FMA Has Helped Me Through A Really Difficult Time In My Life, Being Uplifting But Humble, Funny Yet Sobering.

FMA has helped me through a really difficult time in my life, being uplifting but humble, funny yet sobering. The alchemy in it was never the solve-every-problem kinda solution but rather simply another tool to be used how one saw fit. Ultimately, every problem still got solved through critical thinking and character growth, Everything the characters did - “good” or “bad” - was done because of and through them being so ultimately human.

It really made me realize that both the best version of yourself you can be and the power to transform into that version have always and will always lie within you. You don’t need any supernatural ability to reach it, just determination and maybe a little help to see things as they are.

Though being a rather dark time for me, I will always be able to look back on it with fondness and hope for things to come

I don't mean this in any jokey or disrespectful way; is there any truth to the alchemy in say, the Full Metal Alchemist anime? The symbols or transmutation circles?

Actually the author of FMA did a ton of research into historical western alchemy. The whole law of equivalent exchange is a real alchemical concept from hermetica, and one that sir Issac Newton expounded into the law of thermodynamics.

The elrics dad, Van Hoenhiem, is based on a real alchemist named Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hoenhiem. At one point Pride even references the real alchemists name.

Basically everything about alchemy in FMA is taken from primary sources, down to the symbology of transmutation circles to the color scheme of Edwards design.

her eyes were the sickly green of the sky before a tornado, and to his horror he discovered she could throw cows around just as easily

Short stories that live in my head rent free and make me go a little crazy:

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (horror)

Lamb to The Slaughter by Roald Dahl (horror)

We Ate The Children Last by Yann Martel (satire/horror)

The Empty Prison by Matt Dymerski (horror)

The October Game by Ray Bradbury (horror)

I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison (horror/sci-fi)

A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor (horror)

The Last Question by Isaac Asimov (sci-fi)

A skilled artisan is a joy to witness

Please don’t get a mastectomy. You are clearly not making a sound mental decision. Genuinely do not have an elective amputation that is entirely unnecessary. Do not permanently remove a functioning healthy body part because you hate your body. Your feelings may change one day but you can never have your body parts back again

not only am i going to get my tits cut off, i’m going to enjoy it the entire time. i’m going to get off on it. and after i’ve enjoyed the intentional, erotic dissection of my flesh, i’m gonna go to the beach. and i’m gonna take my shirt off to show off the scars where they cut into me, and i’ll laugh so fucking hard. and when i laugh, stranger, it’s gonna be at you.

Every time I think of exiting a train very late at night, I am reminded of that time we went to Berlin for the Japan Festival, OP, and how nervous I was, so very anxious. But you were right there by my side, so all that remains is the pleasant feeling of a happy memory.

Such a small circumstance, such a short moment, held onto fondly for a lifetime.

You get off the train and take a deep breath. Night air fills your lungs like liquid darkness as the lantern light spills over your face.

To your left, you can hear the train move along the tracks, away.

The shoes crunch softly as you reach the sand and the noises the get less the further you move away from the station.

The train is gone now and all that's left is the chirping of insects, the soft crunch of sand and the gentle clinking of a metal tray against your side with every step.

The air is fresh and dark, full of old rain and green leaves as a car drives by.

The world is at peace as you reach your car. The familiar sound of opening locks and the indicators blinking as you press the key.

Your hand wraps around the cool handle and pulls open the door, your car welcomes you back and you drive off with your companion.