alright so. yknow how scar is always saying like, alchemists go against god, alchemists are unnatural, alchemists are terrible people? my take is that he’s right.
the actual origin of alchemy in fma is kind of left vague for most of the series, and is presented in such a way that many viewers/readers could definitely come away thinking it’s just always existed, like magic in various fantasy worlds or sympathy in the kingkiller chronicle, etc.
we knew the eastern/western sage (hohenheim lol) was the one who taught xing and amestris about alchemy, but we didnt know if he was the only one who knew about it or he was just one person from a country with that knowledge. but it’s clarified later on that, no, hohenheim was the first person to ever learn alchemy, and he was the one who taught it to everyone else. and he learned it from the dwarf in the flask
the dwarf in the flask’s origins are never really explained; we just know that it was the result of an experiment by a certain xerxian scientist. but for my money, i don’t think he created it. i think he summoned it.
the dwarf in the flask is too borderline omniscient, too ancient to be something newly created by man, and the way it & truth act toward each other supports this. truth treats the dwarf in the flask like a familiar nuisance, opposite but complementary forces - whereas truth is completely neutral to the point of cruelty, the dwarf in the flask is chaotic.
i think one of truth’s jobs over the millenia has been to contain the dwarf in the flask’s chaos, and i don’t think this is the first time it’s escaped. “i’m not going back,” it tells truth, just as i’m sure it’s said hundreds of times before. which fits perfectly with the theme of circles in fma. everything is cyclical, everything has happened before and will happen again. truth banishes the dwarf in the flask, it worms its way back up to humanity, truth banishes it, and the cycle continues.
if we are assuming the dwarf in the flask is some kind of otherworldy being, and it was the only one who possessed the knowledge of alchemy…it stands to reason that alchemy is not natural. it is too much power for anyone to wield, and that is the POINT. the dwarf in the flask taught hohenheim knowing he would teach others, and that those who should not have power would seek it.
it’s not a common solution to a common need like the recurrence of specific farming methods or shared tenants of religion in cultures around the world, it is a bridge between magic and science that was impossible for humans to learn on their own because it should not exist. (further evidence for this is that no one besides amestris and xing have alchemy because hohenheim did not go there! he did not teach them so they do not have it! it is not a naturally known thing.)
roy said himself, “alchemists are terrible creatures,” and we’re meant to disagree because ed and al are alchemists and they’re obviously good people. but if you think about every other alchemist, they ARE terrible. some alchemists, mainly those who sought alchemy as children, started with innocent motives - to learn a new skill, to save the world, to make their mother smile. but absolute power corrupts absolutely, no matter how good a person you are. ed and al didn’t seek great power for evil, they just wanted to see their mother. but even with this noble motive, they committed a crime against nature, and they lost everything
it’s not just that alchemy is a corrupting force, either - it also attracts a certain kind of person. people will talk about how winry/whoever should have been one, but i disagree. an alchemist isn’t just a person who performs alchemy - anyone can learn it, but there’s only a select type of person who chooses that path, and it’s always somebody seeking power. roy sought power to change the world, and it led him down the path of mass murder. alex sought power to continue his family’s strength and artistry, and it led him the same way. shou tucker and kimblee and so many other villains used alchemy for evil, the military specifically recruited alchemists for murder. izumi wanted to be strong, and the elrics wanted to be clever, and eventually, they lost everything.
even mei; alkahestry is a little more grey since it’s generally used for healing rather than fighting, but fighting is 90% of what she does. she’s a sweet little girl, but her clan is dying, so she took on the burden of alkahestry to protect them, and found herself in the middle of a war.
edward and alphonse are good people, but they are terrible alchemists. and i don’t mean that in the way it sounds - they’re FANTASTIC at DOING alchemy. they’re prodigies in every way possible. but an alchemist, as a person and a symbol, is someone who desires power more than they value truth. and edward was the first one to ever give it up.
