I find Ed/Greed cute too – mainly because I imagine them complaining about the other being stubborn. And yeah, there’s a lot of really interesting power issues between Greed and Ling, and also a sense they are a lot less sure of how they blend than either would want to admit.

I agree with you on Ling and Ran Fan. I’ve never liked pairings that unbalanced, where there’s a kind of institutional devotion involved. And yes, I find devotion more interesting sometimes if it isn’t romantic/sexual in origin. Like in Yu-Gi-Oh! I find the idea that Mahaado is devoted to Atemu because he’s the divine pharaoh more interesting than if it was based on romantic love.