1. [Action]

[rewritethis]

[Here's a short blond kid wandering rather stiffly around campus, pestering anyone who looks even slightly engineering-minded:]

Uh, 'scuse me. You know if there're any mechanics around here? Or if you are one, could you do me a favour? I'm not - well, I guess I am low on money now... but I'll work something out.

[Because if there's one thing more annoying than being unexpectedly and unwillingly propelled to a parallel world, it's being unexpectedly propelled to a parallel world where your arm won't stay on properly. Ed can in fact speak from experience since both have happened to him in the past day or so, and he's really pissed off about it. More than usual, even.

He mentally takes stock yet again, in the hope that his situation will make a little more sense the fifth or sixth time through. So... he woke up, definitely not dead. That's a bad start. And then he went and enrolled in the first group he bumped into that remotely resembled a military, which just goes to show he hasn't learned anything. Shortly after that, after they left him to his own devices for the rest of the day, was when his arm fell off. What was it doing here in the first place, anyway? And his leg? He supposes it's better than not having them at all, but...

Nope, no more sense. Oh well. Maybe if he walks around long enough and bugs enough people, someone will take pity on him. And it serves the additional purpose of familiarising himself with these new surroundings, he tells himself, because he hates feeling as useless as this.]

Comments

[timetours]

Sorry, can't say I've met any mechanics yet. Would a doctor do?

[rewritethis]

A doctor? What kind of doctor? [He doubts it, but it doesn't hurt to ask.] Uh, I mean - well, my arm fell off. If you could put it back on, I'd owe you.

[timetours]

Doctor of, well, kind of everything. Almost. Something like that. But right! Arm...

...what do you mean, it fell off? Are you a robot?

[No. No, not a robot. If he is, it's a scarily convincing one.]

[rewritethis]

Of everything? Sounds kind of phoney to me. [Wait, no, Ed needs to play nice if this guy can help him out. Though he's sceptical.

And now it's his turn to be confused.] What do you mean by robot? It's just automail. [He proffers his detached right arm by way of demonstration.]

[timetours]

Ohhh...

[That's a very fascinated elongated "oh" there. Automail, is it? Well, artificial limbs aren't exactly foreign territory to the Doctor, but this... well, it was very mechanical, wasn't it? All oil and steel and...

The Doctor whips out his specs, and proceeds to examine the arm with the Sonic Screwdriver, not saying anything else just yet.]

[rewritethis]

[Ed is rather nonplussed at the attention, and slightly annoyed by the... the sound that the pen-like object is making.] What're you doing?

[timetours]

Having a look at its internal structure.

[bot_builder]

I guess I am... Why?

[Jack is suspicious.]

...can we kinda handwave that the library stuff takes place later? ^^;

[rewritethis]

Great! Do you know anything about automail? Normally I try to take care of it [lies lies lies], but this just kind of happened. [He tries to gesture towards the arm he has tucked under his left, non-automail arm, but it's a bit difficult without the ability to point...]

Re: ...can we kinda handwave that the library stuff takes place later? ^^;

[bot_builder]

Automail? [Jack is intrigued!] Never heard of it, but if it's mechanical I could...

[Finally notices the arm and shrieks a little.] Your arm fell off!

...Wait, you're a robot? Nifty... [And now he's going to circle Ed, trying to see any seams. Of course, Ed's awfully covered up at the moment, which is annoying.]

:3 I am all for timey wimey shit, but.

[rewritethis]

[You know how to make Ed rip his own clothes off? Pick a fight with him! But that's neither here nor there, and besides, he's not in the mood.]

Why does everyone keep saying that? I don't even know what one of those is! [Well, it's not that common even in most of Amestris, never mind some freaky parallel dimension universe time world thing, but never having heard of it? Hardly a mechanic, Ed would've thought...] The rest of me isn't automail, if that's what you mean. Uh, except my leg.

Sorry I deleted the first comment |D

[bot_builder]

Really? So they're like cybernetics... that is awesome! I haven't done work on that stuff specifically, but I'm familiar with the concept... I'd have to examine the arm and how it connects, but I'm sure I can fix whatever went wrong. [He's extremely enthusiastic about this.]

And yeah, robots are pretty much people that are all machinery.

XD it's fine~

[rewritethis]

[Ed is rather surprised by how quickly the guy went from careful guardedness to sounding like a kid with a new toy. Cyber-what now? But never mind that, that's pretty awesome to hear!] And what do you want for it if you can fix it?

...Do I look like I'm all machinery? [Because he happens to know a person who is all armour, and he doesn't look anything like Ed.]

[seethelanterns]

Um, well....If you were hurt I could help, but....I am sure you'll find someone here who could help? [She'll just. stare because she has never seen an artificial limb before so she's kind of taken aback at it.] Um, maybe the Doctor? [He had had that....sonic...screwdriver thing. Maybe he could help this boy? Rapunzel isn't sure but she wants to help somehow at least, trying to think if one of her friends seemed the type to maybe be able to help Ed.]

[rewritethis]

[Ed assumes the staring means she's quietly freaking out and feels a little bad for her despite himself.] Don't worry about it if you can't! I'll find someone eventually. A doctor, huh? Maybe I should ask around.

...Wait, by "doctor" you don't mean the weird spiky-haired one who claims he's a doctor of everything? All he did was point a pen at me.

[seethelanterns]

[She gets the feeling this is a situation she can't just use her hair to fix, which is why she recommended the Doctor. He seemed to know a lot, after all.] Well, there are all sorts of people here, maybe one of them will have a better idea on how to help. Because that doesn't seem like something I can help with at the infirmary.

....Oh, you've met him already? He seems to know a lot, so I thought maybe he might be able to help? [Biting her lip and running her hands through her hair over her shoulder. She isn't freaking out, just confused as to how the fake arm works, since this is new to her.]

[rewritethis]

Hey, I said don't worry about it, didn't I? It's not your problem!

So, infirmary, that makes you some kind of nurse, right? Or a doctor? You... don't look like one. [For a start, Ed's mental image of a nurse involves a more practical hairstyle...]

[seethelanterns]

I know! I just....want to help if I can. [Rapunzel is not used to not being able to solve things with her hair okay. :l]

Um, I'm not really either. But I can heal. So I want to make use of my gift where I'm needed, if people get hurt training or arrive injured somehow. [The hair is amazing, Ed. Don't knock it before you see her in action (and likely relate it to alchemy somehow, because it is Ed).]

[rewritethis]

You can "heal" without being a doctor? [To someone as scientifically-minded as Ed, that sounds kind of bogus, and his expression doesn't hide his opinion in the slightest. Unless - no, there's no way this girl is the type to be carrying around a Philosopher's Stone. Not buying it.] Sounds tough.

[haha_steelguard]

If it's money you're worried about, you'll get some funds from your sponsorship soon.

[It's a helpful suggestion... coming from a 6'7" man, so how much help it is in total is up for debate. Uh, at least he's smiling friendly-like?]

[rewritethis]

[Ed isn't scared of tall guys! Although he does feel like he should be offended somehow, no matter how non-threatening they may sound.] Um, thanks, but that doesn't help me right now. Unless you're suggesting I should make people wait for me to pay them.

[haha_steelguard]

People around here are pretty understanding, especially if you just got here and are still settling in. What's got you looking for the help, anyway?

[He assumes it's not 'tinkering with a hoverbike'.]

[rewritethis]

[As a response, Ed waves his detached arm around a bit in his left hand. But not too much; it's pretty heavy.] It's getting annoying.

[Somebody did fix it up slightly for him earlier, but since they apparently can't reattach it right away, he figures it doesn't hurt to ask:] So, are you a mechanic?

[haha_steelguard]

Ah...ha.

[Up till now, he hadn't even processed that arm as detached. A mental trick, where he'd seen what he'd expected to.]

I think that one's a bit farther beyond me than either of us want to play with. That one might be tricky.

[rewritethis]

Yeah, well, if it wasn't tricky I wouldn't be looking for help.