I'm Gonna Be So Real All I Can Thank About Is How In An AU Where They Didn't All Just Die Eventually

You know I do think it's interesting how strongly Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) makes the point that bringing someone back from the dead is inherently selfish.

I've seen it elsewhere but not nearly as unequivocally and plainly put. First, we have Majhal in episode 4 - an alchemist so obsessed with bringing back his dead love, he completely fails to notice that she survived and returned to him. And even once the truth is revealed... he rejects her, since she's not the ~perfect girl~ from his memories, but an old woman - an actual person, with an actual life.

And if you missed it there, we then meet Tucker, so obsessed with keeping his lifestyle and success as a State Alchemist he does, you know, that. And then he goes on to become obsessed with bringing her back - but not her, not really, as he straight-up tells Ed in the 5th laboratory - he wants the girl from his memories, the perfect, unchanging doll.

Both times, we see that those obsessed with bringing someone back from the dead aren't interested in bringing back a person, with thoughts and feelings and their own independent life to live - no, they want their idea of that person, the glowing angel who could never change, never grow, and never go wrong. And that also goes for Ed and Izumi too - Ed was so obsessed with bringing his mother back that he ignored Pinako, ignored the family that took him in, and selfishly put his brother's life at risk... for which he paid the price. Izumi lost her ability to have future children, any of them, stuck on a dream on the child she could have had. Both didn't want that mother/child - they wanted their loved ones, the ones they dreamed of, not the ones that were actually there.

Most times resurrection is brought up in media, it's with the lesson that "oh, the cost is too high", "oh, you're disturbing their rest", "oh, they don't come back right." It's rare to see it put so clearly, so obviously, so horrifically that actually, no, even the fact that you attempt it - even the fact that you want to - is an inherently selfish act, that turns your back on life and the living to chase a dream that may not have ever existed.

It's an interesting take on the whole idea, of death and life and memory and obsession. For all that 2003 dropped the ball on the ending, I do love the development they gave to the characters!

Imagine if chat just randomly start chasing an akuma butterfly thing and all people see is a black vwooom ad he speeds by attempting to either shove it in his mouth or tear it apart with his nails like a real cat. Or atleast my black (ha) cat Apollo

trans Fabian is rotting my brain rn and its just ???? perfect.  him finding out his parents wrote him down a boy and being ecstatic and then realise oh shit I'm dorming with cisboy and panicking to the point he drags his massive suitcase all the way back to the gate in hopes of god randomly sending his parents back to pick him up ( they don't and victor ends up pissed at him and definitely makes a comment or two about him being a whimp but trudy is the girlboss she is and comforts him thinking he’s just homesick). Anyway he walks into his room finally and sees the man the myth the legend, Mick whos got sports gear everywhere and a massive Smile who rushes in to give him a hug because he's stoked about this to have a brother at this school and Fabian thinks for a moment that actually maybe this is going to go well. and it does go well because Micks epic and when he finds out Fabian is trans dude doesn't know what that means he just sorta goes “....we’re still roommates right?” because he couldn't care less what his friend is as long as Fabian is his friend. 

I'm a homosexual so clearly I must now gift the world with my really basic Arisu head cannons 

So Arisu did like really bad at school. like horrifically bad. yeah he was passing in maths but that was basically only cuss math just makes sense. Its part of why he hasn’t got a job- obviously getting great grades isnt the deciding factor for all jobs- but for him its almost to scary to face employer over employer who all deny him because of his grades. 

but this also doesn't mean he's not smart- we all know he's a fucking genius. This idea partly plays into the idea of academic smarts vs street smarts where Arisu is somewhere in between but its also not that. I personally project onto characters and whilst I’ve fallen in love with autistic Arisu here's my thing i guess idk.  basically dyslexic Arisu but his family constantly denied that he had it even though he struggled to read even at the age of 7 (he’d cheating reading time by reading the exact same book over and over again and memorising the words so that when he was forced to read it outload he could just recite the words off by heart). where the words would muddle together and he’d tell his parents they’d brush it off as needing glasses ( he doesn’t his eyesight is almost scarily sharp). when he’d come home from school a smile on his face because the teacher gave him a tool that would colour the lines he was reading and highlight the exact line he was looking at his dad only took it off him and threw it in the bin because “you don't need bits of plastic to be smart just work harder”. 

whilst the rest of his class could read easily Arisu would be sat in the back trying to read what the board says because words are already insanely hard because the letters dance but adding the teachers messy hand writing? impossible. eventually he just gives up on the lessons because it feels like everyone else has given up on him. so instead he sneaks in Nintendo DSs or his phone and plays games for the entire lesson- and the teachers don't realise because its not like hes doing any less work than before. 

and so exams came around and he struggled to read the paper and by the time he understood the questions that he could answer the clock was almost out of time. he failed them all. but he wasn't dumb the adults just didn't care to think. 

Alice in borderland au where everything’s the same but hatter is animated like a cartoon

Is this? Cherik?

Avatar where everything is the same except zuko has a glass eye.

I say everything’s the same, it wouldn’t be. Specifically during the water tribe arcs and potentially the desert he’d struggle cuss I assume having a glass eye is dangerous in terms of hypothermia. Like an eye getting to dry or to teary must be dangerous. Plus artificial eyes need to be cleaned and that must be a bit hard in the desert what with all the sand……. This is a fantastic idea for a cannon divergence zuko joins the gang during season 1 fic oh god.

Wanna know why I love avatar so much? Cuss the avatar really was the friends we made along the way. This isn’t some big deep dive into the morals of the show so be warned, it’s as surface deep as you can get but…

Being able to bend all 4 elements isn’t what the avatar is. The bending is just a physical representation of bringing those 4 clashing cultures together. Without Aang there is no reason for zuko, toph, katara or sokka to be friends. But because of him they are. They as representatives of their nations work with the last air bender (AND THE AVATAR!) to bring peace.

Because one man, one culture, cannot be the defining force in a universe. It’s just not true to reality. Sure some people helped more than others (the earth army was larger than the water tribes) but it was still a group effort. Everyone has to put effort in to keep their world at peace because every nation/ element plays a role in sustaining their life.

Honestly would love to write a fic about the avatar spirit dying/ disconnecting with humanity after aang gets stuck in the ice to further explore this idea but …. Im lazy.

Only a man of his greatness will understand the pleasure of having a bunch of farm animals in his care.

I also feel like he uses them to prank people and or annoy the crap outa them because honestly imagine having to shovel all the crap up. That’s like the worst job- especially off carpet

I want hatter to have a cow. I want him to treat the cow like it’s his child. Like it’s a gift from the gods. I want him to find the best bell collar, decorate the ears with ribbons. Omfg imagine him like painting the hooves to match his own nail polish.

Oh and it most definitely sleeps in his bed and he sleep in a hammock hanging above him

Head empty just arisu getting fucjing smashed at a bar and being an annoying person who climbs on a table but it being one of those sticky shitty bar tables so it fucjing topples over and arisu crashes to the floor in pain covered in beer.

Kuina and usagi by the bar recording him cuss they know it’s gonna be fucking helarious tomorrow and chishiya and pissed screaming at arisu for spilling his drink again