explosivecombat | 006. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City/Northern Route 34]

[TEXT]

While I suppose it matters relatively little in the long run, morbid curiosity compels -

Exactly how driven are most of you to complete this 'challenge' that's been set forth, and what drives you to complete it in the first place - what do you have to return to?

[ACTION]

[A short time after that text hits the network, Kimblee can be found just outside of Goldenrod City, on the northern end of Route 34; if the question is at all related to anything he's currently doing, it's not obvious in the least...outside of the part where maybe the Pokémon he's dealing with might be making him not want to live on this planet anymore.

Basically, his Yanma evolved.

Fortunately for him, the hellbug she has become seems to have retained her personality despite the evolution. She's honestly always been more like a dog than an oversized dragonfly; now she's just...well, a sufficiently larger dog. As such, she's bringing Kimblee a decently-sized stick to toss off into the nearby cluster of trees for her to chase; Kimblee is complying with her, albeit warily - he's never had much of a poker face, and while he seems generally calm, it's reasonably plain that he's half-expecting her to do something odd.

Like snap his arm off to get at the stick. Or maybe bring him back a person, or something.

Either way, he's clearly wondering what the hell his life has become. Good afternoon, Johto, it's been a while.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can't complain, at the very least; yourself? You seem to be doing well enough.

[Kimblee's never been one for small talk, though he'll humor you with formalities just long enough to not be completely rude; dear god, next thing you know, we'll be talking about the weather.]

[He doesn't do too well with formalities either, if that reassures you.]

'Well enough' is an accurate description.

[He lowers his head pensively for a moment. When he raises it again, he's not looking at Kimblee, but rather at some undefined spot that seems to be past him.]

"The scientist is born as a poor imitation of the alchemist". Anonymous. Your thoughts.

To summarize? "Anonymous has no idea what he or she was talking about." Alchemy is a science, Gorthan, albeit one that most from other worlds seem to see as unconventional. It isn't magic, as some would have you believe, nor is it anything that doesn't revolve around laws and principles, as most "conventional" sciences do.

I suppose it depends on the world one originates from, but in mine that comparison wouldn't have been made in the first place.

[He smiles at Kimblee's comment - it's actually a pretty genuine smile for his standards.]

So can I safely say that I am dealing with a fellow scientist?

Of course.

[Mm, this sounds interesting...]

Dare I ask where you're going with this?

I come from a society where a single individual possessing skills in both science and combat is an absurdly rare, if not exceptional phenomenon. I happen to be one of the exceptions. This sort of specialization is one of the limitations of the Evronian hive mind, and a boundary I rather enjoy playing with.

If you, too, refuse to limit your mind and body to any one field, as I have seen that you do... then our minds may be more alike than you know.

[This is Gorthan's way of thanking you for being a bro. ... While his tone is detached, that is what those words ultimately mean.]

[Well, you're either thanking him for being a bro or stroking your own ego. Kimblee's not sure which it is, but he'll assume it's the former for the sake of sparing his sanity; you've often said that he reads condescension where there is none, and he's gotten used to this particular sort of condescension well enough to recognize it.]

...it certainly appears that way, at the very least.

[Not quite accepting the broship, because he doesn't do bros or friendship or anything, but at the same time acknowledging that you feel that way, anyway.]

[And... that is all you'll say, isn't it.

... Gorthan is slowly starting to realize that he needs better friends.]

I am surprised you haven't left Goldenrod yet, Red Lotus. I had plans to visit Ecruteak, myself, but it looks like it will have to wait.

[...Gorthan, the initial urge was to respond with "You have friends...?" Really, if Kimblee is your idea of a friend, then...well.

Yes.

Yes, you need better friends.]

I should be gone within the next week; final preparations have been made, though I believe we're going to be moving toward Violet City first.

Well. I knew that this moment would come soon.

[He extends a hand to Kimblee, though his expression remains neutral.]

Our ways part here, then. And, although it is not quite necessary for me to say this... Take care of yourself, and your partner. You will be on my mind, fellow scientist.

[He is the dad of the scum of the universe, after all.]

Somehow I doubt my 'partner' needs to be taken care of, Gorthan; he's more than capable of handling himself.

But I do appreciate the sentiment. Although I doubt our paths will never cross again, you know.

[He'll accept that hand between both of his for a moment before letting go; touch really isn't something he's too big on unless he initiates it, though he doesn't exactly mind, either.]

[And Gorthan isn't really big on touch, either. Still... this moment is meaningful to him somehow. He supposes it has to do with the fact that Kimblee has a tendency to remind him of Trauma sometimes. To him, that Kimblee took his hand at all is already an accomplishment.]

Of course.

As a matter of fact, I am about to find your mutation. I will be sure to send you the visualizations once I find the exact genes.

[Pix of your crazy, Kimblee. Interested?]

[...oh. Oh, that's...weird.]

You're capable of actually creating images of these things?

They are molecules, Red Lotus. Certainly, they are organic and highly complex, and visualizing and discussing them requires an entire system of conventional metaphors and simplifications, the cruder ones completely illusory and trivializing. However... they are still molecules, and the instruments I was provided permit graphical mapping.

Is this of any interest to you?

I understand the concept of molecules rather well, Gorthan; however, working with them is hardly my strong suit, and Amestris doesn't have the technology required to create these...graphical map things besides.

As such, I find this rather interesting indeed, actually.

006. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City/Northern Route 34]

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