As sisters, Megan-Anne and I disagree on many things: DPNs vs. Magic Loop; who holds lusting claims over Malcolm Reynolds; whether or not it was Megan-Anne’s fault she had to go to our senior prom with a guy she didn’t like, because she lost a bet with him. But, the disagreement that really gets us yelling childish insults at each other is Fullmetal Alchemist versus Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Here is a list of reasons why I’m right and Megan-Anne is wrong:

1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is more faithful to the manga and we all know the eternal law of “The book was better.”
2. I’m older and thus wiser than Megan-Anne, so that means I’m right and she’s wrong.
3. OLIVIER ARMSTRONG.
4. We get to see the characters age.
5. Better animation.
6. The beginning doesn’t take forever to get to the point. I know people like to say Brotherhood was rushed in the beginning, but I disagree. It had great pacing. FMA drrraaaaaaged.
7. May Chang’s cute mini-panda, Xiao-Mei.
8. And did I mention that the story is just plain better?

Regardless of how super totally wrong Megan-Anne is about FMA being better than Brotherhood, Fullmetal Alchemist is pretty awesome in both of its incarnations. The Elric brothers live in a world where alchemy is the most advanced science. The people use transmutation circles and the laws of equivalent exchange to do incredible things. Of course, everything goes terribly wrong when the young brothers use their savant-like knowledge of alchemy to bring their mother back from the dead.

We chose to use the blood seal to represent the Elric brothers. Edward Elric used it to bind his brother’s soul to a suit of armor. Megan-Anne and I felt as if it truly embodied the brothers and their journey to find the philosopher’s stone to right their disfiguring wrongs.

GET THE PATTERN

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can view the Elric Brothers pattern by clicking this link or the download it by clicking the button below. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong!

Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here. If you’re having trouble with double-sided knitting, we have a how-to video here. If this is your first time encountering the Geek-A-Long, you can learn more about it, the history behind it, how to participate, and why we do it for Child’s Play Charity on this page.

EDITED TO ADD: This post was edited on February 21, 2021 to update links and upload a revamped pattern format, which includes more information. You can read our post the revamp here.

~ Jac

“Yeah? Well, you smell like mouse farts!”

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a donation to Child’s Play Charity. Here is a direct link to our official donation page benefiting the charity. Please help us raise $1,000 this year. No contribution is too small! Wanna make your donation go even further? Lattes & Llamas will donate $1 for every skein of Geek-A-Long Yarn purchased.