Vanisha

Vanisha is the het ship between Van Hohenheim and Trisha Elric from the Fullmetal Alchemist fandom.

Canon
Van Hohenheim first met Trisha when she was a child and watched her grow into an adult. She treated him as a human being rather than the monster he viewed himself as, due to his immortal body. Though they never officially married, they lived together and had two sons. Hohenheim sought a way to become mortal again so he could one day die alongside Trisha. Trisha tried to help Hohenheim bond with their sons Edward and Alphonse, but he struggled with it due to his insecurities. One day Trisha arranged for a family photo to be taken so that she and Hohenheim can remember what they looked like at the time once she becomes an old woman. As everyone else smiled for the photo, Trisha's words brought Hohenheim to tears. Hohenheim's research led him to discover Father's plans for Amestris, and he knew that his family would be killed if he didn't stop it. After Trisha catches him fixing a broken swing for the boys, Hohenheim tells her that he is going away and asks her to wait for him, to which she agrees with a smile.

Upon Hohenheim's request, Trisha kept the truth of her husband's body a secret from their children. Trisha eventually became fatally ill and knew that she wouldn't survive long enough to see Hohenheim return. Before succumbing to her disease, she asked Pinako to apologize to Hohenheim on her behalf for not being able to keep their promise. Hohenheim was unaware of Trisha's passing until he finally returned to Resembool, where he found his home burnt to the ground. Pinako explained what had happened to Trisha and their sons, but forgot to give him Trisha's final message. Before leaving Resembool again, Hohenheim took their only family photo with him and continued to carry out his mission. When Trisha's dying message was finally passed on to Hohenheim, he began to cry and internally apologized to Trisha for not being there when she died.

After Father is defeated and the Elric brothers are safe, Hohenheim returns to Resembool where he kneels before Trisha's grave and speaks to her as if she's alive. In his final moments he tells her that he finally bonded with Ed and Al and confesses that he now wishes he could keep on living. When Pinako later finds Hohenheim's body, she sees that he died with a smile on his face. The epilogue of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood shows that Hohenheim was buried right next to Trisha.

In the extra epilogue of the original manga, the spirits of Van and Trisha reunite at the remains of their house, where they talked about broken promises, how Ed finally called Hohenheim "Dad", and how much their sons have grown. Seeing that their work as parents is done, Trisha takes Hohenheim's hand as she states that they'll let the world raise their sons into adults for them.

While their story in the 2003 anime is a little different to the original manga and the Brotherhood anime, the bond between them remains the same. Before he fled Dante's side he states that Trish is the only woman he loves, after he renounces ever loving Dante. The two start a new life together while raising their sons, while he uses his alchemy to create the flowers that make Trisha smile. When Hohenheim's stolen bodies begin to rot more quickly every time he takes a new one, along with knowing that Dante is still out there, he leaves to protect his family in hopes that she'll leave them along. Before Hohenheim left his family to do research, he made sure that Trisha and their sons have money to support themselves in his absence. Along with sending letters to his family until they stopped coming. Trisha never used the money he left them as she wants to save it for their sons encase something were to happen to them. As Trisha lay in her sick bed she mutters "honey", Ed hears it and knew that she is asking for Hohenheim. Hoping that his return would help their mother get better, Ed and Al use the addresses on the letters Hohenheim sent them in hopes that they'll be able to convince their father to come home for their mother. Hohenheim never got them and after he learns that Dante has started to set her eyes on his sons he goes to face her, only to get immobilized by a Homunculus who deeply bears a striking resemblance to Trisha.

Fanon
Van and Trisha are one of the few canon couples in Fullmetal Alchemist fandom. Though they don't have much actual screen-time together, their relationship plays a key role in Edward and Alphonse's backstory as well as Hohenheim's character arc. They are not so much actively shipped by fans as they are appreciated for their canonical tragic romance. On AO3, Vanisha is the most written ship for both characters. Tumblr also has many fanwork and posts on the two.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR