[OWLS Blog Tour: “Journey”] Growing through Loss and Regret: FMAB

I’m going to apologize again for being inactive on here. My interests have changed since starting this blog so I’m afraid I won’t be posting much anymore. I still very much have an online presence, mainly on Instagram and Tumblr, though. I will still post OWLS tour posts, and cosplay things here and there on here, but besides that, this blog is pretty much at a standstill.

I’m not interested in what I used to do anymore, I found more passion in making cosplay, sharing photos on my Instagram, going to cons, writing fan fiction, and participating in fan events on tumblr. I really loved the blogging community while I was here, but I enjoy myself more in the cosplay and fanwork communities.

Although, I’ve always loved doing OWLS posts, so I will continue on with that.

Now that my little update is out of the way, onto what I’ll be covering in this post.

This month’s topic is “Journey”!

We have all heard this saying in some shape or form: “Life is a journey.” We travel down a path in hope that we reach a goal or destination, but the travel in getting there isn’t always easy. Along the way, we encounter some personal struggles. It is in those moments where we must overcome an adversity to complete our journey or take a different route or path instead. In this month’s OWLS post, we will be discussing the personal journeys of pop culture creators, icons, and characters. We will explore the journeys that these characters went through, discuss the process and experiences they had on their journeys, what they discover about themselves, or share our own personal journeys.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a show I’ll always hold close to my heart. It’s something I believe everyone should experience in their lifetime, and it’s quite possibly the best anime ever created. Though, not because of the animation quality, or the fight scenes, or the creativity of the intricate details involved in alchemy. It’s because of the characters, and what they witness throughout the span of the show. For a science fiction story, it’s very down to earth, and horrifically real.

It all starts with the loss of the Elric brothers’ father. He didn’t die, but he abandoned the two boys at a young age. Initially, the viewer thinks he was a horrible, uncaring father. That’s what Edward grew up believing as well.

After his father disappeared, they were left with their mother, who grew ill and died when the boys were 10 and 11 years old. The intense emotions from grief and helplessness devastated them. Though they had the support of Winry and her grandmother, the load was heavy for both of them.

They made a huge mistake, trying to ease the grief, but it only made the burden on both of their shoulders double.

This was the beginning of their journey to move on from their grief and regret.

Even along the way, they made more mistakes, Edward moreso than Alphonse, but they both had to work together to continue on in their search. They met both friend and foe, who either wanted to help them out in their journey, or wanted to put it at a permanent halt.

They couldn’t do any of it themselves. That was something they learned at the beginning. By taking matters into their own hands, they threw themselves down a hole, that they had to struggle to get out of.

Though, maybe it was for the better that they made their dire mistake. Without it, they would not have made the friendships they did, and would not have learned important life lessons along the way. They wouldn’t have become the strong, experienced men that they become by the end of the series. By moving on from the past, and pushing forward until they finally reached their goal, they were able to live the rest of their lives with ease, and they could do what they wanted to do.

Sometimes, the mistakes we make can be turned into something for the better. We may feel a deep unsettled feeling in our gut when we think about them, but those are the catalysts for growth. Without a mistake, or an aspect of life that we want to change, there’s no goal. And without a goal, there is no journey.

In my own life, I am still trying to determine what my true passion is, as I stated at the beginning of this post. For a while, I was juggling so many projects of different skill. I used to draw, I used to write reviews, I used to even make these stupid little music videos on my phone. I regret a lot of the projects I made back then now. But without realizing those failures, I never would have moved on. Without trying out new things, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now.

I love doing cosplay, and I love learning how to use new materials and improving my sewing skills. I also love the community that comes from it. I’ve made great friends through it, and it’s even allowed me to meet some of my online friends in real life, at cons.

Along with that, I realized that reviews aren’t something I like writing. I always struggled when I did them. I worried that I would say something wrong, and that what I said was pointless. I eventually decided that it wasn’t worth it to continue if I didn’t like it, and I’ve benefited greatly from that. I’ve become more integrated in the fanwork community, basically meaning I write fanfiction. I’m a part of multiple groups that support my work, and I love writing it. I’ve always enjoyed story writing, and this gives me a chance for my work to be seen and loved.

While my journey isn’t as clear or as serious as Edward and Alphonse’s, it’s comforting to see that everyone’s journey has bumps in the road, and as long as you keep your head up and continue on through all of those, you can achieve your goals.

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This was a much different format than I’m used to, but I think I liked writing my post this way!

Hopefully, I’ll get some cosplay tutorials out soon. I have my hero costume Todoroki one nearly finished, and I’ll be making changes to the Fantasy AU Deku, and then making my tutorial on him. I’ve also considered including videos on how to do makeup for the characters I do, since I’m getting more confident in how I do eyeliner.

I also want to have short little posts for cosplay tips, like what to bring in your con bag, and what materials are good starters and such.

I’m also starting school soon, but since I’ll have a better schedule, I’ll likely be more productive, so I might get some things done to share.

With those announcements done, here are the blogs that were before and after me!

Jack was before, with a post about Magi, and Dale is after me!

30 Day Anime Challenge! Day Twenty-Nine

This challenge is almost over, and it’s going to be a bit strange to go back to only posting once a week. I’ve learned a lot doing this challenge, which I think I’ll discuss on the last post.

30 Day Anime Challenge! Day Twenty-four, Twenty-five, and Twenty-Six

Gosh, I was an idiot to choose December for this challenge. There was no way I could keep up with these daily prompts with the holidays happening. But I’ll still do all 30 of the prompts by the 30th of this month. I just had to give myself some slack in it. So, here are the past three prompts all on one day.

30 Day Anime Challenge! Day Fifteen

Halfway through! I’m halfway through this challenge now, and I’m impressed with how I’ve been keeping up with it. And I think it’s thanks to the support I get from all of my followers with the views and likes I get. If I saw that nobody was reading it, I would have given up, but seeing how many people look at my challenge posts every day encourage me to push on with it. It’s really hard for me to push myself when it comes to any sort of project, but I’ve been able to and that’s such a huge accomplishment for me. So, thank you.

They Learned it from Somewhere (Anime Teachers)

Anime has given us some of the most well-known heroes in pop culture. But heroes are not born, they must be taught and train to be great. And to be taught great things, they must have great teachers.

Top 10 Male Anime Characters

I did a top 10 of female characters a while back with the full intention of doing this post immediately after, but I guess I forgot about it. Well, here it is now. I’ll have to say this list was much easier to compile than Top 10 Female Anime Characters, for reasons I’m somewhat ashamed of. I’ve realized that when I become attached to a male character, they tend to have one or more of the following traits: short stature, short temper, and blond hair. Which almost every character on this list falls into.

Top 10 Female Anime Characters

I’m sorry for the long wait (2 months to be exact), I was finishing up classes these past couple weeks so I’ve had other things on my mind. It should be more frequent from now on.

I can always appreciate when an anime can make a female character right. There are too many that use the girls of anime as fanservice or give them a cardboard personality. All of the girls I have chosen for this list are not fanservice characters, and have great character qualities. I tried to get a variety from anime I watched a while ago and more recent ones. I’ve noticed I tend to talk about the same shows constantly, so I’m trying to mix it up a bit if I can.

Ten Animes With Beautiful Art

I am obsessed with the anime style. That’s the main reason why I watch these shows. It’s not because they’re Japanese, or that it’s cool or whatever. It’s because for the most part, the art is good, and they have themes that are for older audiences. If it weren’t for anime I’d be stuck watching Disney movies and cartoons from my childhood and the present. Which most don’t have huge fanbases. I love that these shows have such a huge fanbase that I can be a part of while admiring great art styles.

FMA: Original vs. Brotherhood

For those of you who have not watched all of either of these, I will leave the beginning portion spoiler-free.  I will warn you on any major spoilers, so I am not held accountable for your frustration.  Now that we have that covered, I will explain myself.

Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that I enjoyed both of these shows.  But, I do have a favorite, after a year of contemplating it.  You probably have a good guess of which one it is, but I’ll explain why I like each one before getting to that.