This fanfic is one of my personal favorites, the characters are on point and it seems that the next chapter may go deeper into the plot. I also wonder when Roy and his team will make an appearance, will they notice Lust in her new job, will Selim or Greed notice something is going on? If Roy saw any of the Homunculi, especially Envy, it will not end good. Hopefully the Elrics will him before anything happens. Anyway, this story is the best and hope you are doing okay.

JEKJCNWHFCBNRWHVCBQWC DON'T CRY MY CHILD. PLEASE DON'T CRY-

YES! This is officially cannon in my opinion, and nobody can change my mind. This was made like, 10 years ago but I love it!

I find myself coming back to this story regularly.
The plot, characterisation, worldbuilding, all of the thought you put in this is amazing.
I hope you're doing well.

I wonder how long it would take for somebody to see where Envy slit his wrist and think he tried to kill himself again.

I found this by chance because of some art I came across, and was skeptical about reading fanfiction as usual, but this story and the detail in it is amazing, as well as the thought and research you put into it. I quite enjoy the pace of the story, and the focus on the individual characters. I really like how you write the characters, and though the over-all plot may not be clear, every page has had me intrigued. Especially back to the sensory detail and the general story. The setting and the way you describe things is refreshing. And, like said, I really do adore how you wrote the characters and how you carry the story. It's the imple things, you know?

I swear, you deserve more Favorites and Followers. This fanfic is amazing and I commend you for putting this much effort into it. Hope you are doing well!

Bit too tired to leave a proper review so I'll have to do so on the next chapter :). I'll still leave a bit though

I'm really impressed by the level of detail and thought that has gone into the story. There have been quite a few times where I went "did they actually research that?" And of course you did.

One thing that did stick out to me relates to something you said earlier about characters only being as smart as the author and how you also asked for suggestions on what lusts plan could actually be. I get the feeling that you gave a hard time writing lust which is a bit disappointing. I think conceptually she is the most interesting character in the story being a wild concoction of being one of smartest of the group, being one of the most loyal, but also being one of the most understanding of humans, or at least being close to understanding their emotions. Her potential for growth and mental conflict is easily the greatest. I really enjoy envy, but I feel like his conflict could most aptly be described as him being a dick. I don't mean to diminish him as a character as his jealousy is interesting, but its not a very layered conflict for him. He doesn't *know* he can be happy if he just tries. Lust on the other hand is a much more crooked character with a deep seated and multifaceted reason for not getting humanity. This is really hard to fully understand and articulate as some smuck leaving a review let alone someone actually writing her. And this is not even mentioning that she is a highly intelligent individual who loves to scheme as a hobby. That's friggin difficult to write ignoring everything previous. Because of how interesting of a character she I wish she had been more prominent. And of course because I'm completely unbiased and definitely did not have as my favorite character from the 2003 series. Anyway I digress. I really respect that you have been able to write such a complicated character as well as you have.

Another thing that kind of stood out to me as weird is the amount of fluff. I feel bad describing it as fluff as the stories highly interesting, but I think that's the best way to describe it. There's a level of characterization that is necessary and then there's going way beyond and your pretty safely in the later. Your very efficient and very good. You have all the down time developing characters and having them grow which is great. Its why I don't really think this is a problem. Its slower and more fleshed out than I'm used to, but I do highly respect it. I will say that I worry about how it effects your motivation to write, but that's not really my place to say.

Last thing I have to say is just that I find your incorporation of 2003 stuff very interesting. Dante as seemingly the main antagonist is a cool concept. I'm curious to see what sort of motivation she will have/goal she wants to achieve. Admitaddly I will selfishly hope its jot for her to become god.

If Lyra hurts Envy in any shape or form, I'll break every bone in her pretty little face.

Hey Shade40!

I just got back into the fandom like last week, after a break of ... quite a few years. I've been busy too - I had a kid! Anyway, great to see you're still writing (at least, I hope you're still writing, it's been more than a year since you last updated).

So I spent the last couple of days rereading Phylactery and getting caught up, in between everything else (work, parenting, writing, the usual stuff). I found the Dante bits a little jarring, but now that you introduced "Lyra" in Dublith, it's all starting to come together. I watched the 2003 series after Brotherhood, and didn't like it as much, basically everything past shortly before Hughes' death as "official" fanfic. I'm interested to see how you'll work Dante into Brotherhood's universe.

Btw, I don't know if you knew before, but this story is recommended on TV Tropes under FMA manga fanfic recommendations! Congrats! You really need to stand out from the crowd to make it there!

Best of luck with your future writing, in FMA and otherwise, and with everything else too!

Hello, random internet anon here.
First off, I hope you are having a fantastic day/night.
Secondly, this is. Hands. Down. One of the best fanfiction I have ever read in my 7-something years of being in fandoms. Beautiful descriptions, characters are on-point, and the humor is incredible! I really hope you continue to update, because now you've practically got me dancing in the palm of your hand for more chapters!
For now, I shall simply imagine the insanity Selim and the others are in for when Greed finally DOES go to Xing.
In my mind, he waits 'till Ling's alone (or as alone as possible 'cause Lan Fan protective af) then just saunters out of the shadows and says something like 'Well whaddya know, you actually became emperor.' Or something like that but with more sass and... well... Greedness to it.
And then Ling just straight-up tackles Greed in a hug and starts bawling into his shirt. Awkward or sincere hugs ensue.
But that's just me. Thanks again for a wonderful read so far!

This is hands down my favorite FMA story, like whoa. This is everything I needed in a story about the homunculi and I'm so glad I checked out the TV Tropes recommendation for FMA fics (which, idk if you know this or not, but yeah, you got recc'd!) because I devoured all 39 chapters in two sittings, then went back and reread two more times (!) because this is now 100% canon to me now. You have a great ear for character voices, and the best part of this story by far is how well you've captured their personalities and how well you portray their relationships with each other, to the point that it's actually given me a lot of headcanons (not only that this fic is what happens after for the homunculi, but also for little personality quirks and how they see things). I know you've mentioned some are wondering when the main plot is gonna kick off; I just read fanfic to read good characterizations of my favorite characters, so I could very happily spend the next 50 chapters or whatever just reading about the siblings kicking back in Mrs Bradley's house with zero plot progression, lol. Also, weird thing to mention, but I really like the little notes you include at the end of every chapter, they're fun behind-the-scenes-ish type stuff and help me appreciate the work that you've done for this fic (like your note about actually researching the weather for one specific date Dante was doing her thing on - props!).

So first off, it's cute to see Pride's total devotion to his Father as a homunculus translates to Selim going all out to take care of his aging human mother as a Real Boy(TM). Lily is such a sweetheart, and I'm glad she's gotten her bearings enough to stick up for herself against the homunculi more like the woman Wrath fell for, and that she continues to see Selim as her little boy despite learning more of the truth about him he'd prefer she not have known. I like how Gluttony instantly took to her as "Mother" just because big bro Pride calls her that, lol; I wonder if she's going to end up becoming an actual mother figure for any of the other homunculi? (She mother-henned Envy a bit about his nightmare and being sick, and when Lust got her period there was a bit indicating that she might start seeing Lust as a daughter figure... hmm.) Anyway, thank goodness SHE'S the one Wrath picked to marry, because if he'd picked someone who didn't turn out as good a person as Lily, Selim... would probably not have turned out as kind the second time around as he has.

Pride is my second-favorite homunculus because of what an insufferably smug mean ass he is, so my biggest complaint is that admittedly I do miss the old Pride's personality even if the new one is the one who brought his siblings back and the personality change was both believable for the situation and necessary to make it happen (old Pride almost certainly wouldn't have gone to such risks to bring them back, unless he believed it was needed to bring back Father, and I ADORED the protective-big-brothering he did in this latest chapter that old Pride wouldn't have done). My second-favorite moments (after big bro Pride ACTUALLY BEING a big bro in his own condescending way) are when old Pride shines through (the chapter where he confirms to Lust and Envy there is no plan is my favorite for this reason, because old Pride comes through loud and clear to LAY DOWN THE LAW and it had me clapping like a seal lol). I totally get why his siblings are having a hard time adjusting to the new, kind, more genuinely childish Pride because I am too - but then there was a mention in Selim's narration at some point to the tune of "Pride being tired of the others treating him like a stranger" that made me VERY happy at the mention of this very thing being something Selim/Pride notices and is annoyed by, because it does remind me that he IS still the same person, just changed a lot by experiences that were mostly offscreen because of the timeline. I don't mean that negatively, because you do explain and reconcile how these two different characterizations (as cocky, cruel Pride and as the kinder, more genuine Selim) are one person very well in different parts of the story, like in the first chapter and in other parts of Selim's narrative, but I'm just greedy for that mean Pride personality Selim is shown actively trying to repress and distance himself from. It's interesting that Selim's narrative shows a strong split between the personalities, mentioning how Pride reacts differently to things than Selim or Lust and Envy accidentally "awakening" Pride in the chapter he confirms there's no plan - it ALMOST comes off as split minds, like Greed and Ling sharing a body, but Selim has also shown that he IS Pride but with a different perspective. Selim's insistence that he's NOT Pride anymore when people side-eye him, but also that he IS Pride when he feels rejected by his siblings, feels like some kind of identity crisis.

Also, since Selim still does have his inert Philosopher's Stone as his core and his siblings's souls are technically housed in it right now, does that mean since he has five souls inside it that he's secretly gotten back at least some of his homunculus juice, like regenerating or shadows? After all, while Envy is doing a great job pissing him off and the narrative makes reference to how in the old days Pride would've used his shadows to punish him, Selim hasn't actually tried to USE his shadows in the present day so there might actually be a change now. What an unpleasant surprise for Envy and the others that'd make if he actually has gotten his powers back PLUS alchemy but they are powerless. Got the feeling Envy would get his act together IMMEDIATELY, lol.

Speaking of my favorite mean asshole homunculi! Envy is my favorite part of this. He's my favorite homunculus (and FMA character period) because of what an absolutely stupid and entertaining asshole he is, and I love to bits how well you write him and how he keeps drawing the short straw for like every situation in the most embarrassing way possible (anytime Selim, Lust, and Greed team up to embarrass their annoying little brother is A time). That's karma for you, baby, you thought Mustang's fire was it but no, the universe dragged your ass back from limbo for round two! The idea that he says his sin is that he makes people jealous of HIM is so in-character for what he'd say if asked, and Greed's description of him at one point as laughing about a relatively innocent thing (Greed getting beat by Selim) like he'd just killed someone sounded spot-on for Envy and made me flashback immediately to all his deranged cackling in the anime. As much as I love him being a huge troublemaking jerk like he is in canon, it does make me feel bad because I do have to wonder if Selim still thinks bringing him back was worth it. Selim says he really did miss him and your writing proves it, and he seems to accept that it'll take Envy a long time to adjust and settle into his new life as a human, but I can't help but think that things would be more peaceful within the household without Envy back and that makes me worry that he's thought it too even if he doesn't mean it. I don't know if it's possible for Envy to truly adjust, especially with the idea of Lust making new Philosopher's Stones to turn them back into homunculi in his head... but if anyone can make him chill out even a little bit on humans, it's probably Team Mom Lily who already pulled it off with Pride.

Greed messing with Envy is another one of my favorite parts because it's just SO in-character and yet here they've been living together long enough that it feels brotherly instead of as malicious as it probably would've been if they could still just kill each other and run off to do their own things (the drawing contest-turned-wrestling match and squabble about ages, SO GOOD, these boys are so dumb and hilarious). Like how bored would they BE without each other to pick fights with? His softer moments of reflection on Envy are so sweet (worried about Envy almost dying in his sleep, thinking about Envy getting tortured to death by Mustang and thinking about whether he would've intervened if he'd been there, is an idea I am now mildly obsessed with). I'm worried that if Greed ever does regain all his memories as First Greed, he'll go back to sincerely hating Envy for having killed bar girl Kristen and wanting revenge the same way he hated Wrath for killing the Devil's Nest gang and wanted to kill him. It's not clear if fully regaining his old memories is possible, but if anything would trigger it it'd probably be hanging out at the Devil's Nest and potentially bumping into other people in Dublith who weren't as close to him as the chimeras but still knew the old Greed. I hope by the time his two months are up, he builds enough of a relationship with his siblings that he decides he'll come back after Xing because it'd just be too sad otherwise - he's got a history of running off to do his own thing, and his friendship with Ling is awesome and I do want to see them reunite, but... family is family. ;_; Hm, in the last couple chapters, Greed seems to be wising up to Lust being up to something after her proving when they were stargazing that she wasn't as accepting of being human as she pretends, and now her and Envy wandering off together when they never did that before. I wonder if he may start keeping a closer eye on them? maybe even delay his trip to Xing? *crosses fingers* After all, Lust was thinking about how she'll be able to advance her plans more once he's gone and if she realizes he's dragging his feet and tries to manipulate him into going, he'll probably realize she's trying to get rid of him as the only other homunculus who'd notice them up to any funny business (Pride having already proven to be too wrapped up in his own humanity to pick up on their siblings's scheming anymore).

The mystery of Lyra is making me curious. She's obviously connected to Dante, but is it Dante herself under a new alias and if so, what's she up to and how has she survived so long? She could survive this long with the soul-swapping 03 Dante used, but she didn't know enough alchemy to be able to do it herself and I doubt someone would've done it for/to her. Since 03 had the twist with different worlds, I'm tempted to think it might actually BE 03 Dante somehow dropped into Brotherhood world, which would be pretty awesome to see how she reacts to all these familiar strangers (especially the zombie-son she had having no connection to her whatsoever in this world), but for now I'm thinking that's not it - the Xerxes diary entries are there to establish Dante as her own character here and 03 Dante probably wouldn't have acted the way with Envy the way that Lyra does here since she would've recognized her murderlicious human-hating son and probably would've expected him to recognize her or tried to get him to recognize her by giving him her real name because she probably would've assumed he was still working for her in this world (unless she is gathering information on Envy here to determine what's different to see if she can trust him enough to reveal herself?). Regardless of the connection, I like that Envy is the one who has first contact with her since 03 Envy was Dante's kid and her longest serving homunculus, cute nod there. It'll be interesting to see what kind of relationship she builds with Envy; 03 Dante was in a way that Envy's mom whereas this Envy's never had a mom before (unless we're counting Lust, which I don't because she comes off as more big sister than mom to me) and doesn't accept Lily as his mother figure, so if Lyra/Dante somehow ends up becoming/trying to become a mother figure to Envy (and potentially the other homunculi, depending on how things shake out?) while manipulating him for her own ends as I'm assuming she's planning to do, that'd make her a great evil counterpart to Lily and her genuine mother-son bond with Selim influencing him to good.

I'm still concerned about this whole modeling deal with Lust. I think they're right in that they could change up her appearance enough that she wouldn't look too similar to her old self, and the humans who knew her aren't exactly going to be on the lookout for a homunculus dead for over six years now alive again as a model in Dublith, but she IS very striking and Mustang's team IS smart and competent, and underestimating them is what got Lust and Envy killed before. Given how memorable their meetings were, I could certainly believe Mustang, Hawkeye, or Havoc recognizing her face (or maybe in Havoc's case... her *coughcough* figure) and investigating to make sure it wasn't a coincidence. Which WOULD admittedly be very fun because then you'd have all the homunculi cowering inside the Bradley mansion while the military searches Dublith for her... and then they'd certainly come knocking at Mrs Bradley's door (they do already know Pride-Selim is in Dublith, so another person who looks like a different supposedly dead homunculus in Dublith would be INCREDIBLY suspicious). It'd be exciting as hell but holy God there would be VERY high odds of six ex-homunculi roasted crispy. As it is, I wonder if Pearl will let slip about Lust going to see Lujon to anyone... she seems very gossipy and she'd see it as a much less important secret to keep than Lust's story about an abusive ex-military guy. If it reaches Mrs. Bradley's ears, she'd probably mention it to Lust in front of the others and the fact that Lust went to go see an alchemist without mentioning it would be a massive red flag to Selim and Greed.

I am curious about which of them Lust plans to restore to full-fledged homunculi - her and Envy obviously, but Gluttony seems to prefer being human since he's not constantly forced to be hungry - would she be willing to let her little brother age and die like a human if that's what he'd want, or would she decide for him that being a homunculus is better for him because homunculi are superior to humans and that's his natural state of being? Would she be gracious enough to restore Greed, even though he'd probably just keep interfering with them (especially if they started trying to find a way to save Father) and wouldn't like them sacrificing humans to give him a Stone? And what about Selim? He certainly wouldn't appreciate it and says he'd oppose them just as Greed would, but would she feel a duty to her older brother still or hope that'd somehow revive the "true" Pride personality?

I wasn't sure if turning them back into full-fledged homunculi would even be possible in their current state since even Lust didn't sound too sure, but after further thought I think it'd work; it'd be like making a human-based homunculus, but since Lust, Envy, and maybe Greed wouldn't resist the Stone (think Ling accepting Greed instead of Human Wrath fighting back against the Stone), they'd be able to absorb the Stone's souls without trouble and be restored. But I don't know if you've planned them to actually get their powers and immortality back, or if that's a goal for Lust and Envy to focus on while they're on the road to gaining some humanity. If you do go down that road, as for potential ways to turn them back... Depending on what secrets she's hiding, Lyra might already have Philosopher Stones for them to use and maybe she uses them to tempt Envy into doing whatever dirtywork she might have cooked up? Since Envy was brought back really as an inhuman parasite, maybe something happens to split him from his human body (a blow to that part of his neck? he or Lyra cut parasite-him out of human-his neck?), he manages to snack on some humans to absorb their souls one-by-one, and gets his old shapeshifting form back? We also know that Ling already has a Philosopher's Stone that Lust and Envy could try to steal. However, they wouldn't have any way of knowing that unless they overhear the Elrics telling Greed or Pride that, and they couldn't really hope to travel to Xing and steal it when Ling and all his bodyguards would be able to sense them and kick their asses. He might simply give it to Greed since they're friends and he probably wouldn't want to deny his friend his natural state of being, but then only Greed would be a homunculus, with his siblings all still human. Then again, given how their souls are connected to each other and Selim's Stone, maybe one homunculus absorbing it would restore them all to homunculi through the connection?

If you're taking suggestions to write scenarios the Bradley family (screw it, Selim's a Bradley, I'm clumping all his siblings under that name too), I like the idea of them doing a big group project like painting the walls in their bedrooms and maybe other things to show them personalizing their rooms, since everyone's room besides Selim's and Lust's are mentioned? It could help them feel more like this is their home instead of someplace they're forced to be. Or celebrating some made-up Amestrian holiday? I keep thinking something similar to Halloween would be especially fun because of trick-or-treating Selim and you KNOW Envy would go all-out for his costume. I also wonder about them getting a pet, since animals shouldn't be scared of them anymore now that they're humans. On one hand, taking care of a pet could teach Envy and/or Lust some kindness, but then I... would be terrified to leave some poor animal in the hands of the homunculi no matter how powerless they are. Maybe Selim finds another injured animal to nurse back to health, everyone gets into it, and then he releases it back to the wild before anything bad can happen? Since Sloth seems so entranced by birds and even drew one, maybe he'd take a special interest in it, but I'd be nervous about a hurt baby bird in the big guy's hands.

I hope this uber long review isn't too weird or rambly; I'm really just genuinely stoked and in love with your story. It's exactly what I want to read and I love reading and thinking about it, so thank you very much for writing it and sharing it with us!

Absolutely love what you've written so far. You really nailed their personalities while giving them some realistic growth.

Only thing I'd like to see is some more Pride POV, it seems there hasn't been as much in recent chapters.

Hoping for more!

'"That's #!$&ing messed up!"' I died laughing at that

I firmly believe that the homunculi haves souls, even if they started out as 'seeds' from Father's own. They feel, they cry, they've got souls "firmly nods"