#fma thoughts

Ed joined the military at 12.

(obviously in a context of like fandom shenannigans where canon events arent 100% set in stone like edling arent canon but also idc !! they are to me! im ignoring it let me be insane) ANYWAY

Even if they wanted to be together post promised day Ling has all the responsibilities of Xing and his clan and Edward would never hold him back from that for a second. Im of the opinion that brotherhood Edward feels a lot of guilt for wanting love from the people around him particularly those he sees as good (winry, alphonse, etc) especially if hes done things hes perceived as hurting them (maes’ death, the transmutation, etc etc). Which is why I think Edward connects with Ling so well cayse he doesnt carry the weight of a lot if his past mistakes, and then when the stone happens its like goddamn it i roped this guy into my shit again. Like i dont know Edward doesnt really dedicate himself so fully to people outside of winry and ed a lot so its interesting like!!

He cares about a lot of people like the majority of the allied cast and we see him be openly affectionate towards Nina and Hughes pre their deaths but I think Ling is the only person hes ever decided to stick with WITHOUT alphonse? I may be wrong but the whole sure Ill stay with you and trust my brother and Winry to stay safe and follow you around the outskirts of the east for a week till the promised day to protect my new friend is so??? what?? huh???

But anyone my point is post promised day Edward cant really ever see a future with Ling because of all the responsibility Ling holds outside of him and its veyr tragic imo like especially because in a different scenario if Ling didnt have those responsibilities and Edward wasn’t so dedicated to the people around him to a fault of never thinking about his own desires I think they could have the possibility of a future.

Like I have read a lot of fanfiction abiut Ed traveling to Xing and living with him there but?? I realistically cant see him ever doing that just solely because Edward is not the type of person to settle down! like its my one and only criticism of the fma manga is that I cannot see Edward ever being satisfied with a simple life? Like even in Fma 03 which is my favourite interpretation of Edwards character once he gets stranded in our world he learns?? Rocket Science?? For the chance to get back to Amestris but he doesnt really seem to take that goal all that seriously especially considered Alfons ends up getting involved in a lot more aircraft projects than Edward like Edwsrd genuinely enjoys learning!!

Im pretty sure he was the one who dragged Alphonse into Hoenhiems office when they were kids after he left, probably to Al’s reluctance of if they were allowed in there, and started ripping through all of his old books just to learn. Edward never stops and it gets so bad that he never stops to even consider himself constantly worrying about getting his brother back or improving the states of others lives especially when! ya know! the whole country is at stake!!

So in a circumstance post promised day where Ed decides what he wants to do (my personal favourite interpretation is either an alchemical researcher outside of directly performing alchemy, ie revolutionizing the circle matrixes and discovering nee combinations or becoming a professor of some kind) I dont think he would give that up to settle again. And obviously Ling cant exactly up and leave being Emperor unless he decides he doesnt want to, im not the most knowledgable on Lings characterization so I wont speak there but!

I have not, but thank you for asking me because it gives me a chance to gush about both of the anime’s!!

I once heard someone call Brotherhood and 2003 two sides of the same coin once, and I absolutely agree with that. It’s two different takes on major concepts, and both are right, in their own ways. I think the endings reflect that sentiment beautifully.

On one hand, we have the more liked ending of Brotherhood, where the big bad is beaten, and most everyone gets a happy end. This is the more positive side of equivalent exchange I feel, that through sacrifice and hard work, real good can be done. Edward loses his alchemy, but gains back his brother, in flesh and blood. Mustang regains his sight from the Ishvallen philosophers stone, and vows to help Ishval and create a better future for them. Hoenhiem loses his immortality (of sorts,) but gains peace and true happiness at the end of his life, something I doubt he’s had for a while. These are a few examples of the good equivalent exchange can do, and with the new idea of putting something of yourself in the exchange, it’s a very positive view of it overall, and a well liked one, as most people in the fanbase like Brotherhood more than 2003.

Then we go to the more (really unfairly) disliked end, 2003, which I think is a bit more pessimistic or somber. The brothers are in another world, leaving everyone alone to grieve their absence, and really it’s just sad overall. Sometimes, despite giving everything, putting everything you have in your part of the exchange, you simply don’t get the best outcome. The point though (that a lot of people apparently missed) is that despite that, you can continue forward. Despite the fact that the world is not equivalent, you can put good into the world, and that good can spread and grow. And despite the pain of loss, you can go on, and feel happiness, you can regain your hope. At the end of CoS, even though the Elrics didn’t really get exactly what they wanted, they still gave Mustang back his hope and drive to make the world better and lead Amestris to a better place. Despite the brothers being not in their own world, they are together, and able to keep moving forward, and create good in that world.

I think both endings are beautiful. At first (as I watched brotherhood first,) I was stunned and sad about the Elrics being separated, and even sadder in CoS that Ed and Al couldn’t be in their own world, but that’s only the surface level of it. There’s happiness in it, you just have to find it. And with Brotherhood, of course I was happy about everyone being okay in the end, but I still felt upset for what was lost, and who had to die to make it happen. This is really what I mean with the two sides of the same coin thing: there is a surface level to the ends of both stories, and then a level beneath it, both of which mirrors eachother in a brilliant way.

So, overall? Both of the anime’s are masterpieces. And both have important messages to tell us. I feel that one is not complete without the other, and to have the full picture, you really need to watch both. And honestly, why wouldn’t you? It just means more fun with the Elrics, and who doesn’t love that!

In the manga, the car’s origins actually came back to the moment Riza Hawkeye committed grand theft auto on a rich couple.

Different design in the anime but let’s go with it. So why don’t we go on a trip on what happens to this car? Will it get sent back to the couple or will Riza Hawkeye give it to someone more fortunate?

It’s used to rescue the kiddos.

Bang bang motherfucker

Still alive. So far so good.

Nyyoooooommmmmmmmmm.

I hope the car is still okay.

There it is! Nice and clean. Kind of fucked from all that driving but maybe she could return it back!

AW

AW FUCK CAN’T BRING THE CAR BACK NOW