ossifragant | 001 Thing Acquired

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001 Thing Acquired - [video; actions]

Video

[When the feed clicks on, it's shaking slightly, and a man with strange eyes is staring at it from under his sunglasses like he's half-expecting it to explode.]

So this thing is visible to anyone who is connected, huh?

[Someone says something just off camera and he smirks.]

In that case, I just have one question.

Are there any bars in New Bark Town?

[Priorities.]

Action- New Bark Town

[And get an immediate answer or not, Geed is going to wander the town with the strange cat thing following close by. This feels much closer to the freedom he had been searching for in the first place, even if there is a nagging sensation in the back of his mind that something is extremely off.

Really, he can't be worried. He's escaped the bitch as far as he's concerned so he's going to be stopping every single person he runs into to ask about the town hoping he can learn something useful because he sure as hell can't blend in. He might as well stick out in the most obnoxious way possible.

At least it'll get him noticed.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Shrug. He honestly sounds much too casual about this because it honestly doesn't bother him that much.

He was about to either go back to being a prisoner or die and at least there was freedom in death. The only question was what afterlife awaited a person who was already dead?]

There's no need. I knew what was going to happen.

The "no death" thing is certainly a plus, though there are downsides to it, too.

...Honestly, I'd be happy for a reprieve of some kind. Even if it isn't much of one, granted, given that you can't use anything you receive or learn here to change anything back in your own world.

[...was that more transparent than he intended it to be

he doesn't even know]

Well, yes, there always are. But I can't say it's too terrible here.

Unfortunate. It'd be of some use, wouldn't it, to be able to change the outcome of events?

[Well. Maybe it wouldn't help him. He'd already stepped into the door of Dante's house. There was a part of him that yearned for her to take him back-- a part that disgusted the other part of him that reminded himself that he'd done it because continuing to run would have killed Marta and the younger Elric brother.]

Waking up a different species is still a bit much, though, even if I didn't look that different from humans to begin with.

[He shrugs. Mostly to hide how much it bothers him.]

...it most certainly would.

[He says, a far-off look in his eyes, before he realizes that this is pretty much a complete stranger and that's a little too open]

Of course, I'd settle for just being able to bring back findings on this place, personally. Traveling between worlds is no easy feat, and this one is unusual even by my standards.

[...and huh. Speaking of unusual...]

Ah, you are a different species? The teeth made me curious, but that's really an awkward question to just ask someone.

[Greed picks up on the look immediately, but refrains from saying anything. They all have their secrets, and Greed is in no position to probe when he'd refuse to say anything about himself.]

Traveling between different worlds is impossible as far as I know where I'm from. It would certainly be interesting to get the news out.

[Maybe he shouldn't be very forward with this information, but he definitely sees nothing wrong with not being human, either.]

I'm a homunculus. An artificial human created by scientific means. The signs are a bit more obvious in my own world, and I even could do a few neat tricks but I don't have access to them anymore, unfortunately.

It would, wouldn't it? It's not exactly impossible in mine, but there's precisely one person who's managed it and all his apprentices have been spectacularly unsuccessful, to put it likely.

[...

wait...

wait...]

...Really, now? Well, I suppose homunculi from other worlds wouldn't necessarily resemble the ones from mine, but you're not exactly what I'd expect.

[Blink.]

There are other worlds that have the concept?

[That's... huh. Interesting.]

Edited (derp got my timeline goofed) 2014-04-26 00:10 (UTC)

There are, actually, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were some differences between the ones that exist in your world and the ones in mine.

You're certainly not the strangest thing I've stumbled upon, anyway.

[He smirks toothily.]

Well, I'll fill you in with what I can.

Unless I feel it reveals too much, of course.

In my world, we're created with a science known as alchemy.

That's fairly similar to how they're created in mine, actually --- though, alchemy is a discipline of the larger science of magecraft where I'm from. Also, I'll admit, the resulting homunculi tend to be a bit... physically frailer than you seem to be, though they're frequently quite powerful when it comes to magic.

[Huh, that's interesting.]

Can't say I'm sure I know what you mean by "magic", to be honest. Is it similar to what some of the Pokemon here can do?

[Because he's really not sure how else to think about it.]

The process that creates us leaves is incredibly resilient. We don't age, can't be killed by normal means, don't get sick, and we heal extremely quickly.

Sounds like the process must be different between our worlds, which might not be entirely a surprise, I guess.

It'd be weirder if they were the same.

Edited (derp) 2014-04-28 01:14 (UTC)

You could say that, I suppose. I'm familiar with some people from your world, so I suppose I can explain it being more esoteric? The rules for other disciplines of our magic are less... limited than the alchemy I've heard of that exists in Amestris.

And no, that's... extremely different, actually. How are they created in your world, anyway? That's the part that does have me curious, actually.

[...he does not know this is possibly opening a can of worms]

[The question makes him hesitate. He doesn't lie, but he also doesn't want to answer the question because that's ridiculously personal.

There's also the little matter about there being two entirely different versions of his world out there, but hey. He actually doesn't know about that.]

Truthfully, there aren't many people who know. Sometimes people stumble upon it, but it's extremely rare for a person to knowingly go about creating. It's a bit more involved than "I want to create an artificial person" and the energy involved tends to be fatal for the person doing the creating a fair percentage of the time if they are not a sufficiently powerful alchemist.

It goes without saying, though, that if the alchemist dies before the homunculus can be fully created, the homunculus dies as well.

[And that is almost informative enough to ignore the fact that he's very obviously dodging the question.]

So I see.

[On some level, he wasn't exactly expecting to get the full answer; after all, who spills all their magical secrets at the drop of a hat, especially when they're fairly new to this world?]

Well, I'd certainly say that makes sense... though it's a bit surprising to me that the majority of them are created by accident. Then again, the creation of homunculi where I'm from tends to be a bit less fatal, so I'd say the families who specialize in them have them down to more of a science rather than blindly stumbling into the creation of an artificial human for... whatever reason.

People tend to go about things blindly in my experience. At least when it comes to alchemy in my world.

It's not so much that they're stupid as it is they're hopelessly clueless.

As far as I'm aware, I'm the only homunculus who was created with the outright intention of making a homunculus. All the others were gathered up by the person who made me after they were left abandoned.

Well, every sort of experiment comes with some degree of risk... but really, that sounds like a recipe for complete disaster.

...Though, abandoned? That's... rather interesting, actually. It reminds me of a scenario presented in a literary work which... probably doesn't exist where you're from.

Oh, it is. It always is.

[It's probably revealing too much by not going into why they're abandoned. Why wouldn't a person abandoned a pile of malformed organs when they're not even aware that it's sentient to begin with?

But if homunculi aren't created when a person tries to resurrect the dead in his world, maybe this man won't pick up on it. Hopefully.]

Even if it doesn't, I wouldn't mind hearing the story.

Very well, then --- the novel is Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly. Essentially, the titular character, Victor Frankenstein, creates an artificial human through means that aren't exactly disclosed to the reader. There's a reason for this --- it's told in the first person perspective, and Frankenstein is deeply ashamed of his creation. He abandons the creation shortly after giving him life.

The artificial human is unable to connect with, well, natural humans; there's something distinctly offputting about him that repulses a family that he attempts to learn from. He is distinctly intelligent, however --- and between his abandonment by his creator and his inability to relate to humans, he swears revenge.

[That's.... well.

The pure horror on his face actually pretty well sums up how accurate of a summary that is about his own life. He opens and closes his mouth several times in an attempt to say anything at all, even something completely flippant, but nothing comes out.

He finally manages out a tinny sort of laugh.]

That's a hell of a story.

[...well, that's certainly telling.]

It certainly is. Actually, I've been able to find a version of it here, but it's... a bit different, I'd say.

[He's managed to mostly recover now, though he still looks faintly disturbed.]

Yeah? How so?

Well, it's about Pokemon, of course. Everything in this world is about Pokemon.

...it's a bit strange, honestly...

...Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

Better magical animals than people.

True enough, I suppose.

Regardless, I've always had a bit of an issue with the sorts of people in these things who have some sort of horrified reactions to their creations.

In the case of homunculi I'd be willing to say the reaction is primal.

We're not born looking human.

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