MoveForward

notes:

A. in projective geometry, two parallel lines intersect at the line at infinity (also called the 'ideal line') - ha, ha

B. I borrowed the premise of this story from my favorite live-action series, Babylon Berlin

C. this was very fun to write and I look forward to sharing the story!

D. the timespan of the images in this preview post is somewhat wide; I hope you'll accept this!

image text - story excerpts:

1. Alfons’s dream is to design a machine that will travel into space. For now—good luck, he wishes, as he drops the envelopes into the post box and then taps the brim of his cap in greeting [...] —he hopes that one of these will make its way back to him with positive news.

2. For years, Edward had been in constant motion—they had, he and Al. It’s hard not to slip into a strange inertia without him. [ … ] He sighs and stands, with a creak from Hohenheim’s prototype limbs. The dexterity is awful; it’s no Rockbell work. Alchemists should stick to alchemy, mechanics to mechanics; each to their respective craft.

Then again, even Edward is trying to dabble outside of his usual sciences. Einstein, Oberth, he’ll see who’ll come out for the better—and come out on the other side.

3. [ Edward ] drops inelegantly onto the bed, only to bolt upright, with a hiss of pain, twisting around to find whatever jabbed sharply and unexpectedly into his back.

A book?

Hardcover, looking like it’s traveled its fair share: a collection of fictional stories. Edward leafs through the pages, unimpressed and irritatedly rubbing at the sore spot that H.G. Wells—evidently—dug into his spine with its own. [ … ] Edward’s eyes are drawn to a particular passage, underlined in careful pencil:

‘Face this world. Learn its ways, watch it, be careful of too hasty guesses at its meaning. In the end you will find clues to it all.’

4. Fairy tales? But then Alfons looks further: red, yellow, blue script in Latin that confounds his schoolboy proficiency, save for some—Sulphur, Aqua—inscribed above kettle-shaped glass flasks, which house small colorful spheres or even smaller humanoid figures. He flips the page. A translation in English, which he scans until:

‘Convert the natures of the Elements and thou shalt find what thou seekest.’

He snaps the book shut. Who is the person occupying this same space during the daytime? Is it a historian who sleeps in his bed? Perhaps an artist, a novelist? An occultist? Or a Time Traveler, Alfons chuckles, somewhat sheepish at the absurdity of that last supposition. Think more rationally, like a scientist or an engineer.

image description and sources - visuals:

1. Postcard of Munich, Germany, from 1907, showing the Frauenkirche and Rathaus and the skyline (source)

2. "Flying Machines" excerpt from the English translation of "The Pocket Book of Aeronautics, Hermann Willhelm Ludwig Moedebeck, 1907 (source)

3. A photograph of a prosthetic leg from the 1920s (source)

4. The title page of "The Time Machine," H.G. Wells, first edition (source)

5. Alchemical diagram of a flask containing black liquid and colored spheres; the text is Donum Dei, an Austrian or German alchemical text (image source) & (text source)

so here's the scoop:

after the Big Fight, alfons' bullet wound was bad but not fatal. he passed out but made it to the hospital on time, where he was diagnosed with Vague Lung Disease as well as "you have a bullet in yer stomach syndrome" and, after being admitted from the hospital, was basically told to give rockets a rest for awhile and see how it progresses. ed starts to have an Idea

ed and al talk a bit and decide that if they work on it they can probably find a way to open the Gate temporarily, like a controlled personal portal. they start working on the theoretical alchemy for it pretty much immediately

alphonse and alfons don't immediately like each other. alfons is still reeling from the reveal of another world, and he feels betrayed from the fact that ed was most likely drawn to him because he looked like his brother. he's still bitter from ed's inability to see him as his own person, and alphonse is equally upset to find out ed essentially tried to "replace" him, even if it was on a subconscious level.

however, as alphonse and alfons hang out more, alfons comes to realize that it really wasn't alphonse's fault, and alphonse realizes the same vice versa. they bond over having to deal with ed's shitty habits and emotional constipation, and form a tentative friendship. the friendship develops more as alphonse becomes fascinated by the concept of astronomy and rockets, and alfons, still on Rocket Hiatus because of his shit lungs, teaches alphonse a lot about the basics of rocket science. they form an almost sibling-like kind of friendship eventually, recognizing that each of them is very different in the ways that matter, yet still mutually interested in the odd similarities.

speaking of alphonse: the boy is Going Thru It. he basically mentally aged five years (with a huge extra dose of trauma) overnight after crossing the Gate, and has a lot of confusion to deal with from the sudden onslaught of memories. during this hectic adjustment period, it's not uncommon for ed or alfons to find alphonse sitting up at night in the corner, mindlessly reading because he feels like he can't sleep, or having intense sensory overloads when everything Feels Too Much.

through all of this craziness, noah is just like, "well, the apartment was already going to shit, what's one more roommate?"

one day, ed is out at the market buying produce or something, when someone taps him on the shoulder. he turns around and is promptly sucker-punched in the face by a very pissed blond guy claiming "YOU ALMOST GOT ME KILLED YOU MORON". surprise! it's london ed, and he survived, and he's not happy about this weird fuckin stranger who temporarily possessed him a while back.

"london ed" is edward locke. on most days he's actually fairly reserved, a bit of a loner, and has a job as the local university's youngest physics professor. he's not nearly as volatile as ed, but when he's angry, you definitely might get a fist in your face.

the eds actually hit it off pretty well, once the whole "sorry i accidentally possessed and gravely injured you" thing gets out of the way. edward locke remembers hohenheim's Exposition Speech on the way the Gate works from when ed was possessing his body, so he knows the basics, but he started searching for ed anyway once he got a lead that his doppelganger was back. being a scientist at heart, locke is intrigued by the idea of a parallel universe, and quickly becomes fascinated by ed's new alchemy project. he decides, fuck it, this is way too interesting, and joins what is now the Make A Portal Squad, alongside ed, alphonse, and (begrudgingly) alfons.

alfons is involved because he does think it's interesting, even if he has some personal conflict with ed still going on, and he still cares deeply about ed and wants to see him find a way to get home. eventually, the personal conflict resolves itself as everyone lives together and ed finally starts to see alfons as his own person with his own life. the differences become pretty apparent with both "als" living in the same house, and now that ed's not a mess of depression and reality crises, he comes to appreciate both his brother and his friend for the separate but equally important people they are. meanwhile edward locke is just along for the ride, and noah is just like "ok weirdos you do your funky science thing"

idk about the rest of this AU i just thought it'd be funny if all four of these weirdos were working on the same project together. enjoy the chaos