Paixao Application
Character: Edward Elric
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist
Version: Manga; right at the point where he sees his dad at where his house used to be and he goes, “WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!”
Age: 15, almost 16
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual, though so far he’s had little time to think of relationships like that…
Appearance: Ed is short. (I blame the fact that he just hasn’t gotten to a growth spurt, but you can blame his automail if you want.) He’s Caucasian with blond hair which he usually keeps in a braid or at the very least a simple pony-tail, and he has golden eyes. Ed wears a black sleeveless shirt with black pants and a brown belt. (I know, the combination makes me cringe too.) He wears white gloves most of the time and sports a long red coat with a hood that has a black symbol on the back known as a Flamel, which signifies who he learned alchemy from. Ed’s boots are black with red soles.
Ed also has prosthetic limbs. His right arm all the way to his shoulder and his left leg to just below the knee are automail, which is a type of prosthetic available to people in the FMA universe. He wears his gloves and coat to hide it from people, as he lost said limbs from trying to resurrect his dead mother along with his little brother Al through human transmutation. More will be explained about that in his history.
Personality:Ed has a short complex. (And the muse just punted me around the world.) So far, from what I’ve read, it’s not explained why he’s so concerned about how tall he is, but he’s obsessed about it all the same.
To those that don’t know him well, Ed comes off as rude, cold, and a bit rough around the edges. In reality, he’s just one of those assholes with a big heart. Maybe it’s a guy thing, but he hides behind this mask of, “I’m tough, yo!” to hide his real feelings, which more often than not are a constant mix of depression, guilt, and a hint of anger, though it’s usually centered on himself. There are times where he is seen crying, but those are under (what I would call) extreme circumstances.
Ed cares deeply for just about everyone he comes in contact with. (Well, those people who don’t try to kill him anyway.) His brother, Al, is by far the most important person to him, though his childhood friend Winry is probably a close second. Ed also cares for the people he has met in the military, including 2ed Lt. Ross, Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes (who is promoted to Brigadier General after his death), 1st Lt. Riza Hawkeye, and even though at the point I’ve taken him, Colonel Roy Mustang, though they often exchange insults more than anything. He also tends to put himself under a lot of pressure, and he blames himself for many of the deaths, most notably at this canon point, that of Brig. Gen. Maes Hughes.
I can’t believe I almost forgot this part! Ed is considered a genius, as he was able to pass the examination to become a State Alchemist at the age of twelve. Al constantly states that he’s not a genius, but had earned everything through hard work. I like to think a little of both.
Ed is also somewhat of an idealist in the sense that he is against killing anyone, despite being a “dog of the military.” At the point I am taking him, Ed has yet to kill anyone with his own hands, and prefers to immobilize his enemies, or at the most extreme, knock them cold. There are times where he has become so angry that he becomes violent (he often has a very short temper, especially when his height is mentioned), often punching or kicking the person who pissed him off, but someone has always been there to stay his hand and get him to realize that if he beat up the person more, that they’d die. At this point, Ed has always stopped and just let the person down.
Abilities/Weaponry/Strengths: Ed’s weapon of choice is his alchemy. Because has seen “The Truth,” Ed is able to perform alchemy without the aid of a transmutation circle, and can instead just put his hands together and touch whatever it is he wishes to transmutate. In most situations, Ed will transmutate his automail arm into a sword, the blade of which extends over his hand. He also transmutates other things, like the ground to make a cage around his foe when the opportunity presents itself.
Ed’s main strength is his intelligence. He is often able to come up with solutions to problems far before anyone else. His kindness (which he often tries to hide) can also be considered a strength, as it helps him to not make as many enemies as he would if he had no kindness. He has a very strong bond with his younger brother Alphonse, and due to this, the pair make a very good team, especially since it’s obvious that they tend to know what each other is thinking.
Weaknesses: Ed’s main weakness is his short temper. Despite me saying that he has a heart of gold and he refuses to kill, Ed is still quite violent at times, and it often makes bad situations at least a little worse, much to the dismay of Al, who would like to solve most problems peacefully. Ed’s short complex doesn’t make anything better, though most people find it humorous to see him flip out over being called short.
Another major weakness for Ed is the pressure that he puts on himself. In his eyes, what happened to himself and Al during their attempt to resurrect their mother was entirely his fault, and he even has trouble asking Al if he blames him for everything. Ed also blames himself for the death of Maes Hughes, who agreed to help him find clues of the Philosopher’s Stone which led to his death by Envy, who saw that he was digging too deep into secrets he shouldn’t know about. His big heart can also get in the way, as in the situation involving Tucker and his daughter Nina. After their deaths (especially Nina’s) Ed went into a deep depression to the point where Mustang even asked if he was going to do anything other than mope around for the rest of his life.
History: WARNING: THIS MAY MAKE YOU CRY!
Edward is the first son born to Trisha and Von Hohenheim Elric who live in a small town in the east called Resembool. While still young, his father left for (at what is known to me) unknown reasons, leaving Ed with major father issues. For the most part, life with his mother and younger brother still seems pretty happy, that is, until Trisha becomes sick. She dies shortly after contracting the illness and leaves Ed and Al orphaned, but taken in by Pinako, Winry Rockbell’s grandmother.
Not long after their mother’s death, the two brothers begin studying alchemy and eventually travel to Dublith in the south and are trained further in alchemy my Izumi Curtis, their main goal to figure out a way to perform human transmutation and resurrect their mother, which is kept secret as it’s taboo to the point where it is considered a great sin. During their training, the Elric brothers learn to become self-reliant and their abilities in alchemy greatly improve. Along with this, they are subjected to intense martial arts training, being taught that to train the mind, it is also important to train the body. Izumi also stresses to them that death is an irreversible event, and that it is part of the cycle of life and the concept “One is All and All is One.” Despite this, Edward and Alphonse return to Resembool and immediately set out to resurrect their mother with the aid of human transmutation.
With their advanced knowledge of alchemy, Ed and Al soon discover a way to try human transmutation. They get the required ingredients to form the human body and draw a human transmutation circle, adding a few drops of their own blood to the mix to be exchanged for their mother’s soul. They start the transmutation, and shit happens.
Once the transmutation begins, both Edward and Alphonse know something is going wrong. Ed is seemingly transported to what I can only describe as a room of white with a large door and a shadowy figure known only as “The Truth.” They exchange some words, and Ed is pulled through the door, thus learning about “The Truth.” It then laughs at him, and takes Ed’s left leg. Ed is “transported” back, bleeding profusely from the loss of his leg, and immediately notices that Al is nowhere to be seen. Ed causes another human transmutation to grab his brother’s soul and attach it to a suit of metal armor, and through this, “The Truth” takes his right arm as exchange. This transmutation however is successful (whereas resurrecting their mother was a failure, and they manage to create a monstrous version of their mother instead) and Al immediately takes Ed to Pinako who is a specialist in making prosthetic limbs. She is also a skilled surgeon, and manages to stop Ed’s bleeding and save his life. After this, Pinako returns to the Elrics house and buries the monstrosity that Ed and Al created.
Not long afterwards, Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang come to Resembool with Riza Hawkeye with the mission to recruit Ed to the military. (Somehow, the military must have gotten Ed and his father mixed up, as Roy is told that Ed is 31 years old, and is flabbergasted when he hears that Ed at this point is only 11.) Despite this news, Mustang decides to check him out, and arriving to the Elric house, discovers the human transmutation circle and splattered blood in the house. He soon finds Edward and Alphonse at Pinako’s and after letting some anger out on Ed, sits down and explains that with the aid of military documents, Ed could find a way to get Al his body back and get his limbs back, thus convincing Ed to study alchemy further and take the examination to become a State Alchemist. Pinako doesn’t like his decision, but she helps him anyway by giving Ed surgery to give him automail prosthetics.
Ed then travels to Central City after a year to recover from the surgery and takes the exam, passing with flying colors. Ed is officially the youngest State Alchemist in history and has unlimited access to military records and research, which he takes full advantage of. Right after getting his license, Ed and Al burn down their house so they have no choice but to move forward and accomplish their goal, no matter how long it may take them.
The story cuts to three years later and we see Ed and Al traveling to Reole in the hopes of finding the Philosopher’s Stone. Legend has it that the Philosopher’s Stone amplifies and alchemist’s power and can break the rule of equivalent exchange, which states that in order to transmutate something, one must have something of equivalent value to “sacrifice.” Ed finds Father Cornello and fights to get the stone which appears to be placed inside a ring. After a lot of fighting, Ed sees that the Philosopher’s Stone breaks, confirming that it is actually a fake. Unfortunately, to learn this, Ed and Al reveal that Father Cornello is also a fake, despite founding the “Church of Leto” in the town, which soon collapses after Ed and Al’s departure.
Edward and Alphonse travel to many other locations while trying to search out the real Philosopher’s Stone. Their travels take them to a mining town run by a corrupt military official, but Ed helps out and through trickery, is able to buy the deed of the mines and the town and gives it to the people who deserve to have it, the miners. They then stop in East City and meet Shou Tucker, who is a specialist in chimeric alchemy and is known for creating a talking chimera. Ed and Al are permitted my Tucker to look at his research materials and befriend his daughter, Nina and her pet dog Alexander. Before long however, Tucker manages to create another talking chimera (the first one saying, “I want to die,” and dying by refusing to eat.) Ed notices that Nina and Alexander are missing, and comes to the conclusion that Tucker also toyed with human transmutation, transmuting Nina with Alexander. Tucker and Nina/Alexander are taken into military custody, but are killed by a man simply known as Scar. (No, not the lion!!)
Scar is an Ishvarian, a race that was supposed to be wiped out during a civil war in the east. It is Scar’s goal to eliminate State Alchemists, as they were the primary weapons used in the genocide. Scar soon finds Ed and Al, and a chase and fight ensue with Scar coming out on top, having obliterated Ed’s automail arm and tearing apart Al. Mustang is able to come to the rescue with other military officers such a 2ed Lt. Riza Hawkeye, Major Armstrong, Havoc (sorry, I forget his rank), and other officers. Scar escapes, but Ed’s life is saved and he is taken back to Resembool to see Winry and Pinako under the protection of Major Armstrong as an escort so his automail can be repaired.
On the way there however, they spot Dr. Marcoh, who left the military immediately following the war in the east and has taken to hiding. He doesn’t greet the trio very kindly, but he is persuaded to tell Edward about the Philosopher’s Stone and eventually giving in to tell Ed where he can find the research papers. Lust, a homunculus, isn’t pleased with this however, and after Ed, Al, and Armstrong leave, forces Marcoh to tell her where his research regarding the stone is. While Ed is in Resembool, she travels back to Central and burns down the library containing the files.
Note: I’m going to try to condense as much as I can here, because this is getting ridiculously long.
Ed winds up getting his automail repaired (or in case of his arm, getting a brand new arm) and returns to Central, only to find that the library the files he wanted had burned down, along with all the documents. They are able to find Sheska who happened to work there before the fire, and she tells them that she had read Marcoh’s notes and also has a photographic memory. She agrees to copy Marchoh’s notes for Ed and Al (in which Ed pays her for her efforts, and she’s able to afford getting her sick mother into a good hospital). The notes, however, are in code to make it look like a cookbook, but Ed and Al get to work decoding it. After several days, they crack the code, only to learn that the main ingredient to the Philosopher’s Stone is multiple live human beings. Not wanting to harm anyone or put anyone through any pain on their quest to return to the way they were before their run in with human transmutation, Ed and Al abandon the idea of making the stone themselves. They do however, learn about Laboratory #5, and even though Major Armstrong orders them not to go there, as he will do some research before checking out the building, Ed and Al sneak out and go anyway.
During their break-in, Both Ed and Al discover that Laboratory #5 was used to create Philosopher Stones, though they were not perfect. Ed also runs into Envy, Lust, and Gluttony, who are irritated that Ed had learned so much, but they refuse to kill him, not wanting to ruin their chances of using him as some sort of sacrifice. (This has yet to be explained.) Al, on the other hand, runs into Barry the Chopper, and finds out that Barry is much like him. A soul attached to a suit of armor. Envy, Gluttony, and Lust blow up the lab, but manage to carry Ed (Who was weakened before from a fight with a suit of armor like Barry the Chopper) who they beat up a bit more and carry him out of the wreckage, the only serious damage to him being a
wound inflicted on his from the armor and having his automail arm broken once again.
Ed is placed in the hospital and he calls up Winry to come to Central and fix his arm. She does so, and soon after Ed, Al, and Winry leave to Rush Valley, which is known as the center for automail technology. (Winry isn’t supposed to go with the brothers, but she begs and Ed and Al give in.) The trio eventually come across a pickpocket who stole Ed’s watch that proves that he is a State Alchemist. They eventually catch Paninya and she reveals that her legs have been replaced with automail, and she pickpockets to raise money to pay back the man who made them for her.
A deal is made (in which I forget the major details) but Paninya take the trio to meet the creator of her automail legs. He refuses to take Winry on as an apprentice, but siftens up after she delivers his daughter-in-law’s son. He refers Winry to another atuomail technician who accepts her as an apprentice. She calls her grandmother about her decision, and she is given full support.
The Elric brothers leave Winry and head back to Dublith to meet their former teacher. They ask her about what she knows about the Philosopher’s Stone, and she tells them she knows very little and refers them to their own father, Van Hohenheim. Still upset with his father, Edward refuses to consult him. After a few days with their teacher, Izumi realizes that their bodies have been altered due to being through the Gate after performing human transmutation. She gives Ed a sound beating and expels both of them. They almost leave on a train, but rush back to Izumi and demand for her help in recovering their bodies. She complies.
The brothers are allowed to stay with Izumi, but Ed suddenly remembers about his State Alchemist assessment he is required to complete every year or lose his license as a State Alchemist. He rushes to South City where the President himself just stamps the document and tells Ed to go on, not really needing to do an assessment.
Meanwhile, back in Dublith, Al gets kidnapped by the homunculus Greed, who is seeking a way to gain immortality. Al explains that the only one who knows anything about how his soul was attached to the armor is his older brother, and Greed agrees to wait for Ed’s return. Izumi comes to try to rescue Ed, and even though she had the capability to rescue him, Al insists that he stay, as Greed has information regarding the Philosopher’s Stone and thus may know a method in which Ed and Al can get their bodies back.
Ed returns and finds Al, and Greed makes an offer for an “equivalent exchange.” In exchange for information on how Ed attached Al’s soul to the armor, Greed would then give them both information regarding the Philosopher’s Stone. Ed doesn’t take the bait, and instead get’s pissed off, fighting Greed to the point where they’re both a bit worse for wear. (Ed, once again breaking his automail in the process. Wrench, meet Ed’s head once again…)
The fight leads them under the town where troops are sent in and Greed is captured by the President. He questions Edward, telling him that if any information exchanges were made that he’d execute him on the spot. Ed reassures the President that he in no way told Greed anything or agreed to any information exchange. The President lets the Elrics leave and he takes Greed back to “Father,” this revealing that the President is also a homunculous, known as Wrath by his “siblings” and “father.”
Ed and Al make their way back to Central (but first have to stop by and see Winry because Ed likes to break his automail /punted), but along the way, they run into the prince of the country of Xing, Ling Yao. He is also on a quest to gain immortality like Greed had been, and he tries to get information from Ed, who of course, refuses. He shadows the brothers who pick up Winry after repairs are made (once again) to Ed’s automail, and they all head out to Central.
While they were on their adventures however, it turns out that Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes dug a little too deep about the Philosopher’s Stone. (He had agreed to help find information that might be useful to Ed and Al. He also looks up notes on homunculi.) Envy, changing her form to look like 2ed. Lt. Maria Ross, kills him while he tried to make a phone call to Colonel Roy Mustang back in East City. A funeral is held for him, and he is promoted post-mortem to Brigadier General.
Once Ed, Al, and Winry have a hotel room (Ling Yao having split, which is ok because he’s definitely not my favorite character…) and Al bursts in while Ed contemplates what they should do next. The main headline states that 2ed Lt. Ross is convicted of murdering Maes Hughes, and the brothers leave the hotel to confirm if it’s true. On their way, they run into Barry the chopper and Ross herself, having chosen to escape from prison. Roy catches up, however, and catches Ross. An order had gone out to re-capture her, and if she resists, to open fire to kill. Roy uses his favorite technique and barbeques the 2ed Lt. in front of Ed, who had just rounded the corner. Ed confronts Roy about it, but is left without any explanation.
Ed and Al return to the hotel and find that Winry is gone, having seen the paper. She had made her way to the Hughes’ residence to confirm the fact of Hughes’ death for herself. Gracia (Maes’ widow) calls Ed and Al and asks for them to pick up Winry, as she’s worried about letting her stay. Ed and Al come to pick her up and they return to the hotel, though not before explaining some of the circumstances about Maes’ death and what he was doing to help them, Winry openly grieving for Maes.
The next morning, Major Armstrong visits the hotel while the trio is still grieving, and the Major kidnaps takes Ed with him to travel to Xing. Ed has no choice but to go, leaving Al and Winry in Central. They travel across the desert, illegally entering Xing, and they rest to stop and meet Fu. (Also forgot to point out that 2ed Lt. Breda tags along.) Once they’re satisfied with their position in the middle of nowhere, Xing, there’s a lot of information exchange. I’ll make it as short and comprehensible as I can.
First of all, it’s revealed that 2ed Lt. Ross was not fried by Mustang, but instead, it was a ploy to get her out of the country where she could live without the fear of being caught by the military and executed. They also discuss how the military is corrupted, though how high this goes and for what purposes are unknown. The exchange information based on what Ed and Armstrong know from the 5th lab and what information Mustang entrusted Breda with regarding information from Barry the Chopper (who seemed to get a massive crush on Hawkeye and joined to help her by helping Mustang.)
Before leaving the desert, Ed checks out the Ruins of Xerxes, where he is ambushed by a group of Ishvarians. However, a fight between them is prevented when an elder of the group intervenes and let’s Edward know about their situation regarding Amastrians (this includes Ed). He tells Ed about Amastrian doctors that saved many of their lives, and as it turns out that those doctors were Winry’s parents who were killed in the war. Ed promises to stop back in Resembool to visit their graves for the Ishvarians.
Once back in Resembool, Ed makes his way to the cemetery, and sees a man sanding at his mother’s grave. It’s his father.
Aaaaand THE END!! This is as for as I’ve gotten in the series at the point of writing this, and this is the point where I will be taking Ed.