#prosthesis in fma is very. not good

[gochujangst]

Space Boy is what Fullmetal Alchemist wishes it was imma be real

[gallus-rising]

@lmtyl

One thing that's stuck with me is the prosthesis/automail. Sure it's cool and badass and Ed can pass as able-bodied, but there's also the pain shown of getting fitted, needing to upgrade with wear and growth, risks of extreme heat and cold; plus the undercurrent of "this industry is so widespread and lucrative because of constant war."

@lunarspectacle

my teenage cousins introduced me to this show literally by saying it’s so interesting bc it is about issues of genocide and religion and militarism, and i feel like if anything that’s a sign that the right messages are getting across!

yeah FMA got a lot of good messages across! esp for a mainstream series for its particular audience and in its particular time period (yeah 2001-2010 wasn't actually that long ago but in terms of the general political climate? OHHH BOY THERE'S BEEN A LOT!) i know for sure that if nothing else Greed's character arc fundamentally changed me as a person lol

but sometimes i see ppl getting in arguments over whether or not FMA did the Most Perfect female/disability rep and Most Perfect depiction of genocide and it enlightened an entire generation or if it was 100% shitty and tone deaf. it's like. can we all take off the nostalgia goggles for just a sec? can we remember to analyze media taking into account the circumstances under which is was made?

also very sorry if it sounds like i'm getting mad or heated or w/e, just getting very tired of seeing ppl talk abt what is essentially kid's/teen's as if it's the most high concept, thoughtful, and culturally influential thing ever. again, big defender of the idea that The Youth are capable of understand complex ideas and having opinions and such, but things made for a younger audience are inherently going come across as limited to adults with proper life experience

sometimes i feel like. just a significant amount of FMA Discourse™ would vanish if we all remembered to take into account the genre (a shonen action manga w a target audience of 12-16 y/o(approximate age) Japanese boys published from 2001-2010) conventions, buy-ins, and limitations

like. no media is beyond critique and i am a firm believer that kid's media can tackle serious topics but the time, place, and audience it was produced in has to be taken into account

is FMA super feminist? well honestly in the grand scheme of things it achieves a bit more than the minimum. there's only a handful of female characters compared to the much larger male cast. Winry and Hawkeye have personalities and character arcs and compelling motives but those things are directly tied to more important male characters (Ed and Mustang). there's only one female character that's highly sexualized (Lust) as opposed to all of them, the rest get to be v conventionally attractive instead of blatantly sexualized nonstop. in the context of being a shonen action manga aimed at teenage boys tho? it's fuck phenomenal

does it handle the Ishvalan genocide well? not particularly. but for Baby's First Introduction To The Concept in a country that's historically Not Been Great at acknowledging war chimes it does a decent job (note: i'm def not saying Japan's the only nation w that problem, just that they're one of the big ones in regards to the topic)

is it shitty that FMA's solution to corrupt systems is to just get rid of all the Bad People and put Good People in charge? hell yeah!! but a common buy-in for media aimed at this age group is that the heroes are all Good Guys who will achieve their goals and do good things. Mustang and Ling both plan to more or less keep the system as is but take out the Bad Parts which is bs irl but in YA-and-under fiction we can trust that they are Good Guys who will do Good Things

idk idk just something i've been thinking abt in general for lots of thing (also i know i'm not the adept at. like. media analysis, if you can call this that, so plz forgive me for any bs i might've said)

[roughentumble]

i hateeeee comments like this because its so wrong im gshjdbdmdns

not even automail is as good as edward's automail, like in the canon of the series. for one a lot of its versatility comes from ed's incredible alchemy skill, where he can transmute it on the fly without need for a circle.

but even ignoring that, it isnt actually a boon to him! it's heavy, it needs constant maintenance, it hurts him deeply to work on it or have it installed or indeed even just random pahntom pains in the night. the metal can become too hot or too cold depending on the location, making certain temperatures more dangerous for him that for nondisabled characters. he finds ways to work with it, because he's a very clever character who knows how to work eith what he has, and because a disability doesnt have to be a miserable life sentence. it does give him different abilities and options to everyone else. but it doesnt change the fact its genuinely disabling for him.

AND HE IS THE OUTLIER OF HIS OWN UNIVERSE. he has an INCREDIBLE automail mechanic testing out cutting edge technology on him for FREE, everyone we meet with autmail that i recall has inferior quality to him. automail isnt even that good IN FMA. he has unthinkable luck on his side! his own limbs would be prohibitively expensive in any other situation, and that's assuming he could even find a cutting edge engineer. your random citizen would never have automail that good

and it STILL comes with drawbacks. his higher quality arm and leg are fucking HEAVY. heavier than the stock arm and leg he relies on during maintenence. even as winry works on it and upgrades it, they still weigh so much more than a flesh arm and leg, and that's an incredible toll on your body to lug that around.

to my knowledge he also cant feel with his automail, or if he can it's only pressure feedback and nothing of texture or warmth or any other tactile feedback. it isnt actually nice to not feel things with your hand.

automail!!! isnt that great!!!! it's incredible prosthesis that im sure some disabled people would adore having as an option, but no one who is fully able bodied would cut off a limb SOLELY for automail.

[imagine-allthethings]

HCs about Edward, Alphonse, Envy and Roy taking care of an S.O. who had a serious accident and lost a limb? FMA

I keep going overboard with the length, so I’m splitting this one up too! The next part will be out soon. -Mod Trash

Alphonse Elric

Out of everyone, Alphonse is probably the best person to handle this situation. He was very much so alive when he watched his brother lose his limbs, recover from the wounds, and gain new ones. It was a very hard, very arduous journey to recovery. He never had the opportunity to go through that journey, so he goes off of what he remembers.

He first takes them to a hospital, it’s the cleanest and best place to recover from horrific wounds like that. He spends every moment he can by their bed side, though he does at some point leave to call Winry to let her know to build his S/O a new limb. 

When the wounds are finally healed enough, he insists on traveling to Winry’s with them, he really doesn’t want to leave their side. 

If he’s in his metal suit, he’s carrying them either in his hands or inside his suit. 

If he’s whole again, he’ll insist on taking a taxi or wagon all the way there, especially if a leg is gone. His own body is still recovering, so it’s a better idea for him to not carry you. 

He spends most of this journey trying his best to provide both verbal and physical comfort. He offers to make them food, fetch them whatever they want, so on and so forth. He can go a bit overboard in trying to take care of them, but he will back off if his S/O tells him too. 

He’s just a very worried partner who wants to be next to his S/O every step of their journey to recovery. 

Edward Elric

Edward has lost two limbs, so he knows exactly what his poor S/O is going through. He was much younger then, he knows a lot better how to handle it know. That being said, he doesn’t handle this as well as his brother; he didn’t want that kind of pain and permanent damage to be experienced by anyone else he was close to. While he should go to the hospital, he’s concerned that it’s a bit too crowded and stressful. Instead, he treats the wounds as best he can, which he is rather good at, before scooping up his S/O and running straight to Winry. 

As soon as she opens the door, or if she takes too long he’ll kick it down, he’ll barge in and quickly put his S/O down on Winry’s workbench before insisting that Winry fit you for, and start working on, a new limb akin to the ones Edward himself has. They are not only built tougher than a typical prosthesis, they can also be a bit more useful in battle. He hopes that, even with the limb gone, it will never happen again.

He’s not the best at expressing himself all the time, but he is incredibly worried about his S/O. He tries to mask his own worry through humor, simultaneously using that to try and cheer up or distract his S/O from the pain. 

Ed stays by their side as much as he possible can, using that extra time to bond; he’ll go and get them things occasionally but he spends most of his time reading next to their bedside. If they insist, he might read it aloud to them. 

[justsaya]

I got bored so here some things

I'm a huge fan HP:Mystery, so in these i was reading a lot of Headcanons and i was thinking about my MC and also about my Big Brother's MC(in my family is the only one who support my omosexuality...bc to him "So you're lesbian...well probably my future wife probably will be an alien(i know how huge fan of Mass Effect 1,2,3 he is...so he's joking but i know him enough to say that probably he'll be married with some kind of alien for real)" so then i asked about his MC and now i'm going to say something about him(don't worry give the time to find and re-copy my MC's Headcanon and i'll post them too ^_^) Prepare yourself my Brother mostly love 3 things: FullMetal Alchemist and Dramas(and here Jacob is Rowan's big brother), Harry Potter

Name: David "Jager" Denneth(His Dad call him Jager/Hunter, He is German and her mother is English or Wells, he isn't sure for now...but she's born in Great Britain)

Family: Father(Fritz Denneth, He was orphan and adopted by a old wandering Monk who use Alchemy "FullMetal Alchemist Style"), Biological Mother(Christine Wellburn, she is a pureblood witch with a disease who block her ability to do magic but her family was rich and powerful enough so she went to Hogwarts anyways mostly for study a possible cure),Big Brother(Glaive Denneth is a Jacob's friends but David knows about him during the Sorting Hat thing and he was a normal wizard without disease and mostly a curious Ravenclaw like her mother but without disease then).

Born in: Second Half of August in a little village on the borderline between Germany and France there are like 1000 people around the area and mostly they're working adult or old enough to go to retirement, not much child like him or his best friend/like a sister, Elizabeth(She hate get called by full name, even the teachers call her Liz, bc she thinks it's such a long and uncool name)

Hair: Ginger like a Weasley and his father and they haven't a good Father/Son relationship until the end of Year 4(and even then...it's like "Can we just try to not argue everytime and enjoy a meal with shouting?" kind of relationship)So he hates his hair color but when got invited by Bill to Weasley's house, Molly was like "Charlie finally you're out of your room...wait..you're not Charlie...Bill, who did you take here?"

Eyes: Blue like a Sapphire and like his mother

Background: He grew thinking to be a only child in his family, and without a mother(Dead some days after his birth, Fritz says he get killed by an evil monster called Severus Snape, later he'll discover Snape try to cure her disease and...something went bad...but for that time Christine was mad/insane unable to be a mother even when she already had Glaive, Snape usually insult David by saying "Not even your mother wants to give birth to you, how can you think we want you here in Hogwarts?"). His Dad just buy a house in Germany right after his wife's death, and leave Glaive to some relatives of his wife and time from time Fritz disappear and go to Glaive trying to be a good dad and neglecting David who grew by hanging out with Liz and her mother(a muggle who also married a wizard, dead by a muggle landmine leave it there during WW2 while he's going in a near forest to take some ingredients for some healing potion, his wife knew he was a wizard and know mostly about it. She knows that someday Liz will go to a magic-school). David feels lonely while his Dad put him in the forest and force him to learn Alchemy/Trasmutation, mostly because he don't want another mage-child, so he tried to keep him with him even if he go often to Glaive to support him. So feeling lonely someday tries to do the thing(you know...the same resurrection thing of Edward and Alphone from FMA) he failed in the worst way possible losing the right arm and left leg(God Said "So you couldn't enjoy the feeling to braid the fingers with Liz when you feel scared and lonely during the storms and the leg to chase her till the lake where you both swam") He got panicked like hell, alone in that house while was dying...Liz came there just in time to save him, carrying him on the shoulder while he was losing so much blood. Got saved but unable to explain to Liz and her mother(she's a doctor in that place and wizard and muggle in that place stick together pretty well), too scared, so much traumatized to refuse to talk about that. Without his father for almost an year so, almost 11 years old while this kind of mother was making the impossible for making him some prosthesis enchanted with magic(found it while she was investigating in her dead husband study) not the best ones, but enough good to move, run and trying to be happy again. He got his letter for the Beauxbaton's accademy(the nearest from that village) and he was also thinking about to go, to find some help, but when his dad came back, he just listen his voice for freak the fuck out the window and run away in France where he meet Minerva during a travel. Fritz talk a lot about how scary wizards really are, but she was kind and he try to be gentle by help her with her luggage, he's not so strong but his trasmutation's ability made McGonagall curious enough to takes him to Hogwarts and pays for him. During the travel he tried to talk about what he did in his house, how he still feel about that horrible day and how he can't sleep well because the nightmares scares him enough to prefer to stays awake or just napping when he feels to need it. At hogwarts got sorted in Griphyndor but the Hat want him in Hufflepuff for a lot of reasons, but Minerva during the travel talk a lot about her job so he wanted be in the same house(OT: and other reasons but i can't traduct them pretty well..sorry).

FINALLY OH MY GOD, I LOVE MY BROTHER BUT HE IS SUCH A HUGE CHIT-CHATTER AND THE WHOLE BACKGROUND WAS NECESSARY FOR SHOW SOME SENSE IN HIS HEADCANONS(and nope, he doesn't have a tumblr account, and i wrote all i know about his CrossoverMC because tonight i'm bored like living in a bored hell, sorry if you reading this)

Headcanons:

- Everyone in Denneth-family have a personal diary/agenda where to write their discoveries or their thoughts about what they do, David wrote things about Magic, Alchemy and experiments with both, for a short period even wrote his feeling about everything. Nobody is sure why he writes so much, but he could hate someone forever if they read without permission, after a bad joke by Merula trying to steal that diary he begin to use a secret code based on cooking recipes that he likes, so nobody is sure if they're reading about a secret alchemy experiment or a very sweet lemon cake recipe(also thanks to that he learned how to cook and begin to cook for his friends).

- David meet Rowan at Diagon Alley but with Minerva by his side because he was still nervous about the whole magic-world thing, Rowan use some jokes and loose him a little even in the train they're reading Hogwarts: A history together trying to calm him each other

- During the train-travel Rowan noticed the metal arm of David, but he didn't want to tell the reason and Rowan was even more curious but he was sympathetic enough to don't ask, so no problem still pals.

During the first year when he noticed Snape for the first time he assults him asking question about his mother shouting a lot, Minerva came right before he could punch him and has reassured him but losing so much house points

- In the dorms he always take the bed nearest to the windows, it helps to sleep a little better even when he had nightmares.

- Watching Ben get bullied by Merula makes boil his blood and he confront her even when the whole school was laughting at him because(they still don't know) because how can a mage unable to cast even Lumos, to duel a real mage? Ben thought David was the coolest first year because is uncapable as a mage but still fight knowing to lose, and he lose, until someday tried to fight back with trasmutations and took off the wand from Merula hand, totally pissed off and even Flitwick secretly cheers him after so many times he lost those duels, and he permitted to use Alchemy during duels and he gotta admit(and the other students who watched him) he's pretty fast and agile, even without using Alchemy at all, so Flitwick just say "It's good have a duel with different kind of enemies, so we should be grateful to have an unique student like Mr.Denneth"

- Minerva bought him a female cat and he called her Ortensia(it's the italian version of hydrangea) and mostly he talks with her and try to fight his inner nightmare but it's real hard, he doesn't even feels hungry, and during winter the metal limbs hurt so much, even get up from bed it's hell, but Ben helps him without asking question, but by listen him screaming and sobbing during the sleep, he has some idea but it's alchemy/trasmutation things so he knows but without understanding.

- Meeting Penny was heaven, so cheerful, so funny...one day just tell to Rowan(he is a Ravenclaw and the jacob thing is hell for him, but David likes to listen him talk) "Penny's smile is like coffee, without her, days can't start for me". Rowan just laughts but also agree with him

- In the third year, knowing Penny sad story, saved him from suicide...he wanted to put an end to nightmares..but knowing about someone like Penny go through almost the same hell like him, was inspirational so he just fight back the pain, even during the whole boggart in the cursed vault where thanks to Minerva intervetion got saved and go to German for repairing his metal limbs, still scared and that's why Bill went with him. His almost-mother was so happy to see him, she was crying a lot while she was hugging him, Liz was pissed off enough to insults David a lot, but after some hours she calmed and tell about the fact their parents got married while he was at Hogwarts during those years...so Liz now is his step-sister for real. David was so surprised like almost fainted during dinner at home also watch his dad eat dinner calmly without even talk about the whole Human-Trasmutation thing was like "Ok, this whole travel is a joke and i'm imprisoned in some Cursed Vaults without even know it, and i'm watching something i would love to be real" They laught a lot

- His way to say "I love you" is "A world without you is not a world i want to live in" and he said these words only to Penny when is God-Boggart tried to attack Penny in the Cursed Vault. She took almost the whole summer to understand why he said those words, literally she write to him asking some explanations and he was like "You saved me that day in so many different ways" and wrote the date of the day she talked about Scarlet, she took a very intimate moment when they meet during summer to totally knows what David was going to do that day...and he got slapped and then kissed on the same cheek he got the slap.

- Barbaby, Charlie and David are the Kettlerburn's most enthusiastic students, also the most favourite ones, Barbaby for his caring about creatures, Charlie for his curiosity(he does a lot of questions), David mostly plays with creature, he is such emphatic with them, he treat them well like human-friends, even the scariest creature loves David, who just enjoy like a kid those lessons and still get good grades by taking notes when he isn't unsure to remember something, also David called his step-mother for taking care of mechanical limbs of Kettlerburn, totally free, because metal limbs are such a pain when it's raining or during the winter, they hurt like hell, so David take care of Kettleburn's hard job with creature when he doesn't feel well, sometimes Kettleburn doesn't show up during the lesson for that pain, so David, Barbaby and Charlie hang out with the creatures just for fun.

- Barbaby tried to learn Alchemy from David, it didn't went good, so for now David will be the only Alchemist in Hogwarts but David repays his attempt by teaching him some magicless-selfdefense because he need a sparring partner and Barbaby is pretty tought to fight, David wins most of the times but Barbaby is pretty strong so..he loses a few times

- Talking about Melee-fighting, David NEVER hits people with his metal limbs, mostly he use them as shields trying to block dangerous spells or hunt dangerous creatures

- Before Penny's secret, he loves the way Tulip doesn't care about rules like him, and he tried to make some bad jokes to Filch and Mrs.Norris, with Tonks otherwise ask some love-advice, but he didn't use them a lot those...he just be honest with Penny and got lucky(even when someone ask him love-advice now that he dates with Penny, he just says "I was lucky most of the times, i just tried...but i feel like she did the all love-thing...i asked her after our first kiss if the kiss meant i'm her boyfriend now...and she said yes, i was unsure if i was doing a good job by trying to take her to hogsmeade or to watch some movies during the summer, i asked her everytime...") they all laught about those story but they think an "In love David" is the cutest and funniest thing ever because after the third year David was joining the Quidditch team and he was really good, so confident during the matches and the lessons, so listening about how shy he is when he is near Penny is so funny and cute..

- His favorite '80s movie is Breakfast Club, he watched it at cinema trying to take Minerva as "Lesson about Muggle-world" he chose that film totally at random and love it, then invite Penny for watching it with her, thinking she probably will likes it, and she finds it a really good movie.

- His Favorite love Song is Nothing Else Matters, but of course it's came out during the 1991 so...until then, the other love songs feels like "This song doesn't describe how i really feel when i think about Penny, it's a good song but not enough to like it"