There's nothing degrading about it.

[Action / Voice]

truthget — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:56:54 GMT

['Sup, Luceti, guess who's back? So missions totally suck, but at least he wasn't on the ocean this time. It was still snowy and wet and miserable in general, but hey, he can't complain too much. It beats being experimented on.

Still, it's not like it was a particularly troublesome or dangerous mission, so he'll be tromping and looking rather cranky to House 23.

And it only gets worse from there! Because Winry is still sick (of course), and someone will surely be kind enough to tell him that Al's been kidnapped. Again. And there's going to be a draft now, and he's not on it, even though the enemies are being captured instead of killed, and goddammit this week sucks.

In other words, it's not long before he's out and about again, slightly more aggressive in his stance and occasionally punching trees, because there's very little else he can do right now. He will pop by to visit the friends or acquaintances of his that are drafted, though (or at least get close enough to where they live to look like he's thinking about checking on them).

...Well, there's at least one thing he can do to distract himself, so he'll try the journal later that night.]

[Voice]

...Hey, got a question. What kind of a gift can you get a girl without giving them the wrong idea or something?

[Written / Action]

truthget — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:24:02 GMT

[Around mid-morning in Luceti, there's a tired, blond alchemist limping through the forest, favouring the left leg and right arm a bit. Besides the limp, there is one more thing that's pretty obviously different- that being, Edward is a girl. She doesn't seem to be bothered by this fact, though, and is grumbling only about the state of her automail, since neither of the limbs seem to be cooperating much right now. She's heading for the smithy, but the forest and pathways can be tricky to navigate sometimes, so there's plenty of time to run into her before she reaches her destination.

On the way, though, she flips open the journal to check in on everyone:]

It's Edward- I'm back. I'm on my way to the village already, so I don't need a pick-up. Al, I'm stopping off at the smithy for maintenance and then I'm heading to the house.

I think it's been a couple of weeks; I was taken on the 3rd. Did anything important happen?

[After the trip to the smithy, of course, she'll be off to House #23. She's available for bothering pretty much anywhere.]

[[ooc: Edward is AU'd! Responses will come from autoamazon. There's also some extra info over here if anyone is interested.]]

[Voice (morning) / Action (evening)]

truthget — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:20:39 GMT

[Voice - Locked from Al, Winry, Gracia, and Elicia]

This might seem like a weird question, but I need to ask.

A lot of people - kids, even - act like they're fine with death and killing. The draft taught me that much. And around here dying doesn't even seem to matter because you just come back anyway. Is that what makes it- [Not okay, he can't say okay, it's not okay] ...more acceptable? Or is it something you're used to? And if it was someone else's life at risk, more than just your own, would that-

[...Dammit, this is probably coming out all wrong. But talking to Al back in the hospital had really gotten him thinking, probably too much, and... maybe he can't really understand something he's never experienced himself. Much like human transmutation- it sounds like a perfectly acceptable theory until the truth opens your eyes.]

...Nevermind. But if death is just temporary, is it really still death? And if it is, then... what's it like to die?

[He couldn't even kill the remnants of a Philosopher's Stone to save Ling. Using the souls of Xerxes for his own gain still haunts him to this day. Could he ever kill to save himself if his own death meant Al would die as well...?]

How can anyone be fine with taking the life of another person?

[So... it's the 3rd. Of October. And certain people from Amestris know the significance of that date. It's not exactly an anniversary that Edward or Alphonse celebrate, per se, but it's become an unspoken annual event to have a bonfire on that particular evening, and more often than not staying up all night. An unspoken promise of which neither will remind the other.

One more year gone. One more year of failure. But they're not about to give up, either.

They hadn't been able to have a fire the past year in Amestris, what with the Philosopher's Stone plot going on in the background and their lengthy separation after leaving Briggs, but here they find themselves in October once again, and the pair made a silent agreement to do it now. Thus, after dinner in the backyard of House #23, a fair-sized campfire will be burning all night, carefully watched and maintained by either one or both of the Elric brothers. They're mostly just doing your average campfire stuff- Edward is roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, Al watching the flames and tending to the loose sparks, the pair occasionally tossing out nostalgic stories. It's not an exclusive fire by any means, so bother at will.

And then, sometime around dawn, Edward will wander off to take a leak in the woods, and he won't be coming back. There'll be signs of a quiet scuffle and a flash of alchemic energy - and a collection of metal chips from a robot's arm being deconstructed - but nothing more to be found.]

[ooc: action tags (if any) can get Ed, Al, or both. If you have a preference just say so, otherwise we'll decide between the two of us or toss a coin |D)]

[Voice / Action]

truthget — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:44:20 GMT

That's right... the code...

Hey, anybody listening out there- [It goes quiet abruptly as Edward examines the journal to make sure it's working.] ...hm. My name is Edward Elric, and I'm an alchemist. Where I'm from, alchemists follow a certain code: "Alchemists live for the public." It means that our abilities are meant to be used for ordinary people without bias.

I don't know how long I'm going to be stuck here, but while I'm in Luceti, you all are the public. So if you ever need anything fixed, or made, or altered, leave a note at the library, I go there a lot. You can use the journal, too, but I can't promise that I'll see it. When I'm in town I'll take care of the requests.

..Guess that's it then.

[And then, added to the entry a little while later, his voice somewhat quiet:]

...If anybody met a guy named Ling - or Greed - while they were here... looks like they've gone back.

[Edward can be found out and about today, wandering the village and looking somewhat lost in thought. He'll spend some time at the library, a bit at the house, and then he'll be digging around in the community buildings- at first building 3, then a couple others just in case.]

[ooc: If anybody ever needs to make use of Ed's alchemy beyond this entry, just drop by his appointments post, either to thread it out there or to direct me to a post where he might be called over.]

[Video / Action]

truthget — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 01:06:52 GMT

[The journal clicks on as it drops to the ground, recording a quiet curse and a dark screen. After a moment it lifts up, revealing a flash view of Edward in a tank top as he tilts his arm, prodding at the metal limb that is apparently not cooperating as well as it should.]

What the hell is wrong with this thing? It's not-

[And his words are quite abruptly cut off as a small explosion sparks between the journal and his shoulder, and there's a flurry of images too smothered by motion blur to really make any sense. The audio, or what can be made out beyond the rush of air, is replaced by a startled yelp, followed by silence... and then, as the journal crashes into the foliage after a few moments, a steady stream of colourful and half-muffled curses.

To illustrate...

Action-wise: Edward is going to be around the town today, though not his usual, unhappily-composed self. No, today he is going to be chasing his arm around the town, since it's apparently decided to malfunction and start going off completely at random! So maybe you see it flying past you. Maybe you see it crash. Maybe it crashes into you. Or maybe, while running, he trips, stumbles, and... rolls on one foot in a mad flail as if on skates or something. Today is just not his day at all.

In other words? Haruhi got her way, as usual...]

[Action /Voice]

truthget — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 05:44:14 GMT

[The week had passed with a certain degree of... something surreal, fake, imaginary. Edward can remember the white room, the gate, but most of all, the emptiness of it all. No Truth, no second gate, no Al. He'd been completely alone. And even his own body had felt as fake as the seemingly endless room; it was detached, uncomfortable. As if- as if it wasn't real-

...But that's impossible, isn't it?

He had plenty of time to debate the theory in his mind, at least. Whatever his body was in that place, it didn't need sleep. And as the hours passed into dull, empty silence, as his shouts and rants echoed back to his own ears, pointlessly, his only gain was a newfound clarity of what Al's nights must be like. If nothing else, this experience has given him an even greater incentive for getting Al's body back.

Nothing lasts forever, though, and eventually - he's not sure when or how long it's been - the simulated Gate of Truth collapses and dissolves around him, leaving only darkness.

And then come the dreams.

They're always different, always so vivid. An unfortunate consequence of an overly imaginative alchemist with ambition. This time it's Al - real Al, Al's body, frail and pitiful and starving, yet smiling at him-

"You'll come back, won't you? You won't leave me here again? It's been so long."

His soulless eyes are empty, yet somehow filled with an unbearable suffering at the same time. It's only been a few days for Ed, at most. How could Al endure years of that place, with only Truth and this same sense of loss to keep him company?

"Brother- why did you do this to me?"

Al, Al, Al, I didn't want-

"I can't go with you."

And Al's gone before Edward's hand can reach him, dissolving from view. Just like all the others.

"You're just running away."

He turns, expecting Hohenheim, but finds only the misshapen, slack-jawed remains of his human transmutation. Not his mother. It was never his mother.

"Why did you create me?"

There's a wrench in his chest as slimy, mangled fingers slide down his cheek.

"Why did you just watch me die?"

Gone, again. In the quiet, in the darkness, he can hear Truth laughing.

And soon after he wakes up, gasping, on the bed of an empty hospital room.]

...Didn't work...

[Once settled and no longer so disoriented (or so alone, for that matter) Edward manages to wriggle over to the bedside table and get his journal open and running. This would be so much easier if his automail was working...

But his automail had been destroyed. He knows that, he'd felt it happen. So Winry must be okay, if she was able to make him replacements. That also means that it's been at least - no, more than - three days since the failed transmutation. One thing at a time, though...]

I'm back. ...Is everyone okay? The transmutation, it didn't-

[....]

Winry? I can't move my automail.

[Voice / Action]

truthget — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:59:04 GMT

[Now that he's gotten over his own embarrassment somewhat-]

...So that's what an experiment is like, huh.

[Okay, maybe not entirely over it. That was beyond humiliating and he doesn't even want to acknowledge it anymore. Ugh.]

Whatever, forget it. I have a question for the people who've lived here longer than me. What kind of escape attempts have already happened here? Has anything worked, or even showed small signs of success? If it's not something you want to talk about over the journals, you can find me at the library.

Thanks in advance.

[...Oh right, before he forgets again-]

And if anyone finds a silver pocketwatch in one of the shops, chances are it's mine. I'd appreciate it if you let me know if you see it.

...Don't look inside, either!

[And as promised Ed will be at the library today, either inside pouring over a dozen books or just outside the entrance, probably munching away at something he pilfered during a visit to the bakery. You know, after he realized he hadn't eaten for seven hours or something. As usual he's probably wearing five different layers despite the heat, the nutter.]

[Written / Action]

truthget — Tue, 10 May 2011 02:25:39 GMT

[A series of separate journal entries would have been posted over the course of several days; Edward will have a somewhat sporadic response time for them, too. He might respond for a few hours and then not until the day following the entry ~~ICly anyway-- I'll be tagging it normally 8|~~, since the cryptic commentary in each day's entry hints at how he's messed up the journal to see how (and how soon) it fixes itself the next day. Therefore he won't have a journal to respond unless he steals Al's.

If you're not sure of what your character is up to during the week feel free to tag with a placeholder or something and tag later. OR IGNORE THIS TL;DR AND LAUGH AT MY DORKING IDC]

Day 1 - Monday

I don't miss that idiot colonel, but his alchemy would come in handy in this place. At least Al showed up after I did, so the three of us from Resembool are here. Familiar faces make it easier, and if I can't escape easily I can at least keep myself occupied.

My goal is to be out of here within a month.

Day 2 - Tuesday

Woke up at 7 this morning. The fireplace is out, so it's cold that early. I'm still tired; I feel like I could have slept for at least 15 hours. And why do kettles always take forever to boil? I just want some damn coffee before I go out to have a look around.

I don't think three spoonfuls of sugar is too much, either. It dissolves just fine if the water's warm enough.

Addendum from yesterday: A month is too long.

Day 3 - Wednesday

Al got me up an hour earlier today. It's warmer today- I went down by the river for a while. Saw a small flock of cranes, all with white feathers. I thought I'd see some markings, but maybe they disappear when they change into adults?

I counted maybe 16-30 of them. Moved too fast to be sure.

Day 4 - Thursday

Slept in till 9. Sleep schedule's been messed up since I got here. Why is it so inconsistent?

The flock from yesterday didn't show up again today, but there was a spotted chick in a nest by the bridge. A fox or something might've gotten the mother- there were a few torn feathers not far away. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow to check on it. Today I'm getting back to the library.

Addendum: I counted six books on birds alone. Zero on Alchemy. Do books appear here at random the way people do?

Day 5 - Friday

Wake-up was 7 again today. Al, just let me sleep in tomorrow. I'm going further down the river this afternoon, but there's nothing new to see right now. Still no mother at the nest, but the chick is fine, so I guess it's okay.

I'll look into this more later.

[Aaaaand Action bit:

Monday- Edward is at home, since Winry expected him to be around so he could be introduced to Haruhi. And he's kind of wondering if Al needs to be around for the very same thing, but it hadn't been mentioned to him...

Well, none of his business.

Tuesday-Friday - he'll be out and about in the village if you'd rather just bump into him at the locations mentioned.]

[ooc note: Since these happen over the course of the week, it'd be great if you guys could put the day your character comments in the subject line. And feel free to comment again with another day if it tickles your fancy (in your thread or otherwise) or just comment on the last day. It's pretty open.]