#fma rick

[jojojooo33]

Do Fletcher and Rickie have confirmed ages at all... The wiki says Fletcher is about 12 and Rick 14 but also. it's a fan wiki so not the most reliable source

[laarbybarbtbox]

Wherever this world takes us, Ishvala will follow.

(Aka, part of my au where Scar’s brother is alive and traveling with him)

[lotusthewriter]

What I've Done - Chapter 4

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

Rating: T

Relationships: Alphonse (Wrath) & Edward

Characters: Alphonse Elric (Wrath), Edward Elric, Sloth, Dante, Envy, Izumi Curtis, Scar, Rick, Leo; MINOR - Roy Mustang; other characters to be added

Summary: “As soon as the homunculus decides to shove these feelings down his throat and take the alchemist to Dante for once and for all, his troubled opponent finally dares to say something that stops the world from going.

“… Al?”

It paralyzes Wrath.”

A Homunculus Alphonse Elric AU.

Word count: TBA

AO3

First chapter | previous chapter

A/N: I'm aware that the chronological order of FMA 2003 is confusing in this AU, but I always enjoyed Al's interactions with the Ishbalans, and especially with Scar. I also like it because Al is questioning his existence, so I made sure to include it in this story.

I apologize if anyone is OOC here, but I want to thank everyone who has been reading the fic so far. <3

TRIGGER WARNINGS - death, grief, repressed trauma, child abuse, physical and emotional abuse, emotional neglect, canon-typical violence, self-sacrifice, suicidal thoughts, blood and injury, loss of limbs, and references to racism and genocide. (More might be added)

P/roship DNI.

--

“So the pipsqueak gave you a haircut?”

Rolling his eyes, Wrath instead ignores the comment, knowing that feeding Envy’s bullying only makes everything worse.

But of course, Envy knows exactly how to annoy other people.

“I wonder how the favorite must feel knowing that he failed his first mission,” he teases.

Wrath has learned better than to fight back.

“... I wonder, too,” he bites, “how pathetic you, Lust, and Gluttony are for Dante to entrust one person with a pipsqueak.”

Immediately after, he gets a punch to his gut, causing him to drop on his knees. Envy is growling like a furious animal.

“You’re just lucky because you’re an alchemist,” the older homunculus says, pulling Wrath’s now shortened hair hard.

Although it hurts like hell, something in Wrath has him smirk at the reaction, because Envy really is pathetic enough to bully people when he can’t measure up to anything himself.

Their little exchange doesn’t last longer, though, because Dante has called them all to another meeting. Usually the meetings are brief, with the exception of a few, and Dante doesn’t mention Wrath’s failure. Instead, she emphasizes on the Philosopher’s Stone, so everyone needs to try their hardest to make it happen. In the end, Dante orders Envy, Lust, and Gluttony to return to Liore, Sloth and Pride to remain in the military, and Wrath… to stay behind while everyone is dismissed.

Wrath can tell everyone is judging him as they leave, based on their looks. Envy still looks grumpy and he internally wishes he could kill Wrath over and over again. The others just ignore his existence, as usual, only this time the weight of his failure is crushing.

Still, Dante cups his face so very gently, and pushes some of his irregular bangs away from his left eye.

“Wrath, my dear,” she whispers even though nobody else is in the room. “I want you to head to Central to look for the alchemist you seek. Sloth told me he should be there tonight.”

The boy frowns. “I’m… going alone?”

Dante hums in confirmation. “You still need to prove yourself to your fellow homunculi. I know you can do it, Wrath, but they still don’t know your full potential. I want you to focus on your goal, and to keep persevering.” She rubs his cheeks with her thumbs delicately. “Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”

Wrath doesn’t hesitate to nod, though swallowing his nervous gulp, because he knows what happens when he fails.

“Good,” Dante smiles, kissing him on his forehead. “I’ll be waiting here for you. Go out there and make me proud.”

“I will.”

(Wrath’s smile doesn’t feel genuine.)

(He only smiles because Dante wants him to.)

(And that’s how it’ll always be.)

--

The Central is huge.

Wrath has no idea why Dante wants him to go this far. He clearly doesn’t belong out here. His first mission made sense, because it was in the forest, a place that he knew from the palm of his hand. But the Central is a whole other level that should’ve been reserved for more advanced missions.

Then again, it’s what Dante said: everyone needs to see that he’s worthy. If he couldn’t succeed in an easier task… then he should try harder to prove what he can give to them.

He should fight for himself, for the homunculi, for Dante.

That’s his whole goal.

As for his objective, however… he has no idea where to even look.

Which hotel is it? What if Ed is out in town to eat? What if the military has already called him somewhere else?

Wrath only has one way to know.

Lurking in the shadows, he manages to find a phone booth unnoticed. With great memory, he already knows what to do, and who to call. As it tries to reach the other end, he admittedly feels his gut acting out of anxiety, because… he usually stays out of the way until someone notices him.

(He only goes with Dante’s permission.)

Either way, when the other end picks up, the same coldness already speaks to him.

“You are not supposed to call this number.”

Wrath gulps, feeling like the cold has stabbed him in the chest.

“I-I… I just wanted to–”

“You’re not ready.”

This is barely lasting a minute, and he feels like he’s breaking apart with every word that comes out of Sloth’s mouth.

“B-But Dante said–”

“You’re confused, and if you really cared about our cause, you would have taken it more seriously. For starters, you wouldn’t have called me.”

Wrath’s violet eyes are blurring.

“Please, I need help,” he begs, “I need help so I can be good. I can’t fail again.”

“You need help because you only care about yourself.” Sloth doesn’t hesitate at all. “Because you are pitiful. You make no difference.”

The worst part is, she doesn’t even sound hateful. She just sounds indifferent.

And somehow, that makes Wrath cry.

He tries to swallow it back down, but Sloth likely knows.

“Don’t call this number again,” she says rather professionally, like she doesn’t know Wrath.

(Maybe that’s true, because even after three years, they only feel like strangers around each other.)

The phone dies.

Wrath involuntarily lets go as the tears burn his cheeks.

Afraid of being seen, he runs away, having not realized that it’s raining now. His clothes get the worst of it as he flees, one of his shoes flying away. He barely sees whoever is passing by, but it’s not like they would notice him or bother to worry anyway.

Sloth’s words just replay in his mind like a broken and repetitive melody, like the music Dante plays in her mansion late at night. When one is cold and brutal, the other is nostalgic and melancholic.

(Both equally haunting.)

Wrath has run so much that his legs give up and he falls in the shadows of a dark alley. There are a lot of empty wooden boxes stocked onto the other that previously served to keep food. The homunculus’ baggy, dark clothes feel too cold, and the freezing rain mixes with his hot tears. Unable to hold it in anymore, Wrath openly cries for the first time outside, not trapped in the mansion, not trapped in his room. He doesn’t have to be silent right now.

He only has his own comfort, so he hugs his knees tightly, trying to calm himself down with his own company. He was taught to do things this way.

Even if all he wants is Dante’s warm hug.

Even if all he wants is Sloth not to hate him. Or anyone in general not to hate him.

Even if…

He wants a family again.

Every time he hears Sloth’s voice now, he remembers the woman with brown hair and green eyes that always smiled at him, that always hugged him whenever he had nightmares or couldn’t sleep at night.

And he hates to admit it, but…

Wrath remembers Ed’s loyalty, his protectiveness.

And he certainly recalls the young alchemist yelling his name in the forest, because it still feels like Ed is looking for him this entire time. Especially right now in the rain.

(Does he want Ed to find him?)

Wrath is supposed to hate him.

He needs to hate him.

He does hate him.

He does.

But…

…

Maybe Sloth is right.

He is confused.

He is pitiful.

He doesn’t make a difference.

(Besides…)

(Ed would probably hate him, too.)

…

The moment Wrath hears rushing steps, he freezes in place like a statue.

Much to his bad luck, the steps are coming his way. He doesn’t dare look up, but from what his senses can tell, it seems like at least two people have come to hide in this very alley.

Somewhere near him, Wrath can tell someone is yelling angrily.

Then it’s gone.

The two strangers sigh in relief, tired out of running, probably.

“We lost him,” one of them says, satisfied. They sound… young. Like a boy. “Here, eat up.”

“I don’t want any!” The other, younger, protests. “What were you thinking?! You just picked it up out of nowhere and stole it! If Mom knew we were–”

Something… grumbles and silences the two kids.

“There, see?” The older one is soft. “You can’t be so hard on yourself.”

Wrath knows said words aren’t meant for him. He has nothing to do with those two, whoever they are.

Still…

Wrath sniffs again and sobs quietly.

“Whoa, did you hear that?” The elder boy whispers.

“It’s… a kid,” the other observes, concerned.

The homunculus doesn’t look up, afraid of what they’re going to think of him.

There’s some thoughtful silence between the three, until Wrath hears some shuffling.

“Um, hi?” The younger voice speaks up, and a hand touches the other’s shoulder, causing Wrath to flinch violently.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” the older one says. “Hey, are you hungry? We have some apples here, if you want.”

Sniffing again, Wrath considers it. At this point he has nothing left to lose. He doesn’t even have a place to go. Maybe he needs to eat something to clear his head.

The homunculus slowly lifts his head, indeed finding two boys gazing at him with sadness and curiosity. They look very similar, so maybe they’re siblings. Unlike Wrath, who’s pale and has purple eyes, the duo is brown-skinned and… red-eyed.

Ishbalans.

Wrath remembers Dante mentioning them when it came to the Philosopher’s Stone. He remembers Ishbal being devastated and its people massacred. This is Wrath’s first time seeing them.

He pushes these questions for later though, because the older one is holding out an apple for Wrath, even smiling at him. The fact that two strangers are being so kind to him, more than the people he has known his whole life, makes him want to cry miserably again.

Wrath barely raises his head, knowing the two are going to see through him and judge him, so he eats the apple in silence, slowly.

“I’m Rick,” the younger Ishbalan says with a smile, “and this is my brother Leo. What’s your name?”

Wrath doesn’t reply and looks away.

“Hey, aren’t you even gonna tell us your name?” Leo asks impatiently.

The homunculus insists on being silent.

Leo groans.

“Great, he’s just like Scar,” he curses under his breath. “But at least he’s eating something.”

Everything stops.

“... Scar?”

His first word surprises the two Ishbalans.

They also look shocked by Wrath, who instinctively exposed his pale face and violet eyes.

Regardless, Rick answers his question.

“Yeah, that’s him,” he replies. “Do you know him?”

Wrath shakes his head.

“Well… you could follow us and meet him, if you want,” Rick suggests. “He’s not bad like everyone makes him look like.”

Leo elbows his younger brother’s arm kind of aggressively.

“What are you doing?” He hisses. “What if he wants to hurt him? Or us, for that matter? Look at him!” Leo gestures at the entirety of Wrath’s pathetic form.

“What, now you’re going to judge him the same way everyone judges us?” Rick argues, firm but patient.

Wrath’s defenses seem to lower the more Rick speaks. He’s supposed to be on a mission that he can’t fail, and yet here he is, talking to two human boys, and one of them is treating Wrath, a homunculus, like a person.

“Don’t listen to him,” Rick reassures Wrath with a friendly smile. It reminds the latter of the past, of looking into a mirror. “I mean it, you can come with us! You don’t have to be alone.”

Wrath shouldn’t feel… warmth inside him. This is selfish. He knows Dante wouldn’t approve, nor would Sloth or any of the other homunculi. Wrath needs to find the Fullmetal Alchemist and bring him to justice. He can’t lose time.

But…

Scar is with them.

Wrath heard that Scar seeks State Alchemists. Maybe he’s looking for Ed, too.

Maybe Wrath and Scar could… team up.

He’ll do anything for his mission.

His mission only.

Wrath stands up and… takes off the dark hood that covers his head, exposing his whole head and wetting his messy black hair.

While Leo looks suspicious, Rick has the biggest smile on his face, completely welcoming of the stranger.

(Wrath tries his best not to smile back.)

[emmikay]

Ed: Bastard, not that I give a shit, but are you okay?

[fmamangacaps]

[shmoopyroo]

some silly stuffs, doodling and scribbles

[star1986]

edward elric's "short" rants' he's always been a "little" sensitive lol

[wreedenthusiast]

BONUS ROUND! Rank all the losers from previous rounds and maybe I'll add the two highest votes to the final round.

[shocotate]

Kenji Utsumi – Little Shop of Horrors Japanese Dub

It’s the twenty-third day of the month of September, so here is Kenji Utsumi’s performance as Audrey II.

I wonder when this dub was made. If it was a relatively soon after the release of the movie, it would be fun to imagine Kenji Utsumi did the dubbing for Audrey II while also working on Dragon Ball as Shenron, Commander Red, or later in Z as Reacoom as well.

The songs weren’t dubbed, so all his footage fits in this video. Also, I’ve included Da-Doo at the end as a bonus, since it’s the only song mostly dubbed due to being just Seymour talking.

Seymour – 三ツ矢雄二

Audrey – 安達忍

Audrey II – 内海 賢二

[peachssodapop]

I know you mostly draw Winry with Russell, but could I request Winry x Rio/Leo (the ishvalan boy, the older brother)👉👈

This took me longer than it should have mainly because I had to confront the fact I have no idea how old Leo is, but was very convinced was younger than he actually seems to be. And even then I still have no idea.

[darkcrowprincess]

It's the Rick and Evie from the mummy vibes!

From my post-CoS AU!

Führer Mustang and professor Elric, this is before they got married though, Edward and Alphonse just returned to Amestris and Ed had just started teaching complex alchemy classes in the university

[madoka-oc-reviews]

[they-callme-ami]

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood being called "Brotherhood" to differentiate it between the 2003 version will never not be funny to me--cause in terms of "brotherhood" fma 2003 is literally all about the bonds of Brotherhood and different familial relationships.

Edward and Alphonse

Rick and Rio

Russell and Fletcher

Scar and His Brother

The Slicer Brothers

Like....I get 2 of these duos are fma 2003 only but even the canonical characters are done much better in terms of showcasing 'brotherhood' in 2003 than 2009.

[fmamangacaps]

[cringefaillosershowdown]

RICK SHADES PROPAGANDA, i know there are some fans of him here and well listen. Hes such a guy. He was a salamander. He draws his powers from nearby friends. He met molly and her friends on the verge of tears. “We arent friends anymore!” “NOOOOO” i love him hes so.

[arysthaeniru]

Things I find are handled so interestingly well in the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist compared to Brotherhood: 

Ishval! The true horror and terror of Ishval is handled so much better: it is the centre of the show’s thesis about the violence done against other people in the name of scientific progress and the empire’s violence

Speaking of: racism is handled better in this show too! The way that Ed and Al are so callous and dismissive about Ishval through most of the show, despite Marcoh’s warnings, and it really doesn’t hit them until they go there in person and realize that Rick and Rio have suffered just like them: in fact, Rick and Rio have suffered even more than them. Ed and Al can always go back to Resembool. Rick and Rio can’t. The casual racism of our main characters is really good! It’s very realistic that Ed and Al believe the racist lies about Ishval for SO LONG, despite rationally understanding the military is bad

Liore! Because Liore gets to have this back-and-forth with Ishval, you get this really strong empathy and solidarity between Rose and Scar, as this representation of Ishval and Liore: religious brown people versus the Empire coming to genocide them out of existence...the solidarity and love between Scar and Rose and the peoples of Ishval and Liore is really good!

Ed and Al really get to be kids and get to be wrong a lot? They get to be such unreliable narrators in a way that is so interesting! When they say something about alchemy or make comments on other characters, they’re often wrong and misguided! Ed’s petulance and anger and stubborn defiance and Al’s naivete and inability to question other people’s lies gets them in trouble way more often than it does in Brotherhood and it really emphasizes just how much he and Al are children out of their depth in a horrible system, in a way that Brotherhood often doesn’t. 

The metaphor of alchemy: Alchemy IS science. For all its goods, it is all the evils and fallouts of unethical science: science that is done at the expense of people, science that is done in the name of greed, science that is done only in the name of violence, and with this strong metaphor, the Philosopher’s Stone as this pinnacle of progress that is built on the blood of common people is just a less complicated metaphor. Because Alchemy is science and FMA 2003 is a commentary on imperialistic, colonial science that is so directly commenting on the Gulf War, it gets to say things much more angrily than I think Brotherhood ever gets to?? You feel the anger about the lies of the Gulf War in FMA 2003 and how it parallels to WW2 better. The animators seem more angry and I enjoy that more!

(More about pacing, characterization and the overall tone of the show under the cut!) 

Although the show ultimately whiffs it, the homunculi being the leftover remnants of human transmutation allows for so many climatic, interesting conflicts between both the homunculi and humans, but also between different humans! Ed and Izumi and their relationship in this show is defined by their fundamental disagreements regarding the role of alchemy and what to do with the homunculi: and it is SO good!

I love that the homunculi are resentful of humans for living and want the philosopher’s stone to be human again! I could do without them all being controlled by a mysterious entity who is so much more boring than all of the other homunculi, but hey. That happened in Brotherhood too, Father’s very boring. 

Speaking of the homunculi: they are so much scarier and intimidating!! When they show up to a fight, pretty much everybody loses! It’s great! It’s not until the last 10-15 episodes of the show that Ed is able to actually put up a fight against them, so you really feel the stakes everytime they show up on screen. They kill Hughes masterfully, they beat the shit out of Scar, they beat the shit out of Ed and Al, they beat the shit out of Izumi--they’re genuinely scary and I love it! In Brotherhood, they are able to evenly fight them SO MUCH MORE QUICKLY and I think it makes them less of a threat than in 2003. 

The main women in Ed and Al’s lives get so much more to do! Maria, Sheska, Izumi and Winry all have a HUGE amount of screentime compared to Brotherhood, where Winry is mostly just running around and has very little initiative to investigate the main plot! Here, she and Sheska investigate homunculi, participate in fights and really are emotionally impacted by events. Izumi barely shows up in Brotherhood ever, and she is a fundamental player in the game in 2003! And Lieutenant Maria Ross gets to really actually play the role of ‘first adult to be like CHILDREN SHOULDN’T BE IN THE ARMY’ which gives her genuine depth and emotionality. 

Oh, Martel’s a real character too! She and Al are fun, I enjoy their banter and I enjoy that she gets to really emphasize to Ed and Al that Ishval was entirely a false-flag operation 

Rose too! I love that Rose comes back as a real character and not cameo! I love that Rose’s rape too, is not just this moment where Ed truly and really realizes that the military does interpersonal violence, but also is something that motviates Rose herself! I love that moment where she screams at Ed to keep walking, just as he shouted at her at the beginning of the show. I love that her continuing on as a character means that Ed’s shitty speech at the beginning of the show gets to be recontextualized as a thing of strength again. I love her resilience, and I love her.

On the villain-side, at the expense of Greed being a character, Lust gets to be a very sympathetic character! I love her contemplations on why she wants to be human, I love her slow realization that she’s tired of the fight, I love her immediate betrayal of Dante once she realizes that Dante is just using her, I adore her and Envy’s petty bickering. She gets so much depth by being formerly human and being linked to Ishval. 

Speaking of Winry: Roy killing Winry’s parents is just. So much better. I love how it immediately breaks Winry’s faith in the government entirely, I love how much it really and truly shows how the Amestrian military is evil. I love how it really creates this moment of weakness and vulnerability in Roy, which he doesn’t get nearly as much in the other show! Roy’s too cool in Brotherhood! I love how young, sad and pathetic he is when he kills the Rockbells, it really sells the horrors of war much better. 

I really like getting to see Ed and El’s counterparts across all of the side characters: the characters that only show up for one or two episodes: everybody is brothers. Everybody is consumed by this burning posessive love. But nobody goes as far as Ed and Al are willing to. I love how they are confronted with their mistakes and failures everywhere they go! It really sets the tone of horror. It really sells Ed and Al as the protagonists of a dramatic tragedy. They made the mistake, and they will make it again, in the name of love! 

A small thing: but I love that Izumi and Ed disagree with what the Gate is? I love that Ed thinks of the Gate as Truth. And Izumi doesn’t! Izumi simply thinks it is a horror. Izumi thinks that what insight the gate gave her was not truth but something else, and I agree with her. I love the idea that Ed’s conception of reality is based on him being Mr. Edgy Angsty Atheist! I love that the gate is silent in 2003, I like that there are very little answers. And I agree with Izumi! The answer to the question: what lies behind the ultimate taboo of science is NOT truth!! It doesn’t quite make sense! 

Relatedly, I love that Ed learns all of his horrible communication skills and bottling everything up coping mechanisms from Izumi. They make all the same mistakes all the time! Izumi always takes everything on her shoulders even though she has help, as does Ed. Izumi never communicates her love and appreciation for the people around her, letting her actions do the speaking, as does Ed. They are terrible mirrors of each other, and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

I like that Armstrong is not comic relief? He puts on ‘Mr Muscle Man’ as a facade about three times in 2003, and every single time, it’s a distraction, it’s supposed to make people look elsewhere. Most of the time in 2003, he’s incredibly solemn and serious, as he tries to endure doing the wrong thing in the name of duty. I love that he’s still suffering the consequences of being too kind in Ishval. 

I like that Mustang, Hawkeye and all our favourite main characters put Ishvalans in trains and take them off to concentration camps. It’s not very subtle with its metaphor, but it shouldn’t be. If anything, Brotherhood deeply de-emphasizes the horrendous nature of the genocidal play of the army and the constant violence they partake in. Roy and his people are so heroic in Brotherhood, and I really like how much they are complicit. How much they are ultimately soldiers who are ‘just following orders’ in a genocidal regime. 

I like that they don’t turn to act for the side of good until the very end of the show. I think it highlights the stakes a bit more. I like that the show makes us doubt Roy for a lot longer before finally giving Ed hope! It’s far more cathartic!

I like that Paninya ISN’T ACTUALLY A THIEF???? I like that Paninya is just a gal who wants to make her adoptive dad proud and she steals Ed’s pocketwatch not for Winry to teach her a lesson about how ‘stealing is bad’ but that Ed gets the lesson that he’s not the only one that makes automail work for him! I love that Ed loses actually in 2003!

I really enjoy Fletcher and Russell. Fletcher especially is my good boy. He and Al should hang out more :) 

I really like that Kimblee starts out as a fugitive in 2003! There is something so slimey in Brotherhood where the army just immediately takes him out of jail to track the Elric brothers: it definitely shows just how evil the Amestrian army is, but I think I prefer him being a traitor to Greed’s gang! I love how much more personal Martel makes her fury with him! I like how it takes a while for the military to take him back in here, mostly because it allows for Archer to be a character instead. 

I think Archer being a character makes Kimblee more effective: Kimblee is not Ed’s enemy. He’s Scar’s enemy. And I LOVE that in 2003. 

Archer’s initial attempt to do the right thing instantly being overtaken by craven greed is also a really fun arc! I just enjoy more military characters getting to be pieces of shit. 

Scar gets to interact with more Ishvalan characters because he’s not tied down by far too large an entourage cast, and as a result, he is just. SO much better. I love that he and his mentor fight and talk and he ties himself to the refugees of Ishval in a way he doesn’t quite get to in Brotherhood. I LOVE his determination to make a Philosopher’s Stone out of the military’s lives. I love that he has no hesitation about it either. This is praxis!

I love that Ishvalan people’s legacy is alchemy too! I like that alchemy is the lost art, the old art, and not something that missed Ishvalans by entirely! Although I do like that Scar’s brother in Brotherhood is trying to combine alchemy and alkahestry, I LOVE that 2003 is simply him going back to Ishval’s ancient history. It makes the science metaphor more interesting, especially when you see that apparently the ancient Ishavalsn found out how to make a Philosopher’s Stone and then rejected it and alchemy entirely as a result. I think it’s really interesting worldbuilding! 

I love that whole sequence where Ed kind of makes Wrath’s hatred of him worse? I love how mean and obsessive Ed can be in the show sometimes, I love how flawed and interesting he is. He really feels like a teenager lashing out against the cruel world, and it emphasizes the tragedy of it all.

I love that Hohenheim’s immortality is NOT an accident. I like that he actively did evil things to gain immortality and I like that now his is a story of regret! I think it makes Hohenheim so much more compelling when he is a man seeking repetence for an actual sin instead of being tricked? I think it’s more compelling that he has the same sins as his sons. I like that he was the first to do human transmutation and the first to make a Philosopher’s stone, and that these are Ed and Al’s legacy?? It’s so interesting and fun!

The slow pacing really allows for the tragedy to actually build! I love how slow yet purposeful all the episodes are! The only truly filler episodes are the weird episode about the sexy female thief that keeps tricking Al because Al is too horny/naive, and the Mustang Team’s side adventures. Every other filler episode is doing important work for building the themes of the show! And even the two filler episodes are doing importent things re: characterization! 

Shou Tucker is such a CREEPY minor villain that is used to perfection in 2003. I love how he keeps showing up, I love how awful he is, and I love how much more significant he and Nina are to 2003, because Ed and Al spend four episodes with them instead of their story being wham-blam-ka-blam like it is in Brotherhood, where everything with them happens in 1 episode. 

Laboratory Five is SO MUCH MORE DEVASTATING as a dramatic tension point for Ed! I love how much more evil it is! I love how much more hopeless the situation is. I LOVE the dramatic irony of Ed almost killing hundreds of people because he believed Shou Tucker, despite everything. It’s so good. It makes Brotherhood’s Lab Five Arc pale in comparison. 

Hot Take: I kind of love that Ed goes to Nazi Germany by going through the Gate xD They don’t spend nearly enough time on it, but I kind of adore it anyway. FMA 2003 said subtlety is for cowards, and they were CORRECT!

Things I think weren’t as good but still interesting

Brotherhood really went off with making the homunculus the root of the nation-state of Amestris. I love that in Brotherhood, the state was founded for the explicit purpose of genocidal violence, and the homunuculus as simply the underside of the genocidal turn, the secret police that make the state violence seem legitimate. The hazy relationship between the military/state and the homunuculus muddies the otherwise clear message that 2003 is going for re: state violence and the role of science in perpetrating/continuing violence. 

Dante’s bad. Not that Father is GOOD, not in any way, but Dante’s plan is very stupid and is very underexplained. Why do Trisha and Bradley still follow Dante when she clearly reveals she’s just using them  to prolong her own life and has no intention of making them human? Why do they not immediately just turn traitor like Lust does--the show never builds any real loyalty between Dante and the other homunculi, which makes for a rushed climax, alas. (I do LOVE her and Hohenheim’s bodies physically rotting, that’s some really fun body horror! And I can’t help it, I love exes who were evil scientists and one continued to be evil, and one repented. It’s a fun trope and it was DEEPLY underutilized, alas)

I’m sad Scar died! 2003 obviously has an incredibly high body count and I  defend all of them, but Scar dying is just kinda sad! I like that he has to live with himself in Brotherhood and make Ishval again. 

Greed doesn’t get to do much at all, and his weird acceptance of his own death is VERY strange compared to his own acceptance of being a man so greedy that he wants everything. Although I ended up liking his role as Ed’s first murder, I think Greedling is SUCH a highlight of Brotherhood, that its absence felt jarring. 

May Chang and Ling are such good characters, and I miss Xing! I think I really end up liking 2003′s laser focus on Ishval more, in the end, I think it does a better job of focusing on genocide and racial violence as the catalyst for the state’s and science’s expansion. But May and Ling are such lovely characters and I missed them. 

Al’s angst about maybe not being a real person goes on for SO LONG. I forgot it’s like a full four episodes! It’s the one emotional stake that doesn’t quite feel as impactful as the rest of the show. 

Sloth-Trisha had so much potential that was squandered, I loved when she finally became a fighting antagonist, but I wish they’d spent more time on Ed and Al arguing about her and what to do with her/what she means. I mean, it tracks with them both: that Al instantly goes ‘oh, homunculi are remnants of human transormati--OMIGOD MOM’S OUT THERE’ and Ed’s like ‘i refuse to think about this until the last possible minute’ it’s very in character, but it means they never get to really fight about killing Sloth-Trisha, which is a shame!