¦ FULLMETAL .

[inspired by this]

“actually… i just miss you.”

“alright, i’ll leave you alone.”

“and slowly… i was forgotten.”

“and then everything just disappears.”

“and where do i go?”

“anyone could tell from here.”

“are you finishing that or…?”

“are you stupid or stupid?”

“anything, just call me, okay?”

“bitch better have my money.”

“bro… that’s so… not cool…”

“but did you do it?”

“call me now. it’s urgent.”

“can’t you listen to me?”

“cross that. don’t answer that.”

“don’t even think about it.”

“don’t you dare walk away.”

“do it. i dare you.”

“did you think i forgot?”

“eventually… you just move on.”

“even if you still do.”

“everything will fall into place.”

“fight me, you attractive stranger.”

“for once, i need you.”

“for once… i was right.”

“for once… i was wrong.”

“forget i even asked you.”

“forget it. you fucking suck.”

“fuck’s sake, what’s your problem?”

“fuck off. i mean it.”

“give and take. that’s life.”

“great. perfect. nice. fuck this.”

“have you lost your mind?”

“hello? it’s me. i was-”

“hey… that wasn’t so nice.”

“here’s a glass of whatever.”

“how about a hug, hm?”

“how about you make me?”

“i haven’t forgot you yet.”

“i can’t be around you.”

“i don’t need you, really.”

“i don’t need this now.”

“is this your first time?”

“it’s just a cut, really.”

“it wasn’t me, i swear!”

“i said i love you.”

“just don’t fuck it up.”

“just… come back alive, okay?”

“just make sure you’ve eaten.”

“kick his ass for me.”

“killed him? wait, what, literally?”

“life really sucks. feel better.”

“letting go hurts… a lot.”

“let me live, will you?”

“no, i don’t need you.”

“nothing can hurt me now.”

“nothing matters anymore to me.”

“okay it was me… so?”

“people lie all the time.”

“pipe the fuck down, asshole.”

“please, you can’t die now.”

“please don’t leave me alone.”

“quiet. they can hear us.”

“quick! give me your phone!”

“quicker, you freaking piece of-”

“quit it or i’ll bite.”

“quit staring! they’ll notice us!”

“really? do i look stupid?”

“real smooth, tripping over air.”

“rise and shine, sweet thing.”

“rise and fucking shine, motherfucker.”

“seriously? give me a break.”

“so… what are we now?”

“so… did you miss me?”

“so… can we go eat?”

“so… when’s the next flight?”

“so… how did everything go?”

“sometimes, i wish you died.”

“so what? you did it.”

“time passes slower without you.”

“then what do you suggest?”

“the fuck? who are you?”

“then you tell me why.”

“this is not working out.”

“this isn’t what i wanted.”

“this is all a fucking disaster.”

“when did it all happen?”

“who knew you’d be here?”

“why do i even bother?”

“why do i love you?”

“why didn’t you tell me?”

“you’re just… so, so stupid.”

“you can’t be here now.”

“you look like an accident.”

“you really need to go.”

“you know who to call.”

“ i find your lack of faith disturbing. ”

“ she’s fast enough for you, old man. ”

“ the force will be with you. always. ”

“ never tell me the odds! ”

“ do. or do not. there is no try. ”

“ no. i am your father. ”

“ pass on what you have learned. ”

“ just for once, let me look on you with my own eyes. ”

“ there’s always a bigger fish. ”

“ in time, the suffering of your people will persuade you to see our point of view. ”

“ you can’t stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting. ”

“ i sense much fear in you. ”

“ the day we stop believing democracy can work is the day we lose it. ”

“ i’m just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe. ”

“ power! unlimited power! ”

“ the garbage’ll do! ”

“ you know, no matter how much we fought, i’ve always hated watching you leave. ”

“ oh, my dear friend. how I’ve missed you. ”

“ i’m one with the force. the force is with me. ”

“ judge me by my size, do you? ”

“ you have hate. you have anger. but you don’t use them. ”

 “ if you define yourself by your power to take life, your desire to dominate, to possess, then you have nothing. ”

“ your focus determines your reality. ”

“ be careful not to choke on your aspirations. ”

“ in my experience there is no such thing as luck. ”

“ fear is the path to the dark side. ”

“ be mindful of your thoughts …they’ll betray you. ”

“ we’ll take the next chance. and the next. on and on until we win …or the chances are spent. ”

“ stay on target. ”

“ laugh it up, fuzz ball. ”

“ but only you can change yourself. ”

“ i’ve seen your daily routine. you are not busy. ”

“ get your head out of your cockpit. ”

“ page turners, they are not. ”    

“ this is not going to go the way you think. ”

“ let’s not have a scene. ”

“ impressive. every word in that sentence was wrong. ”

“ i believe he’s tooling with you, sir. ”

“ my disappointment in your performance cannot be overstated. ”

“ wipe that nervous expression off your face. ”

“ work your magic, buddy. ”

“ i need someone to show me my place in all this. ”

“ and here comes the parade. ”

“ we have them tied on the end of a string. ”

“ i wish i could put my fist through this whole lousy, beautiful town. ”

“ we’ve pulled crazier stunts than this. ”

“ you’re just a child with a mask. ”

“ that was a cheap move. ”

“ your eyes can deceive you; don’t trust them. ”

“ fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. ”

“ let go of your hate. ”

“ who’s the more foolish; the fool, or the fool who follows him? ”

“ so this is how liberty dies…with thunderous applause. ”

“ great, kid. don’t get cocky. ”

“ that is why you fail. ”

“ we’re gonna do this… ”

“ these are your first steps… ”

“ i assume you need something. desperately. ” 

“ i thought he was a myth. ”

“ stop taking my hand! ”

“ i’ve got a bad feeling about this. ”

“ i never ask that question until after we’ve done it. ”

“ women always figure out the truth. always. ”

“ the light – it’s always been there. it’ll guide you. ”

“ princess – general, sorry. ”

“ you still want to kill me? ”

“ that’s what happens when you’re being hunted by a stranger in a mask. ”

“ is there a garbage shoot? trash compactor? ”

OK THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ESSAY BUT CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT ALPHONSE ELRIC FOR A SECOND

Alphonse is such an overlooked character. People tend to focus more on Edward, as he is technically the protagonist, but they seem to forget the fact that Al is just as talented as Ed. They both equally worked out the formula for human transmutation, and their alchemical ability is more or less equal. Other characters go on about how Ed is a child prodigy and the youngest state alchemist, but it’s never mentioned that Al is even younger than Ed and is pretty much as intelligent as he is. Not to mention that he’s actually better than Ed in some areas, such as hand-to-hand combat.

But oh my god Alphonse has suffered so much. Ok all of the characters in FMA have had some kind of traumatic experience, but I’m talking about the physical side here. It’s easy to think “oh yeah he can’t eat or sleep or feel, that’s sad” but I want you to really imagine this in detail:

By doing some rough calculations (I won’t explain them here but if anyone asks then I will), I estimate that Alphonse regained his body four and a half years after losing it. Now you have to remember that he couldn’t sleep. He had to stay awake for that entire time. Have you ever had one of those nights where you can’t sleep at all and nobody is around and you feel so lonely and you don’t know what to do to pass the time and the night seems to go on forever? Yeah, Alphonse had that every night for approximately 1,644 nights. Assuming you sleep for half your life, think back to 9 years ago and imagine living from that point to this point. That’s a long time.I can’t even comprehend it; it must have felt like one long, endless, lonely day. And it’s shown several times that it clearly bothers him - it seems to be the one thing he hates the most.

And then there’s eating. Have you ever craved a food really badly even though you weren’t physically hungry? The kind of craving where you can’t think of anything else until you eat that food? Yep, Alphonse had that experience with all food. Ever badly wanted to cry just to let your emotions out? After all the emotional events Al has been through, he can’t even cry about it. And to top it all off he can’t feel anything, which is the thing i find hardest to comprehend.

But the line from that top picture is what makes me want to shout from the rooftops about how much I love Alphonse Elric. You have to think about what he’s been going through in the past few weeks or so - he kept on losing consciousness as his soul was pulled towards his body, he’d been taken over by Pride, trapped with him, and then had to fight him, and suddenly his armour body is transmuted away and he ends up at the gate.

And his body is right there in his reach. You can tell that he wants to transfer his soul back into it more than anything in the world. After four and a half years of no sleep, no food, no tears, no pain, no sensation whatsoever, he could finally become physically human again. But he chooses not to because of his friends and his family and the entire country. In the above screencap you can see that he’s crying. He may not be able to produce tears but the display of desperate emotion is obvious. He has to choose - take this opportunity to restore his body like he originally intended, or help out in the mess that the Elrics and everyone else got caught up in?

And of course he chooses to help, despite knowing that his time as a soul bonded to a suit of armour is running out and he could potentially die at any moment and he might not ever be able to get to the gate again and he might have to spend the rest of his life without experiencing any of the things I mentioned before. Because he blames himself and only himself for losing his body, and he would rather live a lifetime’s worth of what he went through in the last 4.5 years than risk anyone getting hurt in the final battle because of his emaciated body.

And what does he do as he’s leaving the gate to go and save the world? HE APOLOGISES TO HIS BODY. AS IF HIS PHYSICAL FORM WANTS HIS SOUL AS DESPERATELY AS HE WANTS HIS BODY BACK, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT’S REALLY JUST TRUTH WHO LIVES AT THE GATE ANYWAY.