[Open] Morning Training! - February 25th

[spandexisyouth]

Characters: Everyone!

Location: Training Grounds, Shibusen

Rating: PG-13 for violence

Time: 6am to 9am

Description: Every morning in the city, Morning Training takes place to prepare the guests of the city for the war. It's handwaved most days, but approximately once a month this gets played out in a log. This log takes place on February 25th.

Official Areas:


FAQ: Questions answered by Maito Gai
Breakfast: Run by Cinderella, Katakura Kojurou, Saya Tagaki, Yugo
Batch One: Beginners under the age of 15. Run by Auron, Steve Rogers, Deryn.
Batch Two: Adult beginners. Run by Maito Gai, Tifa Lockhart, Cloud.
Batch Three: Intermediate fighters. Overseen by Hyuuga Neji and Ling Yao. Please see list of random sparrers.
Batch Four: Experienced fighters, for sparring with each other. Overseen by Haruka.
Weapon Transformation: How to find your form. Run by Yuuri, Spirit.
Soul Perception: If someone doesn’t know by now. Run by Azusa.
Partner Training: How to work together as partners. Run by Tassadar; Maka and Soul; Shizuo; Eve; Crona and Ragnarok.
Weapons Handling Training: Run by Genesis Rhapsodos, Tenten, Kerrigan.
Shooting Range: How to Shoot. Run by Leon, Naoto.
Meister Ability Helpers: How to find it out. Run by Death the Kid, Edgeworth.
Finding a Partner: For unpartnered Meisters and Weapons to mingle and find each other. Overseen by Sasame.
Fighting Witches: Speak to an actual Witch and find out some of what you're facing. Run by Cybele.
First Aid Training: Training run by Naomi Kimishima, Megumi, Kira Izuru.
Medics: A place for the medics to get to know each other and mingle.
Watch: For Watch people (and prospective new members) to gather, talk, and train.

Hug Brigade: Come get hugs!

For training via sparring:
Katakura Koujurou
Hyuuga Neji
Steve Rogers
Crona
Maito Gai
(Various NPCs available upon request)
Partner vs Partner sparring is also good!

Feel free to make your own open threads!



Breakfast
Ryoki [Open]
Bakura [Open]
Yami Bakura [Open]

Batch Two
Flora [Open]
Santana [Open]
Mitsuba [Open]


Batch Three
Takuto [Open]
Mithos [Open]

Batch Four
Amateresu [Open]
Raidou [Open]
Lili [Open]

Shooting Range
Death The Kid [Open]
Yami Bakura [Open]
Bakura [Open]

Finding a Partner
Stripperella - Meister [Open]
Ryoki - Weapon [Open]
Amateresu - Meister [Open]
Demona - Meister [Open]
Bakura - Weapon [Open]
Flora - Weapon [Open]
Londo - Weapon [Open]
Yami Bakura - Meister [Open]
Leo - Meister [Open]
Hades - Weapon [Open]
Yako - Weapon [Open]
Jules - Weapon [Open]
Kei - Weapon [Open]

Watch
Stripperella [Open]
Takuto [Open]
Duke [Open]
Neji [Open]
Mithos [Open]
Aion [Open]

General
Saya [Open]
Stripperella [Open]
Darcia [Open]
Ryoki [Open]
Gai [Open]
Demona [Open]
Takuto [Open]
Bakura [Open]
Kanji [Open]
Amateresu [Open]
Naoto [Open]
Raidou [Open]
Auron [Open]
Flora [Open]
Yami Bakura [Open]
Junpei [Open]
Leo [Open]
Aion [Open]
Hades [Open]
Itou, Qilby, Megumi, castmates [Closed]
Spirit [Open]
Hanabi [Open]
Qilby [Open]
Ed Elric [Open]

Comments

[dissenter]

[hahaha, qilby just has to marvel a little at how this boy can sound like someone decades his senior when he gets to theorizing, and yet still make such typically-teenaged responses like that at other times. what a strange child.]

My days aren't as busy as they once were... Which is a bit of a blessing, for someone my age. [he's mastered the art of self-deprecation without sounding pitiful.] It's mostly waiting for flashes of insight-- bursts of inspiration...

[he's noticed the glances, the curiosity -- it's hard not to. he smiles and makes some room on his bench.] Have you given much thought to where our abilities come from? The ones we were granted here, I mean.

[toukakoukan]

[Ed goes to sit next to him, taking his thoughts away from Qilby's missing arm to think about his question a bit.]

I was told they're generally similar to ones that we have in our own world. But a lot of people here come from places where they don't have anything like powers at all, so it has to be something innate within someone. Something that makes us who we are.

[It's how he's tried to think about it, at least. With alchemy, it's not just something that he could do back home, it was a part of him, what helped him feel connected not just to his brother but to the world.]

[dissenter]

[he nods. that's quite the good start -- certainly much better than the sort of answer he'd get from most of the city's rabble.]

I'm sure there're many theories as to what makes us who we are. The most sentimental among us would say it's our actions, but-- [a light chuckle] I think we're looking for something a bit more quantitative to answer this particular question.

So if these powers didn't manifest themselves for some people on their own worlds, it's not a stretch to say that it's something about this world that grants them their abilities. Whether it's some magic about this place that's unlocked their potential, or -- more simply -- something they received upon coming here. [it's probably pretty obvious by now that he knows exactly what he's trying to get at -- he just wants ed to say it.] Perhaps something we all received?

[toukakoukan]

[Sitting back a little, Ed crossed his arms over his chest to think about this more.]

It would make more sense if there were something received, something that would only work in this world. Otherwise people might return home able to do things they're not supposed to, and with the whole time-space issue, it could really mess up some people's worlds.

But it wouldn't be very beneficial to give someone powers that are totally in opposition to what they're really capable of. Like some people here seem better for healing than for killing. [He shrugs.] There must be something that can tap into someone's potential.

[dissenter]

A good point. It's a delicate-enough balance of power without bringing in interference from whole other universes.

[he taps his fingers on the pages of his still-open notebook. his handwriting's as illegible as ever -- even if it was in an alphabet understandable to anyone here but himself.] Did people on your world believe in souls? [a short pause, and then he shakes his head. scratch that.] Not in the metaphysical sense, but rather... Souls similar to the ones we have here, in this world. Something tangible.

[toukakoukan]

[This question gives him pause. Initially, he would answer no, because the souls in this place are strange and nothing like what he recognizes. But to be able to take hold of a soul and bind it to something... to Ed, that's something more tangible that the idea that a lot of people here have of souls.]

They're not like this place, no. We can't see them or feel them... but they can be manipulated through alchemy. For example, souls can be pulled out of a body and either put into another vessel or... turned into other things.

[He still doesn't talk much with the people of this world about what happened with Al, or the Philosopher's Stone in general.]

What about your world? [Because he realizes he knows so little about Qilby's world.]

[dissenter]

[an arched brow. well, that was certainly an interesting answer-- even more interesting than he'd suspected it'd be.]

I recall you mentioning you were an alchemist-- but I never asked exactly what that entailed, did I? [a pause.] That sounds like a... Fascinating power.

[he cracks a smile. but boy, does he sure love talking about himself and his world!] It's hard to say. For sure, our universe is suffused with a life force: a primal, creative energy we called wakfu. My siblings and I are special in that, when we die, our wakfu doesn't return to our Goddess from which it came-- but rather, it's used in our rebirth.

Though we aren't supposed to remember our past selves, some things simply don't change from generation to generation. I couldn't tell you exactly how long it's been... [well, he could. and though they aren't supposed to remember all their countless past lives -- and they don't -- qilby is the extremely unfortunate exception to that particular rule.] I understand I've been quite the same person I've been for the last few dozen lives, at least!

[that is to say, extremely bitter and sick of the same old thing.] Which suggests that perhaps, on my world or in my case, what literally makes us may also be what makes us who we are.

[toukakoukan]

[Just as Qilby's all too happy to talk about himself and his world, Ed is just delighted to be able to talk about alchemy. He's been explaining it to a lot of people here, but it's always most frustrating when he can demonstrate it because that would be the best explanation, in his opinion.]

Alchemy is a way of harnessing the energy from the earth and using it in a three step process. [He counts on his fingers as he goes through them.] First, analyzing the structure of something, deconstructing the particles, and reconstructing them, usually in a different form. It's not magic though, it's science!

[He scratches his forehead a little, really wishing he could demonstrate.] There's a lot more to it than that, but those are the basic principles, along with equivalent exchange--for everything taken, something must be returned.

[The explanation of Qilby's world sounds very similar to the ideals of his world, save for the reincarnation.]

I think I get that. 'All is one, and one is all.' So what about people's experiences? Can't that drastically change "who someone is"?

[dissenter]

All is one, and one is all. [he repeats in a murmur. it sounds right on his tongue. though he'd be more likely to agree only with the former part of that particular mantra...]

Perhaps... However, I find that our experiences merely change the way we act. We're reactionary creatures, all of us who've been granted life. Nothing if not adaptable. [he rubs his chin.] I take it that not many people on your world get the chance to live multiple lives? Thus there's no way of knowing whether or not they're the "same" person despite different experiences.

But-- that being said... [a deep, almost annoyed sigh.] Last we spoke, I mentioned the idea that different versions of the same person arriving here in the city would receive different souls. Perhaps it's just the way things are governed by the laws of this universe, but-- [he leans an elbow on his knee, resting his chin on his palm.] Whether the soul determines one's identity or whether experiences determine the nature of one's soul-- no matter what, one of my theories is going to be incorrect.

I wish my thinking could be as orderly as your alchemy sounds. [clever, but apparently humble.]

[toukakoukan]

[Ed watches Qilby thoughtfully, not saying anything for a few moments as he processes the theories. While Qilby believed different souls were within the different "versions" of people that came to Death City, Ed didn't really know how different that actually made them. The Roy Mustang he knew in his world was almost exactly the same as the one he'd known here, so much that he often forgot they didn't exist in the same timeline. Furthermore, if Al was brought to his world, but from Roy's version and not his own, what did that say about the soul transfixed to the armor? Was it a different one entirely than the one he'd pulled from The Truth? It didn't make sense.]

Alchemy has rules, but I wouldn't call it orderly. There's... mistakes, vagueness, and a lot of danger. It's easy enough to use but if someone doesn't understand what they're doing or lets it get out of control...

[He sighes, slumping his shoulders and resting his elbows on his knees.]

I made a lot of mistakes with it... and souls in particular.

[dissenter]

[you know how those wise, elderly types sometimes have an unnerving way of understanding exactly what you're talking about even when you don't explicitly say it? that's probably the sort of empathetic, x-ray look qilby's giving ed right now.

or maybe it's just because the way the kid's slumped over make it pretty obvious to anyone that these aren't normal garden-variety mistakes he's talking about. he straightens slightly, at least enough to take his chin off his palm, and replies quietly.] I wouldn't presume to know the circumstances -- and I don't need to know if you'd rather not tell me now...

But I do know very well that nothing great was ever achieved without an abundance of mistakes along the way. [a gentle smile.] It's a cliche, of course, but they say there's a reason those exist. Hardships are the seeds of personal growth, and I'm sure I've a veritable garden of them growing right now, considering how long I've lived.

The greatest among us are the ones who make the effort to tend theirs. I think you'd be doing yourself and your talent an injustice not to do the same.

[toukakoukan]

[He looks up and over at Qilby, brow furrowed. There have been many concerned adults in his life, and while a few years ago he maybe had shunned the idea of listening to anyone else's advice, he's grown up enough to know that those who have lived through much more than him generally have pretty good input on life. This figure of mentor, almost father-like, is strangely welcome once he's encountering it, especially here.]

...Yeah. No one gets anywhere if they're just standing still. I want to always keep moving forward, as long as I'm able to. And fix the mistakes I've made.

[He makes a fist with his automail hand, looking down at it.]

That's why I have to get home...

[dissenter]

[his smile widens momentarily -- but the irony's undoubtedly lost on ed, considering that little conversation he had with demona was quite in secret.

he can't go around mouthing off about all his plans to get off this rock just yet, so he merely sighs and nods.] I understand it's as if no time has passed when we're returned to our worlds-- but I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't make it any less aggravating to be away. My patience does have its limits, and I was pulled away from a very... Momentous occasion.

I want to help these people, but I could have done it so much better on my own terms, on my own time. [a vague gesture.] But I am somewhat of an expert on travel between other worlds and dimensions, after all. Perhaps that knowledge can still serve us in our endeavor to return home.

[he pauses, sharing ed's look at the strange metal hand -- open, honest curiosity on his face.] Aah... Pardon me for asking but-- is that arm mechanical?

[toukakoukan]

[He looks up at Qilby curiously at the mention of traveling between worlds--he had mentioned something like that the last time they talked, hadn't he?]

Just let me know if you need some help with figuring parts of it out. I don't know that much myself, [he feels his own knowledge of The Truth and traveling through that door is a bit different] but I want to help get it figured out.

[His attention is drawn back to his arm, and he looks down at it, nodding] It's called 'automail' in my world. There are mechanics that specialize in artificial limbs for people who have lost them--my childhood friend made these for me.

[Inevitably, his eyes drift to Qilby's missing arm and he thinks of the people here who have told them how that kind of technology would have benefited people in their own worlds.]

[dissenter]

I'll most certainly be taking you up on that offer -- I only ask for a bit of time to first condense my thoughts. [or, more accurately, come up with a way of painting his budding plan in an attractive light for someone that isn't demona. i.e. someone that isn't interested in killing all humans... well, he always enjoyed a challenge.

he arches a brow, surprised, and not a little impressed.] Really, now? A whole career dedicated to the craft? Well, I can't say I don't think it's an incredibly admirable thing to specialize in...

[because, again, the looks are hard to miss. but he doesn't seem too bothered as he turns his head in response, to glance at his left shoulder.] A result of the last war I had the... Displeasure of having to fight. [one corner of his mouth curls distastefully at that -- war. violence. specifically, violence against him.] ...But certainly not the worst of the losses I had to suffer that day.

[a smile, an attempt at levity.] So I suppose that means that you wouldn't be able to show me how to make one of my own.

[toukakoukan]

[He watches Qilby sadly because while his own story of losing his limbs in the war is a fake, he knows too many who it's very real for.]

I only have a basic understanding of it. But there's a mechanic I go to here, her name's Re-L. I heard she built an arm for another guy who... had mechanical parts. [To say it simply for 004.] And I know there's another person, Sarah Kerrigan, who knows about stuff like that too.

[dissenter]

[oh! he talked with kerrigan. once. briefly. the other woman, however-- that's an unfamiliar name.]

If I seriously consider taking up arms, then. [oh man, that was awful. even he can't find that one funny.] Perhaps you can introduce us sometime.

[he leans back.] I was always the researcher. Out of the two of us, my brother was the far more talented engineer-- though I do claim some small skill in that area, regardless. [a reminiscent tone. more than that-- an admiring one.] He would've driven you mad with questions about your automail, but afterwards he'd be able to craft them as if he'd been doing so for lifetimes.

BREW was... Unwise, not to bring the rest of my siblings with me. We could accomplish -- have always accomplished -- so much more, all together. [and if it had to bring only one person -- just one -- why in the goddess' name did it have to bring yugo?]

[toukakoukan]

[Ed practically jumps when Qilby mentions his brother. There couldn't be anything better to make him feel more allied with this man than a mention like that.]

Your brother?? Ah... I have a brother too! He and I, we do all our researching together. So... I know what you mean. [He can't even express how much he's been wanting... needing his brother here.] We could have done a lot more than I can on my own.

[He pauses a moment.] There's still a chance they could come here... but I don't know if we should wish that on them. Is it wrong?

aaaa phrasing idk

[dissenter]

Six of us Eliatropes, each with dragon siblings. Twelve in all... Needless to say, it's quite a large and unusual family. [and it's not overt, but the way he talks about this particular eliatrope brother seems different. but in a family this large, you couldn't help but pick favourites, right?

qilby smiles at that. but the suggestion, the thought of it, is bittersweet -- it may seem more like a grimace.] I don't think it's wrong to wish. It's not as if BREW is responding to us, after all. [a beat. how to say this...] I just wouldn't be able to predict from when or where they'd come -- if it's a situation I'd be sorry to have dragged them from.

My people are... In a low place, right now. All are dead, or lost, save for me and four others. [he bites his lower lip.] While it's not a hopeless situation, it's not one I'd want to burden my past or future loved ones with. And not one I would lie about, either.

[on the contrary, there're a good many things he would lie -- and has been lying -- about. then there're many things that're simply kept on a need-to-know basis. like how it's his fault all his people are dead.]

it happens! :D

[toukakoukan]

[He doesn't claim to know exactly what kind of family Qilby is talking about, but he can recognize a like-minded affection and empathizes with it.]

But maybe it'd be easier... if everyone was together? [He shrugs slightly.] This place is at war, but being alone here... especially after tragedy, is too hard. I think the same that goes for us would go for them too, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be all in one place.

[dissenter]

Perhaps it's BREW's way of forcing us to form strong bonds with the people we're to fight alongside, instead of closing ourselves off with the ones we know and love. As complete strangers from other worlds, what should happen if there was no reason to take each other into confidence? If something should happen to our loved ones, if they were sent away before us? Who would there be left to help us through that tragedy?

[he shakes his head.] No, I believe we're meant to form new families-- to learn to take others into our hearts. Only the beauty.... Or tragedy of it is that once we've been sent back home, it'll be as if nothing had happened. There's no lasting sorrow upon parting, but neither are there any fond memories.

[le smile.] But it's no reason not to reach out at all. I hope others see that the same way I do.

[he needs people's trust -- ed's trust -- after all. it's such a useful thing, that. it's just a shame it can be taken advantage of only once.]

[toukakoukan]

[Looking over at Qilby, he frowns a little. It was unfortunately true--when Ed first arrived here, he'd distanced himself from a lot of the people, just like he had at home, but the difference was he'd had Al at home. Without his brother here, Ed felt more alone than ever, something that had led him to tentatively form bonds with people here, enough even to resonate.]

Heh... people are like that, aren't they? [His frown slowly turns into a sad smile as he looks down at his hands.] Can't stand being alone, no matter where we are. But you're right; we wouldn't fight together otherwise.

[And unfortunately for Ed, trust is something Qilby is easily acquiring. How many times did he wish for this type of conversation and advice from his own father, despite believing he didn't?]

[dissenter]

There are few things worse than true solitude. [it's a weird thing to say. somewhat out-of-character for him, but said with such conviction, it's probably a little startling.

a pause, and then, abruptly--] All of those things I asked you earlier-- I have an idea that our powers are a direct manifestation of our souls' unique energy. It may explain why the "same" people can show up in Death City a second time around with a different soul and, in turn, a different ability. Or why everyone brought here receives a power, whether or not they already had one in their world. The common link between us all is the soul that we were also given.

[he raps his knuckles on his notes for emphasis.] That's what I plan on studying. If I'm correct, imagine if we could come up with a way of enhancing our powers by interfering with our soul's very energy -- its wavelength! How quickly the tides of war would change, then!

[another pause, this one almost expectant. it seems he's testing the waters for something...]

[toukakoukan]

[Ed stares at Qilby, for the first time feeling a slight chill go down his spine. Qilby's idea makes him feel uneasy, even if he's not sure why. He's heard something similar before, and the terrible things that the Homunculus and whoever led them wanted to do with souls all with the idea of creating something better comes back to him.

But he wonders if he's too suspicious, too paranoid. He casts his eyes down, thinking a moment before answering, his voice slightly on edge.]

How would you go about interfering with souls' energies?

[dissenter]

The same way you interfere with any energy expressing itself as a wave -- with another wave. I believe that's the basis for resonation between partners, yes? Two soul wavelengths, in sync, overlapping to create one more powerful?

[he doesn't elaborate on the concept any further than he has to -- he was gauging ed's reaction, and he got it. it's disappointing, to say the least.

qilby tones it back. less eager, more entreating. his words and arguments are like honey, all the more to attract flies with.] How many guests that pass through here actually end up partnering with another? [it's a hypothetical question that of course he knows the answer to; he checked the records. a mere forty-two people, out of a "force" of nearly two hundred. just twenty one pairs to fight a stagnating war that has no end in sight.] There's so much untapped potential in those for whom partnership is not an option, for those who're simply too weak and unattractive as fighters for reasons beyond their control. If there's a way to give them the power to take up arms, then it seems unfair not to do so.