(no subject)

[skygiants]

OKAY. As of last night, I have both seen episode 64 of FMA:B and read the final chapter of the manga. And one month behind the rest of the fandom, I HAVE THOUGHTS.


First of all, I just want to say: not that I ever doubted it would, but FMA has absolutely taken its place as one of my favorite complete narratives of all time. I love everything. I love everyone. I LOVE ARAKAWA THE MOST.

. . . I just wanted to make that clear.

There was only one scene that I desperately wanted in the finale and did not get: I wanted a final scene between Scar and Marcoh scene LIKE BURNING. I realize that no one else in the world is as invested in the Team Scarcoh dynamic as I am (look, I assert my right to make terrible portmanteau smush names for things that are not romantic pairings if I want to) but all the same! I mean, okay. Their relationship goes from "killing you would be too easy for you" to "WACKY WORLD-SAVING ROAD TRIP." I feel like this deserves some resolution! In my heart, they are totally taking another road trip to visit Mei sometime postcanon. It will be awesome.

Which is not to say that I did not love the Scar-Miles-Olivier scene, because I did. So very much. I do love that in the end, Scar's continued purpose came from his dynamic with another Ishvalan, and I love Arakawa maybe most for this: that the efforts our guilty and well-meaning white dudes put forth with regard to resurrecting Ishval are going to be useless without the actual Ishvalans.

(BECCA: And I am firmly convinced that, as Olivier stalks off, even Scar has a two-second flash of thinking, "I'd hit that."
GEN: We don't even have any evidence that Scar is straight!
BECCA: Like it even matters! OLIVIER ARMSTRONG TRANSCENDS SEXUAL ORIENTATION. It's the power of The Hair.

Which is to say, I'd ship it.)

Some other things I loved beyond all reason:

- Ed's MOST HILARIOUS PROPOSAL EVER. I will LOL FOREVER, oh my god. (And hugs! So many hugs! I will admit I would not have minded some more shipperbait regarding certain other couples *cough*RizaRoy*cough* but all of Kids from Resembool hugs filled me with joy, especially given that I have spent half the series chanting "JUST HUG" at the screen.)

- Ling is going to learn how to be a big brotheeeeer. (I loved especially that in the manga it was Lan Fan who asked it of him, and that it was triggered by remembering Knox. I loved that so much.) You know that when Al finally gets to Xing, Ling is going to have way too much fun annoying him and Mei by playing Overprotective Big Brother at them and Demanding To Know Al's Intentions. (It will distract him from missing Greed. WHOM I ALSO MISS but I am not thinking about that because his death was perfect and fitting but still fills me with sorrow.)

- speaking of: I love not only that Al is going to Xing, but that he's taking JERSO AND ZAMPANO. They are learning alchemy! They are figuring out how to get their bodies back! And also babysitting Al while they're at it, oh my god, I love them all so much. (Meanwhile, Darius and Heinkel get stuck babysitting Yoki for all time.)

- I would desperately like fic in which the reason that Mei is hanging out in Rush Valley in that final photo from the anime after she and Al come back from Xing is because she is TRAINING WITH IZUMI IN DUBLITH. *___* Seriously, how awesome would that be? I would also like fic in which Paninya and Mei become BFF. Alas, fandom will not provide me with either of these.

- I can't decide which version of the Havoc-and-Breda photo I love better: the one in the manga, with the physical therapy, or the one from the anime with REBECCA AND HER HAREM.

- GRUMMAN AND MRS. BRADLEY. Oh, man. In my heart, she has totally used her popularity and status as the Grieving Widow to become a politician in the aftermath of everything that went down, and Grumman has proposed to her at least three times because a.) she's hot, b.) it would be an excellent PR move, and c.) he wants to keep an eye on Baby Selim. And Mrs. Bradley smiles sweetly, flirts with him, and stomps his dreams every time, because a.) she prefers to lead the opposition, b.) she does not trust him anywhere near Baby Selim, and c.) he's not anywhere near as hot as her previous husband (though she does appreciate a man with a fine moustache.)

And okay. SPEAKING OF FACIAL HAIR. The time has come, the inevitable time, to discuss the all-important topic of the hairstyling decisions of certain cast members in the finale, and I am about to assert an Unpopular Fandom Opinion here.

To put it into context, I have to relate another conversation between myself and genarti, as both of us found it completely impossible to avoid spoilers of THE STACHE.

GEN: But I don't actually think it's that bad! It's small and period-appropriate and kind of reminds me of my grandfather's. It's not, like, an Armstrong-stache.
BECCA: . . . what do you mean? It's TERRIBLE. It's WORSE than an Armstrong-stache!
GEN: Are you crazy? It doesn't even curl!
BECCA: IT SO DOES CURL. And it's RIDICULOUS.
GEN: It does not! It has tiny points!
BECCA: Gen, LOOK AT THIS. THAT IS CURL.
GEN: . . . Becca, I don't know how to tell you this, but that's - not the real moustache. That's a parody.
BECCA: . . .
GEN: The monocle wasn't a clue?
BECCA: I DON'T PUT MONOCLES PAST ARAKAWA OKAY.

From this, we may take two things: a.) I am the most gullible person alive and b.) by the time I saw the real moustache, I was prepared to agree, it was not actually that bad! I mean, it is a hilarious decision on the part of both Roy and the animators. I will never deny this. However, it was far from the worst hair-related decision displayed in the final episode. FAR FROM. Even leaving Falman's tiny scrub-beard aside, observe:



The Roystache.



THE SCAR-MULLET.

WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THE HILARIOUS TERROR THAT IS THE SCAR-MULLET.

Fandom, once again, I am disappoint.

Comments

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

I BELIEVE IN AL. So much.

The badass fanservice, suited them best, in many ways. (See, it makes me think that at this point in his career Roy has to cultivate an image somewhat similar to the one Bradley had. THIS INTRIGUES ME.)

Knox and Miles are kinda at the top of my list of "characters I need more of!" so I was rather ridiculously happy. (Of course Lan Fan does! Mei Chan also drops by for tea in between training sessions with Izumi.)

Becca I am not that far in Utena yet. D:

Indeed.

[skygiants]

FOR EVERY TEN, HE'LL GIVE BACK ELEVEN. <33333

I think my favorite is still the panel where Greedling makes the mistake of trying to tell Riza to stay behind. Especially because his expression upon WITNESSING the fanservice is glorious to behold. (. . . that is an intriguing thought. Certainly Grumman appears to be following that path . . .)

Me toooo. I mean, everyone is on that list. But them definitely way high up there! And I had sort of given up hope on seeing more Knox, especially, so my heart did fill with joy. (And once they accidentally come at the same time and it's SUPER AWKWARD.)

D: D: D: I keep forgetting this! CATCH UP ALREADY. In . . . all your copious free time . . .

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

AL: HE GOES TO ELEVEN.
...I apologize for that.

I don't know, I still love the thought of their "eye signal." THEY KNOW EACH OTHER'S SOULS. (...I should not be thinking of political fanfic, I should not be thinking of political fanfic, I should not-)

Both of them fall seriously into character types I love, and both of them didn't get all that much outside of arc-specific scenes, so THANK YOU ARAKAWA. (And Knox just facepalms and makes everyone tea.)

I WOULD IF VIDEO SITES WORKED. Instead I spend time discovering shonen manga that quote William Blake.

[skygiants]

*DIES* AS WELL YOU SHOULD.

Oh, I love that ALSO. I love that epically. WORDS ARE FOR THE WEAK. (I should not be thinking of political fanfic -- fixed it for you! :D)

I will never finish being in love with how much and how well she followed up with every single character introduced. (And his wife is like, "it's so nice that you're making friends, dear! ^_^" and Knox is like "WHAT DO YOU MEAN FRIENDS YOU MEAN TROUBLESOME PATIENTS grumble grumble rant.")

. . . well, this is also acceptable, I suppose. :O Which one?

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

I BLAME THE LINGERING ILLNESS.

THEY DON'T NEED WORDS, THEY HAVE EYES. (...yes, that is much better.)

Yeeeees. Which is only appropriate, considering the amazing characters! (And his son tries to make polite conversation with Lan Fan, which fails miserably, so he just ends up listening to Mei Chan talk about romance novels.)

Arago! It is fairly recent, but starting out quite well. It has cops and the supernatural in modern London and would be great to crossover with Neverwhere. And there is a villain who is a total Blake fanboy.

[skygiants]

I GUESS YOU CAN BE A LITTLE EXCUSED FOR THAT

The only tragic thing about Mustang getting his sight back is now I have no excuse to write self-indulgent fanfic about them learning finger-spelling codes. *cough* (I try to be helpful. *serene*)

Exactly! (Perhaps they have read some of the same books! Mei Chan needs to meet SOMEONE with whom she can have literary discussions.)

*makes note!* You know, I swear I have seen villains who are Blake fanboys before. Which always kind of makes me laugh, because really, poems whose entire focus is basically "Lambs! They're sweet!" are not super-villainous . . . (okay I am being injust to Blake and his depth and occasional creepiness here, I know. BUT STILL.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

THIS RELIEVES ME.

heee. At least we got a few "Seeing-eye Riza" jokes out of it? (You always are.)

(You know Knox' son is a sensitive and idealistic guy who has totally read some of those books! He will try to talk about the literary merit. Mei Chan, though, is somewhat more interested in how romantic the hero is.)

Well, this villain is much bigger on The Marriage of Heaven and Hell than on Songs of Innocence and Experience. Which I am cool with, because I myself am something of a Blake fan and it shows that the mangaka did not just do surface Blake research. (Not that the songs of innocence are very innocent a lot of the time when you think the implications through. And with Blake you know you're supposed to think the implications through. I mean, I am pretty sure that Blake, not Milton, is the single biggest influence on His Dark Materials.)

[skygiants]

Not to mention "Riza's upgraded from a gun to a flamethrower." (Enabling is what I do best!)

(He totally has. Although Mei will totally listen and steal some of the literary arguments so she can convince Al to read them. No seriously, Al, it's a classic! He'll like it, really! (Little does she know that Al secretly enjoys the really sappy ones anyway.))

Oooh, this is indeed a plus. I do not know as much about Blake as I should, but I am aware of the creepiness factor in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell! (Perhaps I should reread some Blake! Because I vaguely recall all of this, but it's been quite a while.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

snnnrk (I have experienced this, yes.)

(One of the many secret ways in which Mei and Al make a lovely match.)

In addition to the Blake fanboy, there is a character who is the Agent Mulder of the police in that he takes all the "spooky" cases, but he actually has Scully's skepticism and goes around quoting Churchill and Conrad! And there's lots of Celtic mythology, which is actually accurately referred to!

And oh yes, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell lays out a lot of Blake's thoughts very compellingly, and is the reason that I'm convinced Pullman is Blake's no. 1 fan. (Granted, I have attempted very little in the way of the prophecies, since people spend their lives studying those damn things.)

[skygiants]

(YOU'RE WELCOME.)

(It's true! I am also very fond, I will admit, of how Ed tries to tease Al about Mei and Al's response is simple cheery serenity.)

Accurate Celtic mythology? :O Okay, this is fairly impressive.

One thing you can say about Pullman: he is definitely not afraid to engage with other texts. *amused*

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

(YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU ANYWAY)

(Whereas when Al teases Ed about Winry...)

Yes! I mean, a lot of it is just bringing in the actual names for things, but considering this is a shonen manga in a mainstream magazine, I am impressed by it actually referencing Irish deities and such. It does some other pretty intelligent stuff, too, and I really appreciate all the main characters so far. (There are only 26 chapters, though.)

How many quotes are in the beginning of The Amber Spyglass? Six? XD

[skygiants]

(And you know I only enable because I love, so that works out! *serene*)

(HILARIOUS TINY EXPLOSIONS. Well, okay, not-so-tiny anymore, I guess. STILL.)

It's true that something will have to fill the shonen-shaped void in my life now . . . (Is it being published monthly now?)

I just want to know what the number was that they had to cut.

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

(And you know that love is never a one way street.)

(They are still smaller than Al!)

I thought you were turning to Pumpkin Scissors for that? ...Incidentally, that's on my to-read list because of you. (It's a weekly, so about 20 pages every week. Except the first chapter, which had to establish everything and was about 50 pages, I think.)

If I ever see Mr. Pullman again, I will ask him that.

[skygiants]

(Basically this whole aspect of the conversation can be summarized with <33333 and the occasional >:D)

(And always will be. Perhaps this is why Ed grows his hair so long, to compensate?)

akj;sdI WAS. And then I ran out! ;_; And there are NO SCANLATIONS ANYWHERE. Agony, misery, AND WOE. However it should still totally be on your to-read list because it is absolutely awesome. (. . . 20 pages weekly is not at all bad.)

When did you see him the first time? :O

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

...I thought I had replied to this.

(BUT YES, <33333 and >:D indeed!)

(He may not have romantic hero height, but dammit, he has the hair!)

WOE INDEED though I am still totally going to read what is around. (No, no it is not.)

We drove two hours to go to a book signing for The Amber Spyglass! He was rather fun and personable and quite open to answering questions and such. I remember I had a whole little speech planned on how much I love His Dark Materials. And then when actually face-to-face with him while he signed my books I could not say a word.

[skygiants]

I spent the last week weeping for lack of reply, no lie.

(Mei still thinks his hair is not romantic enough. SHORT CRISP BLONDE HAIR is the way to go, Ed, way not to get the memo.)

PLEASE DO and then tell me what you think! :D I will tell you one thing, it has the least manpainy genetically altered PTSD-suffering berserker-trigger super-soldier I have ever encountered.

Aw, that is nice! It is always pleasant when authors do not disappoint. I am always very unnerved about meeting them though regardless, because I know I will never be able to say anything intelligent when faced with them.

[genarti]

YOU SHOULD BE THINKING OF POLITICAL FANFIC.

*helpful*

*flees back to other thread*

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

ENABLER!

[genarti]

Why yes I am. :D

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

...do I get enable you back?

[genarti]

Becca is already doing a pretty admirable job of it by email, but I've never been able to really stop my friends from enabling me into things.

What are you proposing? *wary*

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

Well, somewhat to my surprise, I seem to have developed an almost supernatural ability to get people to read Pluto.

I think you should read Pluto.

[genarti]

I will take this under strong advisement! :D