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[littlemothcreature]

“I’m so sorry… Alphonse”

[littlemothcreature]

Kind of an au? But not really, more so just a hypothetical thought I had, though I suppose that’s what aus are anyways. Just a thought I had, you always see aus of ed being drafted into the more dangerous side of the military while they use Al as blackmail but can you imagine how they would use Alphonse if they found out about his body sooner? There’s also the fact that Alphonse is canonically a better fighter than Ed. Just a little thought. It’s also slightly inspired by that one line in 03 where Alphonse says if someone took Ed from him he would basically do anything.

[littlemothcreature]

Dumb scribbly comic I did at work bc this concept was killing me

03 Al was something else (I say with the most love imaginable)

[littlemothcreature]

I know it's kind of exaggerated as a joke to say that FMA ends with Ed "punching God" but it's actually really thematically important that Father is not, actually, a God

for all his power, for all of the souls he sacrifices to create Philosopher's Stones, he can never actually achieve Godhood and that's the point

in fact one of the BIGGEST themes in FMA is how ultimately impossible and also disastrous it is for mortal beings to play God, whether that comes in the form of trying to reverse death, using alchemy to experiment with and twist human beings, or seeking immortality

Ed and Al trying to reverse the natural process of death, Father Cornello making himself a god in the eyes of his followers, Shou Tucker playing with his daughter's life in the name of creating a new creature, the attempt to create life leads to the main villains of the series, the king of Xerxes's search for immortality leading to the destruction of his nation, Father's plan to create more Philsopher's stones leading to constant bloodshed, the implication that the emperor of Xing's search for immortality could do the same to Xing, etc. etc. etc.

every single character that tries to play God faces consequences - either for themselves or for others - and Ed is only able to reverse his and Al's consequences because he finally recognizes that alchemy can't ever make him more than human. "Well done, Edward Elric," Truth says after he expresses this - as a direct opposition to his introduction in the Cornello arc, in which he claims that alchemists are the closest thing there is to God

and Father goes through the exact opposite. Father ultimately doesn't fall to Ed but to Truth, because he NEVER gives up his arrogance, and Truth punishes him for it.

[littlemothcreature]

The funnier part is that both times @canirim was friend 2

[littlemothcreature]

Mystery Inc. but it’s the 1890s

Who had late Victorian Scooby Doo on their 2024 bingo card? Hmm?

The idea came to me when I was thinking about Sherlock Holmes and then remembered the iconic mystery solving gang hehe

[littlemothcreature]

I'm losing my shit over this

context: me and my friend @littlemothcreature were talking about what cat villagers would Alphonse have in ACNH since you can only have 8, and when I showed her Bob she said that it reminded her of this King Bradley outfit - and I had this mental image of them drinking beer at a bar.

[littlemothcreature]

Alchemist Names in Fullmetal Alchemist: English vs. Japanese

In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, all the State Alchemists have titles bestowed on them. Here's a comparison of some of the names along with their English translations.

The word for alchemist in Japanese is 錬金術師 (renkinjutsushi).

錬 (ren) - tempering, refine, polish

金 (kin) - gold

術 (jutsu) - art, technique, skill

師 (shi) - expert, teacher, master

Sidenote: You might already know the word 先生(sensei) for "teacher", but 師 kind of goes a step above that. 先生 is more for your schoolteacher, professor, or someone older than you, but 師匠(shishou) is a master that trains apprentices/disciples in a skill. Roy always addresses Berthold Hawkeye as 師匠.

The Strong Arm Alchemist (豪腕の錬金術師)

Armstrong's title, 豪腕の錬金術師(gouwan no renkinjutsushi) is a pun that doesn't really carry over into English. 豪腕(gouwan) literally means "powerful arms", but it's also a term for a capable person, or someone with the ability to carry out a difficult job. So his name means both the "Strong Arm Alchemist" and the "Super OP Alchemist" at the same time.

The Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師)

鋼 is the word for steel, so Edward's title, 鋼の錬金術師(hagane no renkinjutsushi) translates to "Alchemist of Steel". The change from "Steel" to "Fullmetal" is probably a reference to Stanley Kubrick's film Full Metal Jacket, which itself refers to full-metal jacketed bullets, sometimes called steel-jacketed bullets due to the steel-alloy exterior that encases them.

鋼の人(hagane no jin) can also refer to a determined or strong-minded person.

The Flame Alchemist (焔の錬金術師)

This one confused me at first because I thought it'd be 火の錬金術師(hi no renkinjutsushi), which simply means "flame alchemist". Nope, it's 炎(honoo). One fire kanji wasn't enough for this dude, he had to go and stack two of them on top of each other.

(Jokes aside, Roy's title is usually written as 焔の錬金術師 in the manga. 炎 and 焔 have the same pronunciation and meaning - they're just variations on the same kanji, and if you search up 焔 you'll be redirected to 炎).

炎 takes the fire a step further and can mean "flames" or "blaze", but can also refer to metaphorical flames (of intense emotion, e.g. love, jealousy, anger). Foreshadowing much?

The Crimson Alchemist (紅蓮の錬金術師)

Kimblee's name, 紅蓮の錬金術師(guren no renkinjutsushi) doesn't just mean "crimson", it literally translates as "crimson lotus". While 紅蓮(guren) does refer to the red lotus, it's not really used outside of artistic connotations in Japanese literature. It's usually a metaphor for the color of flames, or to refer to a burning fire.

So why would Kimblee get the Burning Fire name, and not, you know...the guy that actually shoots fire?

I'm not sure if it's official, but the popular interpretation is that 紅蓮 is short for 紅蓮地獄(gurenjigoku), or "Crimson Lotus Hell", which is the seventh of the Buddhist Eight Cold Hells. It is said that this hell is so cold that a person's skin breaks open, making their body look like the petals of a crimson lotus. Kimblee's alchemy explodes people in a similar fashion, which is probably why he was given that name.

It might also be that they just tested him first, and then had to scramble for a cover story.

"Congratulations, you've passed the exam! We'll call you the Crimson Lotus Alchemist because the explosion looks like the color of a burning flame. You're dismissed. Send in the next candidate!"

*snap*

"Look, I made some fire!"

awkward silence

"...Fuck."

Thank you for reading, and please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or corrections!

[littlemothcreature]

No but the way Laios and Falin represent so well the dichotomy in the way neurodivergent men and women are perceived and treated by their peers, in this essay I will

[littlemothcreature]

I almost didn't finished in time but here it is. Acording to Arakawa herself our world's religions and holidays do not exist in fma's world. But i could not lose the chance to draw my beloved Al with cute bunny ears in easter.

[littlemothcreature]

controversial fma opinion, but maybe really this time

The scene where Bradley and Hawkeye talk while drinking tea often gets interpreted by fandom as Bradley subtly bullying Hawkeye for not being able to be together with the person she loves, while he can. I disagree.

And it is not even the case that she is not able to marry. She can. With just one simple trick she can have that: quit her job. She chooses not to for obvious reasons.

I think the scene is way more about Bradley and his humanity than it is about Hawkeye’s shitty love life. And about choices. Bradley asks Riza’s opinion on her head of state and son being homunculi. She tells him that she thinks it is sad that his family is a lie when his family is something that the people of Amestris deeply believe in. It’s sad to her that he is playing pretend at being human. 

He agrees he plays pretend. None of his position and achievements he earned on his merit. He plays pretend at being a dictator too. He gives the orders but does not come up with them. His whole life has been pre-planned for him. Bradley publically having a son was planned for him. 

But he chooses his wife. He does not pretend that. He loves her. It’s his human side shining through. Hawkeye is upset about the state of her country and that its leader is a monster. But here Bradley displays something so human to her, in loving his wife. And yeah that is shocking to her. Up until now, the protagonists have only thought of the homunculi as evil monsters that are nothing like themselves that need to be destroyed. But they are similar. Both of them have feelings, desires and families.

To Hawkeye, Bradley was on top of the country in the ultimate position of power making the decisions. But it turns out he was not in control at all and did not choose this life. Hawkeye did choose her life’s path and all the murders she committed are a result of that. So who is the real monster now?

(People that are smarter writers than me can say it better. But to me the scene is basically ‘we are not so different after all’ rather than being about 🤢 mustang.)

[littlemothcreature]

I love those three (and Bido too, even not including him here) they deserved more time to shine

[littlemothcreature]

references!! subject to change bc character design is my death sentence. also some sillies bc is it really fma if ed doesnt get called short/kid at least once

[littlemothcreature]

I think Winry's enthusiasm with machanics is really cute. Saddly i am not that good at drawing automails.

[littlemothcreature]

It's their day! Have some meme redraws to celebrate 🥳 (sorry for the cringe)

[littlemothcreature]

It's a date! 🍔✨

[littlemothcreature]

I love the trope of found family, its kinda beautiful how even after losing their child Izumi and Sig (who I wanted to include but couldn't decide how to fit in the composition) could live a bit of their dream of being parents by taking care of the Elrics, and the boys could have new parental figures in them for a while.

Even though i am not sure if i trust Izumi with kids lol