#The Transmutation of Ling

[tomoleary]

Ilbury Lynch (1886-1951) “The Transmutation of Ling” by Ernest Bramah (1911) Source

[waitineedaname]

I find it very funny that the only time ling and mei directly interact is at the very end and the only time they were ever in the same room together before the promised day is when ling has been freshly possessed. we already know mei gets a glance at greed and is like "is that the yao prince?? why is he here????" and I have to imagine it went similarly from ling's perspective. like he's still reeling from getting possessed on purpose, probably still getting his bearings in there, and he's just experienced potentially the worst twenty-four hours of his life, and then greed starts applauding a little girl's reunion with her panda and ling gets a look at her and is like "oh what the fuck."

[muchmossymess]

au where ling comes to amestris early and winds up in dublith instead of rush valley, where he meets a certain greedy immortal...

[sassydefendorflower]

One of the biggest “I love you”s in Fullmetal Alchemist are all the ways people respect each other’s bodily autonomy. There are two scenes that carry this theme to its fullest potential, and I love them so, so much.

The first one is quite iconic: Riza’s throat was slit and Roy has a chance to save her - by dooming their country and committing human transmutation. And Roy would do it. He would throw it all away just to save her, even though he knows that human transmutation is an unforgivable sin. But she looks at him and signals him to Not Do It. And he doesn’t. He wants to, but he doesn’t do it. Because only minutes earlier, he hurt her again by dooming himself (and potentially the country) with his fury.  And if there is one thing Roy Mustang doesn’t want to do, it’s hurt Riza Hawkeye any more than he already has. Even if that means watching her die. Even if that means letting her go.

He respects her and their goals enough to say no.

He loves her enough to let her die.

The second one is just as heart-wrenching: after Al sacrificed himself, basically dying in the process, Ed tries to think of a way to save him. Both Hohenheim and Ling offer him a Philosopher’s Stone to bring Al back - and Ed says No. Even though he wants nothing more in life than to save his little brother. Even though there is nothing he wants more desperately than the safety of Al. He says no for many reasons - Hohenheim is his father after all, Ling needs the stone to become Emperor - but mostly he says no because he and Al promised to never use a Stone for themselves. And he respects that. He puts Al’s wish above his own desire to see his little brother again. He respects Al’s decision (his own conviction) enough to break the rules of the world to find another way.

Because he loves Al - he loves him enough not to break the fundamentals of their principles. He loves him enough to respect the integrity of their believes.

And the narrative rewards both Roy and Edward for their choice to respect the agency and bodily autonomy of their loved ones - they survive, are saved, are brought back... and neither Ed nor Roy had to force their own desire for them to live on clearly stated last wishes.

So often we see media portray the disregard for bodily autonomy (especially in medical contexts) as a sign of love, the breaking of patient-doctor confidentiality as a sign of care, the violation of a living will as a sign of family - I like to think that Fullmetal Alchemist shows us that there’s strength in respecting it instead.

[rayshippouuchiha]

Dearest Fox Void, I am glad you have returned.

I need to tell you about my transfem!Ed Elric idea.

Mostly, it's that Ed has never thought about her gender, but as soon as anyone brings up she may be a girl her response is to think about it for a bit, then go "Oh! No wait that makes sense." And proceed to go all in about it.

Specifically, I'm thinking about Ed being on the run with Greed and the others and needing a disguise. What better disguise when the country is on the lookout for a short loud blond boy alchemist than a fairly normal height blond girl? Ed transmutes his coat into a dress, keeps his hair down, adds a bit more heel to his boots and speaks quietly or not at all and Boom! that's just a shy girl.

After a little bit of doing this, with Ed seemingly not having any issues with the act, Greed tries to poke at Ed a little bit.

Greed: So, you seem to be playing a girl so well, what if you actually are one? (Expecting Ed to blow up about being a man and not into girly things, etc.)

Ed: [shrugs] It's not like it's a big deal, cross-dressing is fun, everyone enjoys it a little bit.

The Chimeras: ... no, no they don't.

Ed: ... What?

Darius: Honestly, kid, i'm not sure how you do it all the time. I think if I tried it I would feel uncomfortable even if I *could* pull it off.

Heinkel: Yeah, and you seem to... enjoy being seen as a girl more than as a boy.

Ed: ...

Greed is now expecting panic and loud, fervent denials, but Ed remains quiet. It's, like, half an hour before he comes back and is like, "no, yeah, turns out I'm actually a girl. Huh."

Greed: What??? Just like that??? No angst or anything???

Ed: [shrugs] it's not like it's anything bad. I just never thought about it.

Heinkel: [deciding that he's gonna roll with it to screw with Greed] so, are you gonna change your name? Edward is pretty masculine.

Ed: [oblivious to Heinkel's game and Greedlings internal screaming] Well, I want to keep being Ed, but I never really liked Edward much anyway. Maybe Eden?

Darius: [picked up on Heinkel's wavelength] sounds good to me.

So, yeah, now Ed is going by Eden and she/her pronouns. Every time Ed meets up with someone who really knows her (Al. Winry, Pinako, Izumi and Sig) and tells them, the general reaction is "no, yeah, that tracks" and Greedling is so *so* frustrated at the nonchalance. (Hohenheim is surprised, but his general demeanor makes him incapable of expressing it to the degree Greed wants.)

After the final battle, Ling leaves Ed with a cute outfit (think that one emo anime-girl pic that was everywhere. Or any hot-topic teenage girl. The red plaid miniskirt with the chains is required) and Ed loves it, and hates that she loves it, and is mildly weirded out by the fact that it is tailored to her. But, the important thing is that she wears it to Team Mustangs room to quit the military, which is how she comes out to all of them.

See I read this and all I can think is "where's the fic, anon?" because yes please and thank you????

[a-roguish-gambit]

Rogue/Gambit week day 7 Theme: reunion

Its time guys :)

Time for the next part of my fma crossover au, where rogue takes the place of roy and gambit hughes

@roguegambitweek

Link to first part

Anyways once you are done with that, enjoy >:) check the read more for the full comic after the first page!

The popular au within the FMA fandom to make maes hughes not be dead and instead be the one turned into the homunculus greed instead of ling (the character morph is playing in this au) so @cyborgartalchemist2 thought it would be a great idea to make gambit become greed!

Don’t worry, greed doesn’t stay on the side of evil for long….and in this case, the time is even shorter because rogue is not walking out of there without him!

Explanation: those who have opened the gate and committed the taboo of human transmutation which would make them ideal sacrifices for the homunculi in this world develop mutations as well as having some disability exacted upon them, thus why wolverine has claws. They kept remy alive because they thought his weird eyes were from him opening the gate but no they're just a normal genetic mutation he was born with.

Bonus:

One accidentally revealing who masterminded the ishvalan civil war later

Edit, final image without text

[olvitier]

Sorry its so late buf i am in an Edling mood tonight and I will never stop thinking about the idea of how theyre the epitome of right person wrong time.

(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!

They have so much fun together and compliment each other and genuinely care about each other so much but their happiness and fulfillment as people to themselves and others make it so its nearly impossible they would ever realistically end up together and its really doomed and tragic!! idk i think about it a lot.

[number1greedlingfan]

Ling would peel a lemon and eat its segments like an orange while Lan Fan, Fu, Ed, and Al look on in horror.

His argument is "if it can be done it should be done" and Alphonse is like "human transmutation????"

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Random Not Sober AU notes I found on my phone after last night that get simpler as they go:

1) FMA/HP Au where Lily is Hohenhiem’s kid and she goes to Amestris to meet her father and half brothers with her husband James. Along the way they hook up with Roy Mustang. Harry is his bio kid. Then of course the Potters die and Dumbledore sucks so much he just drops the baby off at the Elric’s house unaware Trisha died and Hoenheim fucked off. Cue Ed and Al raising their nephew. Then of course we have human transmutation, Roy coming and Al going: oh hey wasn't some of the notes Lily left saying you were Harry’s dad?

This 100% would end with Parental Roy having three gremlin kids, Harry going through human transmutation to get rid of the Horocrux in exchange for Al, and then CHAOS at Hogwarts.

2) A really weird AU where Hoenheim slept with a woman in Xing when he was first there who had a kid she kept secret so no one could worship them or do weird shit. The kid had a kid and so on until they left Xing after their clan was attacked, they got to Amestris, got married and had a son. Roy Mustang.

This also included Hoenheim having another child with an Ishvalan woman before he met Trisha. His daughter went on to have two sons: Scar and his brother.

I have no idea where I was going with this. But its amusing.

3) BNHA AU where Space Orcs tropes happen but I include the period stuff I talked about. Izuku is a trans guy who gets snatched with Jirou. I planned on Quirks being a thing still according to my notes. Izuku has PCOS. Legit ends up passing clots cause its one of those periods. Empathy Alien (Mina) is sobbing.

4) FMAB AU where the Homunculi all murder Father because they hate him and just chill. Greed finds Hohenheim and finds out about the boys. Decides Hohenheim is a bad dad so he goes off to be weird cousin Greed along with the others. They still try human transmutation and get into the military where Bradley is like: why is my baby cousin- Que Ed being known as the Fuher’s cousin.

5) self insert wakes up as Envy. Basically they go fuck the plot turn into a cat and hang around the elric brothers.

6) Like a half page ramble about Girl!Bakugou and how she would be meaner then her canon self to male Izuku and just nasty to a girl Izuku because if we keep her personality then you have society coming down on her for not being soft and shit. I have no idea where this was going.

7) EdLing AU where Ling was disowned for liking men and refusing a marriage with a woman from his clan, so he runs off to Amestris to find a philosopher's stone early and then meets the Elric brothers before canon.

8) BNHA/FMAB AU where Winry is reborn as Izuku, she is now a trans girl and is running around making automail.

9) EdLing share the pair AU. Imagine prince Ling screaming about his arm and leg, and people realizing his soulmate lost theirs.

10) the above but EdRoy. My notes said ‘flip a coin for pla’ which I think means flip a coin for platonic or not.

11) the above a gin for GreedEdLing with extra ‘oh fuck you’ energy because IT HURTS US WHEN YOU DIE GREED

12) Envy/Ed also soulmate au (i read a fanfic before getting high and it stuck I guess)

13) IiDeku AU lesbians where Bakugou is engaged to Izuku but she breaks it off as soon as she can to be with Iida.

14) three selkie au starts

[spidermanifested]

been seeing these going around and figured itd be fun to make one about fma... except i kind of didnt want to make it for people who dont know the series since so many people know it even just by osmosis. SO. this ones directed at people with knowledge of the series already.

[andromeda3116]

Propaganda:

1. No one has managed this yet at this point in the story. The Homunculi are always listening, always knowing what the heroes are up to, always one step ahead. The only thing that has surprised them is Roy killing Lust, but that was only because she got cocky and left him to die instead of killing him outright. Olivier, in the middle of a massive attack on her fort by a creature behind her comprehension, finds a way to get the truth from Ed -- who has refused to tell her on the basis of Bradley's threat to Winry, and who we all know is a stubborn little bastard. She gets the answers, and she gets them without the Homunculi or the high brass guessing that she now knows their entire plan, and is high enough in the hierarchy of power to seriously damage them. For once, she puts the heroes a step ahead of the Homunculi.

2. Note that this is not Ling holding his own against Bradley (that's not underrated at all) -- this is the compassion and loyalty to his people that leads him to severely hinder his own escape because his servant is critically injured and he absolutely will not, under any circumstances, leave her behind. "A king is no king without his people", indeed.

3. Like Olivier above, Riza manages what has up to now been nearly impossible from right under Bradley's nose. She devises a perfect code with every name she needs and knows how to make sure Roy is getting it. Her intelligence and ingenuity absolutely shine, and she manages to also put them a step ahead of the Homunculi, from right under their thumbs.

4. Winry is a teenager who hasn't seen any medicine beyond what it takes to attach automail in years, but she draws on the textbooks she read -- which, aside, she was reading, comprehending, and remembering medical textbooks as a child -- delivering a healthy baby with no complications, alone.

5. Gluttony's belly is supposed to be inescapable, an entirely different plane of reality, and Ed looks at all of this surrounding him, says "I'm not dying here" and concocts a wild plan to get them out by repeating the ultimate taboo and throwing himself back through the Gate of Truth -- and it works.

6. Scar's brother is a scholar who has lived his entire life in a culture that despises alchemy. He knows only what he's read of it, and he not only recognizes that Amestris is a massive transmutation circle but also devises a circle that will counteract it, and hides that behind layers of code and the physical shape of the papers, so that only his brother can find it.

7. Riza cannot speak. She can barely breathe. She is bleeding to death. And she still refuses to allow Roy to betray himself. No words, no breath, no reason to believe she may yet live -- but she tells him do not save me at the cost of your principles.

8. Like Ling above, Roy's loyalty to his own people drives and commands and powers him. He never forgets about Jean, and the first chance he gets, he sends someone to heal him, even if it means staying blind for longer. There was no need to wait, except that he refused to put his people second to himself.

[313i]

i did the blorbo bingo with edling :3

ramble / explanations for my writing under cut!

for ling:

most fandom takes are incorrect: maybe it’s just me but ive seen a decent amount of people make ling out to be a pervert or just reduce him to a stupid silly character. ling yao is NOT A PERVERT! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM! he would never even do HALF OF THE THINGS YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!!!!! and he is so far from just being a funny guy that makes the audience laugh. his motives and character as a whole are so incredibly strong and i’ve never been so fascinated with a character like ling yao. please give him more attention.

that also goes hand in hand w/ stop putting them in situations!!: he would not be looking up girls skirts or something 🙁 be kind to him i think he deserves the world also. the cast of fma consists of a bunch of 14-16 year olds who traveled across the world to fulfill what they feel is their destiny but they end up on a journey of pain and suffering instead. they are children they should be playing roblox and minecraft and brain rotting like me ……….. i need a 500 chapter fic of ling being happy and joyous and eating all the wonderful meat in amestris.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NOT ENOUGH CANON / UNDERRATED: as much as i love greedling and understand the combo … i wish ling got more screentime alone separate from greed. he is really such an interesting and unique character with a banging design and sometimes i feel greed robbed him of his iconic features (his yellow jacket & sword) and people just forget that greedling exists because ling was strong enough to withstand the homunculus in his system + LING IS THE BODY!!! he is serving that facecard and body 24/7 because that’s all ling yao!!! i still do really like greedling because they have a lot of room for interaction but i feel like ling yao is one of the characters who is often forgotten when it comes to merch n whatnot. he’s not as much of a main character as ed of course but he is just forgotten!! he is really such a cool character i wish there was more of him everywhere

there’s probably a deep seated reason why i love him: yes. because he is me and i am him (not really). i just project onto him and he is just me at this point! i will forever be such a huge ling yao fan the first time i watched fmab i instantly got attached to him i am so happy he is alive. i hope being the king of the yao clan is treating him well though he didn’t look to happy in that one photo of him as emperor….. it’s a tough job so i get it man! i hope he explodes

for edling:

pretty privilege: they are both pretty. brotherhood art style is a bit inconsistent at times i feel but their designs are both so gorgeous (their colors complement one another!). and also the bloodhell episode. ling yao fighting envy with his cool sword and handsome face…. ed somehow still looking pretty despite all the traveling and fighting. they are pretty!!!

projection had entered the chat: well, yes! who doesn’t project onto their faves??? :p

don’t typically discuss irl because of fandom: more and more people nowadays seem to forget fma franchise as a whole 🙁 it makes me so sad because this series is so fire and i wish it would keep its popularity but it obviously makes sense that more relevant shows and animes will overtake its light. i’m also afraid most people don’t like edling (edling nation consists of like 10 people) so i just don’t really talk about fma irl at all! no one here has a Fullmetal heart..

everything else is just me wanting to bite them (lovingly) and stuff them in my pocket and hold them in the palm of my hands to show them off to the world. i do not actually want to plot their demise and i am not actively doing so. i would put them in a wood chipper in a loving manner

for ed:

has done nothing wrong: he’s innocent, your honor… everything he’s ever done has been for his family. he’s committed a huge taboo in the alchemy world by trying human transmutation but him and al just wanted their moms back. they were TOO YOUNG TO BE ORPHANS AND HAVE TO GROW UP WITHOUT THEIR MOTHERS LOVE! he ended up becoming a dog for the military but he had to do what he had to do to get closer to that philosopher stone… in 03 he did end up taking some lives too i think. he’s only 15 and never intended to Actually murder someone. seeing him after the greed scene is so incredibly heartbreaking. 03 and cos are such horrific renditions of fma (in a good way) and it makes me so sad to think that’s how he ended up??? he had so much hope as a little kid and was so full of life but by 18 he’s stranded from the last bit of family he knew and is left a depressed alcoholic who keeps losing people. edward elric has done nothing wrong..

there’s probably a deep seated reason why i love him: even from the outside HE IS SUCH A COOL CHARACTER. a character who canonical has prosthetic limbs is already so cool. knowing the story behind those limbs and his brother is so 🙁☹️☹️… his iconic red jacket!!! his LEATHER PANTS WITH HIS PLATFORM BOOTS? his striking gold eyes and bright blonde hair? how he wears his stupid pocket watch…. his dumbass belt… i love edward elric’s flamboyant style so much i’ve never seen a more bi-coded character ever. i love everything about his design and his personality is unlike most shonen anime protags and that adds to his charm. he is hot-headed and will bite your head off if you comment on his height or call him pipsqueak but he is still such a sharp and intelligent young man .. He is literally an Alchemy God…. he is so capable even at such a young age and carries himself so well because if i were him i would be breaking down crying every step of the way! he is dedicated and loyal to his cause of finding the philosophers stone to return their bodies back to normal and doesn’t even hinder once throughout the journey. he loves his brother dearly and it makes me so joyous to see a strong sibling relationship in this genre that isn’t Weird. Edward Elric is a fire character thank you for listening to my TedTalk

[kattythingz]

I absolutely, 100% want you babbling to me about this AU, yes, PLEASE

So I accidentally wrote an entire ass scene kvjnrekjbe

I got way into it, and this is only one of the scenes I have in mind!! Now that I've written one I kinda wanna do more, fuuuuu--

ANYWAY, ask and ye shall receive! :D. First, the overarching context:

So my main Vision starts with Ling being tossed into YJ, around... three years post-canon of Solaris when edling are engaged and Ed's still traveling around. Some idiot was tryna off the emperor and Ling fucked around with a transmutation circle or sth blah blah crossover logic he's yeeted into YJ.

He lands himself in some kinda facility (I'm thinking cadmus), at the same time that the YJ are conducting a recon operation. He aids in their mission and winds up going back to the cave with them until he can get home. He serves as a good confidant for leadership advice when Kaldur needs it, and Wally calls bullshit on him being an emperor; M'gann is delighted at the new friend, Conner doesn't care, and Robin thrives on Ling's sheer chaos.

Despite that, the team somehow knows even more about this guy's fiance back home than Ling himself. Ed's all he talks about.

This scene happens about a month into Ling's unfortunate stay.

Ling insisted on joining the team—his new friends in this world, if he dared call them such—on their most recent recon mission to cadmus again. Batman reported that there’d been hearsay of strange emissions around cadmus. Mystical emissions, though not any kind the JL had encountered before sans once: when Ling had crash-landed into this world a month ago.

If it’d get him closer to finding a way home, this was completely his business, and nobody could stop him. The YJ, born of such rebellion, backed Ling on his stance.

They split up to cover different corners of the lab, and Robin and Ling, the resident lurkers, got the catwalk in the main lab where Ling originally landed. The giant transmutation circle was still there, littered with random knick-knacks that very likely could’ve been pulled from Amestris, and the reason for those emissions the JL were concerned about. Perhaps the sheer number of the “summonings” had made it seem worse than it was, or—

Robin halted in his intense scrutiny of the circle at the heavy sound of the double doors opening. Ling halted for another reason entirely, as a familiar energy flared in the back of his mind.

He whirled without thinking, stumbling to his knees in his haste to get a closer look down below. 

Robin barely reacted, crouching beside him to peer at the head scientist striding in, the two guards following behind, and—

“—get your fucking hands off me!”

And gold.

Ed, spitting and snarling at the guards.

He was still dressed in a similar manner to when they’d last seen each other a year ago, when Ed had dropped by Xing for a brief, surprise visit after two years apart already. The state of his clothes, however... His maroon cargo pants were torn at the bottom, like they’d been caught on something, and he was only in a black high-neck short-sleeve—not a jacket in sight like usual, showing off the flamel tattoo on his right bicep. His face was scratched and bruised and stray hairs fell from his bangs and clung to his sweat-laden brow.

Ed had been here a while. It was obvious to anyone who could see.

Ling couldn’t breathe.

“You’ll have to forgive my men for their… rougher precautions with you,” the head scientist spoke over the fire. “Our last guest wasn’t nearly so testy as you, you understand. And I rather prefer these parts of my lab intact as solid.”

We’ve got a prisoner in the vicinity, Robin’s voice startled Ling when it echoed through the team’s mind link. Motion?

Strictly observe, for now, came Aqualad’s prompt answer. Who is it?

Looks like a teenager—

“I understand what I’m going to melt next, if that’s what you’re saying,” Ed’s snarl interrupted Robin, and, oh—Ling hadn’t noticed at all, but his heart squeezed at the tone. He’d missed Ed like a limb, and that ferocious baring of teeth, that no-doubt flare of his eyes like—

“Yang’er,” Ling breathed.

Robin spun on him that time. “What?”

He’d forgotten Xingese translated cleanly as “Mandarin” in this world. Robin understood the nickname instantly, and epiphany didn’t lag after.

“Hold on. You mean—?”

“That’s Ed,” Ling choked out, eyes frozen on the scene below with his heart. “That’s—”

“Your fiance?” Robin asked sharply. When Ling didn’t, couldn’t, answer, he cursed and said into their link, Guys, that’s Ling’s Ed down there.

The fiance?! M’gann yelped. Wait, so that means—

So that’s why, Kaldur intoned somberly. Those emissions Batman warned us about, they must’ve been caused by summoning of another person.

Wait, then, shouldn’t we intervene now? Superboy said.

Not yet, Superboy. We must observe—

They were talking about Ed. Like he was just anyone, a mere prisoner. Ling knew none of it was personal, but with the scientist looming so close to Ed, his mind was blurring into tunnel vision on the scientist’s smug voice continuing, “You can certainly try. Though I doubt you’ll be able to with that necklace on now. It might be amusing to watch you test its limits.”

“I’ll show you fucking amusing, you son of a—!”

It didn’t occur to Ling immediately. But his eyes dropped to take in Ed’s snarling expression again, reassure himself of his safety for now, and he froze on Ed’s neck.

His neck, that was collared.

They’d collared Ed—

White noise erupted in Ling’s ears, barely catching Robin’s hissed noise at him to—do something. He wasn’t sure. It bled into darkness when Ed was held back by the guards from lunging at the scientist.

“And what does that say about you, huh?” Ed continued growling. “So scared of one me, you need shackles and a collar on me? You can’t even face me on my level.”

“You spit a lot of poison,” the scientist remarked, dismissing the words, to Ed’s visible incensation. “The other one was much keener on keeping his fangs to himself. Smarter, too, for that. It’s a shame about not having been able to figure him out before he fled.”

Ed’s head snapped up, then. Daggers locking on the scientist’s words.

The scientist caught the look, and smirked. “Oh, yes. You aren’t my first honored guest from your world. My only mistake with that one was underestimating him under all his blathering. But—” 

“Dude!” It was Robin’s hiss that snapped through Ling’s nerves, and his hand that abruptly shot to keep him from leaping with a searing rage when the scientist grabbed Ed’s chin to make eye contact.

“That is all redundant,” the scientist drawled, amused at Ed’s resistance, “considering you already seem familiar with each other.”

“That’s world-cist.” Ed breathed heavily to hold steady in the scientist’s grip and avoid giving him further satisfaction. “You assuming everyone in my world knows each other now?”

The scientist’s gaze wandered, and without warning, he released Ed’s chin, leaving him to stumble—just in time to take advantage and yank Ed’s restrained arms up by the wrist.

“Hey!” Ed barked at the painful angle, refusing to give but clearly wincing, and Ling’s breathing was requiring its own heavy steadying now to keep from shrugging off Robin’s hand and lunging anyway. The man was touching Ed’s battered arm, squeezing especially the bruises and turning them white from the force—

Ling inhaled shakily. And again. 

“Not everyone,” the scientist hummed, observing Ed’s ring, “but most certainly you two. The other one was wearing a ring too. Now, I don’t gamble much with coincidence, but… it’s a rather funny timing, two in a row, don’t you think?”

“I think,” Ed growled, “you should let go of me, right. Now—”

“This is gold too, isn’t it? I was pondering testing the precious metals of your world against ours. If I melt this dow—”

He cut off on a yelling grunt when Ed slammed his shackled wrists upward into his jaw. The scientist spat blood with the motion, and Ed recoiled as far as he could before a guard was on him again. 

Ling could just taste the fire in Ed’s glare when he snarled, “Try that, and I’m melting your face next. I know… exactly where to break down your structure.”

Holy shit, Wally’s thought echoed in the deafening silence that followed.

You could say that again, Artemis agreed.

Ling ignored them both, his heart reaching in favor of Ed’s direction. That was right. Ed wasn’t just any prisoner. He wouldn’t let himself be. He’d sooner bite every hand that tried to feed him here than give them satisfaction.

Ling’s next breath carried through his lungs, that time, and Robin let out his own exhale next to him.

The scientist knows Ed and Ling are connected, Robin reported, at ease now. It’s not insane to guess that—

He’ll try and use one as bait for the other, Kaldur finished. 

Ling clenched his jaw. That’s not happening.

Obviously! Wally said. So, what’s our plan now—?

I’m getting Ed before that passes.

Wait, what—?

The others voiced their concerns, but Ling had already blocked them out, his sole focus in sight. And he wasn’t planning on digressing from it.

“You don’t have to help me,” he said as he stood, aware of Robin’s silent gaze on him. The two of them were… similar, in their practiced masks, however much younger Robin was. They had a mutual understanding, and so he continued, “I will carry this out on my own if I must. You can—”

“Dude, are you kidding?” Robin’s laugh thawed Ling’s solemnity, and he glanced, surprised, at him. “I am so in for a rescue mission. I’ve gotta meet your fiance now!”

Ling’s grin snuck up on him, perhaps a little too wide with the heat in his blood.

“Ed’ll be delighted,” he said, and even as the guards escorted Ed out of room again, his knees didn’t crumple that time. He took a deep breath, and gripped his sword. 

“Let’s move, then.”

next ->

[crowcaws]

FMA is obviously full of tragedies and some are lot more talked about than others but I DESPERATELY need everyone to stop sleeping on the scene where Pinako and Ed dig up the body the boys transmuted. It's a short but very potent scene for Ed's character, his drive, his philosophy, and the kind of brother he is.

The way Ed keeps digging even though it makes him physically sick. He can only laugh as they discover the body isn't Trisha. The truth, as Ed says, is that a dead person can never be brought back to life, be it by the rules of alchemy or the rule of god.

This means he and Al lost their bodies for someone who wasn't their mother, but he is also able to let go now that he has closure. The body haunted him, but this is the scene where Ed is finally able to start meaningfully moving forward.

(The body being Not Trisha™ also raises questions of whether Al's soul is really Al, but that's a crisis of identity that is a separate issue altogether. )

But the best part of this scene is where Ed still insists on giving the body a proper grave and a headstone, because it's still a person. Pinako's inner dialogue points out that most people wouldn't consider it a person, but Ed can't think that way because it would be an admission that Al isn't a person either.

Ed is the less compassionate and more abrasive sibling, but he will always have a unique ability to see humanity where nobody else would because if Alphonse can have personhood in his state, then so can anyone else. It's this unbreakable faith in Alphonse's humanity that allows Ed to be the kind of hero he is. Without that, he might never have been the person who believed Ling was still alive somewhere in Greed.

Therein lies the dichotomy between Scar and Ed that Nina's death sets up early on. They're very similar people: Both of them lost their brother, in a way, and both of them carry that. Ed's brother still has a chance, Scar's doesn't. In Nina, Scar sees a monster with no hope, too far gone to ever regain her personhood, and grants her eradication as a mercy. He doesn't see it as a murder because there is no person there. Ed is hit so hard by Nina's death because he knows that is the kind of "mercy" that Scar, and perhaps anyone else, might think is the only option for people like Nina and Al, and he will always refuse to accept that.

[nothingavailable]

Here’s my ideas for a reboot of Fullmetal Alchemist:

In this version of the story both Father and Dante are antagonists.

There are two types of Homunculi: Those created with Philosopher’s Stones and those made through attempting Human Transmutation.

Hohenheim granted Dante immortality via the implantation of a Philosopher’s Stone.

The events of Brotherhood’s first episode remain intact.

Führer King Bradley has a regeneration ability like the other Homunculi but doesn’t prefer to show it off.

A combination of the manga, first anime and Brotherhood regarding Ed’s entrance as a state alchemist.

Everything proceeds according to the manga and Brotherhood regarding the beginning of the Elrics’ time in the military.

The introduction of the Homunculi begins.

Dante is replaced as a villain by Father after her defeat.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos and any other material following the manga and Brotherhood remains canon.

Homunculi:

Father — Dwarf in the Flask

Pride — Selim Bradley

Wrath — Führer King Bradley

Envy — Hohenheim & Dante’s son

Greed — Created by Father

Lust — Scar’s brother’s lover

Gluttony — Created by Father

Sloth — Created by Father

Torpor — Trisha Elric

Vengeance — Izumi Curtis’s son

Mannequin Soldiers — Sacrifices

Battles (New, Reimagined & Both):

Elric Brothers, Izumi Curtis, Scar, Mei Chang & Van Hohenheim VS. Dante

Curtis Family, Armstrong Siblings & Central Troops VS. Mannequin Soldiers & Sloth

Everyone VS. Father

Greed, Greed’s Chimera Gang & Vengeance VS. Wrath

Elric Brothers & Van Hohenheim VS. Torpor

Elric Brothers, Ling Yao, Greed, Fu, Lan Fan, Van Hohenheim & Torpor VS. Pride & Gluttony

Elric Brothers & Roy Mustang VS. Wrath

Scar & Lust VS. Wrath

____________________________________________

If you have any ideas please comment.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

As a cql stan who readily admits to the show's flaws I'm feeling slightly outraged that cql fans are on here every day fighting for our lives to defend our favorite adaptation dumbest choices while the donghua put NAILS in qin su's head without a peep from anyone. Making JGY kill Sisi is honestly WAY fouler than all of the CQL villain upgrades combined! At least Su She in the bushes with the flute is much more reasonable and smaller scale than country wide watchtower arrays!! At least cql!wwx is a generally lovely person when having the culpability taken from him. donghua!wwx stood there and watched as wen ning weaponized jiang cheng's biggest fears and insecurities against him and didnt say a PEEP, and than ran off to go get dicked down without even checking on jin ling.

My toxic trait is that I love CQL the very most and cannot be swayed from this. Does it write itself into some weird-ass corners with its censorship-mandated changes and avoid uncomfortable, complex questions? For sure! Is it a hot mess at times, and would be even moreso without the novel lore to augment the gaps? Yes! Did Guanyin Temple need to be four episodes given that there wasn’t even a fierce corpse? Absolutely not!

But you see… I watched the show in its entirety (while also working fulltime and rehearsing a play) and it grabbed me by the brainstem and did not let go. The novel, meanwhile, largely bored and/or annoyed me (during a vacation where I had nothing else going on whatsoever) and I have zero desire to read more of it.

AND THEN THERE’S THE DONGHUA, which is evidently the Netflix Persuasion of MDZS media, and the best I can figure is that not enough people watched it to discourse about it, because I cannot beLIEVE that I’ve seen gifs of that 10-second Xiyao flashback montage circulated a billion times and NARY A MENTION OF THE TRANSMUTATION CIRCLE WATCHTOWER PROJECT.