#i wonder what kind of a relationship ed and winry had in the time between the final battle and when ed left for the west

[eliounora]

back from the travels🍎

[lastwagontrainhopper]

Behind every man

Royai week day 4 - Communiqué (I know it’s like Wednesday but due to time zone difference my head is still in Royai Week)

Summary:  

"Al looked up from the newspaper. His voice had sounded excited, but he now had a shocked look on his face. "Roy Mustang is getting married."

Ed's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" He slowly walked into the living room, digesting the information. "Well, I guess it was about time. I wonder how he convinced Riza, though."

"He's not..." Al shook his head, his eyes back on the pages. "He's not marrying Riza."

"What?" "

---

Behind every great man is a great woman. In Roy's case, there needs to be two: one for the heart and one for the politics.

Words: 4653

Tags: Angst, truly unnecessary angst, Fake Marriage, Roy and Riza can't catch an emotional break, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Politics

read on aot

"Ed! You're not gonna believe this! ”

Edward was busy with breakfast when he heard his brother call out to him. It was a typical Sunday morning in Resembool, and a joyful racket reigned around the house: the eggs and potatoes were sizzling, the kids were chasing each other between rooms, and metallic clanks coming from outside told them that Winry was already busy in her workshop.

"What?", Ed shouted back over his shoulder. No answer came; he put the pan down, wiped his hand on a towel, and went to peek his head in the living room, where Al sat every morning to read the newspaper. Ever the diplomat, he kept up with Amestrian affairs even during his vacations - unlike his brother who couldn’t care less. "What?" Ed repeated.

Al looked up from the paper. His voice had sounded excited, but he now had a shocked look on his face. "Roy Mustang is getting married."

Ed's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" He slowly walked into the living room, digesting the information.  "Well, I guess it was about time. I wonder how he convinced Riza, though."

"He's not..." Al shook his head, his eyes fixed on the newspaper. "He's not marrying Riza."

"What?"

Al laid the newspaper flat on the table. "Look: "It is with great pleasure that the Fuhrer-President Roy Alexander Mustang, son of Francis and Lian Mustang, announces his betrothal to Ms. Margaret Evans, daughter of Sir Timothy Evans and Carla Esposito. The ceremony will be held on the 27th of July at the National Opera House in Central. ", etc.  “

Ed reread the sentence several times, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had never heard that woman's name before. "Margaret Evans...Is that one of Riza's cover name? Or her legal name maybe?"

“I don't find so," Al answered, frowning. "Isn't her full name Elizabeth? That's what they use when they go undercover, anyway."

"This makes no sense." Ed tossed the towel over his shoulder. "I'm gonna give him a call," he said resolutely, walking up to the only phone in the house.

It was Sunday, so he called Roy's apartment. When that got no answer, he called his office on his personal number, where he got a busy signal.

"I'm betting everyone in Central is trying to call him right now," Al said, watching him grow impatient. "It is quite the bombshell to drop in a Sunday newspaper."

Right. Sometime Ed forgot that Roy was the leader of one of the most powerful nation around. "This better not be another of his twisted political scheme," he muttered with his ear on the receiver.

Al crossed his arms, leaning back on his chair. "On the contrary, I hope it is. Because otherwise, it would mean that this is a genuine announcement. "He paused and looked up at his brother. "You don't think that it could really be..."

"No," Ed shook his head with confidence. "Of course not."

He had seen Roy and Riza only a few months prior. A couple of times a year, the two of them would find an excuse to come to Resembool for a weekend without any of their personnel. They came to visit Ed and his family, of course, but it was also an opportunity for them to spend time away from the public eye and the hectic bustle of Central.

And, of course, a rare opportunity to openly exists as a couple, if only for a few days.

Ed thought back on the way the two of them were behaving on their last visit, and he could not imagine that Roy would truly want to marry anyone other than Riza.

"Roy Mustang speaking."

The voice in the receiver jolted Ed out of his thoughts. "Mustang!" he called out, louder than he intended. "What the hell is this?"

He heard a sight. "Good morning to you too, Edward." Roy’s office seemed busy than usual - Ed had trouble hearing his voice over the noise from the background.

"Let’s cut through the pleasantries, alright? We saw the announcement on the paper."

There was a short pause. "Ah. Well, if this is about my wedding, I accept your congratulations, however unconventional."

Ed's foot tapped on the floor impatiently, but he kept his voice calm. "I'm not calling to congratulate you, Roy, and you know it. I'm calling to ask for an explanation. Since when do you..."

"Edward. " Mustang's voice interrupted him firmly. "It's not very pleasant to have this kind of conversation on the phone. Why don't you come by Central? We could discuss this in person - and I know the Captain would be glad to see you."

Ed paused and bit down a scathing reply. He let out a defeated sight instead. "Sure. We'll....we'll see you there."

The line went dead before he could hang up. He still slammed the phone on the receiver with force, for good measure.

"I knew it," he said to Al cynically. "It is another one of his schemes: he didn't want to talk about it on the phone. And it seems like Hawkeye’s on it."

Al nodded slowly. "Of course. Roy would never do something like this without her approval.” He looked down on the newspaper with a pensive expression. "I'm guessing he wants to use the wedding to boost his image. But still...I didn't imagine he would go to such length. ”

"I don't know why he's doing this, but he better have a damn good reason. Come on, Al, we're catching the first train to Central."

---

Ed and Al had never seen Central Command in such a state of frenzy. The chaos that reigned on the floor of the presidential office was of a very different kind than the cozy, domestic one they had left : phones were constantly ringing, officers were running around with their arms full of documents; and everyone was shouting to communicate over the tumult. Two soldiers watched the door to Mustang's office. Without a State Alchemist pocket watch or an uniform, Ed and Al were initially denied access; Al had to rummage through his bag for an attestation of his status of diplomat to get them through.

Inside the presidential office, it was even worse. Dodging an officer that came to ask their business, Ed made his way through the crowd like a bulldozer until he reached Roy's desk. The president was on the phone; he nodded to them as he noticed their presence, then returned to his conversation.

A few minutes later, Roy hung up and turned in their direction.

"You got here quickly," he greeted them. "Edward. Alfonse, nice to see you."

"It's been a while," Al replied warmly; Ed nodded. Roy’s attitude was nonchalant, as usual, but he couldn't help but notice the dark circles under his eyes or the tension in his shoulders.

Roy smiled apologetically. "Sorry for the mess. As you can imagine, things have been a little hectic since the announcement came out. But," he glanced at his clock and stood up, "it's past noon, so I think I deserve a lunch break. How about we grab something and go eat in my study? I could use a little peace and quiet.”

His study, the only place in Central Command that Roy trusted not to be bugged. Right.

"Riza - I mean Captain Hawkeye isn't here with you?" Al asked, looking as they were leaving his office.

"If you think my office was busy, you should see hers,” Roy answered with a slight smile. “She insisted to be named head of security for the wedding, so she has started coordinating the whole thing. I doubt we'll be able to catch her for dinner - it'll be lucky if I can convince her to get some rest for the night. "His tone was joking, but somehow lacked conviction.

Walking down the hallways, Roy called out to an employee and asked him to bring three lunches to his study. The officer saluted, then ran off to the cafeteria. Perks of being the president, Ed guessed.

As they entered the president’s study, a small but gorgeous room filled with ancient bookshelves, Ed noticed with surprise that Roy had brought a stack of documents with him. He put them down on the varnished wooden desk and began to glance at the one on top, as the employee entered the room to drop off sandwiches. That was unprecedented. Ed and Al had never seen Roy as overworked - but then, in the years they had worked for him, they had rarely seen him work at all.

When the officer had left the room and the door was safely closed behind him, Roy opened one of the drawers at the bottom of his cabinet and rummaged through it for a few seconds, pulling out a messy pile of paper.

"Take a look at this."

He tossed a couple of newspapers on the desk in front of them. They seemed to be from various of the biggest gossip magazine of Central, and even a couple newspapers. The headlines were all short, bold, to the point. "The Fuhrer's string of affairs continues," "The Hawk's Eye: the new presidential scandal?", "Is Mustang sleeping with his staff? Exclusive testimony from ex-military", "Turmoil in Central Command over speculation on Fuhrer-President's relationships". They covered a period of several months, the earliest going back half a year.

Ed frowned and let the papers fall back on the desk. "So? This isn't an explanation."

Roy looked up from the document he was reading. "I heard you were pretty smart, Edward. I'm sure you can figure out the rest." Now that they were in private, his tone had become noticeably less polite and more snappy - even more during their usual exchange, it seemed.

"What, you're upset that some journalists are writing about you and Riza, so you're marrying someone else to throw them off? Are you insane?" Ed shook his head with frustration. "Since when do you care about what the media says about you anyway?"

Roy didn’t raise his eyes. "I’ve cared about it ever since it started threatening my position, Edward.”

"Your position is not democratically elected yet, as far as I know," Ed replied stubbornly.

He growled. “It’s not that simple, Ed.” Roy put down his document for good, resting his forearms on the desk. The sandwiches laid next to him, already forgotten. "Listen. Since I've entered the military, I've purposely built a reputation as a womanizer and a slacker, so that the higher up wouldn't feel threatened by me." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "It worked a bit too well, I guess. Now, the nationalists are trying to portray me as a depraved, scandalous man with no respect for traditions, so that they can discredit my democratic reforms in the same way.” He frowned, and his expression darkened. “They've already exposed my relationship with Chris all over the newspapers, smearing her bar and her reputation. Now, they’re using Chris’ informants to paint me as a skirt-chaser who constantly sleep around – and not to mention with his subordinates.”

"But there have always been rumors, right? " Al asked cautiously. "Even in Xin, I've heard about it several times.”

"Yes, but never of that magnitude. And never targeting Riza so precisely." He looked away, embarrassed. "We got careless. Journalists caught me leaving her apartment one morning, and the rumors have been crazy ever since." Ed winced. They had always been worried that something like that would happen. "You know, this is not just for my career. When the rumors were at their peak, reporters were scrutinizing our routines from morning till night. It was unbearable; we couldn't even see each other without risking getting caught." Roy took a long look at the both of them, one after the other. “This is only a temporary arrangement to make our lives easier. I know this may seem wrong, but it is the best option we have."

Al nodded slowly. He didn't seem that surprised by this whole affair; but after all, he must have witness similar - or worse - situations in the Xinese Court.

Ed wished he could take it as well as Al, but he couldn’t help feeling shocked. Roy's explanation was perfectly rational; he understood why they were doing this. But just imagining being in the same situation – and putting Winry through it – was making him feel sick.

"I can't believe you’ve convinced yourself that this your best solution." Roy gave him what seemed to be an exasperated look, which angered Ed even more. He raised his voice. "Isn't it bad enough that you and Riza can't live together? You really have to push the charade even further, marrying someone else? To, to spend years pretending to lead a normal family life of which Riza is not part off,  while she still has to work by your side?” Ed was on the edge of his seat, almost yelling now. "I mean, how can you do something like that to her? ”

"Edward!" Roy slammed his hand on the table, cutting him off. He had properly shouted, but his voice was low with anger. "It was her idea to begin with. She insisted on going through with this."

Ed paused, taken aback. "Really?"

Roy looked him straight in the eye. His tone was sharp as a knife. "Do you really think I would suggest a plan like this?"

No, of course not, Ed realized. He felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. It seemed obvious now: Roy would never make Riza go through something like this of his own volition. Despite his impassive persona, even Ed knew how soft-hearted he was when it came to those close to him. She had always been the one taking the harsh decisions in that regard.

"You're right,” he mumbled, sitting back. “Sorry."

Roy sighed, his anger replaced by weariness. "Don't worry about it. Everyone we told reacted that way."

After a moment, Al broke the silence. "You think people are gonna buy this? The wedding?"

"They are, if we do it right,” answered Roy without a doubt. “This operation has been long in the making. Margot and I started to go on dates a few months ago, making ourselves seen; we made sure those newspapers were writing about her well before we announced the engagement."

"And who's this poor girl who thinks she'll be marrying the President?" Ed asked with a scowl.

Roy gave him a long look. "Again, you have a very poor opinion of me if you think that this is what I would do, Edward." Ed felt a blush creep up his face, but he held Roy’s gaze. "No, Margot is a contact from Chris – thankfully, no one knows their connection.” He searched another of his drawers for a moment and placed what appeared to be a pamphlet for a theater play on the desk. “She's a lifesaver, to be honest: this plan would have fallen through if we hadn't found someone like her that perfectly fitted our needs."

"An actress, huh? Isn't that a bit obvious?" Ed picked up the pamphlet. On the front page was a picture of a woman in her thirties, long brown hair framing a round friendly face.

"She's an opera singer," Roy rectified. "But she has done acting, so she'll be able to play the part. She's sympathetic to our situation, and also her own interest in this matter: the marriage will give her some publicity to launch her career. And, most importantly, Chris trust her, which means we can." He put his hands together, elbows on the table, the posture he took when he gave orders to his subordinates. "I don't need to tell you how devastating it would be if her, or anyone, leaked out to the press the truth behind this wedding. All our careers would be over in an instant. Which is why I need you two to be extremely careful."

Ed winced as he thought back on what he had almost shouted over the phone this morning, or in Roy’s office. That would take some adjusting on his part.

He also guessed that Roy and Riza would have to stop their visits to Resembool for a while.

He cleared his throat. "And how long do you plan on keeping this up?"

"Not a moment longer than we need to, I can assure you. When my democratic reforms are implanted and solid, I will step down as President - that was already the plan." Roy stood and went to look out the study’s window, hands in his pockets. A smirk appeared on his lips. "If it was up to me, I’d file for divorce the instant I walk down the stairs of Central Command, but Riza think it would be too obvious - not to mention a bit improper, considering I plan to propose to her afterwards." He chuckled, then his face fell. "She thinks we shouldn't get married at all. That it would prove the rumors about us and tarnish my legacy - with those of my reforms. " He sighed and turned toward them. "But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. ”

He walked back to his desk and laid his hands flat on it.

"In the meanwhile, while you don’t have to, we would appreciate it if you came to the wedding." Ed shot him a confused look. "You're still pretty popular with the people,", Roy explained, "and everyone knows you've worked with me in the past. The more of our actual entourage come to the ceremony, the more believable it will be."

Al glanced sideways at Ed. "Of course. We can be there; I imagine Ling will want to hear details about the wedding anyway. And, um," he addressed his brother more than Roy, "hopefully we can keep Riza company for a bit.”

Roy gave him a smile, the first genuine one since the start of the conversation. "Thank you."

----

Riza spent the week before the wedding having to repeat the same things over and over again like a broken record. She was fine; it didn’t bother her ; that was her idea to begin with. She told that to her old team, to the Elric brothers, to Rebecca; and most of all she told that to Roy.  She felt constantly on edge; she couldn’t stand the way people looked at her, as if they expected her to break down crying at any moment. "If you give me that sorry look one more time," she snapped at Roy one evening, "I'll lock you in your office until the wedding.”

It was driving her crazy. She didn't have time to waste with these conversations: she was the head of security for a national wedding, and she had so many tasks to deal with that she didn't know where to give her attention. Every moment of those days she spent on her feet, going from meetings to meetings, keeping tabs on the dozens of teams that were handling the various parts of the organization, making sure no detail was overlooked. Her days were so full that she didn't have time to stop and think; and in the evening she would collapse into her single bed, exhausted, and fall asleep almost immediately.

On top of all the logistics, she had to accompany the President and the would-be First Lady through the media whirlwind that preceded the wedding. Margaret was unknown to the public, and all of Central was desperate to catch a glimpse of the woman who had finally managed to tame Roy Mustang, the famous womanizer, and make him settle down. Both played their roles to perfection: Margot was charming, distinguished but not haughty, teasing Roy fondly; he played the helpless romantic, laughing with a bit of mischievous embarrassment when his scandalous past was brought up. They were funny, complicit, shy when they needed to be - as if they had a real private life they wanted to keep for themselves - and most of all, they were oh so in love.

Riza received a few interview requests herself, but only from the most shameless magazines, the same ones that had cheerfully dragged her name through the mud a couple of months earlier. She hadn’t bothered to decline.

---

The Central Times: There were… rumors, a bit unflattering if I may add, going around about the President turbulent love life. Has that ever been a concern to you, Ms. Evans?

ME: I had certainly heard about it, like everyone else. In fact, I almost refused his first invitation to dinner precisely because of that. (laughs) But it became clear to me very quickly that Roy...did not act the way I expected him to. And I think that realization convinced me to put my cards on the table. I told him, on our second date, that the type of behavior talked about in the papers was not acceptable to me. And that I would rather cut things off immediately if he was not willing to leave that lifestyle behind.

TCT : On your second date! You certainly know what you want.

(Both laugh)

RM: That is one way to put it! I think that was one of the moments I realized what kind of woman Margot was. And - I'm gonna be honest with you for a moment - as a Fuhrer, who spend his days ordering people around, I certainly appreciate a woman that can hold her own.

---

The big day finally arrived. Roy had insisted she didn't have to be there, that she could fake an illness or an emergency. Riza knew that wasn’t the case. The most persistent rumors were those that linked Roy to his bodyguard; her absence at this wedding would have been nothing short of glaring. In any case, Riza was so busy overseeing the course of the day’s event that she didn't even get to visit the soon-to-be-wed couple before they appeared during the ceremony.

They were gorgeous, of course: two attractive people in the elegance of their middle age, dressed by the best designers in Central, resplendent in their happiness. Roy wore the kind of suit he preferred, all black, very chic; Margot had a white satin dress with a long front and back neckline, the kind of dress Riza could never wear on similar occasions.

The kiss, the one everyone was waiting for, was as spectacular as the rest. They went all in, Roy tilting Margot backward until it looked like they were both about to fall down. It didn't bother Riza as much as she would have thought. Roy had never kissed her this way; this was an embrace for the show, for the cameras, while the ones they shared were always strictly for each other. The whole world had seen how the extravagant Flame Alchemist and Hero of Ishval kissed someone, and it had matched their expectations, but only Riza knew the way Roy Mustang kissed someone like he meant it.

She was grateful Roy went that way. She wasn't sure if she could have borne watching him kiss Margot with the same mannerism he kissed her.

And after that came the reception, the dinner, the dance. Dozens of people lined up to give their congratulations to the newlywed couple – mostly members of the aristocracy or the military who had never talked to either of them before - and Roy and Margot accepted their wishes with courtesy, pretending to be touched or delighted by their conversations.

Not for the first time, Riza thought to herself how she would dislike being in Margot's shoes right now. Having to maintain a facade of politeness throughout her wedding day, spending it with opportunistic strangers instead of her loved ones...she couldn’t have done it.

Truly, she was more comfortable behind the scenes as head of security than under the spotlight as the bride.

She watched them eat next to each other, chatting pleasantly with the other guests. She watched them open the dance, arms in arms, and even she felt touched by how beautiful of a sight they were, two stunning dancers gracefully moving across the ballroom like they were floating about the ground, weightless.

Some of her friends and comrades came to subtly check on her, asking again how she was doing. Many insisted to keep her company; but she was on duty, and too many tasks required her attention for her to be able to simply enjoy the night, she told them. At no moment during the evening did she let her guard down, checking in regularly with the security personnel, running patrols even as the evening calmed down and guests slowly started to trickle away, the married couple leaving to their private quarters and the staff starting to take the decorations down.

All night long, she remained the very image of professionalism.

---

Rebecca was the one who found her. She had taken refuge in a place where no one would dare come looking for her, in the bathroom of her hotel room, both doors locked. Obviously, this was not enough to keep her closest friend away.

Rebecca opened the bathroom door to find her curled up on the tile floor, her back against the wall, one hand pressed against her mouth. Even here, hidden from the world, Riza was still trying to control herself; but her body was shaking with shuddering sobs, silent tears running down her face and rolling over her fingers.

Even Rebecca had rarely seen her in such a state, at least not since her return from Ishval.

Her heart broke at the sight, as well as her voice. "Oh, Riza."

She fell down on the floor beside her. Riza raised her head and tried to wipe her cheeks with the back of her hands.

"I'm fine," she began immediately. She could hear how silly it sounded, for her to say that with her strangled voice and her hiccups. "I'm okay, it's just.....It's stupid." She shook her head, embarrassed. "I'm the one who suggested this. I don't get why I'm reacting like that, when I know that it doesn't mean anything..."

"Riza." Rebecca interrupted her with a voice thick with emotion but firm. "I'm gonna need you to shut up right now."

She complied and Rebecca put her arms around her, drawing her closer. Riza buried her head against her shoulders. For a few minutes, only the muffled sound of her cries broke the silence.  

"When are you seeing him?" Rebecca asked her softly after she had calmed down, stroking her back.

Suddenly, Riza felt an urge to talk to Roy. She had avoided him as much as she could for the past few days, unable to bear the way he looked at her, the guilt that transpired in his every move, his need to tell her those sappy things they never had to say before - how much he loved her, and only her, and how that would never change. But right now, for the first time, she needed to hear those silly, stupid words all over again.

She shook her head. "Not tonight. Too risky. We'll see how closely the journalists watch his house after the wedding, and decide when it's safe for me to visit him again."

Rebecca said nothing, still rubbing her back. Riza was already getting back to her normal, composed self, forcing her breaths to be long and steady.

"And…please don't tell him you saw me like this."

There was a silence, then Rebecca sighed. She shook her head.

"You know, sometimes I wonder why you two seem so determined to remain unhappy for the rest of your lives.”

Riza knew how to answer this. There were things that had to be done; work that had to be finished before Roy and her could be allowed to live for themselves. Damages they had to repair, sins to atone for.

But for once, these words seemed too heavy to say, and she was so, so tired. So, she said nothing.

[royriza]

Royai Horoscope

A Roy and Riza Character and Relationship Analysis based on their Zodiac signs

Image Source: Fullmetal Alchemist Playing Cards

Disclaimer: I am not suggesting horoscopes are scientific means of analyzing personality nor that it is accurate. This is just for fun!

Roy Mustang

Birthday: 06/01/1885 (on basis of Roy’s Day and his actual birthyear)

Zodiac Sign: Gemini - the Twins

Element Sign: Air

We may think he’s more suited in being a Fire sign, but if you take a closer look with how Roy creates fire, it all makes sense. Hiromu Arakawa shares in one omake that Roy creates fire by controlling the amount of oxygen in the air. I believe Flame Alchemy is based on the concept of control. We only notice the times Roy has lost control, but we fail to appreciate all the times he maintainted it. He’s not what he seems from the surface, and this is why we think he’s always not what he appears on the surface. Which leads us too conclude that he may appear two-faced.

Traits:

two-faced - like most Geminis, Roy tends to have a reputation of being two-faced. His personality depends on how others treat him, and how he views them. He loves to stir rumors and gossips, creating an impression that is completely different from who he actually is (E14, FMAB) (I’m making a more in-depth character analysis about this, but one that is based on psychology)

(this is a long post, so if you want to keep reading, be my guest!)

social chameleon - being the life of the party, Roy knows how to socialize with different types of people. He can easily read the room and know exactly what other people want to hear from him, as with most Geminis. This makes him extremely popular among townsfolk and political leaders.

social chameleon - being the life of the party, Roy knows how to socialize with different types of people. He can easily read the room and know exactly what other people want to hear from him, as with most Geminis. This makes him extremely popular among townsfolk and political leaders.

flirtatious - and of course, Roy is popular with women, as stated by Team Mustang (FMA 03, E37). He’s naturally flirtatious, whether he does it on purpose or not. Like most Geminis, Roy jumps from one date to another. But we see him go to dates to collect information before tackling a conflict, another trait of Geminis. He asks Olivier for dinner as a disguise to relay information and planning (FMAB, E42-46 im not sure which one). Again, every action he does isn’t what it appears on the surface. And of course, he deliberately makes people believe he’s a womanizer. He shares his reason for being F��hrer was to let female officers wear miniskirts (FMA 03, E13), but later on we see it’s because he wanted to protect people (FMAB, E10). This leads us too concluding that he’s...

intelligent - most Geminis don’t appear to be smart at first, but when taken a closer look, they’re rather cunning and have remarkable wit. As seen with how he strategizes plans, Roy’s intellect is unquestionable. He even competes with Maes Hughes during their military academy days (FMAB Special E04). Aside from that, he is also emotionally intelligent, as in most Geminis. In another iconic scene, Roy immediately knows something is wrong upon talking to Riza on the phone (FMAB, E38)

optimistic - in general, Geminis are the kind of people who look forward to the future rather than attempting to change the past. Roy is actually optimistic. We never see him falter or mope around, he’s always the one who says “we can do better next time.” He tells Ed to stand up and have a chance on getting their bodies back rather than sulk about what had happened (FMAB, E2).

impulsive - due to Gemini’s adaptability and versatility, they never stay in one place. We see Roy move from one date to another and procrastinate on paperwork (FMA 03, E37). Riza frequently tells him not to be reckless, (FMAB E01, E05 - encounter with Scar, E19 - coming to the scene). When Roy had offered her flowers, he reasoned that he got “too drunk” and ended up buying a carload of flowers (FMAB, E38). Another one of his two-facedness. Although it was an excuse, Riza paid no attention to it. Maybe because she was that used to his impulsiveness lololololol. But we see this trait heighten when he was consumed with anger and vengeance on Envy (E53-54).

Riza Hawkeye

Birthday: 09/01/ 1887-1889 (based on Riza’s day and age range)

Zodiac Sign: Virgo - The Virgin

Element Sign: Earth

Earth signs are always grounded. We see how Riza always keeps her calm in situations (except when she thought Roy died lol). It’s no wonder how she holds Team Mustang together and keeps their sanity. Sometimes I wonder how she puts up with them lol.

Traits:

perfectionist - like in most Virgos, we see Riza always striving for the best. This is most evident in her specialty: accurate gunshots. When a military officer complimented her for striking the bull’s eye in the firing range, she told him “I still have a long way to go.” (FMA manga, Volume 6). Kimblee even taunts her, “Doesn’t it make you feel satisfied when you hit the target on one shot?”, whose words hit Riza like her own on-point bullets (FMAB, E30). In FMA 03, we see her blame herself for not being there on time. Roy replies by saying the world isn’t perfect, but that makes it beautiful (FMA 03, E51).

hardworking and organized - she gets things done stat. She does Roy’s paperwork and always reminds him to do them. Aside from that, she is very dedicated on work, she even delivers paperwork to the Führer’s residence late at night (FMAB, E37). Her dedication for work is most evident when she stood up all night while Roy was in a meeting in Central HQ (FMAB, E25). Other than that, she is obedient, she never fails to comply any order as long as it is within her morale. Even on the verge of death, she told the gold-toothed doctor she won’t die since she is “under strict orders not to die.” (FMAB, E58)

stubborn and uptight - in line with the previous trait, most Virgos are stubborn and uptight. Once they set their mind on a plan, they want it followed pronto! Roy even comments that Riza is stubborn (FMAB, E24) when she insists she will wait until Roy’s meeting is finished. Because of this, Riza may appear uptight. She bosses around Team Mustang, basically. For this reason, co-workers regard her as Roy’s babysitter (FMAB, E17). She tends to follow an everyday routine, as seen on how she and Black Hayate spends their mornings (FMA 03, E37).

reserved and untrusting - for some reason, we see Riza as reserved. I can’t pinpoint an exact moment where she’s shy, but I guess we assume she is because she rarely speaks. Riza isn’t an open book, and Virgos tend to have trouble trusting other people. This is evident since Riza holds the secrets of Flame Alchemy on her back. As an independent person, she may find it hard to rely on someone. It might have been hard for Riza to choose to trust Roy, and doing so might have caused a whole lot of consideration. That is, until she finally asks Roy, “Can I entrust you my father’s research?” Well, we see how much trust she gives to him since we never once saw her complain about anything— except with Roy.

honest - Riza is known to have a dry humor, and she never holds back on any comment she has. It’s seen on how she makes jokes with Rebecca Catalina (FMAB, E46). She’s blunt with her words— even calling Roy, her superior, an idiot or is useless (FMA 03 E15; FMAB E01, E05, E19, E53). She even asks Fuhrer Bradley a personal question, “Is that even called a family?” (FMAB, E42). Riza also declined Pride’s offer to join their forces, even in the face of threat (FMAB, E37).

patient and observant - aside from dealing with Team Mustang on a daily basis, her patience is very apparent on her character. In order to take a shot, she waits for the perfect timing. She’s also very observant, especially on the things Roy fail to communicate verbally. Whenever they visited Hughes’ grave, it was shown that Riza can sense Roy’s grief, and knows something is up (FMAB E10, E50)

intelligent - other than all the aforementioned reasons, we see Riza’s intelligence as she was able to count and remember the steps from Laboratory 5 to the door. And they figured out it was between the Fuhrer’s residence and Central HQ. (FMAB, E21). A more iconic scene was when she was able to figure out who Pride is (FMAB, E37).

kind - We see Riza as empathetic, especially to the young. She is in good terms with Winry (FMAB, E02; FMA Star of Milos) and Ed and Al (FMAB, E30). We see her voluntarily adopt Black Hayate (FMA 03, E13). Roy even admits it, “She may appear like that, but the Lieutenant is really kind.” (FMA manga, somewhere sksjskdjsks idk what volume)

Roy and Riza Compatibility

(based on their signs)

Both of them are polar opposites, like Roy is outgoing and Riza is shy. These might create conflict or it might also complement their flaws. Roy’s spontaneity helps with Riza’s rigidity. Just as Riza helps him stay on track with his work, Roy lets her lossen up a bit (FMAB E17-E19, where Riza is disguised as Elizabeth).

Riza’s critical untrusting judgement and Roy’s two-facedness may create conflict between them. Plus, Roy being easily bored might not work well with what Riza wants, which is routine and constancy. There might also be a problem with Roy’s flirtiness, which might ignite Riza’s doubtfulness.

Fortunately, they have both lessened these problems since they have laid their relationship on trust. Riza has entrused her back to Roy, along with the secrets of Flame Alchemy. Roy, on the other hand, has also entrusted his back to her (and his life, as she is free to take it if he will stray away from the right path). We see this on FMAB E54, when Riza stopped Roy from being consumed by revenge. In that scene, we also saw how Roy’s impulsiveness was balanced out by Riza’s strict compliance to rules and routine.

Aside from their differences, they also share many similarities. With their high emotional and intellectual compatibility, they entertain themselves in witty banters (well we often observe that). They share the same realistic attitude, and goals towards life (creating a better world even through a muddy path, FMAB E30).

They also share a negative trait of not being able to express their feelings easily. They may have trouble putting their feelings into words. Good thing they both learned to communicate nonverbally— and this is seen on another iconic moment when Riza’s glance saved them both from threat (FMAB, E54). After all, they’ve “known each other for quite some time.”

Again, this is all for fun! It’s fun to read horoscopes and get writing prompts from there wahaha here are some of my references: Gemini, Virgo, Gemini and Virgo compatibility

I’ll be making a proper character analysis soon right on my fma analysis blog @fullmetalanalyst !

[deadlyglacier]

20 Questions tag~

I was tagged by @mythicamagic thank you senpai~<3

How many works do you have on AO3?

40 right now, plus 1 that is still hidden because of the SOFA Exchange event.  (I’m still a lil fish.)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

486,920!  That’s so amazing to me!

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

InuYasha - A Feudal Fairytale (18)

FullMetal Alchemist (18)

Mass Effect Trilogy (3)

Let’s Play (Webtoon) (1)

Kingdom Hearts (1) But I hope to write for many more fandoms in the future!  I have ideas for fics for Castlevania, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Last of Us Part II, and more!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

#1.  Stardust FemShep/Garrus, Mass Effect Trilogy, Rated Explicit. A retelling of the Shepard/Vakarian love story, with lots (and LOTS) of sexiness, from Garrus' point of view. Starts from before the Omega-4 and will end sometime after the end of ME3. Trying to stay as true to the game as possible, while adding some things happening off camera and a new ending.

#2.  Flamingo Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome's method of beating the summer heat attracts a certain demon lord...

#3.  Hawk Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome and Sesshomaru discover they have a mutual attraction for each other after a battle and a slight comedic incident brings them together. At first their relationship seems entirely sexual, but eventually evolves into something real. What will this romance mean for Naraku? Or even the future?  *TRIGGER WARNING FOR CHAPTER 6! MAJOR VIOLENCE AND TRAGEDY* Very, very loosely based on "A Mere Digression" by elle6778

#4.  Daisy Sam/Charles, Let’s Play, Rated Mature Sam wakes up somewhere unfamiliar with a splitting headache with no memory of the night before. Takes place right after the S2 finale.  First chapter was my prediction for what would happen next, and then three other “wishful thinking” chapters happened, lol.

#5.  Chemistry Ed/Winry, FullMetal Alchemist, Rated Mature A look at how the relationship between Ed and Winry developed after Brotherhood ended.  Cute, sweet, funny, and hot (eventually—y'all that know me know I gotta have some NSFW in there).

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to respond to everyone, especially when a fic of mine has just been posted, but sometimes I just forget.  If I haven’t responded to your comment, please know it’s just because I’m a big dumb and forgot!  I love getting comments, and I reread them all the time!  I just feel like there’s a time limit to when I can respond to them--if I let too much go by, it’s awkward if I reply.  Gah, but that’s just me getting in my own head, I guess.  I’ll do better!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oof, definitely Psychology, a fic I wrote for RoyEdOTPoly this year.  The prompt I got was dark, and I didn’t see any way around an angsty ending.  Read at your own risk!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Well, aside from the last fic, I try to write happy endings for all my fics!  But, if I have to name names, I’m torn between Zoology (another FullMetal Alchemist fic, RoyEd, for RoyEdOTPoly this year) and Stardust (my Mass Effect fic, which is long, but so worth it, in my opinion).  Both are very fluffy in the end!

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Argh...  I don’t really like crossovers, to be honest.  I actively avoid them when looking for fics to read.  But that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought of writing them myself.  (I’m a total hypocrite, I know.)  I had an idea for an Inuyasha x The Sims fic, years ago, that I never did anything with.  The premise was basically Inuyasha and Kagome would get trapped in the game somehow (via the jewel or magic or something), and they’d be controlled by Souta, Kagome’s friends, Hojo--all sorts of different people who think the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha are in the game is just some kind of silly mod.  I probably won’t write it, so if anyone is interested in that crazy idea, have at it!  You have my blessing. <3 I also have a crazy crossover idea for what I call an “Ultimate OT3″ of mine that I’ve mentioned to my friends, but I haven’t actually written down yet:  Sesshomaru/Alucard/Sebastian Michaelis.  So be on the lookout for that!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn’t call it “hate” so much as “mansplaining,” but I have gotten a couple of comments that made my eyebrow twitch on Stardust--both on AO3 and FFN.  Just dudes (and I’m fairly certain they were dudes, just from their tone) trying to explain why a certain plot twist wouldn’t work, or tell me how to save Sidonis in the actual game (which I already knew, that person just didn’t read what I wrote). I’ve also gotten a comment on one of my more controversial fics, Hippology, on FFN, where the person asked me if I thought my summary was K-Rated (which, admittedly, it does need to be for the site, and mine wasn’t--because of a single word).  I changed it and messaged them saying it was fixed.  Going to that commenter’s profile, however, proved to be fairly enlightening...  They’re nuts.  They have another profile, too.  Read at your own risk.  Yikes. There’s also a team of people on FFN who make it their life’s mission to report stories with rule violations.  I’ve gotten a comment from one of them as well.  These people are not mods, they just like to pretend they are--one of them even made their name look official!  “CU Administration,” gtfo dude. I also recently got one of my fics removed from FFN.  It wasn’t even one of my sexiest ones!  They put me in timeout for 48 hours, and when I was finally able to publish something new on the site again, I posted Hippology (my centaur smut), and it’s still up as I type this.  (Wonder how long it’ll take them to notice?)  And since the fic that got taken down was a SessKag fic, I’m thinking it might have been a petty SessRinner who reported it to the “authorities” of FFN, because another friend of mine got hers taken down not long after mine, and it was also SessKag.  Just my tinfoil theory, anyway!

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes, yes, yes.  It’s practically all I write.  I do all sorts of smut, from romantic, sensual stuff, to specific kinks, to monsterfucking--all that good stuff.  Can’t change me~<3

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

God, I hope not!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t think so.  No one has asked me if they can translate one, anyway.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet!  I’m open to the idea, and I’ve had little discussions with my fic-writing buddies about it, but nothing’s come out of it just yet.  Keep your eyes peeled!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Oh, now come on!  I can’t pick just one!  But I’ll give you a top 3 (in no particular order, because they change places a lot, depending on how obsessed I am with them at the moment). Inuyasha:  Sess/Kag FullMetal Alchemist:  Roy/Ed Mass Effect:  Garrus/FemShep

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I have a couple of stories that I deleted from my original FFN account that I’d like to re-write and re-post on AO3, but I don’t think I’ll ever get around to it.  There were a couple of Inu/Kag fics I had in-progress, and then a Koug/Kag fic.  I recently rewrote and reposted my SessKag fic from years ago, Hawk, on FFN, AO3, and Dokuga!  So maybe all hope isn’t lost.  I’m even writing a sequel for Hawk! All the stories I have in-progress right now I plan on finishing.  At some point, lol.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, without a doubt.  It’s my favorite thing to write, aside from smut, of course--which is another strength of mine.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions, ugh.  I try to do them well, but I always feel like they get stale.  So I keep them somewhat vague, because in my mind, I think readers will fill in the gaps themselves whether you describe something immaculately or not--they’ll see what they want to see, and that is totally fine in my book!  Or maybe I’m just making excuses, lol.  I’ll only describe something in a lot of detail if I want the reader to focus on that--usually an outfit, accessory, or weapon--otherwise, I leave it up to their imagination (I don’t want manipulate it too much, I suppose).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Wildly unnecessary unless that author speaks the language as well, or if certain words already exist in the fandom’s translations (ex. “youkai,” “alkahestry,” etc).

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Inuyasha, and the fic(s) I wrote in the beginning were terrible.  I want to burn all traces of them off the face of the earth.  I was in middle school.  I was young and stupid.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I gotta go with Stardust.  It’s the longest fic I’ve ever completed at more than 160k words.  I was so immensely proud when I typed “The End,” and I was able to say to myself “I did it.”

I tag: @glassesmcfancyhair @willowsrain 

[jostenneil]

your top 5 anime couples?

ok so the funny thing is i wrote out my answer to this ask a few days ago and just as i was publishing it my internet decided to die so i lost the whole thing and got rly sad. but i’m back now and perhaps with some better answers so maybe this worked out to your benefit lol 

edward/winry (fullmetal alchemist) → this is pretty self explanatory but nonetheless, i adore the potential with these two. i think there’s a lot of subtleties to their relationship that aren’t touched upon enough in fandom, like how far their intimate understanding of each other goes, how their fears for each other manifest in the work that they do every day, etc etc. they’re a wonderful portrayal of the childhood friends to lovers trope just by way of the fact that they know each other down to a microscopic level. like i think it can’t be overstated enough just how amazing it is that a part of ed’s life is in winry’s hands and a part of her life is in his hands, and how that builds upon the foundations of their unbreakable trust in each other. i also love how their relationship is built on the fact that they’ve essentially been the heads of their households since they were kids. that burden and sense of responsibility they share in is so palpable and esp fun to explore in the post canon when they finally have time to focus on themselves and what they want to do with their work and their family in the long term, i love to think about it! 

tsumugu/chisaki (nagi no asukara) → there isn’t a lot i can write here without spoiling the events of the series itself, but to describe the basics of these two, it comes down to a sort of complicated love polygon that they’re caught in the middle of, and i love how it plays out here. chisaki has loved one of her childhood friends for her entire life, so when her feelings start to change and she develops them for tsumugu instead, she’s weighted with this intense sense of guilt that parallels to a traumatic event that occurs mid series. chisaki is someone who hates the idea of change and growing up and tsumugu as first her friend and then her potential love interest is someone who subtly tries to challenge that mindset and help her grow, all while caring very deeply for her. it’s a really nice case of push and pull, and what amplifies it even more are all of the sea associated metaphors that their relationship is entwined with. chisaki is like this tumultuous and unpredictable sea, while tsumugu is the boy in the boat who patiently weathers her storms. it’s magnificent (and on netflix)

junichi/yurika (kids on the slope) → the funniest thing to me about this manga is that unlike most ppl my greatest takeaway from it was the relationship between these two as opposed to the main focus between the homoerotic, catholically symbolized best friends (which is still impeccable), but i have my reasons! i like these two bc they depict what a mature relationship between two people, no matter how damaged, ought to look like. when they first meet, jun is charismatic, flirtatious, and daring, yurika haughty and alarmed but also intrigued. there’s a brief potential there for some magic, and then they don’t see each other again for several months. the next time they meet, all the previous facades have been shattered. he’s been disowned by his family and now lives alone, depressed and jaded by the world, and she’s growing increasingly frustrated with the impositions put upon her as a pretty girl from a rich family growing up in 60s japan. the conversations between them thereafter are very charged and challenging as they poke and prod at each other’s world views, but it’s ultimately a healthy banter that’s necessary for them to come to an understanding and move forward. jun fears hurting the people he loves and isolates himself as a result, and yurika pushes back at those walls and limited thinking bc they’ve been towering over her all her life. it’s just a beautiful exploration in balance esp since they’re a couple that has to make it on their own without their families’ support, so they need mutual understanding to survive 

marco/connie (gangsta.) → the relationship between these two is pretty complex. marco is originally a born and bred child mercenary, but at a point in time he begins to harbor some doubts about the work he does with his “friends”, and the turning point in his life becomes the death of connie’s parents at their hands. connie cries these angry, unforgiving tears and stares at him with so much hatred in that moment that it rocks him to his core, and a series of events leads to him abandoning the mercenary lifestyle and completely starting over in an effort to repay kindness to the people he’s only ever harmed. what’s interesting about these two is that connie rly holds him to this endeavor. she’s constantly skeptical of him and she doesn’t like him nor holds these great hopes for him to improve as a person. she makes no moves to help him initially when he’s mocked and jeered at for attempting to start fresh, and why should she? he ruined her life. but the interesting thing is that marco’s persistence when it comes to doing good and wholeheartedly repenting is something that begins to intrigue her, and slowly she starts to let him into her life. first as a delivery boy she greets at the door, then as maybe an acquaintance, then a friend, and somewhere along the way, a lover. it’s a really dark relationship (explored in more detail in gangsta. cursed) but i love how it’s explored and how they push each other to be better people 

taichi/arata (chihayafuru) → if you know anything of this fandom you know this is the unpopular choice, but nonetheless, my reread this past year enlightened me to it. i feel like these two really take rivals to lovers to the next level. their initial friendship as kids barely touches the surface of some of the insecurities each of them harbors, but as they grow up apart from each other there’s this simultaneous loathing and longing that manifests in each of them for the other that’s really amazing to watch unfold. there’s so many backhanded comments between them followed by bouts of remorse and self-hatred, there’s secret expressions of just how happy they feel when they’re able to play each other, the tension that exists between them as they fight not just for chihaya’s love but for the love of karuta is so so intense and devastating, and ultimately it’s a really well fleshed-out exploration between childhood friends vested with different life experiences that ultimately put them at odds with each other. the way their relationship has developed up until now in the manga is just crazy to see and i sometimes wonder if they’d be more popular had they been straight lmao 

[scribblescrabblebabble]

RoyEd Week 2k19 Day 3

   Title: Seven(?) Days

Rating: T+

Relationships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric

Chapter: Day 3- (Fantasy AU)

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- Fanfic.net   AO3

Best quality reading will be through the links, not on Tumblr itself because I’m too lazy to do italics and shit right now. For @royedweek2019 ‘s RoyEd Week!

pasted late bc I have other work to do oops!!

-------------------------------------------

Roy had never seen the Great Hall so beautifully decorated; it was hard to tell where the school hall ended, and wintry palace began- the decorations were so wonderfully chosen! As he spun around with his dance partner, his long-time best friend Riza, the two other Triwizard Champions and their dates twirling similarly, Roy both admired the wonderful mix of glamour and dance and wished he wasn't dancing at the moment.

At least, he wished he was dancing with a different blonde, although Riza was definitely a close second choice. In fact, if he weren't required to take the first dance as a Champion, Roy probably would have shirked it off to go find Ed the moment he realized that his boyfriend's distinctive hair was nowhere to be seen in the crowd.

Over the snickers and awes of the crowd, supposedly assuming that Riza and Roy were something more than childhood friends, the blonde woman must have heard Roy's faint sigh, for she sighed as well and discreetly stomped on his foot as they changed direction, "Can you pretend for five seconds that you actually want to dance with me? I know it means nothing to you, but I tortured myself with wearing this monstrosity just because we're the center of attention."

Despite her disdain towards it, Riza looked quite stunning in her pale blue dressing gown, and Roy had just enough self-preservation to point it out before responding quietly, "It's not dancing with you that upsets me and you know it."

He knew that, even though he was half-assing it at best, they were still by far the best dancers out there, as years of ballroom dancing classes together would not be proven futile by their muggle parents.

Roy remembered the both of them receiving their Hogwarts letters and thinking it a big joke until two owls stampeded them in the park, and they looked at each other with such excitement that their parents knew their lives would never be quite normal again. His muggle mother had been at the school until recently, given a brief let-in to watch her only son compete in the dangerous Triwizard Tournament. Having never seen her son use magic before, it was a very… interesting time for her to watch him wave a stick at a whole-ass dragon and manage to stupefy it to unconsciousness (he chose to ignore his currently sprained and splinted wrist, and the several bandages that scratched against his shoulder and chest).

Back in the present, Riza rolled her eyes, "After this dance, you can go find him, I'm not stopping you. I think Jean's called dibbs on my next dance, anyways.

Roy smiled at the girl gratefully, and picked up the dance, noticing they were worryingly close falling out of step with the tempo of the spritely violins. After a few more laps around the dancefloor, the music finally died down to silence, and the audience clapped lightly, more eager to join in than pay mind to the current dancers.

Bidding Riza good luck with Jean, Roy quickly wove his way through the crowd, keeping an eye out for Ed. He found, instead, Al dragging a less-than-willing Winry out to the floor. The younger boy stopped when he saw Roy, and Winry sighed in relief.

"Roy, you and Riza danced so well!" He chirped.

"Thanks, Al. Hey, do you know where your brother is hiding? I haven't seen him around." Roy asked.

Al giggled, "Check around the food. He's probably afraid you'll ask him to dance."

"Well then, he's got a right to be afraid. Have fun out there." He turned from the betrayed look Winry cast him and started for the tables piled high with food. Ed's brother and closest friend (as well as Riza and Maes, of course) were practically the only ones who knew of his and Ed's relationship. Roy had no problem with making them public, but Ed had expressed his concerns enough for the other to hold off from straight-up snogging him in the halls. The blonde, for all his vivaciousness, was terribly shy about showing public affections, and didn't know how his fellow housemates would take his dating a boy- a Gryffindor boy at that!

Ed was nowhere to be found around the food, and Roy furrowed his brow in contemplation. He did see Lust, a fellow Slytherin classmate of Ed's, and decided to test his luck.

"Lust!" He called, and the aforementioned looked at him boredly.

"Mustang, what do you want?"

"Have you seen Elric anywhere?"

"The sweet one or the obnoxious one?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"The one you share a house with." Roy gave in a dead-pan, and Lust's unamused eye-roll did little to help him believe she would actually tell him.

"Well if you need to know, Envy said that he saw Ed on the staircase to the left of the Hall entrance reading.

Roy nodded, "Thanks, I guess." Lust shrugged and walked away.

Roy, thinking ahead, piled two plates with pastries and made his way out of the hall and to the left. He quickly found his boyfriend sitting on the second step, a book rested lightly between his bent knees. He looked up when Roy sat beside him, their legs bumping.

Roy handed over Ed's plate, which he took gratefully, "What're you doing out here? Already abandoned poor Riza to fend with Havoc on the dancefloor?"

The Gryffindor responded as Ed took a large bite of a particularly flaky little pastry the Beauxbatons cooks had prepared, "Riza quit on me. Said I was 'too distracted looking for you' to dance right."

Ed shrugged, "You know I don't like dances, shoulda guessed I wouldn't be in the ballroom."

Roy smiled lopsidedly, "Not even to watch me dance? I looked amazing out there; Al said so!"

Ed snorted, "First of all, watch your ego. Second, Al would tell the worst dancer out there they were great. Dances are just dumb, is all. Shouldn't just having the stupid tournament be enough celebration of inter-school comradery or whatever shit they're promoting?"

"I think it's sweet." Roy commented, not very forcefully. They'd had this same conversation hundreds of times, it seemed, "Either way, if you didn't want to be here so bad, why not just go up to your common room? I'm sure even the dungeons are more comfortable than these stairs."

"The Slytherin common rooms aren't just dungeons, I'll have you know!" Ed retorted, flicking a pastry he was holding slightly at Roy for emphasis, "They're actually very nice, it sucks you don't get to see 'em. I'm here because I didn't get to see you much after the challenge 'cuz of all the press commotion and shit." Ed frowned slightly.

The dragon challenge had been the day before, the three schools deciding that the dance and challenge should follow each other closely to 'lighten the mood' after such a frightening task. True to Ed's words, Roy had been swept away by several Prophet reporters following his close win (after his more serious wounds were treated first, of course). He'd been tired, bloody, and sore all over, so by the time they were done pestering him, Roy had barely the energy to fend off his mother's crushing hugs and frantic words. He had walked her back to the portkey once she was satisfied that he was safe until the next challenge, and from there went straight to his dormitory to sleep, Riza breaking the sea of students for him. The next morning, he had been wholly unamused to find his miserable face headlining the reports of the tournament.

He bit into his food, keeping a smile on his face in spite of Ed's fouled expression, "Well, you can see me all you want right now."

Contrary to Roy's intentions, Ed's face darkened further, "Until the next challenge."

"Ed, What's really the matter?" His proffered hand stung when Ed swatted it away, twisting in such a way to disturb several sore spots.

The Slytherin caught the other's wince, "THIS is the matter, Roy! Look at you, it's like you've been through a goddamn warzone or something! They carted you off the arena; I had to sit through two other dragon-themed ass-whoopings before I even knew you weren't dead. Your mom was in hysterics!"

Roy sighed, "Believe me, I know. I got her earful yesterday."

"At least she got to go down and see you immediately. I've barely seen you since Charms this afternoon, and that was the first time today!"

"So, you've been worried this whole time?"

Ed looked bewildered, "Of course I've been worried this whole time! I fucking lo… li… uh, care about you, you complete asshole!"

Roy, setting his plate aside, took Ed's plate quickly and ensconced the other boy in a tight hug, feeling the tension in the blonde's body coiled up in his shoulders. He relaxed a little in the Gryffindor's hold, huffing out a frustrated breath. When Roy felt a pair of hands gently wrap around his waist, he said, "I'm sorry I made you worry. If it's any consolation, I tried to find you after the challenge and at our meals today. I was too exhausted to really think yesterday, but when I looked today I didn't see you anywhere."

He could feel Ed rolling his eyes in his shoulder, and a second later he heard a muffled, "Had extra credit work in a few classes."

He hummed in response, and they stayed in their embrace for a while. Roy could feel Ed relax the longer he sat against the other, as if the constant assurance that Roy was there made his anxiety lessen. This said, it surprised Roy that Ed was the first to break the hug, standing up at the bottom step with a hand extended.

At the Gryffindor's confused look, Ed blushed, "Well, affection is sort of your thing, so I guess it wouldn't hurt me to dance, at least to make any lovesick Hufflepuff girls aware that you're unavailable." Roy sat, astounded. As far as he knew, Ed kind of hated public affection like this. Ed's blush intensified, probably because he knew vaguely what Roy was thinking, "I- I don't love this, but watching the challenge made me realize that I didn't want to waste my time across the room from you, watching other people try and get in your pants when I could just fucking suck it up and let myself have this, ya know? Shit, I'm embarrassing myself, just take my hand already, yeah?"

Roy grinned broadly, following Ed's orders. He led the way into the dance hall, noticing Ed stiffen when they were at the doors and Roy made no move to release his hand.

"Ed, you don't have to force yourself to do this if you're uncomfortable."

The blonde shook his head, "No, Roy, I want this. I want people to know we're a- a couple. This is a pretty good way to do that, right?"

His smile widened, "It's a great way!"

The brightness of Roy's smile caused Ed to smile as well, and they entered the hall to the vibrant sounds of an ending orchestral piece. They hurried to the floor before the next one started, and Roy had enough time to flash a wink at a confused but excited Al and Winry before the next dance began.

With Roy leading, there wasn't a chance they would mess up, and Ed seemed to trust their steps. Of course, he was flustered at first, glancing around at the other students too much (and sending dirty looks at Winry's smirk) and continually tripped up, but Roy got the other's attention back to him as the dance picked up with a gentle squeeze of the shoulder. Roy could feel eyes on them and heard quite a few girlish voices chirp their names, but he kept them out of his mind. He didn't care a bit about their judgment.

Once Ed was comfortable enough with the movement, he and Roy began chatting amid their dance, mostly about the other dancers.

"You know…" Ed mumbled, his sweet blush never having left his face, "You and Riza did dance very well together."

Roy laughed, "So you did see us! I didn't see you in the crowd!"

Ed mock-glared, "Well it's not because of my height, I know what you're thinking Roy Mustang!" He laughed a bit, "You probably dance better with her than with me."

"Well, I like dancing with you better." Roy murmured, leaning down to speak directly in Ed's ear.

"Oh, shush." Ed huffed, embarrassed. The song slowed to an end, and Ed pulled them off the floor with a small smile, "C' mon, we left our food on the stairs. I'd hate to waste it." His pull wasn't at all in the direction of the stairs, but to a table huddled away from the crowd, absolutely heaped with decorations and food. They could get some good privacy behind that heap…

Roy chuckled, Ed smirked, and they hurried to the table, not seeing the knowing looks of their friends and swelling gossip circles of those newly exposed to, possibly, the most unexpected coupling at Hogwarts.

~End~

[buffintruder]

001: FMA and 003: Aziraphale for the ask thingy! (I'm so proud of myself I actually spelled his name right on the first try lol)

Thanks for the ask!!

FMA

Favorite character:In most ways, Ling is probably my favorite character, but at least part of that is because of Greed? I also really love Izumi Curtis

Least Favorite character:Probably Kimblee

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):Greedling, Al/Mei, Ed/Winry, Winry/Paninya, Izumi/Sig, 

Character I find most attractive:Not really any of them? Maybe because I’m ace, but most of the characters seem more or less the same amount of attractiveness in different ways

Character I would marry:Maybe Winry? She’s a wonderful nerd who I like seeing get excited about things, a great cook, and seems generally less prone to dramatics as a lot of other characters. Like she’s still dramatic, but I feel like it’s in far less stressful ways than most of the other characters I like

Character I would be best friends with:I’m not sure I have a lot of common interests with any of the characters, but I feel like Al would be a super cool guy to chill with

a random thought:What do you think happens to Yoki afterwards? He’s a pretty shady guy, and he doesn’t seem to have gone through a whole lot of obvious character development over the course of the anime. At the same time, he’s shown as risking himself to help others and wanting to be brave and useful on the Promised Day. Since Scar is no longer a fugitive, Yoki wouldn’t go back to following him around in the same way, but maybe he helps efforts to rebuild Ishval? Is that too much of a stretch for his character?

An unpopular opinion:You can’t convince me that Winry wasn’t supposed to be Wendy, and I honestly hate the way her name is spelled in the manga and anime and stuff

My Canon OTP:There’s not a lot of confirmed canon otps, so maybe Izumi and Sig? I enjoy seeing their relationship, though I wouldn’t necessarily seek out fanwork of them (honestly, maybe i should though. They’re both very cool)

My Non-canon OTP:I’m going to say Greedling, but I do ship it more platonically than romantically

Most Badass Character:All of them???? They’re all so incredibly badass. At the moment, I think Mustang might be the most badass though

Most Epic Villain:Wrath. That guy just does not die. Plus he’s the head of the government, which gives 

Pairing I am not a fan of:Ling and Lan Fan. I think as they are in canon, if they entered a relationship, it would be pretty unbalanced, though I’m more open to the possibility in aus. Also I like the idea of them growing up kind of like siblings when they were really young and then more distance being put in between them because of their positions in society as they grew older.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):I don’t think any of the characters were screwed up. I would have liked to see Greed with friends after his realization of his deepest desire, and I thought Sheska would be more important but then she never showed up again, but even with those, I don’t think they were “screwed up”

Favourite Friendship:I’m ridiculously fond of Mei and Scar because it’s so weird and unlikely, but somehow it works

Character I most identify with:I don’t think I really identify particularly strongly with any of them

Character I wish I could be:

Probably Izumi? She’s really cool, isn’t complicit in genocide or any kind of murder, she’s strong in every kind of way but can also be soft, and honestly she has her life together a lot more than many of the other characters

Aziraphale

How I feel about this character:He’s wonderful and soft, but he’s also a lot trickier and more of a bastard than people give him credit for. I love him and want to be him when I grow up (at least the parts like running a bookstore, hanging around feeding ducks with someone you care about a lot, enjoying food, etc)

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Crowley, and I think that’s it

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: I just think he and Madam Tracy could be really good friends after the whole Apocawasn’t. They have some similarities, and I can picture them having tea once a week and chatting about their respective husbands/partners/whatever terms you want to use.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I saw a post about how Aziraphale would have to be really good with technology to do taxes on a computer in 1990, so now I see him as being secretly tech-savy

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:Hmm, for the show, I get why they wouldn’t want to do this, but it also would have been cool if we could see Aziraphale (and Crowley) having different bodies throughout history. It would have made their existence seem more separate from humanity, which makes them choosing humans over heaven and hell more powerful in my opinion, plus they wouldn’t be white the whole time. Like since the first humans were black, it makes no sense that Aziraphale’s human body from the start looks like how some humans in the future will look.

Favorite friendship for this character:I’m also going to say Crowley for this one. They just have such a great dynamic, with a certain softness and comfortableness to their interactions, plus the complement each other very well

My crossover ship:

Not a ship, but since I’m already thinking about fma, he and Sheska would get along so well, and I think being friends with Aziraphale would help Sheska grow more confident in herself

[winryofresembool]

Matilda’s story

Summary: Emma Rockbell-Elric’s (aka Ed&Winry’s daughter) girlfriend Matilda writes about different periods of her life, from accepting her sexuality to meeting and getting together with Emma.

A/N: Don’t worry guys, Edwin is on its way too! But I thought it would be fun to introduce you guys to one of my OC ships, aka Emilda :’) I imagine Matilda is writing this story to people who are in a lot of self doubt (about their sexuality etc), to make them feel better about their situation. 

Words: 1950ish

Warnings: some adult themes mentioned, nothing explicit

...

Matilda’s POV:

This is going to be a very personal story, but maybe sharing it will help someone reading it.

When I was a kid, I always preferred stories that had cool girl protagonists instead of boys. Blegh. They were just annoying. My favorite bands were girl bands and my favorite movie stars were also women. It hadn’t even occurred to me that some girls could like /boy bands/. Well, I was a kid, so it didn’t matter what I liked and what not. Our tastes were still developing, after all.  

When I was 11, a girl friend of mine kissed me on the cheek, probably as a thank you for something I had done. I couldn’t forget about it for a week, and I didn’t understand why. Now I know better: the little Matilda had her first crush. But that wasn’t an option to the 11-year-old me. When I told my mum I thought a friend of mine looked cute, in an innocent way, she told me to be quiet and made me play with a neighbor’s son. I didn’t like that kid at all, by the way. He was constantly pulling my hair and claimed I looked like a “lesbeean” in my pink clothes. I had no idea what that word meant. That was the way I had been raised.

I grew older and the friends around me started getting boyfriends. My mum was constantly asking if I had one too. I felt there was something wrong with me because I didn’t want one! After she had asked me that same old question many times enough, I finally gave up and asked a male friend of mine if we could go on a date. He said yes, and all of a sudden I had my first boyfriend. He was actually fairly nice, and we did like the same kind of movies, so picking a date spot was pretty easy. But it didn’t take him long to say he knew I didn’t like him that way. He was right, though, and so I experienced my first “break up”. 

After a while, I started feeling the pressure of getting another boyfriend. The same thing happened as with the previous guy; we broke up due to the lack of chemistry.

Life went on, but the dating life started getting more challenging: I was already 18 and the people around me had a sex life. I had such a hard time imagining me doing it, and I even thought at one point I might have been an ace. Then I met a guy I genuinely liked and decided: “heck it. It’s not a big deal, so let’s just get it done.” And so we did. And it was absolutely awful. I blamed the fact that it was my first time, because of course I had heard that it’s supposed to hurt and all that stuff. But in reality, it was more than that. I felt extremely uncomfortable, awkward, vulnerable, even scared. I felt like I shouldn’t have been there, I just wanted to leave as soon as it started!

Well, it’s safe to say it didn’t happen with that guy again. He was surprisingly understanding when I tried to explain my feelings, though, and he too suggested I might be a-sexual. I just admitted: yeah, it’s possible. However, I had started doubting that because one time, when I went to get a casual cup of coffee with this same ex boyfriend of mine, I noticed that our heads were turning in the same direction when a good looking woman passed us. I had tried to deny it, but it was getting harder: I was attracted to women.

The time at the university was a new beginning to me. I met a lot of people. New, more open minded people. I finally learned to accept that women loving women really was a thing, and it opened a new world to me. I let myself have crushes, and sometimes when things got “wild”, I might even have kissed another woman. My mother’s conservative voice was nagging in my head regularly, but I learned to tune it down.

But there was one specific encounter that I will never forget. In my first architecture class I saw a pretty, blonde haired and blue eyed girl. She seemed shy at first, dressed in black, avoiding eye contact, trying to make her already small frame even smaller. But then the professor started asking questions and suddenly she woke up, a fire in her eyes when she started debating with the professor on some topic that was so advanced I didn’t even understand it. And I had always thought I knew plenty about architecture. The debate had to end at some point so the professor could go back to her regularly scheduled teaching, but the girl stayed in the classroom afterwards and continued the conversation. I was both impressed and intimidated by her.

It turned out, that was definitely not the last time I saw that girl. Not too long after, I was put into the same group with her when we were doing group assignments and – we got into a fight. As I had suspected from the moment I saw her, our ideas of architecture in general were so different that we had a very hard time finding a common ground. She thought alchemy could make everything 100% easier, I claimed it was hocus pocus. Our fight got so bad that at the end of one group session she told me she would talk to the professor the next day and ask to join another group.

She never got that far though; that same night my cat went missing and I was searching for him from the campus area for a long while. Finally, I found him in a tree, but he didn’t want to come down. I tried treats, I tried toys, but no luck. I was too afraid to climb after him because I was sure the branches would have broken under my weight. Suddenly, the blonde girl appeared and asked me what was wrong. I showed her the cat on the tree and without hesitation she started climbing like a ninja. At that point I was wondering if there was anything that girl couldn’t do. She caught my kitty and brought him down to me, acting like a whole different person compared to a couple of hours earlier. I asked why she was like that, and she simply said “what happens in the classroom, stays in the classroom”.

I decided to invite this weird girl for a cup of tea as a thank you for saving my cat and because I felt there was so much about her I didn’t know yet. She had made me so curious. We had a lot of fun talking about anything non school related, and she didn’t leave for several hours. I introduced her to my cats, and she showed pics of her dog. When she was finally leaving, she tugged my hair a bit, looked straight into my eyes, and said “you’re not so bad, after all, Kitty.” Someone else might have gotten offended, but I saw her expression, and knew it was her way of saying “we are friends now, like it or not.” Oh, and she didn’t change her group after all.

It would be nice to say my relationship issues were over once I started uni, but that’s not true. I wasn’t really seeing anyone for a long while, while my friendship with Emma deepened, starting some rumors among the people around me. Eventually, my mum heard I may be seeing a girl from the uni and she called me home for a talk. I took Emma with me, or rather, she insisted she come. With her support, I told her that yes, I may be into girls, but no, we are not dating. My mother wasn’t happy with that announcement, telling me I was not welcome back home unless I “changed my mind about women”. Emma dragged me into her car, but she herself went back to tell a couple of well-chosen words to my mother, and when she came back, she was having a devilish smile on her face. She claimed that habit was simply in her Elric blood, which I soon realized was true when she introduced me to her family. They were incredible people, so different from my family. Getting distance between me and my parents was not an easy decision, but it’s one I now understand was necessary for my happiness.

A couple of years later, another incident happened: I was on the swimming team and one day decided to train with Emma, who, while not as fast as I am, made up for it with her stamina. Unfortunately, some guys from the men’s team were at the hall at the same time with us, and one of them started hitting on me. I had a hard time getting rid of him because he kept insisting I should go out with him, even blocking my way at one point. It started getting quite scary, so Emma, bless her, came to my rescue. She wrapped her arm around my waist and planted a kiss on my cheek, claiming I was her girlfriend, and if the guys wanted to have something to do with me, she’d be ready to fight. I have no doubt she would. I have heard stories of her dad’s past…

Anyway, one of the assholes said he wanted more proof so Emma didn’t hesitate. She kissed me straight on the mouth and I kept seeing stars for a minute. Once the stars were gone, I noticed we were already in the shower room (apparently Emma had dragged me there) and she apologized for acting like that. I think my answer was just incoherent blabbering, because honestly, I was just wishing she would do it again. Because in that moment I knew I was in love with Emma Rockbell-Elric.

A few years went by and I was in a constant state of suffering because I could not tell her how I felt. I had seen Emma flirting with a lot of other people, both girls and boys, so I was positive the kiss had not meant anything, and I couldn’t risk our friendship. But eventually, we decided to go on a trip, just the two of us, and little did we know that trip would change everything. It all started innocently. We were supposed to just go down to the hotel bar for a couple of drinks and maybe dance a bit, but… something turned off in my brain. Before I knew it, we were kissing, and back in our room, and… it was the best evening of my life. But then… then she broke my heart.

Now, Emma, if you’re reading this, don’t worry. I know why you did what you did, and you’ve been forgiven a long time ago. Maybe I just added that here to remind people that relationships require work, because no one is perfect, but we did solve our issues, and everything’s better than fine now. We are now living together and having our own kids, aka our pets. Thanks to my girlfriend, I’ve learned to accept myself the way I am, and I have also found myself a new supportive family who really cares about me, and is there for me when I need it. So, my message to people in need of help is: it will get better. Just be who you are, because you’re amazing. That’s what Emma tells me.

Ps. to my dog loving alchemy freak girlfriend: I love you. 

[edxwin-elric]

You’re My Shooting Star

Happy Birthday, Edo

Rating: T

Pairing: Edwin/Edward Elric x Winry Rockbell

Disclaimer: I don’t own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Word Count: 2126

Title: You’re My Shooting Star

Description: Edwin One Shot/fluff - Post-Promised Day/Ed is still traveling on his birthday, and Winry is missing him.

A/N: A lil something for Ed’s birthday featuring my favorite thing—Win wearing Ed’s coat/jacket.

ffn || ao3

Winry

The sun disappears over the horizon, leaving faint traces of pink in the sky. I exhale slowly, and rest my elbows on the railing of the porch, ignoring the chilly February air.

“Happy Birthday, Ed,” I murmur to no one as stars begin appearing overhead.

I should probably head in, but I just can’t bring myself to leave. If I close my eyes and listen carefully, I can make out the faint sound of the train pulling into the station. I already know Edward won’t be on it, but… I like to pretend.

The sound of the door opening behind me startles me, and the moment vanishes.

“Winry…it’s getting kind of late.”

Paninya walks up to the space beside me and puts a hand on the rail. She came all the way from Rush Valley to visit me. I feel a pang of guilt for being such a negligent hostess.

“Sorry. You can go ahead and go to bed without me, if you want. I’ll be there soon.”

“No, I’m good. I just was wondering how long you thought you’d be out here.”

“I like the air at night,” I tell her softly, not at all answering her question.

“You’re going to freeze if you aren’t careful.”

I glance down at my bare arms covered in goosebumps and feel a shiver run down my spine.

“I’ll be okay.”

“You’re being really quiet. Is everything okay?”

I nod, turning my head to face her.

“It’s…It’s Ed’s birthday,” I explain.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” I look back out at the pastures with the darkening sky above them. “I just miss him.”

“Did you call him or anything?”

“I tried.” I run my fingers over the grain of the rail. “But the hotel said he’d already checked out. I guess he forgot to call me with his most recent number.”

“That sounds just like him,” she says with a smile before she suddenly yawns. “Anyway, I think I’m going to head in for the night. Are you coming?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I think I’m going to stay out here for a little bit.”

“Okay. Do you want me to bring you a jacket or something?”

“Sure. That’d be fine.”

I glance back at her as she heads back into the house before I tilt my head back and look up at the stars. Somewhere out there Ed is underneath the same stars I am. Somehow that thought is comforting.

“Here.”

I look down just in time to see a flash of red fabric.

“I figured this one was a good choice.”

The material slides over my shoulders, and I reach up to grab it, pulling it close. On closer inspection, I realize what she brought me.

“Is this–”

“It seemed appropriate,” Paninya cuts me off, “since you’re staring off into the night, pining for him and all.”

“I’m not ‘pining for him.’ I just…”

Her eyebrows rise, and I shake my head. She’s not going to believe anything I say anyway. Instead, I slide my arms into the sleeves of Ed’s ridiculously edgy red coat and flip the hood up, surrounding myself in him, in a way.

“I don’t get it, but okay.” She shrugs. “I mean, he’ll remember to call eventually. Just tell him ‘happy birthday,’ then. It’s not like he’s going to forget about you. You did that whole eighty-five percent thing, and he hugged you before he left.”

I turn to face her even as she continues to talk.

“Personally, I think he should’ve kissed you given that he basically proposed.”

“He did not propose,” I scoff.

“Oh yeah? Well, that whole equivalent exchange speech of his sounded a lot like wedding vows to me.”

“You weren’t even there,” I remind her.

“I’m just saying.” She holds her hands up in surrender and turns toward the door. “Anyway, I’m going to bed.”

“Okay.”

“Come in before you catch pneumonia. Ed won’t appreciate it if you stay out here missing him on his birthday just for you to get sick.”

I wave her away, releasing a long breath when I hear the door close again.

Paninya is right. I should just tell him when he calls again. I fiddle with the sleeves of the coat and bite my lip. Before he left he did confess his attraction to me, I guess. Since then I’ve been telling everyone he’s my boyfriend when they ask, and when we talk on the phone it’s different than it used to be. He asks me about my day and…how I am. So, I feel pretty confident in our relationship. Or whatever it’s called.

Still.

I would’ve liked to tell him “happy birthday,” today.

As I turn to go in, something catches my eye, and I gasp as a shooting star cuts across the sky. Silently, I make a wish on Edward and then pull the coat close.

“Come home soon, Ed.”

And then I go inside and head upstairs to bed, where I fall asleep wrapped in Ed’s coat.

Edward

I grunt as I haul my suitcase up the road. I was supposed to be here hours ago. The train got delayed because of some cargo mix-up and then there was a problem with my identification because of my military ID which took way too long to sort out.

I was really hoping to be here before dinner. Instead, I had to eat on the train. And I have to find my way all the way to the house in the dark. What I wouldn’t give for a flashlight.

The silhouette of the Rockbell house comes into view, and I pause to sigh with relief. Of course, I could already be there if my luggage didn’t weigh a ton and a half. But I couldn’t very well travel all over the west without bringing some gifts back for Winry.

Hauling my heavy bag over my shoulder, I force my legs to work faster until I finally reach the porch.

“I thought that was you I saw coming up the road.” Granny meets me at the door as Den happily wags her tail at my feet.

“Sorry, I’m so late. I hope you didn’t worry.”

I called ahead and told Granny I was coming home today, but that I wanted to surprise Winry, so I hadn’t told her.

“I always worry about you, boy,” she answers as I shed my traveling coat. “But I’m not the one who was missing you.”

“Yeah…” I glance up the stairs and then look back at Granny.

“She’s already gone up to bed, but she might still be awake if you want to go check on her.”

“Are you sure?” I blink in surprise. I figured I’d just have to wait until morning. Granny always had pretty strict rules about Al or me going into Winry’s bedroom. Not that Winry would let us in there either.

“She told me what you said at the train station,” she grins knowingly. “And I feel confident that I raised you with enough sense not to do anything too stupid.”

“Well, I guess that’s fair,” I mutter.

“Go on, then.”

She nudges me toward the stairs, and I let my feet keep going. I stop outside Winry’s door and take a breath. My palms are all sweaty. Gah. Why does my stomach feel all twisted? And why does my chest hurt?

Cursing silently, I wipe my hands on my thighs and reach for her door. I knock, but no one answers. I debate for a second about knocking again or leaving or…

I mean, Granny said it was okay, so…

The latch clicks softly as it slides open and the door swings in. I enter quietly, shutting the door behind me.

“Winry,” I whisper.

I wait for a long moment, trying not to think about how fast my heart is racing.

“Winry!” I whisper louder.

She turns in her bed, and I feel my heart jump into my throat. But she doesn’t wake up.

Fuck. What should I do? I already made it all the way in here; I don’t want to just leave. But should I wake her up? Will she be mad? Maybe I should just sleep on the floor…

She moves again, and I suddenly get a glimpse of what she’s wearing. Wait a second, is that…

“Winry?”

I step closer to the bed and carefully slide the covers down until I can tell for sure.

She’s wearing my coat. She’s sleeping in my coat. Winry is sleeping in my coat.

Without thinking about it, I slide off my shoes and climb onto the bed beside her, sitting on the edge of the mattress. I watch her sleep for a minute.

God, she is so beautiful.

I reach out to touch her hair, and her eyes flutter open.

“Ed?” she whispers.

“Yeah.”

“Wait. Ed?” she says louder, rising up on her elbow. “How are you here? I thought you were still–”

“I wanted to surprise you,” I confess. “Unfortunately, I was held up.”

She blinks at me for a second, and I wait.

“It’s your birthday.”

“Well, it was,” I correct her softly.

“I wanted to tell you ‘happy birthday,’” she says rapidly, “but when I called the hotel–”

“I left early this morning for the train. Otherwise, I would’ve been there.”

“Oh.” She nods before looking up at me shyly. “Happy Birthday, Ed.”

I close my eyes and let her words wash over me.

“Thank you, Winry.”

“Do you…want to stay in here tonight?”

I choke on my tongue and feel my face go up in flames.

“You don’t have to,” she amends quickly. “I just thought since you’re already here, maybe–”

I cough for a second before regaining my voice.

“I’d like that,” I gasp hoarsely. “If you’re sure it’s okay.”

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

I take a second to shed my shirt before stretching out beside her on top of the covers.

“You know you can get in with me,” she murmurs.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Given how much I want her right now, I’m thinking there should be more fabric between us than just our clothes.

“Oh.”

“You can go back to sleep now, Winry,” I tell her, pulling one of her pillows under my head.

“I wished for you.”

I freeze and look over at her.

“You what?”

“I…I saw a shooting star while I was outside earlier, and I wished…for you. And you came true.”

I fight it as hard as I can, but I can’t stop the laughter bubbling up in my chest.

“Don’t laugh!” she hisses, poking my arm. “I was serious.”

“I know,” I choke. “I know you were, but it just sounded… I’m sorry.” I take a breath and regain my composure before looking down at her again.

I suddenly feel nervous again, seeing her looking up at me, wrapped in my coat, knowing she missed me enough to wish for me.

Shit. She fucking wished for me. How am I supposed to live up to that?

“I’m really glad to be home, Winry,” I murmur, pulling her into my arms.

“Yeah,” she sighs, her breath hot against my neck. “I’m glad you’re home, too.”

Suddenly, there’s a loud banging on the wall followed by an equally loud, “GO TO SLEEP!”

I jerk and look over my shoulder before turning back to Winry.

“What the hell was that?”

“Oh, did I not tell you? Paninya is here.”

“What?” I frown.

“Oh, calm down. She’s my friend.”

“Oh yeah,” I grumble. “Your friend, the pickpocket, who likes to steal my stuff.”

“She doesn’t do that anymore, Ed.”

“You mean she doesn’t do that to you anymore. We’ll just have to keep an eye out in case any of my things disappear while she’s here.”

“Edward,” she whispers on a frown. “I thought we were having a good moment enjoying your homecoming. Don’t ruin it.”

“Sorry.” I shake my head before dropping it back onto the pillow. “Where were we?”

She slides over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Going to sleep,” she slurs drowsily as her eyelids droop closed.

“Wonderful. I’m exhausted.”

I wrap my arms around her, pulling her tight against my chest, before tilting my head down so my lips are in her hair. After a few minutes, I feel her breathing change, and I shift my lips to her ear.

“I love that you wished for me,” I whisper, “but you’re more than a wish to me, Winry. You’re what I wish on. You’re my shooting star.”

She makes a soft sound, and for a second, I think she heard me, but she goes quiet again, and then I’m falling asleep to the sound of her breathing.

[weirdoldmanhoho]

Hey, happy fma day! Could you please do a prompt or like headcanons ideas of what would have happened if Ed and Al and the homonculi were siblings/cousins? (whichever inspires you more) it would be wonderful and funny, sure as hell

Happy FMA day! OMG yes this is my favorite ridiculous, silly au. Prepare for some ridiculousness.

Okay, so Father shows up randomly at the Elric (Hohenheim?) house a couple years into Hoho living there and is just like “hello, my dearest, oldest friend, so good to see you.” (Hoho is like, yeah, I’ve been rethinking our relationship ever since you literally committed genocide in front of me.)

Father tells Hoho he’s turned over a new leaf. No really, he says, no more murder. He’s content to live out the rest of his life with the one Philosopher Stone he already made and definitely has no plans whatsoever to make another one – what? How could his dearest, oldest friend – who he NAMED and cared for before anyone and helped gain him his freedom – doubt him? What is he talking about that the map of Amestris looks suspicious? Does he really think he could control how an entire country was built? His oldest, dearest friend (“seriously, stop calling me that”) has too high of expectations for him.

Anyways, Father says he showed up because he ended up with 7 kids somehow (“totally an accident. Just happened.” “…uh-huh.”) and he has absolutely no idea how to handle them and they’re all driving him absolutely crazy, and he heard that Hoho has two boys of his own (congrats, by the way, didn’t know you had it in you, your wife is lovely, good job) and maybe he’s managed to figure out this whole fatherhood thing better than he has, so can he bring the family and stay for a while? Just a bit?

And because Hoho is ultimately a sympathetic sap, he says yes. (Trisha literally might kill him. She won’t talk to him for two days. She threatens to take Ed and Al and run away. “This might be good for him, Trisha. He might actually learn to be better and care for people if he lives around humans for a while.” “If any one of his ‘children’ touch our children, I WILL find out how to kill an immortal and after I’m finished with them, I’m coming after you.” “I love you so much.”)

So the family moves in. Ed and Al meet their “cousins”. The homunculi meet the Elrics under strict orders not to hurt them. It goes about as well as you can expect.

Envy really likes screwing with Ed and Al. Their favorite hobby is transforming into one of them and trying to get in as much trouble as possible (pulling Winry’s hair, throwing things at Den, hitting the other real Elric brother, etc.) Jokes on them, though, because Trisha has gotten REALLY good at figuring out when it’s Envy in disguise and just happens to “accidentally” hit them with things. Like, she “accidentally” trips when Envy is in the kitchen as Ed and drops a metal pot on their head. (“Oh no! Edward, honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there!” She definitely did. She definitely aimed for the head on purpose.)

(In secret, all the Elric/Hohenheims have come up with tells to let each other know they’re not Envy. They might be putting up with them living here, but damn it all if Trisha is just going to passively let them torment her family.

Greed and Envy hate each other, so Greed teams up with the Elrics to help harass his sibling, and ends up actually becoming a big brother figure to them. And somehow, damn it all, he’ll deny it until his dying breath, he’s actually grown a little fond of the tikes. He lets Ed try on his ugly fur vest once. He puts on the invincible shield and lets them hit him with things (look just because he actually tries to play with the kids doesn’t mean he knows anything about appropriate games for human children. Envy and Lust and him hit each other all the time – and usually with a lot more blood and death involved – surely that’s fun for his little “cousins” right?)

Trisha walks outside once and sees her sons just beating on Greed with any weapon they can find and just…walks away. She doesn’t even care anymore. As long as it’s her sons beating one of the homunculi and not the other way around, she’s not going to stop it. She considers that this might be teaching her children bad lessons for the future – such as its okay to just beat people with sticks – but considering it’s also teaching them it’s okay to beat up homunculi, she thinks the pros outweigh the cons.

Lust tries to act like she’s above everything, but she usually gets dragged into arguments. She just kind of randomly flip-flops between helping Envy screw with the kids and teaming up with Greed to defend them like a guard dog, with no apparent rhyme or reason to which she’s going to do on any given day. Ed and Al are both terrified and slightly in awe of her. It’s pretty much exactly how Envy and Greed feel too.

One of their “cousins” looks suspiciously a lot like the former Furher of Amestris (who randomly disappeared a couple months ago, stating “family emergency” before vanishing). Wrath wears a whole bunch of ridiculous disguises every time he takes the boys into town. I’m talking like fake moustache over his real moustache and sunglasses. Really ridiculous hats. Hawaiian shirts. A fake nose once. (“This is just sad,” Envy tells him. “I’ve seen humans disguise themselves better than this.” “I’m not taking advice from someone who willingly walks around looking like that.” Envy has to be held back from trying to maul Wrath by Lust, because Envy has already lost FIVE LIVES since living here – one of them might have been from Trisha, but she won’t confirm or deny anything and only cackles quietly to herself when she looks at Envy sometimes – and if they keep it up they’re going to actually die FOR REAL by next year. “DO YOU THINK PHILOSOPHER’S STONES GROW ON TREES?” Father booms, then goes immediately to Hoho and is like, “That was the right phrase, right? I also tried grounding like you suggested.” “You’ll get this fatherhood thing in no time. Also, you can’t end the grounding no matter how sad they look. That’s what Trisha says.”)

Side note: Mrs. Bradley definitely moves in with them too and now she knows exactly what her husband and son are and still loves them just as much. Pride is confused and slightly mortified, but also touched – he’ll never admit it. Wrath just really loves this human woman he chose. He and Hoho trade stories about their adventures wooing strong-willed, slightly scary mortal women. They get drunk together once and cry into the night about how wonderful their wives are and the fact that their children are growing up before their eyes – “I don’t grow, Wrath, what are you talking about?” “My son sounds so grown up!” Both men sob harder.

Trisha and Mrs. Bradley become fast friends. They run a So-You-Married-an-Immortal support group. Currently they’re the only members. Meetings basically consist of them exchanging stories of the weirdest things they’ve ever seen their husbands do.

Pride becomes weirdly protective of the baby Elrics. Mostly because he believes Father wants to keep them safe and he’s the most loyal devoted son who will do anything Father wants, so he takes great pride (ha) in protecting the baby Elrics from every harm he can think of. He also looks the most similar in age to them, so he lets Father enroll him in the local school and watches over them while in class. The rest of the class and the teacher are absolutely terrified of him, because he mostly just sits behind Ed and glares at everyone who moves too close.

Ed and Al grow up with a really weird understanding of shadows – ie, convinced that they can definitely move independently and are physical things you can touch, because that one time Al tripped, a bunch of shadows definitely grabbed him before he hit the ground, placed him back on his feet, and patted his shoulder reassuringly for good measure.

Sloth does nothing, of course. He’s just happy he doesn’t have to dig that tunnel anymore. He mostly sleeps and Ed and Al try to figure out how much they can stack on him before he wakes up. Or how many times they can poke him. Or how loudly they can shout. Etc.

Somehow it turns out mostly okay though. Ed and Al make it into their teenage years without dying or any serious maiming. (Only Greed and Envy have been maimed, but their injuries heal so it’s fine.) They have at least two homunculi that are fiercely protective of them, one that usually at least has more fun fighting their enemies than them, one who acts like a weird uncle and showers them with gifts and random melons, and two that are pretty indifferent as long as they’re left alone. And Envy, who definitely still wants to make their lives as miserable as possible, but is at least usually outvoted by the other homunculi.

The Elric/Hohenheim family is very weird, but most of them (and Resembool) have accepted that. Trisha definitely would still kill any of them if they hurt her sons though.

Thanks for the prompt!

[hagarenmovie]

[Translation] Yamada Ryosuke x Dean Fujioka Nihon Eiga No. 72 Interview

In this interview, Yamada Ryosuke and Dean Fujioka talked about the film, their approach to their respective roles, their filming experience, and most importantly, how mesmerized they are with each other’s beauty and talent. :) 

Special thanks to weibo user 草莓要配白巧克力 for the clear scans.

You can see the magazine’s photo shoot between these two here 

Born under a lucky star-----?

--- Since it was the first time you two co-starred, what were your impressions of each other?

Yamada: I wondered what kind of person he was. Doesn’t he give off a mysterious impression? When I watched him on TV, he looked like a prince who stepped out of a shojo manga. Even in the eyes of men, he was cool.

Dean: (Smiles)

Yamada: I wanted to find some weaknesses. I wondered what he was not good with. When I met him on set, he was extremely friendly. The more I know him, the more I realize that he has no flaws. “There are [actually] people like this” was what I discussed with (Winry’s actress Honda) Tsubasa on set.

[T/N: He just called her Tsubasa in the original text, not Tsubasa-chan or Tsubasa-san.]

--- He does not have any flaws, does he?

Dean: Quite doubtful though (laughs).

Yamada: Er, is there something [I should know]?

Dean: There are a lot [of flaws]. If I start listing them, it will probably go on forever (laughs).  [Now,] the following lines are indeed “coming out of a manga”. If I have to describe your face, it is one I can look at forever. It’s like he was born under a lucky star. When I look at Yamada-kun's face, I feel so very fortunate.

Yamada: I'm happy to hear that (laughs).

Dean: I don’t think it would be possible [for someone] to be born under such a star. Although you may think you heard a strange comment, it is precisely the line to use to if I am describing such a person.

---- How was it like to co-star?

Yamada: I truly admire his attitude in tackling the role. Although we have only worked together in this project, [I think] he understood every bit of the role properly, from the expressions and gestures, the way to show it... His whole characterization was like painting an artwork, and he was cool as a man.  He took everything extremely seriously.

--- Dean-san's Colonel Mustang was awesome indeed.

Yamada: Well, he really was Mustang. I am a huge fan of the original work, and since Mustang is as popular as Ed, [initially] I was really worried about his casting.  When it was decided to be Dean-san, as a fan of the manga, [I felt everything] would be okay now.  Looking at him on set wearing the uniform, I thought “Mustang is here”.

Dean: Thank you very much.

Yamada: There was a scene where Dean-san snapped his fingers and then fire erupted everywhere. I think only Dean-san can create that image. It was so cool.

Dean: Everyone knows that all you need is one glance and you will feel Yamada-kun’s presence; I think this is a talent he is born with. But while Yamada-kun is attractive, at the same time, he is very rugged. Speaking for myself, I felt that he is very strong. Even when he was playing the character Ed, he was very lively and Yamada-kun’s acting was just right.  I think that as a real life person, he was able to draw out the charm of the original manga character, this man is cool to the core. Somehow I became interested to hear many things about him, like "How did you get started with your current job?" Whether it was good to ask them, I don't know (laughs).

Yamada: No, no, it's okay.

Dean: Tell me everything. As far as the Japanese entertainment industry is concerned...I have only 4 or 5 years of experience in Japan, so there are a lot of things I do not know. In a sense, I think that this film is representative of Japan in the 2017/2018 season. I was very interested in how they adapt an original manga that has [such widespread] appeal, even from the overseas; actually I am working in another country, and everyone have heard about this work.  As the lead actor of such a massive project, he must have a very strong will to play the role of Ed.  Even if you act a certain way, [there are more that] are conveyed by the eyes and the delivery of the lines; in other words, it is not just about acting. Even if you played the role as you understood it, it may not come out easily, since there are parts of you that are exposed, whether good or bad. In that sense, I think that Yamada-kun on screen as Ed will grab the hearts of many people.

Yamada: Thank you very much.

--- Dean-san said, "As Ed, there is a strength [within him]".  How do you prepare yourself while on set?

Yamada: I'm not talking about creating a role here, but I do make it a rule to not carry the role with me [while we are not filming]. If I take a role with me, then I cannot talk with the staff, and indeed it will be impossible for me to talk to anyone who plays the role of an enemy.  I don’t think that is an entertainment show. Of course, I was there in the position of the lead, but because I was also Yamada Ryosuke, the person, Dean-san asked me a lot of things, for me as well, I asked him about filming overseas and private stories, and I listened to the music Dean-san made privately.  To go further, even if someone told me not to socialize with the actors on the homunculus side (the homunculi trio are the antagonists) during filming, it would be impossible to do.

Dean: You were mainly talking about games on set (laughs).

Yamada: We were doing that (laughs). Regardless, I am not that type [of actor]. I can switch to the role when we start shooting.

--- Anything else you you guys talked about?

Dean: I ask things like who likes comedy and stuff (laughs)

Yamada: Dean-san, I like comedy (laughs).

Dean: Yamada-kun told me about a number of comedians.  We were watching videos together, Maple Superalloy and so on (laughs).

The Deep Connection between Ed and Mustang

--- How was the role of Ed?

Yamada: Ed is an existence I have known since I was a child, so I do not have to force it.  I already have a [firm image of him] in my mind.  [Instead], I thought about how I could paint the role with my own colours.  I could not break the character by what I do but I also have to make sure that I do what I intended to do. So I thought about how to properly mix the [two objectives].

--- Romi Park-san, who voiced Ed in the anime, had said in the media that Ed was a really hard role.

Yamada: After the filming ended, I had the opportunity to eat with Park-san, while we talked about the difficult experiences that are only known to those who have played Ed, I felt that I also gained some insight into what it means to play Ed.

Dean: Oh.

Yamada: I could not perform [this part] using minor acting; if I can’t let what was inside of me emerge explosively in an instant, I could not play Ed [that way].  I poured everything I have into the role, so hopefully, you will find [my performance] convincing.

--- About how the way Ed talks?

Yamada: I [had planned on] changing the tone of my voice. I asked Park-san’s and we talked for about 4 to 5 hours, and I had a strong impression of Ed in my mind, but [by the time] I heard Park-san’s thoughts on Ed as someone who had played the role for many years, the movie was already finished, so I made an impossible request of the director, “Could I do that part again?”, so there were some parts where I did re-dubbing again. I was glad we [him and Romi] had been able to talk.

--- For Dean-san, how was it like to play Mustang?

Dean: At first glance, you do not know what kind of person he was. Was he a good person or was he not very good?  However, he was actually very strong willed and prepared, therefore, sometimes it seemed like he was emotionless; he was the best friend of Lt. Colonel Hughes played by Sato (Ryuta) san and he was also concerned about the brothers Ed and Al, right?  He was caught between his relationships to others and the feelings he held for the opposite side, but still, he moved forward with a strong will.  I thought it was important to maintain a balance there.

--- In the film, Colonel Mustang was a “leading man” type, but in the manga, he also had a comedic side.

Dean: When I read the manga, there are times when he was in proper human form and there are times when he was shown in the “three-head form” in comedy mode.  I wondered how the “three-head form” could be shown in the live action film (laughs). I was interested in reading those in the original work.  However, this time, [Roy Mustang] was drawn as the “adult form” [in the film].  If the “three-head form” can be shown in future, I think you will Roy Mustang exhibiting a different type of charm.

[T/N: Santoushin refers to the style of drawing human figures where the head is literally ⅓ of length of the body. I’m just going to call it “three-head form” because I have no idea what the correct term should be.  The adult form / human form refers to the serious side and “three-head form” refers to the comedic side of Roy Mustang.]

--- This movie was also filmed in Siena, Italy. Yamada-san, how was it in Italy?

Yamada: As expected, if I film in Japan in this costume, it would be fine if I felt in character. Since at crank-in for any work, I would feel a bit uncertain [about the character], so for me, it was a great thing that we could crank-in in Italy. That scenery, atmosphere… it was just like the world of Hagaren, so by shooting in that [environment], I was able to get into [the character] for the duration.  Then there was the train. It is not on a regular schedule; the train only runs once or twice a year.

Dean: That's right.

Yamada: Ten hours, we shot all the scenes at once without leaving [the train].  Although it was tough, it was a valuable experience.  That said, the filming [conditions] were quite shabby (laughs).

Dean: What? Where (laughs)?

Yamada: We spent ten hours on the train and those were wooden chairs without cushion.

Dean: Ah! I see, I see.

Yamada: We could not go to the bathroom. And for meals, we just had bread and apples for the whole day… It was just a [long and glorious] story though (laughs).  I had never been in such a situation before, so it was hard to get used to it, right? However, the Italian and Japanese crew held my hand and encouraged me with, "Just a little bit more and we are done!"  Since it was bright until 10pm over there, they could take forever to finish shooting (laughs). Although I was only there for two weeks, I was able to get past these challenges, finished [filming there] with a sense of Ed’s character intact, and approached the shoot in Japan with a positive feeling. Because there were a lot of important scenes that were filmed in Japanese.

--- Dean-san did not shoot in Italy, but the Toho Studio's set was also magnificent.

Dean: Well, I was excited [to see] the scale of the set. [I wondered] what kind of filming will start from there.  There was an overwhelming use of CG in this project, and I had once participated in a CG heavy work in China.  Having the [prior] experience, I tried to imagine the different approaches [to CG] used by different countries in various scenes, as that provided good stimuli and discoveries.  Director Sori was amazing.  While filming, the complete image was firmly planted in the director’s head.  There was no confusion at the production stage, and the lack of hesitation was really amazing.

Yamada: He was amazing.

Dean: Our eyes would meet, he would say "For this part, please do it like this", it was just [the right thing to say], so I also had a lot of confidence in doing it and I thought that was wonderful.  While filming, I was looking forward to the finished product.

--- The relationship between Ed and Mustang was not very serious on the surface, but there was a [shared] understanding deep inside their hearts and I think it was great. You can see it in the movie too.  

Yamada: In this work, [Ed] was a child living among adults, right?  While he was a State Alchemist, he was the youngest; he counted Hughes as one of his close friends and allies, Mustang was a tough but trustworthy presence, and Ed was going back and forth between all these relations.  I think that being thrown in the midst of the adult world, Ed was nipping at adulthood in this very charming manga.  Still, Mustang and Ed were connected by a warm friendship that could not be seen.  Mustang’s background was not explored in the movie yet.  However, Hughes and Mustang did have a meaningful conversation.

Dean: Yeah, yeah.

Yamada: For me, I want [Mustang] to be characterized properly. In the future, if there is a 2nd or [even] 3rd part, I think we will definitely delve into [his story], and if someone who is not familiar with “Fullmetal Alchemist” saw this, [they will finally know] there was such a past for Mustang, so I think they will now understand how he got to his position and that he was aiming for the top. Then, as their impression of Mustang changes, the way they look at Ed will also change accordingly. I think everything connects to the relationship between these two people. Because I already knew it, so it shall be (laughs).

Dean: (Laughs)

Yamada: I want people to know this properly. Otherwise, they do not understand why these two people are in such a relationship.

Dean: That's part of the background, if we look at Ed and Mustang’s relationship in real life, they do not hang out every day, so when they saw each other after a long time, they will update each other; they have that type of relationship.  When he hears the other person’s stories, there is a feeling of “wow” and regret [at the same time]. He may think that it is something he wanted to do himself, so by leaving a memento of the time they were apart, they become the inspiration of the other person, and the relationship is properly updated.  I think that such a provoking relationship is very important, perhaps if things are to continue as is, a friendship will emerge… well, that is how I feel.

Yamada: [Ed and Mustang] were chasing after different things, but I guess they were similar. Both of them were very strong willed (laughs).

Dean: (Laughs)

Yamada: So, sometimes there were conflicts between them, but there was a certain respect as well, even though they did not want to admit it.

Dean: I chose a different approach, perhaps they were the same fundamentally. Since those two resemble each other, I wonder if there would be conflicts.

What underlies the stars' styles?

--- There is a scene where Yamada-san jumped from the height of about 7 meters at the beginning of the movie. When the director [wanted to] proceed with rehearsals, you said you would do the real take right away. Weren’t you afraid?

Yamada: No, I was scared. However, even if we rehearsed [the scene], it would not change the fact that I had to leap [off the building], so even if the rehearsal was good, it would not have helped.  So, I said, “let's just do the leap!”  There was nothing else left to do because even if I was afraid, it could not be helped.  I was already out there.

---Did you cultivate that kind of resolve while doing this job?

Yamada: What is that? I guess it is my personality.  I've been doing things [based on gut] feelings since I was little.  It is like “I will do anything!” (laughs).  I think there were many times where my feelings were aroused at this film set.  As this is my first time appearing in a world famous property, there were many things I could learn from this role, and since I have put every experience I have accumulated in my life so far into this role, I feel that I have renewed my resolve for the future again.

--- Next, for Dean-san's Colonel Mustang, there was a great deal of heat.

Dean: Oh, the fire was hot (laughs)?

--- Although the fire was hot too (laughs), in the second half, there was nothing but heat. You could not go to such a place with normal level of awareness.  Of course Dean-san was acting, but even in variety shows as an example, you take every single thing seriously.  You put your heart and soul into it.

Dean: Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad [to hear this]. Working as an actor, I spend a part of my life in a role, so shouldn’t I completely pour that part of my life in there?  Since I am doing what I desire to do, I want to treat it with importance.  Everyone wants to make their life better, but it can only be done through their own hard work.  Every single job, even when I am not working, one way or another, my life is changing based on the path I chose.  I have this feeling whether I am acting or working with music and other things.

--- Finally, please tell us what you think is the charm of the story.

Yamada: I think this work properly described the fundamental weakness that exists in human beings.  It is a masterpiece in fantasy entertainment where even the antagonists, the homunculi, were fully formed emotionally.  “We are not human beings, but we wanted to be thought of as human beings.”  Since these weaknesses are shown, it grasps at your heart and touches your soul.

Dean: The last words of Lust (the name of the homunculus played by Matsuyuki Yasuko) sums it up the best.  I thought you were a hateful enemy a while ago, but it seemed to have come a full circle.

Yamada: That's right. Every single character has a background story and his or her own personality and each character is portrayed very delicately. I think this is one of the charms of this work. In the manga, [the motivation for each action] was clear, so it was also very easy to read.  I would like to take a peek into [Arakawa] sensei's head. I wonder how she came up with such a story.

Dean: There are many metaphors and symbols drawn from the real world in this work, so won't those images be conveyed to those who have a strong desire to see them [better] by real life actors working on the live action them?  I think it is normal for young children like Ed and Al to want to see their mother again.  However, because they missed their beloved mother,  the brothers took the wrong approach and the two paid a price.  In order to return his brother Al to his former body, Ed took a series of action with a selfless (self-sacrifice) intention, I think that emotional side strongly appealed to the viewers by filming with real people. Even the homunculus, who are the antagonists, has such a place in the story; Mustang pushing forward with a strong will in order to reach his goal; things happening at times that pushed emotions and advanced the story; and all other characters had a delicately drawn backstory; since this work is unique in the film world, I think many people would like to see it.

"Director Sori talked about the charm of Yamada Ryosuke"

I think that Yamada-kun’s sense as an actor was outstanding, but Ed is a very masculine role. I saw [Ed] as an unparalleled, explosive force (laughs).  I asked myself what would I do if Yamada-kun was really quiet or very feminine (laughs). However, when we met, [I noticed] he was very manly. He was Ed and it was fun for me to make request after request. Sometimes when I asked for impossible things, there was disgust written all over his face. However, he would still respond brilliantly. For example, there was a scene in the beginning where he had to leap from about 7m tall. It was a very difficult scene because it was a leap in the middle of an action scene, but he did it without difficulty. When I said, "Yamada-kun, let’s rehearse the jump", he said, "It's ok. Just do the real take." "Well, don't you want a run through to get used to it?" I said. "I do not want to jump many times." So just like that, I turned on the camera, and I saw Ed wearing his heavy coat flying through the air. I thought it was soooooo cool (laughs). He is a movie star indeed! I guess he's a gutsy guy. When I asked him whether he was afraid, he said “Scary!”  He added, "Even if I am scared, I have no choice but to do it.” As someone who carried the responsibility of the lead, he could not hamper [the production], I think that the staff responded to his spirit, and the other actors were also considerably fired up by his earnestness.

"Director Sori talked about the charm of Dean Fujioka"

The enthusiasm for everyone on set was unusually high, you wouldn't know it unless you were there. Mr. Dean was very masculine and he was the one who spread the enthusiasm on set. Everyone had expectations and he met that expectation. Since he was someone who could fire up the passion of those around him, the excitement level went up steadily, so when we finally reached the climax, it was awesome, wasn't it? I don't think I had seen such a Dean Fujioka before. I think the passion on set was possessing Dean-san. Dean-san, with the heat contained inside him, was absolutely amazing. Noticing it, I could tell that the switch had now been turned on. At first glance, he looked like a cool guy, but once the switch was flipped, he couldn’t be stopped. I think the young people around him was also switched on [as a result].

Because he is rich in sensibility, I guess there was an understanding [between him and] Yamada-kun. Although there were sparks flying when these two men were acting together, but once the scene was done, it seemed like they obtained some sort of understanding of each other. When I was watching Yamada-kun and Dean-san, I felt like I was actually seeing the relationship between Ed and Mustang. While they were not stuck together on the surface, it seemed that these two were completely connected at the root level. You got to admit it.  I think that it was great that these two men were able to see each other and foster a good relationship as men and as actors.

[fma-facts]

FMA Live Action Movie: Full Summary/Review

Alright, now that I’m home, I’ll try to give a detailed report on the FMA live action movie. All of this information comes from the premiere screening at Anime NYC. The movie has not been released in Japan yet, and there is no information about a publicly available U.S. release yet either. Also keep in mind that I have a bad memory and also wasn’t able to pay 100% attention during the movie because I was extremely uncomfortable the whole time due to the positions I had to sit on in order to see the screen as someone who’s Ed’s height, so there might be things I missed or remembered wrong, and a lot of this is fairly subjective. Anyone else who saw the movie is welcome to share additional comments!

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT.

First of all, it’s important to note that the plot is very different from the manga, and even from both anime. I know a lot of you will immediately start whining and condemning the movie over this, but I don’t think it’s in any way bad, just different. If you go into it thinking of it as an AU (like Crimson Elixir, etc.), rather than judging it on how well it adapts the manga plot, I think you’ll find it very enjoyable. The characters and overall feel of it felt true to FMA, and although the visuals didn’t look exactly like the anime, I think they had a wonderful charm of their own and a fantastic look that I really loved.

With that said, here's a basic plot summary/list of plot differences, as far as I can remember:

Ed and Cornello fought actually like, in the middle of Reole instead of in the church, and it was a lot more of a spectacle with a lot more destruction than in the manga/anime. Roy and co. also showed up towards the end, with Roy being the one to demonstrate that the Stone was a fake.

Winry showed up very early on, and stayed throughout the rest of the movie.

Elicia wasn’t in the movie; Gracia was pregnant at the time. Maes was assigned to some sort of internal surveillance mission at East HQ, so he and Gracia were given a house to stay in in East City for the duration of his investigation. The Elrics and Winry stayed with them for at least one night, I’m not sure how long exactly.

Roy wasn’t the one to introduce the Elrics to Tucker, but rather General Hakuro. I’m... still not exactly sure why..? I’m unclear on how much Hakuro knew and what his motives were at the beginning.

Additionally, Tucker was the one who told the Elrics about Marcoh. Ed and Winry went to find Marcoh, while Al stayed behind so Tucker could experiment on him. No, really! Ed and Winry knew about it, too. ???? And then Marcoh, uh, kinda got murdered by Lust while Ed and Winry were there.

While they were off doing that, Tucker did some sort of uh, mysterious coma-inducing alchemy that I’m still not entirely clear on on Al. He also was the one to prompt Al’s existential crisis, talking about alchemists planting false memories in humans; There was a moment where Al said Tucker’s alchemy was making him feel weird (his exact words were “hot all over” and later “dizzy”), and Tucker said, “Maybe it’s your soul rejoining your body... Or maybe it’s your fake memories being erased.” Because every good alchemist has no clue what their transmutations are actually doing, right? Thanks, Mr. Tucker! 👍

Hughes and Ross both helped Ed with his attempts to decipher Marcoh’s notes, but Al didn’t. Ed forbade Al from helping him because it was “dangerous”, and neither he nor Winry explained to Al exactly what Marcoh told them or what happened. ??????????????????????

After they shot Hughes, Envy transformed into Roy in order to frame him for the murder. Which was a pretty bad move on Envy’s part, since a. Roy, obviously, would know he did not murder Hughes, and b., Roy was the one Hughes had been calling in the first place, so he had a solid alibi. They also didn’t transform into Ross at any point during the murder; Roy was the one to say the iconic “Lieutenant Ross has a mole under her left eye” line during a later fight, which also seems to be pretty much the only reason she was in the movie at all. 

Lab 5 wasn’t just abandoned, it wasn’t even listed as ever having existed. Eventually they managed to figure out that it did exist, under the guise of a POW camp, which was also how they’d been getting the sacrifices for the Stone. 

Towards the end Tucker kidnapped Al and Winry and brought them to lab 5 and... I’m not entirely sure why..? Like, he was being all ~villainous~ and all that, but I don’t remember him actually having any purpose to any of that or doing anything other than being like “Look Ed! The government is doing human sacrifice stuff! Crazy, am I right?” And then I think he died or something, idk. I forgot.

Shortly after, General Hakuro showed up, and activated the mannequin soldiers (which were creepy as hell, by the way, definitely one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen in a movie in a long time). I guess he wanted to take over the military or something, I dunno, but unsurprisingly he got eaten. He basically played the role of both General Gardner and that one other general whose name I forgot who activated the mannequin soldiers, right down to the “Do you know why human transmutation is illegal?” speech (with Olivier in this case being replaced by Ed).

I honestly don’t remember what happened after that entirely, because by that point my legs were going numb and my ankles hurt and I had to just give up on reading the subtitles, but in any case Roy fought Envy and Lust. Also, remember when everyone was losing their minds over the scene where Al protects Riza from the flames like in the original Lust fight? Yeah, as I suspected that wasn’t Riza, it was Winry.

Roy actually pulled out Lust’s Stone and gave it to Ed. Then Ed did some weird thing where it seemed like he was going to use it to get Al’s body back, and he did go to the Gate, but instead of actually using it he just had the “Alphonse! I’ll come back for you! Wait for me!” scene, only Al’s body didn’t say anything and mostly just sat there with his hair covering his face. Then Ed came back, apparently having not done anything, and told Al and Winry what he saw. (This was immediately met with, “Really? You saw my body? Do I look good? Am I taller than you?” god bless Al and his ridiculous ego omg)

Some things I liked about the movie:

A lot of the dialogue was almost word for word straight from the original series, albeit sometimes in different contexts.

Far from being dry and humorless, it actually had some fantastic comedic moments that were very true to the manga. Some old running gags (Ed’s height, people mistaking Al for the Fullmetal Alchemist) were included, but never overdone, with less jokes repeated in the entire two hours or so of the movie than there were in the 30 minutes of the first episode of Brotherhood. The jokes felt very well integrated with the rest of the movie, too, although most of them were at the beginning with few jokes towards the middle and climax of the movie. My favorite joke was probably when Ed transmuted something ridiculous and ugly, as usual, and Al actually put his hands on his head in dismay at Ed’s aesthetic taste. Everyone in the room laughed at that.

The acting was fantastic! Everyone was great, honestly, I was going to give my favorite but that would just be all the major characters. That being said, it’s definitely clear how much effort Yamada put into trying to make his Ed true to the manga. 

Al’s armor looked just like the original, and even though he was entirely CGI without so much as an on-set stand-in, he felt seamlessly integrated with the rest of the acting. There’s even an entire fight scene between him and Ed that seemed totally flawless. I’m really in awe of how well they did Al.

The overall aesthetic was really nice, imo.

The movie was very character-driven, with a lot of focus on Ed and Al’s relationship.

There was a fantastic moment shortly after Roy was framed where Ed and Hawkeye were being held in a room, awaiting questioning, with armed guards posted outside. During an outside-the-room shot, Riza yelled “No, don’t! You can’t escape!”, and the guards rushed in to find the window open, but when they looked outside, nobody was there... and when they turned around, Ed and Riza were both standing behind them. The two of them immediately knocked the guards unconscious and made their escape.

Things I disliked:

The CGI wasn’t terrible (and like I said, Al was fantastic), but the realism wasn’t all that. It couldn’t hold a candle to most Hollywood films, tbh, which is sad. I wish they had better tech.

In some cases the plot felt kind of rushed and non-sequitur.

Rose didn’t appear, nor did any named soldiers other than Mustang, Hawkeye, Hughes, Hakuro, and Ross (who as I mentioned only seemed to be there for the line about her mole)... Yet for some reason the snack bar guy from Reole was there? Like, right down to the hat and moustache. I’m not complaining, I like him, but like... why did they include him but no other minor characters? Weird.

Although most of the characters were good, Roy felt very flat to me. It felt like he was weirdly serious and didn’t have a lot of character other than being The Military Guy, and there wasn’t really any discussion of his hidden depths, or his plan to become Fuhrer. His only funny moment was in Reole, when he looked at the ugly thing Ed transmuted and went, “What the hell did you create..?”

There were a lot of parts of the plot where Ed and Al were separated (or more accurately, Al was left out of what Ed and Winry were doing) for seemingly kind of half-assed excuses. :/

This is really nitpicky, but even though everything about Al looked perfect, his eyes were way closer to yellow-orange than red/pink like they’re supposed to be. It’s such a minor thing, but it wound up really bothering me and frustrating me a lot...

There were multiple scenes of Ed sleeping, yet none of them had him with his shirt pulled up and his hand on his belly. WHY, YAMADA, WHY. I THOUGHT YOU DID YOUR RESEARCH. SMH

Misc. things:

Ed had so much angst about Al it was almost laughable, tbh. 

Before the movie started, there was a pre-filmed message from Ryosuke Yamada and Hiromu Arakawa (with her face censored, of course) in which they discussed the movie. (From what I’ve heard I think it might be the same as the one that was shown at Anime Expo in LA.) Yamada talked about how hard it was filming with Al without having anything to actually look at, and Arakawa said it was so good she actually thought there had been a stand-in Al when there in fact wasn’t. She also said that her favorite scenes were, iirc, the fight between Roy and Lust and the fight between Ed and Al. She also said that the movie took events from early in the manga and expanded on them considerably, such as Tucker and Nina.

Also before the movie started, Fumihiko Sori spent a long time like... basically trying to placate the “Waaaah, but FMA is white people!” type of people. :/ 

During his Q&A, Sori said that he’d been a fan of FMA pretty much since it started being serialized, and that he always wanted to do a movie, but figured Hollywood would get to it first with their superior tech. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago that he thought that maybe Japan could really pull it off. He said that Arakawa gave him a ton of freedom with the script, and that she might actually be the person who most desperately wants a sequel, lol. When asked if there were other anime/manga he’d like to adapt into movies, he replied that there were, but he couldn’t say which ones.

[ruebird]

i've never seen other people who also don't like the edw/n romance.. i'm actually kind of relieved, i thought i was in an extreme minority.. nothing against the people that do ship it, but some are.. really hardcore about how supposedly perfect their romance is

yea! i mean, i havent been active in the fandom for many years so i don’t know what it’s like now, but edw/in was one of those ships that didn’t sit well with me as i felt they didn’t mesh romantically? i’d gone through most of the manga and all of the first anime series seeing them as more like siblings beside alphonse, so the romance was an instant “UHHHH” reaction, i guess?? and like.... i felt as a story fma didn’t need it. like not much would have changed at all if they’d remained platonic? so the addition was more “oh okay” rather than “this makes sense”

also i’ve never been one to enjoy “comedic” violence, especially when done between supposed love interests. it’s just not funny to me, if anything it’s rly uncomfortable to see, tho i hated it even before it became clear their relationship was being pushed into a romance. the random beatings on ed (to the point of drawing blood and “losing his soul”???) were drawn loosely and in a “haha this is funny!” way, but it still happened and it’s something that i just can’t get out of my head when i see the ship. i just can’t forget it happened, and multiple times at that. i wonder how differently people would react if it had been ed beating on winry instead 8′/

[fmabigbang]

Summaries for mobile, as the link doesn’t work:

Looking for ships?

Roy/Ed: #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, #14, #17, #19, #22, #23

Roy/Riza: #8, #9, #16, #20, #21

Al/Mei: #8, #12, #17, #21

Ed/Winry: #8, #12, #18

Al/Wrath: #18

Greed/Ling: #23

Havoc/Fuery: #23

Ling/Lan Fan: #8

Maes/Gracia: #4

Olivier/Roy: #5

Riza/Rebecca Catalina: #10

Russell Tringham/Belsio: #2

(Please note that only main/major ships are included in this list)

Fic #1: Dead Ringer

Summary:  Love, as fleeting as it is sweet. After a single date, Roy Mustang is left with only funeral flowers and the memory of a guy who could have been The One.  A few months later, he finds himself introduced to a friend of a friend who looks eerily familiar. Second chances come from unexpected places, he knows, but—Ed’s cousin?

Author: Xyriath Continuity: Modern Amestris AU Length: Roughly 20k Pairings: Roy/Ed, Ling/Lan Fan (background) Rating: T or E (depends on age of artist) Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Amestris, Alchemy, Hijinks, Humor, Lan Fan you had one job, A Comedy of Intrusive Thoughts Major warnings: No

Fic #2

Summary: Centuries after faery-kind disappeared from the planet—in part due to humanity’s fear and hatred of them—their part-human descendants continue to face discrimination, particularly in Amestris, where Lord Selim the Prideful has recently inherited his father’s power. Lord Selim wishes for a nation that adequately reflects his own greatness, and thus seeks to purge it of anything nonindicative of that, “halflings” included, starting with a widespread movement to identify and relocate them to designated areas throughout the country. John Belsio, a halfling farmer and hunter, wouldn’t be bothered, but Lord Selim chooses his extensive plot of land as one such relocation area for part-humans throughout Eastern Amestris. His precious privacy infringed upon, Belsio travels to Central City to confront Selim, who makes a deal with him: if Belsio completes a quest for him, Selim will gladly move the halflings elsewhere and leave Belsio in peace. With former politician and fugitive Roy Mustang at his side, whether he likes it or not, Belsio sets out to complete Selim’s task, which, between discovering a decades-long conspiracy and the burgeoning revolution, turns out to be more than he bargained for—and maybe exactly what he needed.

Author: geichang Continuity: total AU featuring characters from both versions Length: 40k ish. EXTREME emphasis on the ‘ish’ Pairings: Belsio/Russell Tringham, Roy/Edward (side) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Part-Human Characters, Fantastic Racism, Minor Character Focus, Autistic Protagonist, Friends to Lovers Major warnings:  No

Fic #3

Summary: Roy Mustang was born, saved a kingdom and its prince, and died of old age, the love of his life by his side. And then he wakes, Edward nowhere in sight. By some twist of fate, Roy lives again. And again. And again. His existence, he finds, is part of a prophecy; a plan set out by the gods to combat that great evil he thought he had conquered all those years ago. Roy has decided he hates the gods. Not only can he have no rest, but neither can those he loves - Roy is haunted constantly by familiar faces, who no longer even know his name. So, Roy deigns to live a life of solitude - if he is to be forced to give his attachments up after every lifetime, then it would be better for him to never have attached himself in the first place. The gods, it seems, won’t even let him have that. With each life, that Great Evil twists and grows, finding new ways to wreak havoc across Hyrule, and it should be easy for Roy to lose himself in his duty - the thing the gods chose him to do. His life, however, is tied to Hyrule - particularly, its leader. When all attempts to push away one princely figure in particular fail spectacularly, Roy is dragged kicking and screaming into loving again, and with every life, with every goodbye followed be Edward’s unrecognizing eyes at their next meeting, Roy wonders how much of this he can take. (Legend of Zelda AU, with no prior knowledge of the source material needed whatsoever.)

Author: fishingclocks Continuity: Both Length: 30,000 Pairings: Roy/Ed Rating: T (teen) Tags: Legend of Zelda AU,  Reincarnation, Romance, monster-killing at any and all ages, so i suppose child endangerment, incorporates nearly any zelda game you can think of, Angst, yet surprising amounts of fluff, and humor because my Roy is a snarky little loser, will you ever see anything nerdier?, the world will never know Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #4

Summary: When Maes Hughes’ body arrives into Central City Morgue, Dr. Knox and his assistant are shocked to find him barely alive inside the body bag. Working quickly, they manage to save him, only for Maes to awaken and nearly re-injure himself in his desperation to get vital information to Roy Mustang. Using a network of underground informants and smugglers, Maes manages to escape Amestris- but at what cost? And can he still manage to alert Roy to the plans of the people who tried to assassinate him? Follow along as Maes becomes one of the living dead and travels out of the country, to save himself- and all of Amestris- from whatever is making that giant transmutation circle.

Author: SonjaJade Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 34000 Pairings: Maes/Gracia, Maes/Roy (past), Roy/Riza (background), Ed/Winry (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Blood, surgical situations, disguises, hideouts, on the run, coded messages, Maes lives AU Major warnings: No

Fic #5

Summary: After an incident with a rogue alchemist, Roy and Olivier find themselves in a strange place and in need of a way back. Their misadventure will open the door to some of the greatest changes Amestris has seen in a long time.

Author: MaiKusakabe Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 40-50k Pairings: Roy/Olivier, Ed/Winry (background), pre-Al/Mei (background) Rating: E (explicit) Tags: (possible) explicit sexual content, crossover with Harry Potter, language Major warnings: No

Fic #6: The Devil in the Desert Sun

Summary: Roy Mustang is stuck in a rut. And by “a rut,” he explicitly means Cameron, the Eastern ghost town wherein he is investigating his latest story. After he is so rudely ousted from his job as Editor-In-Chief of the Central times on the Führer’s executive order, all he can do is hope to redeem himself to the public by solving a case that has eluded federal and local investigators for years. And so Roy hunts for the Alchemist, a serial killer with a habit of leaving things called “transmutation circles” on the bodies of their victims. When he makes the acquaintance of an activist with a missing best friend and a strange knack for the Alchemist’s own state-restricted secrets, Roy’s suspicions that the Amestrian Military has something to do with the murders are only furthered. Conspiratorial leanings aside, Roy has to get to the bottom of the truth before the case can upend the lives of the very people he’s trying so hard to protect. If only he were as good at keeping everyone safe as he was at starting wildfires.

Author: asonohara Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 40-50K Pairings: Roy/Ed Rating: E (explicit) Tags: violence, graphic descriptions of death/murder, mentions of past suicidal attempts/ideation, character death, prescription drug abuse, smut, bottom!roy, journalist!roy, activist!ed, modern au, alternate universe-canon divergence, modern brotherhood au Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #7: A Lesson in Distraction

Summary: His goals hadn’t, and would never be without trials. Mistakes had, and would be made; he was only human after all, but he had no intention of ever letting it stop him. Roy hadn’t done the things he had, come this far, to back out now or ever. No Alpha would cow him, no amount of gossip or derisive opinion would sway him. If a megalomaniacal pseudo God and his menagerie of unnatural ‘offspring’ hadn’t been enough to deter him, then nothing would. Roy Mustang would bow out only when he himself was ready to; when he’d deemed his goals accomplished sufficiently. Only then would he step back and let everything else fall where it may. And, so close to the top seat, the last thing he needed was a distraction. It was decidedly unfortunate that he neglected to take into account nature’s tendency to overrule the paltry decisions of man, and throw troublesome Elric’s at him. Alternatively: Roy gets blindsided by his biology, and Ed really isn’t helping.

Author: Fullmetalflame Continuity: Post Brotherhood Canon Length: Estimated at 25-30k (May exceed) Pairings: Roy/Ed, Riza/Sheska (background), Alphonse/Fuery (background) Rating: E (explicit) Tags: (Ooh boy) My entry for the 2k17 FMA big bang, Alpha/Beta/Omega, and everything that entails including, knotting, mpreg, it’s not overly graphic, but it is sort of a big thing though, post Brotherhood canon, coarse language, on account of Ed’s potty-mouth, Roy pov, Omega Roy Mustang, Alpha Edward Elric, NSFW, protective!Team Mustang, no angst, light hearted fic, I promise, Alphonse is a little shit, minor background relationships, slash, smut, lots of smut, pwp, porn with plot, Roy’s a strong proud Omega who don’t need no Alpha, but he’ll take Ed anyway, because he’s a dork, the author regrets nothing, what are tags, bonding, marking, smug Omega, seriously, strut your stuff Roy, Madame Christmas knows, seriously, she knows, what else, uh, that’s it I guess? Major warnings: No

Fic #8: Under the same roof

Summary: “This is bound to be a disaster!” Ed muttered under his breath, hoping that no one would hear him but just wanting to get it out of his system. He was setting the table for his guests: ‘and what guests!’ he thought ironically. Ten years have passed since the Promised Day, and many things have changed. Finally, the friends have time to reunite in Resembool and old stories are dug up, secrets are disclosed and hilarity ensues.

Author: ionica01 Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 75k Pairings: Ed/Winry, Roy/Riza, Ling/Lan Fan, Al/Mei Rating: T (teen) Tags: Fluff, Romance, Funny, Couples, Usual Ed-Roy Bickering, Embarrassing Stories, Politics, World-Building, Character Development, Visit (and Ed isn’t happy), Bonding Time, Families Major warnings: No

Fic #9

Summary: The Illumination is a phenomenon that makes the wounds people bear visible to all in a ray of light. It is completely harmless to human health aside from making one acknowledge it. It started on the third of October 1910 and everyone remembers it very well. Follow the story as Roy, Edward, Alphonse, and the rest of the team experience the illumination to see just how far some might go to douse the lights of another’s pain. Inspired by the Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier.

Author: Literatureworks Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 50,000 Pairings: Roy/Riza Rating: T (teen) Tags: illuminationAU, Everyday life, pain, Hurt/comfort, Parental, Just an all-around good feeling sappy story of everyday emotions and circumstances, stressbaking Major warnings: No

Fic #10

Summary: Riza Hawkeye knew that her father would die, but she never thought she’d miss him. She also didn’t anticipate his apprentice, a young man named Roy Mustang. And she never thought she’d take up the alchemy tattooed onto her back, but apparently life was full of surprises. Asking Mustang to mentor her, she begins her journey down the alchemic path. She becomes close, and eventually trusts him enough to see the tattoos on her back. Apparently that was all Roy wanted, and soon after seeing her at her most vulnerable, disappears. She finds him a week later in a motel, poring over her most guarded secret and forgetting that Riza even existed. Heartbroken, she decides to continue on her path, except now not content with just being Roy’s equal. She’ll surpass him now, she swears it. Apparently, others want the same for her, and help her along the way—but at what cost?

Author: Veilrony Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 55 000 words Pairings: Riza/Rebecca (main), Roy/Riza (main for 10 chapters, not “endgame”) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Unhealthy Royai, Alchemist!Riza, Fic Spans 10 Years Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #11: Consigned to Oblivion

Summary: Memory is powerful, but easy to fabricate. When Edward Elric has to choose between his brother’s life and his own, he decides to make a sacrifice far greater than he anticipated. The Gate waits for him, and with only a week to live the life he longed for, time is the greatest enemy of all.

Author: wrongnote Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 25k to 35k, most likely. (maybe longer) Pairings: Ed/Winry (background), Roy/Riza (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Parental Roy & Ed Major warnings: No

Fic #12

Summary: Edward enters the Far West, searching for new forms of alchemy. In the red dustbowl of the western lands, he meets with a man that many claims can perform miracles, but Edward’s past experiences with both Dr. Marcoh and Father Cornello told him he was going to find a Philosopher’s Stone behind these so-called “miracles”. During his meeting with Don Paco, Edward learns about magick: an ancient mystic art of Don Paco’s people. Edward takes a gamble when Don Paco offered him the possibility of restoring his Gate of Truth and thus restoring his ability to use alchemy. Little did he know that this “Miracle Man” had a hidden agenda, so on the morning after Don Paco performs the Ritual of Transcendence, the former State Alchemist finds himself trapped in the body of a cat. When all seemed lost, Edward finds an ally in Matilde, Don Paco’s wife. Thanks to Matilde, Edward learns that Don Paco had stolen his body and is heading to Resembool to find Winry. What he wants with the automail mechanic remains a mystery. Armed with the knowledge that the Ritual Transcendence can be reversed, Edward heads East to stop Don Paco and keep Winry from harm.

Author: hirstories Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 30,000+ Pairings: Ed/Winry, Al/Mei Rating: T (teen) Tags: Canon compliant AU, Canon relationships, Implied relationships, Multiple OCs, Humor, Supernatural, Adventure, Mild violence, Cursing Major warnings: No

Fic #13: sicut in caelo et in terra

Summary: A series of shorter stories set in a world where canon alchemists are not scientists, but deities: making up a Pantheon of gods and goddesses, with Truth and Hohenheim at their helm. The series details scenes along the boys’ journey to harnessing their inherited powers and locating their father, trying to restore balance to the world of deities and discovering what he left the Pantheon to do.

Author: miraculous-stardust Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: >15k Pairings: Roy/Riza (background), Maes/Gracia (background) - pairings exist but the fic is gen Rating: T (teen) Tags: fmabb 17, deity au, basically alchemists +homunculi and gracia are deities, a series of smaller fics bc this got out of hand, inspired by the fma prototype chapter and greek mythology Major warnings: No

Fic #14

Summary: If there is one universal truth, it is that Edward Elric will do anything for his little brother…right? Yet Al is sick and Ed refuses to consider magic as a possible cause or cure. With the best intentions, Al goes behind Ed’s back to pursue the possibility, requesting assistance from Detective Roy Mustang—the only State recognized civilian Mage.  Roy reluctantly agrees, positive that doing so is about as smart as hugging a live grenade but curious because of, both the large disparity in mindsets of the brothers, and his rocky history with Ed. It predictably explodes in his face. Meanwhile, Roy has his hands full trying to protect those few magic users he’s able to track down within the confines of his profession from a world no one believes in (all the while assisting Al where he can and sidestepping explosive interactions with Ed).  He finds himself missing patterns, falling a step behind when he should be a step ahead and his past catches him unaware. Despite Ed’s protests that magic is just a flashy form of alchemy, it exists and it’s coming for him in a very real way. And when handed a decision, Ed makes the worst possible one. Tldr: Everyone: Ed, no!        Ed: Ed, FUCKIN’ yes!

Author: Catie-brie Continuity: AU that pulls from both Length: 40-50k-ish ?? Pairings: Roy/Ed (main) Ling/Lan Fan (background), Havoc/Breda/Rebecca (background), Ed/Ling (past), Roy/Kimblee (past) Can’t think of any others but ships kind of just happen when I write Rating: M (mature) Tags: Urban Fantasy AU, Modern!Amestris, with magic!, Dark, watch out for the fae, fae and faeries, '03 flavored ending, Ed will do stupid things to protect his brother, angst, enemies to lovers to friends to better lovers, UST, RST, unhealthy depictions of sex (magic), other depictions of sex, canon typical violence Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #15: Careful what you wish for

Summary: The homunculi each had a desire.  Friends, family, love, and they got what they wanted. Just not in the way they would have wanted it. Envy has abusive relatives, lust falls in love with almost every man, greed has all the possessions he could want,  but not in the prime of conditions. Edward and three others have to go into this world, similar to 03 but is brotherhood,  and collect all the homunculi and take them back to truth, as to have their current lives, they took a piece of him each that has to be recovered. Warning, this story will be very trigger sensitive. It deals with abusive relatives, mental and physical disorders. It can be fairly gory and depressive at parts. If you are sensitive to any of those things. Please do not read.

Author: Homunculus101 Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 20k or above. Pairings: N/A Rating: T (teen) Tags: Mental disorder, physical disorders, gore, real life issues Major warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #16:

Summary: While people fear the monsters they’ve read in children’s stories or even see in movies, the real monsters within humans can be even more horrifying. How does Edward contend with what’s killing people all over the world? How does Roy contend with the monster that is slowly growing from the military?  Everyone has a demon, a personal monster, how does humanity deal with a threat like that?

Author: YYLoverGirl1 Continuity: An AU inspired by Blassreiter while still keeping elements from Brotherhood Length: 15k+ Pairings: Roy/Riza Rating: T (teen)   Tags: (none) Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #17: Bringing the Fight to You

Summary: Story so far:

Edward and Alphonse were born a few years earlier, so Edward is 21 at the beginning of this story. Edward never became a State Alchemist, instead, he and Alphonse train with Izumi Curtis and travel the world, learning as much as they can. Alphonse is now a doctor, and Edward has multiple PhDs in the fields of Alchemy and Languages, and is a professor at Central University. He also helps out at the hospital whenever he has spare time, using Alchehestry to increase people’s chances of survival until the doctors (and Alphonse) can get to them. They saved Maes Hughes, who set up Edward as Roy Mustang’s escort to a military ball.

Edward and Alphonse learn of the conspiracy involving the Promised Day.

This fic:

In order to prevent the scheme of the military high command to use all of Amestris to become immortal, Edward and Alphonse join forces with Mustang. They gather allies and prepare as best they can for the fight to come. Along the way, Roy and Ed have to hide their relationship, in order to tempt the senior staff into thinking they can gain Ed as an ally for their schemes. This doesn’t stop their romance from blooming, but many obstacles are put in their path. This is the story of how the Promised Day, and the year leading up to it, would have gone, had Edward stayed out of the military, and Hughes survived to tell the tale of a nationwide transmutation circle.

Author: caraakame Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 20k - 30k Pairings: Roy/Ed, Al/May, Greed/Ling (background) Rating: M (mature) Tags: AU, Angst, So much angst, some fluff, possible smut, Hughes survives, Doctor!Al, Professor!Ed, Alternate Timeline Major warnings: Major Character Death

Fic #18: Dante’s Divine Comedy

Summary: Edward Elric has never met the host of tonight’s dinner party. In fact the only thing he truly knows about them is that they are offering key information regarding the disappearance of his father. He would have never have come here with his fiancé otherwise. Upon arrival, Edward is surprised to see that there a quite a few familiar faces among the guests. Even more so when he realizes just how similar their motivations are for attending. Though the night quickly turns for the worst as more guests begin to disappear causing Edward to realize that some things are better left buried and forgotten.

Author: totallynotmyfanfiction Continuity: FMA 2003 Length: 20,000 (in the end) Pairings: Al/Wrath, Ed/Winry, Winry/Paninya (past), Dante/Hohenheim (background), Greed/Envy (background), Dante/Greed (background), Lust/Scar (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: Murder Mystery, Human AU, Slightly Older Characters, Some Humor, Tragedy, Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #19

Summary: In a world where the Gate works on different principles, the price Ed pays for Al’s soul isn’t an arm, but his humanity. Turned into a strange and unnatural beast, he and Al run away, and end up settling in an old castle ruin. Hiding from sight, they spend years searching for a way to get their true bodies back. But then the military shows up, and Roy ends up as Ed’s “hostage”. Though it’s hard to tell who’s the more unwilling party. Well, at first, anyway.

Author: Spuri Continuity: AU (possible vague mention of some Brotherhood details) Length: 46000 Pairings: Roy/Ed Rating: M (mature) Tags: AU - Beauty and the Beast, fluff, crack, slight angst, mention of non-trans related dysphoria, (aka Ed is Beast and understandably has issues), Major warnings: No

Fic #20

Summary: He hates being reduced to the role of civilian – a convalescing civilian, even more. He hates the red tape that surrounds his recovery; hates that Riza still hasn’t come out of her coma like the doctors said she would.

The aftermath of the Promised Day isn’t pleasant for anybody involved.

Author: Tsaritsa Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 15k Pairings: Roy/Riza, Ed/Winry (background) Rating: T (teen) Tags: (none) Major warnings: No

Fic #21: The Wilderness

Summary: Amestris becomes a harrowingly silent place on the afternoon of the Promised Day and only the survivors at the center are left to tread over it. Within a few hours, they won’t be the only ones wandering.

Author: haganenobeato Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 25,000+ Pairings: Roy/Riza (main), Al/Mei, Ed/Winry (background) Rating: M (mature) Tags: Horror, Dark, Psychological distress, Zombies, Kinda gorey, Lots of things happen REAL QUICK, some light moments to help Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #22: Heathens

Summary: Central City has never been a quiet city. Sex and drugs—the currency of choice in the criminal underground—overflow in the streets leaving fear and unrest in its wake. Obsidian Inferno, the most exclusive club in Central, caters to an exclusive clientele with the most notorious playboy,Roy Mustang, on its throne.  However when a recent string of murders and drug overdoses takes the city by storm, the evidence starts to point to the Inferno. Detective Edward Elric must go undercover to solve the case, but discovers that not everything is what it seems. As the pressure mounts, his discovery threatens to tear apart everything he loves.

Author: Stargazerlilith Continuity: AU with a mix of both worlds Length: 25,000 - 30,000 ish Pairings: Roy/Ed, Ed/Russell (past) Rating: E (explicit) Tags: Drug abuse, gang violence, alcohol abuse, possible kink, sexual content, graphic murders, Schizophrenic characters. Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Fic #23: Antebellum Innocence

Summary: The year is 1922, and New York City has never been more rife with drama, drugs, conflict, and crime. It’s a dangerous place for a couple of immigrants, but Ed and Al have always been good at toughing it out. However, dangers can lurk even in the most well-lit corners, and the shadows can hold some of the best friends they’ll ever meet.

Author: the-redheaded-potato Continuity: Brotherhood/Manga Length: 40k Pairings: Roy/Ed, Greed/Ling, Fuery/Havoc Rating: M (mature) Tags: aged-up character, mafia!au, mob boss Roy, trans Havoc, nb Breda, nb Envy, disability, officer Hughes, the homunculi are a rival gang, period-typical racism, tho I downsized it significantly, mentions of ableism Major warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

[theironweasel]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and why Avatar hasn’t completely spoiled me.

Spoilers for both franchises!

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is what I was looking for from the Original Series. While still not quite at Avatar Level for a number of reasons It’s just a step below and I believe I will consider it one of my favorites and I definitely want to rewatch it someday! I will do some comparisons between both the Original Series and Avatar as my gold standard for storytelling.

The Music. This is something I will give the Original series, there were a number of really memorable tracks, such as Dante’s Theme that really helped give some atmosphere. Brotherhood on the other hand while having a serviceable soundtrack, doesn’t have anything very memorable or any tracks that really elevate a scene beyond its other qualities. Avatar is, of course, renowned for its music, Legend of Korra, in particular, had top-notch music that elevated many scenes emotionally into truly epic, sad and many other emotions.

The Humor. The humor is about on the same level as the original series, though even more exaggerated at many points. Though there are a number of more natural humor moments, like a guard snapping to attention with “I’m awake!” Other than a few moments like that the humor doesn’t work that well and it’s pretty much abandoned in the last third of the series, which makes sense given how serious things get but even Avatar managed to get good jokes in near the end. Hell one of the best jokes in ATLA is the war balloon “birthday party” in the penultimate episode. I think this may also be a dub issue, unless an anime is focused on comedy it can be very difficult for a dub to pick up on the comedic timing necessary to make the jokes work.

The Pacing. Although better than the original series, a lot of the plot of the last half of the series feels kind of like padding and could have been condensed into 2/3rds or even half the number of episodes and the series would have felt a lot tighter. The Final Arc especially drags on for way too long though it does pay off for the most part.

The Plot. This felt like a significant improvement over the original series. First, the scale felt a lot bigger and more epic and where the original could come off as convoluted, Brotherhood feels more like it’s complex. While there are plenty of twists and turns I never really had difficulty keeping everything straight up until towards the end and it wasn’t that bad and all the stuff going on helped give things an epic feel. However, like I said earlier it does feel like the plot is stretched out more than it needs to be, I wish it had been trimmed a bit to keep things going at a better pace.

The Characters. Again, a significant improvement over the original series as the side characters get a lot more development and more tend to have full arcs such as Scar and Greed. However, this is where I feel the show could have lived up to Avatar but didn’t quite make it. I think the key to being on that level, for me at least, is with the characters. As I said in my FMA review, ATLA and LOK were great in creating minor characters that had interesting personalities and designs such as Huu, Ryu, and the Nomads. But they don’t overstay their welcome, only appearing in an episode or two and often with a lot of space between appearances. Even the less interesting of these tend to have arcs that lend to character development for the main characters such as Haru to Katara, Teo to Aang and Tahno to Korra. Brotherhood while focusing more on character development than the original series it does tend to have too many side characters to get on the same level as Avatar’s characters. While LOK isn’t quite as strong in this regard it knows when to put certain characters in more minor roles when they aren’t relevant to the story or their arcs have finished. I think the definitive difference comes in several points. First, while I wouldn't call the characters in Brotherhood one note, as many have two or three levels to them, however what Avatar, particularly ATLA, did was make characters with many layers such as Zuko and Lin Beifong or even characters who were almost two people in one such as Katara where this fact isn’t even fully looked into until the last regular episode before the finale but is also a fact that can be seen from the very first episode. The other aspect I think that Avatar has is it’s cast and voice director that manages to give some of the best performances I’ve ever seen from comedy to drama, from John Michael Higgins legendary Varrick that manages to be both hilarious and occasionally intimidating and believable as both a Villain and Hero, to Mae Whitman as Katara who manages to have some of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the show almost purely through her performance from breaking down in tears over how hurt she feels because of her absent father to making the word “Me” one of the most powerful and emotional moments of the series. I will give Brotherhood this, while I wasn’t super invested in most of the characters, I did appreciate how in the end they managed to use some of the characters very well. In particular Greed’s sacrifice and Hohenheim's arc with his family, both of which were played well enough to get me teary eyed, even if I didn’t really care much about the characters themselves.

The Fights. While being better than the original series fight scenes, having a bit more creativity and energy, I do think Avatar has spoiled me forever so that only purely fight focused animes can live up to the level of Avatar as they are extremely well thought out with real martial arts and elemental abilities that make the fight scenes feel so intense. Additionally, I feel Avatar has a wonderful ability to incorporate emotion very well into the fights both in the lead-up and how the fights play out. From the beautiful and almost artistic fiery destruction that was the Last Agni Kai to what may be one of the best fight scenes of all time in the final battle between Korra and Kuvira that has such strong intensity and speed with constantly shifting tactics and moves. Additionally, the fight cinematography is fantastic, always showing us the battlefield and movements of the characters, rarely resorting to speed lines or distortion to make the action look faster and more intense, something Brotherhood was guilty of even in it’s most epic and near end fight scenes such as Scar vs. Wrath.

The Villains. This was one of the biggest improvements from the original series in my opinion. While most of the villains are still pretty one note, they are handled much better. First, they don’t have the bizarre desire to become human despite how the reasons were only explained, poorly, in a single line. Two, contrary to the original series, the villains loathe human beings and revel in their own inhumanity, but for some at least it is a cover for their envy of humanity and while it’s the same idea as the original series it is done in a much more compelling way. In particular what they do with Greed is fascinating, showing how Greed as a concept is really just seeking empty things that a person believes will make them feel whole but that ultimately what they are “greedy” for is the love of other people, showing how it isn’t just an evil. This was hinted at in the original series, but Brotherhood makes it a complete Arc. And while I found Homunculus himself to be boring most of the time, I did really like his final moments which made me wish we had seen a deeper exploration of this aspect of his character.

Winry. She is done a lot better in Brotherhood, making her more 3 dimensional. When she makes a mistake she feels guilt and will actually apologize and try to change, and her issues with her parents’ death are fully explored and resolved. Finally, while her relationship with Ed doesn’t get an Avatar super romantic ending, it does feel way more resolved than in the Original series as in this they at least admit their feelings.

Izumi. This is probably the best improvement from the original series. While she isn’t an amazing character in Brotherhood, she was so insufferable in the original and was around far too long. While she is still a bit of a wacko, the hateful aspects of her character are toned down to almost zero. While she still has the brothers live on an island for a month, she doesn’t have some dude beat the crap out of them and the show does actually question if this is the right thing to do and implies that Izumi may have a skewed perspective. And she is able to have a legitimate emotional moment with the brothers without resorting to violence and recognizes her mistake in not telling them about messing up herself. Again while she is not an amazing character in Brotherhood, she was so bad in the original that it almost ruined the show for me.

The Ending. Again, while I feel the final arc lasted way too long the payoff was mostly worth it. While there were some plot details that were a bit confusing and some metaphysical stuff that made me raise an eyebrow (Avatar was great in establishing its metaphysical aspects in preparation for the finales). However I feel that most of if not all the important characters have satisfying resolutions to their stories, with Hohenheim finally wanting to live in his dying moments, Roy realizing he has to ascend to power while doing good instead of waiting until he’s there, Scar learning to look beyond his hate to do what’s best for his people, and probably the best with Ed. While Ed was a good character, I never really loved him, but I will give him credit for having one of the best resolutions to an arc I’ve seen, deciding to give up his power in order to save his brother. And I love how the seemingly indifferent/malevolent Truth was actually pleased in the end to see Ed make the right decision, that despite his harshness and some mean-spiritedness, Truth ultimately wants Humanity to learn and change for the better and will punish anyone both well and ill-intentioned who has the hubris to play god.

Ultimately, while I can’t put Brotherhood in the same ranks as Avatar, I do place it as one of my favorite shows I’ve watched and look forward to rewatching it someday and would like to share it with a friend who may enjoy it. But here is where I can define a tangible difference, I can show Avatar to anyone, I watched it with my rather intellectual father and he loved both series and even liked some of the humor quite well. I don’t feel him or certain other people would appreciate Brotherhood on that same level even though I am pretty close myself.

[sage-nebula]

(if you don't mind me sending a second one) top ten fma characters?

Of course I don’t! This one is going to be hard, though, because there are so many fantastic characters that I feel it’s inevitable I’m going to end up forgetting someone.

Roy Mustang --- Roy didn’t used to be my favorite character way back in middle / high school when I was first introduced to FMA (through the 2003 series), and even then, he wasn’t my favorite character when Brotherhood first aired in 2009, or even on multiple re-watches. Instead, he is a character who has steadily grown to be my fave with each new re-watch. I swear to god, every time I revisit this series I love him more, and more, and more, and now he’s undoubtedly my favorite. I love Colonel Badass. More than that, I love how he’s Colonel Dad even as he tries to argue it and claim, without anyone suggesting otherwise, that he’s not Fullmetal’s father, ffs. (Yes you are, Roy. You’re one of his dads. Just accept it.) I love . . . so much about Roy. I love how clever and intelligent he is, that he recognizes the machinations of the government and how he plays his pieces correctly in order to advance up the ladder, but how he does that specifically so that he can a.) protect the people most important to him (and did you notice? In the Japanese version, he uses the exact same language Alan does when saying he wants to protect his most important people! Taisetsu mono!), and b.) protect everyone in Amestris by sitting at the very top as Fuhrer President (which is exactly why I think Alan would make an excellent Champion---he can protect everyone in Kalos that way, that’s literally the Champion’s job, but that’s a meta for another time). Roy also wants to atone for everything he did during the Ishbal extermination---he wants himself and all other state alchemists held accountable for their war crimes, but only after they help with Ishbal’s restoration, which I think is just incredibly admirable. Like, it’s not just that Roy feels guilty and feels he’s deserving of punishment. He knows that the lives lost can never be restored, knows that the destruction can never be undone, but he still wants to help restore Ishbal to a land of prosperity first, so it’s not just that he’s punishing himself (and others), but that he’s actively giving back to Ishbal instead of just leaving them destitute. Like, goddamn. That is the right fucking reaction to what happened.Additionally, Roy is so good about keeping his cards close to his chest, about not showing how he feels most of the time, but the truth is that he cares so fucking much. He’s obviously in love with Riza. His team means everything to him (he’s fucking crushed when Havoc is paralyzed, crushed), he cares about the Elric boys, he cares about---just about everyone. Roy keeps up an unaffected exterior most of the time because he has to, but the truth is that these things cut him pretty deeply and they do keep him up at night. There’s so much to him and so much within him and goddamn I love the fucking Flame Alchemist. He’s definitely my fave. I adore him.(Also, not for nothing, but PokéAni actually paid him a homage, using Alan, no less. Feast your eyes. There’s no way using that very specific number wasn’t intentional. None.)

Edward Elric --- Ed was always my favorite in the past, and to be honest I still relate to him a lot and still love him dearly, so he’s just #2 now. (Sorry, Ed . . . but in the Flame vs. Fullmetal battle of my heart, you lose.) Aside from also being quite short (though he inevitably surpassed me in height, damn him), I used to be sensitive about it in childhood. Whereas I’m comfortable with the fact that I’m tiny now, I used to have quite a temper about it as a kid . . . so in that sense, honestly, I found him to be quite relatable!Aside from that, though, he’s yet another Determinator. He’s a hothead sometimes, but he has a heart of gold, and he’s a very protective big brother. These are all traits I find very attractive in characters. On top of which, although I feel like in many ways Ed would nearly be a Hat Stall between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, in the end I feel like the Hat would either put him in Gryffindor, or he’d choose to be there, but Ravenclaw would be a very close secondary---and that’s something I relate to, because I am a Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw is my secondary. (Or to use the Ilvermony Houses, I’m a Gryffindor at Hogwarts and Horned Serpent at Ilvermorny---a Serpendor, if you will. I feel that Ed is very much the same way.) We have similar ways of looking at and doing things, to the point where Ed is certainly one of those characters that I point to when people want to get to know me through fictional characters. I’ll always love the Fullmetal Alchemist. Even if he’s not technically an alchemist anymore, he’ll always be the alchemist in my soul. Even if he’s #2 now, I’ll always cherish him. ♥

Izumi Curtis --- MAMA IZUMI GETS SHIT DONE. I loooove Izumi, so very much. I love her not only because she’s a badass housewife / alchemist who strikes fear into the hearts of all who meet her---who easily tosses Sloth across the room even though Sloth was giving both Olivier and Alex trouble---but also because she has a heart of gold and is allowed to have her moments of vulnerability without that diminishing how badass she is. Izumi is allowed to be a grieving mother who lost her only biological child, she’s allowed to be there for her surrogate sons Ed and Al, she’s allowed to show moments of grief and pain without at all losing how incredible she is. Every moment that she goes Mama Boy over the boys is pure gold and just---every moment she has is pure gold, including when she sends Bradley packing. Izumi is amazing. I love her.

Riza Hawkeye --- I also really, really cherish Riza! What I love most about Riza is that I feel like, in a lesser shounen manga, her love for Roy would have been her motivation for enlisting in the military and swearing to follow him “into Hell, if necessary.” But that’s not the case here. Riza is in love with Roy, but her motivation for doing what she does is because she believes in his vision for their country, not because she loves him. This is why she is capable of shooting him (killing him) if necessary, if it seems as if he’s no longer going to be able to fulfill his promise and will instead actively work against it. Yes, it would break her heart to do so. It’s very obvious how much pulling the trigger would break her, but she can and will do it because what she swore to was his vision for Amestris. She won’t let anything, even her feelings for him, blind her to that. Riza lived through having an abusive father, survived the Ishbal Extermination, and has gone through so much more. She’s so strong, not only because she stays stoic in the face of most things, but because she continues to fight even though we see on numerous instances how much all of this has gotten to her. Her relationship with Roy is by far my favorite ship in the series (for so many reasons), but overall the reason why I love Riza so much is because of who she is shown to be outside of him. She’s compassionate, brave, wonderful with children, a very good dog mom, and overall just a believable and wonderful character. I love Riza. Riza is so good.

Ling Yao --- THE PRINCE OF MY HEART!! What I love most about Ling is how easily he flips between comedic relief and an actually serious character that shouldn’t be brushed aside. So many of his early scenes are full of shenanigans, but even those that are rife with shenanigans are peppered with moments of seriousness because of how serious Ling is about his duty to Xing. He wants immortality---and he doesn’t want it for himself, but for his people, and that’s not just limited to the Yao clan. Ling is willing to do anything for his people, because he believes that’s what a king should do, even if it means sacrificing his own autonomy to do it. I do think that was a reckless, irresponsible choice, but it is one that paid off in his favor, big time, so hey. Ling is great, though, and his relationship with Ed is amazing, a+++. I definitely love him.

Maes Hughes --- MAAAAES, RIP. I’m pretty sure Maes Hughes is one death that anime fans as a collective will never be over (however much we may make jokes about it sometimes). Particularly since Brotherhood made the mistake of rushing through to the point of divergence in the beginning, it always feels like Hughes died too soon. But the truth is that, no matter what, he did. He was an excellent husband and father, and he was a father not only to Gracia, but also to Winry and the Elrics. He was always, always there to support Roy, and however much Roy might have felt annoyed by the constant long phone calls at times, the fact that Roy is so severely affected by Hughes’ loss so late into the series . . . I mean, he doesn’t get his revenge on Envy until the very end, and when he does? Holy hot fucking damn, he’s downright terrifying. (I mean, I love it, but jesus fucking christ.) But anyway, back to Hughes himself, he was just such a sweet person and his life had such an impact and he just knew too much too soon. He was too smart, he had to be killed off so that the plot wouldn’t be solved too early. I know that, but it still hurts, and Elysia crying at his funeral will still slaughter me every single time, fuck. 

Alphonse Elric --- I feel kind of bad for having Al so low on this list, but make no mistake---I do love him! It’s just that I find his scenes / subplots a little less compelling than the characters listed above him. I do think he’s wonderful, though; he’s a complete sweetheart, and though it happens less often than it does with Ed, there are times when Al has a snarky little sassmouth on him as well, and those moments are always delightful. Also, he, too, had to deal with a lot of bullshit over the course of the series. He damn well does deserve his happy ending.

Maria Ross --- Maria is so underappreciated in the fandom, and like---I get that she spends the majority of the series off-screen because she had to go into exile in Xing (since she was framed for Hughes’ murder), but at the same time, she’s so good! She acts like a stern big sis for the Elrics (which they need at times, tbh), and she’s loyal and dedicated and hardworking and smart. I love her relationship with Denny, and I also love how she came back for the final fight, and this was a surprise to Mustang, he didn’t actually make this choice, she just did it and ajsldgjdsagda. Maria is great, I love her.

May Chang --- Honestly, this post (written by someone else) says everything about May that I could ever say and more. I love how well-developed she is, how she’s allowed to be feminine but is still focused on her goals, and how much depth there is to her character. May is absolutely fantastic. Princess of my heart, tbh.

Olivier Mira Armstrong --- And finally, the QUEEN OF THE NORTH HERSELF. While Olivier is obviously a badass who takes shit from absolutely no one, I love that she’s still allowed to be a person outside of that. She’s not vulnerable in the ways that’s expected of her, but at the same time she doesn’t abhor femininity either (and in fact, the expectation that she would is what she and Roy take advantage of in order to communicate without arousing suspicion). She cares deeply for her team at Briggs, you can tell she’s deeply affected by Buccaneer’s death, and while she’s frustrated by her brother and doesn’t really respect him, it’s clear that she also cares about him in her own way as well. Yeah, she takes command of the Armstrong family manor, but that’s because she had to in order to sneak the Briggs soldiers in, and she didn’t want to put responsibility on Alex’s shoulders that he wouldn’t be able to handle. (I mean, like, no offense to him---he obviously came through in a big way and she sees that later---but from her perspective, he left the battlefield during Ishbal, so therefore combat and combat pragmatism are not his strong suits, not in a wartime situation. She didn’t want to put him in that position, so she didn’t. She handled it herself. She did so in an abrasive way, yes, but I still think she had compassion for him at heart.) Olivier defies expectations and shatters them into pieces. It’s why the soldiers at Briggs follow her without question.  I love her, she’s great.