Fic Rec: Toy Soldier (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Author: roseveare
Rating: T (for some violence, the aftermath of violence, and language)
Length: 16,218 words
Do you need to know the fandom to appreciate this: You need to know the premise of Fullmetal Alchemist (Ed became a State Alchemist at the age of 12 when he and his brother tried to bring their mother back from the dead. He lost his arm and leg, and his brother's soul was bound to a suit of armor). It takes place years before the series starts, so if you just read my parens, you should be good to go.
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/188465
The author's summary begins "Roy Mustang and Ed get a lesson in what it means to bring a 12 year old into the military".
When I first came across Fullmetal Alchemist, one of the things that simultaneously attracted me and repelled me about it is how young the protagonists are. Having been a smart, precocious child (and an older sibling), I empathized with Edward Elric a little. Being a parent, I got exactly how horrifying his past was. He lost his mother when he was five. He tried to bring her back when he was eleven. When I was eleven, I had just moved (again again again). My mom was pregnant with my second little sister (my third sibling altogether). I was in fifth grade.
In Fullmetal, Ed's age is often glossed over. He's a genius, after all, and he's always refused to let anyone underestimate him. It's easy to forget how young he really is. This story explores that issue. This is a story about a child who's been forced to take on an adult role that he's not really ready for. It's a story about how Edward's most important quality isn't his genius, it's his unshakeable determination. It's also a story about the man who looked at a child with two limbs and thought "I'll recruit him for the military". It's about why Roy Mustang did it, and his deep and somewhat tortured ongoing ambivalence about that decision.
As a warning, some fairly painful things happen to twelve-year-old Edward in this story, but they're mainly off-camera and before the action of the story.
Excerpt:
The cart drew to a halt a wary distance off. Roy stared, and some of the soldiers started as a large amount of clattering metal was scattered out across the road. That were followed by a small, panting bundle of human misery which had all too obviously been shoved without particular care for how heavy or undignified its landing.
The twelve year old Fullmetal Alchemist was bundled up in his familiar red coat, which looked very unfamiliarly the worse for wear, tattered and dirty. There was something odd about the shape his limbs drew inside the bundle. A moment later, it registered that the coat wasn't the only red decorating the small form, and as Roy recognised the shapes of the metal debris that had first been tossed out of the cart, he grimly reached into his pocket and started to pull on his gloves.
Author: roseveare
Rating: T (for some violence, the aftermath of violence, and language)
Length: 16,218 words
Do you need to know the fandom to appreciate this: You need to know the premise of Fullmetal Alchemist (Ed became a State Alchemist at the age of 12 when he and his brother tried to bring their mother back from the dead. He lost his arm and leg, and his brother's soul was bound to a suit of armor). It takes place years before the series starts, so if you just read my parens, you should be good to go.
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/188465
The author's summary begins "Roy Mustang and Ed get a lesson in what it means to bring a 12 year old into the military".
When I first came across Fullmetal Alchemist, one of the things that simultaneously attracted me and repelled me about it is how young the protagonists are. Having been a smart, precocious child (and an older sibling), I empathized with Edward Elric a little. Being a parent, I got exactly how horrifying his past was. He lost his mother when he was five. He tried to bring her back when he was eleven. When I was eleven, I had just moved (again again again). My mom was pregnant with my second little sister (my third sibling altogether). I was in fifth grade.
In Fullmetal, Ed's age is often glossed over. He's a genius, after all, and he's always refused to let anyone underestimate him. It's easy to forget how young he really is. This story explores that issue. This is a story about a child who's been forced to take on an adult role that he's not really ready for. It's a story about how Edward's most important quality isn't his genius, it's his unshakeable determination. It's also a story about the man who looked at a child with two limbs and thought "I'll recruit him for the military". It's about why Roy Mustang did it, and his deep and somewhat tortured ongoing ambivalence about that decision.
As a warning, some fairly painful things happen to twelve-year-old Edward in this story, but they're mainly off-camera and before the action of the story.
Excerpt:
The cart drew to a halt a wary distance off. Roy stared, and some of the soldiers started as a large amount of clattering metal was scattered out across the road. That were followed by a small, panting bundle of human misery which had all too obviously been shoved without particular care for how heavy or undignified its landing.
The twelve year old Fullmetal Alchemist was bundled up in his familiar red coat, which looked very unfamiliarly the worse for wear, tattered and dirty. There was something odd about the shape his limbs drew inside the bundle. A moment later, it registered that the coat wasn't the only red decorating the small form, and as Roy recognised the shapes of the metal debris that had first been tossed out of the cart, he grimly reached into his pocket and started to pull on his gloves.