What's going on?" she shouted over the thrum of the ventilation system.

"Six ships are reporting heavy damage!" Zatte's voice called back. "One completely destroyed! I... Luffa, that was your energy it shot back at us!"

"I know that!" Luffa snapped. "How does a force field reflect that kind of power?!"

"I told you, it's not a force field!" Zatte said. "It's too big for that, and too... It's more like when I... oh no. Oh, Providence, no."

"What's wrong?" Luffa asked. For every second that passed without a reply, she grew more agitated. Finally, she dug her fingers into the wall and ripped the comm panel out entirely.

"We're going back to the bridge!" she shouted as she tossed the torn panel to the deck. But Guwar didn't move. He was too busy looking at the planet.

"Well? What are you gawking at?" Luffa demanded as she shrugged off her air canister and mask.

"I think you need to see this," Guwar said ominously. A mathematician by trade, he preferred not to give such vague answers, but in this case, he simply couldn't find the words.

"See what?!" Luffa said impatiently as she shrugged off her mask and air cylinder. And then she finally turned to face the bay door, and saw it immediately. The clouds on Nagaoka had shifted, swirling into an unnatural pattern. They were still moving, but it was clear that they were forming an image of a face, and even before that image had come into focus, there was no mistaking whose face it was.

"Hello, Luffa," said the voice of King Rehval.

He was speaking into their minds, just as Luffa had done before. What made it even stranger, Guwar thought, was that the lips on the cloud-image moved as though it were speaking the words.

"I'm so glad that you've finally arrived," the cloud-Rehval seemed to say. "Now, at last, we can put all of this to an end."

NEXT: The Thrice Blessed Who Will Transform the Universe.

[horizonreviews]

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” Review

Fullmetal Alchemist: An Epic of Sacrifice

Out of all the anime series of the last decade, few are as consistently profound and epic as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Having been produced from a massively successful manga of the same name, the series had an extraordinary set of expectations to live up to. However, the episodes that spanned from February 13 of 2010 to September 24 of 2011 would not only defy expectations, but also prove to be one of the most popular and critically acclaimed anime ever produced. 

Episode 1 Summary

The story begins with two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. They are alchemists that are in service to the military of a nation called Amestris. Their latest assignment is to track down a rogue alchemist named Isaac McDougal, whom specializes in water manipulation, in a matter of days, they find their target inscribing runes across the city in preparation for an alchemy ritual with sinister intentions. The Elric brothers attempt to ambush this man, but he manages to escape and set his plan into motion. When his ritual is activated, it’s revealed to be a massive freezing spell that aims for the center of the city. Edward suspects that Issac is using an exceptionally powerful object called a Philosopher’s Stone, forcing the pursuit to new heights. Assisted by two more alchemists, Major Amrstrong and Colonel Mustang, Issac’s plan is stopped. 

Episode 1 Analysis

Right out of the gate, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood immerses us into a world where the practice of magic has been transformed into a scientific pursuit called alchemy. In its most basic definition, alchemy is the art of constructing, reconstructing, and altering matter. However, in order to gain something, an element of equal value must be given. This chief law is called “equivalent exchange” and serves to govern the powers of many characters. When first introduced to the Elric brothers, we find that they both have an incredible affinity for this skill, yet they have suffered a terrible price in practicing it. Since Edward has a metallic arm and leg, it is indicated that he committed the one unforgivable sin of alchemy: Human Transmutation. The reason that this has become taboo among alchemists is that in order to bring someone back from the dead, you must give something else up of equal worth. So the question remains: what could equal the value of a human soul?

After establishing these basic rulings of alchemy, we see that the Elric brothers are also gifted in martial arts. They use of a wide variety of weapons, and they are well read in which criminals have also practiced alchemy. Their mission becomes clear, as they have dedicated their lives to stopping the unholy use of alchemy throughout the nation of Amestris. Their reason for fighting can be found just by looking at them, they have lost their very bodies and they wish to get them back no matter what the cost. 

Episode 2 Summary

Episode two begins with the Elric brothers departing the city by train, and reminiscing about their childhood. In a flashback, we see that they learned the art of alchemy from their father’s library. Their prowess in the art of alchemy was something that made their mother smile, and this encouraged their study of the discipline to new heights. However, when their mother died of a sickness, the Elric brothers tried to bring their mother back by committing alchemy’s unforgivable sin: Human Transmutation. The ritual goes well at first, but a power from another realm snatches Edward and Alphonse. Edward sees a creature that calls itself Truth, and in exchange for his left leg, Edward learns some of the most elusive and darkest secrets of alchemy. Arriving back in his world, Edward curses his foolishness when he finds that Alphonse is no longer with him. In a last-ditch effort, Edward bonds Alphonse’s soul to a suit of armor by sacrificing his right arm. His brother is saved, but Alphonse’s body remains floating in another realm along with Edward’s arm and leg.

Shortly after this incident, the exploits of the Elric brothers reach the ears of the military. Yet, when they arrive, they’re surprised to see that a young boy had committed the taboo of Human Transmutation and survived. It was at this moment that Colonel Roy Mustang offered them an opportunity: join the military and continue studying the art of alchemy. Edward contemplates the ramifications behind this deal, and determined to recover what he and his brother have lost, he resolves to risk everything trying to get it back.

Episode 2 Analysis

Having established the powers that the Elric brothers wield, it became necessary in episode two for their backstory to be revealed. Yet instead of finding hardened warriors or conjurers in black magic, we find two boys that are content to make their mother smile by using alchemy. This innocent interpretation of the main protagonists serves to immediately grasp the attention of the audience and make us wonder how two innocent boys could commit a crime so awful, it forced them to give up their bodies. We find that after their mother died, Edward and Alphonse had undertaken the task of attempting Human Transmutation, the art of bringing life back into the world after it has been lost. Having only been eleven and ten years old when this was done, one realizes that their actions were in no way malicious. Instead, the most innocent of motivations was applied and the sympathy toward them grows. 

This is even more prevalent as we realize that both brothers have been exposed to extremely dark forces during their brief stay “on the other side.” Edward, in a fit of rage, uses his alchemical knowledge to bring back his brother, no matter what the cost. He inscribes a rune on a suit of armor and in exchange for another one of his limbs; he binds Alphones’ soul to a suit of armor. This tale of self-sacrifice is one that is both profound and disturbing, and perfectly sets the stage for the rest of the franchise. Their motivations are simple, but all encompassing. If they gather the power of a Philosopher’s Stone, they believe that they can get their bodies back, and perhaps save their mother as well. 

Episode 3 Summary

Episode three begins when the Elric brothers arrive in the nation of Liore. They see a man named Father Cornello performing miracles with alchemy, and he claims to the crowds that witness these miracles that this is because he commands the power of a Philosopher’s Stone. The Elric brothers soon arrange a meeting with Father Cornello and they are lured into a trap. A hideous hybrid creature attacks them (known as a Chimera), and Edward uses his metallic arm and leg in order to beat them back. The Elric brothers retreat and play on Father Cornello’s excessive pride, telling him that even with a Philosopher’s Stone, he’s a second rate alchemist. He retaliates by saying that his followers are “mere puppets,” and Edward broadcasts this insult to those loyal to Father Cornello. In a final battle, Father Cornello and Edward struggle using their alchemical powers, and Edward breaks the Stone like it’s glass, thus revealing that it’s a fake. 

Edward and Alphonse head back to Amestris by train, and just before they leave, a loyal follower of Cornello says that she has no hope left. Edward responds by telling her to “walk on your own two feet,” looking at his metal leg, she realizes that Edward is telling her that strength is something you can’t rely on others for. It’s something you must find yourself. The Elric brothers enter the train and they leave Liore behind. Meanwhile, Father Cornello relocates to a clock tower. A woman named Lust and a man named Gluttony wait for him, and they kill him, saying that he’s outlived his usefulness. 

Episode 3 Analysis

At the start of episode three, we are exposed to a new set of alchemical skills that are well outside the norm. And what’s more, there appears to be a Philosopher’s Stone in the clutches of a man who is on the brink of controlling an entire nation. The premise itself is captivating, but becomes all the more engaging when Edward and Alphonse stand up to this man.

A trap is laid out for them, and Father Cornello proclaims that by virtue of their alchemical sins, they are subject to the greatest dangers of all. This illustrates that while the Elric brothers gained power from their unholy transaction, they also have become targets of the very people they’re trying to hunt. After all, the ability to cross over to another world and learn the most elusive secrets of alchemy is something that any number of practitioers would kill to get their hands on. To become immortal (much like Alphonse), perform advanced skills (like Edward), or to even call forth the dark powers of another realm, the Elric brothers have made their world a vast times more perilous.

However, instead of simply using brute force, both Edward and Alphonse are shown to have sharp wit when facing their enemies. This is indicated by Edward’s use of the broadcasting station in Liore to reveal Father Cornello as a fraud, and how he was able to defeat him, even with Cornello’s power far exceeding his own. Yet the hunt for the Philosopher’s Stone continues. This indicates that while the Elric brothers do have a massive array of skills and powers, this doesn’t make them perfect. Quite the contrary, they are among some of the most vilified of alchemists, and yet they continue on their path, which makes them admirable figures, as they have good intentions behind their goals.

Conclusion

In all, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an excellent series with several dynamic elements blending harmoniously. With an epic premise, an intricate backstory, and an ever increasing use of tension and plot development, few anime can compare. On its face, it’s the story of magic users fighting for power, but on the individual level, it’s the story of two brothers that have lost everything, and they’re willing to risk whatever they have left to get it back. It is this fierce determination that binds viewers to these characters, and this is why it has become an immensely popular epic since its release.

[askdashicorn]

Superbowl: Patriots' formidable defense will defeat Falcons

Paolo Bandini: New Englands stout defense will make the distinction in a succulent match in between the 2 finest quarterbacks in the league this season S uccess is expected to be short lived in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons are a case research study in how its suggested to be in a league whose structure is developed to promote parity. After going 14-2 and reaching their very first Super Bowl in 1998, they cannot even return into the postseason for another 4 years. The specific very same thing occurred after they went 13-3 and reached the NFC title video game in 2012.

And now, suddenly, they are back in the huge dance.

The New England Patriots, naturally, do things in a different way. This will be their seventh Super Bowl look given that working with Bill Belichick as head coach in 2000. No other group has actually played in more than 3 over the very same period.

Does that mean they will win on Sunday? Not always: we have actually seen Belichick lose on this phase prior to. Undoubtedly, just versus the New York Giants, however 6 video games most likely isn't really a big sufficient sample size to deduce that no other challenger might disturb them.

So, lets shot and break this one down through the matches rather. Initially, a fast upgrade on our Pick The Playoffs contest, where 3 readers have actually called all 10 video games properly so far.

Can mmmbop 86 , nbcnfl or ShadowWarrior make it a tidy sweep? Or will they fall at the last obstacle? Ill post the complete standings in the remarks area quickly, however if youre within a point of the lead, do consist of a rating forecast for Sundays video game – this will be utilized as a tie-breaker, if needed, to identify our winner.

For now, I can reveal that castigers is our general champ for the combined routine season and postseason contests, having actually developed a two-point lead over the remainder of the field with just the one video game delegated play. Do join me in congratulating them on a remarkable 72 appropriate select of a possible 112 up until now (and lets not forget that 2 of those video games ended in ties ).

Falcons offense v Patriots defense

Atlanta led the NFL in scoring throughout the routine season, with Ryan balancing an absurd 9.3 lawns per passing effort and typically carrying out at a level above anything he had actually produced in his (currently strong) profession. No group offered up less points than the Patriots.

Its worth keeping in mind that the Falcons have actually not simply been adding ball games versus bad groups. Inning accordance with Football Outsiderss advanced DVOA metrics, they dealt with the second-most effective group of defenses of any group in the NFL this season. Atlanta put 38 points on Arizona, 29 on Kansas City, 23 on Denver then 36 on Seattle last month in the playoffs.

The Patriots have actually hardly dealt with a group all season with anything near to this offending capacity. They did limit the Steelers to a combined 33 points in 2 conferences, however Pittsburgh were missing out on Ben Roethlisberger in week 7, and lost LeVeon Bell early in the AFC national championship.

What makes the Falcons so harmful is the series of weapons at Ryans disposal. Julio Jones is a remarkable skill rather potentially the very best pass receiver in the league however if it was simply a concern of keeping him in check then I would have no doubt backing the Patriots to do so, particularly after seeing how they included Antonio Brown utilizing consistent double-teams.

Repeating that technique versus Atlanta, nevertheless, would appear riskier. The Falcons do not have a standout No2 alternative in the getting video game, however exactly what they do have is an entire cast of trustworthy pass catchers and playmakers, from Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel at receiver to Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman coming out of the backfield. Designate 2 protectors to Jones, and will you still have enough left over?

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d607d8d6f6c728ce5e01e88ea6d2d92f1f638eed/0_0_4689_3126/master/4689.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=22cf0107979e977ef20e348a8a68878b" media="( min-width:" sizes=" 620px" />https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d607d8d6f6c728ce5e01e88ea6d2d92f1f638eed/0_0_4689_3126/master/4689.jpg?w=605&q=20&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&dpr=2&s=fc5477d82ac49c7e2efb80d5189eb4eb" media="(&min-width:" sizes=" 605px" />https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d607d8d6f6c728ce5e01e88ea6d2d92f1f638eed/0_0_4689_3126/master/4689.jpg?w=605&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=2b7c1917caf75ce259fc29a9d06ba02e" media=" (min-width: " sizes=" 605px" /> The apparent option would be to let Malcolm Butler track Jones all over. He is among couple of gamers in the NFL who may be efficient in holding his own in such a battle. We have actually not frequently seen Belichick make such stiff usage of his No1 corner.

More most likely, I believe, is that the Patriots will flood the field with protective backs, leaving as couple of as 6 males in package and tough Atlanta to remain client and run the ball. The Falcons are rather efficient in doing so, however would they remain client enough because situation?

And there is at least a possibility that such a method might play right into Atlantas hands. They have actually utilized the play-action regularly, (on 27.6% of Ryans passing plays, inning accordance with ProFootballFocus) and better, than other group in the league. Develop the run early on with a number of scoring drives, and all of a sudden it gets that bit harder for protectors to withstand the phony.

Otherwise, the one huge issue I have for Atlanta on this side of the ball focuses on the physical fitness of center Alex Mack, who hurt his ankle throughout the NFC national championship. The single essential gamer on an offending line that has benefited extremely from having the ability to begin the very same 5 gamers in every video game, he has practiced today and is anticipated to begin on Sunday, however will he be at 100%?

That ankle makes sure to be checked by an encounter with New Englands 350lb defensive deal with, Alan Branch. Atlanta may be in huge difficulty if it stops working.

Patriots offense v Falcons defense

As fantastic as Ryan has actually been this season and I have actually currently made my case for why I believe he ought to win the MVP there is at least an argument to be made that Brady, after returning from his suspension, was even much better. How do you fight a person who finishes more than 67% of his passes, and who has an unbelievable 132.8 quarterback score on 3rd down?

The apparent response is to strike him prior to he gets the possibility to toss. Apparent, however exceptionally challenging to attain. Brady took a simple 19 sacks in 14 starts (playoffs consisted of) this season and has actually stood out versus the blitz for several years.

Almost every group that has actually fallen New England in a championship game in the previous years has actually had the ability to create constant pressure without sending out additional males after him. In theory, Atlanta have the workers to do the exact same. Vic Beasley led the league with 15.5 sacks in the routine season, whilst Dwight Freeney stays an extremely reliable situational edge rush.

In practice, however, I have some doubts. Beasley is yet to tape-record a sack in the playoffs, and you might make a case that his routine season numbers because department overemphasize his efficiency. His 56 overall quarterback pressures just ranked 18th in the NFL, and he is most likely to invest a substantial part of Sundays video game lining up opposite New Englands right take on, Marcus Cannon a guy who has actually not permitted a sack considering that week one.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1da06fddf882b038ac18503c3f183f558429faff/0_49_4817_2890/master/4817.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=e8dbb7560cb1903218e30db8c3369f51" media=" (min-width:" sizes=" 620px" />https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1da06fddf882b038ac18503c3f183f558429faff/0_49_4817_2890/master/4817.jpg?w=605&q=20&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&dpr=2&s=7f98c66f9d4416557cb88a6e87442c51" media=" (min-width:" sizes=" 605px" />https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1da06fddf882b038ac18503c3f183f558429faff/0_49_4817_2890/master/4817.jpg?w=605&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=3f9831ed6a0a672351260de441a0356c" media=" (min-width:" sizes=" 605px" />https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1da06fddf882b038ac18503c3f183f558429faff/0_49_4817_2890/master/4817.jpg?w=445&q=20&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1c4a66b6cd735c33f423737a02873751" media=" (min-width:" sizes=" 445px" /> Brady must be content to obtain the ball out rapidly, too. The Falcons missed out on 136 tackles this season, accordingto ProFootballFocus, and enabled opposing ball-carriers to acquire approximately 2.89 lawns after preliminary contact. Those were, respectively, the second-worst and worst such varieties of any group in the league. . A sensible conclusion for Belichick and his training personnel would be that it makes more sense to concentrate on plays that get the ball into receivers hands near the line of skirmish instead of taking shots downfield. No one carries out the basic slant-flats passing ideas much better than Brady, who, like Ryan, has a wealth of various targets to target at. . Chris Hogan has actually been the star of New Englands playoff program up until now, and his size camera be a possession versus a defense that rewards speed over power.Belichick may be lured to soften Atlanta up early, utilizing heavy developments with a heavy dosage of LeGarrette Blount and Martellus Bennett. If not then, hi, Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis and James White all understand how to do damage, too. .

Special groups

. The Falcons may have a small edge in the 3rd stage, though I do not believe its a substantial one. Kicker Matt Bryant has actually assembled the very best season of his profession at 41 years of ages, the protection systems have actually been strong and Eric Weems ranked 6th in the league with an 11.4 backyard punt return average. The Falcons own punter, Matt Bosher, need to be feeling fresh-legged, provided hes just needed to boot the ball 44 times all season. . New Englands Ryan Allen is strong, as are the protection systems. There have actually been a couple of return incidents during the season, however Dion Lewis ran a kickoff return back 98 lawns for a rating versus the Houston Texans in the divisional round. The only faint red mark is connected to kicker Stephen Gostkowski whose generally high requirements have actually slipped rather, with 3 additional points and 4 basket missed out on during the season. .

Pick

. What makes this such a remarkable match is that, on the surface area, you can discover a lot about these groups that look comparable. Brady and Ryan have actually been the 2 finest quarterbacks in the league in 2016-17, both have actually taken advantage of strong pass defense and each has a huge toolbox of different weapons at their disposal. I anticipate this to be a high-scoring video game. . In the end, however, I do believe the Patriots will have an edge on defense. I do not believe either group is going to have a lot of delight hurrying the passer unless Mack actually does battle for Atlanta however I do anticipate Belichick to do a much better task of computing to slow Ryan down, eliminate the deep ball and test the Falcons desire to play patiently and chip away. . Perhaps they will increase to that difficulty. Im more likely to rely on the group Ive seen do it prior to. . Prediction: Patriots 34-28 Falcons .

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