[ text | un: jkent ]

[supersweet]

One of the things people don't do often is talk about the good things they've done or have right now. Sometimes being away from home is hard, so sharing helps!

So what's one good thing in your life right now? Yesterday, I got a cat out of a tree! It wasn't very happy but the owner thanked me a lot.

Comments

[video | un: edward.elric]

[alchemyfreak]

My brother's here.

[Straight forward and to the point. This is basically all Ed cares about.]

[ voice message | un: jkent ]

[supersweet]

[ Jon switches to be polite. ]

That's good, right? You don't sound all that happy?

[video]

[alchemyfreak]

You did ask for a good thing, didn't you?

[He laughs at that.]

We haven't seen each other in a few years... It's very good.

[supersweet]

Okay, cool.

I've never had any siblings so I don't know what it's like.

[alchemyfreak]

He's my best friend.

[It's more than that, but Ed's not about to get to into the whole "we're all each other have" conversation with someone that sounds like an actual child so. He's still grinning as he talks though.]

It's not like that for everyone, but- we're close.

[Willing to die for each other close.]

[supersweet]

I bet you do everything together. Play games, hang out, share stuff . . .

[ He trails off. Jon can't help it but he's a little envious. ]

[alchemyfreak]

[Nearly dying trying to bring back their dead mother, yeah all that fun stuff.

Ed actually pauses, because again he's trying to keep this positive. The smile wavers momentarily, but he's quick to get it back in place, remembering how things were back home.]

Ah... When we were kids, sure. Now it's more like- take out bad guys and help protect people together, I guess.

[supersweet]

Bad guys?

So you're . . . a superhero?

[ Aren't you a little short. ]

[alchemyfreak]

[WOW RUDE.]

Not really.

[He's still not sure he buys into that superhero thing, tbh.]

I worked for the military back home, we're on the Perimeter Guard here.

[supersweet]

[ His brow furrows. ]

No offense, but you seem kind of young for the military.

[alchemyfreak]

Then you'll be even more surprised to learn I haven't been in the military for five years, now.

[HONESTLY, SO JUDGMENTAL. How young does this kid think he is, anyway? It was almost a relief in comparison to the others trying to get him to drink as soon as they find out he's actually 21... And normally kids assume he's an adult, especially ones so much younger than him.]

I passed the exam when I was 12, that's probably close to your age by the sound of things.

[supersweet]

Sorry.

[ It still sounds weird to Jon. ]

I've just never heard of anything like that. Even if you're super smart, they usually have tough physical and age requirements? Unless it's some kind of special branch.

[alchemyfreak]

I passed the physical requirements, but it was a special branch. I'm an alchemist, we have to pass a written exam to get in, and show our skills. Only one or two get accepted every year, it's not exactly a cake walk.

Everyone else was an adult. My brother couldn't pass the physical exam, so he didn't join... but he still stayed with me the whole time.

[He's used to be people being fairly unimpressed with the notion of alchemy in these worlds, so he breezes over that detail as if talking about the weather. Enough negative reactions made one stop boasting about a certain aspect when it was rarely well received or impressive anymore.]

[supersweet]

What's an alchemist?

[ Jon is ten, he only knows so many words. ]

[alchemyfreak]

Someone who performs alchemy.

[So helpful.]

Alchemy is a science, it's kind of hard to sum up quickly but- we deconstruct and reconstruct matter into something else. As long as you have all the components... It just needs to be an even trade.

[Pause.]

My brother made a demonstration fixing a broken lamp. He could only do that because he had all of the pieces though, he couldn't turn it into something else, like... metal or wood.

[Explaining this wasn't usually so hard but he's a child and from another world, so Ed's not sure how much of it would even make sense.]

[supersweet]

Oh, neat. Matter reconstruction.

[ Kelex in the Fortress of Solitude can usually muster up something like that. ]

It's cool that you can do that without a machine.

[alchemyfreak]

[Someone that actually understands the concept? He might be visibly surprised.]

Yup. Al uses circles, but I don't need those anymore... Which is probably how I got into the military over all the adults taking the same exam.

[There was more to it than that, but details.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon may not be as smart as many people here, but he isn't that bad either. He's made his own drone and can fiddle with technology decently enough. ]

So you can fix anything? Is the amount of mass the only thing that matters for the even trade?

[alchemyfreak]

Well. The technology here is a little more advanced than we're used to, so we can't fix anything-

[He can't fix his own arm, but the kid doesn't know about that so he needs a better example.]

Usually, as long as it's an inanimate object, we can fix or make pretty much anything.

[There's some energy involved too, but he's not going to get into all of that, at least not now. If the kid comes up with more questions later, maybe.]

Some people are more versed in biology, or botany- but we don't work with that stuff.

[Or talk about it, really. It's nightmare fuel.]

[supersweet]

Oh, well, that's still pretty cool.

[ Jon is easy and he rarely questions much. ]

I bet you get to help a lot of people that way.

[alchemyfreak]

Sure do.

That's why I like being on the Guard. Helping people is kind of a big deal for alchemists.

[Okay, definitely not all of them, but it's supposed to be. Alchemist Be Thou For the People and all that.]

There's a lot more we can do here than we could at home, too.

[supersweet]

Yeah. I'm on the Cadet program but I haven't done much yet.

[ Mostly because Jon can't show off his abilities. ]

[alchemyfreak]

[Well, this kid was definitely young. Al was on the Guard proper, and he didn't know if they went by the age he said he was, but they're both painfully aware that he looks 13 despite the fact that he shouldn't.]

My brother and I do a little bit of everything, but we're mostly on Salvage and Repair. I'm used to Freelance myself, so it has ... been an adjustment.

How long do they keep you on Cadets, do you know?

[supersweet]

Probably until I'm older? It's not super clear.

[ Jon is only ten. Even if he's the strongest ten year old there is. ]

[alchemyfreak]

Ah.. I meant- do you know how old you have to be?

[He's guessing no, based on that response.]

Nevermind... You on your own here?

[Ed developed a habit of watching after kids with no one else in Purg, so asking is second nature at this point. This place seemed more inclined to bringing families back together than splitting them up though, it was new.]