Day 26: A pairing that you hated and ended up loving.

For this one, I’m gonna have to go with Peeta and Katniss from The Hunger Games. Now, I don’t hate them; in fact, I was always okay with them. I did start the series shipping Gale and Katniss, however, and it took me a long time to warm up to Katniss and Peeta.

Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely adore Peeta, and if I was given the option, I would most definitely pick him over Gale. The problem I had with Peeta and Katniss, for the longest time, was that it was really one-sided, with Katniss pretending to be in love while Peeta’s feelings were genuine. I had also already warmed up to the idea of her and Gale being a thing (simply because they had so much chemistry), and it kind of tampered with my opinion of her and Peeta from the very beginning.

And then the second and third books rolled around, and they really started growing on me. I could tell that Katniss was actually starting to feel for Peeta what he felt for her, and I actually wanted them to be together. I still liked the idea of her and Gale, but in the third book my opinion of the ship just started deteriorating, mainly because their desires and opinions really started to clash and I wasn’t sure how it was going to work.

The end of the series still bothers me, as I don’t think it was fair of Katniss to shut Gale out of her life for something he may or may not have done, and overall she just treated him very unfairly. But I was very happy that, in the end, she chose Peeta, and I can say that this is a ship that slowly grew on me until I started loving it.

TL;DR - Katniss and Peeta win this challenge because, while it took me a while to warm up to them, I ended up loving them.

Day 26- Has the series impacted your life in any way? How?

Oh wow, this is a deep one. I’ll start by saying that I, like many people on Tumblr, am extremely affected by the things I like. When I connect with a fandom, no matter what it is, I am hooked for life. My obsessions tend to change and fade with each passing week (I like a LOT of things), but I never forget them. This is the case with Harry Potter, Danny Phantom, and many other things I’ve liked since I was younger. This is also the case with Fullmetal Alchemist. When I first saw the series, I was a fan, but I didn’t know anyone in the fandom or participate much. My obsession soon faded into a dull appreciation of the series… until I learned that Brotherhood was coming out.

Naturally, I was really excited about Brotherhood. I started watching it when the dub was released, and followed it to episode 25 before school got in the way of finishing it. When I came back to it and was finally able to finish it, however, I remembered exactly why I had loved the series in the first place. Fullmetal Alchemist in itself (without the fandom or anything outside of the show) is a life-changing series; the fandom just adds on to that impact. Fullmetal Alchemist was the first big anime series I ever discovered and watched, and it’s one of the only ones I found by myself, without the influence of friends and other anime fans. 

Fullmetal Alchemist is special to me for many reasons, the main one being that it’s really touched me in a way that few other animes have been able to do. The messages and themes in the series are just so powerful, and I lost myself in this amazing story as I watched it unfold. As someone who enjoys to write, I found myself entirely inspired by this anime, which contains every element of a brilliantly told story. It has wonderful, well-written, deep, and complex characters. It has humor, romance, and heartfelt moments that truly make you feel and care for the characters. It has brilliant animation and gorgeous music, and the timing is brilliant. Each episode presents you with a message without smacking you over the head with it, a moral that you can take away and apply to real life.

I’ve only been a part of this fandom for a short while, so I haven’t made any real bonds with other fans, but I feel a certain kinship to everyone who enjoys this series. It’s an amazing thing to be able to share with other people, and I find myself grinning uncontrollably anytime I come across fanart, GIFs, or quotes about the series because it reminds me that I’m a part of this awesome community of people who love this amazing anime just as much as I do. Fullmetal Alchemist was essentially my gateway into the much larger realm of anime; it’s where I learned about most of my favorite voice actors and discovered cons and panels. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve wasted watching FMA/voice actor panels and wishing more than anything that I could be there with everyone. This story was essentially my introduction into the world of anime (not counting Pokemon and Sailor Moon, the shows I watched as a kid), and for that it will always be special to me.

I’ll end this post now, before I get any sappier, by saying that this anime truly changed my opinion of anime in general, and helped me to delve into this amazing world of wacky shows and great people. I definitely don’t regret discovering it, because I’m sure I’d be a much grumpier person without this awesome fandom in my life. Consider this post my own special little tribute to Fullmetal Alchemist, which will forever be one of my favorite animes. <3