"I Don't THINK So!" Poll--Who are we going to lose and what are you going to AU? (Ch. 102 spoilers)

[mfelizandy]

It's getting close to the end. Soon we'll have the last issue in our hands, and we'll know who survived and who didn't, and in what condition. I have my own opinions on who's likely to be a casualty of "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", but I thought it'd be fun to see what the rest of the community has to say about the ending.

Poll We Know We're Going to Lose SomeNow for

Comments

[bob_fish]

Well, I already replied elsewhere in this post about Havoc - short version, you're right that writing a character with a major disability is much harder work in terms of research, but once your research is done, your character just gets on with his day and you only describe it when it comes in. It'll come out more natural than you think.

Anyway, here are my predictions and AU thingies.

Riza's going to live now, for my money, because if Arakawa was going to kill her, then the big scare of Ch 100 would reduce the impact of that. I'm on the fence about Roy's blindness - I can totally believe that it might stick, but this close to the end everything is up for grabs.

I don't think Olivia's going to end up Fuhrer. Roy's been struggling desperately towards this goal for years, Hughes died for it, Riza has dedicated her life to it, Havoc lost the use of his legs. Olivia is broadly on the side of the angels, but do you really see the Queen of Briggs introducing democratic reform? I don't see Roy giving up even if the blindness sticks. I'

[mfelizandy]

I don't think Olivia would hold power for long, but I can see her shoving Roy aside for a while to get things "under control" to her satisfaction. She's also the sort to take power and force Roy to fight her for it, for an assortment of reasons. One, she wants to be sure Roy won't let the loss of his sight rob him of his nerve. Two--she knows that making him struggle against her will teach him where his limits are...and aren't. Three, she's going to make sure Roy proves in and to the public that he's worthy of the post...at her expense. Four--for the moment it's her army that's trustworthy--her troops are loyal to her more than they are to the Central command. She's giving Roy time to weed out the traitors, scumballs, and just plain evil monsters from the rest of the military before she picks up her command and goes home to Briggs.

Then again--both Olivia and Alex Armstrong have taken one heck of a pounding. I could easily see losing one or both of them--I thought we had lost Alex a few issues back. A story of this scope

[bob_fish]

Well, all of this sounds like Olivia ... IF she didn't want to be Fuhrer herself. And she's on record several times in the manga as saying she's aiming for Fuhrer, and adding that she views Mustang as competition. So if she's going to do as you say, we'll need the revelation that she changed her mind off-panel, which would need some justification as she's been set up as ruthlessly ambitious for the whole manga. I'm not saying this outcome is impossible, it just needs a shift of attitude from her

[kashicat]

I've actually had moments where I wondered if Olivia was throwing out her comments about being Fuhrer as a sort of challenge to spur others to act. I'm not entirely convinced that's what she actually wants, though I'm quite prepared for my own interpretation to be less likely than what others are assuming.

I think she'll get control of the military no matter what. I could see her and Roy sharing power -- him taking the administrative side, reorganizing what needs reorganizing in the country, and her whipping the military into shape.

[sixpences]

Hey, in the UK we currently have a Prime Minister who's blind in one eye. And neither Gordon Brown nor David Blunkett have Hawkeye to shoot people for them...

[bob_fish]

Well, yes, but being blind in one eye isn't quite the same - you can read documents designed for the sighted, navigate unfamiliar streets and rooms without a cane or a guide dog or other assistance, use a computer without assistive technology (this isn't going to be a problem for Roy XD). I'm typing this with one eye shut right now just to test this theory XD