Thank you so much!! And this is a great question! 😀 This is gonna be soOOooOo long because my love for ed is unending (or should I say unEding HA!) I think what I love most about him (and there is a lot lol) is his personality underneath his loud, abrasive personality. He’s such a sweet, caring person under his rough’n’tough exterior, and I think a lot of characters don’t see that because he really only shows it to his friends and family ones. I mean, he loves his brother so much!! His only wish is to see Al smile and laugh and be happy again!!! That’s it!!! He just wants to get his brother’s body back so he can see everyone he loves smiling too!!!
And of course we know he was willing to give up anything when Al’s body was originally taken, and again he considered sacrificing more limbs to get Al’s body back before Al immediately shot him down (lol good on u al my boy).
And just the fact that he went through all of this, getting painful automail, recovering within a year, becoming the youngest state alchemist and tying himself to the military and never stopping researching and searching for a way to get al’s body back–he doesn’t even care about his own limbs, it’s about Al and trying to right their wrong. The kid has got some strong morals and I really admire that. Even though he did sign up to be a dog of the military, he said day one he wouldn’t kill anyone, and he stuck to that!! He was able to save the country and get their bodies back without having to break his own rules! He’s so determined and he perseveres and it’s so admirable!! He literally got himself impaled because he didn’t want to kill Kimblee the bastard, and even admitted he had gotten himself into that mess.
PS. Can we just admire that he forced himself not to die because he had made a promise to Winry he wouldn’t make her cry until they had their bodies back. AND HE KEPT THAT PROMISE. EVEN THOUGH HE ALMOST DIED ASHDJSHALKJASKFL
HE ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES. WE ALL NEED A FRIEND LIKE EDWARD ELRIC.
He has got such a kind heart and I love him so much!!! And I mean??? He’s such a dork, but he really does care, and he has his owns ways of showing that, he really can be soft and gentle when he needs to be, like with Winry when she almost shot Scar.
i’M SORRY THIS ENDED UP BEING SO LONG!!! I JUST LOVE ED A LOT!!! I’ve always said he’s the sweetest character in the series and I stand by that. And I just……I love who he really is, he has such a kind heart, and he just really cares about people so much. And he cares about doing the right thing most of all, like helping the people of Youswell, or telling Rose to stand up and walk. He’s just wowow he’s so great, true Hero of the People. hERO OF MY HEART.
Winry: The best part of an Oreo is the cookie part not the frosting.
Edward: Darkness without light is an abyss. Light without darkness is blinding. There is no such this as a one sided coin.
Winry: Yo Socrates, it’s a fuckin’ cookie.
Al: Is it ok if I swear?
Edward: Yes, Al, I will allow you to swear.
Al: F–
Edward: Yes, go on.
Al: I’m nervous.
childhood friends gradually becoming lovers is SUCH a good trope. i’m 100% here for it. just imagine all of the small nuances of both of their personalities, that they both know incredibly well, that float in their memories. for winry, i’m sure she’ll continually bring up ed’s childhood stubbornness and infantile struggles in a sort of teasing match for the ages. ed would remind her of her semi-constant third-wheeling, and her own persistence and independence and probably her unadulterated love for dogs. they grow together, they witness each other’s struggle and strife, and they profoundly change but they will always have their own growth to reflect on and it’s SO CUTE OKAY
and to a different extent, friends to lovers is SO GOOD. for winry it’s much more obvious: she’s outwardly always expressed care for the boys, and we see it manifest more and more into deep love and care for ed and when she first admits it on the train it’s a relief almost to hear it. but from ed’s perspective it is SO satisfying to watch his care for her evolve, and he’s definitely always felt for her in some capacity. you see him really concerned for her when she tempts the idea of shooting scar and you see her really vulnerable around him for the first time and the effect on him is evident. we see him start to concern himself heavily with her well-being to the point where it’s so obvious but he’s so stubborn and bad with words and that final train scene is such a sigh of relief. so many feels.
mutual appreciation and admiration for each other’s skill and person. mayhaps winry didn’t always ~love~ the idea of alchemy, but certainly she gave the boys credit for their goals. she never doubts them, in fact if anything she’s dubious of the fact that they are so tight-lipped. she believes so profoundly in them, and in ed, and same goes the other way around. hearing ed talk about winry to other character is just *heart eye emoji* he is SO proud of her, constantly boasting her as the best damn mechanic, an incredibly engineer, etc and he see that appreciation begin to encompass her whole being aka his awe when she treats scar in briggs, when she’s not afraid to stand up to him, etc. etc.
while i am a huge proponent of winry and ed growing together in sexual/romantic maturity aka not ALWAYS being awkward and unsure in those types of advancements (i like to think they both, privately, grow assured of their actions and move in a rhythm that is syncopated yet unexpected, in a good way) they idea that they save that for each other kind of makes me want to die? aka, not huge on PDA, at the most a kiss goodbye and hand holding. neither one wants to be ~that couple~ so rather they save it for closed doors, which is so them imo
NICKNAMES?? need i even say more??
ed being a bad sleeper and nuzzling into winry’s form, nuzzling her shoulders when hints of morning appear
all of the rockbell-elric babies, and on another note, rockbell-elric is such a concept. i’m so for the hyphenated surnames just because they both carry so much pride in BOTH names it only makes sense to me
various married life shenanigans? like honestly there’s no way in hell that these two could just ~settle for a quiet life in the country~ like there will always be pranks and fun and laughter and joy emitted from wherever they plant themselves and babies. lots of babies.
if your college au doesn’t involve ed getting wasted on jello shots and rapping the periodic table, its not valid
Winry: Tell my best friend I love him.
Ed: I thought I was your best friend.
Winry: You are.
Ed: Okay, you want me to tell me you love me?
Winry: Yes.
Ed: Alright, well, that just seems like an overly complicated way to say that, but here goes. I love you, Ed. From Winry… Yeah, that’s really nice.
Part of me wishes the ending to Brohood had been Ed bursting into the Rockbell house, with Al slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and yelling “LOOK WHO I FOUND”
FMA appreciation life 