Ling/Ed "The New Red" Fullmetal Alchemist [Hagane no Renkinjutsushi]

Title: The prince and the alchemist
Author: Qem / qem_chibati
Spoilers: May be spoilers for manga chapters 27-52. Picture heavy though tried not give anything in particular away. Involves a manga only character, manga only storyline.
Email: queenie.eiz@care2.com
Personal Website: Inuyasha The RPG

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What is FMA?
FMA is Fullmetal Alchemist, also known as Hagane no Renkinjutsushi. It is a manga series which had an anime series spin-off (now complete along with a movie), and two games. It is extremely popular in Japan, the US and just about everywhere it touches.

FMA takes place in an alternative world, in which Alchemy is the major science. And it works.

In a way that Sleep is for the weak summarised in their anime awards for Ed and Al.
[quote]
"Most Interesting Combination of the Law of Conservation of Mass and Black Magic"
"Matter cannot be creating or destroyed."
"Allow me to fix your radio with this pentagram!"
[/quote]
Sleep is for the weak


The world, in which FMA is set in, is to me, often seems reminiscent of Germany – early 20th century European military uniforms, prominent blond or dark hair, genocide, military exploits, etc.

The country Amestris is on the rise, with its leader, the president or Fuhrer also head of the military pushing at all the boundaries around the country.

The story focuses on Ed and his brother Al who through forbidden alchemy have suffered serious injuries. Both of the boys seek to regain what they have lost through the failed transmutation, restoring their bodies, by locating and using the philosopher’s stone. It is a stone capable of tremendous power; the key to transforming humans and immortality.


I know FMA, but what on earth is a Ling?

Ling is a rather interesting character who appears in the manga only, at about the same point where the manga, to me, really begins to differentiate from the anime. The manga unlike the anime has not ended, and it is continuing along a rather different path.

Ling is the 12th son of the emperor of Xing. He has come to Armsteris along with two of his bodyguards in order to find the philosophers stone, so that he can become emperor of Xing.

Xianian culture is believed to be based of Chinese culture - in which while first born son usually has priority in inheriting though it may not always be the case. The emperor can pick a son to inherit, in which case the 17th son stands equal chance along with the 7th son.

Xing is a country that is located over the desert. It is a country made of 50 clans. The emperor marries a representative from each clan, which is why Ling has so many siblings. Xing uses Pharmacy (check other translation) which is a form of alchemy, though its different from the way its used in Amestris, as well as the fact that its more focussed on medicinal use. (Check)

At first glance Ling seems simplistic, laughing, carefree character. He flops from dehydration all over the place. He eats insane amounts of food. He happily leeches of Ed.

But then you realize that Ling is really much more together than his manner would suggest at first. He is used to giving orders and has proven himself to be a more than decent fighter. He was capable of holding his own against the Homunculus, a task which is not easy for anyone.

It seems clear that Ling deliberately sets about an attitude to have people underestimate him.

He is also, much to Ed’s distress, the same age as Ed. Though he usually has the opposite problem, where as people tend to think of Ed as being younger than he actually is, most people think of Ling as being older. Something that as you can imagine thrills Ed to no end.



While Ling is clearly patriotic and has strong feelings about what the leader of a country must do – he’s motivations for becoming emperor himself have never been clearly explained.

Ling has stated that a leader should look after his country and his men. That a country depends upon its leader – it is clearly a matter that is of great importance to him. It’s one of his most emotional moments as well as one of his few serious speaking roles.

He won't abandon those that are important to him.

So while it is clear to me that he genuinely cares about his country, it still doesn’t explain to me why its important that he becomes emperor. Being the 12th son, he must of known that he stood very little chance in becoming leader of his country – unless he did something unbelievably extraordinary.

He has also made it clear that he’s had assassination attempts made upon his life in the past. What sort of family background is this? Why would you make yourself even more of a target?

The assassination attempts explain why he is quite capable of taking care of himself. That would also help explain why he wants people to underestimate him.

It really does display him as being a highly suspicious sort of person. The sort of person that would have difficulty in confiding with others.
Kind of like Ed really.



Ed!
Edward Elric is the main character of the show. He’s the hyperactive, blond midget, who will hyperventilate when you bring up any mentioning of the word "height", "small" with dramatic over reactions. Such as demanding to know, "Who are you calling so small that an ant would crush them!!!111!!1"



Ed is a genius, a rash one at that, but a genius. He has in order to gain greater opportunities to restore his own and his brother's bodies, became a "dog of the military." This is a position that he absolutely despises.

Ed is really a character to whom a lot of depth can be applied. He is a firm atheist though he does have strong morals. Its pretty clear that the person he cares for most in the world is his brother Al, for whom he feels tremendous guilt for, from the accident.

He's also foul mouthed, will do anything to survive and is more than capable of kicking ass.



He's also a very violent individual. Whom happens to have automail (prosthetic metal limbs) arm and leg, as well as the ability to clap his hands and transform things to his taste. You'd have to keep on your toes if you wanted to date this boy.

Why pair them?
To start with, I doubt this pairing is ultimate one true love, living happily ever after. We're talking about Ed. He'd probably attempt to commit homicide every now and then. Just to keep things interesting. =D

See the thing about this pairing, really is, that its really a lot of fun to read. The two characters have a genuine dynamic in the manga. Both of them are full of energy, which just carries across to the fan fiction and makes for a really enjoyable read. There is a comradeship that we've been able to see develop between the two from an antagonistic beginning.

Ling from the beginning manages to maintain a cheerful face, no matter what happens. He's in a strange country and his bodyguards just got tied up. No problem!




Its greatly amusing to watch the two interact, the way that Ling tries to make use of his princely heritage, the way that Ed alternatively spazzes and snarks right back at Ling not letting up. Just as Ling's learned to let down his guard a little and show something other than a smile, Ed's learned not to go completely bonkers with every line Ling says.



Recent manga chapters have been kind to the pairing and shown lots of moments between the two. When Ed was offered a chance to abandon Ling, despite the fact that he was obviously exhausted, he wouldn't leave Ling behind.



There was also the moments where the two were helping to protect the other when faced with danger.




The two are both very similar and very different. They could easily build a base upon what they hold in common– and yet be able to complement each other perfectly with their differences.

We have Ed, who’s often determined to deal with matters by himself, often stating that he needs to make his own way forward. In comparison Ling enjoys mooching, making the most of available resources. The two are likely to drive the other nuts, but together they would make a stronger team.



Both are the same age so there isn’t quite the same paedophilia squick as with the main slash pairing in the fandom. (*hides* – I was kidding, kidding! ) What I mean is that they have a similar level of experience in life. While the two grew up in different countries, so far there doesn't appear to have been too many real communication barriers (though the language they speak in Amestris appears to be different to that of Xing, Ling's on occasion has tried to give the impression that he's a confused foreigner.)


There are fun dynamics that can be played up between the two. Ed likes the idea of being in charge, but he at this point, really wouldn't make a good leader for the long term. He is often too volatile and impatient. You couldn't really call Ed a follower either - Ed seems to generally refuse to take orders unless he is forced to. Ed prefers to go by his own path.

Where as you have Ling who is used to command. How would he cope with someone, constantly questioning his orders? Who doesn't respect him automatically because of his position. Ling seems to be very keen on the idea of becoming a good leader. He seems to be good at evaluating situations and gaining the loyalty of his men.

Ling’s manipulations complement Ed’s ability to completely spazz out.

Its interesting to see who would dominate for control, if Ling is capable of earning Ed’s respect.

It seems clear to me, that the two do care for each other. When Ling fell, he urged Ed to go ahead, yet Ed was determined to get him back up.

There was relief on Ed's face when he knew that Ling was okay. When Ed thought Ling had been killed/seriously injured he reacted with extreme violence. Ed deliberately put himself into a dangerous situation in order to help save Ling. And there is wonderful, wonderful moments in which you can see Ling return the favour and fight to protect Ed.



There is clearly on Ling's side respect for Ed. It seems obvious to me that he has taken note of Ed's strengths and has admiration for the difficult childhood Ed must have had.



They have dialogue and interaction. There is even a moment where Ling feels the need to apologise to Ed for getting him into trouble. Something that surprises Ed since he's more than capable of getting into trouble all by himself.






What are the threats to the ship and happily ever after?
* To start with there is a lack of knowledge about Ling in the fandom. (There is very few things on Ling – slash, gen, het on FF.net! o.o; ) Since much of the FMA fandom is based off the anime, Ling being a relatively recent manga character is likely to simply be completely overlooked.
Which various manga fans are helping to change =D.

There is also the disturbing trend spotted, where anime only fans have referred to Ling as “Mary-Sue” - something that I've personally seen happen more than a few times.

Ling to me seems a balanced yet impressive character. While he is obviously exotic to Amestris he is certainly no more powerful than many other characters in the manga – and clearly less powerful than some.

* Philosopher’s stone. Both of the boys are very determined to get their hands upon the stone. It has already caused rifts between the two – destroying already an opportunity to work together.
- Also Ling doesn’t know about the price that needs to be paid for the stone – the fact that in order for the stone to be created – people need to die. How far will he go, in his search for the stone? Will he decide that being emperor is not worth it?

* Opposing ships. While I’m not going to go into the details of who, what, where, why and why not, the fact remains that Ed is paired off with just about everyone in one place or another.
While I’ve seen Roy/Ed deal with Ling in the background and Ling/Ed with Roy’s interference or gracefully step back, I haven’t seen one that dealt with two of the most likely het ships: Winry/Ed and Ling/Ran Fan – Ran Fan being one of Ling’s assistants of whom has a fanatical devotion to Ling and Ling obviously cares for her as well.

- There are ways to skirt around the other ships, and explain it away by a good author – but the fact that those ships would have greater fandom/canonical support remains.

*Polygamy Vs Monogamy. They come from very different backgrounds.
Where as Ed grew up in a household with his mother, wasting away, missing his father of whom "her one true love" seems an accurate portrayal, Ling is the 12th son, of somewhere around 50 siblings. His father is the emperor of Xing, who is expected to take a wife from each and every province that is part of his empire. Could you honestly expect Ed to share his lover around?

While this does make fun speculation for what if Ling asked Ed to become his consort…

Of course that matter could only really become an issue if Xing did become emperor and even then Ling’s motivations for becoming emperor haven’t been well explained yet. He could be wanting to become emperor in order to help promote change for his country – which could involve re-evaluating the marriage laws. O.o;

*Finally I have been selective in providing evidence. There are things that the two obviously do not agree on, Ling for example seems to be curiously idealistic in ways that Edward simply isn't.

What would you expect to find in the fandom?

What can you expect to read?
Much fiction inspired by the wonderful sky_dark who has done much to promote this pairing and encourage authors to write for it.

Crack. Drabbles. Fun to read pieces. A few longer stories here and there.

Conclusion:
Ling/Ed can be a really fun pairing to read. Both characters have a tendency to revel in the absurd yet both have great potential for diving in deeper. The two characters set each other off in ways that are always enjoyable to watch.

Its easy to set their temperaments against each other, but there is a lot of potential for respect and teamwork between the two. Both characters definitely have a dark side, yet both can be light hearted and filled with humour.

Oh and….. as to quote sky_dark "OMFG LINGXED"

Resources to feed your addiction
Omake:
Amusing Ling summary by sky_dark
Who forgot what? by shutterfly3 PG-13+/M15+

FanArt!
Ling and Ed by celes_grant with colors by sky_dark
Makeup by dragontrap
LingXED for skydark by lykomancer
Icons:

Fanfiction Recommendations?
A good deal of the fiction for this pairing tends to be drabbles or short pieces. But these are some of the interesting ones, I think...

To start off slow a Ling Ed piece. It’s not intended to ship the two together, but it does have nice interaction between the two.
csakuras
Title: In the Company of Fools

Summary: Ed Ling introspective gen fic. Manga-based, obviously. This will no doubt be proven obsolete with the next few chapters, but it had to be written. Because Ed needs more friends who aren't twice his age.
Rating: PG


fireun frequently writes for the pairing, all of which are in her memories located here
The series come, is Ling/Ed - but I really recommend her drabbles, of which the appropriate ones should be labled Ling/Ed. ^.~


embyrr922 has a interesting drabble here
Title: Of Sick Days and Soup
Word Count: 874
Pairing: Ling/Ed, sort of, they just don't cooperate with me.
Warnings: ...Soup?
Summary: Colds are not fun.

cryogenia has a beautiful drabble piece here:
Title: Ling/Ed,
"inconspicuous"
Rating: PG-13

tir_synni:

Her Ling/Ed were the first ones I read, I believe. o.o; Definetly fun reads. If your willing to read up to NC-17 definetly worth having a look through her archive here.

She updates regularly so its difficult to keep track of it all.

velvet_mace
Velvet_mace can always be counted on for interesting pieces. =D Though I can't help but feel that Ling's made some suicidal movements in her pieces. Again the pieces can be up to nc17 in her Wife cycle (link to her set of memories for it)


Also she has written a pg13 a sugary piece of fluff here~ =D
TITLE: Food Fight

furiouscupofcat's has a few lovely drabbles, Of Long Hair and Mornings which is a morning after fic that will make you giggle, and there is more located in her memories.

Communities/Memories
HEEEEEEEEE~~~~~~~~
lingxed - a community started dedicated to the pairing!

The xing_empire focuses on all the residents of Xing.

I maintain a set of memories here of all the Ed/Ling I can find. Note, it does contain pairings to other stories, but if it has a significant reference to Ed/Ling I thought it be worthy to add in here:
Ling X Ed!
My especial favourites tend to go in here, but this section isn't updated that often.



And finally a colour bar! To show your love. =D

Ed x Ling pwns your OTP is love
Made by _joha @ fukikomu


ETA, edited to add a link to a recently started community dedicated to the pairing lingxed