Veve (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} veve_w) wrote,@ 2007-05-06 11:11:00 |
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I'm beginning to fall into the FMA fandom, although my enthusiasm for such things has died down quite a bit. It's not like my obsession of Naruto or Sailor Moon, that's for sure, but I have been creeping into fanfiction, lurking on forums, and spending money that I don't have on its merchandise.
I have to say, without having to venture past the first page of FF.net, FMA's fandom is even more open to crack pairings than Naruto, and Naruto's OTPs are etablished by drawing names from a hat.
Betweeen calculus, eating, shopping, sleeping, watching TV and general procrastination, I read Forgiveness (Quite a well-written Roy-angst fic after a leap of faith in the first chapter). I began to entertain thought of introducing Roy to Mamoru: "Hey Mustang, meet your BSSM counterpart who is equally fucked up."
I'd imagine they'll have lovely dinner topics such as (i) the burden of carrying everyone's lives in their hands, (ii) the guilt of killing the very people they're suppose to protect, (iii) the responsibility of becoming king, and (iv) the fear for the wellbeing of those who are willing to lay down their lives for them to name a few.
Their starting points are different as are the implications when they reach the throne, but they share a journey of bloodshed and sacrifaces.
Neither of them is naive; they've both had their shares of trials. Mamoru with his orphanhood, unconscious escapades as a masked hero, and his time in the Dark Kingdom where he kills a civilian and attempts to strangle the sweetest girl alive. Combine that with finding out he's the Prince of Earth and the fall of the Silver Millenium was partly due to Beryl's obsession with him. (It's the same that the physchological effects weren't addressed.) Roy suffered a similiar trauma although at a much larger scale in terms of directly taking lives during the Ishval war. "Hey Hughes, why am I killing the people of my country?" (Figure in Blue) He thought he was serving his country by joining the military. He had talked about the "beautiful future" (Ch. 59) but genocide was not included in that picture.
They know life isn't fair, yet they still hold onto their childish ideals of a better tomorrow.
Mamoru: "My power...? I have no power... That's how I feel sometimes. Why was I reborn here?" (Volume 4, reprinted) "My dream too. To protect this star." (SuperS, volume 3)
Roy: "In this occupation, someday I might just die on the side of the road like a piece of trash. Even so, if I could become of this country's foundation stones and be able to protect everyone with these days I think I'll be happy... The strength of one person is limited. In that case, I'll protect all that I can... even if it's just a few, I'll protect what is important... in turn those people below me will protect those below them."(Ch. 60-61)
By rising to the top, they hope to protect the people below them. Only from pushing forward are they able to atone for their sins and compensate for their short-comings. It's ironic that both characters are introduced as a independent and confident men but once you tear down those barriers, they're humble creatures who really give themselves too little credit.
Mamoru has the tendency to gloss over his accomplishment in preference to highlight his weaknesses. Doesn't he want to become a doctor so that people wouldn't have to lose loved ones like he did? In a sense, it's almost similar to Roy's geometric progression reasoning: save people so that they will make others happy or save lives themselves. And if it weren't for his saving Sailor Moon in the nick of time, they wouldn't be a Sailor Moon to defeat the Big Bad to save the world. The progression of lives stops with a dead Sailor Moon. And once he realizes he has a crystal capable of destroying the world, his "I'm weak" complex is even less justified.
Roy has alchemy that can wipe an entire country from a map. In fact, he does wipe out a country and feels horrible about it. He does a lot of damage, but he can just as easily be use it for a greater good. He has killed a lot of people, but if he didn't, his comrades would have died. (See "The War Prayer" by Mark Twain.) A hero on one side, a murderer on the other; his predicament sucks, really.
They're self-sacrificing, powerless human beings who are too kind for their own good.
The horror doesn't end with realizing you're just a powerless human being; it begins with knowing you'll be endangering the lives of those who will support you and the guilt that follows.
Dr. Knox: "Taking such risky ventures will result in receiving some retribution some day."
Roy: "I've already received it." (Ch. 42 -- referring to Mae's death, Riza's near death and Havoc's paralysis)
Hawkeye: "That person... he didn't give me up when I'd already given up on living. He told me again that he wanted me to cover his back. He can't throw you away."
Havoc: "He's stupid... How can such a naive thing keep climbing up in the country?"
Hawkeye: "I think it's okay to have idiots like that once in a while." (Ch. 44)
King Bradley: "Roy Mustang... He's too kind... and while that is his strength it is also his weakness." (Ch. 40)
Alphonse: "Usually the Colonel takes in all the irrational things and claims that his goals are the first priority. But when it comes to protecting those who are close to him, he completely forgets about himself." (Ch. 40)
While Roy has his group of subordinates, Mamoru has his shitennou.
There is something about them that commands undying loyalty.
House and Cuddy had this exchange in the second season of House M.D which I think is perfectly applicable:
Translation: They'll make good Kings. They'll always be guilty. They'll never be happy.
When it comes to romantic affection, they can give each other a run for their money in terms of subtlety.
They're's also a great deal of difference between the two men. For one thing, Roy is more... realistic. Take his order for Fuery to kill Ross if she turned out to be Mae's killer for example. I chalk it up to the setting they grow up in. Mamoru has had his hardships. He has had his share of bloodbath but that was in the Silver Millenium. The battles that he has now are with supernatural beings. Roy's battles are with real people. "It's much more scary dealing with real people." (Ep. 37)
/Fangirling
Unfinished. If I were to continue, I'll never get any studying done.
I have to say, without having to venture past the first page of FF.net, FMA's fandom is even more open to crack pairings than Naruto, and Naruto's OTPs are etablished by drawing names from a hat.
Betweeen calculus, eating, shopping, sleeping, watching TV and general procrastination, I read Forgiveness (Quite a well-written Roy-angst fic after a leap of faith in the first chapter). I began to entertain thought of introducing Roy to Mamoru: "Hey Mustang, meet your BSSM counterpart who is equally fucked up."
I'd imagine they'll have lovely dinner topics such as (i) the burden of carrying everyone's lives in their hands, (ii) the guilt of killing the very people they're suppose to protect, (iii) the responsibility of becoming king, and (iv) the fear for the wellbeing of those who are willing to lay down their lives for them to name a few.
Their starting points are different as are the implications when they reach the throne, but they share a journey of bloodshed and sacrifaces.
Neither of them is naive; they've both had their shares of trials. Mamoru with his orphanhood, unconscious escapades as a masked hero, and his time in the Dark Kingdom where he kills a civilian and attempts to strangle the sweetest girl alive. Combine that with finding out he's the Prince of Earth and the fall of the Silver Millenium was partly due to Beryl's obsession with him. (It's the same that the physchological effects weren't addressed.) Roy suffered a similiar trauma although at a much larger scale in terms of directly taking lives during the Ishval war. "Hey Hughes, why am I killing the people of my country?" (Figure in Blue) He thought he was serving his country by joining the military. He had talked about the "beautiful future" (Ch. 59) but genocide was not included in that picture.
They know life isn't fair, yet they still hold onto their childish ideals of a better tomorrow.
Mamoru: "My power...? I have no power... That's how I feel sometimes. Why was I reborn here?" (Volume 4, reprinted) "My dream too. To protect this star." (SuperS, volume 3)
Roy: "In this occupation, someday I might just die on the side of the road like a piece of trash. Even so, if I could become of this country's foundation stones and be able to protect everyone with these days I think I'll be happy... The strength of one person is limited. In that case, I'll protect all that I can... even if it's just a few, I'll protect what is important... in turn those people below me will protect those below them."(Ch. 60-61)
By rising to the top, they hope to protect the people below them. Only from pushing forward are they able to atone for their sins and compensate for their short-comings. It's ironic that both characters are introduced as a independent and confident men but once you tear down those barriers, they're humble creatures who really give themselves too little credit.
Mamoru has the tendency to gloss over his accomplishment in preference to highlight his weaknesses. Doesn't he want to become a doctor so that people wouldn't have to lose loved ones like he did? In a sense, it's almost similar to Roy's geometric progression reasoning: save people so that they will make others happy or save lives themselves. And if it weren't for his saving Sailor Moon in the nick of time, they wouldn't be a Sailor Moon to defeat the Big Bad to save the world. The progression of lives stops with a dead Sailor Moon. And once he realizes he has a crystal capable of destroying the world, his "I'm weak" complex is even less justified.
Roy has alchemy that can wipe an entire country from a map. In fact, he does wipe out a country and feels horrible about it. He does a lot of damage, but he can just as easily be use it for a greater good. He has killed a lot of people, but if he didn't, his comrades would have died. (See "The War Prayer" by Mark Twain.) A hero on one side, a murderer on the other; his predicament sucks, really.
They're self-sacrificing, powerless human beings who are too kind for their own good.
The horror doesn't end with realizing you're just a powerless human being; it begins with knowing you'll be endangering the lives of those who will support you and the guilt that follows.
Dr. Knox: "Taking such risky ventures will result in receiving some retribution some day."
Roy: "I've already received it." (Ch. 42 -- referring to Mae's death, Riza's near death and Havoc's paralysis)
Hawkeye: "That person... he didn't give me up when I'd already given up on living. He told me again that he wanted me to cover his back. He can't throw you away."
Havoc: "He's stupid... How can such a naive thing keep climbing up in the country?"
Hawkeye: "I think it's okay to have idiots like that once in a while." (Ch. 44)
King Bradley: "Roy Mustang... He's too kind... and while that is his strength it is also his weakness." (Ch. 40)
Alphonse: "Usually the Colonel takes in all the irrational things and claims that his goals are the first priority. But when it comes to protecting those who are close to him, he completely forgets about himself." (Ch. 40)
While Roy has his group of subordinates, Mamoru has his shitennou.
There is something about them that commands undying loyalty.
House and Cuddy had this exchange in the second season of House M.D which I think is perfectly applicable:
House: "Well, would the world be a better place if people never felt guilty? [...] You see the world as it is and you see the world as it could be. What you don't see is what everybody else sees: the giant, gaping chasm in-between."
Cuddy: "House, I'm not naive. I realize—"
House: "If you did, you never would have hired me. You're not happy unless things are just right. Which means two things: you're a good boss and you'll never be happy."
Translation: They'll make good Kings. They'll always be guilty. They'll never be happy.
When it comes to romantic affection, they can give each other a run for their money in terms of subtlety.
They're's also a great deal of difference between the two men. For one thing, Roy is more... realistic. Take his order for Fuery to kill Ross if she turned out to be Mae's killer for example. I chalk it up to the setting they grow up in. Mamoru has had his hardships. He has had his share of bloodbath but that was in the Silver Millenium. The battles that he has now are with supernatural beings. Roy's battles are with real people. "It's much more scary dealing with real people." (Ep. 37)
/Fangirling
Unfinished. If I were to continue, I'll never get any studying done.
