Something I’ve never seen talked about is the foreshadowing of Al’s words at Trisha’s grave early on in the series.
When the Elric brothers are sitting at the grave, Al says “I’m cold. I’m hungry. Let’s go home” Right after this, Ed brings up that they should attempt to bring their mom back. At first what Al says seems like a normal thing a little boy would say but when you think about how each thing he mentions is affected later on his statement holds much more weight.
As it turns out, because of the transmutation, Al can’t feel anything (rain, cold, etc) and can’t eat (doesn’t get hungry), and because the brothers burn down their house, they both can’t return home.
Here’s my submission to https://fmaanthology.tumblr.com/! I’ve never done a fan comic so I’m a little self conscious about this one, but I’m happy with it! Thanks for reading! Be sure to snag a copy by following the link!
This is where I take the opportunity to debunk this really ridiculous argument about Edward Elric.
I’ve seen a lot of criticism for how emotional Ed is in this series. He doesn’t cry often, but he tears up and expresses a lot of negativity that doesn’t fall under your typical shonen macho bravado.
Edward Elric is a fifteen year old boy.
Edward Elric is a traumatized, injured, lonely, orphaned fifteen year old boy who has had to take on responsibilities that are far above his maturity level.
He has endured pain on the level of a soldier in a full-scale war and then some.
He has had flashbacks triggered, he’s lost two of his limbs, he has nightmares of blood and decaying flesh, he has lost his mother, he blames himself for what happened to his brother, he watched an innocent child die and blames himself for that too, he has just recently admitted he doesn’t have anyone older he can trust right now, he has nearly been murdered with knives and with amplified alchemy designed to blow his brain apart, he doesn’t have a home, he’s cut himself off from his remaining family besides Al for their own protection after seeing what dangers his job incurs.
He loses sleep on research. He carries limbs that are too heavy for his body mass. He is regularly called upon to solve problems that are better left in the hands of adults by other adults he distrusts because he feels like they will only exploit him.
All while trying to be the adult he is just not ready to be. Not yet.
You will never experience half of what this kid experienced. This orphaned, child soldier, amputee who is trying to save he and his brother’s livelihoods under corrupt authorities who’d kill him for stepping out of line.
#I’ve spent too long just admiring the animation in those 2 gifs #THE SHADOWS #like when he whips around #light moves with him and the first spot is back to dark #this might seem ‘well duh’ to most but these details are important for quality and realism #and then there’s the gradual change in his expression in the 1st gif #his eyes darken and crinkle and his mouth becomes more tense #very subtle but effective #on another note #what do you think Brohood!Ed would want to tell FMA03!Ed about guns
no salt but it makes me kind of sad when people refer to non-armor Alphonse as “Human Alphonse” because like…that’s a key point of FMA…that Alphonse IS still human even when he’s a soul bound to a suit of armor and not in a normal human body
Maes Hughes was the one who advised Roy to take a handful of his subordinates with him to Central, those who were most loyal and understood him best. Which proved to be vital in saving his neck, advancing his career, and teaching him one or two life lessons. Before this point, several things were implied:
1) Roy, as a Colonel, has more than just five subordinates, all of which have regular jobs within the military beyond their direct responsibilities toward their superior.
2) Big fat chance that he would’ve never thought of this on his own. Once he got Hughes’ advice, he followed it without question.
3) Maes Hughes was way too fucking clever to be kept alive
This is all more strongly implied in the manga, when these subordinates are told to drop what they’re doing and go to the Colonel’s office ASAP. Before then, it’s safe to assume that there was simply no Team Mustang as we know it.
Anyway this is a roundabout way to give a well-deserved shout out to Maes Hughes for founding Team Mustang.
bullshit central 