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makiswirl · 2 years

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ive always been confused as to why people ship edxling, it feels so random. nothing against it, it just feels like one of those ships with no basis in canon and is just people wanting to ship two dudes because its gay. also i noticed edxling shippers basically ignore winry and lan fan's existence. so i wanted to ask you, since you seem to really like the ship but also are knowledgeable on fma beyond just shipping, why exactly do people ship edxling and why is it more popular than lingxlanfan?

okk so i DO NAUT know if i'm really the BEST person to answer this cuz i'm rly into a specific niche of ling/ed and not much interested in them as a couple during canonverse (post-canon boys ofc, as i'm known for ^_^)!!!! but i'll like... try to answer why i THINK people like it (′︿‵｡)

○ PART 1. - HOW THEY INTERACT IN CANON

ed and ling have a (relatively) strong basis in canon! they actually often interact from the time they meet, getting more screen-time or time to be around each other in canon than some other characters we see associated with them. and i think the widest appeal most people get from them is that they're boys in the same rough situation around the same age so they can relate to each other, so just the main concept behind their interactions as characters?

i also think a big thing with the interest in them is interpretation. a lot of people kind of feed off of crumbs in canon and view them a certain way which wasn't originally intended but is nice (and entertaining!) to view in a romantic light lol

i personally know that ofc, my main interest with them as a PAIRING isn't in canon but more post-canon starting with ling as emperor and ed ambiguous where there's more interpretation for how they turn out, how they would interact with each other; since they're essentially a blank slate if i wanted to fiddle with a few things whereas with other pairings in fma i can't really do that with because their roles are definitely set and i have to jump over hoops unless i just want to make something not resembling the epilogue in that regard which, if i'm not very interested, makes things difficult for me to really care for a couple which is a big appeal for me imo for them (but i'll stop rambling about that because it's hyperspecific as a writer and getting to analyze the characters and tear them down). so most of why i care for them is really just my interpretation of them and that's why i can't really speak much for why other people are into the pairing

another part of it is tropes..... i think tropes are a BIG one for a lot of people :-) you've got a makeshift and universally accepted sun and moon dynamic with the canon yin and yang colour scheme, you have idiots/idiots, royalty/commoner (who defies the regular trope just by being an asshole and ling not really giving a shit about the royalty thing beyond the principal of him being born into it alone so it isn't tacky ya novel tropey), tall/small, foodie x foodie, battle couple, and just them being a generally normal couple beyond their lives being a gd trainwreck with their positions and shared traumas because the dudes are just kind of chilling out personality-wise with how they act towards each other. they're The Buds Of All Time In Canon If You're Into A More BROTP SItuation™.

there's opportunity for pretty much any genre with them as well in regards to the most simplest categories of angst and fluff because they're both dorks and, as is fma, have Loads Of Baggage and can butt heads if you so wanted to set that situation up :o) they're very flexible characters when it comes to a dynamic!

○ PART 2. - I MEAN YEAH THEY'RE GAY I GUESS

yeah they gay keep scrolling :o))) i don't really have much to say about this one beyond personal takes because i see a lot of people going "people are just shipping this because it's gay!" about literally any m/m or w/w pairing ever and like....... as a gay man i just.... like seeing characters be gay, i don't see issues with that unless it's people fetishizing my identity. i don't want to go too deep into this one because it's more just my personal feelings as a gay man when i hear this sort of thing whereas i usually don't care unless asked out of someone's morbid curiosity

it's one of those things where i think most of the fandom just likes seeing themselves represented and i think worrying about people ONLY liking them from them being a male/male ship isn't an issue at all that you need to really worry about tbf

again it's just one of those things where i think if a person's reasoning for it is "it's gay i like it" is because they identify with the identity they assign to the characters in some way, just like giving an interpretation, so i could care less really........... most of the appeal i'd feel is them looking at ed and ling both and going wow they're both boys and they can relate to each other and they've been through a lot together in the span of canon, and they're (maybe) my favourite characters! i wonder what they'd be like as a couple?

or they fall into the aforementioned trope thing, etc and i honestly don't think that's a big part of it it's just an "oh i like them" thing. it's like picking out barbies at the store like i couldn't really care less if that were the case and if that is a personal issue it's one that shouldn't really be an issue just in a "minding your own business" way

○ PART 3. - NOT CARING IS A WARCRIME

honestly in terms of ling/ed enjoyers "typically" not caring about winry and lan fan, i haven't seen that, like... much if at all but that might only be because i DO NOT interact with the edling enjoyers in this fandom outside of like two other people that aren't me, one of whose favourite characters jump between lan fan and winry when i actually like them a lot myself... because.... they're the girlies of all time

(also i suck at paying attention and i don't mean to it's just a Thing That I Do)

most people into them though that i've observed (at least recently which is kind of skewered since ling/ed content only happens every gd blue moon we are fighting for our gd lives out here it's usually only a few people actually consistently posting on social media beyond casual writers on ao3) usually like edwin and lingfan, put them in a polycule, stir until well mixed, or actually draw/write/like one or the other MORE than them because edling is one of those things where it's like most of us go "well cool! i'll do a thing for this and probably never again" which is COOL and amazing but it's mostly one of those things we look at collectively and go well theyre neat. anyways,

like i don't ONLY focus on ships or certain characters in fullmetal alchemist as a watching/reading experience while definitely having favourites and i usually don't pay attention to people who only do so that............... that might be my issue here.........! :o) give me the clown nose boys

also when it comes to 'ignoring' winry and lan fan i don't think there's much of a basis when it comes to ignoring them because some people might just not really care for them as characters and honestly that's their cup of tea, not much to really get curious or worried about; same with their respective ships

while i personally ADORE lingfan winfan and winpan and can talk about them for a while i don't really care for edwin much because i'm not into childhood friends to lovers and i don't much care for how they were written in canon. it's just a matter of preference really with anything, and on the topic of wondering why lingfan isn't as popular i simply think it's a matter of them being less popular characters and the reason they DO get as much content as they do at all is likely because they're implied to be canon in the same boat royai is

...because ed and roy are, ofc, the titular characters in the franchise :-)

edling/linged being more popular i feel is a case of "edward is the protag that most of the fanbase will cling to immediately therefore it's popular" and people attract to it because if into it they WILL usually want to headcanon him as bi or gay and have a ship catered to their interests to view him in that light

being cross-platform with twitter, ao3, and tumblr altogether i've seen more of people asking why people are into the pairing or saying people into the pairing are overbearing than literally any content or people actually talking abt the gd dudes because it's again.... it's.... it's literally just like six of us locked in this homosexual little room altogether, me included, speaking from experience because i have been Producing Content For Them Consistently For A Few Years Now! Most Of What You're Seeing Is Either Years Old Or Just Word Of Mouth, Goddammit

obviously i'm not gonna toot my own horn about being dramatic over being into a pairing and be like 'fullmetal alchemist fandom.... UNITE to create edling content!' because it isn't worth my time and i'm not THAT invested in them, especially not more than the series itself since it's far more intriguing and open for possibilities to me without romance at all, but like guys we r people just vibing we just think they're neat

○ PART 4. - CONCLUSION TO MY... THESIS

i actually have no idea how long this is or where i was going with this but i tried to address anything from the ask! yeah no i don't really care about debating these guys on the internet or anything about the fandom at all and i try to avoid it the best i can but this just seemed like a question so hopefully this sated ur curiosity anon :^) thank you for letting me rant about my blorbos and hopefully u don't think any part of this was meant to be condescending

obviously no one has to be into these guys but hopefully this helped u understand a bit from my experience :o)

TL;DR: i think people are into it mostly because of how they interact, wanting to project their own identities onto their favourite characters, tropes, and enjoying the character dynamics together! can't really talk about the lan fan and winry situation because i haven't noticed it and i don't think ling and lan fan being less popular is something to get worked up about, relatively

ACTUAL TL;DR: none of the points i've made are relevant to the ship in my personal opinion there is no reason for this post to even Exist. i just like them because i think they're cool. sometimes you don't need a reason u just like them. the pairing doesn't have to be interesting, can be Average or Mid™ just don't be a dick and don't be outwards about that sort of thing with your thoughts in that regard as is common courtesy

#-- anonymous #macchi.txt #answering machine #fma #edling #long post #delete later probably #does this count as... analyzing #adhd be damned i can talk about the blorbos for hours #thank u for the ask anon :o)!

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