The boy behind the cash register jotted down the last item
in Roy’s bag. His pen slashed through a sum line, and he scribbled in the total
price at the bottom of the paper. “That’s 215 cenz, please.”
Roy shifted his groceries to one hand and dug through his
pocket for the 1000 cenz piece he’d stashed there earlier. The cashier took it
with a slight grimace. He eyed Roy’s purchases and flipped the coin between his
fingers. “Do you have anything smaller? I don’t have a lot of change here.”
“Allow me,” a voice, fast beside Roy’s ear answered. Roy
startled, and stepped back as a new hand swung around. A military sleeve fell
to its wrist, and the newcomer dropped 215 cenz on the counter.
Roy didn’t see the money though. He felt his groceries slip
in his grasp, as if suddenly weightless. Something dense pulsed through his
veins, something ringing in his ears, as he traced the hand back and turned to
face the man who’d paid for his groceries.
Thin glasses, square jaw, gentle green eyes, tousled black
hair. The man smiled. “As far as I remember, I owe you a few hundred cenz from
our bets in Ishval. Never paid you for that. So let’s call this even.”
His voice, yes definitely his voice. And that loose smile,
and the openness behind his eyes. Roy’s bag dropped from his hands. It hit his
shoe and upturned, a few tomatoes rolling across the wood flooring.
“Hughes?” and he hardly heard his own voice whisper it.
The one thing that I never fully understood about FMA was the fact that Ed never got a military uniform. They literally let the little runt wear whatever.
On the topic of deaths in FMA (so, major spoiler tag right now for the FMA:B anime/manga) there’s one that’s just so well-constructed, so well-executed, and I’ve never seen anyone bring this up:
The Death of Wrath, Fuhrer King Bradley
It was Bradley who ordered and signed the extermination campaign in Ishval. And he did so unflinchingly. Partway through the war, the High Priest of Ishval offers himself up to Bradley in an attempt to end the war–one leader turning himself over to the other.
And Bradley, Bradley scoffs. He laughs at the notion that any one human life can be worth more than any other. He states that this priest’s life does not equal the tens of thousands of Ishvalans.
They curse him out. They tell him God will punish him. And Bradley invites it
He dares God to strike him down! He dares God’s Wrath to find him, and end him. But of course, nothing happens. The war continues. The Ishvalans die.
Then, we have Scar, who’s seeking vengeance for his murdered people. He does it in God’s name. He targets State Alchemists, because they are blasphemers. They distort things from the form God gave
them. They create, when creation is
the domain of God alone.
Al attempts to call Scar out on this hypocrisy later when
they battle in Central. Scar claims he’s working a loophole though. His arm
only destroys. He’s not encroaching
on God’s domain. He does not create.
Fast forward many many chapters. Scar is the final person to battle Bradley. And he finds
himself losing at first, even with Bradley as injured as he is. Then Scar pulls
out his trump card, gains the upperhand on Bradley, gains the advantage.
He’s tattooed his brother’s other design on his left arm. He’s
embraced the creation arm. Against
his beliefs, against his morals, against his creed, Scar has become one of the
blasphemers. He’s encroached on God’s
domain, because the magnitude of failure outweighed the sin of creating.
Bradley mocks him for this. He claims Scar must have finally
realized God is fake. That He’s a construction of humans, and the war has
finally broken Scar of his faith. If Bradley were right, Arakawa would probably
have him win this fight. He doesn’t, though. Scar beats him.
Scar, finally,
kills him. And he does it by embracing creation.
After countless attempts, after the train explosion, after Buccaneer’s death, after Fu’s death, Bradley remained alive. It was Scar, in the end, who got to kill him, and he succeeds in the face of Bradley claiming he’s surrendered his faith. So no, it’s not that Scar’s given up his faith.
Far from it.
By embracing creation, Scar has, symbolically, BECOME the
God of Ishval.
He creates. He destroys. He is nameless, yet acts in the name of Ishvala. He is Wrath. And it’s not just that “Wrath was killed by a wrathful man.”
Scar is the Wrath of Ishvala.
Bradley is killed by
the God of Ishval.
Bradley invoked the Wrath
of Ishvala, and he dies by it.
God did find Bradley, in the end. He was late on the invite, but He answered. Oh god, did He answer.
This fucking coat survives longer than most characters in the show. Clearly it’s not part of the uniform since no one else has one. And I really don’t think Central’s that cold all the time. Which leads me to believe Mustang constantly wears this coat strictly because he thinks it makes him look cool. About to go overthrow the government but nope, wait, first gotta get the coat. Badass coat. Overthrow the Fuhrer in style.
That thing Ed did with the whole “transmute red cloth into his flamel coat so he could face the Promised Day in style”? Roy did exactly that too, but we don’t see it, and no one comments on it, because literally everyone working under Mustang has seen way too much of that stupid fucking coat.
I’m going to go through and document every instance of Mustang’s stupid badass coat because it’s pretty much more of a main character than he is
If you don’t know what I mean. Here’s “Mustang’s stupid badass coat, episodes 1-10″
Episode 1
Episode 2
(Mustang doesn’t appear in episode 3. Loser)
Episode 4
Episode 5 (two entirely separate scenes. he appears in the middle without his coat. like he took it off and then put it back on at some point)
(Mustang doesn’t appear in episode 6. Loser)
Episode 7
Bonus points for not even wearing it properly. Clearly it is too hot for that coat but Mustang refuses to take it the fuck off.
(Mustang appears once, only indoors, in episode 8. Doesn’t appear in 9. Loser)
Episode 10
There you are. Mustang’s stupid coat. This is just 1-10. Series is 64 episodes long. The coat does not go away. Asshole’s wearing this coat when he helps take down Father I’m about 96% certain. He loves this coat. He really just loves this coat so much.
Also, I would like to toss in an amendment to the original post. There is one person besides Mustang who sometimes wears that exact same coat.
And that’s Hawkeye
“Asshole’s wearing this coat when he helps take down Father I’m about 96% certain.“
I checked
He fucking
is.
Guys
the epilogue
he’s wearing the stupid badass coat in the epilogue.
This epilogue exists to let us know the stupid badass coat is safe and okay.
Ft. Riza in the same type of coat too.
I want to remind you that Mustang’s wearing this coat when he finds 11-year-old Ed in Resembool. He’s wearing it now, in the epilogue, which also features Ed with two kids, the older of which looks to be about 2 or so.
This coat’s almost an entire generation old. This coat’s old enough to have baby coats. This coat followed Mustang literally everywhere for decades and somehow never got destroyed once. Despite being attached to Roy “walking target practice” Mustang. Houses and cars belonging to Mustang were destroyed but not this fucking coat. Roy is a responsible and loving coat owner, beyond responsible.
This is the thing that survives.
This fucking coat
This fucking coat you guys.
I would also like to present my personal favorite commentary on this topic:
“How come you wear your coat like a cape, anyway?” said Ed. “Didn’t you grow out of the magician phase?”
“It’s a perfectly acceptable way to wear it,” said Roy. “It’s midway between wearing a coat and not. You know, if it’s too cold to go without a coat, but a bit too hot to wear it closed?”
“So wear it open.”
“It’s a perfectly acceptable way to wear a coat!” They weaved their way through the crowd towards a clear space to stand. “That I get my personal style satirised in a stage show only goes to show that I have style in the first place.”
“I stopped wearing my coat like a cape when I was six,” Ed said.
(from The Phoney War by @bob-fish, in one of the most hilarious scenes ever committed to fanfic, I fucking mean it)
IT’S BACK
“Survives longer than most characters in the show” xD
It doesn’t happen like that. You don’t just wake up one day and find that everything has worked itself out. You must get out of bed, morning after morning, and make a conscious effort to control the circumstances of that given day. You must learn to handle your issues with grace because you respect what they are attempting to teach you. You must drown your insecurities slowly, one self-realization at a time. You must allow yourself to feel the fear bubbling just beneath your skin but you must never allow it the satisfaction of crippling you; grit your teeth and march on. You see, they never tell you how hard these things will be. This fight to reclaim yourself is not easy or straightforward but, my god, is it necessary.
Ladies gather up. For years I’ve suffered from ultra sensitive skin especially around my bikini area and inner thighs. I know a lot of you deal with the same problems so I’m making a very extensive post about NATURAL and SKIN FRIENDLY ways to combat these issues as well as share my personal shaving routine.
Firstly let me clear this up: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PUT ALCOHOL OR DEODORANT ON THESE SENSITIVE AREAS.
I’ve seen many posts online about girls that use alcohol as a toner, or apply cream deodorant and Nivea aftershave balm to prevent razor bumps. While these products will help alleviate the symptoms they will harm your skin in the long run. So stay away!
In my experience there are two types of problems:
Immediate: these appear during or directly after shaving. (Pain during shaving, cuts, irritation)
Post shave: these appear hours or days after shaving (irritation, bumps, ingrown hairs)
So let’s take it from the start.
Baths and soaks: now this is not a totally necessary step but soaking in warm water prior to shaving will help soften both the skin and the hair and provide a more pleasant experience.
Avoid using any body wash or bubble bath as it will disturb your ph levels and is especially unhealthy for your vagina.
Prefer ingredients like salts(detoxifies, provides minerals), baking soda(detoxifies), apple cider vinegar (balances ph), herbs & teas (soften skin, smooth, hydrate, calm and so on), milk (hydrates skin, mildly exfoliates, softens), honey (hydrates, softens)
Exfoliation: this is an essential step if you suffer from ingrown hair and additionally helps give a closer shave.
You have a few different options. You can either use a glove/loofah/mitt/sponge or a scrub
Again avoid commercial scrubs as the chemicals in them are extremely unnecessary and unhealthy for your skin. Invest in a quality natural product or create your own with ingredients you already have in your kitchen in the fraction of the time and cost.
A simple scrub recipe I enjoy:
Sugar (brown or white)
Oil (I use coconut but any oil will work)
Lemon juice
Lemon zest
Add the desired amount of sugar in a container or mixing bowl. Put in the zest. Slowly pour in the oil until all sugar granules are coated but not saturated in it. Finally add the lemon juice until you reach the desired consistency.
Both the lemon juice and lemon zest are completely optional. The juice helps lighten any marks while the zest gives a refreshing smell.
You can substitute cinnamon and vanilla extract for a sweet, more wintery smell or just leave it plain.
Use the sugar scrub around your kitty but be extremely cautious not to get it inside as it might cause imbalances and yeast infections.
Do not substitute salt for sugar as it’s too harsh and will sting during shaving.
DO NOT USE BABY OIL. I can’t even believe that this is a product intended for babies! The ingredients are disgusting and extremely harmful.
Here’s why:
“Traditional baby oil is typically mineral oil, a petroleum-based ingredient. Mineral oil coats the skin just like a plastic wrap and messes with your baby’s natural immune barrier. This inhibits the skin’s ability to breathe and compromises its capacity to release toxins.”
Keep it away from you and your coochie.
Shave: if you chose a scrub just rinse off the granules with lukewarm water but DO NOT wash off the oil. It will protect your skin from the blades and prevent burns, cuts, irritation and discomfort. If you are using an oil free option to exfoliate you will need to apply oil afterwards. (Again choose the oil that suits you best.)
Choose a men’s razor with four blades (My favorite is Gillette fusion pro glide) and change the blades often.
Typically the oil is more than enough. If though you have supah sensitive skin and especially if you are shaving for a second day in a row you might wanna try shaving UNDERWATER. Yes you read that right. This method saved me!! Just sit as comfortably as you can in the tub and submerge the parts you want to shave in the warm water WITH THE OIL ON and shave.
Aftercare: use a gentle body wash to remove the oil from your body and a feminine wash or plain water to rinse your kitty.
Use a clean towel and pat the shaved areas dry.
I use alcohol free witch hazel as a toner on the areas where I’m prone to breakouts and bumps to naturally and gently disinfect the skin and close the pores. You can also mix apple cider vinegar with water in a 1:3 ratio and use that instead.
As a second step I like to slather on some aloe Vera gel to hydrate and smooth the skin.
Once it’s soaked I top everything off with some natural aftershave balm (my favorite is the bulldog original aftershave balm, it’s super cheap and all natural)
The following days: you can apply some moisturizer or oil with a few drops of tea tree oil on the areas where you get razor bumps and post shave breakouts to eliminate them. I like to use Aloe Vera gel consistently to moisturize and smooth sensitive areas.
This is it ladies! I hope it’s helpful!!
Post about vagina care coming soon!!
Follow @diamondbabes for more 😉
Red Hood 