#fallen fma

I’d mentioned once that Farris and Roy’s relationship was pretty fraught before they actually started getting to know each other after he transferred to Central, but I thought I’d... illustrate that a bit...

Colonel Dinah Savoia, colloquially known as the ‘War Queen of the South’ in large part due to her effective campaigning in the current conflict against Aerugo, is an incredibly driven and ambitious woman. Shrewd and sharp-witted, she can be just as deadly in the boardroom as she is on the battlefield, despite the fact that she’s not an alchemist. With her subordinates, she’s tough, but fair, often leading by example - thus garnering a following that is highly trained and gushingly loyal. Though not in full command of South HQ, it’s generally agreed that it’s only a matter of time.

Mentioned wanting to update Fallen FMA for the sake of Farris’ redesign, so... here they are! I was planning on maybe changing their outfit, but I only did a couple minor colour adjustments ‘cause I was just that on point for the original

Ye!

I actually feel like they’re the first ones to get together - they sort of developed a good rapport when Farris was in East City to investigate Scar, and after the Mustang crew makes it to Central, a very lonely and mourning Farris, desperate for adult human company, is like “do you want to go out for coffee?? :’)” and it builds from there

It was a total accident, actually!

Gracia would babysit Felix after school, especially on days when the investigations team was working late. On one particular day, there’s a mishap - Felix gets something in their eye, Elicia accidentally whacks them in the face with a toy, what have you - and on noticing that they’re wearing contacts, Gracia quickly flushes them out to keep Felix’s eyes from getting hurt.

They immediately start bawling, begging her not to tell anybody and not to call the military police, all while she’s trying to calm them down and reassure them that she’s not about to do any such thing. Which is when Hughes and Farris show up.

He’s initially a little wary about it first, all things considered - but Farris has proved themself to be an exemplary part of his team, always working hard on any case they’re given to deal with (which is especially notable when it comes to the Scar case). After discussing it with Farris and getting the gist of it - that they joined the state alchemists to give Felix a better life, and to try and change the way the military works from the inside out - he’s more or less convinced that he can trust them to have his back.

He tries to get Farris and Roy to get together to talk strategy sooner, since they both seem to be going in the same direction, but... well...

I really love Farris’ new design. They look amazing! But their interaction has me wondering. When did Mustang fall in love with Farris? And when did he realize he was in love with them?

*cracks knuckles*

He starts developing a weird sort of fondness for them, for all their (playful? Half-serious?) strife after he’s transferred to Central - after all, they are bending the rules in their capacity as the head of Investigations to let him look into the circumstances of Hughes’ death. Farris goes with the crew down into the depths of Lab 3 (mostly at Alphonse’s urging), and actually ends up getting pretty seriously injured - though not before absolutely rocking Lust like a hurricane before Roy shows up.

In the aftermath, Farris gets crammed into the same hospital room as Roy and Havoc for safety reasons - though on the other side, and they insist on a curtain for privacy. In the meantime, Roy’s just kind of... flummoxed by the whole thing, when it comes to them. Especially when, due to the circumstances of the hospital arrangement, Farris can’t wear their contacts - and the group finds out they’re Ishvalan.

It’s right about there that his fondness turns into... something he’s not entirely sure he can name. With the context of knowing that even being a state alchemist is incredibly risky for them, the idea that they went above and beyond their station to personally help him is stunning.

When Bradley separates the Mustang crew and leaves him to have to fend for himself, Farris is also on incredibly thin ice (or, they would be, were they not needed as a sacrifice for Father’s plans - Bradley’s somewhat mollified that Farris being in charge of Investigations means he can keep a close eye on them). Still, they continue helping Roy - and he cannot fathom why, because Farris isn’t just trying to protect themself. They have to keep Felix in mind, and Dinah as well - and when confronting them, he comes to the realisation the only reason Farris goes so far out of their way to do everything they can to aid him is that they trust him implicitly. Even though they have every reason to hate his guts.

Pshh, hard ball nothin’, I live for this

Farris was informed the next morning, when they came into work, and immediately had to ask to be excused. They retreated to an emergency stairwell to be alone, and proceeded to have a quiet breakdown.

Not only was Hughes their boss and friend, he was their confidante, their best resource. The only person in Central HQ who knew who Farris was and why they were part of the military system - and he’s gone. Not only that, but because of the violent way he died, the investigations department is going to be under hard scrutiny for weeks, maybe months, and Farris is going to have to be more careful than ever, and they feel even worse about that because a man is dead, he’ll never hold his family again, Elicia’s going to grow up without her father, and Farris is no stranger to loss and death but why do they have to keep losing the people most important to them? It’s not fair it’s not fair it’s not fair it’s not fair—

my secret is i’m always thinking about fallen fma, i just hardly draw for it

farris was, ah, hmm, devastated? up to that point, maes was the only one among the non-ishvalans to know the truth about farris’ origins, and he took that with him to his grave. he was, in essence, their greatest friend in amestris. when bradley passed his duties off to them, they took it as something of a sign; to continue his work, and help figure out who’s really responsible for his death

the day of the funeral, after roy interrogated both them and armstrong, they returned to his grave and left…a personal touch. out of the way enough for the hughes family to remove it if so desired, but still there for the sake of their last goodbye

as for that fight…yeah, i’d pictured farris being there. roy had insisted they leave with ed and scar’s group, but they’re in a relationship by that point; farris wasn’t about to leave roy or riza behind. when the fight descended into the tunnels, farris hardly waited at all to run off after him–though undiscovered, they were the one to find envy fighting riza, and held him off long enough for roy to reappear. then…there’s that rage-filled firefest

while it was a terrifying moment–nothing like a little reminder that he was the hero of ishval–farris…couldn’t really blame or judge him for it. envy didn’t just kill maes, he was the catalyst for the ishval war and massacre; if anything, they thought roy’s righteous fury was completely justified. but, in the end…the others were right; had he killed envy himself, it likely would have consumed him