Alphonse Elric (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
armoredsoul) wrote2013-01-09 12:14 pm
armoredsoul) wrote2013-01-09 12:14 pm
OOC: Damned App
Name/Handle: CaityCat
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Timezone: Pacific
Personal LJ:gryphcat
E-Mail: decend.to.darkness@gmail.com
AIM/other: caitycatv32
Is English your primary language?: Yes.
---
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
Series' Medium: anime
Character: Alphonse Elric
Age: 15
Sex/Gender: Male
Canon Role: Shares the protagonist role with his brother, Edward Elric
"Real" Name: Jonathan Flint
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I've played Alphonse off and on for about...three years, I'd say.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?:
I've played in a few community-based games (microcosm_rp, i_s_l_a_n_d, dear_multiverse/sages_of_chaos), a few private IM RPs, and a long-running private community RP with several close friends.
Are you personally familiar with your character's canon?:
I'm very familiar with FMA; it's been one of my primary fandoms since 2006, and I've seen the series+movie through several times, including recently.
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
Alphonse Elric began life in a small village in Amestris called Risembul. He lived there with his older brother, Edward, and their mother, Trisha. Their father had left when Al was still very young, so he has few memories of the man. Still, the loss of him from the family affected everyone, leaving Edward resentful of the man and their mother devastated. When Trisha fell ill of a mysterious disease and soon passed away, the two brothers could not find it within themselves to cope. Their mother was their world, and they could not live without her. Edward, however, had a plan: to revive her with alchemy, the art of deconstructing and reconstructing matter through scientific understanding, an art that both boys had displayed a veritable genius at. Though Al had misgivings (human transmutation was the ultimate taboo and said to be dangerous) he went along with his brother's idea.
They studied toward this end, eventually seeking out a teacher when a talented alchemist happened to travel through their villiage. Izumi Curtis took them in after much argument and taught them not only alchemy, but martial arts as well. It was her belief that the body must train as well as the mind, and later in life this would serve the boys very well. After a year of tutelage, the boys returned home from Dublith to make their attempt. Much to their dismay, it was a horrible failure: the price of their mother's soul could not be balanced in the equation, and the rebound left both boys maimed. Ed lost his left leg, and Al his entire body.
When Al came to after the transmutation, he was not in his body, but bound to an ancient armor that had been stored in their father's lab. Ed had deperately retrieved his brother's soul from the other side, paying the toll of his right arm. Fleeing the lab and the ruin of a body their attempt had created, Alphonse went to the only people he knew could save his brother: the Rockbells, long-time friends of their family. Ed was saved, but a military man had happened to arrive to question the boys of their father's whereabouts. An alchemist himself, he recognized what had happened--and how skilled these children were to survive the attempt. Roy Mustang offered them a chance that Ed couldn't refuse, access to restricted research and a chance to restore their bodies in return for service to the military as State Alchemists. Ed demanded the Rockbells give him automail, mechanical replacements for his limbs, and a year later both brothers set out to Central City.
There they learned that to become State Alchemists they would have to pass an exam, and were placed in the care of a State Alchemist so they could study with his materials. It was there in Shou Tucker's house that they made a close friend of his daughter, Nina. Both brothers came to love her as a younger sister, often playing with her between bouts of studying. It was not long after Edward passed the exam a few months later (with flying colors) that tragedy struck. Shou transmuted Nina and the family dog into a chimera in a desperate bid to retain his State Alchemist qualification. Ed and Al were devastated, not only by Nina's fate, but by her violent death soon after they helped her escape from a life of experimentation in military labs. While Ed brooded and turned within himself, Al tried desperately to find something to push them both forward. He eventually heard about the legendary Philosopher's Stone, a catalyst that was said to turn the Law of Equivalent Exchange on it's head. After some time, he managed to pull Ed out of his misery and they set out in search of any clues about the Stone, with Mustang's approval.
For several years the boys scoured the country chasing after clues, but to little avail. It was not until they came across a doctor in hiding named Marcoh, who had made an imperfect version of the Stone, that they got their first real break. Marcoh had been in hiding after deserting from the military, though Roy knew where he was. That was how the brothers were able to find him; unfortunately General Grand, the man that had been in charge of Tucker and tried to take Nina into his custody after her transmutation, had followed them there and took both marcoh and the incomplete Stone he had with him. The boys followed him to try and free Marcoh, but arrived in time to see a scarred man literally shred the General's flesh with a single transmutation. Despite their shock, they managed to regain their senses in time to grab Marcoh and flee, with the help of Major Armstrong who had followed them on Roy's orders in case something like this happened. They made it to East City before Scar caught up with them again, and during that confrontation Scar not only shattered nearly half of Al's armor body, but also nearly killed Ed. Roy showed up in time to save the boys, but the damage was done--Ed's automail arm had been obliterated, and he was the only one that could repair Al's body.
As the boys had little other choice, they were escorted back to their hometown to get fixed up. While there, Al realized that his memories of childhood were spotty, not able to recognize many of the people living where he had grown up. Already shaken by nearly losing his brother, he was thrown even further off-balance by Edward saying there was something he wanted to ask Al about, but was too afraid to say. This little thought festered in the back of Al's mind when they headed to Central, following a secret note Marcoh had left them before being taken into the Fuhrer's custody. The boys worked feverishly, managing to get a copy of Marcoh's coded notes from his work on the Stone. But after weeks of intensive study, they realized why Marcoh had called this the Devil's work: to create a Stone takes the sacrifice of many human lives. Both Ed and Al fell into a fit of depression for some time before one of their guards (for Scar was still at large and rumored to be in Central himself) who had overheard the secret of the Stone admonished them for moping about and giving up after finding an answer they hated and couldn't use. From there they decided to investigate the labratory Marcoh likely worked at; the Fifth Central Labratory which was nominally closed due to structural integrity was the perfect location to carry out such secret experiments.
Ed and Al snuck out to infiltrate the lab, Edward heading inside while Al was forced to wait outside the main building, being too large to sneak in through the ventilation shafts. Unfortunately for him, one of the guards set to keep intruders off the premises, an 'executed' criminal by the name of Barry the Chopper, soon attacked him. During the fight both realized they were like the other--human souls bound to armored bodies. Barry sensed Al's internal torment over his memories and the secret thing his brother was afraid to tell him, and gleefully tore into him, questioning if there really had been a boy named Alphonse Elric--after all, where was his body to prove he had existed? During this fight Scar intervened, having followed the trail of the boys here. He broke into the facility for answers of his own, and when Barry fled Al felt he had little choice but to follow Scar and keep him from hurting his brother again. But not far into the facility they were attacked and separated by a pair of creatured calling themselves homunculii, artificial humans. Certainly they proved they were not normal, Lust with her sharp, extending fingers and Gluttony by eating Alphonse's armor down to nothing more than the torso and helmet. It was then that Al was used as a hostage against Edward, whom the homunculii wanted to create a Stone for them. Despite Al's pleas, Edward started the preparations, fixing the destroyed circle and letting the prisoners brought to be ingredients be herded within. However, Edward could not bring himself to do it. At that point Scar attacked the group, scattering the homunculii and prisoners just as the rescue group the Elric's guards had called up came in to retrieve the boys.
During Edward's recovery (for he had been just as badly injured as Alphonse), Barry's words to Al during their fight festered, finally culminating in Al accusing Edward of having created him from nothing and running off as soon as his body had been restored to normal. Al stumbled upon a small Ishbalan camp where Scar had taken refuge, and was allowed to stay with them. When the encampment was attacked and one of the children kidnapped by mercenaries posing as military, Al helped to track them down to rescue the boy. But to his surprise, Ed had tracked his little brother down and threw himself into the fight against the mercs. During the firefight, Ed finally admitted what he had been so scared to say before--that he was afraid that Al blamed him for being trapped in an armor body and hated him for it. Overcome with emotion, Al told his brother that he could never hate him for that, that they were both responsible for what happened that night. Their relationship healed and the mercenaries defeated, the brothers left the Ishballans and set out to the south.
Ed and Al were intercepted then by their old alchemy teacher, who had heard rumors of their travels--and that Edward had become a State Alchemist in direct revolt of her teachings. Furious but also concerned for how they had been, Izumi brought the boys back to her home in Dublith. When she got the whole story of what they had done after leaving her, she decreed that they would go through their first lesson she gave them, which was to survive on an island for one month with no tools but a knife, and absolutely no alchemy. While there, the boys not only were given time to process all they had gone through lately and forced to really think before doing anything else, but also discovered a mysterious boy that had been shadowing them the entire month on the island. Izumi took the boy in when she came back to fetch them, oddly protective and not letting Ed or Al near him. Frustrated and curious about the boy's mysterious use of alchemy, Ed and Al snuck into his room and confronted him. They discovered that his right arm and left leg were different, as if they didn't belong to him. Al was the one to realize that this child had somehow gotten the arm and leg Ed had sacrificed to the Gate, finding proof in a scar on the shoulder that Edward had gotten in his youth from a fox bite. The boy panicked and fled, forcing Ed and Al to chase after him.
Before they could bring the boy home, however, he was captured by Frank Archer for the military. He had a marking that was also borne on the homunculii, proving that he had some form of connection to them. Both Ed and Izumi stormed the Southern Headquarters to rescue him, but the brothers were sperated from Izumi during the raid. They tracked her down again on the island to find her struggling to make herself kill the boy. It was there they learned that the boy was a homunculus himself, the product of Izumi's failed transmutation to revive her stillborn son. Wrath, as the boy now called himself, had been sent by Izumi back to the Gate when she saw his initial, misshapen form--this was how he had been able to take Ed's limbs and perform alchemy. Furious at this boy attempting to kill Ed and take the rest of his body, and kill Izumi as well, Al lauched a furious attack on Wrath that was only stopped by Izumi cracking the land under them in half, allowing Wrath to escape.
Following this, the boys and Izumi went back to her home. There she dismissed Ed and Al as her students, allowing them to continue forward as equals. She suggested they go and speak with her old teacher for further clues on their search, a woman named Dante who lived in a large mansion outside the city. during that visit, they were attacked by another homunculus by the name of Greed, who kidnapped Al with the help of perfected human-animal chimera. Once back in Greed's club-cum-stronghold, the Devil's Nest, he revealed that he actually had broken ties with the other homunculii and only wanted Al for the secret of his soul-bound armor. Homunculii were not as immortal as they seemed to be, despite their amazing regenerative capabilities, and Greed was seeking true immortality. Ed and Izumi broke in to rescue Al, and were fighting Greed when the military also began their own raid. Greed and a few of his chimera managed to escape with Al, but Greed broke off from the group when they passed again near Dante's estate. When the chimera realized that some of the other homunculii were tailing them, they requested that Al take one of their number with him and flee while the other two held the line. Al agreed to do so, not wanting to see any more death, and ran away with Martel. The pair of them waited until the next dawn, and when neither Greed nor Dorchette and Roa returned, she left Al and wandered off. Al went to Dante's estate, finding Ed there. He found out that Greed had come that night and murdered Dante, and when Ed had found him with the corpse he attacked and killed the homunculus. As Greed was dying, he told Ed the reason he had died from the wound Ed inflicted--the presence of his original remains, and a special circle that had been etched into the floor of the manse.
From there the boys went further south, hoping to find and Ishballan encampment to see if they knew another way to make the Stone. When they arrived they found Roy's unit there, having come to investigate about Scar's potential whereabouts. They speak with an exile of the Ishballans, who had been kept in special custody while the rest of the encampment was moved to an official camp, only to find out that the 'forbidden art' of the Ishballans only differs in the amount of people sacrificed to create a Stone. From there they head to the territory once held by Ishbal, hoping to find more clues there. On the way they run into Martel, who is looking for revenge on the former State Alchemist that ratted their group out to the military. She tells the boys about the real cause of the war in Ishbal, that the military had sent in a covert ops unit to attack one of their temples, claiming they were planning rebellion. This, and not the story of a child being shot on accident, was what caused the war. The boys realize that the homunculii may have some connection in the military, and that the many wars fought may be a ploy to drive those who are desperate to create a Stone.
When Ed and Al arrive in the Ishbal area and begin searching, they run into Roy's unit once again; this time they are in the area to try and stop a serious revolt in a town called Liore--a town that less than a year ago the boys had overtrown a false priest that had been turning the citizens into religious fanatics. They were shocked and dismayed at this turn of events, and while Al waited behind with Martel (whom he was hiding and protecting), Ed snuck into the city to investigate for the military. However, Martel made a startling discovery that the Fuhrer, King Bradley, was actually one of the homunculii. She died bringing this news back to Al, killed while hiding inside his armor by Bradley himself. After this devastating news Al was sent to try and find Ed inside the city by Roy, who had sent a letter telling of Scar's plan to lure the military into the city once the civilians fled and then sacrifice the soldiers to make the Stone. Once in the city, however, Al is attacked by the man who had betrayed Martel and Greed, Solf J. Kimbley. Scar intervened to try and save Al, but during the fight Al's armor is transmuted into a slowly-ticking timebomb. Knowing no other way to save him, Scar transfers the proto-Stone within his arm to Al, then completes the circle and turns Al into the Stone as the soldiers begin to storm the city.
Ed finds Al afterward, and realizing what has happened they both decide to flee. Heading to the relative safety of Risembul, Roy's unit chases after them on orders of the Fuhrer. When Roy catches up to and confronts them, he says he didn't come because of his orders, but because he wanted to help the boys and was furious they had fled instead of asking for his help. They exchange information, and Roy promises to throw the military off the Elric's tracks. When the boys get to Risembul, they discover that their father has returned after years of wandering. Ed rejects having anything to do with Hohenheim, but Al decides to talk with him, since he has to few memories of the man. After Roy and his group have left, Al receives a call from Shou Tucker, who had been in the Fifth Lab but escaped. He offers to teach Al how to use the Stone, in return for the use of a portion of it. Since Al had been arguing with his brother over finding a way to use the Stone, he agreed. He leaves without telling Ed, but the homunculii wind up springing a trap on him and Tucker. Sloth, the homunculus of Ed and Al's mother, attacks them alongside Wrath. Ed shows up and together the boys manage to kill Sloth, at much emotional cost to both of them. Unfortunately, Envy arrives then and kidnaps Al, taking him to the homunculii's true master.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
Al is coming from near the end of the series, when he is brought to the sunken city underneath Central. Al is going to be very confused about the sudden change of location and his body, and highly suspicious of most people. He also is going to be more protective/needing of his brother than normal.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Overall Al is a very kind and gentle young man, courteous to a fault and eager to help where he can. That isn't to say he is a pushover, however, as he is more than capable of standing up for himself--it's only that his much shorter-tempered brother usually pipes up before he feels a need to. Alphonse is patient and caring, giving the benefit of the doubt to just about anyone before passing judgement. When his ire is roused, however, he becomes a nearly unstoppable force of swift and decisive action. He tends to try and act as protector where he can, shepherding civilians caught in the crossfire of the Elric's actions. Because of his demeanor and attitude, he tends to act as the 'good cop' when the brothers are working, so to speak, approaching those whom Edward has driven off or would wind up in a fight with when information is needed. He doesn't begrudge his brother for having to act as his keeper so often, as he knows it is only that Ed tends to burn hot and bright as opposed to Alphonse's slow flame. That's not to say that Al doesn't have a mischeivous streak, but when placed alongside his brother such attributes tend to be outshined--which Al has no compunctions about taking advantage of.
Al can also be quite lonely, however, as living for five years in a suit of armor has taken it's toll. Much as he tries, his body tends to attract odd glances and wariness, which is likely why he presents such a gentle persona when the brothers travel. He is eager to make friends wherever he can, and tries to leave those he comes into contact with something in return for their kindness--a little physical help, or maybe solving an emotional probelm they've been grappling with. For him any social bond is something to be cherished and held close, especially the ties of family. Al has a strong sense of justice as well, and eagerly works with Ed to right what wrongs they can (though usually credit goes to the elder brother).
So much of Alphonse is tied up in his older brother that one sould say they share a soul--the pair possess a bond that has only been strengthened by the trials they've endured. Al would do anything for his brother, and is simultaneously baffled and understanding of Ed's similar feelings towards him. They both depend on each other for so much emotional support that any danger to Ed would easily send Al into a rage (as was very aptly demonstrated when Wrath tried to steal Ed's body--had Izumi not intervened, Al would have killed Wrath or died trying). This echoes down to Al's close friends and adopted family, such as the Rockbells and Roy and his unit. He takes the happiness of those dear to him very seriously, because he knows all too well the despair of feeling like you've lost everything.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Al is tall for his age, 5'7" with blonde hair and bronze-colored eyes (he inherited more of his mother's genes than Ed did). He has a strong, muscular physique, and tends to keep his hair cropped short.
What kinds of otherworldly abilities does your character have, if any?:
Alchemy. Alphonse and his brother are both high-powered alchemists, and geniuses in their own right. Having seen the Gate, they have a more innate understanding of the chemistry and formulas used in alchemy, and can perform alchemy without the use of a transmutation circle. It could also be inferred from canon that seeing the Gate confers the ability to see/sense the chemical structure of something he is in contact with, considering the wide array of unfamiliar substances that Edward (and later Al) transmute with ease, despite the knowledge of the base elements being a very necessary requirement for a transmutation.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
Alphonse's alchemical 'stamina' would be greatly reduced, being limited to perhaps ten small-mass transmutations per night (assuming he does not do every one consecutively), things like fusing a lock open or shut or changing a metal spoon into a small knife. Slightly larger transmutations, like creating a club or a 1-foot wide hole in a wall, would be limited to three per night. Attempting anything larger, even in conjunction with his brother, would result in his strength being completely sapped for the rest of the night.
EDIT: Alchemy uses take up eight slots. Small things use one, larger things take more, depending on what he's attempting. Small swords would take 2-3, something like a spear most to all slots.
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
As stated earlier both Ed and Al are child prodigies, and as such highly intelligent. They also went under physical training under their teacher, and excel at hand-to-hand combat. Their strength and speed do not exceed human capabilities, though I would imagine they come close to the limitations.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
I see Alphonse as being very wary and cautious of nearly everyone at first, especially the staff. Given his most recent memories are of being kidnapped for his Stone to be used for unknown purposes, this is fairly justified. He'd be resistant to the staff and not take much of anything at face value, which would make meeting anyone he knew or who claimed to know him (excepting Edward) very complicated indeed. For his canonmates, Scar might well shake his composure and make him think he may truly have gone mad, since last he saw he was as good as dead. Lust he would be wary of, as he is still unsure quite where her loyalties lie (and isn't sure he's ready to forgive what he was threatened with in the past.) However, after a while he would begin to treat them as allies given the situation he's stuck in. Those that knew him from previous appings Al would initially be wary of and possibly suspect as being part of Landel's facade, but eventually he may warm up to them depending on their encounters and how both sides react.
Once settled Al will go into information gathering mode, ferreting out any information he can find about why he and the other 'patients' were taken here. During nightshifts he'll probably try and either act as a protector to those wandering who aren't strong fighters or join with groups exploring the facility or town. During dayshift, he'll play nice with the staff in order to win what freedoms he can and possibly gather a bit more info that way (and be able to act as mediator to his brother's inevitable outbursts). He also will be coping with regaining his body, and building up his strength back to a fighting trim. While he certainly will be unnerved by his situation and surroundings, Al is more than capable of steeling himself and coping with all the oddities so long as he has the support of his brother.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Alphonse has seen many horrors in his young life. While the things he sees will definitely shake him, he can push past it to defend himself and others, so long as he has the emotional support of his brother.
Third-Person Sample:
Al woke up. That in itself was odd, as his armor body was incapable of sleep, even if he had learned to mimic it to make others comfortable. He spent several long minutes processing the fact that he could feel the clothes on his body--his BODY!--and smell the faint scents that lingered around the clean room. Though it didn't overload him, it was still a heady thing to experience after years and years of not being able to feel anything at all. Finally he managed to bring himself to get out of the bed and look at his surroundings.
It looked much like the hospital rooms his brother had frequented, appointed with a bare minimum of furnishings. His clothes certainly left something to be desired, but in the closet he found a pair of shoes that he quickly set to lacing on (clumsily, much to his chagrin). He hadn't gotten much further than the second shoe when the door to the room was opened by one of the nurses. "Oh, you're already up, I see! You need to change into your slippers for today, though, dear."
Al whirled around, staring at the woman there. "Wha--who are you? Where am I, why do I have my body again?"
The nurse smiled pityingly at him. "You're at Landel's Institute, Jonathan. I'm afraid you've gotten a little mixed up about a few things, and you've been placed here while our doctors help you sort things out. Now change into the slippers for today, and we can go get you some breakfast, how's that sound?"
"...that's not my name." The more Al realized about his situation, the more sinister it became. "And you can't tell me where I'm going to go!"
"Jonathan, you're not going anywhere right now except the cafeteria, and--" The nurse didn't get the chance to say anything else before Alphonse bolted for the door still hanging open, dashing down the hall as fast as he could go. Unfortunately for him, a pair of orderlies had been by the door and ran after him as well, grabbing an arm and pulling him into a tight hold. He struggled, stomping hard on the man's instep which prompted a sudden cry of pain and his release. But Al didn't get more than two or three more steps before the second orderly tackled him to the ground.
"Damnit, let me go! I don't belong here!!"
"I'm afraid you've just proven you most certainly do!" came the crisp reply, as the nurse called for assistance. Al fought desperately to throw the larger man off, but his weight and bulk proved to be more than able to hold him until he could be properly restrained.
First-Person Sample:
Well, they gave us these journals to use, I may as well use it for something. Today is the first day I remember being here in this facility, though I'm certain there's plenty I don't remember between Envy taking me and my winding up here, especially since I have my body back again. The nurses and staff here are telling me my name is Jonathan Flint, and that all my memories of Amestris are just a delusion.Which is stupid, but I may have to play alo
I hope I can get out of here soon, or that Ed will figure out where I am. If he can. I have no idea where this place is in relation to Amestris, but if I can escape and get hold of a map, I'll be able to figure something out. I hope.
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Timezone: Pacific
Personal LJ:
gryphcatE-Mail: decend.to.darkness@gmail.com
AIM/other: caitycatv32
Is English your primary language?: Yes.
---
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
Series' Medium: anime
Character: Alphonse Elric
Age: 15
Sex/Gender: Male
Canon Role: Shares the protagonist role with his brother, Edward Elric
"Real" Name: Jonathan Flint
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I've played Alphonse off and on for about...three years, I'd say.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?:
I've played in a few community-based games (microcosm_rp, i_s_l_a_n_d, dear_multiverse/sages_of_chaos), a few private IM RPs, and a long-running private community RP with several close friends.
Are you personally familiar with your character's canon?:
I'm very familiar with FMA; it's been one of my primary fandoms since 2006, and I've seen the series+movie through several times, including recently.
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
Alphonse Elric began life in a small village in Amestris called Risembul. He lived there with his older brother, Edward, and their mother, Trisha. Their father had left when Al was still very young, so he has few memories of the man. Still, the loss of him from the family affected everyone, leaving Edward resentful of the man and their mother devastated. When Trisha fell ill of a mysterious disease and soon passed away, the two brothers could not find it within themselves to cope. Their mother was their world, and they could not live without her. Edward, however, had a plan: to revive her with alchemy, the art of deconstructing and reconstructing matter through scientific understanding, an art that both boys had displayed a veritable genius at. Though Al had misgivings (human transmutation was the ultimate taboo and said to be dangerous) he went along with his brother's idea.
They studied toward this end, eventually seeking out a teacher when a talented alchemist happened to travel through their villiage. Izumi Curtis took them in after much argument and taught them not only alchemy, but martial arts as well. It was her belief that the body must train as well as the mind, and later in life this would serve the boys very well. After a year of tutelage, the boys returned home from Dublith to make their attempt. Much to their dismay, it was a horrible failure: the price of their mother's soul could not be balanced in the equation, and the rebound left both boys maimed. Ed lost his left leg, and Al his entire body.
When Al came to after the transmutation, he was not in his body, but bound to an ancient armor that had been stored in their father's lab. Ed had deperately retrieved his brother's soul from the other side, paying the toll of his right arm. Fleeing the lab and the ruin of a body their attempt had created, Alphonse went to the only people he knew could save his brother: the Rockbells, long-time friends of their family. Ed was saved, but a military man had happened to arrive to question the boys of their father's whereabouts. An alchemist himself, he recognized what had happened--and how skilled these children were to survive the attempt. Roy Mustang offered them a chance that Ed couldn't refuse, access to restricted research and a chance to restore their bodies in return for service to the military as State Alchemists. Ed demanded the Rockbells give him automail, mechanical replacements for his limbs, and a year later both brothers set out to Central City.
There they learned that to become State Alchemists they would have to pass an exam, and were placed in the care of a State Alchemist so they could study with his materials. It was there in Shou Tucker's house that they made a close friend of his daughter, Nina. Both brothers came to love her as a younger sister, often playing with her between bouts of studying. It was not long after Edward passed the exam a few months later (with flying colors) that tragedy struck. Shou transmuted Nina and the family dog into a chimera in a desperate bid to retain his State Alchemist qualification. Ed and Al were devastated, not only by Nina's fate, but by her violent death soon after they helped her escape from a life of experimentation in military labs. While Ed brooded and turned within himself, Al tried desperately to find something to push them both forward. He eventually heard about the legendary Philosopher's Stone, a catalyst that was said to turn the Law of Equivalent Exchange on it's head. After some time, he managed to pull Ed out of his misery and they set out in search of any clues about the Stone, with Mustang's approval.
For several years the boys scoured the country chasing after clues, but to little avail. It was not until they came across a doctor in hiding named Marcoh, who had made an imperfect version of the Stone, that they got their first real break. Marcoh had been in hiding after deserting from the military, though Roy knew where he was. That was how the brothers were able to find him; unfortunately General Grand, the man that had been in charge of Tucker and tried to take Nina into his custody after her transmutation, had followed them there and took both marcoh and the incomplete Stone he had with him. The boys followed him to try and free Marcoh, but arrived in time to see a scarred man literally shred the General's flesh with a single transmutation. Despite their shock, they managed to regain their senses in time to grab Marcoh and flee, with the help of Major Armstrong who had followed them on Roy's orders in case something like this happened. They made it to East City before Scar caught up with them again, and during that confrontation Scar not only shattered nearly half of Al's armor body, but also nearly killed Ed. Roy showed up in time to save the boys, but the damage was done--Ed's automail arm had been obliterated, and he was the only one that could repair Al's body.
As the boys had little other choice, they were escorted back to their hometown to get fixed up. While there, Al realized that his memories of childhood were spotty, not able to recognize many of the people living where he had grown up. Already shaken by nearly losing his brother, he was thrown even further off-balance by Edward saying there was something he wanted to ask Al about, but was too afraid to say. This little thought festered in the back of Al's mind when they headed to Central, following a secret note Marcoh had left them before being taken into the Fuhrer's custody. The boys worked feverishly, managing to get a copy of Marcoh's coded notes from his work on the Stone. But after weeks of intensive study, they realized why Marcoh had called this the Devil's work: to create a Stone takes the sacrifice of many human lives. Both Ed and Al fell into a fit of depression for some time before one of their guards (for Scar was still at large and rumored to be in Central himself) who had overheard the secret of the Stone admonished them for moping about and giving up after finding an answer they hated and couldn't use. From there they decided to investigate the labratory Marcoh likely worked at; the Fifth Central Labratory which was nominally closed due to structural integrity was the perfect location to carry out such secret experiments.
Ed and Al snuck out to infiltrate the lab, Edward heading inside while Al was forced to wait outside the main building, being too large to sneak in through the ventilation shafts. Unfortunately for him, one of the guards set to keep intruders off the premises, an 'executed' criminal by the name of Barry the Chopper, soon attacked him. During the fight both realized they were like the other--human souls bound to armored bodies. Barry sensed Al's internal torment over his memories and the secret thing his brother was afraid to tell him, and gleefully tore into him, questioning if there really had been a boy named Alphonse Elric--after all, where was his body to prove he had existed? During this fight Scar intervened, having followed the trail of the boys here. He broke into the facility for answers of his own, and when Barry fled Al felt he had little choice but to follow Scar and keep him from hurting his brother again. But not far into the facility they were attacked and separated by a pair of creatured calling themselves homunculii, artificial humans. Certainly they proved they were not normal, Lust with her sharp, extending fingers and Gluttony by eating Alphonse's armor down to nothing more than the torso and helmet. It was then that Al was used as a hostage against Edward, whom the homunculii wanted to create a Stone for them. Despite Al's pleas, Edward started the preparations, fixing the destroyed circle and letting the prisoners brought to be ingredients be herded within. However, Edward could not bring himself to do it. At that point Scar attacked the group, scattering the homunculii and prisoners just as the rescue group the Elric's guards had called up came in to retrieve the boys.
During Edward's recovery (for he had been just as badly injured as Alphonse), Barry's words to Al during their fight festered, finally culminating in Al accusing Edward of having created him from nothing and running off as soon as his body had been restored to normal. Al stumbled upon a small Ishbalan camp where Scar had taken refuge, and was allowed to stay with them. When the encampment was attacked and one of the children kidnapped by mercenaries posing as military, Al helped to track them down to rescue the boy. But to his surprise, Ed had tracked his little brother down and threw himself into the fight against the mercs. During the firefight, Ed finally admitted what he had been so scared to say before--that he was afraid that Al blamed him for being trapped in an armor body and hated him for it. Overcome with emotion, Al told his brother that he could never hate him for that, that they were both responsible for what happened that night. Their relationship healed and the mercenaries defeated, the brothers left the Ishballans and set out to the south.
Ed and Al were intercepted then by their old alchemy teacher, who had heard rumors of their travels--and that Edward had become a State Alchemist in direct revolt of her teachings. Furious but also concerned for how they had been, Izumi brought the boys back to her home in Dublith. When she got the whole story of what they had done after leaving her, she decreed that they would go through their first lesson she gave them, which was to survive on an island for one month with no tools but a knife, and absolutely no alchemy. While there, the boys not only were given time to process all they had gone through lately and forced to really think before doing anything else, but also discovered a mysterious boy that had been shadowing them the entire month on the island. Izumi took the boy in when she came back to fetch them, oddly protective and not letting Ed or Al near him. Frustrated and curious about the boy's mysterious use of alchemy, Ed and Al snuck into his room and confronted him. They discovered that his right arm and left leg were different, as if they didn't belong to him. Al was the one to realize that this child had somehow gotten the arm and leg Ed had sacrificed to the Gate, finding proof in a scar on the shoulder that Edward had gotten in his youth from a fox bite. The boy panicked and fled, forcing Ed and Al to chase after him.
Before they could bring the boy home, however, he was captured by Frank Archer for the military. He had a marking that was also borne on the homunculii, proving that he had some form of connection to them. Both Ed and Izumi stormed the Southern Headquarters to rescue him, but the brothers were sperated from Izumi during the raid. They tracked her down again on the island to find her struggling to make herself kill the boy. It was there they learned that the boy was a homunculus himself, the product of Izumi's failed transmutation to revive her stillborn son. Wrath, as the boy now called himself, had been sent by Izumi back to the Gate when she saw his initial, misshapen form--this was how he had been able to take Ed's limbs and perform alchemy. Furious at this boy attempting to kill Ed and take the rest of his body, and kill Izumi as well, Al lauched a furious attack on Wrath that was only stopped by Izumi cracking the land under them in half, allowing Wrath to escape.
Following this, the boys and Izumi went back to her home. There she dismissed Ed and Al as her students, allowing them to continue forward as equals. She suggested they go and speak with her old teacher for further clues on their search, a woman named Dante who lived in a large mansion outside the city. during that visit, they were attacked by another homunculus by the name of Greed, who kidnapped Al with the help of perfected human-animal chimera. Once back in Greed's club-cum-stronghold, the Devil's Nest, he revealed that he actually had broken ties with the other homunculii and only wanted Al for the secret of his soul-bound armor. Homunculii were not as immortal as they seemed to be, despite their amazing regenerative capabilities, and Greed was seeking true immortality. Ed and Izumi broke in to rescue Al, and were fighting Greed when the military also began their own raid. Greed and a few of his chimera managed to escape with Al, but Greed broke off from the group when they passed again near Dante's estate. When the chimera realized that some of the other homunculii were tailing them, they requested that Al take one of their number with him and flee while the other two held the line. Al agreed to do so, not wanting to see any more death, and ran away with Martel. The pair of them waited until the next dawn, and when neither Greed nor Dorchette and Roa returned, she left Al and wandered off. Al went to Dante's estate, finding Ed there. He found out that Greed had come that night and murdered Dante, and when Ed had found him with the corpse he attacked and killed the homunculus. As Greed was dying, he told Ed the reason he had died from the wound Ed inflicted--the presence of his original remains, and a special circle that had been etched into the floor of the manse.
From there the boys went further south, hoping to find and Ishballan encampment to see if they knew another way to make the Stone. When they arrived they found Roy's unit there, having come to investigate about Scar's potential whereabouts. They speak with an exile of the Ishballans, who had been kept in special custody while the rest of the encampment was moved to an official camp, only to find out that the 'forbidden art' of the Ishballans only differs in the amount of people sacrificed to create a Stone. From there they head to the territory once held by Ishbal, hoping to find more clues there. On the way they run into Martel, who is looking for revenge on the former State Alchemist that ratted their group out to the military. She tells the boys about the real cause of the war in Ishbal, that the military had sent in a covert ops unit to attack one of their temples, claiming they were planning rebellion. This, and not the story of a child being shot on accident, was what caused the war. The boys realize that the homunculii may have some connection in the military, and that the many wars fought may be a ploy to drive those who are desperate to create a Stone.
When Ed and Al arrive in the Ishbal area and begin searching, they run into Roy's unit once again; this time they are in the area to try and stop a serious revolt in a town called Liore--a town that less than a year ago the boys had overtrown a false priest that had been turning the citizens into religious fanatics. They were shocked and dismayed at this turn of events, and while Al waited behind with Martel (whom he was hiding and protecting), Ed snuck into the city to investigate for the military. However, Martel made a startling discovery that the Fuhrer, King Bradley, was actually one of the homunculii. She died bringing this news back to Al, killed while hiding inside his armor by Bradley himself. After this devastating news Al was sent to try and find Ed inside the city by Roy, who had sent a letter telling of Scar's plan to lure the military into the city once the civilians fled and then sacrifice the soldiers to make the Stone. Once in the city, however, Al is attacked by the man who had betrayed Martel and Greed, Solf J. Kimbley. Scar intervened to try and save Al, but during the fight Al's armor is transmuted into a slowly-ticking timebomb. Knowing no other way to save him, Scar transfers the proto-Stone within his arm to Al, then completes the circle and turns Al into the Stone as the soldiers begin to storm the city.
Ed finds Al afterward, and realizing what has happened they both decide to flee. Heading to the relative safety of Risembul, Roy's unit chases after them on orders of the Fuhrer. When Roy catches up to and confronts them, he says he didn't come because of his orders, but because he wanted to help the boys and was furious they had fled instead of asking for his help. They exchange information, and Roy promises to throw the military off the Elric's tracks. When the boys get to Risembul, they discover that their father has returned after years of wandering. Ed rejects having anything to do with Hohenheim, but Al decides to talk with him, since he has to few memories of the man. After Roy and his group have left, Al receives a call from Shou Tucker, who had been in the Fifth Lab but escaped. He offers to teach Al how to use the Stone, in return for the use of a portion of it. Since Al had been arguing with his brother over finding a way to use the Stone, he agreed. He leaves without telling Ed, but the homunculii wind up springing a trap on him and Tucker. Sloth, the homunculus of Ed and Al's mother, attacks them alongside Wrath. Ed shows up and together the boys manage to kill Sloth, at much emotional cost to both of them. Unfortunately, Envy arrives then and kidnaps Al, taking him to the homunculii's true master.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
Al is coming from near the end of the series, when he is brought to the sunken city underneath Central. Al is going to be very confused about the sudden change of location and his body, and highly suspicious of most people. He also is going to be more protective/needing of his brother than normal.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Overall Al is a very kind and gentle young man, courteous to a fault and eager to help where he can. That isn't to say he is a pushover, however, as he is more than capable of standing up for himself--it's only that his much shorter-tempered brother usually pipes up before he feels a need to. Alphonse is patient and caring, giving the benefit of the doubt to just about anyone before passing judgement. When his ire is roused, however, he becomes a nearly unstoppable force of swift and decisive action. He tends to try and act as protector where he can, shepherding civilians caught in the crossfire of the Elric's actions. Because of his demeanor and attitude, he tends to act as the 'good cop' when the brothers are working, so to speak, approaching those whom Edward has driven off or would wind up in a fight with when information is needed. He doesn't begrudge his brother for having to act as his keeper so often, as he knows it is only that Ed tends to burn hot and bright as opposed to Alphonse's slow flame. That's not to say that Al doesn't have a mischeivous streak, but when placed alongside his brother such attributes tend to be outshined--which Al has no compunctions about taking advantage of.
Al can also be quite lonely, however, as living for five years in a suit of armor has taken it's toll. Much as he tries, his body tends to attract odd glances and wariness, which is likely why he presents such a gentle persona when the brothers travel. He is eager to make friends wherever he can, and tries to leave those he comes into contact with something in return for their kindness--a little physical help, or maybe solving an emotional probelm they've been grappling with. For him any social bond is something to be cherished and held close, especially the ties of family. Al has a strong sense of justice as well, and eagerly works with Ed to right what wrongs they can (though usually credit goes to the elder brother).
So much of Alphonse is tied up in his older brother that one sould say they share a soul--the pair possess a bond that has only been strengthened by the trials they've endured. Al would do anything for his brother, and is simultaneously baffled and understanding of Ed's similar feelings towards him. They both depend on each other for so much emotional support that any danger to Ed would easily send Al into a rage (as was very aptly demonstrated when Wrath tried to steal Ed's body--had Izumi not intervened, Al would have killed Wrath or died trying). This echoes down to Al's close friends and adopted family, such as the Rockbells and Roy and his unit. He takes the happiness of those dear to him very seriously, because he knows all too well the despair of feeling like you've lost everything.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Al is tall for his age, 5'7" with blonde hair and bronze-colored eyes (he inherited more of his mother's genes than Ed did). He has a strong, muscular physique, and tends to keep his hair cropped short.
What kinds of otherworldly abilities does your character have, if any?:
Alchemy. Alphonse and his brother are both high-powered alchemists, and geniuses in their own right. Having seen the Gate, they have a more innate understanding of the chemistry and formulas used in alchemy, and can perform alchemy without the use of a transmutation circle. It could also be inferred from canon that seeing the Gate confers the ability to see/sense the chemical structure of something he is in contact with, considering the wide array of unfamiliar substances that Edward (and later Al) transmute with ease, despite the knowledge of the base elements being a very necessary requirement for a transmutation.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
Alphonse's alchemical 'stamina' would be greatly reduced, being limited to perhaps ten small-mass transmutations per night (assuming he does not do every one consecutively), things like fusing a lock open or shut or changing a metal spoon into a small knife. Slightly larger transmutations, like creating a club or a 1-foot wide hole in a wall, would be limited to three per night. Attempting anything larger, even in conjunction with his brother, would result in his strength being completely sapped for the rest of the night.
EDIT: Alchemy uses take up eight slots. Small things use one, larger things take more, depending on what he's attempting. Small swords would take 2-3, something like a spear most to all slots.
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
As stated earlier both Ed and Al are child prodigies, and as such highly intelligent. They also went under physical training under their teacher, and excel at hand-to-hand combat. Their strength and speed do not exceed human capabilities, though I would imagine they come close to the limitations.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
I see Alphonse as being very wary and cautious of nearly everyone at first, especially the staff. Given his most recent memories are of being kidnapped for his Stone to be used for unknown purposes, this is fairly justified. He'd be resistant to the staff and not take much of anything at face value, which would make meeting anyone he knew or who claimed to know him (excepting Edward) very complicated indeed. For his canonmates, Scar might well shake his composure and make him think he may truly have gone mad, since last he saw he was as good as dead. Lust he would be wary of, as he is still unsure quite where her loyalties lie (and isn't sure he's ready to forgive what he was threatened with in the past.) However, after a while he would begin to treat them as allies given the situation he's stuck in. Those that knew him from previous appings Al would initially be wary of and possibly suspect as being part of Landel's facade, but eventually he may warm up to them depending on their encounters and how both sides react.
Once settled Al will go into information gathering mode, ferreting out any information he can find about why he and the other 'patients' were taken here. During nightshifts he'll probably try and either act as a protector to those wandering who aren't strong fighters or join with groups exploring the facility or town. During dayshift, he'll play nice with the staff in order to win what freedoms he can and possibly gather a bit more info that way (and be able to act as mediator to his brother's inevitable outbursts). He also will be coping with regaining his body, and building up his strength back to a fighting trim. While he certainly will be unnerved by his situation and surroundings, Al is more than capable of steeling himself and coping with all the oddities so long as he has the support of his brother.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Alphonse has seen many horrors in his young life. While the things he sees will definitely shake him, he can push past it to defend himself and others, so long as he has the emotional support of his brother.
Third-Person Sample:
Al woke up. That in itself was odd, as his armor body was incapable of sleep, even if he had learned to mimic it to make others comfortable. He spent several long minutes processing the fact that he could feel the clothes on his body--his BODY!--and smell the faint scents that lingered around the clean room. Though it didn't overload him, it was still a heady thing to experience after years and years of not being able to feel anything at all. Finally he managed to bring himself to get out of the bed and look at his surroundings.
It looked much like the hospital rooms his brother had frequented, appointed with a bare minimum of furnishings. His clothes certainly left something to be desired, but in the closet he found a pair of shoes that he quickly set to lacing on (clumsily, much to his chagrin). He hadn't gotten much further than the second shoe when the door to the room was opened by one of the nurses. "Oh, you're already up, I see! You need to change into your slippers for today, though, dear."
Al whirled around, staring at the woman there. "Wha--who are you? Where am I, why do I have my body again?"
The nurse smiled pityingly at him. "You're at Landel's Institute, Jonathan. I'm afraid you've gotten a little mixed up about a few things, and you've been placed here while our doctors help you sort things out. Now change into the slippers for today, and we can go get you some breakfast, how's that sound?"
"...that's not my name." The more Al realized about his situation, the more sinister it became. "And you can't tell me where I'm going to go!"
"Jonathan, you're not going anywhere right now except the cafeteria, and--" The nurse didn't get the chance to say anything else before Alphonse bolted for the door still hanging open, dashing down the hall as fast as he could go. Unfortunately for him, a pair of orderlies had been by the door and ran after him as well, grabbing an arm and pulling him into a tight hold. He struggled, stomping hard on the man's instep which prompted a sudden cry of pain and his release. But Al didn't get more than two or three more steps before the second orderly tackled him to the ground.
"Damnit, let me go! I don't belong here!!"
"I'm afraid you've just proven you most certainly do!" came the crisp reply, as the nurse called for assistance. Al fought desperately to throw the larger man off, but his weight and bulk proved to be more than able to hold him until he could be properly restrained.
First-Person Sample:
Well, they gave us these journals to use, I may as well use it for something. Today is the first day I remember being here in this facility, though I'm certain there's plenty I don't remember between Envy taking me and my winding up here, especially since I have my body back again. The nurses and staff here are telling me my name is Jonathan Flint, and that all my memories of Amestris are just a delusion.
I hope I can get out of here soon, or that Ed will figure out where I am. If he can. I have no idea where this place is in relation to Amestris, but if I can escape and get hold of a map, I'll be able to figure something out. I hope.