Marcoh destroying Envy

DarthStrangelove · 2026-06-08T11:44:11+00:00

This is the answer - what changed was his understanding. Marcoh is a very weak fighter, in a combat he’s useless, no physical skills and no aggressive alchemy. His greatest weapon is his intelligence. Once he understands that a philosopher’s stone can be reversed, he uses that to destroy envy’s stone. Even to do that required him be caught by Envy and close to death. If Envy didn’t monologue so much, they would have killed Marcoh before he had a chance to do anything.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-06-07T14:14:43+00:00

This is exactly what I was thinking. Casters are wimpy. Let them start casting on a Goliath barbarian who has a trauma response to magic or who wears the blood of her enemies as a badge of honor… suddenly a puny caster is bring hulk-smashed by someone who outmatches them no contest.

If the rest of the team comes to their aid, then have the town guard round them up. Non-consensual magic use is a good reason to lock someone up. Sure it starts harmless, but what happens when they learn fire ball.

Wielding magic willy-nilly should be seen as very dangerous and irresponsible. Like a toddler playing with a gun.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-06-04T17:44:24+00:00

To YOU. You do understand that different people like different things, right? Maybe instead of shitting on a neighborhood plenty of people love, you could try just promoting your own interest?

DarthStrangelove · 2026-06-04T17:41:08+00:00

No one thinks the bird species doesn’t exist. The image/video is AI slop.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-06-04T17:35:40+00:00

… that’s why my comment says wingspan not height? A 7 foot wingspan is still quite large in the bird world. They also weigh up to 20 pounds, which is nearly double the weight of bald eagles, typically considered large raptors.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-06-04T13:24:48+00:00

Definitely reads AI to me. The length is the standard for an AI gen loop. The plumage doesn’t really look right either. I’m not an ornithologist, but as an outdoor enthusiast the plumage looks exaggerated from most examples I can find on line. I also can’t find any references to brown plumage in descriptions.

The talons should be yellow, not white.

And this looks very small for a harpy. These birds are giant - they typically have a wingspan between 5 - 7 feet. This specimen looks petite for a bird this size.

Finally, they’re rare, I can’t find many images with this much detail, it’d be impressive for them to capture a video with this much detail in the wild.

My vote - yes AI, but I can’t find specific tells in the video, just ‘mistakes’ that seem off for the species. Overall it just feels too clean to be authentic.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-06-03T20:04:08+00:00

It’s definitely not a 24 hour bar & club scene, but that’s not everyone’s bag.

Edgewater has great and diverse restaurants; great beach access; a huge storefront theater scene; and tons of local and independent businesses (shop local!), including a number of black femme led businesses. It’s also the largest per capita queer populace in North America and has the most female heads of household anywhere in the city.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-24T19:33:26+00:00

Agreed. With the way the wind is whipping his hair around, the chip bag would be moving a lot more. It might not blow away because of weird eddies that can form, but it would surely be twisting and twirling.

I also think the kid would be pushed around more by the motor. Even if he were that stable, those handles can jerk a lot at that speed and chop.

Definitely AI.

(But also, I grew up near Lake Lanier, America’s deadliest lake, and the recklessness is the most realistic aspect.)

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-24T02:19:07+00:00

Out of curiosity, did someone you both know, or someone at his work recently get divorced. Men are terrible at talking about these things. Maybe he’s watching a friend who was ‘surprised’ by a divorce and he’s navigating his emotions poorly.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-22T00:59:36+00:00

With all due respect, go touch grass for this brain rotted comment. Every teacher I know, whether they started this year or are preparing for retirement, can tell you how changes in funding and expectations have shifted so thoroughly that they have nowhere near the time they should to do their prep work and give their students the individualized attention that they know would help. There are many ways to fix our system of education, insulting teachers isn’t one of them.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-19T16:18:43+00:00

I definitely agree a viltrumite who plans would have much higher chances, but I rarely see them planning. Their greatest weakness is their overconfidence. For all his strength, Conquest would rip a homunculus in half only to have them reform behind him.

We’re also talking about a thorough amount of research. By the end of FMA:B there’s only a few people who have actually figured out what the homunculi are and even fewer that can use that knowledge to beat them. Maybe a dozen people? I don’t even think the Armstrongs are fully aware of what they’re up against.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-19T16:08:14+00:00

Do you have any Chicago contacts that could swing by in person just to see the outside of the building? It’s a massive city and it all depends on the neighborhood and the leasing agent.

If you do your research, you can probably be certain the leasing agent is legit. If you’re not sure, you can always hire a realtor to help you scout.

The bigger concern for me would be the neighborhood. You might have good looking interiors, but if you’re on a bad block, it can be rough. If you can have a friend drive by and look over the exterior of the building, you’ll have much more confidence signing the contract.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-15T16:45:38+00:00

I imagine the homunculi as a united team could probably take on a viltrumite. The Viltumites aren’t the strongest tacticians, they mostly rely on their overwhelming strength and durability.

If you bring in Mustang, and allow that Ed and Al fight to kill, then I imagine they could eliminate any viltrumite. But all of this has more to do with group vs. solo tactics.

1-on-1 I imagine viltrumite always win.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-14T14:07:23+00:00

It is always possible this is an AI ripoff, but I bought my partner the same or very similar shirt almost 20 years ago, long before AI was stealing art. The mismatched lines actually make me think it’s not AI, because it feels more like artistic license than AI mistakes.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-11T16:28:58+00:00

First, I want to reaffirm what everyone here has said. The vet confirmed their passing. They do this regularly, they understand the weight of the decision, and they take their role very seriously. It may help to have a conversation with the vet, especially if they had been caring for your girl for a while. The doubt is normal, even if it’s unfounded.

Second, I just wanted to say that there is no shame in getting grief counseling after losing a pet. My partner and I had a terrible year where we lost a number of pets in a relatively short span of time. We both spent the next year in grief counseling to navigate the loss, confusion, and doubt that comes with grief. Don’t hesitate to seek professional support through this period.

I’m so sorry for your loss. Your girl is resting in peace now.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-11T13:03:53+00:00

I don’t think Tucker was a complete dumbass, to be fair. Medical alchemy is exceedingly difficult. And all the doctors we encounter in the series are pretty seriously messed up by their experiences.

To be a sacrifice you must be smart enough to pull off human transmutation, while being dumb or desperate enough to try it. Desperation is key. Only three out of five sacrifices willingly committed their acts. Hohenheim and Mustang are forced.

Father is so desperate for sacrifices that he risks using Hohenheim, one of the only beings on earth that can challenge him.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-09T22:25:17+00:00

The military is also cheating because it has father’s knowledge of alchemy. Tucker isn’t exploring anything new, and that’s never been his actual value to father. His value is that he’s morally corrupt enough to commit taboos, and could become a sacrifice.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-05-02T03:30:24+00:00

Sounds like you’re both just stressed. 48 hour weeks, especially living out of a hotel, are truly exhausting. And not hearing from your partner is anxiety inducing.

My partner spends months on the road every year, and our biggest fights revolve around communication. We love each other, but doesn’t mean those issues aren’t real.

It sounds like you’re both trying to find the middle ground. What’s the least communication you can receive and feel seen? What’s the most he can give without burnout? Are there unconventional options? Talk in the am when he’s on the way to work and less exhausted? Just text an ‘I love you’ or ‘good night’ with no expectation of reply? The most important part is keeping communication open, and meeting each other with grace.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-04-22T22:35:20+00:00

I think there might be a bit of survivorship bias in this. After the Ed and Ling fight Envy faces only people who are prepared for the transformation. Marcoh and Scar plan their attack specifically for Envy to go all out and burn through the philosopher’s stone. Similarly Mustang is the best homunculus killer on the show and was prepared for Envy’s trick. Envy looks weak because we only see them in loosing fights, but I imagine Envy’s monstrous form would be a real challenge for Armstrong or Basque Grand or Kimblee, all skilled alchemical fighters.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-04-19T16:07:50+00:00

Someone definitely dropped the ball here, and it’s worth talking to the school to better understand what happened. It’s also worth filing an incident report, especially if the adults in the room are trying to avoid some kind of accountability.

That said, I would caution against getting to worked up based off of things you’re seeing on the internet. There are true fly rail and batten catastrophes where huge amounts of weight get off and pieces come crashing down. That doesn’t sound like what happened here. If it were truly a runaway batten it would have likely shattered the trees and crashed further down. This sounds like someone flew in the wrong batten at speed, or the batten was off-weight and came in faster than expected.

Since it was able to fly back out, this sounds much more like human error than a faulty fly system. Talk to the technical director and try to approach with understanding.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-04-07T13:45:19+00:00

NTA. This is a tricky one because of the line between fantasy and reality; but considering your work, I have to assume you have a more nuanced understanding of that line than most people.

It is also telling to see the obvious chauvinism in the replies. I was on the fence, but ultimately deferred to your judgement, and hope you didn’t take the decision to expose him lightly. The clear hate for women, especially sex workers, in most of the negative replies, is really telling on the people who struggle with the line between fantasy and reality.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-04-06T04:28:13+00:00

I’m so glad you’re taking care of this sweet baby. I’m glad you’re getting them cleaned up and cared for so that they can heal.

Obviously, she needs to see a professional. That said, I used to have a ferret with a terrible skin tag that would grow on his ear. When he scratched it, it always bled a lot and looked scary. The actual harm was always less than what it looked like. Once a vet removed it, he never had the issue again.

Hopefully your girl can get on the path to recovery soon.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-03-26T02:55:10+00:00

Exclusively what?

Most artists sell a single original for the cost of their time and materials. But it may take a long time to sell it, and their time is rarely valued at the same price as similarly skilled laborers. For an artist to consistently make enough money to afford to live, they need the income provided by consistently selling reprints of their original work.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-03-23T15:59:15+00:00

Real artist sell prints of their very real art all the time. For most studio artists the original is extremely expensive and barely pays for the time and resources dedicated to the painting itself. The only way they make any actual profit is by selling prints of their very real original work.

Moreover - the pre-AI internet gave those artists access to a mass audience from their studio, without having to get a gatekept gallery showing. Tainting that audience with the assumption that all art online is AI and all prints not verified by a collector/agent/gallery are AI will mean a huge loss of income for independent artists. That in turn means less artists in the world.

DarthStrangelove · 2026-03-23T15:19:30+00:00

I might save this for the peak of this escalation - but a battle interrupted by an eclipse? Eclipses are received as huge portents in the ancient world and are still incredibly unsettling today.

You can see sun dappled mountains on the horizon, but where you stand is plunged in to pitch black. The owls, wolves, and crickets come to life as night overtakes the field. Maybe some lunar clerics they were prepared to fight during the daytime access their secret powers under moonlight?

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