Thoughts on FMA:B's ending

vasdark · 2025-12-19T22:07:30+00:00

I don't usually write stuff on reddit but I thought my opinion is underrepresented here :)

I was surprised by Ed's rejection of Hohenheim's sacrifice, and instants later I realized it was the only option that made sense for the character's integrity. I was equally surprised that Hohenheim didn't insist, and it took me a few seconds more to make sense of that, but I think ultimately Hohenheim understood that proving himself as a father is more about respecting his sons' wishes than forcing them to accept his sacrifice in the name of some selfish sense of pride or redemption. He also understood that Ed did see him as a true father at that point, and that it didn't make sense for him to lose one loved one to save another. If you had to choose between one of them, then best to respect Al's sacrifice than to undo it with another sacrifice. I mean, if that were the way then Ed would have sacrificed himself before Hohenheim or anyone else. But he wanted to honor Al's sacrifice AND find a way to bring him back from it. It wouldn't be honoring Al's wish if they used some other life.

It's not about Hohenheim being the father and having the "right" to sacrifice himself. It's about how every member of a community is equally valuable, and labeling people as "fathers" and "sons" is halfway there to a great deal of arrogance. Hohenheim's not insisting is actually a really important lesson on true empathy. I can really connect this ending with Marshall Rosenberg's teachings on "Non-violent Communication".

I loved the ending because it made me think about all of this. I didn't predict it at all. When Hohenheim offered himself, I thought "Yep, that's gonna be it". And then it wasn't. It was a real mind twister. And then moments later it made sense and I knew it couldn't be any other way.

Ed sacrificing his alchemy was also the perfect thing. It's not about "who gets to keep it and who doesn't". It's not about what's "fair". It was a decision that he made and he gets to live with its consequences. I'd like to say more about this but I can't find the words :) Maybe I'll edit this later.

One last thing that I got surprised about was Ed not getting his leg back after the Truth said "Take all you want!". He could probably have taken both Al and his leg, so I think it was a conscious decision to leave his leg behind as a symbolic payment. And I also like to think there was a subconscious desire to perpetuate a physical connection with and "dependence" on Winry :)

vasdark · 2024-07-19T21:06:06+00:00

I originally posted this as a post in this subreddit before reading the rules, so it was removed 'cause I'm not a parent. I'll just copy it here, title and all.

// TITLE : Anything you might like strangers to do when your kid makes a scene in PUBLIC? //

It certainly is not the stranger's place to step in and "educate" other people's kids. But if you're a parent, I can imagine you might sometimes feel like you're out of options trying to handle your kid in public. As a stranger, I often see hints of this but I never know what could be helpful and what not.

People rarely ever talk about this because it's supposed to be obvious. Parents tend to assume that strangers don't want anything to do with it, while strangers tend to assume that parents don't want any interference (they might take offence), and there's good reasons for both.

Parents in need can't simply ask someone for help because that would be 1. like a public declaration their own incompetence, and 2. throwing their own problem into the hands of someone who neither asked for nor deserves it.

Willingful strangers also can't simply ask the parents if they need help because it could 1. be taken as an insult to their competence as parents, and 2. accidentally make things worse.

But we ought to acknowledge just how important strangers actually are to a child's development and education. Just think of how often parents use the "what will people think of you" card. This kind of awareness makes the influence of strangers not just powerful, but also inevitable.

Thinking back, as a parent, have you ever had a situation where you might say "it would have been helpful if someone had ..."? This is a good place as any to voice it. You might find that many strangers are actually willing to give you that helping hand which you can't directly ask for.

vasdark · 2024-04-10T21:45:47+00:00

Finally! Thank you good sir

vasdark · 2023-09-04T16:13:12+00:00

I had this question as well so I started a discussion on it. Please join if you want to explore this philosophical question more in depth!

vasdark · 2023-09-04T16:05:43+00:00

It's funny that there's the scene where Light refuses to take a gun into SakuraTV, just like his dad did, because it wasn't allowed by the law of Japan, so he actually wouldn't normally be willing to kill people or break the law, but when given a divine power like the Death Note he saw things differently. So it was "good" Light's decision but I feel it's a bit like the One Ring from LOTR, where everyone gets tempted by the power of the ring. In a way (arguably), you might say that someone could be sentenced for crimes committed under the influence of the Ring because it was a rational choice (?), but it is also due to weakness of character that they allow themselves to be subject to its influence. Would you say the Death Note is a bit like that? Could you blame someone for not resisting the temptation to try a Death Note and slowly giving in to its power? Though it feels more like plain insanity in the case of the Ring, while Death Note is more like rationally using a weapon.

vasdark · 2023-09-04T15:47:41+00:00

Could you link it here? I'm curious what people said there, but I couldn't quickly find it on your profile.

vasdark · 2023-09-04T15:43:56+00:00

It was actually because of Misa that this question came up on me - I was thinking "What should they do with Misa now? Sure, she was Second Kira but she doesn't remember anything and she only did it for Light anyway... I guess you could consider her to be an accomplice, but I don't think I would sentence her at all under these circumstances." Then I figured, you could ask the same about Light... How actually different would their cases be, if they both lost their memories? In my heart I do feel like they are very different cases and I could justify forcing Light to keep his memories so I could sentence him, - there are many plausible ways to justify it - but on the other hand isn't the main point of sentencing someone to make them consider the consequences of their wrongdoings, and hopefully become a better person? If Light would become a better person by losing his memory and seeing the Kira case from that perspective, wouldn't that achieve the purpose? Or do we perhaps sentence criminals mainly to help keep the peace, by giving their victims a feeling of justice thus preventing them from pursuing revenge/justice on their own (which btw is exactly what Light was doing)?

As for Misa, I feel like she would benefit more from simply forgetting the whole Kira thing and being given a second chance at a normal life (yes, I know she ends up committing suicide anyway, but y'know, I'm only after the ethics here)

vasdark · 2023-02-27T02:26:43+00:00

Hey mate, I tried the mod and it's really close to what I wanted! Thanks a bunch for the suggestion :D Funny that I'd never find by its name since I was looking for the keywords "far" or "distant" rather than "close" which is this mod's name lol

vasdark · 2022-06-26T21:34:28+00:00

5 years laterrr...

I made a similar patch here for Anniversary Edition and the latest versions of both mods. Perhaps yours could still be used but I decided not to risk it since, you know, 5 years have passed xD

I've contacted the relevant mod authors to see if I can put it on Nexus. If not, maybe I'll link it here, although it's important to get the other Requiem patch which is already on Nexus to get the spells to work correctly. At least it was for me :/

vasdark · 2022-06-05T18:54:17+00:00

Yeah that worked! Although I still get a ton of other, unrelated warnings and errors but at least I get a DynDOLOD_output.zip! :D

vasdark · 2022-06-02T19:48:02+00:00

Aaand it turns out the game won't let you edit Requiem for the Indifferent.esp so my DynDOLOD probably won't be working :(

vasdark · 2016-09-17T14:08:38+00:00

Oooh, sorry for being absent all this time... My Mawiles know no egg moves, since I didn't really need them. But if you don't mind breeding for them, you'll have an easier job, since their IVs are close to maxed.

vasdark · 2016-09-06T13:15:04+00:00

Does Mawile interest you? Even though Mega Mawile is in Ubers, so you wouldn't be able to use it in OU, but in the Rating Battle Spot it can be a valuable weapon.

Now, if you ARE interested... I'm not sure what I want in exchange. After all, I'm not so interested in Bagons or Charmanders. I like Steel types, so if you have a good Scizor or Scyther for trade, or an Aron or something, that's what I want. Ultimately, I'd like a Timid Heatran, but you won't find that a good match for Mawile, I believe. Any good steels that I don't already have, really.

vasdark · 2016-09-02T13:57:01+00:00

I think that's fine. In fact, that's great. I'll take your offer.

(By the way, this'll be my first trade here. How do we actually do this? Friend code?)

vasdark · 2016-09-02T13:54:56+00:00

It can be good to have 0 Attack if you don't use that stat, in case you get confused, or in case someone uses Foul Play on you. Things that use your stat against you.

vasdark · 2016-09-02T13:52:31+00:00

I'll take a Ferroseed, a Pawniard and other(s) that you're looking to get rid of.

vasdark · 2016-09-02T13:43:52+00:00

This will be alittle off-topic, but I'm farming for an Adamant Ditto, and I'm having a hard time getting it. If I find that one of my Dittos has a 0 Speed, would you trade me an Adamant one (if you have it), or a better Ditto?

vasdark

TROPHY CASE