#fmsa

So thinking more on this premise, I have a few new thoughts to throw on the pile.

First, Arthur and Lance still run a mechanic's shop. It's either both cars and automail, or more likely entirely cars and other machines, and Arthur's been tinkering with and learning how to make and work with automail on the side with Lance's support. (He started young, when an older neighbor with a prosthetic foot hobbled into the shop asking if they could maybe take a look, since they work with machines and that's all automail really is when you think about it, isn't it? they don't want to bother the local mech if it's just some loose wires, you know? and then it just kinda spiraled from there.) He and Lewis have been good friends with Vivi since she moved to town in their mid teens. She's nearly an alchemist prodigy, having become almost fully trained when she hit 18. (She was taught by her grandmother) Gonna say Duet is def a mentor for her, on top of working part time in their bookshop in return for being able to access some pieces of their personal collection.

While neither of the boys is planning on becoming an alchemist, Arthur loves to learn new things, and likes to flip through the books at Vivi's apartment. Vivi sees how quick he picks things up and tries to push him into pursuing it and getting an apprenticeship so they can be alchemist buddies! He doesn't feel compelled, but she still tries to convince him by giving him books on the foundations and theory, trying to spark his interest. After the first year she finally accepts he's not gonna cave (even though he'd be totally good at it, she swears!), but it's just become a running thing in their friendship so eventually Artie has a pretty decent grasp. He's never actually practiced any of it before (that's dangerous and best left up to the professionals, thank you very much), but he's got a decent grasp of formulas and constructing circles and all that jazz.

That is, until “The Incident”...

Once an official fully fledged alchemist (tbh I don't feel the story should be involved much at all with the military or a war, unlike with FMA) Vivi goes off traveling a lot to help places with "supernatural" problems, or just plain investigating stories of the unknown. She takes her dog Mystery with her, and is gone longer and longer pieces of time.

(Before continuing, going into thoughts about Mystery for a moment. It's possible he's somehow a successful dog-human chimera that, I dunno, her grandfather or another family member created somehow. More likely though I'm gonna go with him as secretly a creature not unlike the sins in the anime, as it matches his character more, allowing his intelligence, lifespan, and transformation ability. He's not evil though (or at least not anymore). It might tie him to Shiromori if I include her in the canon of the AU, and possibly even to ???? as well? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.)

While an important event of course, I don't actually feel that the setup to The Incident itself needs much detail or time given to it in the plot, but instead focusing on the aftermath, if that makes any sense? Kinda? Like Lewis and Arthur are alone and there's an accident, probably a collapse of some sort, trapping them in a small hole of rubble. Lewis is fatally wounded, and Arthur desperately attempts some type of alchemy he scrambles together in order to heal him, using their blood to draw it. It doesn't work, or at least not how he intends, and he loses his arm for the trouble. But he does manage, just before passing out from blood loss, to make a seal inside of the large golden heart. It ties Lewis's soul to the object Vivi had given him on their first anniversary.

Arthur is miraculously dug out and rescued before he dies of blood loss, and the debris and continued pouring of blood from both bodies conceal any evidence of the act. It's easily assumed the blond lost his arm to the wreck just as Lewis's body was ripped apart, and not immediately finding the severed limb isn’t even noticed with all the rubble covering them and when the young man is literally bleeding out right there.*

*It might even be, in fact, the limb was lost in the collapse, but not being familiar with the lore that much I don't know if soul binding is possible without a sacrifice of such proportion.

Arthur finally wakes four days later in a hospital,delirious and calling out for Lewis, crying out about a heart the other half of the time. As he finally regains himself the next few days and is told Lewis is gone, he still obsesses over finding a “heart” as if it’s the most important thing in the world to him, even more than losing his best friend or his arm. Eventually, as gossip spreads faster than wildfire in the town, one of the rescuers connects it to the gold necklace he had found when they had hauled the bodies out of the rubble. He had collected it with the other personal items the group found, and while cleaning it to give to Vivi upon her return notices it has a small hinge on the side...

[end part 1: my notes for the rest of the AU follow below]

for those days Lew is alone and angry in the locket, doesn't know anything, furious bc all he remembers is something about arthur and pain and now cold dark nothingness

he doesnt know how to communicate yet so the guy isnt any the wiser

when Art gets new arm, has hidden compartment in upper arm for heart, woven into the wiring so no one can take it out without massive damage and/or alchemy even if they know it’s there, since it’s part of him and in constant contact lew can possess him and also is super protected too

go with vivi traveling around secretly trying to find way to help Lew get his body back

Arthur does NOT become an alchemist, does not use alchemy except in super extreme cases and no one even knows he can do it at all.

turns ot3 after convoluted mess of art insisting Lew possess him to be with vi, vivi's growing crush on art getting all confused feelings bc affectionate face and loving but not the actual person and art too guilty to let himself admit he likes her and lew is messed up bc he likes art but also resentment and grateful and concerned and GAAH and hard to hide feelings from each other, and giant clusterfuck of feelings on all sides. mystery in background with saki cup all exasperated “kids these days”

dunno about whole town but lance and lew's family and duet at least all know about Lewis and Arthur and possession even if not actual details on why or how it happened (Duet extrapolates and Has A Concern but everyone else...?)