012. [Text/Action for Olivine City]

[explosivecombat]

[ACTION]

[So it had happened again.

Kimblee had been keeping largely to himself since the incident - another three days gone, another batch of bizarre dreams that he normally wouldn't have been prone to involving alchemy and fighting and...Miss Rockbell, of all people - and as such, he had kept the exploring to a bare minimum. This place wasn't necessarily a pleasant one for him; he had been here before, to meet with Miss Farron - that had gone over like a lead balloon, really, and while he wasn't one to dwell on unpleasant things of that particular nature, it had put quite the damper on his mood. All in all, Olivine City was one of those places he had no intention of returning to again once he had defeated the local gym.

Of course, that had changed as soon as he saw the location of the gym, and the view that it had offered.

He had assumed the stretch of water near Goldenrod City, on Route 34, was an inlet of some sort, or perhaps a large lake; he hadn't worked out exactly what that water had been connected to, simply taking for granted that it was there. However, there's no doubt in his mind when he sees it in Olivine - it's incredibly vast, seeming to go on forever.

Amestris is a landlocked country; he had never seen the sea before.

Even if the sun is out, eighty-three degrees is hardly a good temperature for swimming, and Kimblee doesn't know how, besides; that doesn't seem to have stopped him from wandering out into the ocean, stopping when the water is about waist-deep. He at least has the common sense to not do this in the white suit - the shirt he has on is a deep crimson, high-necked with the collar pulled up over his throat; the pants are black and made of heavy, stiff fabric. Unseasonably warm, perhaps, but he doesn't seem to mind; the water is rather cold anyway.

He doesn't have his gloves on, simply allowing his hands to trail lightly through the water, just under the surface; he's been in Johto for seven months, and his hair is getting long, the ends of it sinking just below the soft crests of the waves and wicking up water, soaking his back.

He seems rather peaceful today, all things considered; tranquil, compared to the manic shrieking and loud explosions during those three days. He's alert as usual, listening for sounds of an approach despite the calm exterior; however, that doesn't mean he's opposed to company on that beach.]

[TEXT]

[A text will hit the network a few hours later; don't worry, it's actually signed this time, and he surprisingly has no intention of trolling the hell out of everyone who responds - he'll leave that to Anon for now.]

As eager as some of us are to return home, it can't be denied that this place has provided most of us with far different opportunities than we would have normally had.

Tell me your memories of this place. Good, bad, it doesn't particularly matter - tell me what it's offered you.


[OOC]

[There are now hard spoilers for the plot of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga in the thread with Envy; read at your own discretion!]

Comments

[explosivecombat]

Don't worry, I'll assess her skills myself when I return; I prefer to not utilize secondhand information if I can avoid it. You know how it is.

As for your own...that's an incredibly useful specialty indeed. In that case, I can see where you would want to know how the incident in Ecruteak worked - it would be good knowledge to have at your disposal.

How, exactly, did you carry out your killings back in your world? I assume you had a preferred method.

[greatestcool]

Yeah, it really would be. I can't kill anyone here, unfortunately, but having an escape route like that would be very beneficial!

I've tried all sorts of things, but I tend to prefer the old fashioned slice and dice, really. Strangulation is boring, guns get rid of the personal touch, and quick deaths are no fun. I like experimenting; coming up with the best way to keep my victim alive for as long as possible and allow them to experience everything they can - savor the last moments of their life, you know? You can really only understand life through death!

If you want to be more technical about it, I'd select a victim - a young woman, usually someone who won't be missed for a little while so I can have some time to play around with her - figure out her daily habits, and then approach. Play up the cute, appeal to her, you know. Whatever gets her interested. Then I'd take her back to my place and make sure she couldn't escape!

[There's a brief pause before Ryuunosuke sends another text.]

That was before Bluebeard showed up. Without his magic I can't keep any victims alive for longer, but the things I could do with that...!

I tried to make a pipe organ from a girl's internal organs. It didn't work, unfortunately.

[explosivecombat]

[.........................uh]

...well, I certainly can't say that you aren't creative, can I.

[greatestcool]

[HEY KIMBLEE]

[HEEEY KIMBLEE]

[IS HE HARDCORE YET???]

I try! Really, you'd think you could do all sorts of terrible things with these creatures, but death doesn't stick here. It's unfortunate. But that's okay - I'm also good at improvising. If I can't kill anyone, at the very least I can make these attacks interesting!

[explosivecombat]

[So edgy, bbthing.]

Ah, see, that much I can understand - improvising is what I'm hired to do back home.

[greatestcool]

You're hired to improvise? Talk about a cool job! What did you do exactly? Was this improvising in terms of planning things? Or were you actually doing things? It sounds more like the latter; what with the attacks here and all that.

[explosivecombat]

Oh, I was actually doing things, believe me - I was hired to deal with fugitives and the like; something akin to bounty hunting, but with a kill order.

A glorified hit man, really.

[greatestcool]

That's--! That's the greatest cool, sir!!!

[CAN YOU FEEL THE SPARKLE-EYES OVER HERE]

You were paid to go out and fight like that? You were allowed to go kill someone? Wow! That's so cool!

[explosivecombat]

[Oh...goodness, there's that word again.]

"Greatest cool," is it? I really must have impressed you, then. I'm flattered.

[greatestcool]

Yeah, you have! I haven't heard anything that cool in... well, since I last saw Bluebeard! But wow, you must have had so much fun!

[explosivecombat]

That's one way of putting it, yes.

As for your servant...I don't suppose he's turned up, has he?

[greatestcool]

No, he hasn't. Not that I've seen, at least. I mean, I think he'd be pretty obvious if he was here, but... Well, I guess he wouldn't exactly be able to summon his little demon-creatures so...

[Herp tho.]

[explosivecombat]

[...why are all of his juniors herpy things? Except maybe Kato. Maybe.]

Ah, no, magic and the like don't work here, unfortunately.

[greatestcool]

That's a shame. I mean, I already knew that - I have the mark for the Command Seals, but there's no power behind them, I guess? I mean, I can't feel anything. I used to be able to kinda feel Bluebeard's presence. Kinda.

[Because herp tho!!]

[explosivecombat]

Some sort of mental connection, you mean?

[greatestcool]

Kind of? I couldn't communicate with him at all, so it wasn't any kind of psychic bond or anything. But I could sense his presence, I guess. I mean, it wasn't all that useful since we didn't spend too long apart, but it's weird not having it.

[Despite the fact that he only had it for a little while...]

[explosivecombat]

I understand, to some extent, though in my case it isn't with a person; we have...powers, so to speak, of our own back in Amestris - things that I can't access here. Being unable to feel it is rather frustrating, really.

[greatestcool]

What, so you could use magic or something?

[explosivecombat]

Alchemy, not magic; they're considered different things, where I'm from.

...and it was useful for more than turning lead into gold. Given that magic exists in your world, I should hope I don't have to tell you that, but it's usually the first thing people ask me here.

[greatestcool]

That's the only application of alchemy I know of. Magic exists where I'm from, yeah, but I didn't know about it until recently. I guess there are people who are really into that sort of thing, but I'd never heard about it.

[explosivecombat]

Well, in Amestris turning lead into gold is actually illegal, simply because it's not good for anything besides upsetting the economy. I've never really had much need to do it, myself, so I've never tried; alchemy has many more interesting uses than that, anyway - it's simply defined as altering matter, according to the law of Equivalent Exchange. Some use it to fix or create things; others weaponize it.

I'm one of the latter individuals.

[greatestcool]

Oh yeah, that makes sense.

Oh, so you're a human weapon, then? That's what you do? That really is the greatest cool, sir!

[explosivecombat]

Yes, that's what I do - I specialize in explosives.

[THAT WORD AGAIN.]

Glad to have impressed.

[greatestcool]

[He'll just throw it at you until it sticks!!]

You can't do anything with that here, though? That's a shame, I would have loved to see it.

[explosivecombat]

Unfortunately not. However, the irritation is lessened somewhat by the sheer number of creatures who can here.