#ishvalan war

[maddiicake]

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COMMISSION FOR PuzzleEmerald on DeviantART, Instagram, and Twitter

A Comic version of a scene from their Fullmetal Alchemist FanFic, in which their OC, Eden, gets cornered by military soldier, Sophia, while trying to save Eliana

Hoo boy... this one was INTENSE! ;A; But, enjoyable all the way~ I'll be honest, the flashbacks from the Isvhal War in 2003 had slipped my mind that I had totally forgotten how intense and vibrant--yet ominous--the color palette was. It didn't help that the Google Results all came up with References from the Brotherhood version of the war; all daytime in the desert city |D But! Puzzle was able to help me find the right references to use for their Commission, which I am super thankful and grateful for. As well as ALL the feedback they gave me through the process of their commissions! ;A; For real, critiques are what I CRAAAAAVVEEEE ;u; (it feeds the little perfectionist gremlin inside me lol). Anyway! I had a lot of fun putting this piece together. And I wanted to make sure the intensity of the setting and situation of the fic--from the setting/background, to the emotions, to just the onomatopoeias xD Speaking of the fic... I can't wait until it's available~ >u< And, as soon as the author, PuzzleEmerald, makes it, I'll definitely be sure to update the description of the comics with a link to the fic!

~

Anyway, thanks so much for your patience and for commissioning me~! I appreciate it!

[greetings-humans]

i don't really like to ship them, I see them as platonic life partners tbh but I agree with these a lot!

What makes me insane about royai is that Roy and Riza worked well even before their backstory was revealed.

Two soldiers who fought together in a war, who protect each other, and who are devoted to each other and to a common cause. That works, right? That was enough.

But then. Then.

Then it turns out that they actually knew each other long before Ishval. They knew each other when Hawkeye was just Riza and Roy just her father's apprentice. It turns out that they are not only bound by their job or their cause or the mutual esteem and respect, nor even just by the shared trauma of war. It turns out that Riza is literally the person who put the flame alchemy in Roy's hands. That the alchemical circles on his gloves are tattooed on her skin. That it was Riza who gave him that power and for that she feels just as responsible for every person he has killed with his flames as she does for those she has shot with her rifle. And the reason she did it is because she trusted him and she trusted his naive dreams. And when the war is over he is well aware that he has broken her trust and that is the reason why he agrees to burn her back and trusting her his own back in return, thus explicitly giving her the power to stab him in the back.

And yet she decides to stand by him, despite the fact that he has already disappointed her once, because she has not stopped believing in those dreams he confided in her when they were still two naive kids untouched by the sins of war.

And while it is true that she stays by his side because she, too, wants to seek some sort of atonement and seek justice for the horrors they both committed, it is also true that, by her own admission, the reason she still wears a uniform and is ready to pull the trigger is that she wants to protect him.

[riza-hawks-eye]

"Don't talk to them when they are wearing their SadWarCriminalBlankets™"

[salvidida]

Racism and colourism are systemic, and of course they're rampant in most media, fandoms, merchandising, the whole shebang. So these are far from the only examples of this being a problem, but it's maddening being into jjba, ffvii, and fma and seeing damn near NOTHING for any of the (scant) core dark-skinned characters of colour from these fandoms.

Like, wow, cool fanart of the cast of Stardust Crusaders! Where's Avdol? :))))

Great fanart of the ffvii team! Why's Barret MIA? :))))

Oh cool, look at all of this art featuring the large fma cast (if not massive cast regarding mangahood)! It includes villains even! ... So Scar just doesn't exist or...? Man, not even Miles? Paninya?? Hello????

[aka-lambda]

I'm planning my first rant on tumblr that will be about bnha and its villains, for now have this FMA sketch I did some months ago.

ElsDougal isn't real he can't hurt you.

[feuhrer]

@doomedflare, jake: [...]

dark eyes squint under the ishvalan sun, clear blue skies sharply contrasted by a red sea of massacred civilians strewn about the rubble; the corpses twisted and mangled by huge, jutting roots originating from stock-still boy in front of mustang.

❝ is the area clear, park? ❞ tired gaze scans the horizon, on high alert for any movement in the vicinity as he waits for an answer from fellow alchemist, though he's not sure he'll be getting a response at all, as he approaches and gets a better look. poor kid, it's a dangerous thought to muster during times of war, but haunted eyes stare out at the carnage that his own hands had obviously produced. the garden alchemist, such a gentle name.

i really did have good intentions. the best of intentions.

hard expression softens just a hair, though he doesn't turn to look at park, instead staring at the truth before them. he does, however, offer the boy a strong grip to left shoulder, steadying visibly shaking young man.

❝ i know, park, ❞ voice drops low, afraid of who might be listening, despite their present audience being only the dead, ❝ but we have to stay focused — on now and the future, ❞ other hand grabs his other shoulder, turning shell-shocked boy to face him, his eyes razor sharp, ❝ just stay focused — for your own sake and everyone else's. ❞

[doomedflare]

and if i make an fma verse for jake....

[earmo-imni]

Welp, time to emotionally devastate myself!

[bersalah]

@alexrphub​ said: ⏰️ - see a memory from Ali's past. Past meme // Accepting!

            “...there’s enough food here to last you a couple of days,” She quieted down hearing gunshots close by before continuing in a whisper, “Lara will escort you to the edge of the city, then you run. Away from the fighting...” Ali adjusted the uniforms she stole off of dead soldiers, now donned by Ishvalans- a woman, her children, and their grandmother. Nodding to them she gave the woman a smile- she knew the look she was giving Ali... ‘will you be alright?’

      And all she could do was put on a brave face and nod- “...Lara will get you out, I promise...” And she ushered them out quickly as night fell and the explosions silenced before turning to the rest of their refugees; she didn’t have much time. None of them did.

      “Do you have your uniforms? Bags? Anything you could salvage...?” Asking the basic questions before sighing and going about her usual business when she got nods from the next group Lara was going to get out: three children and their father... They were running low on supplies and uniforms anyway and the recent gunshots weren’t far...

      Ali just collapsed onto some boxes and bounced her leg, head in her hands as she stared at the ground...

      Does she sacrifice the people to see who can gather more for those who needed escape...?                 Or did she leave them, sitting ducks, to go and gather them herself...?

    It was only then did she grip onto her hair and start crying quietly, she was only 15- she shouldn’t have had to be thinking about this. She wanted her dad, she wanted her MOM...       She shouldn’t have to wake up every day wondering if she was going to either survive the night or fight to survive...

                               tick...tick.....tick......

            The quiet was filled with a gentle ticking noise, one that slowly lulled her tears to a stop, ringing in her ears from her cries that muffled the panicked yelling... The ticking growing louder and louder until-

       It was nothing but ringing and pain, static and blurred vision- flames and burning wood, rubble piled all around them, the scent of burning flesh hitting her nose. An attempt to get up was made but she was stuck, was something sitting on her arm? did she accidentally get stuck under a box? No that was silly...

                   she was just sitting there.

       Delirium set in, hearing distant voices, blurry figures, looking around as best as she could- her eyes widening momentarily seeing a little hand sticking out from under the rubble as she tried to pull herself out again only for her cries of agony to tear through the air before she collapsed, panting and coughing. Everything hit her in full force...

              it hurts...IT HURTS. IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS.

     And she couldn’t scream, they’d finish the job they began if she did... She couldn’t cry out for those who were with her- they were gone, dead. DEAD. DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD.

     Static filled her mind again, inhaling more smoke- she thought she heard footsteps, she thought she heard people approaching...

                   this was it...                      She was going to die.

      A child’s screams tore through the air as the footsteps that approached pulled them back, holding them and trying to bandage their wounds as best they could.

       Talk of automail, talk of family... talk of survival... it all jumbled together into a hot mess- delirious from the smoke and ash, though pain slowly crept in before Ali felt like she was on fire as her head cleared of the smoke.               That wasn’t a child, those were her screams, that was her blood... That was her arm laying under the rubble with blood pooling around it- those eyes widened as she was quickly carried to a safe house, though soon they closed. She was so tired...

       When Ali awoke again, there was still static and ringing...but the only voice that tore clear through it was one single word screamed by a familiar voice, one she put her trust in to keep her safe...

                         “ALI!!!”

[jaquivise-scrimblesquire]

I'm not the writer so I can't say much but I think its much more about what you do after. Roy, Riza and many other people involved in the ishvalan genocide clearly regret it, and they hated doing it. Not doing it meant certain death.

Think about how Bradley treats who he sees as traitors and how that likely isn't anything new considering his upbringing.

That's also what the religious themes in lior tie into the overall narrative. So much of fma is about atonement and the fallout of horrible traumatic events, even the central narrative of the elric brothers.

Those who don't regret their actions are commonly villains or at least antiheroes, Barry the chopper, Kimbley, Scar, the homunculi, and other much more spoilers characters.

Tl:dr yes what roy did is bad but he knows it and he makes up for it, just like the rest of the cast. The bad guys are the ones who don't regret the atrocities they commit

"fma is about how anyone can be corrupted by a bad system and tricked into taking part in evil shit even if they aren't bad people at heart" idk i mean if i was mustang i simply would not have used my magic powers to incinerate children but maybe that's just me

[depressocafe]

I'm rewatching one of my favorite anime FMA: Brotherhood, and I just realized how religious it is.

Like it's always been religious but in doing research on the rapture I found out that the four horseman of the apocalypse show up in show:

----

War: the major uprisings around amestris such as the Ishvalan war of extermination

Pestilence: shortly after the ishavalen war a plague ravaged the country side, taking Ed and Al's mother with it

Famine: throughout the show we see increased levels of poverty, individuals living in slums and alleyways, factories going out of business and food carefully being rationed and distributed.

Death: this is self-explainatory.

----

On top of that we have Van Hohenheim, Edward, and Alphonse who represent the holy trinity

Father who represents Lucifer and the seven deadly sins which biblically are devils/demons working under lucifer's orders

And Roy Mustang, who despite lacking many of the physical qualities, represents Lady justice. As he loses his sight by the end of the show and and is similar In moral intelligence to lady justice herself.

The entirety of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is just the Rapture and the events leading up to it. I'm astounded that this anime has been out since the early 2000s and I'm still finding new symbolisms, details, and information within its contents. That's why it's one of my favorite anime, so much care and intelligence put into one show.🔥♥️✨️💯👑

[female-malice]

Recently I've heard some people don't like how FMA handles fascism or more like how it handles the characters affected by it or the characters who are working for the state. That it's anti-radical, liberal centrist jargon. I think it's still pretty good though and one of my all time faves, even if couple things I would have done a bit differently

I would not have done anything differently.

Audiences today want Marvel movies where the heroes and villains are announced at the beginning. They want good and evil with no nuance. They want righteous revolutionaries who are 100% ideologically and politically perfect. They want heroes who only use violence in a way that the narrative frames as wonderful and liberating.

Fullmetal Alchemist does not deliver that.

Colonel Mustang is a war criminal. The story never apologizes for his war crimes. Those crimes are there on his resume and they are never scrubbed away. He even manipulates and recruits two child soldiers. So audiences don't like that he orchestrates a revolution against the fascist shadow government. They didn't want him to be the one to do that because he's not a character that you can romanticize.

Scar's cause was righteous. But his terrorism was completely ineffective and did not help his people. He became obsessed with murdering a child soldier while neglecting the needs of Ishvalans. The fascist shadow government actually helped Scar because they wanted to kill powerful and disloyal alchemists. Scar could do that for them. His terrorism was useful to the very forces he was fighting against. Obviously, audiences who want righteous radical revolution stories are not going to like that.

Amestris's revolution is eventually carried out by a collection of people who were once on several opposing sides. And internet leftists don't like that because of course they don't.

[imagines--galore]

||I Will Always Choose You||

Summary: As a soldier you had expected to find yourself in dangerous situations. But trapped in the claws of a Homunculous who went by Lust and watching the man you love try to save you was on a whole other level.

Pairing: Roy Mustang x Reader

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T. Romance. Action. Angst. A bit of mention of injury so be prepared!

A/N: Sorry its late but I hope you like this! @smallartist08

Roy Mustang was not in love.

He had never been in love, and there was no possibility of him falling in love in the future.

Not when he had an entire country to think of. Not when he had to help make Amestris a country he would be proud to call home. Not when he had so many people to look after. His entire team. His best friend’s wife and daughter. The Elric brothers. Madam Christmas and the girls.

Most all of them were in constant danger, one way or the other. There was no time for him to be in love when he had to make sure he knew of their every step. Make sure they stayed safe.

Or as safe as the Elric brothers could be.

Those two boys got in so much trouble sometimes, he was sure they had targets painted on their backs.

But most of all?

Roy Mustang did not deserve love. Not after the bloodshed he had carried out as the Flame Alchemist. Not after all the innocent Ishvalans he had killed when he had been ordered to. 

He was ashamed of his actions, and deeply regretful that he had not stood up to those in authority back then. He may spend his whole life trying to atone for all his sins. Which is why something as pure as love could never be in his life. 

Not with how tainted his soul was. 

How broken.

But............the only problem about not falling in love?

Was that he was already in love.

With you.

Just like Riza and Maes, you had been beside Roy every step of the way.

You had been with him when he was stationed to the front lines. As a weapon’s specialist, and a liaison between the superiors and the alchemists, you had been in-charge of all the weapons that came your way. 

Mechanical and human.

And all the State Alchemists were seen as nothing more then weapons at that time.

You were to make sure that each piece of weapon stayed in shape, and you were aware of every alchemist and where they were stationed, what they were capable of, and how far they could go with the abilities.

As one of the best sharpshooters, Riza would often be found in your company. Not only because you were the only one she trusted with making sure her weapon was in working order, but also because there were so few women on the front lines.

It was nice having another woman around, someone the both of you could trust to watch each other’s back.

You had been walking around when you had first heard Roy. He was speaking to Maes, telling him of the guilt he felt for using his abilities to kill so many. All of this was spoken in confidant, and you were not meant to have heard it.

But you did.

And your heart went out to the poor man.

You had seen so many soldiers die. So many lives wasted.

And for what?

For a war that had started because the Ishavalan’s had revolted against the people who ruled them. Later you would come to know the true reason for the war, but even then, it didn’t sit right with you.

Riza had been with you, and when Roy and Maes had seen you standing there, she had reassured them, saying you would not breath a single word of it to anyone.

Although the next time Roy was given an assignment, it had no killing involved and only a few patrols. He had been confused at first, and after a little detective work on Maes’s part, he was told that you were responsible for it. While writing your weekly reports you had managed to surreptitiously add a few points that would make it seem that the areas Roy would be stationed at were in dire need of a cleansing. 

Of course, that was a lie.

Leaving Roy rather impressed with your clever wording, and quick thinking. He voiced it to you out loud, but what he didn’t say, at least not in so many words, was that he was sure that you had done so out of the kindness of your heart.

He had known of you long before you knew him. At least you were are of his existence, and that he was the Flame Alchemist. That was as far as your knowledge of him went until that fateful and unintentional run-in while he had been speaking to Maes. Roy Mustang knew exactly who you were and what you were there to do. 

He had seen you, a few days after your arrival. You were crouching down next to a dying Ishvalan, offering him some water. And you had stayed there, held his hand and spoke to him.

Most soldiers would’ve simply walked by the dying man. But not you. No, you stayed with him until he died. And when he did, you cried.

You sat there crying in the shadows for a good long while, until your tears had dried and you had composed yourself enough to walk back to your post. And Roy had watched you, a piece of his broken heart mending at the reassurance of your simple act of staying with a dying man.

That there was still kindness in this cruel world.

                                           ————————–

Your life had never been easy.

For one you were related to the esteemed Armstrong family. A cousin of the family. You had quite the legacy to live up to.

Your father had been a decorated army officer until his death in the Ishvalan War. You had been expected to walk in his footsteps. And as his only child, there was a lot of pressure on you. And given the fact that you were a girl, you had to work twice as hard. It didn’t help that your father made you aware of your gender every moment of everyday. And not in the most positive of ways.

You could never be an Alchemist like your cousin Alex, you had no desire to become a weapon like him. And you could never be as ruthless and heartless as your cousin Olivier. Even she had once stated that if you were to ever loose the kindness that radiated from your very being, you would loose part of yourself.

So you had decided to forge a path that worked for you. And though you had to hide your real nature while in the army working at the front lines, you had been lucky enough to find people you could be yourself around.

People you trusted had your back no matter what would happen.

After the war, you were personally asked by Flame Alchemist Roy Mustang to work with him. He had said he needed a person who could talk their way out of a situation without having a single shot fired. Translation: He needed someone who could speak to those superior them him without pissing them off. And once you were made aware that Riza would be a part of that Unit as well, you had agreed.

And while that was your initial reason for joining Mustang’s Unit, it began to change over the years as you got to know the rest of your Team.

Riza Hawkeye, your first true friend in the military. You had both shared your worries with one another, your hopes for the future. Talks that had brought the both of you all that much closer to one another. Close enough that you considered one another sisters.

Kain Fuery, the little brother you had always wanted, and since your own mother had died giving birth to a sibling who had never had the chance to draw breath, you saw Kain as your second chance. And given how you were almost always working on the radio, taking orders, sending messages and keeping updates on the latest going-ons in the military, he was always by your side to help however he could.

Vato Falman was your go to person when you needed to get a fact checked about history. He knew everything, and sometimes you would share your information with him to see if he knew anything about it. Not to mention the fact that the both of you would carry out long historical debates and discussions that you both thoroughly enjoyed, and ones that put the rest of your Team to sleep.

Jean Havoc had tried to flirt with you when he had first met you. But had backed off when you had given him a glare Olivier had helped you to perfect years ago. He was still a little afraid of you, but you both got along now. Enough that he would tell you all about his dating life, which you would critique him for quite viciously, much to the amusement of the rest of the Team.

Heymans Breda and you were partners in stealth. The both of you knew everything about everyone’s business. At least everyone who were important. But sometimes the insignificant tidbits the both of you shared did help once in awhile.

And finally there was Roy Mustang.

Your superior. The one who had brought you to be a part of his Team. He must’ve seen something in you that had him bring you in. Then again, he had seen something in all of them. And while you knew you were a valuable asset considering your way to talk yourself out of trouble as efficiently as any conman, you couldn’t help but hope for something different.

Which was utterly ridiculous because nothing could ever happen between the both of you.

You were his subordinate. A soldier under his command. Nothing more, nothing less.

Still it didn’t stop you from growing closer to him. To share your most deepest thoughts with one another. And while Riza was also his confidant, one you were aware of, there was something different when it came to the talks you had with Roy. They were more personal, and felt more like a conversation between a man and a woman, rather then the exchange of information between two soldiers.

And though you tried to stop it, tried your best not to, you couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Fall in love with the man with who regretted every life he had taken, who wanted to see Amestris become a better country. He had a vision, one that was just as grand as him, and you hoped you would be a part of it.

That you would be by his side when it became a reality.

And while it was hard to keep your feelings a secret, considering how they were always just simmering beneath the surface whenever you interacted with him, especially outside of work, they remained unspoken.

And since they remained unspoken, your feelings only grew stronger with each passing day.

                                             ————————–

Unbeknownst to you, Roy was in the same predicament as you.

He hoped that you would be by his side when he achieved his dream. Perhaps then his heart would allow him to do what he wanted for so long. 

To declare his love for you in that signature rambunctious style of his.

He had kept his feelings a secret from you for so long. Maes was aware of it. As was Riza. He only knew the latter because she had, in thinly veiled words, threatened to dismember him should he ever hurt you.

But he would never hurt you. He would rather die then hurt you intentionally. You, the only source of light and kindness that provided some sort of comfort to his broken soul. So many times he had come close to just confessing, to let everything come out in the open and damn the consequences, but he never did.

He had very nearly confessed when he had broken down in your arms after Maes’s passing. The man who had been his biggest supporter when it came to his feelings for you, but he had stopped. He had no desire to associate such an important moment with the worst time in his life.

Though if he had known that a few short weeks later, you would be on the verge of dying yourself, he would’ve confessed to you right then and there.

                                             ————————–

The pain at his side was still near overwhelming. The back of his palm itched and stung where he had carved the symbol he needed for flame alchemy.

But all that pain was nothing.

Nothing compared to the horrifying sight of you in the clutches of the Homunculi Lust.

You looked like you had taken quite the beating, with multiple bruises and cuts littering your body, a majority of them visible through your torn clothes. And you had.

You had lost all control when you had heard Lust speak so proudly and boastfully.

About the Flame Alchemist.

About killing the Flame Alchemist.

But you were no match for an all-powerful creature. Despite your years of training and weapons mastery, she had you pinned against the floor, one of her deadly claws aimed straight at your heart.

Though she changed positions when Roy stumbled in, followed by Riza.

Now she held you in front of herself like a shield, her sharp claw ascending from above your heart to press the tip of it against your delicate throat.

You let out a sob of relief at the sight of him.

“Roy!”

You hardly ever called him by his first name. And just with that word, he knew how worried and scared you had been that he was gone.

“Put her down.” He growled, his thumb itching to throw a fire blast in the direction of the Homunculi. Lust let out a soft laugh.

“Do you really believe you are in position to make demands of me Colonel Mustang?” She purred, the claw wrapped around your waist tightening, causing you to whimper as one of your fractured ribs throbbed with pain. “I shall enjoy tearing your little plaything apart.” Roy gritted his teeth as you let out a painful cry, unable to help yourself as her hold tightened. Beside him, Riza was no better. Her grip on her gun only increased, finger twitching to pull the trigger.

“D-d-o-on’t lis-te-n to h-er.” You managed to call out hoarsely, loud enough for your words to echo in the blindingly white room. Another laugh for Lust, one that had Roy growling under his breath, the fire in his eyes burning just as bright as any flame he normally created.

“Oh my, even on the brink of death you wish to bring your Colonel comfort.” She turned you around so she could look at you in the eye. “Tell me, are you willing to give up your life to save his?” She cooed, smiling sadistically. Your head turned slightly, so you could look at him over your shoulder. The true intensity of your love for Roy Mustang finally sunk in, burning so bright that it prompted you to look at Lust straight in the eye and say one word.

“Yes.”

Behind Lust you caught sight of Alphonse rising to his feet where Lust had thrown him aside during their fight. His armor was hidden behind a wall of stone he had built, so Roy and Riza hadn’t seen him yet. His red glowing eyes found yours, and you knew what was coming next.

A smile pulled at your lips. “But today is not that day.”

Lust barely had time to react to your words when Alphonse suddenly burst into action, sending a wall of stone in her direction. She had to drop you to save herself from being knocked off her feet.

“Now Roy!” The scream had barely left your lips when you felt the searing flames of his alchemy rush past you and engulf the Homunculi.

Lust’s screams of utter pain echoed all around you. Alphonse quickly surrounded you with a stone wall before rushing to your side and shielding you with his body. 

Roy’s flames were intense. He was not holding back. Not when the image of you looking so broken, defeated and hurt was fresh in his mind. Not when the sight of you willing to die for him had his insides twisting in a painful way.

Despite the physical pain that had his body throbbing, it seemed nothing compared to the pain he was certain would ravage his very sense of being should he loose you.

And so he unleashed all that fear, anger and anguish in his flames, unblinking and unrelenting as the creature Lust screamed and screamed. Even Riza did not stop him, did not tell him to hold off. Lust was too dangerous to be left alive.

In Alphonse’s protective grasp, you felt your entire body trembling from the pain, but that didn’t stop you from lifting your head once Lust finally fell silent. Somehow, you broke free of his grip around you and managed to peer around the protective wall.

Only to be met with the sight of Roy falling to his knees, looking just as bad as you did. “Roy!” You whimpered, worry lacing your tone, as you tried to stand. But the twisted ankle did not allow you to get any further then a crouch.

“Alphonse, keep an eye on both of them! I’m getting help!” Called Riza as she all but sprinted away knowing neither you, Roy nor Havoc were in any position to be moved without medical assistance.

Roy was lying on his back now his eyes were on you, his arm outstretched,  hand reaching out towards you. “Y/n.”

You quickly began to try and crawl towards him, though seeing you struggle, Aphonse quickly took over, lifting you up and bringing you to lie down next to your superior.

As soon as you were there, your hands found one another’s. Your fingers laced together and you held on tight as tears filled your eyes, while his shone with relief. “Are you okay?” He asked, his voice hoarse as he gripped your hand tighter, if that were even possible. You shook your head. “Forget about me. Lust said she killed you. I thought you were dead.” The tears began anew as you looked at his smiling face, very much alive and just as handsome as ever, despite his injured state. He reached out with his other hand to wipe away one of the falling tears. “Its gonna take more then a Homunculus to take me out.” He said in that confident voice of his, prompting a tearful laugh from your lips. Now that the danger has passed, the adrenaline was beginning to leave your body and you could feel your head begin to grow heavy and fuzzy, your eyes burning as you forced yourself to keep them open.

But it was no use. Already your eyelids were drooping, and everything around you was beginning to loose coherency.

Seeing you struggle with staying conscious, Roy turned his gaze to Alphonse who was hovering over them, Roy smiled. “Thanks Alphonse. Thank you for looking after the woman I love.”

Those were the last words you heard before you slowly slipped into the sweet embrace of darkness.

                                            ————————–

The next time you became aware of your surroundings you were lying on something soft.

Mumbling incoherently, you lifted a hand to your forehead, only to be met with resistance given that your arm was in a sling. Your entire body ached and felt so heavy that you were sure it had been run over by a tank.

But the real reason behind your current predicament slowly returned as your brain began to wake up. 

Lust. 

Lust hurting Alphonse.

Lust fighting you.

Taunting you.

Telling you Roy was dead.

Roy?

Roy!

“Roy!” His name fell from your lips as you suddenly sat up straight, followed by a cry of pain as your still healing ribs protested at the sudden movement. You wrapped an arm around your abdomen, grunting in pain.

“Yes?”

Startled you looked up, your head whipping to the side, only to be greeted with the sight of a very much alive Roy Mustang lying in a bed adjacent to yours. You could make out another bed next to his, with Havoc snoring away. It was the middle of the night, the only source of light in the room from the small lamp Roy had turned on as he read a book.

And seeing him sitting there, bandaged and looking so much better from when you had last seen it, doing something as mundane as reading a book, you couldn’t help but let out a sound of utter relief as you buried your face in your hands. You didn’t cry, but you were rather close.

“Oh you bastard.” Your words were muffled, but he heard you, considering he let out a chuckle. “Not exactly the words a man who confessed to you wants to hear, but I’ll take it to mean you’re feeling better now.”

You sighed, before removing your hands and turning to look at him. “It took you nearly dying to finally confess to me. You really know how to make a girl feel special you know.” You said, your smile soft yet teasing as you turned your head to look at him. Roy shrugged. “What can I say? I have a dramatic flare. Its a big part of my personality.” He admitted, smirking at you as he carefully slid from his bed, wincing from the pain at his side.

Your eyes dropped to his abdomen as he sat on the bed beside you. “How’re you feeling?” You asked, worry lacing your tone as your gaze moved to his hand where the symbol for flame alchemy was now scabbed over. You couldn’t help yourself as you reached out and gently took his hand in between your own. “Well my side still hurts, and I’m sharing a room with two other people despite my rank and not being looked after by a hot nurse, but other then that I have no complaints.” His words prompted a gentle laugh out of you as you finally lifted your gaze from his hand to meet his.

To say you were taken aback by the intensity of his eyes would be an understatement. You held his gaze, even as he reached up to brush your hair behind your ear. He didn’t lower his hand. Instead it stayed there, moving only to gently cup your cheek, brushing his thumb against the half-healed cut where Lust had caught you with one of her claws.

“I know you’ll probably tell me off later, but when Lust told me that she had killed you.” Your voice trembled slightly at the memory. “Something inside me broke and I started to attack her, with no regard for my own life.” The admittance had you a cold feeling creeping down your back but you continued, your eyes dropping to his chest. “In that moment I realized that I didn’t want to live. Not in a world where you weren’t alive.”

You sighed. “What I’m trying to say Roy, is that you mean so much to me. And I know this goes against every military rule there is about fraternizing with your superior but I-I love you too.” The words were barely out of your mouth before he closed whatever distance there was and pressed his lips against yours in a gentle kiss. The gesture was so unlike him, that it had you staring at him in surprise once he pulled back.

He smirked. “I know, I’m that good.” He said, and though his smile was smug, his eyes were sincere and adoring as he looked at you. Shaking your head you leaned forward to press your foreheads together, noses just barely touching, a wide smile on your lips. “I’ll need a repeat of that to judge for myself.” You stated, prompting him to let out a laugh, before he moved to comply to your request.

However the moment was broken by the grumbling of a certain fellow team member.

“Would you two stop flirting? People are trying to sleep here!”

You couldn’t help it as you muffled your laugh by pressing your lips against his once more.

[guardianspirits13]

As an avid fan of Fullmetal Alchemist for nearly twelve years, I am intrigued by how differently the story hits me as an adult.

As a kid, it was a story about alchemy and homunculi and defeating the literal, physical evil of false humans named after the seven deadly sins.

Looking back as an adult, I am cognizant of the overt fascism present in the government of Amestris.

The fictional Ishvalan war was awful from any angle, but as a kid I saw it mainly as a backstory for character development. In the modern day, with all of the daily horrors shared from Gaza, I am striken by the reality of those scenes.

This show was one of the ways I processed my understanding of the world as a kid, and it is deeply engrained into my personality.

I say this to preface the horror I feel looking back on these scenes which were drawn from the author's culture, and the history of the Ainu Genocide.

I think of that panel of Major Armstrong crying and holding the body of a child, the panels showing piles of bodies barely covered by white sheets. And I see those same images in photos and videos from now.

In the same vein, I remember the discomfort I felt as a kid discovering that in the context of our world Maes Hughes, a lovable and popular character, would have been a Nazi, as depicted in the Conqueror of Shamballa.

At the time it was almost a joke, to say to friends who loved him "hey he's a Nazi in this movie!" and laugh at their surprise.

But as an adult, I understand why. The adults in this story are members of a fascist, militant government. They are lied to and manipulated, yes, but they also uphold the system. The important part though is that they come to realize this.

They look at Ed and Al, these young hopeful teenagers who are one bad day away from being coerced into enacting war crimes, and they do their research. They realize that the government is fucked up, and stage a coup.

Aside from all of the fantastical alchemic elements, it is a wonderfully grounded story that is painfully reflective of both historical and modern systems of corrupt power.

[aka-lambda]

I tried to sketch again this 2021 drawing for the hairstyle challenge and my style changed a lot.

[teecupangel]

I don’t have the most complete knowledge of either piece of media, but my two most recent interests are Assassin’s Creed and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

I’m not sure how the standard Desmond Isekai would go, but I feel like Edward Elric as an Assassin would be nuts (regardless of if he can do alchemy or not).

It would be fun to make Edward an Assassin but, considering Desmond’s personality, Desmond would probably be more inclined to teach people who do not know how to use alchemy (or can’t use alchemy in general). They would become the basis of his Brotherhood because, once Desmond realized that he’s in another world, he’d definitely try to build his own network.

Especially once he noticed just how much power the military wielded in Amestrian.

And then he learns of the serial killer Scar and investigate why Scar was killing state alchemists specially which leads to him uncovering the truth about the supposed Ishvalan civil war.

And that’s how Desmond and his Brotherhood become a third party. Whether alchemist or not, they assassinate those who use their power to harm the innocent. This, of course, causes him to be in the opposite sides with the Elric brothers.

It doesn’t help that he taught his Assassins how to take down alchemists even though they themselves do not use alchemy (a combination of Assassin tools, skills of an Assassin and a bit of help from 21st century knowledge) but Desmond himself do not condone Scar’s more destructive way of doing things and it’s a toss up if Scar is meant to be an assassination target or a possible ‘recruit’.

Mustang himself believes that the Assassin Brotherhood (as they call themselves) would come for him sooner or later considering many of the assassinated alchemists also participated in the Ishvalan civil war.

That’s why there are rumors that Desmond himself is an Ishvalan (which isn’t true but a few Assassins in his Brotherhood is Ishvalan).

The Elric brothers only see him in the shadows but Edward tried to fight him because, as far as he knows, the Brotherhood was killing alchemists in general (there’s a lot of hushhush about the bad things the targets have done). Edward absolutely transformed his metal arm to a hidden blade once and Desmond took that as an insult while Edward only did it because he realized it was the best weapon at the heat of the moment so there's a bit of 'bad blood' between them.

And then there’s the homunculi who are interested in him but seem to not do anything but observe him.

They know he’s not of this world and there might be a possibility that The Truth led him into this world.

…

Or…

And Desmond is calling bullshit on this.

Lust may or may not have implied that Desmond is a homunculus by the name of ‘Acedia’.