I'm thinking about Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) again...
One of the things I find so interesting is how, the brothers never really find their moral compass. The show constantly leaves them, and us, on edge, never sure what the right thing to do is. Most decisions end up backfiring in some way or another, especially the ones made by Edward.
(Spoilers ahead! you should watch FMA 03 if you haven't already, its really good ^_^)
The story opens with them attempting to resurrect their mother, which mutilates both of them and is the inciting incident for the whole story. It's a strong opening, things backfiring on Ed and Al is a consistent throughline.
Next, we flash forward to the town of Liore, where the brothers depose a corrupt warmongering priest. This destabilises the region and gives the Amestrian Military pretense to step in, leading to many, many deaths.
Episode 5, during the fight on the train, they end up saving General Halcrow. Though the story never confronts Ed and Al directly about this, we continue seeing him intermittently throughout the show, and during his next appearance he's committing atrocities in Liore.
The show is full of all these questions, big and small, that it never reaches a satisfying objective conclusive answer on.
Edward kills greed by accident, and then decides he has to do the same to the rest of the homunculi basically because of the sunk cost fallacy. Then Lust briefly joins forces with him and makes him question if killing them is even necessary at all.
Episode 10, by all accounts one of the more filler-y episodes of the series, still takes this theme and runs with it. "Would it be right to stop this thief, when she's using the money to fund hospitals and churches and schools that would otherwise be condemned?
...okay she was lying about that.
but she's still bringing tourism to a dying town!"
Edward ultimately decides to let her go, but the whole thing still feels really ambiguous. The show does a great job putting you in the mindset of a child who still hasn't fully figured out right from wrong yet.
Would it be right to make a Philosopher's Stone, knowing what it takes? I find it extremely interesting that when Edward decides the answer to that question is "No," the only reason he and Alphonse get out of that situation alive is because Scar agrees with that answer.
(God, this is just one of my favourite moments from the show.)
Scar stands in stark contrast to Ed and Al. As conflicted as he is about his brother's research, he is morally unwavering.
He is committed to what he thinks is right, and fully willing to pay the price for it, no matter what it takes. By the end of the series he has few regrets. He did what he thought was right, and the show agrees with him. It's great. He makes a really interesting foil to Ed and Al because of this. 03 Scar is the fuckin best.
Oh speaking of contrasts! on the note of ambiguous morality, I think it's really interesting to compare The Gate between the manga/FMA: Brotherhood, and 03.
The Gate in Brotherhood is accompanied by an entity known as "Truth." A reflection of the alchemist, who talks to them, answers questions, and imparts morals with a cruel sense of Humor. It makes it clear that what it takes, it takes with a sense of dramatic irony, and directly admonishes an alchemist for their hubris.
In 03 by contrast, The Gate is much more ambiguous. There is no one to tell you what it means and what you have done. It's left entirely to the characters and audience to interpret it. It "speaks" to Edward, once, but not in any way recognisable to the audience as speech. Characters debate on whether or not it even is "Truth"
This is just such a fun thematic thread to pull on. I love how the show leaves you questioning the protagonist's actions at every single turn, through the whole run. FMA 03 has so much to chew on. It's really good.
Figured out why i kept dying in cotl. It was because of the fleece I had equipped. Accidentally harvested a dead follower instead of burying them. Was about as horrified as my flock.
An updated version of @star-pup01's Angel. Now slightly more fic accurate. (they now look more sleep deprived and malnourished) Decided to ditch the cargo pants for now because their body kept clipping through them around the belt area. This is a separate version from the mini that came before. Might try updating dark world outfits in the future, though I can't promise they'll look as detailed as in the light world (Angel themself, not the outfits they wear, those probably won't change much)
This custom character, Angel V3, was created using Hero Forge®. Hero Forge is a free-to-use, online character creation tool for designing an
It's frustrating enough seeing those we love being hurled toward a cliff by those who have any chance at stopping it, frustrating enough knowing we have also been betrayed in a huge way (that the story might not even properly tackle, let alone at all), so we definitely don't need people in our same boat (who should understand) telling us we don't even get to be upset about it. That's the moldy cherry on top of the shitscream sandwitch.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 36/?
Summary:
Years pass. People grow. The world moves on without you. The Angel grew content with that for a while. It still hurt whenever they thought of the world that had long banished them, but something new pulled them out of the depths. Now, the Angel walks amongst friends who swear that they will not be banished. Kris, Susie, and Ralsei mean everything to them. Maybe this time, their banishment doesn’t have to be as set in stone as they thought.
The Roaring comes. The light falters. Everyone falls.
A desperate connection is established in an attempt to save what remains of the Angel. If they fall, all hope will be lost. The world that banished the Angel long ago has forgotten them, but they have not forgotten it. This connection will have to be enough. Even if the rules have changed irrevocably, the Angel’s one goal remains the same: Find them.
You deserve to be loved as yourself, to take a place in the story of your choosing, instead of being forced into the role of "villain" just to, what, teach you a messed-up lesson that you either already know or isn't valuable? You don't have to disappear, or at least you don't have to want to.
People only think, "Your choices don't matter," is the THESIS of the game (rather than the thing we should be challenging) because they're still stuck in the mindset that we're this Big Bad that needs to be taken down. That's why you have this toxic atmosphere of self-hate and misanthropy up in here that shoots down any instance someone talks of peace and love and rainbows and self-worth. They're not even thinking about this in terms of it being a story, having/needing themes/theses, messages a writer may want to convey to an audience... I don't know how the story would come off to even the most hardcore fans if it went that direction other than, "What was the point?" Wanting a refund after that wouldn't be petty/immature; it'd just be evidence that you're sane and independent enough not to want to live with anyone's boot on your neck.
They want the Doggod to treat us in a really mean-spirited fashion for petty reasons (that "fuckin matpat" post I made a while back) and I just think of that one quote by C.S. Lewis, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, [...] like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”
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