#FMA Ep 8

[docholligay]

Yes! This is a good lesson, too, that...some people, in fact, have incredible courage. But even people who are courageous are in some cases just fucking impulsive as hell. No matter the case, often, after, that's when you remember what it feels like to be afraid. That's when you can admit that you were fucking terrified. Crying after something like that is the most normal thing in the world. We, as human beings, do not want to die.

So i love this! I love that after all the "ed is so great" nonsense we have this moment of real humanity, where he's admitting to his brother, if to no one else in the world, that he was terrified. That it was awful.

Please read me before commenting or sending an ask!

[sennenpharaoh]

"Um... context? Ed's looking at a bloody wall and the Colonel is talking about detaching emotion..."

[cynderrfell]

2nd midterms + getting sick combo really taking a toll on me rn again I just want to draw but have no energy

[stackslip]

i always got plenty of caveats when i rec fma 2003 but the vast majority of these caveats are, imo, stuff that's genuinely forgivable or that kind of add to its charm to me--like i love shows that are ambitious beyond their means, that stretch their budgets or clearly had to make choices to prioritize certain things--they give me food to dig into, and even if i don't always agree with the choices i find the examination of these choices juicy enough to still enjoy the process of it

but the one thing i think isn't really forgivable, even within the context of 2000s anime, is the transmisogyny--especially in episode 8. like half an episode of a "serial killer dresses as a woman to trap girls" trope, in the middle of a very plot and character relevant ep to boot--and for what? a serial killer character who existed in the og without that transmisogyny aspect, who could have just been a run of the mill shitty serial killer without the whole dressed as a woman thing? it's just..... shit tbh. there's stuff in 03 i'll defend no matter what bc it's due to budget/time limitations, or a poorly executed version of a good idea, but this particular bit is just wince-worthy and shit for no reason except that it's the 2000s and it feels like every serial killer trope had to have transmisogyny thrown in. there's also the later comedy ep with armstrong's sister and havoc imagining her the entire time as armstrong with a wig--haha get it, big woman who looks like a man, haha--and like, at least that one is skippable.

still, that's enough transmisogyny in the entire show for me to completely understand people skipping it--i'd beg for people to give it a chance despite all its other flaws, but that's the one i honestly think is more than reason enough to not want to watch it at all. why bother?

[limetameta]

I've begun watching Lost for the first time and so I am immediately thinking of a fma au

No like i just finished s1ep1 and im like

Oh damn they crashland on an island and that monsters got to be Envy

When that kid found those handcuffs immediate thought was like oh nice there's an escaped criminal on the island too. That could be Kimblee.

Have no idea who i want to be the doctor like the only canon doctor is dr marcoh or dr knox and both seem like the most boring protag choice so the doctor will have to be a side character . I could have the Rockbells be on the plane, too.

Roy Mustang as main character (woke up on the beach), was on the plane w his team (ie Hawkeye) transporting Kimblee. But Riza Hawkeye is nowhere to be found (already woke up in the jungle and started chasing after Kimblee)

Honestly i dont know whats up with the orange peel guy but hes weird as hell and i love him.

Pregnant lady obvs Gracia

The more i meet the cast the better feel ill get who can be who

I am super duper excited to be watching lost tho never saw a single ep (well a lie i saw one ep when i was like 8 i think it was the backstory for the orange peel guy because hes the only one familiar to me. I remember some sort of puzzle or game from the episode that i watched)

Edward is on the island. Maybe in the crash Alphonses seal got broke or whatever. Lets start this off w the boy absurdly traumatized from the get go.

[wingsofescape]

20 Questions With a Fanfic Author

I was tagged by the lovely @aerialworms, thanks friend!

1.How many works on Ao3?

2 lol. I've been hyperfixated on the same project for almost 4 years now.

2. Total AO3 Word Count?

116,472, which is freaking wild to me

3. Top 5 fics by Kudos

in the cracks of light, (i dreamed of you), Fullmetal Alchemist (133 kudos)

there'll be happiness after you, Fullmetal Alchemist (62 kudos)

I only have two fics on there, so...

4. What fandoms do you write for?

FMA 2003! I did have an old YuGiOh fic I started writing when I was 18, which, funnily enough, was also a fix-it fic to bring Téa and Atem together. I clearly have a type. It never saw the light of day and thank god for that.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always! My muse is powered by comments and if someone is going to take the time and energy to comment, the least I can do is take the time to reply in return. Plus it's so fun to converse with people and I've made several fandom friends this way.

6. Angstiest Ending?

I mean... hapiness doesn't really end in angsty way if you read it as a standalone. But then again it is when you add the events in cracks of light. But itcol will end on a happy note so I wouldn't qualify it as an angsty ending.

I will say though, itcol is the angstiest fic of the two by far.

7. Fic with the happiest ending?

I haven't ended it yet but itcol is a fix-it fic and the ending will be fixed.

8. Do you get hate?

Never outright hate, but I have gotten comments criticising me for writing Winry to not be understanding enough and for being angry at Ed, or being irrational in her reactions to him, which... have you ever seen a human who only had rational reactions, especially after undergoing severe trauma? God forbid women do anything. Or for writing slowburn when they didn't enjoy slowburn, which could easily be remediated by reading the tags.

9. Do you write smut?

Yep. Chapter 14 of itcol had its first (but maybe not last) sex scene.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Never, but then again, never say never.

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

I sure hope not, or someone is going to wake up without their kneecaps.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but if anyone would like to, feel free! I can translate them myself to French and/or Danish if people would like that, too.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic?

I started co-writing one in 2021 but it didn't go anywhere.

14. All time favorite ship?

03/CoS Edwin no notes.

15. WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

You should call this question "WIPs I'd like to start but doubt I ever will"!

I have an idea for an 03 Trisha/Sloth character study exploring the ramifications of motherhood on sense of identity, and agency in unbalanced relationships. I'd also like to write a fic exploring what happens in the timeskip between 03 and CoS. And a divergent ending where Ed doesn't resurrect Al at the end of ep 51 and has to learn to live for himself

16. Writing strengths?

I think characterisation and subconscious drives of the characters! I've gotten complimented on metaphors and symbolism as well.

17. Writing Weaknesses?

Over-writing, description, body language, worldbuilding, and plenty more I'm probably not aware of yet.

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

As a linguist I love it! But I try to stay mindful of the language barrier and only pepper in phrases here in there that you can either guess through context or are a quick google translate away.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically yugioh. But really fell in love with and published for would be FMA.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

in the cracks of light. As much as I second-guess myself and think about abandoning it 20 times a day because I feel like it's not good enough and I'm a shit writer, that project is my baby and I love it so much and I'm proud of myself for sticking with it. The love and support people have given it has helped tremendously and I wouldn't have continued it without the kudos and comments and fanart. (Because at the end of the day, I am human and I require validation.)

Tagging @asthmaticbee @lynyangell @aquathewriter @starwritingbri @erimeows @woahpip and whoever else wants to do this!

[sgdlr]

im watching fma for the first time, i decided to watch 03 first to get a feel for the series and also to enjoy the older animation. i finished it tonight and was talking to henvy about how the ending was really mid. anyways we're watching brotherhood together and ive been talking abt how differrnt it already is.

we're on episode 8 of fmab and get to the bit where lust and envy blow the building up. i go "wow 03 really did whatever the fuck they wanted with this part huh" because i already some time talking abt how much i disliked the barry the chopper ep which was glossed over in fmab (thank god) and after a pause i then go "was greed not sealed away in this building?"

and henvy nearly blows out his mic in shock "GREED WAS HERE!?"

i feel like im describing a fever dream trying to tell him how dofferent the 5th lab arc was

[the-nysh]

... alright! i'm tired! tired of 90% of your blog being blacked out to me because i censored 'trigun' 😭 tell me, where do i begin? where do i start... consuming, this story? there's like, an anime, i know, and the... rewrite of said anime?? all based on a manga i assume??? where do i start. what do i see. what do i skip. tell me i cannot live with this hamster drip of nysh content 😭😭

...?! HOLD UP also rip to your blacklist omfg I was totally under the impression you already knew, since you were the very first to notice a while back and ask me opinionated stuff about it! x'D Fortunately I've answered a similar ask relating to your current predicament~

As you can probably guess, each 'version' of Trigun essentially has its own separate canon (the 98 anime, the manga, and the new Stampede anime; there's 3 whole cakes to enjoy here~) as different tellings of the story + characters that diverge to explore the core themes and messages in their own ways. I do not recommend skipping anything, as it all builds to the lore, world, and characters! :O (Yes, even the silly 'filler' breather eps in the 98 anime's first half all build towards the whole picture, slowly revealing bits and pieces along the way. Even the 'recap' ep at midway pieces everything about Vash's character together thru Meryl's perspective, then introduces more to reframe what's known about him in new complexity.)

But if you're familiar with the old 98 anime (as I've been since 20+yrs ago) I'd recommend a rewatch just to freshen your memory of what happens. JYB's iconic voice work for the dub makes it worth (re)watching alone. Note the anime was created before the manga was even finished, so it draws from the first few early volumes then essentially becomes its own anime-original plotline with different lore akin to how the first fma anime went for example. :O Which upon rewatching recently myself, while it def has some dated 90s bits/gags you can safely ignore, the writing's core messages, themes, intent, and character-driven growth are still very solid and satisfying, with plenty of room left open for more. The strong emotional beats hit very hard for some unsuspecting watchers - going from a seemingly silly lighthearted episodic slapstick comedy at first, to transitioning thru the tragedies of some very heavy/difficult topics later. But worth it for the hopeful, healing process of living through major loss and trauma, and recovering from suffering emotional breakdowns and depressive spirals. :') So fair warning to pace yourself with breaks if needed, without speeding/binge-watching through that kind of content (eps23-25 are where it Hurts the hardest)!

...Cause then the manga takes all those emotional beats (+ the plot & characters) even further and harder than the old anime ever could!!! 8'D That coming out of that will probably make you question your whole existence worldview. Yes, the story's one of those gems that'll probably change your life~ In ways you simply have to experience for yourself to decide what meaning/interpretation/value it holds for you.

But Stampede is completely different from the old anime, since it draws its lore from the completed manga! :O While restructuring and exploring things in a whole new way. As long as you realize that - to not compare it to the old anime (since it's not a 'rewrite' of that story at all) and see it with open eyes as its own independent artform, then you'll have a much better time. Since I'd read the manga beforehand, I really enjoyed seeing the many endgame plot elements Stampede mixed in to set up and enrich what happens. You can of course choose to go in watching blind without that manga knowledge--it's up to you, but imo there's many more layers of appreciation once you realize how much they happened to rearrange and spin into their own thing. (So personally, I'd check out the manga first so you aren't spoiled with sudden endgame elements introduced early here.) BECAUSE, the biggest telling hint is seeing the whole season's timeline as an establishing 'prelude' of sorts before one of the major story events [July City] even happens (cause in the original story--for both the manga & old anime, that incident happens before the story begins, but here it's all different lead up with modified character backstories) with plenty more to continue the manga's (Trimax's) unadapted plot later in s2. Where of course you can have preferences to how it's done, but the overall lesson here is to have patience and let Studio Orange cook, because they knew exactly what they were doing--they did their homework on many meticulous fields of Interest, with everything done with care and purpose (yes, all those conspicuous 'odd' details like the reason why Milly's not here yet- it's explained!) with genuine love for the source material. :'D

The source material which--yes, begins as the Trigun manga (2 vols) and continues renamed as Trigun Maximum (14vols) under a new publisher as a hard seinen. Which currently! The fandom's having a whole bookclub (re)reading event, so it's the perfect time to join in if you feel so inclined! 8'D For enjoying maximum emotional damage and suffering, but easier to cope, navigate, and process among a friendly and supportive group environment~ I've already read the official Dark Horse translation (easily found on most manga sites, but thankfully there's a new hardcover reprint incoming!) but currently I'm trying a reread of the overhaul fan translation instead, as I hear it's more accurate overall. :'3 Hopefully all this info helps, as I bet there's plenty of overwhelming content you may have missed out on!

[gochujangst]

have you watched fma 03 or are you watching it bc while it has its issues (transmisogyny in ep 8 in particular, some rushed/low budget stuff) i think if you're mad about the manga/brotherhood and particularly the treatment of scar and ishbal it feels healing in comparison

Currently watching it! (Also yeah wow ep8 was wild) I cannot wait to see how they handle ishbal here.

[docholligay]

Oh my GOD, is this genuinely Al guilting his brother into going back into the military because he wants his body back, no matter what it costs Ed?

Because YES. I want to give Al some depth, I am a little tired of him being such a good natured angel baby all the time, I need just a DASH of selfishness here. I love this, I absolutely love it and I hope the show never draws back on it. I know we won't ever go full "You owe me this, Ed," but I love the tip of the hand toward that. I don't even necessarily disagree, minus the fact that I don't want Ed to ever be able to fix the huge mistake he made in a moment of desperation and arrogance.

I don't know if I'm reading this as the show intends me to read it, but I hope I am because this is the most excited I've been for anything the show is doing with Al.

Please read me before commenting or sending an ask!

[amiamizuki]

fullmetal alchemist brotherhood episode 8 - the fifth laboratory

[flipomatic]

[stackslip]

Just wanted to say I love your fma 2003 posts. While I do think the original story is more cohesive and stuff, I think that the stuff they did with the 03 show is really interesting and provides a lot of cool angles on the character. It's a completely different story after a certain point with its own merit, and I think that it gives a lot of development to the characters in fascinating ways. I feel like seeing it added depth to my appreciation of the story. There's juicy bits in there that I wish were in the original and I'm just glad they were explored and that I'm not the only one who loves it. :))

sorry i took so late to respond lol

i think the og IS a lot more cohesive and planned out, and more consistent in quality! it's just that i don't think it's much to write home about either. it's a very solid fun shounen and as long as you don't think too deep about its implications, it's definitely a lot better written than 90% of mainstream shounen. and i can see the appeal in that, i genuinely do. i don't think 03 is to everyone's taste, even outside of people for whom og fma is comfort food, for whom even a slight deviation feels Wrong because that's their emotional support anime or whatever. like, i'm a fucking dbz fan always and forever you know? i don't have room to say "why do people enjoy mangahood better, it's so much less mature than 03" bc i still get pumped and emo from super saiyan transformations. i do wish these fans at least would understand WHY one might have frustrations with the themes of the story and what it does with very serious subjects lol

i do think that 03 is its own story but i don't think it's its own story "from a certain point". yes the early anime follows a lot of the manga's story, albeit rearranging it differently. but i'd argue that it's different in essence from the very start. its tone it starkly different from the manga, which is and remains a Cool Mystery Action Shounen. fma 03 from its very first episode leans more into brooding and psychological horror territory, even outside of the extra gore. even the subtle changes it makes early in the story aren't just to change/"improve" or adapt the manga's story, but to set up what they do when 03 REALLY departs from the manga's storyline. ed and al's characters are, i'd argue, leagues away from their og counterparts by ep 10--the flashback and making them go through all that trauma at age 12 really sets up that 15 year old ed isn't a confident shitlord like he is in the og, but a deeply insecure and guilt ridden teenager forced to grow up too fast and hiding his insecurities behind a mask of confidence. al is still kind and polite, but also a lot more ruthless and even more dependent on his brother than the og one is--the sensory deprivation and dysmorphia from the armour is cutting him off from other humans than his brother, and a lot of his own doubts and anguish at his situation begin eating at him to the point that when barry throws out the "you're an artificial person" accusation, al's brain immediately latches onto it because he's been wondering if he's even human for years.

i do think 03 has pits and valleys in terms of quality--but honestly i'm fine with it (bar a few genuinely infuriating decisions such as the transmisogynist serial killer trope in ep 8), it's a 2000s anime that was insanely ambitious and butting against the author and funding, some episodes visibly have a shoestring budget and while it remains thematically consistent you can very clearly see moments/places where the production committe threw in "hey uhhhhhh put in more kimblee he's popular" or "we're not giving you more episodes sorry. wrap it all up in three". do i wish a more consistent version of the show existed, meticulously planned out and with all the time and money in the world they needed existed? yes. would that version have been perfect? not necessarily tbh!

but really, 03 has a number of strong decisions and genuinely genius twists on the og that make it very hard for me to come back to the fma manga without feeling deeply underwhelmed. i like greedling so, so much--i just don't like him enough to not feel really bitter about how lust is treated in the manga. i genuinely love the scene where ed swears he'll get al's body's back at the gate, 10/10 shounen scene--but also, there's the scene ed happily tells al that after digging up their mom's body it turns out the transmutation they did had nothing to do with their mom, and every time i'm like "this is so stupid and i wish they'd kept the failed transmutation homonculi". the absolute heights of fma as a manga never ever manage to hit nearly as strongly to me as 03's does, because og fma will always feel just..... lacking in ambition and in depth, where imo in some aspects fma 03 still hasn't been outdone. where can i find something like the 03's homonculi? how many narratives are there that celebrate a character like scar instead of playing the trope of the Well Meaning Extremist Who Kicks A Puppy? this is a real question btw send them to me immediately i need them.

[liathgray]

sorry oof i meant that i feel like if you watch fma03 first, you've been Almost Spoiled for everything in fmab. but if you watch fmab first, everything in 03 is Wild And Confusing

really..? I watched 03 first and only really knew what would happen up to the stuff at Dublith with Greed, and even then its pretty different.

Nothing is executed the same across BH and 03. I might’ve been able to guess some of the plot points but that was more from the context clues and foreshadowing.

[icameheretowinry]

An updated list of my brother's favorite fmab characters + commentary

Roy Mustang (He compared him to a few of Naruto's teachers, which knowing him, is like the highest praise ever)

Olivier Armstrong (Still not over how she roasted Raven into the grave)

Greed/Greedling ("I feel like he's going to be important?" BOI JUST YOU WAIT)

Mei Chang ("She's just... so cute. And very badass.")

Scar (Bit skeptical of his jump to "good guy" but overall a stan and adores his relationship with Mei)

[sentimental-boy]

netflix really has the gall to suggest i “skip intro” when i’m watching fmab, huh. you want me to skip “again?” how dare you