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→ WARNING: FMA SPOILERS BELOW←
[series]: Full Metal Alchemist
[character]: Edward Elric
[character history / background]: Born in the remote rural town of Resembool in Rush Valley, Edward spent the first ten years of his years growing up rather uneventfully with his younger brother Alphonse and mother Trisha. Since and early age the brothers took an interest in Alchemy and showed tremendous promise for it and it seemed they would be set to follow in the footsteps of their father, Hohenheim, with their talents.
When Ed was six and Al was five, the brothers were successful with their first transmutation, a doll for their childhood friend Winry Rockbell, granddaughter to Pinako Rockbell who was a master Automail mechanic. Following this event, their mother introduced them to the notes and books relating to alchemy that belonged to their father. Over the four years that followed, the brothers learnt a great deal more, however unexpectedly their mother became notably weakened by a well-hidden illness and passed away leaving the to boys aged nine and ten alone. While standing before their mother's grave, Edward vocalised a very bold thought to Al, that they should attempt one of the forbidden practices of alchemy; Human transmutation with the intention to revive their mother.
The boys left Resembool with a woman they met named Izumi Curtis, a skilled alchemist who happened through the town during a time of vast rain and with her skills was able to stop a flood from occurring and putting the citizens at risk. Ed and Al begged for her to accept them as apprentices and after showing their determination, Izumi agreed, taking the children with her for training, both in alchemy, life lessons and survival techniques.
Once their teaching was deemed complete by Izumi, the two of them returned home to Resembool to attempt what they had set out to do. However, human transmutation was forbidden for a reason, and the transmutation went wrong. The result was that Al's entire physical form was lost as well as Ed's left leg in the attempt to revive their mother. Furthermore, to ensure Ed would not lose his brother as well he sacrificed his right arm to bind Al's soul to a suit of armour present at the time.
Carrying the heavily wounded Edward to Pinako and Winry's house pleading for help for his older brother. In response to a letter sent out to various recipients in a bid to locate their father after Trisha died, a man from the military named Roy Mustang came by the house to visit the boys, also looking for Hohenheim. The day he visited happened to be the night they attempted the human transmutation. Having survived the transmutation at such a young, Mustang expressed interest in the brothers and mentioned Edward could make a fine State Alchemist.
After regaining consciousness, Ed requests that Pinako make him Automail limbs and states he intends to take Mustang's suggestion seriously and that he would be trying to become a State Alchemist. The advantages given to State Alchemists including access to libraries of books relating to alchemy as well as amplifiers appear too good to pass up. Especially to someone intending to return his brother's body to normal, as well as his own. This that goal placed firmly in mind between them, Ed and Al burnt their house on October 3rd, a date that would later be etched into Ed's silver watch as a reminder, and left at age ten and eleven before starting their journey. To return Al to his body, Ed didn't care what it would cost him, pride, pain, anything. Becoming a 'dog of the military' was a sacrifice Ed was willing to make for the sake of reaching their goal.
Upon arriving in Central (eventually), the brothers were put under the care of the Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker and his young daughter Nina to study with him until the State Alchemist exams were due to begin. At age twelve, Ed became the youngest person to pass the exam and become a State Alchemist, he would be the only one of the two brothers to carry the burden of the military on his shoulders.
However, the brothers bore witness to a terrible example of what Alchemy and grey morals combined could do. With his assessment coming up from the State, Tucker, in a bid to top a talking chimera of his creation, performed a transmutation between his own daughter and their pet dog. Regardless of how much advanced Ed was in the field of alchemy, life experiences such as those would be painful for even for adults. As a child, advanced in alchemy though he was, the emotional impact it had on Ed was immense. The chimera was destroyed via the decomposition stage of alchemy at the hand, quite literally, of a man from Ishal who would be come to be referred to as Scar. Ed had a brief brush with this man, but he, like others, would factor greatly in the events to follow.
Following this, Ed was later put in charge of documenting and sorting Tucker's research which he expressed great disgust for and eventually declined in place of setting up an agreement with Mustang, that he would abide by the military's wishes as long as he was permitted to do research on the philosopher's stone while he was not on a mission. Between this discussion and the one informing Ed that he was going to be continuing Tucker's research, by fluke, Ed and Winry had a terrifying experience with a serial killer named Barry, later known as 'Barry the Chopper'.
Before undertaking his first mission, Ed was given his title as a State Alchemist; Fullmetal alchemist. During that mission, he came into contact with a young woman called Lyra for the first time. From that point on, when Ed and Al passed through towns on military business they would do their best to do as much to help they citizens they encountered as possible, earning themselves a reputation as heroes of the people.
Their travels also lead them to meeting a pair of brothers impersonating them named Russell and Fletcher Tringum, leading then to Ed and Al's first discovery of a substance known as 'red water', a poisonous liquid form of what would later turn out to be an incomplete version of the philosopher's stone. It would also transpire that to produce the red water and stones needed for a complete Philosopher's Stone many human lives needed to be sacrificed.
Following word that the Philosopher's stone was being used by a priest in the religion-lead city Lior, Ed and Al went to investigate. There, they met a young woman called Rose and were eventually able to free the city from the priest's manipulations, but in doing so they unknowingly started a chain of events in which the homunculus Envy, using his shape shifting powers, took the form of the dead priest and along with Gluttony and Lust, plunged the city into war between the citizens who believed the original Father was a fake and those who could no longer believe in the word of 'God'. The military were later called on to neutralize the conflict.
The brothers, however remained ignorant to this knowledge as they were pursuing other matters which would lead them back to Scar who was chasing down and 'executing' State Alchemists in the name of God. During this encounter, Ed and Al barely escaped with their lives, but at the cost of Ed's Automail arm and a large section of Al's armour body. Escorted by Alex Louis Armstrong, the Elric brothers returned to Resembool once again for repairs. The visit was a very short lived one and swiftly they returned to Central in search of search notes of Dr. Tim Marcoh regarding the red water and stones, during which time the discovery of how they were made was made clear and temporarily, in something of a disappointed slum, Ed refused to look into the research anymore. However, after being pulled from his slum and looking at the research once more it revealed the location of a fifth military laboratory when there should only have been four. Naturally, Ed and Al went to investigate.
Within the lab were signs of some rather worrying experiments, soul-bound suits of armour like Al, chimeras and vast amounts of the incomplete Philosopher's stone substance. Additionally, Ed was reintroduced to Shou Tucker, who he had allegedly been executed for his crimes, however he had been sent to the 5th laboratory to continue his research as a chimera. Using Al as leverage, the homunculi attempted to make Ed transmute a completed Philosopher's Stone for them. However, upon discovering there were living prisoners behind the walls of red water, Ed hesitated and a combination of explosions, the appearance of Scar and the intervention of the military meant the worse case scenario was avoided.
From there, after being accosted by Izumi, the brothers along with Winry were taken to Dublith to be taken back to basics and brought back down to earth after all that had happened to them. During this time they came into contact with the homunculus Wrath, the result of Izumi's failed human transmutation on her dead baby many years ago. The boy had both Ed's arm and his leg making him the only homunculus with the ability to use alchemy, all be it messy and usually based on emotion. Influenced and fed red stones by Envy the innocent Wrath became corrupted and a battle eventually ensued. Izumi, however, intervened and told the brothers that the boy was her responsibility. Taken in by Sloth, the Elric brothers lost track of Wrath and were soon after told they were no longer Izumi's students meaning they could speak to their teacher as equals. She sent them to the house of her teacher, Dante, to continue their journey.
There, they met Dante, and Lyra for the second time. While there, the homunculus Greed paid a visit to his creator where his friends kidnapped Al and knocked Ed out. After tracking down Al's kidnappers and engaging in another battle which ended in the military once again lending their services, Ed ended up back at Dante's house where the old woman's body was found torn in half upon the floor, however Greed was not her murderer. While there, Ed learnt the key to breaking down the previously thought to be immortal homunculi and defeated Greed.
As a short time passed, the matters in Lior had not improved and Ed learns of Scar's plan to evacuate the city before luring the soldiers of the military into the empty city and use a huge transmutation circle to transmute them into the completed philosopher's stone. During all the confusion in Lior, Ed comes into contact with the failed human transmutation he and Al attempted to create, a homunculus named Sloth. As events unfold, the transmutation of the city takes place with Al as the focal point, thus making his interior into the completed Philosopher's Stone.
After Al tells Ed that he discovered the President of the military King Bradley is a Homunculus, the two flee the military at Lior the first opportunity and return once again to Resembool, where they again encounter Roy Mustang and his team before returning to Winry and Pinako's home, where the boy's father, Hohenheim, is waiting. Frustrated that their father has returned after not showing his face in so long, Ed storms away assuming Al will follow. When his little brother does not, Ed makes no means to stop him or follow in return, perhaps pre-empting that Hohenheim will be gone by morning. Ed expressed apathy toward going to search for him and with help from Roy the brothers escape being caught by the military once again. Alone, Ed goes to Trisha's grave to retrieve a piece of their dead mother, knowing when he faces the Homunculus once more it will be integral to defeating Sloth.
With unexpected help coming from Lust, Sloth is eventually disposed of, much to the despair of Wrath who is also present during the battle. Along the lines, however, Lust is also destroyed as par her wish to become human and join Scar and his brother. Envy soon arrives on the soon disguised as Winry and kidnaps Al, giving the grieving Wrath no pity at all.
Assisted by Izumi, Ed goes to try and locate King Bradley in Central with hopes it will lead him to being reunited with Al only to find he has gone home to celebrate his 'son's' birthday. Receiving a note from Fletcher and Russell's father's research indicating the location of the entrance to the Underground City where it is believed the Homunculi's master, and thus Al, is, Ed leaves in search of it as instructed by his teacher. After a brief, supposedly last, encounter with Roy, Ed leaves matters with King Bradley in his hands and leaves to find the entrance to the underground city.
Upon arriving in the Underground City, Ed hears music playing from one of the building and goes to investigate where he finds Rose for the first time since the mass transmutation at Lior, dancing in a ballroom. Lyra then appears and it comes about that she is fact Dante who has taken Lyra's body for her own and she is in fact over four hundred years old. Using the Philosopher's stone, Dante's plan is to take Rose's body instead and use Ed to transmute the stone for her to allow her to continue living, especially considering Hohenheim refused. When Ed refuses as well she attempts to send him through The Gate and to the world beyond it. However, persistent, Ed returns to battle with Envy where he learns he is Hohenheim and Dante's son that Hohenheim tried to revive via human transmutation. Shocked by the development, Ed is stabbed by Envy and thrown aside for dead.
After Al used the Philosopher's Stone fused to the armour body, Ed awakes on the floor of the ballroom with all his own limbs in tact but Al is no-where to be seen. Sending Rose and Wrath away, Ed pledges once more he won't let Al vanish or his body and soul remain within the gate. Sacrificing himself, Ed brings Al back and sends himself once again to the world beyond the one he knows where he begins to study alternate means of returning to find Al once more as alchemy on Earth is replaced by further advances in Science.
While on Earth, Ed meets a young Scientist called Alfons who has been exposed to too many fumes from the rocket fuel and thus suffers from violent coughing fits. Regardless, Ed befriends him and spends much of his time in his company especially assisting him with his research into rockets.
Ed learnt to adapt to the world and the differences within while looking for a way to return home, accepting there would be alternate versions of the people he knew and overall surviving well and relatively comfortably until he gets mixed up with a travelling gypsy girl named Noah who is being pursued by members of the Thule Society. He takes it upon himself to allow her to stay with him and Alfons where she displays knowledge of Ed's life prior to arriving in Germany without being told anything.
One day, Ed catches sight of someone resembling King Bradley and chases them only to discover his mistake and somehow get caught up in a dragon hunt. The dragon is revealed to be Envy and in the serpent form is used to open the gate to the other world which the Thule Society believes to be called Shamballa.
Creeping into Professor Haushofer's villa, Ed came across a transmutation circle upon the floor of a large room. Feeling a perhaps nostalgic desire to complete it, Ed took up the chalk and does so, unaware he was being watched or that Envy in his serpent form was caught above. Until the circle is activated and opens a gate to the other world. From the gate, suits of armour begin to fall, one temporarily with the soul of his brother attached to it. Content in the knowledge that Al is safe, Ed tells Noah later upon escaping the villa that he doesn't mind not going home if it means avoiding the Thule Society taking war to Amestris.
However, the Thule Society is sponsoring Alfons' work and despite trying to talk to his friend about his concerns over war in a world Alfons doesn't believe in, Alfons discards Ed's words and tells him how important it is that he leaves a mark before he dies and leaves to continue his work.
Returning to where Envy was being held, Ed finds his father in the serpents jaws and sees the whole ugly matter come together; how Envy was being transmuted into The Gate itself in exchange for Hohenheim's life, how Noah is assisting in the belief that Amestris is Shamballa and a possible homeland for her, how Hohenheim was doing it to send Ed home and the intention to bring war to Amestris through fear of difference. Dietlinde Eckart then shoots Ed before leaving to board her rocket loaded with armoured soldiers and set for Amestris.
Coming to a short while after being shot in the prosthetic, he found himself within Alfons' rocket being prepared to follow Dietlinde to Amestris. Alfons launches the rocket despite all of Ed's protests and he is returned to his world where he is greeted emotionally by Winry and reunited with Al. Re-equipped with Automail and joined by his brother and Roy, Ed goes to face Dietlinde and defend his homeland. Those protecting Amestris come out victorious but to make sure The Gate is closed and can't be reopened Ed opts to return to Earth and close it there, leaving the opening on the other side to Al.
Sadly, Ed finds out to his horror that Alfons was shot during the chaos. However, with a gate to destroy there is little time to mourn. The discovery that Al had stowed away in the armour scarily akin to the one his soul was attached to and with all his previous memories does bring some hope to the idea of living on Earth once more and treating it as their world.
[character abilities]:
Extremely skilled in the field of alchemy, Ed can and will take advantage of any material around him given the opportunity. Whatever it takes to survive, if he can think fast enough to make use of his surroundings then Ed will do so. Really, anything goes in a fight as far as Ed is concerned an he will put that into practice to the point where he had been known to cheat and play dirty. In addition to this, due to the fact Ed has witnessed the Gate firsthand he doesn't necessarily need to use a transmutation circle while performing alchemy.
It has also been shown that he can stop the process of a transmutation midway at the decomposition stage.
His Automail has also served as a source from which Ed can create a blade, using it often in hand to hand combat, something else has showed promise in after his training with Izumi. While not as skilled in hand to hand combat as Al, Ed is still able to put up a good fight and hold his own with a surprising amount of stamina.
Aside from his physical abilities, Ed is a dedicated learner and can and will, given the means and the drive, consume vast amounts of information, especially of a scientific matter, in short spaces of time. It could be considered borderline obsessive at times. Study of alchemy and various theories and notes other researchers have made is proof enough of this.
[character personality]:
Stubborn, cocky and sometimes prone to bouts of immaturity, Ed is by many standards a brat. He has a very short fuse when it comes to his temper and a poke at how he is vertically challenged is a sure-fire way to rile him up in almost any situation.
Definitely not as innocent as his brother, it could be said that Ed has sneaky tendencies, sometimes dishonest (while claiming to be unforgiving to liars) and certainly cunning. Given enough reason, Ed try to come out on top in any situation.
Often displaying a degree of arrogance, Ed is all too aware that he has talent and charisma to carry him through many different situations, but as a child genius in his field and the youngest person to be awarded the title of State Alchemist he would claim he's got reason to have a bit of an ego about him.
However, despite those points he is not usually selfish, quite the opposite. His reason for subjecting himself to the military was for his brother, to endure whatever hardships may fall on them while searching for a way to regain their original bodies. It's just what any big brother should do, after all. Aside from feeling a perhaps normal sense of protectiveness over his brother, Ed also blames himself almost entirely for the fact their bodies were lost.
This selflessness extends not only to Al, but to very much every person they encounter with a problem, using their various talents to try and come to some kind of solution. Usually by Scientific principles.
In addition to the brave face Ed puts on in the face of some of the brutal things he’s seen, he can also find himself being painfully reminded that he is in fact human and has been known to cry, have emotional breakdowns and feel great remorse for people and the mistakes he may have made that cause others pain. Morality is something that is always on one shoulder, while something of the Devil's luck sits on the other.
While disliking the way adults act, Ed is stuck somewhere between growing up too quickly and becoming an adult and not giving himself enough time as a child to handle the more emotionally gruelling moments in his life. He finds it hard to be a child sometimes and let adults handle what they should like he has a hard time admitting he is wrong. Unfortunately, like many eager and determined geniuses, when he reaches a dead end Ed can sometimes fall into a state of apathy and frustration, turning himself away from everything and falling into a slump-like state much akin to a childish sulk. This can sometimes be a difficult mood to pull him free from.
The concept of Equal Trade, that one thing can not be gained without giving something of equal value, is something Ed almost swears by, but over the years his view on this concept has shifted from one of childish unbending believe that all cases fit the bill of equivalent trade to something more mature and realistic.
The years themselves have worn on Ed, making him a little more grown up in his later years, perhaps tired from his many years of alchemy and the trials he and his brother faced but he remains a man of Science with little interest in uncertain things like Gods or religion, though the concept of fate may not be completely lost on him after all.
Fundamentally, Ed is a good person, cheerful, playful, optimistic and always trying to do the right thing. As he learns through experience, however, sometimes people make mistakes and all that can be done as a result is you can stand and walk forward carrying those mistakes along with you.
[timeline ]: Post Movie
[third person / log sample]:
For a while, he didn't even move from where he lay on the cool stone floor, golden eyes staring upwards at the grey skies above, an uncomfortable lump in his throat.
He didn't even need to look around to know he was no longer in Germany, but he certainly wasn't "back" either. There were other worlds besides the two he had been in already? It didn't seem possible. A bitter laugh at his foolishness. Of course it was possible. So many things he couldn't have even imagined before had passed before his eyes since his childhood. Somehow though, in that moment it almost seemed like a complete waste.
Alfons was dead. Al was no-where in sight. He was alone again, but what had caused such an occurrence? What exchange had been made? He couldn't think of anything.
Slowly, he dragged himself forward, golden bangs falling forward as he let his skull hang heavily. Irony was a bitch, perhaps there really was no such thing as a happy ending.
The fingers of his Automail arm twitched slightly, still in tact, functioning correctly and as amazingly efficient as ever. Had to give it Winry, she had become a mechanic of unmatchable skill and that at least was a comfort. No physical damage upon impact.
Sighing, the alchemist forced himself to a stand, looking around slowly before a weak, hollow smile tugged his lips. He was pretty tired of the concept of adjustment, readjustment and finally relative contented existence.
"Well then," he breathed, one hand rubbing the back of his neck lightly before he mustered a grin from somewhere "My legs are still working. I'd be an insult not to use 'em."
And that was exactly what he did.
[series]: Full Metal Alchemist
[character]: Edward Elric
[character history / background]: Born in the remote rural town of Resembool in Rush Valley, Edward spent the first ten years of his years growing up rather uneventfully with his younger brother Alphonse and mother Trisha. Since and early age the brothers took an interest in Alchemy and showed tremendous promise for it and it seemed they would be set to follow in the footsteps of their father, Hohenheim, with their talents.
When Ed was six and Al was five, the brothers were successful with their first transmutation, a doll for their childhood friend Winry Rockbell, granddaughter to Pinako Rockbell who was a master Automail mechanic. Following this event, their mother introduced them to the notes and books relating to alchemy that belonged to their father. Over the four years that followed, the brothers learnt a great deal more, however unexpectedly their mother became notably weakened by a well-hidden illness and passed away leaving the to boys aged nine and ten alone. While standing before their mother's grave, Edward vocalised a very bold thought to Al, that they should attempt one of the forbidden practices of alchemy; Human transmutation with the intention to revive their mother.
The boys left Resembool with a woman they met named Izumi Curtis, a skilled alchemist who happened through the town during a time of vast rain and with her skills was able to stop a flood from occurring and putting the citizens at risk. Ed and Al begged for her to accept them as apprentices and after showing their determination, Izumi agreed, taking the children with her for training, both in alchemy, life lessons and survival techniques.
Once their teaching was deemed complete by Izumi, the two of them returned home to Resembool to attempt what they had set out to do. However, human transmutation was forbidden for a reason, and the transmutation went wrong. The result was that Al's entire physical form was lost as well as Ed's left leg in the attempt to revive their mother. Furthermore, to ensure Ed would not lose his brother as well he sacrificed his right arm to bind Al's soul to a suit of armour present at the time.
Carrying the heavily wounded Edward to Pinako and Winry's house pleading for help for his older brother. In response to a letter sent out to various recipients in a bid to locate their father after Trisha died, a man from the military named Roy Mustang came by the house to visit the boys, also looking for Hohenheim. The day he visited happened to be the night they attempted the human transmutation. Having survived the transmutation at such a young, Mustang expressed interest in the brothers and mentioned Edward could make a fine State Alchemist.
After regaining consciousness, Ed requests that Pinako make him Automail limbs and states he intends to take Mustang's suggestion seriously and that he would be trying to become a State Alchemist. The advantages given to State Alchemists including access to libraries of books relating to alchemy as well as amplifiers appear too good to pass up. Especially to someone intending to return his brother's body to normal, as well as his own. This that goal placed firmly in mind between them, Ed and Al burnt their house on October 3rd, a date that would later be etched into Ed's silver watch as a reminder, and left at age ten and eleven before starting their journey. To return Al to his body, Ed didn't care what it would cost him, pride, pain, anything. Becoming a 'dog of the military' was a sacrifice Ed was willing to make for the sake of reaching their goal.
Upon arriving in Central (eventually), the brothers were put under the care of the Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker and his young daughter Nina to study with him until the State Alchemist exams were due to begin. At age twelve, Ed became the youngest person to pass the exam and become a State Alchemist, he would be the only one of the two brothers to carry the burden of the military on his shoulders.
However, the brothers bore witness to a terrible example of what Alchemy and grey morals combined could do. With his assessment coming up from the State, Tucker, in a bid to top a talking chimera of his creation, performed a transmutation between his own daughter and their pet dog. Regardless of how much advanced Ed was in the field of alchemy, life experiences such as those would be painful for even for adults. As a child, advanced in alchemy though he was, the emotional impact it had on Ed was immense. The chimera was destroyed via the decomposition stage of alchemy at the hand, quite literally, of a man from Ishal who would be come to be referred to as Scar. Ed had a brief brush with this man, but he, like others, would factor greatly in the events to follow.
Following this, Ed was later put in charge of documenting and sorting Tucker's research which he expressed great disgust for and eventually declined in place of setting up an agreement with Mustang, that he would abide by the military's wishes as long as he was permitted to do research on the philosopher's stone while he was not on a mission. Between this discussion and the one informing Ed that he was going to be continuing Tucker's research, by fluke, Ed and Winry had a terrifying experience with a serial killer named Barry, later known as 'Barry the Chopper'.
Before undertaking his first mission, Ed was given his title as a State Alchemist; Fullmetal alchemist. During that mission, he came into contact with a young woman called Lyra for the first time. From that point on, when Ed and Al passed through towns on military business they would do their best to do as much to help they citizens they encountered as possible, earning themselves a reputation as heroes of the people.
Their travels also lead them to meeting a pair of brothers impersonating them named Russell and Fletcher Tringum, leading then to Ed and Al's first discovery of a substance known as 'red water', a poisonous liquid form of what would later turn out to be an incomplete version of the philosopher's stone. It would also transpire that to produce the red water and stones needed for a complete Philosopher's Stone many human lives needed to be sacrificed.
Following word that the Philosopher's stone was being used by a priest in the religion-lead city Lior, Ed and Al went to investigate. There, they met a young woman called Rose and were eventually able to free the city from the priest's manipulations, but in doing so they unknowingly started a chain of events in which the homunculus Envy, using his shape shifting powers, took the form of the dead priest and along with Gluttony and Lust, plunged the city into war between the citizens who believed the original Father was a fake and those who could no longer believe in the word of 'God'. The military were later called on to neutralize the conflict.
The brothers, however remained ignorant to this knowledge as they were pursuing other matters which would lead them back to Scar who was chasing down and 'executing' State Alchemists in the name of God. During this encounter, Ed and Al barely escaped with their lives, but at the cost of Ed's Automail arm and a large section of Al's armour body. Escorted by Alex Louis Armstrong, the Elric brothers returned to Resembool once again for repairs. The visit was a very short lived one and swiftly they returned to Central in search of search notes of Dr. Tim Marcoh regarding the red water and stones, during which time the discovery of how they were made was made clear and temporarily, in something of a disappointed slum, Ed refused to look into the research anymore. However, after being pulled from his slum and looking at the research once more it revealed the location of a fifth military laboratory when there should only have been four. Naturally, Ed and Al went to investigate.
Within the lab were signs of some rather worrying experiments, soul-bound suits of armour like Al, chimeras and vast amounts of the incomplete Philosopher's stone substance. Additionally, Ed was reintroduced to Shou Tucker, who he had allegedly been executed for his crimes, however he had been sent to the 5th laboratory to continue his research as a chimera. Using Al as leverage, the homunculi attempted to make Ed transmute a completed Philosopher's Stone for them. However, upon discovering there were living prisoners behind the walls of red water, Ed hesitated and a combination of explosions, the appearance of Scar and the intervention of the military meant the worse case scenario was avoided.
From there, after being accosted by Izumi, the brothers along with Winry were taken to Dublith to be taken back to basics and brought back down to earth after all that had happened to them. During this time they came into contact with the homunculus Wrath, the result of Izumi's failed human transmutation on her dead baby many years ago. The boy had both Ed's arm and his leg making him the only homunculus with the ability to use alchemy, all be it messy and usually based on emotion. Influenced and fed red stones by Envy the innocent Wrath became corrupted and a battle eventually ensued. Izumi, however, intervened and told the brothers that the boy was her responsibility. Taken in by Sloth, the Elric brothers lost track of Wrath and were soon after told they were no longer Izumi's students meaning they could speak to their teacher as equals. She sent them to the house of her teacher, Dante, to continue their journey.
There, they met Dante, and Lyra for the second time. While there, the homunculus Greed paid a visit to his creator where his friends kidnapped Al and knocked Ed out. After tracking down Al's kidnappers and engaging in another battle which ended in the military once again lending their services, Ed ended up back at Dante's house where the old woman's body was found torn in half upon the floor, however Greed was not her murderer. While there, Ed learnt the key to breaking down the previously thought to be immortal homunculi and defeated Greed.
As a short time passed, the matters in Lior had not improved and Ed learns of Scar's plan to evacuate the city before luring the soldiers of the military into the empty city and use a huge transmutation circle to transmute them into the completed philosopher's stone. During all the confusion in Lior, Ed comes into contact with the failed human transmutation he and Al attempted to create, a homunculus named Sloth. As events unfold, the transmutation of the city takes place with Al as the focal point, thus making his interior into the completed Philosopher's Stone.
After Al tells Ed that he discovered the President of the military King Bradley is a Homunculus, the two flee the military at Lior the first opportunity and return once again to Resembool, where they again encounter Roy Mustang and his team before returning to Winry and Pinako's home, where the boy's father, Hohenheim, is waiting. Frustrated that their father has returned after not showing his face in so long, Ed storms away assuming Al will follow. When his little brother does not, Ed makes no means to stop him or follow in return, perhaps pre-empting that Hohenheim will be gone by morning. Ed expressed apathy toward going to search for him and with help from Roy the brothers escape being caught by the military once again. Alone, Ed goes to Trisha's grave to retrieve a piece of their dead mother, knowing when he faces the Homunculus once more it will be integral to defeating Sloth.
With unexpected help coming from Lust, Sloth is eventually disposed of, much to the despair of Wrath who is also present during the battle. Along the lines, however, Lust is also destroyed as par her wish to become human and join Scar and his brother. Envy soon arrives on the soon disguised as Winry and kidnaps Al, giving the grieving Wrath no pity at all.
Assisted by Izumi, Ed goes to try and locate King Bradley in Central with hopes it will lead him to being reunited with Al only to find he has gone home to celebrate his 'son's' birthday. Receiving a note from Fletcher and Russell's father's research indicating the location of the entrance to the Underground City where it is believed the Homunculi's master, and thus Al, is, Ed leaves in search of it as instructed by his teacher. After a brief, supposedly last, encounter with Roy, Ed leaves matters with King Bradley in his hands and leaves to find the entrance to the underground city.
Upon arriving in the Underground City, Ed hears music playing from one of the building and goes to investigate where he finds Rose for the first time since the mass transmutation at Lior, dancing in a ballroom. Lyra then appears and it comes about that she is fact Dante who has taken Lyra's body for her own and she is in fact over four hundred years old. Using the Philosopher's stone, Dante's plan is to take Rose's body instead and use Ed to transmute the stone for her to allow her to continue living, especially considering Hohenheim refused. When Ed refuses as well she attempts to send him through The Gate and to the world beyond it. However, persistent, Ed returns to battle with Envy where he learns he is Hohenheim and Dante's son that Hohenheim tried to revive via human transmutation. Shocked by the development, Ed is stabbed by Envy and thrown aside for dead.
After Al used the Philosopher's Stone fused to the armour body, Ed awakes on the floor of the ballroom with all his own limbs in tact but Al is no-where to be seen. Sending Rose and Wrath away, Ed pledges once more he won't let Al vanish or his body and soul remain within the gate. Sacrificing himself, Ed brings Al back and sends himself once again to the world beyond the one he knows where he begins to study alternate means of returning to find Al once more as alchemy on Earth is replaced by further advances in Science.
While on Earth, Ed meets a young Scientist called Alfons who has been exposed to too many fumes from the rocket fuel and thus suffers from violent coughing fits. Regardless, Ed befriends him and spends much of his time in his company especially assisting him with his research into rockets.
Ed learnt to adapt to the world and the differences within while looking for a way to return home, accepting there would be alternate versions of the people he knew and overall surviving well and relatively comfortably until he gets mixed up with a travelling gypsy girl named Noah who is being pursued by members of the Thule Society. He takes it upon himself to allow her to stay with him and Alfons where she displays knowledge of Ed's life prior to arriving in Germany without being told anything.
One day, Ed catches sight of someone resembling King Bradley and chases them only to discover his mistake and somehow get caught up in a dragon hunt. The dragon is revealed to be Envy and in the serpent form is used to open the gate to the other world which the Thule Society believes to be called Shamballa.
Creeping into Professor Haushofer's villa, Ed came across a transmutation circle upon the floor of a large room. Feeling a perhaps nostalgic desire to complete it, Ed took up the chalk and does so, unaware he was being watched or that Envy in his serpent form was caught above. Until the circle is activated and opens a gate to the other world. From the gate, suits of armour begin to fall, one temporarily with the soul of his brother attached to it. Content in the knowledge that Al is safe, Ed tells Noah later upon escaping the villa that he doesn't mind not going home if it means avoiding the Thule Society taking war to Amestris.
However, the Thule Society is sponsoring Alfons' work and despite trying to talk to his friend about his concerns over war in a world Alfons doesn't believe in, Alfons discards Ed's words and tells him how important it is that he leaves a mark before he dies and leaves to continue his work.
Returning to where Envy was being held, Ed finds his father in the serpents jaws and sees the whole ugly matter come together; how Envy was being transmuted into The Gate itself in exchange for Hohenheim's life, how Noah is assisting in the belief that Amestris is Shamballa and a possible homeland for her, how Hohenheim was doing it to send Ed home and the intention to bring war to Amestris through fear of difference. Dietlinde Eckart then shoots Ed before leaving to board her rocket loaded with armoured soldiers and set for Amestris.
Coming to a short while after being shot in the prosthetic, he found himself within Alfons' rocket being prepared to follow Dietlinde to Amestris. Alfons launches the rocket despite all of Ed's protests and he is returned to his world where he is greeted emotionally by Winry and reunited with Al. Re-equipped with Automail and joined by his brother and Roy, Ed goes to face Dietlinde and defend his homeland. Those protecting Amestris come out victorious but to make sure The Gate is closed and can't be reopened Ed opts to return to Earth and close it there, leaving the opening on the other side to Al.
Sadly, Ed finds out to his horror that Alfons was shot during the chaos. However, with a gate to destroy there is little time to mourn. The discovery that Al had stowed away in the armour scarily akin to the one his soul was attached to and with all his previous memories does bring some hope to the idea of living on Earth once more and treating it as their world.
[character abilities]:
Extremely skilled in the field of alchemy, Ed can and will take advantage of any material around him given the opportunity. Whatever it takes to survive, if he can think fast enough to make use of his surroundings then Ed will do so. Really, anything goes in a fight as far as Ed is concerned an he will put that into practice to the point where he had been known to cheat and play dirty. In addition to this, due to the fact Ed has witnessed the Gate firsthand he doesn't necessarily need to use a transmutation circle while performing alchemy.
It has also been shown that he can stop the process of a transmutation midway at the decomposition stage.
His Automail has also served as a source from which Ed can create a blade, using it often in hand to hand combat, something else has showed promise in after his training with Izumi. While not as skilled in hand to hand combat as Al, Ed is still able to put up a good fight and hold his own with a surprising amount of stamina.
Aside from his physical abilities, Ed is a dedicated learner and can and will, given the means and the drive, consume vast amounts of information, especially of a scientific matter, in short spaces of time. It could be considered borderline obsessive at times. Study of alchemy and various theories and notes other researchers have made is proof enough of this.
[character personality]:
Stubborn, cocky and sometimes prone to bouts of immaturity, Ed is by many standards a brat. He has a very short fuse when it comes to his temper and a poke at how he is vertically challenged is a sure-fire way to rile him up in almost any situation.
Definitely not as innocent as his brother, it could be said that Ed has sneaky tendencies, sometimes dishonest (while claiming to be unforgiving to liars) and certainly cunning. Given enough reason, Ed try to come out on top in any situation.
Often displaying a degree of arrogance, Ed is all too aware that he has talent and charisma to carry him through many different situations, but as a child genius in his field and the youngest person to be awarded the title of State Alchemist he would claim he's got reason to have a bit of an ego about him.
However, despite those points he is not usually selfish, quite the opposite. His reason for subjecting himself to the military was for his brother, to endure whatever hardships may fall on them while searching for a way to regain their original bodies. It's just what any big brother should do, after all. Aside from feeling a perhaps normal sense of protectiveness over his brother, Ed also blames himself almost entirely for the fact their bodies were lost.
This selflessness extends not only to Al, but to very much every person they encounter with a problem, using their various talents to try and come to some kind of solution. Usually by Scientific principles.
In addition to the brave face Ed puts on in the face of some of the brutal things he’s seen, he can also find himself being painfully reminded that he is in fact human and has been known to cry, have emotional breakdowns and feel great remorse for people and the mistakes he may have made that cause others pain. Morality is something that is always on one shoulder, while something of the Devil's luck sits on the other.
While disliking the way adults act, Ed is stuck somewhere between growing up too quickly and becoming an adult and not giving himself enough time as a child to handle the more emotionally gruelling moments in his life. He finds it hard to be a child sometimes and let adults handle what they should like he has a hard time admitting he is wrong. Unfortunately, like many eager and determined geniuses, when he reaches a dead end Ed can sometimes fall into a state of apathy and frustration, turning himself away from everything and falling into a slump-like state much akin to a childish sulk. This can sometimes be a difficult mood to pull him free from.
The concept of Equal Trade, that one thing can not be gained without giving something of equal value, is something Ed almost swears by, but over the years his view on this concept has shifted from one of childish unbending believe that all cases fit the bill of equivalent trade to something more mature and realistic.
The years themselves have worn on Ed, making him a little more grown up in his later years, perhaps tired from his many years of alchemy and the trials he and his brother faced but he remains a man of Science with little interest in uncertain things like Gods or religion, though the concept of fate may not be completely lost on him after all.
Fundamentally, Ed is a good person, cheerful, playful, optimistic and always trying to do the right thing. As he learns through experience, however, sometimes people make mistakes and all that can be done as a result is you can stand and walk forward carrying those mistakes along with you.
[timeline ]: Post Movie
[third person / log sample]:
For a while, he didn't even move from where he lay on the cool stone floor, golden eyes staring upwards at the grey skies above, an uncomfortable lump in his throat.
He didn't even need to look around to know he was no longer in Germany, but he certainly wasn't "back" either. There were other worlds besides the two he had been in already? It didn't seem possible. A bitter laugh at his foolishness. Of course it was possible. So many things he couldn't have even imagined before had passed before his eyes since his childhood. Somehow though, in that moment it almost seemed like a complete waste.
Alfons was dead. Al was no-where in sight. He was alone again, but what had caused such an occurrence? What exchange had been made? He couldn't think of anything.
Slowly, he dragged himself forward, golden bangs falling forward as he let his skull hang heavily. Irony was a bitch, perhaps there really was no such thing as a happy ending.
The fingers of his Automail arm twitched slightly, still in tact, functioning correctly and as amazingly efficient as ever. Had to give it Winry, she had become a mechanic of unmatchable skill and that at least was a comfort. No physical damage upon impact.
Sighing, the alchemist forced himself to a stand, looking around slowly before a weak, hollow smile tugged his lips. He was pretty tired of the concept of adjustment, readjustment and finally relative contented existence.
"Well then," he breathed, one hand rubbing the back of his neck lightly before he mustered a grin from somewhere "My legs are still working. I'd be an insult not to use 'em."
And that was exactly what he did.