Edward Elric (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
automailed) wrote2012-01-14 01:33 am
automailed) wrote2012-01-14 01:33 am
Entry tags:
- !derek bliss,
- !elicia hughes,
- !haruhi,
- !hiccup,
- !hohenheim,
- !keimi,
- !lindsay d ballard,
- !link (windwaker),
- !mewtwo,
- !mommy,
- !nami,
- !rainbow dash,
- !raven,
- !robert hastings,
- !roxas,
- !seto,
- !sokka,
- !taokaka,
- !tyria,
- !winry,
- "that bastard" = "dad",
- [action],
- [voice],
- awkward home life is awkward,
- house intruder,
- ilu mommy,
- stupid hohenheim
[Voice / Action] backdated to JANUARY 13th
[...So it's been a week. A full week since his parents had shown up in Luceti. And as of today, with the last bit of furniture in place, he and Al are officially "moved in". At least, in the sense of physically living there. Edward still finds himself looking out the window an awful lot and double-taking at the house number across the street, and at least three times now he's turned to approach the door of the Hughes' household instead of his own. He hasn't barged in unintentionally yet, at least. That would have been awfully embarrassing.
He's still not sure how he feels about this... home life. Thing. Adjustment is one thing, but actually coming to expect his mother's smiling face when he walks through the front door? It's a little scary. Wonderful in a lot of ways, but...
And that's not even getting into the issue of living so close to Hohenheim for this long, something he hasn't done since early childhood. And despite promising to give the man a chance, their relationship is tenuous at best, violent at its worst. He's still not calling the man "father", either. And there's poor Al in the middle, still stuck in his wheelchair... dammit...
Well, let's just say he's in desperate need of some distraction. So after giving it some thought, he turns to the journal-]
Hey, got a question for anyone listening out there-
I was talking to this kid a while back - Aoba - and something came up. Do we have some kind of directory of all the worlds people are from? I don't mean that world sharing class, I mean actual maps of all the different worlds, or countries within those worlds, or whatever.
Because if there isn't, then I'd like to make one. So if you wanna get involved, talk about where you're from here- show a map, gimme an idea of what it's like. I'll take what I can get.
[A little while later, he'll be venturing to his usual hotspots- the library, for some books for poor Al to read, and the Battle Dome, to take out some of his pent-up frustrations (and to duke it out with a few of the homunculus for kicks), then to the shops for a bit of perusing. He can be pestered around down at any time, looking uncharacteristically unsure, though he's been looking that way all week, so at this point it may not be anything new.
Eventually he'll return home to his family some time before dinner, carrying with him (in addition to Al's books) a toolbox, a bag containing some clothes, and a collection of sticky buns for dessert/snacking-
...but not before barging into the Hughes house accidentally. Apparently there really is a first time for everything.]
He's still not sure how he feels about this... home life. Thing. Adjustment is one thing, but actually coming to expect his mother's smiling face when he walks through the front door? It's a little scary. Wonderful in a lot of ways, but...
And that's not even getting into the issue of living so close to Hohenheim for this long, something he hasn't done since early childhood. And despite promising to give the man a chance, their relationship is tenuous at best, violent at its worst. He's still not calling the man "father", either. And there's poor Al in the middle, still stuck in his wheelchair... dammit...
Well, let's just say he's in desperate need of some distraction. So after giving it some thought, he turns to the journal-]
Hey, got a question for anyone listening out there-
I was talking to this kid a while back - Aoba - and something came up. Do we have some kind of directory of all the worlds people are from? I don't mean that world sharing class, I mean actual maps of all the different worlds, or countries within those worlds, or whatever.
Because if there isn't, then I'd like to make one. So if you wanna get involved, talk about where you're from here- show a map, gimme an idea of what it's like. I'll take what I can get.
[A little while later, he'll be venturing to his usual hotspots- the library, for some books for poor Al to read, and the Battle Dome, to take out some of his pent-up frustrations (and to duke it out with a few of the homunculus for kicks), then to the shops for a bit of perusing. He can be pestered around down at any time, looking uncharacteristically unsure, though he's been looking that way all week, so at this point it may not be anything new.
Eventually he'll return home to his family some time before dinner, carrying with him (in addition to Al's books) a toolbox, a bag containing some clothes, and a collection of sticky buns for dessert/snacking-
...but not before barging into the Hughes house accidentally. Apparently there really is a first time for everything.]
action;
[He shoots Hiccup a meaningful look, his gaze more serious than it's ever been.]
Back then we thought alchemy could bring the dead back to life.
action;
Mom died when Al and I were little. He was about to say something else then.
And that's when things start to fit into place. A power like that in the hands of two children who had been left all alone...]
...Your mom? [His voice is a croak.]
action;
Human transmutation is taboo- forbidden by the government. We thought we could just do it and not tell anyone once we brought her back, that it'd be our secret. What we didn't know, though, was that even attempting it requires a price. To see the truth, you have to trade a part of your body.
action;
Something crops up in his memory--something Ed had mentioned to him about alchemy, a long while back.]
...Equivalent Exchange? [And now he's looking pointedly at his arm.] So...you lost your arm trying to bring your mother back.
[...That's a lot to take in. And to imagine someone dealing with when they're young.]
action;
[When it took Alphonse away.]
action;
...The only family he had left? His brother. Al. But Hiccup had seen Al. And as far as he could tell, he hadn't lost any part of his body.]
But, your brother, he's...
[And he realizes that Ed's never specifically told him Al was still around in his world. Oh, gods. Did he lose his brother, too?]
action;
[He grips his arm habitually, eyes narrowing. Remembering that night - opening his eyes, the floor covered in blood, Al's clothes lying empty on the floor - is always difficult.]
You... remember the armor he wore around the village before? He wasn't wearing it. It was his body.
action;
Of what he's still going through--
He knew Ed was strong before. But this just takes things to a whole different level.
He swallows.]
So that's why...you want to go home so badly. You want to get him back to normal, right? Like he is now? [That must have been the Malnosso's doing. Which he isn't sure is cruelty or kindness on their part.]
action;
[He ducks his head, hands clenching together.]
He was suffering, in that body. He couldn't feel anything, or eat, or sleep, and... I was the one who did it to him. So I've gotta fix it. I have to go back.
action;
So he'll just be honest instead. He hops down off his stool, pegleg clinking against the solid floor.]
It's pretty amazing, you know. What you did to save his life. You did something like that for him--I'm sure you'll be able to get his body back, one way or another.
I know it must be...tough. Tougher than I understand. But I know you, and...well, I know you can make things work.
action;
That night, I... guess we saved each other. After that I made a promise, though, and when I get back, I'm gonna keep it. No matter what the cost, Al's going to get his body back.
[It's weird, though... usually sharing that story leaves him more drained, bothered by it. Right now he feels more relieved than anything to get it out in the open like that.]
action;
...Like you said. It's...it's not doing heroic stuff for glory's sake that makes someone impressive. You did what you had to do to save someone you love. And you still are.
[He smiles genuinely. Telling him all this...Ed must really trust him. And he feels pretty good about that. So in return, he'll help out in any way he can.]
And I think that's pretty admirable. Really. It is.
action;
He's not some indomitable legend, after all. Still just a kid.]
I... thanks. Really, thanks. That means a lot.
action;
Thank you, too. For...trusting me. With all that.
action;
[Not that he'd expect Hiccup to spread it around, but since it's Al's history too, he's gotta cover all his bases. Protecting his brother and all that.]
action;
[Hiccup won't breathe a word. He won't even tell Winry he knows, unless she brings it up.]
So...what are you going to do now? With her back? [What did she say about their bodies?]
action;
[He closes his eyes, one hand shifting to grip the edge of the workbench. He can still see it, in his mind's eye- the shadowed outline of a gasping, mangled creature, slack-jawed and choking on its own blood...]
Back then, we made something- something that barely even looked human, like we'd missed a crucial part of the equation even after giving up so much to perform the transmutation. It looked at me for just a few moments, and... it died.
[Breathe, Ed. Just breathe.]
For a long time, I thought I'd brought her back in that body. That we'd killed her again.
action;
How is he even still standing? How did he move on from that? It would some kind of willpower that Hiccup doubts he even possesses. He would have given up. He would have given up right then and there.]
But you...you didn't. You said--something barely even human. So it wasn't actually her.
[...Right? Otherwise, what would he even say to her?]
action;
In part, I... guess I owe that much to Hohenheim. [Said extremely reluctantly, as if he hates the idea of giving the man any credit.] It was something he said that made me want to know for sure. I dug up the body, and... it wasn't her. It was someone else, someone completely different.
[That day, everything had changed. It had been such a relief to know, for both himself and for Al.
...but...]
...Knowing... and forgetting are two different things. The two memories- Mom, and that thing we made- have meshed together in my head for so long that... it's hard to look at her and not see it.
action;
This. This is tough. Not only to hear, but to know the right thing to say.]
At least...I mean, she's still your mom, right? So she'll love you and take care of you and can help you move past that. [Because that's what a mom would do, right? He's a bit out of his element here experience-wise.]
action;
No way- hell no! She can't ever know about this! She's been through enough already!
[Knowing that they tried to bring her back is one thing. But what it created as a result? It's too much.]
action;
--Y-yeah. You're right. But that just means you and Al have to figure it out on your own.
[Unless they work through their feelings with their father--which doesn't seem like the best suggestion.]
action;
What he did choose to say, though... Edward can't deny that there's merit to it.]
I haven't talked to Al about this part yet. He never- [-had those nightmares-] ...I don't know. It's just not the same.
[And he doesn't want to ruin Al's happiness just because he has issues.]
action;
[And putting up with something like that, on his own, when his family is forming around him and trying to figure out how to work...]
...Look, I--I know...you're going through a lot. And it might not be much, but..if there's anything I can do to help you, I will. Just tell me. And I will.
action;
He can muscle through this- he can muscle though anything, dammit, he's Edward Elric! He's the Fullmetal Alchemist! He didn't accept that name for nothing.
So... here goes. He'll do this, and he'll do it right.]
...I know. Thanks, Hiccup. Just hearing me out is plenty.
[Though he really should've told Ed just to shut up somewhere in the middle there.]
action;
action;
action;
action;
action;
action;
action;
action;
action;
action;
action;