#royai critical

[randombook4idk]

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

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

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

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

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

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

What do I dislike about manga!Royai:

The Petty Reasons (aka mostly fandom focused):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Writing Reasons:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[riza-hawks-eye]

Remaking Conqueror of Shamballa and everything is the same, except I've taken out all the Roy scenes.

Instead, when Edward and Al face off against Ekhart's army, they meet Armstrong, Breda and Havoc and they're all like "Don't worry, Colonel Mustang is sending out reinforcements." And the Elric brothers expect to see Roy.

But then it's actually Riza who shows up and everyone salutes her.

It turns out Roy is not in the film. He retired. Now he's just a happily married stay at home husband and a fully fledged wife guy.

And his wife Riza has been climbing the ranks at a terrifying pace.

[weezardthewizard]

I'm seeing a lot of crossover fanart of royai in the spy × family outfits. And while it's a neat idea, we all know that mission is completely unrealistic because Roy would not survive that dress

[tournamentpollsinc]

Round One

[writing-royza]

It's mildly jarring to be writing Royai in one room and have my partner listening to Critical Role in the other room and I can hear Travis Willingham doing dice rolls.

Helpful, so I remember what Roy's voice sounds like, but also a moment of "???"

[that-wildwolf]

"royai genderbend" that's just shakarian. you reinvented shakarian.

[by-nina]

Shallow Grave

AO3 | FFN Royai Week 2024 | Day 2 – Appreciate Rating: T (implied injury and violence) Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance Word Count: 1,065

It’s Roy who has come to her, not the Colonel, because the Colonel would not hold her closely like this, his body warm and protective over hers. The Colonel would not plead with her to stay with him, would not gasp for breath like he was dying with her, would not whisper “Lieutenant!” over and over with the tenderness of calling her by her first name. It’s Roy who is making her feel safe. It’s Roy who is making her realize, despite the haze and the numbness, that the longing she kept hidden and worked hard to forget has resurfaced.

———

There is a tense silence where Riza hears nothing but her own heartbeat. Thump… thump… thump. It is slow and forceful, and it punctuates the seconds that trickle by as her Colonel glares at the mysterious man who calls himself a doctor. It is her only reminder that she is still here with him, putting up one last fight alongside him, even though he is vulnerable and disarmed and she is unable to protect him.

The doctor says that they are running out of time, and something cuts through the air. Something bursts into a brilliant red. Something violently pulls Riza down, and her body drops heavily onto the cold stone floor. Everything around her swiftly turns cold. The sound of her heartbeat is gone—or it pauses for far too long before the next labored thump—and the screams that follow are too blurry and distorted to immediately make out.

The Colonel is screaming for her.

“Lieutenant…! LIEUTENANT…!”

All that Riza knows now is that one moment someone is dragging her across the floor, the next her own blood is quickly pooling around her, and that this must be what dying feels like. She is numb and confused and slipping away and yet inexplicably calm. Perhaps there isn’t enough blood in her anymore for her to feel anything else, but somehow she is able to find her hand and press it feebly against the cut in her throat.

She isn’t going to die, she gasps as her voice breaks. “I’m under… strict orders… not to die.”

And Riza is still fighting even though she can only move her eyes now. She can barely see the Colonel in the dark, his limbs strained from struggling to break free from his captors, his face shining with sweat and contorted in rage and desperation and terror. Maybe he can still see what she is trying to tell him. She knows that something good has come, hidden in a shadowy passage somewhere in the ceiling, but her mind cannot make the connection between what she’s glimpsed and what she does with the last of her strength.

Riza fades to black.

She is no longer in the tunnels that run through the heart of Central, no longer with the strange doctor or his puppet-like men with brute strength. She is in the Fifth Laboratory with the Colonel, collapsed on the ground with his uniform ripped open to reveal the wound that nearly killed him. The memory plays out as clear as day. Riza was the one who had screamed and flown into a blind rage thinking that her Colonel was dead, and the Colonel was weak and critically injured like she is now. She remembers her hopelessness, her fleeting but all-consuming wish to die right then and there, then the euphoric rush of hope when she heard his voice and realized that he had fought his way back to her.

But Riza also remembers something else. The spark of a feeling, a strange impulse that broke through her anxious relief over realizing that he was still alive but knowing she could still lose him if he wasn’t treated right away. Riza nearly said it then. The words hung from her lips while they waited for help to come, but she swallowed them back quickly once the medics arrived to carry him away, tearing his hand away from her trembling fingers. She buried the warm, yearning feeling away once she was certain that the Colonel was going to be all right, and she persuaded herself then that she would never find room or feel any need to consider it again.

Then, as quickly as she lost consciousness, Riza finds herself back in the tunnels, her body unresponsive and the ground slick with her blood. Her head spins with uncertainty, but she finds that she can hear a little more of what’s happening around her now than she did when she began bleeding out—fist to flesh, frantic footsteps, fingers snapping, a familiar voice yelling. She is in somebody’s arms now.

It’s Roy who has come to her, not the Colonel, because the Colonel would not hold her closely like this, his body warm and protective over hers. The Colonel would not plead with her to stay with him, would not gasp for breath like he was dying with her, would not whisper “Lieutenant!” over and over with the tenderness of calling her by her first name. It’s Roy who is making her feel safe. It’s Roy who is making her realize, despite the haze and the numbness, that the longing she kept hidden and worked hard to forget has resurfaced.

This time, it feels stronger. It’s as if it were something precious that has become more valuable for its rarity and its long absence. Riza has underestimated it, because now the words are coming back to her not with an impulse to be said, but a need. And if this is where she dies, then she is grateful that he is here now, that despite the severity of her wounds she is able to cling to dear life for one last chance to say the words:

“…”

Riza slowly opens her eyes, and Roy’s face is the first thing she sees. Everything else remains a blur; she isn’t sure she knows who saved her or how her bleeding stopped. But Riza cannot help but smile. In the flurry of emotions that wash over her, the words feel thick in her throat and heavy in her chest all at once, and all she manages to say as she looks at him is, “Colonel… I’m so sorry.”

“No, don’t speak. Just rest now.”

The words have slipped away from Riza again, further and further away as more of her surroundings and the present situation come back to her. But she knows him well enough to know that he must have heard the words in her voice, felt what she truly wanted to say without her having to tell him. Perhaps Riza isn’t imagining that she feels it in the way he looks at her now, holds her as if he is afraid he will lose her if he lets go.

But Riza is certain of exactly one thing as her dazed mind turns clear: she has loved Roy long before she admitted it to herself.

She has only loved him more every day since then.

[immortal-x-mortal-tourney]

And Round 1 is done!

Congrats to the winners!

1. Percabeth from Percy Jackson

2. Nagihono from Futari Wa Precure

3. Willabeth from Pirates of the Carribean

4. Harumichi from Sailor Moon

5. Sukka from Avatar: The Last Airbender

6. Dinahollie from DC Comics

7. Fluri from Tales of Vesperia

8. Royai from Fullmetal Alchemist

9. Caitvi from Arcane

10. Perc’ahlia from Critical Role

11. Beauyasha from Critical Role

12. Gokaiger OT6 from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger

13. Griddlehark from The Locked Tomb

14. Hikaren from Revue Starlight

15. Bumbleby from RWBY

16. Metadede from Kirby

And now, some round 1 stats!

The award for most votes goes to Catradora VS Hikaren with 3,806 votes

Closest match is a tie between Lumity VS Caitvi and Catradora VS Hikaren, both 51.9/48.1

Hardest sweep was Royai’s victory over Zakumint with 81.7/18.3. Congrats to the Royais and my condolences to the Zakumints

But don’t worry if your ship lost, because I’ll figure out how to squeeze a revival round in uh, somewhere. Until then, round two!

[polls-showdowns]

Alright here’s a list of all submitted ships that haven’t been put up to a vote. Let me know if you see errors or ones that should be voted on

(Please say you don’t think it counts now so people can decide instead of complaining during the tournament)

Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (ACD's Sherlock Holmes novels)

Jayvik, Jayce Talis/Viktor (Arcane)

Eruri, Erwin Smith/Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan)

Flintsilver, Captain Flint/Long John Silver (Black Sails)

Fuffy, Buffy Summers/Faith Lehane (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

Spangel, Angel/Spike (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

Trepha, Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades (Castlevania)

Fjorester, Fjord/Jester Lavorre (Critical Role)

Perc'ahlia, Percival de Rolo/Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)

Devildice, The Devil / King Dice (Cuphead)

Gafou, Gaston/LeFou (Beauty and the Beast)

10th Doctor/Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

Senchome, Ishigami Senku/Chrome (Dr. Stone)

Dominic Toretto/Letty Ortiz (Fast & Furious)

Royai, Roi Mustang/Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist)

EiMiko, Ei/Yae Miko (Genshin)

Hotspur Husbands, Horatio Hornblower/William Bush (Hornblower)

Sinja, Sinbad/Jafar (Magi Labyrinth of Magic)

Stony, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark (MCU)

Merthur, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Blackhands, Edward Teach/Izzy Hands (Our Flag Means Death)

Bennshanks, Shanks/Benn Beckman (One Piece)

Deuace, Deuce/Portgas D. Ace (One Piece)

Kidkiller, Eustass Kid/Killer (One Piece)

Trafalgar Law/Bepo (One Piece)

Rogeray, Gol D. Roger/Silvers Rayleigh (One Piece)

Zolu, Roronoa Zoro/Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

King's Throne, Noise/The Bard King (Roleslaying With Roman)

Shane Schofield (Scarecrow)/Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Gant (Fox) (Scarecrow)

Christopher Pike/Una Chin-Riley (Star Trek)

Spirk, Jim Kirk/Spock (Star Trek)

Codywan, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Commander Cody (Star Wars)

Blyla, Aalya Secura and Commander Bly (Star Wars)

Rexwalker, Anakin Skywalker/Captain Rex (Star Wars)

Thranto, Thrawn/Eli Vanto(Star Wars)

Jancy, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler (Stranger Things)

Stommy, Steve Harrington/Tommy Hagen (Stranger Things)

Sciles, Scott McCall/Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf)

Scisaac, Scott McCall/Isaac Lahey (Teen Wolf)

Nalby, Alby/Newt (The Maze Runner)

Janto, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones (Torchwood)

The Devil's Minion, The Vampire Armand and Daniel Molloy (Vampire Chronicles)

Loustat, Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac (Interview with the vampire)

Paperhat, Black Hat/Dr. Flug (Villainous)

Askebjorn, Askeladd/Bjorn (Vinland Saga)

Nandermo, Nandor the Relentless/Guillermo de la Cruz (What We Do In The Shadows)

MineDai, Yoshitaka Mine/Daigo Dojima (Yakuza)

[tomatocages]

9 people you'd like to know better

I was tagged by @museaway!

1. 3 ships: sheith, joan watson x sherlock holmes (elementary), royai

2. first ever ship: probably royai? I wrote mostly gen fic forEVER

3. last song: I had to go digging in my yt history because I don’t listen to a lot of music, but: “Orion,” by Darlingside

4. last movie: I watched three-quarters of Good Bye Lenin! but had to turn it off because the critically ill parent storyline was a little too close to home

5. currently reading: A Million Aunties, Alecia McKenzie (Just finished The Living Mountain, Nan Shepherd)

6. currently watching: Abbott Elementary

7. currently consuming: scotch (Tomintoul 19 from Trader Joe’s - it’s pretty mild but enjoyable)

8. currently craving: I made corn soup earlier and I’m looking forward to having some for dinner

9 people to tag (no pressure, but please feel free to play): @bavariansugarcookie, @biblionerd07, @spiftynifty, @ticktockclockwork, @akaiikowrites, @sharki-leftishark, @engraved10, @naarna, @annaofaza

[misqnon]

ranting about the dragon prince under cut (and by ranting i mean. criticizing it)

Season 5 of the dragon prince comes out soon. and I'm gonna watch it, bc I'm genuinely interested in the story and (some) of the characters but Bro.

This show could have been SOOOO GOOD and in my opinion it is just so. so held back by all these weird avoidable flaws

like, the extremely childish humor. like bad

the weird writing, the odd pacing, the strange focus on humor bits that aren't funny and literally take away precious time from the VERY INTRICATE PLOT THEYRE TRYING TO TELL BUT NO LOOK AT THESE PASTRIES GETTING ON PEOPLE'S FACES HEHEHE FART JOKE AS WELL

and the conflicts are Extremely Obvious and on the nose. like that episode between the sun elves and the human camp

I know this show is inspired by avatar but that's like the perfect example of how to make a show for kids that isn't excessively Childish. they've made like 4 kinda tryhard avatar references so LEARN FROM THE SHOW U KEEP TALKING ABT BRO 😭😭

now that I think about it the entirety of the dragon prince feels like of all of atla was under the same writing vibes as the great divide episode. like epic plot, epic characters (aaravos, the dragons, rayla and the moonshadow elves, viren, ezran as a child king!) But then they have the most threatening character in the entire show do shit like nose booping for a funny haha. but it's so cringe

or when they made that weird joke about claudia loving the smell of her boyfriends farts bc they smell like petrichor?? HELLO????

I could also mention the elephant in the room of how aaron eehasz got allegations for having a semi-abusive work environment (especially towards women) during like seasons 1 and 2 I think?? Idk where that went cause its been such a long time and I don't follow anything about the show aside from watching it

And this is less of a thing about the actual show but. The Fandom. Is so.

I feel bad saying this cause they aren't even problematic necessarily its just very weird and annoying and kinda. Kinda dumb

I see so many tdp posts on my dash just from following the tag of people obsessing over rayla and callum like its the deepest het ship in existence when its two teenagers who have known each other for like a year and have very basic chemistry

and it follows the same weird Fandom phenomenon that royai does where you have a perfectly healthy and equal het ship and the fandom takes it and goes OOOH LETS PUT GENDER ROLES ON IT AND CALL IT CUTE <333

also people commenting about how deep the show is when it's really?? Not?? They paint it with flowery language and dramatics in these pretentious tumblr posts about the show and then it's really not that at all? like don't get me wrong the world building is obviously intricate and you can tell they went full in and had fun with it (behind the scenes) but how much of it really made it into the show. and also...worldbuilding =/= emotional depth.

there ARE really good moments and the coin thing with raylas family is cool and so it claudia's journey but even some of these are cut down by the random shitty humor that's always ruining everything including tense scenes, moods, and screentime

also the other day someone posted an AI generated image of a dude who barely looked like callum with actual random circles on his face from AI distortion, tagged it, paraded it off as fanart, and there were like FORTY PEOPLE IN THE NOTES SAYING LIKE "great fanart :3" "love the idea!" "nice art!" And I commented that it was AI and they blocked me like YOU GUYS ARE SO....STUPID

kay im done sorry

[dndlovinndn]

hey y'all!

So far, all of the stuff I've posted has been (mainly) Fullmetal Alchemist/ Royai centric. However, I've got MAJOR imodna brainrot (the pairing of Imogen and Laudna from campaign 3 of Critical Role), and I'm dyin over here so I think I might start posting more about that. (Royai 4ever tho)

[tinivy]

*offers you this again*

[teacup-of-candlelight]

OKay but honestly,

Why did we not expect Travis to be this good at RPing romance? When this man, Travis Willingham, pulled THIS:  https://youtu.be/6WIfzR6lffc IMPROVD at a con in 2007!

Am I way to much of a FMA nerd? Possibly! But that’s beside the point! We all doubted Travis for no good reason. Man has ALWAYS had mad improv romance skills. 

[royaibrainrot]

Me: only shipping rarepairs, non canon ships, and angsty pining ships

Me @ me: this is why we can’t have nice things

[incorrectfullmetalquotes]

Mustang: Are you and I good?

Hawkeye: What you did in Ishval was awful, truly terrible, despicable and unforgivable — until you can forgive it. At some point, you’ll have to do that. I swear to you that I will be at your side until you do.