With a sense of pointed rationality

[evilhippo]

I think I can blame the CUSA show for preventing me from noticing the first scanlation of chapter 55 (and I trust zomgfta more anyway)... so, anyway, I finally got around to reading it. And first on my mind... Hooray for Arakawa's ability to follow these recent wtf chapters with one that makes sense and still makes me anxious for next month.

Anyway, since I'm late to the game, all the useful stuff's been said already. But, in a total reversal of my previous standpoint, I'm now going to refuse to believe that Ling is actually still there until it's proven that Greed isn't just rather observant and opportunistic. Though I think, when I'm not trying to cover all my bases, there's got to be some bit of Ling left, otherwise it'd make for less drama later. And I don't think I've ever seen potential drama avoided in FMA. (And thinking about that now makes me want to go back and try to finish what would have been my most evil fic ever, drama-wise. ... crap. Oh well, maybe the bunnies will carry me farther this time.) And now... now I am very, very curious about the difference between the ways Ishbal, Amestris, and Xing use alchemy. (Or pharmacy or whatever we're calling it in Xing's case.) How on earth would Father be able to do something to Ed and Al that would make them unable to use alchemy... I mean, it shouldn't be permanent because it looks like Father's expecting it to be an area thing (otherwise he would've had to do the transmutation again (which was rather flashy) to cancel out Scar and Mei, right?). It'd have to be something like cutting them off from the Doors here, if they're actually the source of alchemy in manga canon. (I really need to get my canons straight.) But then where would Scar and Mei's alchemy come from? (Okay... the stone in Scar's case, but that still leaves Mei as weird.) This also opens up an interesting weakness for Father, and I'd look forward to something like Mei trying to teach Ed pharmacy but... well, they're getting dragged off to see Bradley next month. Which makes me squee, because we're bound to be reintroduced to...

....

Holy crap, Riza's been assigned to work under Bradley. They're working on making more homunculi. Wouldn't it be awful if Riza ended up replacing Lust? Good thing that'd be reusing the same basic idea... and she'd never accept Lust. But... oh, that'd hurt... in a very interesting way. I think I'll stick to amusing myself with Lust!Hughes, though... because that's all kinds of amusing screwed up and farther from things I'd have to worry about ever happening. I think I've accepted that Arakawa-sensei created Hughes for one purpose. Okay, maybe two, but they're related. We've got angst, and we've got propelling Roy's storyline. This is probably why I constantly feel the need to kill off my Hughes in omg_alchemist. Er... I should really dig out the manga again. Ed and Al know that Hughes is dead, right?

Anyway! We get to see either Roy pulling something brilliant and getting away, or getting cut down (and hopefully not maimed... because there is no maiming of Roy allowed! I mean, aside from mostly non-visible scars. And if Roy ends up maimed enough to be, I dunno, emo like he was in the movie, what is Havoc going to do? (In a totally coming-to-the-rescue sense, of course. He's bound to pop up again whenever Winry does. Hehe, and Ed and Al's argument over Mei's arrival was so cute. Poor Mei.)

Oh, and a fit of random, three icons also got caught in the fray... all variations on the same bit of random. Might as well share them, I don't know what else to do with them:

Comments

[flutingfrenzy.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it be awful if Riza ended up replacing Lust?

Oh, hell, don't scare me like that.

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Bwahahaha!

Er... I mean... sorry about that. (-;

[sketchyheart.livejournal.com]

I want to say that Ed and Al do indeed know that Hughes is dead. Yes. I think I recall them reading it in a newspaper, because at first they were freaking out over Ross getting accused of something, and then WHAMO, omgwtf hughes is dead.

*still clinging to that hope of Ling being there and just being rash and greedy, because.. cause... Ling!* ;_;

And I think at one point I was entertaining the idea that Scar and Mei weren't effected because they weren't candidates, and obviously their alchemy would suck ass and be no problem (since they weren't supposed to show up in the first place). But then there was that whole Father being surprised that it was working thing, so I think my mind automatically switched to a thinking of "Oh, he's an Ishbalan and she's a Xingian." But that doesn't make an entire amount of sense either, and could technically be racist. Ehr. 8D *could totally see Father being a bit racist, though.* ... I have no idea what my stance on this issue is anymore! Yay!

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Ah! Yes, I think I do remember that. I wish I could find the disc with the manga on it... so I could actually re-read past chapter 16. I think I might be over it by now. Maybe.

I still think there's something here with the way the Xingians can feel people's souls. It ought to come into play in an interesting and actually-explained-now way... and will probably have something to with Ran Fan. This is my prediction.

Hmmmm... Yeah, what gets me a little on them being from elsewhere is that, if father was indeed one of the sages or whatever in Xerxes (I almost called it Shamballa...) he'd know a bit about pharmacy. Unless each region's alchemy variant evolved differently from there out. Now you've confused me, too! But... hmm... if it has something to do with the sacrifices, that'd be interesting. Anything that brings Roy back into this is interesting to me, though. ^_^

[sketchyheart.livejournal.com]

I think I'm finally a little bit over the Havoc-maiming. This might have to do with making so many related angst icons and staring at the pages and generally becoming desensitized.

*nod* And... hey. Did the old guy die and I just forgot about him, or is he still lurking around somewhere? I don't think i ever knew his name, so he was not exceptionally significant in my head >_>;;;

I had another little thought for Scar being able to use his alchemy, now that I'm remembering some of Father's dialogue. He was surprised that Scar was just going straight for decomposition, and we all know Scar doesn't do alchemy in the normal process anyway, so it might have worked for him because he skipped/left off some steps, whereas Ed and Al both have to complete the process to pull their alchemy effectively (or.. at all, at the moment). But this doesn't really explain Mei, unless pharmacy doesn't involve the normal process.... Which just brings us back to needing a better explanation of how pharmacy works. Blerrr.

*confuses things*

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Old guy? The Xingian one? I... don't recall him dying for any reason, no... so... er... did something happen that would have made him die? Omg I so need to re-read things. I suck at the manga like whoa.

That might work for Scar... because I don't think we really have much proof that the Ishbalites use a different form of alchemy. (Chances are they were manipulated just as well by the homunculi, since they were the object of the war.) Hrmmm... and unless Pride is operating in Xing, they've just been going their merry little way independently, which means they've focused a lot less on the philosopher's stone. (Which has already been made fairly obvious.) I imagine it's fair to say it's significant, but I don't quite know how. So much stuff needs explained to us! Arrr!