Asylum
is a Fullmetal Alchemist Alternate Universe fanfic by Strix 4. It mainly borrows from the 2003 anime adaptation, but contains elements of the manga and ''Brotherhood'' continuities as well.
Taking place in an alternate universe where alchemy exists but has been long forgotten as anything more than a fairy tale, Edward and Alphonse Elric are taken to an asylum for treatment of their "escapist fantasies". But all is not well in this asylum and they soon learn that they're going to have to team up with the other patients to fight their way out.
Tropes
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Kimblee, who has a genuine Villainous Friendship with Greed and Martel and even snaps and slaughters Envy, Lust and Gluttony when Greed dies.
- Adaptation Species Change: Wrath and Greed are both human here, while Martel is apparently not a chimera.
- Age Lift: Roy Mustang and his team were all roughly in their 20s-30s in canon, but here they're teenagers. Greed is also a lot younger here, but then, that's mainly because he's not an ancient unkillable homunculus in this fic.
- Ax-Crazy: Kimblee likes making people explode. Envy and Wrath are also stated to be this.
- Battleaxe Nurse: Unsurprisingly, Lust is this.Lust: I wouldn't be so foolish as to pin me with the stereotypes of my profession, if I were you... I don't feel compassion, and especially not for the condemned.
- Big Bad: Dante is the main antagonist, siphoning power from alchemically gifted patients and switching bodies with female ones to prolong her own life.
- Big Eater: Gluttony, to the surprise of no one. He doesn't get much screentime, but he's noted to moan and complain quietly to himself that he has to keep serving all the "precious food" to the patients and gets visibly upset when he discovers that they didn't leave any on the plates after meals. He also apparently attacked Ed rather viciously when the latter tried to inspect the food to see if there was anything fishy about it.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Dante isn't called "Doctor Bitch" among her patients for nothing. The asylum's Director, also known as Pride also qualifies.
- Bittersweet Ending: Many people have died, but our remaining heroes have managed to free themselves, overcome their trauma and expose the evils of the asylum after destroying it.
- Body Horror: The remains that Ed and Al created as part of human transmutation, as usual, and also what's left of Envy after Kimblee kills him.
- Canon Welding: Dante and the Homunculi's origins are lifted from the 2003 anime, but some characterization aspects are taken from the manga and Brotherhood anime. Additionally, one chapter reveals that the Gate of Truth functions like its manga counterpart rather than its anime counterpart.
- Composite Character:
- Despite the story taking place in a world based on the 2003 anime continuity, Lust is more similar to her manga counterpart, being a cold-hearted Blood Knight.
- A smaller example, but Winry is depicted as Dante's next target for body snatching, a role that went to Rose in the original anime.
- Death by Adaptation: Fletcher and Russell Tringham both die by the end of the fic, whereas they're alive in the source material.
- Demoted to Extra: Envy, who is only alluded to in the main part of the fic and gets killed off after his one appearance at the end. Scar and Wrath are both killed off pretty early as well, though Wrath gets a tiny bit of focus in a flashback, and Pride, whose reveal as a Homunculus and subsequent death happens offscreen.
- Evil Old Folks: Dante is an old woman and pure evil.
- Eye Scream: Greed's eyes have become purple due to them filling with blood from the alchemy extraction process. Envy also has one of his eyes melt out of its socket after Kimblee kills him.
- For Want Of A Nail: On top of multiple other things, Ed didn't have to seal Al's soul inside of a suit of armor in this universe, as Truth apparently decided that the payment of his arm and leg were enough for both his brother and what was left of his mother.
- Go Out with a Smile: Kimblee does this after killing three of the homunculi, while Hohenheim does so after reconciling with his family.
- Grand Theft Me: Dante pulls this on young, pretty female patients to prolong her life. Ed later learns that she has her eyes on Winry.
- Hospital Hottie: Lust, but she's also a Battleaxe Nurse.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Multiple characters end up coming down with this, due to the way Dante tries to extract their alchemy. Izumi Curtis and Roy Mustang are the main examples.
- Killed Offscreen: It's strongly implied that Greed died in the last alchemy draining ritual, which is what prompts Kimblee to snap before his own death.
- No Immortal Inertia: Dante falls victim to this when Hohenheim removes her Philosopher's stone.
- No Ontological Inertia: As a result of the above, Pride drops dead in the middle of ambushing the auxiliary rescue team, though they apparently assumed it was because Winry chucked a wrench at him.
- Orderlies are Creeps: Averted with Alex Louis Armstrong, who is every bit as kind as his canon counterpart and even helps the patients in their escape attempts.
- Shapeshifter Guilt Trip: Dante has Sloth pull this on Ed at the end, dressing her up as his mother. Interestingly, Envy, who is famous for this trope, never gets the chance to do this onscreen.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Maes Hughes lives to see the end of this fic, as does Martel.
- Token Good Teammate: Among the asylum's staff, Alex Louis Armstrong and Dr. Maes Hughes are this, helping out the patients in their attempt to escape.
- Together in Death: Izumi and her son, Wrath, die in each other's arms.
- Wham Line: When Ed looks through the files of past patients, he finds one for a girl named Sonja. He slowly realizes that she looks very familiar, and sure enough, figures it out when he sees her eyes. Or rather...
