automailed | [Video / Action]

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[Video / Action]

[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...]

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[There's some nosy people around here, aren't they? Edward responds with a disapproving expression, then shrugs.]

It didn't happen here, I've had it for years.

[Dude. Not what he was asking about.]

Rocket arm and all?

...That's new. [Which... is definitely why he can't control it at all.]

[He looks at the other guy's poor arm, still dripping water.]

I hope it's still functional.

I think... well, it should be okay, as long as she didn't change much. It's been in water before.

[It's just that drying it off is a pain in the ass. Which is made obvious because he's kind of struggling with it.]

Maybe whatever caused it to launch like that in the first place was damaged. [Hopefully. Because a possibly-damaged metal arm rocketing off somewhere would really suck.] Who made the changes for you?

Winry, if you know her. She's my mechanic. [Any complaints can be filed in her direction!]

Oh, Winry. Yeah, I know her. She's-- [my friend/boss' girlfriend] --a friend. I knew Al better, though.

[Smart move, Leon.]

You know Al? The one who was here before?

Yeah. He was a long-time member of the Brigade, like me. [Except he kinda took a leave of absence. Or two.

His question is hesitant.] ...Are you Ed?

Yeah, that's me. Al's my brother. [He pauses though, and then adds-] I hear that Al was different from the one I know, though.

I'd heard of you a little, from Al. Never got to meet you, though. [Ed tended to ... pop in and out of Luceti, as far as he knew.] What do you mean 'different'?

[Oh geez. He knew the basics but the concept of alternate realities still weirds him out.]

There's some... different version of my world out there, or so I've heard. Different me, different Al, and different histories. The Al who was here before wasn't really my brother, but... the brother of some other 'me'.

[And then, because that sounds ridiculous-]

...It's weird, I don't really get it.

[...Ah.] I get it. I didn't really hear much about what was going on in Al's world, but there's been other people from ... alternate versions of the same kind of world.

[Well, at least he's understanding about it. Though hearing about more alternate realities somehow just makes it worse.]

So you're- in that Brigade of Haruhi's? What's your name?

Leon D.S. Geeste. I guess you can call me their resident scientist. [Although he couldn't really call himself a doctor or anything. Yet.]

[Mouthful name. Well at least Leon is easy to remember. And a fellow scientist! Colour him interested.]

What kind of science?

A little bit of everything, but my main focus is on Heraldry -- or Symbology, as I've also heard it called. [But that wouldn't mean anything to Ed, would it?] It's kinda similar to alchemy in that there's a symbol component, but the symbols are completely different. [And that doesn't even touch upon how different the outputs were for their different kinds of alchemy.]

That's from your world, then? What kind of things can you do with Symbology?

[Man, this is like learning about alkahestry. So much he doesn't know!]

[He's always happy to talk about his world.] Yeah, it's known to be on a few planets. It's basically the manipulation of the elements to create a specific effect -- like form ice or a fireball. Some people would just peg it as "magic" because the effects aren't widely understood.

Manipulation... so you can't just create it out of nothing, then? It's like Equivalent Exchange?

[A magic that respects science? If it's true, this is something he can get behind!]

Effectively, yes. It doesn't matter how many crests you form or how complex the balance of elements is -- if you don't have the necessary energy, nothing will happen. But like I said, it's still not completely understood; we don't know the range from which elements are manipulated, or where some people find the energy to trigger more powerful crests. [...Like the Ten Wise Men and the Crest of Annihilation.]

[~~But it all makes sense after the grand reveal in Star Ocean 3. Sob.~~]

Yeah, that definitely sounds like alchemy. Though with alchemy, it's not energy that's limited, but the material you've got to work with. [Fascinating stuff, though.] Is it something anyone can learn, or do you need natural talent?

It's said that anyone can tap into the power of Heraldry at some level, which is why some people can create elaborate special attacks. But for the big, effective "magic spells," you need to have a natural talent. And the tattoos.

Tattoos? What, like the transmutation circles? A lot of alchemists end up getting theirs tattooed because it's more convenient to have it on hand all the time.

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