explosivecombat | 022. [Text]

With matters of one's heart and soul so close in mind, due to the recent holiday and all the romantic connotations therein, I ask that you forgive the possibly morbid nature of the question I have for you tonight:

The state or condition of one's soul is often brought into question when their deeds are brought to light or held up for scrutiny; the concept of the damned and those destined for salvation aren't new concepts by far. However, I have to ask what that means for all of you - do you accept your soul as existing only as a metaphysical concept, a matter of faith, something unproven and intangible? Or is it something undeniable where you come from, not a matter of faith but rather proven to exist? Does it fail to exist for you at all?

Or, perhaps, is it something else entirely - something that was rendered from one of the above options into another?

I suppose I should apologize for such heavy subject matter; I imagine some will find it rude to attempt to quantify such a thing. However, it's been something I've had reason to consider lately, so no apology is forthcoming.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's close to the old way people thought about it, around the time I was born, but that's changed since then. So it might be that souls in their worlds work the same as souls anywhere, and they just don't know it.

An alchemist would use them to power up their transmutations in my world. We homunculi eat them. I guess since we're created by alchemy, we run on alchemy too.

[The Homunculi - ...ah.

That gets something of a pause, but he'll respond eventually.]

Not much is different there, then. From my understanding, however, the Homunculi in my world are powered by Philosopher's Stones directly; they don't have to eat them, though they certainly can, and they each contain a very powerful Stone of their own. Engaging in things such as consuming human beings adds another soul to the Stone they have within them.

Although it doesn't stop with humans, apparently - Pride, in my world, seems to have taken to eating his siblings. That's how Gluttony died, at any rate.

[And there's plenty for Envy to pause at in that response. And, admittedly, his first thought about Pride eating Gluttony is Bradley eating Gluttony before he remembers about Selim. Which makes possibly even less sense.]

seriously, that kid ate Gluttony? how?

[Homunculi killing each other is nothing really new to Envy, but nobody'd gone and eaten anyone else.]

[...Pride is still far from Kimblee's favorite topic, even after sixteen months in Johto; he's capable of remaining composed via text, however. It's easier to discuss when it's nothing that has to be stated out loud.]

Ah, did you meet him while he was here? I was aware of his presence; however, one could say that we don't get along.

But that's neither here nor there, really; what matters is that Pride's true form is that of a sentient mass of shadows. The boy is nothing more than a container; he's capable of manipulating the shadows around said container, rendering them solid, covered with many mouths and hands, and many, many eyes - he's able to extend them anywhere that shadows can logically fall, see anything that happens within that area, and use those shadows to physically manipulate objects or people.

I didn't witness him eating Gluttony; he did so before I arrived to assist him in battle. Just the same, I have a very good idea when it comes to "how"; I'm sure you get my drift.

[Kimblee you are the best source of straight answers about this bizarre other Amestris that everyone keeps showing up from.]

Yeah, I met him. Didn't know he was some creepy shadow container though, nobody in my world ever had that particular power.

One more question. Before, you said that they have a philosopher's stone at their core. do you mean a real, complete stone or the incomplete kind?

[Honestly, that's because he's come to accept the knowledge that all versions of Amestris are an incomprehensible clusterfuck. If this world handed him 10P for every time he'd had to explain some supremely messed up thing from his world, he -

...well

he wouldn't be rich because lbr it's just dimes

but ffs he could afford to go see a movie and get some damn popcorn on this world's tab, let's put it that way

...although, um. Speaking of incomprehensible and messed up...]

What do you mean, "incomplete"?

I mean exactly what it sounds like. A stone that's made of the same ingredients, but not enough. just a limited piece of what the real thing would be.

[Um.]

How in the world would one manage to get "not enough"?

[...Um...]

creating a real stone takes one hell of a sacrifice. A city's worth.

[He won't say 'of people' directly, even if there's a lock on the conversation. Just in case. He's pretty sure Kimblee is aware of what he's talking about, but who knows anything. Maybe they make their Philosopher's Stones out of sunshine.]

[Right, he'll file that thought right next to the cake made of rainbows and smiles in the "Do you even go here" chart.

...although to be fair, this entire thing is crazy, isn't it...]

Given that one can use their own, if they're determined enough, as a "real Stone", I'd have to say our worlds differ a bit. Admittedly, that idea is one that I've only heard posited as theoretically plausible, but the point remains - if you can use your own and nothing more, then a Stone consisting of only one will suffice as "real."

More powerful Stones obviously do exist, but the ones I have were made with...if I had to estimate, possibly between thirty and forty? I can't be certain, as I wasn't present when they were made. Certainly not an entire city's worth, however.

[...man, their lives would have been so much easier if they'd been able to just pack up and move their operation to alternate Amestris.]

Sounds like the difference is either in the 'value' of the souls in our worlds, or something about the Gate itself. Second option is probably more likely, apparently our Gates even look different. According to Fullmetal anyway.

I'd like to take a look at the Stone you've got sometime, if you wouldn't mind.

[If he could give you a tour of the place, he would.

Granted, he's always going to claim the superiority of any world that doesn't contain Archer in a position of power in the military, and in which he isn't some sort of raving, rabid idiot with a terrible haircut, but...]

I wouldn't be opposed to that, either in person or via images. I have two of them, actually, and I always keep them on my person; I'm in the practice of not letting them very far out of my sight, despite that already-mentioned complete uselessness here.

I received one in Ishval; the second was something of a gift, I suppose. The version of you that I know gave it to me.

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