PLAYER INFORMATION-
Name/Nickname: Faded
AIM/E-mail/Contact: faded fallen / faded_fallen@yahoo.com
LJ:
_faded_fallen CHARACTER INFORMATION-
Canon Character and Series: Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist
In-Game Name: Edward Elric
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Position & Ship: Shipwright, or Blacksmith - The Fiertia
Appearance: Topping out at about five feet and five and three-quarters inches (the three-quarters are important), Ed isn't the most physically imposing person. Except for his shaggy, chin-length bangs, his bright blond hair is kept confined in a neat braid or ponytail that reaches past his shoulders. His body is very toned with well-defined muscles, more like a gymnast's than a bodybuilder's.
As far as style goes, Edward enjoys layers and black. He dresses in black head nearly head to toe, fom his high-collared jacket and his tanktop, to his chunky boots and fitted leather pants. His thick workbealt, however, is not black, but rather a reddish brown. On this he keeps a few sundry tools for carpentry, mostly rulers and other tools froe measurements, as he has little use for hammers and saws. Also, he carries a silver pocketwatch, attached to his belt by a silver chain. Over all of this, he wears a crimson trenchcoat with a hood, which, combined with his bright hair, tends to make him a bit noticeable. When he's not working on the ship, he adds white gloves to complete the ensemble.
The layers aren't just fashionable, they're necessary to help conceal the really impressive thing about Ed's body. His entire right arm from the shoulder and his left leg at mid-thigh on down have been completely replaced with bizarre magitech prosthetic limbs, made of metal and synthetic materials. They're hardwired directly into his flesh, an exquisitely painful process that he underwent at the age of 11 after a tragic accident cost him his original limbs. Scar tissue around the connecting ports is prominent. Part of the reason he stays in such excellent shape is from necessity to cope with the weight and strain the prosthetics put on his body.
Personality: Ed is a strong, determined, and fiercely intelligent individual, who is willing to go to enormous trouble to accomplish his goals. He's also hot-headed and stubborn, and doesn't back down from a challenge or an insult - especially one about his height (or really, lack thereof). He has a good sense of what is right and fair, and often comes to the aid of those in need. However, he often doesn't think of the consequences of his actions beforehand, thus can bite off more than he can chew and wind up with even more problems.
He may be prickly, snarky, egotistical, and hard to deal with at times, but he cares more for his friends than he lets on. He has a guilt complex a mile wide and twice as deep, so if any harm comes to his friends because of him or a perceived failing on his part, he takes it very hard. When he is troubled, he tends to close off from those around him in an attempt not to burden or worry them. All in all, it makes him a difficult person to really get to know, and he himself doesn't allow many people past his defenses.
Even more defining trait of Edward's character is his profound devotion to his younger brother, Alphonse. Due to their Tragic Past, the brothers are all they have left in the world, and Ed blames himself for their circumstances. His entire life since their accident has been absorbed by the task of returning his brother's human body to him, and this is the driving force for nearly everything Ed has done and gotten involved with since that fateful day.
Abilities/Weapons: Alchemy. Oh sweet Jesus, the alchemy. Ed's got so much alchemical know-how and talent and power, he astounds even himself. Alchemy, a branch of magical science, is comprised of three steps: understanding the composition of matter, breaking it down, and then reconstructing it into something new. Thus, alchemy is versatile by nature. It can do anything from repairing household items to building dams to exploding heads, and Ed has been studying this since he was five, perhaps even earlier.
He's always been something of a genius at it, but he has a sharper advantage up his sleeve as well. Due to the same incident that lost him his original limbs, Ed doesn't need the typical drawn-out transmutation circle necessary for almost all other alchemists. Instead, he is able to circulate the energy used in transmutation within his own body, which he does by clapping before each transmutation.
Ed's also a badass fighter. He trains for it, and gets a fair amount of practice in his day job. This is where his automail really comes in handy. He can hit harder with it, defend or withstand attacks better. He transmutes the excess metal on the back of his automail hand into a pointed blade that extends out over his hand about two or so feet. The combination of his excellent reflexes and aggressive, near-acrobatic fighting style means that he can hold his own in many tough situations and against definitely scary folks.
Other abilities include mad research and code-breaking, but his people skills are definitely lacking.
How well can your character hack?: He can't.
Weaknesses: Ed's not the most badass guy on the block - in fact, his little brother generally wipes the floor with him in a spar. And despite his awesomeness, he's only human. He's small and while he's strong, he can be overpowered or surprised. In general he doesn't attack to kill, which leaves him at something of a disadvantage in your average battle-to-the-death.
Alchemy's no magical solution to every problem. It's predominately a science, and won't work outside of the laws that govern it. For example, Ed can't turn lead into daisies, or create something from nothing. And while there are some very brutal ways to use alchemy in battle, again, Ed does not use the more deadly brands.
Even with his talents, for large transmutations, Ed still needs to use a drawn-out array to help cope with the stress. Alchemy can be very physically exhausting if done too often, and too large a transmutation can leave Ed fatigued for days. Worse, if he attempts a very large transmutation, there is the chance that it would sap too much of his own life force, and he could die.
Otherwise, his biggest weakness is the automail. If he loses his arm, his alchemy without circles becomes disabled (though if he can draw a circle, he can still transmute) and obviously it's a lot harder to fight with just one hand. Also, since Ed's never been particularly careful with how he uses his automail, it tends to get damaged and break at the worst possible moment. Or if he gets captured, the first thing smart badguys do is remove it. And it really hurts to put it back.
History: Edward is the first child of Hohenheim and Trisha Elric, born in Melior. The Elric family was one steeped in the research, practice, and development of alchemy, a branch of magical science. Due to its complexities and limitations, few practiced alchemy with any level of skill, but Hohenheim was so adept at it he earned the name Hohenheim of Light.
After Ed's brother Alphonse was born, Hohenheim abruptly left his wife and children for reasons unknown, and Edward was barely able to understand at the time. Eventually he saw how sad his departure made Trisha, and Ed came to hate his father for abandoning them.
Despite this, both he and his brother showed an incredible aptitude towards alchemy from a young age, and like the child prodigies they were, they learned it all very quickly from the books and notes their father had left behind. Trisha was proud of her boys, often noting that they were their father's sons, a fact that only made Ed even more resentful.
When Ed was 10 years old, his mother fell ill with an incurable disease. She died shortly after, leaving Ed and Al orphaned. Stricken with grief and loss, Ed vowed that he would come up with a way to perform the most heinous, taboo act of alchemy: reviving their dead mother. Al, despite his initial shock and objections, went along with Ed's plan.
They went to stay for a brief time with Winry Rockbell, their childhood friend and companion, and her grandmother Pinako. Until, that is, they met Izumi Curtis, a very powerful alchemist. They left with her for several months, learning everything she could teach them about alchemy, fighting, and even survival. Izumi was not a cruel woman, but a stern taskmaster who demanded much from her students, and by the time they returned home to Melior, Ed and Al had learned enough alchemy to understand the notes their father had left concerning human transmutation.
They locked themselves in their father's study, devised a transmutation circle, and tried to bring their mother back to life. This, however, only lead to failure and tragedy. Not only was the thing they created not even human, but the Law of Equivalent Exchange - alchemy's first law that states that for anything to be gained, something o equal value must be sacrificed - took a heavy toll. Al was taken mind, body, and soul into the Gate of Truth, the source of all alchemy. Ed lost his left leg at mid-thigh. In his panic and horror, he'd glimped the Gate, and using the knowledge he'd seen there, he used his own blood to bind his brother's soul into a suit of armor in their father's study. This act cost him his whole right arm. Disoriented and horrified, Alphonse took Ed back to the Rockbells. They managed to save his life.
Later, the brothers were approached by the Ivonian military, who had need of alchemists of their caliber. Edward vowed that whatever it took, he'd find a way to restore Al's human body, and had Winry and Pinako craft him his magitech prosthetics. Then, despite only being 12 years old, he impressed the Ivonian military so much with his unique skill of alchemy without the use of a transmutation circle - a byproduct of seeing the Gate of Truth - that they allowed him to join as a State Alchemist.
Alphonse, who did not possess the same skill at the time, did not make it. Besides, his lack of a real human body made them more cautious, and in order not to arouse suspicion within the military, they split up. They heard rumors and whispers of a legendary mana crystal of extraordinary alchemical power call the Philosopher's Stone, which they believed could negate the Law of Equivalent Exchange and thus make it possible to give both of them their original bodies back
Though still technically civilian, Edward carried the rank of Major for a time. He used his military connections and position to search for the Stone. However, as his teacher Izumi had warned, being a dog of the military was not all it was cracked up to be. Edward made mistakes that cost people their lives, and he even wound up taking some himself, which was a terrible breach of his morals and ethics. The last straw came when the ship he was stationed on attacked a pirate vessel which he later found out carried his childhood friend, Winry, that he knew he had to get out.
This was easier said than done. In the end, Alphonse had to come and essentially kidnap him off his ship. This of course made them both outlaws in the eyes of the Ivonian military, and so began their life as fugitives. They split up again, knowing that they'd attract less attention separately.
Ed became a freelance alchemist, doing various oddjobs on different airships - almost all of them on the shadier side of legality. It forced him to blur his black-and-white definitions of good and evil, though he still maintained his own personal codes. All the while, he searched for the Stone, going wherever his leads took him.
Rumors of the Fiertia and its unique design and questionable original power source intrigued him, and he sought to join the crew as a shipwright in order to learn more about the ship.
SAMPLES-
Third Person (roleplay): Edward grumbled to himself as he measured the damaged section of the hull, ruler in hand. Every so often he'd pause to write a note on a small slip of scrap paper, tucking the pencil behind his ear distractedly before moving on. He was sweating in the stuffy heat this deep inside the ship, stripped down to his tank top and still a bit too warm. The beams were fractured, just like he knew they'd be, and enough had splintered and flaked away under the strained support that he couldn't just reform it.
“Goddammit,” he muttered under his breath. “Sure, sure, get into all these midair dogfights, just because that's what they get paid for, but who has to fix it, huh?” This wasn't even the largest section of damage, but he'd taken care of that first - otherwise, the ship might not have stayed airborne for long. The trouble was making sure there was enough spare materials on-board for this kind of thing. “Because god forbid we put into port for repairs, nooo, that'd make too much sense.”
He made one last note before stowing the pencil and rule in his workbelt. He crossed back over to the pile of lumber he'd had his assistants prepare. The peons stayed out of his way for the most part, lurking around and hoping he wouldn't lose his temper with them. The last time that had happened, when they'd all gone to Boston in the fall, people had wound up with black eyes and transmuted clothing. He still snickered at the thought of the poor bastard whose clothes he'd turned into a frilly pink ballgown.
Smiling to himself a bit smugly, he selected the lumber he'd need, carrying it back to the damaged section. He checked his notes once, nodding to himself. Should be more than enough. The he clapped, pressed his hands to the lumber, and transmuted.
The yellow glow shot through with blue lightning-like crackles, the light of alchemy, rushed out over the boards, and they shifted, merging into the wall. Ed concentrated, remembering his measurements, and in a moment the damaged struts and beams rose from their crumpled positions, healing over and bolstering themselves up until they once again formed a solid, stable joint. Ed let the transmutation die out, and he dusted off his hands on his pockets.
He glanced over his shoulder, making sure the lackeys weren't paying attention before he drew out his pocketwatch, a momento from his military days that he probably shouldn't have kept. He wouldn't have, if not for the inscription on the interior of the lid, and what it represented. He checked the time.
Shit, almost lunch. He'd better hurry and finish the last few touch-ups around this place, or he'd miss it. On a mercenary ship, at mealtimes it was every man for himself. The grub did not last for long, and the latecomers often went hungry.
“Back to work,” he murmured with a sigh. “After all this, lunch had better not be mystery meat and beans, again.”
First Person (journal):
All right, assholes, listen up. As the only shipwright on this boat, it's high time I spoke up. You all think just because you're a bunch of cocky sons of bitches that you should be able to trash the ship every time you get into a fight.
KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF, ALL RIGHT?
Christ, I've been working my ass off trying to keep the damn thing shipshape and floating. D'you have any idea how many times I've had to patch giant holes in the hull? A fuckin' lot! It's getting ridiculous!
And yeah, we fight things for a living. Shit's gonna hit the fan, shit's gonna explode, I get it. But for the love of all that's holy, quit making it worse with your stupid personal brawls and 'misfired' cannons. If you wanna kill each other, use something that won't leave holes in the walls.
The next person who damages any part of this ship when we're not actively in battle is gonna reckon with me. Do I make myself clear?