“Yeah, well, you mind keepin’ those thoughts to yourself? I mean, I figured you’d be kinda slow on the uptake, but, uh------some’ve us have got better things to do.”

“Hehehe, I’m just too good.” 

“Yeah------I don’t wanna know.”

“What brutality…what bloodshed…beautiful!”

 “…Don’t worry, I’m coming… this looks fun.“

He stepped out into the hallway, shadowing his brother, then falling into step beside him. His mouth gave a subtle twinge, pulling apart at the corners. "Yeah----my bad. Sorry, bro." His tone was casual, but his words were sincere enough. Under normal circumstances, he might've given his brother a hard time----but now, he got the distinct impression that Envy wasn't in the mood for that sort've shit, good-natured or otherwise. And it wasn't like he didn't know when to cut his brother a break, either.

Not that he would've ever expected Envy to return the favor.

He puffed out a short breath, slim brows knitting, carmine eyes trained on the dimly-light passage spanning out ahead of them. He could've made another attempt to strike up conversation, but somehow, he got the feeling that his brother didn't really wanna talk right now----and hey, he wasn't gonna hassle him about that, either. Needless to say, if Envy felt like sharing, he was more than confident he'd just do it, no prompting necessary. He wasn't exactly shy when it came to that sort've thing.

He gave a stiff shrug, lips thinning, shoulders rolling as he adjusted the lay of the sack against his spine. Obviously, his brother had been through a lot've shit today, and he had plenty to think over. Heck, it wasn't like he didn't have his fair share of thinking to do, as well----and if he still felt like playing the asshole after all of this was done, there'd be more than enough opportunities left for him to exploit. Not that he was really itching to go there, as it was.

The yellowing lights lining the ceiling above cast them in shades of white and gray, illuminating their pallid complexions and the blood smeared across the surface of his boots. For all intents and purposes, things appeared to be running smoothly----he'd keep both eyes open, nevertheless. Sure, it seemed unlikely that they'd run into anyone else, at this point. That being said, he sure as fuck didn't know what they were gonna do if they did, either. He'd hardly taken the time to sit down and rack his brain for a backup plan.

Still, for the time being, the odds were working in their favor, and they weren't far from the exit, now. He wasn't about to break a sweat over it----but he'd keep his fingers crossed, just the same.

Don't Say a Word | Envy & Greed

Regarding Greed, Ling, and 'Gree(d)ling'

Good morning everyone :) So, this is actually an issue which I’ve been itching to address for a while, but that I’ve stayed away from because I generally hate writing rants, and attempting to dictate to other people what they should and shouldn’t think. In other words, I’ve been sitting on my hands and keeping my mouth shut up until now. Anyway, I’m not going to come at this from the standpoint of trying to force my viewpoint and what I believe to be fact onto those who aren’t interested. Rather, for those of you who would like to be educated by me, I am here to clear some things up for you. If you’d rather not read what I have say, and would prefer to maintain your own perceptions - whatever they may be - then please don’t bother yourself with reading any of this. I’m not looking to start any fights, or even engage in any heated debates. Lastly, for those of you who have not watched FMA (Brotherhood) in its entirety, spoilers will obviously ensue.

So, to get to the point of this post. There exists a widespread misconception within the FMA fandom that the ‘first’ and ‘second’ Greed are two different people, or even that the ‘second’ Greed is actually Ling, in some way, shape or form. I can’t even begin to expressly how grossly untrue both of these things are. First off, the ‘first’ and ‘second’ Greed are - surprise - 110% the same person. Granted, prior to Greed regaining his memories after his rebirth in Ling’s body, I can understand how some people might have been thrown off by the use of a different voice actor, and Greed’s own insistence that he is not the same Greed, even though I personally was not. I could get into some nitpicky things like, ‘Ed and Bido say that the ‘first’ and ‘second’ Greed sound the same’, or ‘he acts just like the ‘other’ Greed’, or ‘Ed is obviously convinced that he’s met him before’, but while all of that stuff is really apparent to me, it’s a bit more of a gray area for some people.

So, let’s just get down to the cold hard facts of the matter, shall we?

Yes, we know that Greed initially insists that he is not the Greed that Edward knew. We know that the Father introduces him to the other Homunculi as their ‘new’ brother, as opposed to ‘hey kids, look who’s back’ or whatever. But honestly, guys, that’s only because the Father did not want Greed knowing that he was the same Greed——and with very good reason. He wiped Greed’s memories and attempted to erase his past identity because Greed betrayed him before. Obviously, the Father did not want him repeating the same behavior, and so attempted to cover it up by passing Greed off as a ‘different’ Greed. And maybe that’s enough to dupe some people. Heck, it certainly duped Greed. That said, the scene with Bido and everything that transpires after it is more than enough to lay to rest any doubts that anyone, including Greed, might have had concerning his actual identity.

For starters, we can assume that Bido, unlike Edward, probably knew Greed really well. Heck, he even goes he go so far as to accuse the ‘Greed’ he is interacting with now of imitating the ‘Greed’ from before. And after that, he becomes utterly convinced to the point of dropping his guard that this Greed is the Greed that he knew. And as if it wasn’t enough for us viewers to receive confirmation of his identity from, presumably, one of Greed’s best friends, Greed then stabs Bido, and regains all of the old memories that his father previously suppressed. Yes, he insists that they aren’t his at the time——but of course he does, it’s painful for him. He’s terrified of the truth, and therefore in denial about it. Ling, of course, then counters him, bringing to light what Greed already knew deep in his heart, and explaining to him that the memories of his life before will always be a part of him, because they are his. Because the friends that he lost are a part of his soul. Greed is then forced to accept that he was, in fact, the Greed from before, a realization traumatic enough to temporarily drive him off the edge.

Cut to black.

Now, like I said, I can maybe understand where some people might have thought that the ‘first’ and ‘second’ Greed were two different characters before, even though I personally never had any doubt in my mind. However, after witnessing the scene described above, I have to admit that it really surprises me how many people continue to linger under that delusion. Heck, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen people argue things along the lines of ‘Oh, I don’t like the ‘second’ Greed. He’s so moody and he’s an asshole all the time. The first Greed was so much better. He was all relaxed and cool.” First off, I’d like to think most of us can agree that Greed was always an asshole. But, more importantly, the guy just underwent some horrendous trauma. Of course he’s moody as hell, what else do you expect? That doesn’t mean that he’s not the same Greed. 

Now, I’m sure I could go on, but hopefully that’s enough to clear up any doubts you might have had regarding Greed’s identity. Let’s talk about Greed verses Ling, and how there appears to be some confusion within the fandom in regards to their independence from each other, as well as Ling ‘becoming’ Greed. I’d like to begin with laying out a foundation for how I believe Greed and Ling should be viewed, and that’s as two individual characters inhabiting the same physical vessel. Ling does at no point become Greed, or the other way around. Greed is just living inside of Ling’s body for a while.

Hell, Ling doesn’t even truly ever ‘become a Homunculus’, despite having said so upon several occasions (He’s just Ling and he’s dumb, okay?). Rather, he has a Homunculus inside of his body, which has caused his body to assume the traits and characteristics of a Homunculus (The advanced healing powers, the Ouroboros tattoo, etc). Ling’s own essence, however, has remained unaltered, otherwise he would not have gone back to being a normal human when Greed was removed from him. I mean, I guess that you could go so far as to say that Ling ‘became a Homunculus’ if you really, really wanted to. But honestly, he more just took one into his body, and reaped the physical benefits of that.

Now we’ve gotten that squared away, let’s move on to the subject of Greed and Ling’s own individual personalities and wills. They are, in fact, just that——two separate beings acting independently of one another. This can be seen as they struggle for control of Ling’s body, and have moody conversations with each other as the story progresses. They are two very, very separate people. Heck, up until the time that they start working together near the end of the story, they don’t even really agree on much of anything, and have very different goals and outlooks on life——although, to be fair, they have some common ground as well. But yeah, Ling can’t even use Greed’s Ultimate Shield himself, as it’s too closely tied into Greed’s own individual essence. Greed either has to be control of the body in order to use it, or decide to shield Ling for whatever the reason. It’s debatable, but he might be able to ‘allow’ Ling to use it if he ever wanted to. This, however, is never proven, as we never actually see it happen during the course of the story.

Anyway, that pretty much sums up the bulk of what I wanted to say. The below contains a more nitpicky rant which after much mulling over I’ve decided to include here in it’s own section. It’s relevant to the above, and very important to me——that said, I can understand how it might not seem terribly important to a lot of people. In other words, I don’t really want to come off as though I’m senselessly whining here. So, knowing that, if you’d rather not read the below, thank you for your time and please stop here.

Now, if you were paying thorough attention to the lot of what I just finished explaining, you may have noticed that I never used the term ‘Greeling/Greedling’——not once. That’s because it is, in my opinion, an abomination of a word which should never have been born, and should never be used by anyone, apart from in the context of the ship. Greed is Greed, and Ling is Ling. We love them both dearly (I hope), and if we should ever want to refer to them as a collective, we should really just say Greed and Ling (Or those two greedy assholes, I really don’t care which, and I doubt that they do, either).

I know what you’re probably thinking——that the use of the term ‘Gree(d)ling seems pretty harmless, and on the surface, hey, that’s certainly how it would appear. However, please allow me to elaborate on the actual issues that the utterance of this word poses. Take, for instance, if Greed or Ling did something. If you were to say ‘Gree(d)ling’ did it, you wouldn’t really know which one of them you’re referring to, now would you? And certainly, other people might not. Seeing as how only one of them can be in control of Ling’s body at a time, and seeing as how they don’t often agree on things, I think it’s pretty damn important to specify whether it was Greed, or Ling that did it. What’s more, the term ‘Gree(d)ling’ very much contributes to the misconception that Greed and Ling are the same person, and/or that the ‘first’ and ‘second’ Greed are two different people. And, assuming that those of you reading this agree with most of what I’ve said so far, you will know that neither of these things are in any way true.

Honestly, I didn’t even have such a big problem with ‘Gree(d)ling’ until I saw how many people were using the term to refer to Greed and Ling as though they were one in the same character, and/or to differentiate between the ‘first’ and ‘second’ Greed as characters. Heck, I myself even used the term at one point, but only to differentiate between Greed’s first and second physical appearances, meaning the way that he looks originally as opposed to how he looks when he’s in Ling’s body. In my opinion, this is the only context - apart from the ship, which is a separate thing and a completely separate usage of the word - that the term should ever really be used in. That said, due to overexposure to inappropriate use of the word, you won’t even catch me using it in that context, simply because it now rubs me the wrong way to even hear it at all.

As I’m sure that many of you probably remember, Edward Elric is pretty much solely responsible for starting the ‘Gree(d)ling’ trend. And as we all know, he did it because he was having trouble telling who was in control of Ling’s body at any given time (Greed, or Ling). Therefore, he started referring to them collectively as ‘Gree(d)ling’, just to make sure he had all his bases covered. But here’s the thing about that——the name didn’t stick. The next time we see Ed and company, Ed’s gone back to referring to Greed as Greed, and Ling as Ling. The reason for that? Well, probably because Greed threatened to kick his ass if he didn’t knock it off. But seriously, it’s because Greed and Ling are two individual characters, and should be referred to by their own individual names, respectively. And please, if you’re like me and you don’t want to contribute to the many misconceptions surrounding these two lovely characters - that there are two Greeds, that Greed and Ling are one in the same, etc - just break the habit, stop using the word, and find a new and better way of saying whatever it is that you wanted to say. Don’t say ‘I love Gree(d)ling’——say ‘I love Greed’, or ‘I love Ling’. Or hopefully, ‘I love both’. I know I do :) Case closed.

If you’ve read this far, then thank you. Seriously. I hope that I have helped to clear things up for some of you——or, for those of you who were already of the same opinion as me, to make you feel a little less alone in the world.

And always remember kids, friends don’t let friends preform the taboo alone :)

Could you draw Greed telling Envy that he is an ugly bitch? ^.^

wow thats really mean

He puffed out a short sigh, brows knitting, folding his muscled arms. "Yeah, yeah----will do, man." He gave a thick sniff, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he leaned back on the heels of his boots. Look who's freakin' talkin', asshole----hell, he had a feeling he'd wind up keeping better tabs on the brat than Envy would've, any old day. He let loose a long, flat exhale, slim fingertips swiping the bridge of his nose, dusting the ends of his inky tresses.

All else aside, he was damn sure that he'd estimated the little punk's potential value a hell've a lot better than his brother had. And needless to say, he wasn't really in the mood to see anything else that might've benefited them in the long-haul get fucked up, and fuck them over by extension, make no mistake about that. Heck, if he had his way, he'd have everything nice and smoothed over by the time that the three of them were together again----and it wasn't like Envy could very well bitch and moan about that.

He took a step towards his brother, opening his mouth to speak in preparation to depart, but was cut short before he'd even really had the chance to register what was going on. He startled a little, heart leaping into his throat, bouts of adrenaline spiking in floes, but remained firmly planted atop the cracked earth as a flash of crimson engulfed the night, sending a flurry of vermilion sparks up into the air.

----what the----?!

"Jeez! The hell're you----?!" He recoiled a few inches, carmine eyes widening, tensed digits scraping the surface of his palms.

Well, shit----his brother had transformed. He stood there, speechless, pulse throbbing in his head, an inky blot against a backdrop of charred foliage. But he'd scarcely blinked once before Envy rounded, and began to pelt down the incline, lost to the darkness and vanishing into the trees. His shoulders slumped, and he blew back his bangs, eyes narrowing a sliver, lips flattening out. 

Man----he guessed he should've seen that one coming.

Fuckin' asshole. He shook his head a little, chin bowing, teeth gritting as his heightened pulse receded, fingertips clawing across his face. Yeah----good fuckin' riddance, then.

Unlikely Places | Envy, Greed, & Skylar

That’s it. His breath caught in his throat. They were going to leave. He’d run out of time, and there wasn’t anything that he could have done. Or at least, not that he knew of. Perhaps there were things he could have said, or explained, if he only understood them, and what they really wanted. If he had been able to tell them what they wanted, would they have let him go? It didn’t seem that way. All he knew was that he should never have approached the man in the first place. That was the one thing he could have changed. He’d known better, and it still hadn’t made a difference. It didn’t matter that it wouldn’t do him any good now; he couldn’t help but to think about it. Because what could have been was so much better than what was.

He exhaled, chest falling, breath quivering in his throat. Should he stand up, now? Would they be angry if he didn’t move to go with them? Or would they want him to wait for them to tell him what to do? Neither of them had spoken directly to him yet. His mouth tightened, gaze searching them both uncomfortably. It seemed safer to stay where he was. The second man stepped closer to him, footfalls shuffling in the darkness. He eyed him warily, biting the inside of his lower lip.

Words that he knew he would never say stilled somewhere in his throat. He wouldn’t plead with them to let him stay; it would only make everything worse.

But it was hard to think of anything else, when he could feel the panic rising in his chest again, rushing chilling adrenaline into the pit of his stomach and the tips of his fingers. A light, tingling sensation that made him feel sick. It was hard to stay quiet, when every inch of his body screamed for him to somehow save himself. His heart had quickened, and he could feel himself shaking. It felt like everything was just passing him by, and it was passing too fast.

on Tegaki

I once sold a few of the new recruits for a box of tea. It lasted longer than they would have anyway.

"Mm----slick, man. Freakin' slick."

He rolled his eyes, muscled arms folding, pale lips giving a subtle twinge. "Right. I'm on it, bro." An abandoned warehouse. Heck, that sounded like a solid bet, and they'd probably have plenty of space at their disposal to boot, which would only be an added bonus. Honestly though, he would've rolled with just about anything at this point, be it solid or not, so long as it meant they wouldn't have to leave the city again for a while.

The trek back to Central was gonna be a motherfuckin' pain in the ass, in itself----and literally, at that. He was beyond exhausted, and every muscle in his body ached from here to hell. To tell the truth, he'd been running on adrenaline for a while, now. He'd had more than his fair share of places to go, and shit to do for one freakin' day.

And this ain't over, yet.

A slight frown creased his chiseled features, and he straightened up a little, resolution setting his jaw. Shit, though----there was no denying that this was the best he'd felt since they'd first started running out of options. And fuck, he expected it was about as good as he was gonna feel, until they got all of this under control, again. He exhaled a heated breath, brows threading, dampened vapors flecking the hazy air.

Hell, I ain't complainin'----I'll take what I can fuckin' get.

Make no mistake, it was a motherfuckin' relief and then some just to be able to do something----anything, that might not result in another freakin' dead end for them, even if the underground was really the last place that he felt like going, at the moment. Bu then, he'd already seen and done plenty of shit he would've rather forgotten about in the past twenty-four hours.

Enough to make his skin crawl.

He stiffened, dark lids flickering, chills raising the flesh on the backs of his arms and hands. But all of that was in the past, now. Yeah----and this time, they were gonna get some answers. They were gonna dig their way out've this shithole, for good. He was fucking pumped, He stepped sideways, black boots scuffing the dirt, closing off a few square inches between himself and the boy, hands settling down in his pockets once more.

"So----y'ready t'get outta here, then?" He turned towards his brother, brows lifting, claret-hued pinpricks permeating the gloom.

Unlikely Places | Envy, Greed, & Skylar

He felt his throat tighten, each moment that passed bearing down heavier than the one before it. Even so, he couldn’t wish for it to just be over. He wasn’t brave enough. No matter how terrible they were, the minutes or seconds that remained were all that rested between him and whatever was going to happen. The time that he never wanted to come. Perhaps it would have been easier to just get it over with, but fear kept him rooted to the spot, and he couldn’t feel anything else before it. They were drawing closer and closer to when they would leave, and there was nothing he could do about it. They weren’t debating anymore; it was clear that they, or rather the second man, had already decided what they were going to do. And that meant they were going to take him somewhere, away from here. Away from home.

He gulped a little, breath pinching in his chest. What if he was never able to come back? Moisture pricked at the corners of his eyes, glossing over. It had been so easy to leave everything else behind, here. He would never have asked for anything else. He could have stayed here forever. But now, he might never see it again. His gaze searched through the darkness, anxiety rising in his chest. He could feel his heart, fluttering in his chest, pulsing in his head. The sound made him feel like he needed to do something, but what could he do? He looked back at the two men, eyes misted. They weren’t different from anyone else. If anything, they were worse.

The second man started to speak again, seeming to lay out a plan for whatever it was that they were going to do. His heart quickened further, an icy rush chilling the length of his spine. This was it. Even so, he felt a flicker of relief stir in his chest when he went on to say that the first man would be the one taking him. He let out a quivering breath, looking between them both. He didn’t really dare to hope that he could convince him to let him go, but he didn’t seem nearly as dangerous, or frightening. And anything was better than having to stay with the other one.

He blew back his bangs, brows lifting, arms crossing, mouth snapping shut. Well, heck----if Envy wanted to be left alone with his thoughts, he sure as fuck wasn't gonna press the issue. Odds were, he'd still be standing here an hour later, when his brother hadn't managed to carve them a path out of this mess----now, if only he could've said that wasn't his fucking problem, either. He puffed out a flat exhale and looked away, scarlet eyes finding the boy, keeping him in his sights----'cause hey, why the fuck not? It was more than his brother was doing, anyways. Envy spoke up again after a moment, but he wasn't really paying attention, anymore. Besides, it didn't sound as though he had much of anything new to say----just the same old half-assed load've bullshit.

Or so it seemed, to begin with.

In closing, Envy's words jerked him from his muddling thoughts, settling atop the surface of his skin before sinking in all the way, permeating his pores and spiking throughout his veins from there on out. He blinked once, red eyes widening a little. Holy fucking----their father's alchemy book. Man, why hadn't he thought of that? His brother was right, of course----it'd do the fucking trick, if anything could. Sure, the underground was a motherfucking train-wreck and then some, but he couldn't fathom any reason why the item in question wouldn't have been left there. From what they'd been able to deduce, it wasn't like the others would've had time to pack their bags before clearing out----it had to be there. His heartbeat quickened, pattering behind his ribcage, thumping in his ears. 

Hell, he wasn't about to act like he hadn't been giving his brother enough credit----there were still a heck've a lot of variables to be considered. But he sure was fuck wasn't complaining, either.

He clawed a hand across his forehead, smearing chilly perspiration, giving stiff nod. "That'll do it, man----fuckin' A." He straightened up a little, muscles tensing, fingertips glancing his ravened hair. There'd be no guarantees, make no mistake about that----but this, at least, was something to go on, and that was more than they'd had to work with, before. Shit, they might've had a decent shot at getting Gluttony back, after all. Talk about a motherfucking weight off his shoulders.

His brother spoke again after a moment's pause, turning his attentions back towards the boy once more----and even as the words left Envy's lips, he could feel himself spiraling back down to earth, again. Man, talk about a motherfuckin' buzz kill. His lips thinned out, tightening to form a cynical grimace, his slim digits giving a subtle twinge. Great----trust his brother to stick him with the dumbass kid. Do I look like a fuckin' babysitter to you, asshole? His eyes narrowed a fraction, brooding, muscled shoulders hunkering a little. As if pinning the task of retrieving the book on him hadn't been bad enough----he was pretty freakin' sure that neither of them wanted to set foot in that hellhole again, if they could help it.

Of course, when you got down to it, he guessed he would've preferred that the little punk tag along with him, than spend the next couple of hours with Envy----he knew what it was like to be stuck with Envy, and he wasn't enough of an asshole to wish that upon anybody else. Not that he was about to say so out loud, either. Besides, they were gonna need the kid in one piece, and in much better sorts if they wanted him to preform the necessary transmutation----and it wasn't like Envy'd be able to pull that one off.

On top of that, his brother did have a point, although he didn't really wanna admit it. It wasn't like the little brat would do anything but complicate matters with Pride. Shit, as much as he didn't wanna go back underground, he was just as happy to keep from getting tangled up with their eldest brother. Plus, Envy'd already had the chance to familiarize himself with the layout of the manor. There was really no denying that he was better suited to the job. All things considered, maybe what his brother had asked him to do was the lesser of two evils, after all.

He folded his arms, and cast a sidelong glance in the direction of the boy before returning his eyes to his brother again, giving a thick sniff. "Yeah----I gotcha covered, bro." He shrugged his shoulders a little, reaching around, rubbing the back of his head.

"And, uh----what're we gonna do after that? Y'want us to meet'cha halfway, or what?" They'd need someplace sheltered and preferably out of the way to preform the transmutation----someplace other than the middle of the motherfucking woods, that was. He didn't much fancy the idea of dragging his ass all the way back out here again, and besides, it'd be daylight by then. Not the best of times to go flying something so potentially indiscreet under the proverbial radar, if you asked him.

Unlikely Places | Envy, Greed, & Skylar

He remained frozen, waiting on baited breath from where he watched in the shadows. His throat shifted in a tense swallow, and he peered at them tentatively, pulse fluttering anxiously in his chest. For a long moment, he thought the fighting would continue. The air felt tight, and he didn’t like the way they were looking at each other. It felt like at any time, the other man would attack again. A weak grimace trembled on his lips, and he sucked in a little breath. He hadn’t moved from where he had fallen back against the earth; fingers still spread over the ground behind him from where he had caught himself. The longer it went on, the more it felt like there was no way out. What was going to happen to him…? He felt his throat tighten.

Slowly, he drew his fingers forward across the earth, tucking his legs up against his chest again, all movements near silent. For now, they weren’t paying any attention to him, but he had no way of knowing how long that would last. He rested his chin in the crevice between his knees, watching them carefully, eyes large and glossy. At least…now it didn’t look like they were going to fight again. Maybe what they needed to do was more important. But that meant…

His breath caught, entire form tensing. That meant they were leaving. They were actually going to take him away. Suddenly, it all felt uncomfortably real. His heartbeat quickened, until he could hear it pulsing in his head, making his breath come faster. If they took him away, he might never get back. Immediately, the need to run was strong again. He could feel the panic swelling in his chest, making his body feel light with adrenaline. And it was terrible feeling. He swallowed, gaze flickering nervously, eying his home where it rested at the center of the clearing. It was too far away.

He would never make it. And even if he did, they would find him, and they would catch him. And it would just make everything worse. His mouth quivered a little, stressing, remaining rooted to the spot. It all felt like it was happening so quickly, and he didn’t know what to do. No matter what he did, they were never going to listen to him.