[ SECRET POST #244 ]

[degrees.livejournal.com]

⌈ Secret Post #244 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 036 secrets from Secret Submission Post #035.
Secrets Not Posted: 0 broken links, 0 not!secrets, [ 1 ] not!fandom.
Next Secret Post: Tomorrow, Friday, September 7th, 2007.
Current Secret Submission Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: 35.

[linen-tartaruga.livejournal.com]

Totally agreed. It's also something to note that, while yes, they are the same person at the most basic and genetic level, they really just aren't the same person. German!Hughes and Amestris!Hughes were raised in two separate countries with two completely separate value systems, cultures, even different sets of friends/colleagues/acquaintances/whathaveyou.

I'm no fan of Nazi!Hughes, myself, but really, when was the last time that the series didn't build up all our hopes with little hints and teasers only to rip out our hearts and grind them into the ground with a pair of cleats?

Re: 35.

[repeatvoffender.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think the 'Not actually the same person' issue is stressed enough in the variance of Alphonse Elric and Alfons Heiderich. You don't really see enough of Hughes to get a feel for how different he is from his Amestris counter-part, but you can see that Alfons is entirely his own character, who happens to share similar physical traits and name as Al.
Also, if you want to get down to the smallest of technicalities - Hohenheim recognized that something was different with Ed, after he uttered three words at the end of the series. There's no indication that alters are supposed to be clones of their Amestris counterpart... no matter -which- alter you look at. They were raised in completely different circumstances, of course they'll be different people.

I do agree with you on that, too. That series held no hesitation in destroying the emotions of its fans, at every turn possible. It was as likely that they'd make Hughes the ultimate good guy, as it was that Nina was going to survive in the series - or Hughes, himself, for that matter. They waste no time sympathizing with our emotions, Fullmetal Alchemist is a dark story even if some of its fans fail or refuse to see it. Which, in of itself is another matter all together.

Re: 35.

[linen-tartaruga.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Heiderich is clearly much more assertive and independent than Al was (not that Al isn't at all, just that he's more dependent Ed, who's also dependent on him) among other things, including his goals and even his health. It would be impossible for him to be the same as Al, along with all of the other counterparts, considering all of the different factors that go into someone's personality development.

It's part of what us angst!whores love about it, though. It's a fantasy series but doesn't use that as an excuse to play down the realities of the subjects it covers. From the very beginning we're not even given a guarantee that the main characters will make it through the series alive, and that's just one of the things that makes it so good. It's that realism. Not that the fluffy stories with the happy endings are bad, some of them are really good and a lot of them are just fun. But that's why so many people love the series, I think, because it's just honest about the way things would realistically be; or at least as honest as they can be while still making it an entertaining fantasy series.

Re: 35.

[(Anonymous)]

Fullmetal Alchemist is a dark story even if some of its fans fail or refuse to see it.

I think you hit it, right there.