Fullmetal Alchemist Reboot - [All Welcome!]

[catherinehellfire]

The second one seems more in line with the setting, at least appearance-wise. Though just because she looks thoughtful in the picture doesn't mean she can't be cheerful in nature!

Well, that's true, she could have any personality really, I just put her as the "darker personality" to show a likely example of an image I might use.  Also. I should have a character soon, I just have to figure out what type of alchemist I want mine to be before I can get my ideas really rolling! 

[Vergil1989]

While it's been some time since I've watched Fullmetal Alchemist, I still remember the show quite fondly.  I never watched Brotherhood like I did the original, but the little I did was pretty awesome.  I've also played a couple of the games for the PS 2 way back when, so needless to say I know the story lol.  At any rate, not to poke holes or anything, but we seem to have an overabundance of women, something I never thought I'd say since I'm normally all for female heroes or at the very least, protagonists lol.  That aside, I normally RP as women myself though so I can't say anything, and as such that's likely what I'll go with.  I like what I've seen as well before anyone asks, especially Miss Fire's gal. 

Anyway, I'm assuming you aren't interested in the whole 'tried to bring back the dead' thing and paid the price for it?  Such Alchemists are special in that they don't need an alchemy circle already drawn up, giving them a slight advantage over their more 'mundane' peers, but if you don't mind I already have an idea or two for such a 'gifted' character.  That's not to say she wouldn't get her ass kicked still, it's just something knocking about in the back of my head is all.

In case you're curious, I'm going to go with an Ishvallian.  Considering the fact most Isvhals hold family far above alchemy, the fact my gal is an Alchemist would be a point of some serious tension if they ever go to her home town.  Just throwing that out there. 

[MissFire]

I'm fine with it being all ladies, that's no problem. You're welcome to play someone who tried to bring back the dead as long as they're not open about it, as that would cause a lot of tension. Same thing with playing an Ishvalian. Even though, apparently, Ishval is re-instated as a holy land at the end of the series, I imagine there would still be a lot of hostility towards them.

[Vergil1989]

She could say she lost a leg or something during an accident.    She'd still have alchemy circles about her person, but she wouldn't need them.  That and as far as her being Ishvallian, she'd be well aware of the fact that she'd be hated, but as far as she'd be concerned, she's already hated by her own people so it would be old news to her.  I'll try to get a character sheet going once I get done writing for the day.  Thanks though MissFire. 

[Vergil1989]

Sorry for the double post.  As for the part about her hating to be called crippled, that's part of my own personality coming through my character here.  Long story, but the truth remains the same.  DON'T use such a word with abandon when talking to me.  Okay? 

Name:  Nalia Samara, the Armored Alchemist
Age:  24
Gender:  Female
Birthplace:  Ishval
Height:  5 foot, 4 inches
Weight: 120 pounds, not counting her automail legs.

Alchemy:  Metal manipulation specialization, but she's more....freeform than most expect.

Background:  Despite the war that broke out in Ishval, that almost led to the total annihilation of her entire people, Nalia held no rage for the State Alchemists from the government that ruled over the country.  While she wasn't old enough to really remember much of anything from the first attack upon her people, she had been around long enough to hear the story from those that had, and she survived what came next years later when the Homunculi were unleashed upon the world.  The only reason she survived the destruction that followed was because she had been out on a trip with her twin brother, a supply run with several other members of their clan, their family, for lack of a better term.  And despite the fact Alchemy was looked down upon by the rest of her people, Nalia had devoted her fair share of time to its study, not for the power, but for the ideal that she could help her people by using the power she found she was quite gifted with in terms of shaping and reshaping the very earth at her feet.  Sand, rock, metallic ores, although she never broke the law about transmuting lead into gold, it didn't matter, she understood how to break it down and to put it back together as she desired given the time to prepare herself.  Despite the war that followed with the Homunculi and their enigmatic leader, Nalia was happy, overall.

Then disaster struck shortly after peace and order began to return to the world.  An accident occurred that claimed the life of her brother.  He had been helping clean up a section of the city of Ishval that had been damaged by the fighting that had come back to their home, and the building ended up falling down without much warning.  He'd been killed instantly, and Nalia had been struck dumb by the news.  Out of everything that had happened, a building collapsed killed her twin.  It wasn't fair!  It wasn't FAIR!  Her studies almost consumed her, and whatever respect she had garnered from her fellow Ishvalan disappeared as their prejudice against all Alchemists and the art they practiced returned to the surface, and she was shunned.  She didn't care, she only wanted to see her brother again.  Then the day came she came across a book, detailing the means to bring back someone from beyond the void, to transmute them, if not in spirit at least in body.  It was enough of a thin, thread of hope for Nalia, and she set to work one hot summer day.  It was the hottest day of the year, but she hardly noticed as she gathered the materials and found a place to set up shop for the most forbidden of practices.  She'd succeed where so many had failed!  She had to!

As so many before her, Nalia failed, and lost her legs when the transmutation went wrong.  It brought....something back, but it sure as Hell wasn't her brother.  It only vaguely resembled a human being, but it was an amalgamation of grotesque body parts and a vaguely human, twisted face that, to make matters worse, looked like that of her twin brother, Samuel.  If not for the arrival of her fellow Ishvalans that still considered her a friend, that still cared about her and had tried to talk her out of what she planned, she would have died then and there, or that....thing would have killed her in its agony induced madness.  Either way, she was fitted with what automail they could cobble together, and while it wasn't anything truly fancy, it got the job done, but more importantly, Nalia understood what few people did.  Bringing back the dead was unforgivable, and not just for the obvious reasons.  There was no way to balance out the equation when it came to bringing back a soul, no sacrifice someone could make to equal the exchange needed to play God, and to even try was the ultimate example of pride and ego.  It was a miracle she was even alive, let alone with her sanity intact, such as it was at that point.  She got better, slowly, and while what respect and goodwill she had left with her fellow Ishvalans was at an all time low, she left her home to try and find something to live for.

She left for Central to find something to fight for outside of her own selfish ambition.  Becoming a State Alchemist was a step in the right direction in her mind, even if she was now a dog of the military, further putting a wedge between her countrymen and herself.  She'd make amends, somehow, but she had to do this.  Maybe it was her pride still at work, her ego still coloring her judgment, but Nalia was determined to do what she could to make things better.  As for how she explained missing both of her legs, well, that was easy.  Accidents happen all the time right?  If anyone asked about her automail, she just shrugged and told them a version of what happened to her brother had happened to her as well, that her legs had been beyond repair when the building came down.  But she knows she can't keep up the facade forever, but until then, the skills she's picked up she will continue to use for the betterment of those around her first and foremost.

Personality:  Nalia might have been hardened and altered by her sin of pride and hubris in trying to bring back her brother Samuel, but her good heart and demeanor still remains within her.  She goes out of her way to help those she can, either with her alchemy or with far more mundane means.  In any event, her good will comes to an end when her friends, or those she considers family, are threatened, and the driven, determined side of her comes to the surface.  Despite everything that happened to her fellow countrymen and the fact she was generally untouched by all the bloodshed, she wasn't blind to it either, so she has plenty of anger, bottled up and ready to pop, she can draw upon when the need arises.  Aka, don't piss off Nalia Samara if you want to see tomorrow.  And whatever you do, don't call her crippled.  "CAN A CRIPPLE DO THIS?!"  Ahem....moving on.

Other:  As an earth and metal minded alchemist, Nalia is very grounded in her combat tactics.  Her defensive measures are just as effective as her offensive ones, and more often not she has a habit of wrapping herself in an armored shell to take the role of both at the same time.  A moving tank, you don't want to get in her way when she's fully encased and charging an enemy formation.

Her good heart is counterbalanced by her fighting spirit.  When provoked, Nalia is a force of destruction that has no off switch because despite her calm demeanor and overall levelheaded nature, she will go out of her way to utterly crush her opponents between her fists.  Given her losses though, and those that know the whole story, few can blame her for the raging beast she keeps contained behind her pretty face.

As an Isvhalan, she knows her people aren't exactly looked upon with favor.  That didn't stop her from pursuing her goals however of trying to both, improve relations between the rest of the world and her people, and two, to help as many people as she can in an effort to maybe one day absolve herself of her sin of pride.  While perhaps a foolish idea, it helps keep her moving forward, and to endure the racial prejudice and hatred some people level her way because of simply what she is rather than who she is.

[MissFire]

Hmm. Can you perhaps go with metal OR earth? And how does her crafting armor work?

[Vergil1989]

My idea was that she specialized in shaping metal into shields and swords, to full body armor, kinda like Alphonse, just she actually has a body lol.  But yeah, I can change things a bit and just have her go all metal, easy.  She doesn't morph her own body if that's what you're worried about, she just encases herself in armor plates and such.  She certainly has enough to work with given her legs and all.  It wouldn't be a bad idea for her to carry extra metal around honestly.

[MissFire]

What about the joints, though? If she wrapped herself in metal she wouldn't be able to move very well. You'd need to have working joints. And how would she get the armor on? She'd have to make the armor before going into battle because dressing in it would take too long in the middle of a fight, y'know? Full body armor sounds a little unwieldy. I can see shields and weapons, though.

[Vergil1989]

And yet Ed can transmute a sword out of his own arm.  While it's brief, they show one alchemist completely transmuting himself so that he can become a walking artillery unit of sorts.  And technically Al doesn't have joints either, yet he's able to bend his arms and legs just fine.  What he has however, is articulated plates, that work in such a way that they allow movement to a certain extent.  They're like joints, just different as the plates shift over each other without hindering movement.  While he doesn't have a body to hinder, it's still the same basic principle here, no joints required for the armor in question.

[Karma]

Alchemy is shown to be dynamic enough that someone could transmute metal plates into functional armor without hassle if they were practiced at it. I think it's reasonable.

[MissFire]

Fine.

[Vergil1989]

Sorry to be a pain in the butt about this MissFire.  Also, thanks Karma for the assist.  Even if she's in armor that doesn't mean I don't foresee myself having issues.  There's plenty of ways around armor.  Just straight up lightning would be enough on its own, and heat metal up and you can pretty much guarantee she'll be in a hurry to get out of her shell lol.  Provided she doesn't end up burned of course, and that's just two examples I can think of off the top of my head when she's in full on armor mode, so to speak.

[catherinehellfire]

Figured out my character's alchemy!  I should (hopefully) have her done soon!

[catherinehellfire]

Here is my attempt at a character! 

Name: Isabele Dehma the Gemstone Alchemist
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Birthplace: Drachma
Height: 5’ 6”
Weight: 130

Alchemy:Isabele has alchemy circles on the back of each hand.  Her alchemy is well known for both its beauty and how deadly it can potentially be as she focuses on creating and manipulating gems and crystals, more for personal use or combat than for selling, as such follows the same rule as gold, though on a less strict level.  She usually carries around small gems with her and has a hard crystal staff, both of which she morphs for alchemy, as creating harder gems is a harder process.

Background:Isabele was born in the northern nation of Drachma, a cold and harsh place where her family lived in poverty.  She grew up in a very small house with her mother and father, walking to school through the cold every day and coming home to make herself food out of what little they had.  To try to win them a better life, her father would join the military in the hopes of winning his family stable money, but under mysterious causes, one day he was sent out with a group of soldiers, and none returned.

Realizing that without her husband, they wouldn’t be able to make it here, Isabele’s mother took her and crossed the border to start life in Amestris.  There, she got a new job, and Isabele, a better education.  In her early teens, Isabele developed two things, an interest in alchemy, and a habit to steal to try and better the lives of her and her mom, joining with a group of petty criminals.  But as she learned more about alchemy, she saw a better way to use the jewelry than selling it, she’d begin to take bits of what they stole to use it in her attempts at learning alchemy.  She tried and tried to learn, researching, going to the library, reading constantly until she managed to learn the art.

Shortly after becoming an adult and getting a job, her mother died of disease, driving her to more crime and to bad habits like smoking and drinking, as well as her continued thievery, even using her alchemy to help her in the crimes, though one day, she was finally caught, though instead of being arrested, the military official recognized her talent for alchemy and reported it to higher officials before being given a deal that they wouldn’t arrest her, should she become a state alchemist.  Agreeing with some enthusiasm, she trained for a long period of time and passed her exam to officially become, the Gemstone Alchemist.

Personality: Isabele has shown unexpected kindness and mercy to criminals, as she understands where some of them are coming from, as well as kindness to most people.  She often hides her problems behind her almost constantly smiling face and doesn’t like to share these problems with just about anyone, preferring not to hinder others with them.  She also puts a lot of effort into hiding her heritage and accent, as her and her mother were on the receiving end of a lot of discrimination upon arrival, coming from a country which was almost always on the verge of war with Amestris.  She is openly friendly to just about anyone she meets despite first impressions, especially children.  In battle, depending on the situation she can become a much more serious person.  The main reason for her tattoo is a deep-set want to become stronger and live the life her parents wanted her to.

Other:
- Isabele’s fighting style is essentially balanced power and speed focused in a more graceful manner which takes advantage of her natural flexibility and dexterity, often just using her staff in its normal form and moving in sync with it.
-She is in fact Bisexual with a slight preference on females.
-She is quick handed and often still has a tendency to take things, sometimes on accident, though if she likes you, she’ll often hand them right back.
-Despite her personality, she still prefers darker clothing and can become quite the intimidating person when angered.
-Even with the money she receives as a State Alchemist, she still lives in a fairly small house and usually doesn’t buy too nice of things, as she doesn’t want to live the life of luxury she used to resent.

[Vergil1989]

I like her.    She seems pretty interesting compared to mine honestly.

[catherinehellfire]

I like her.    She seems pretty interesting compared to mine honestly.

Well I think yours is pretty interesting too! 

[Karma]

That's four! Hooray!

[Vergil1989]

Lol well thanks Cat.    And yes, that is four isn't it?  Cool. 

[MissFire]

Thoughts on when this takes place? I have two ideas.

1) After the series is over. I've only seen the 2003 series so it would be after that. The position of Fuhrer is eliminated for the time being, so power is kind of spread out to the assembly. Mustang is still laid up in bed so the PC's get their marching orders from... hmm... Riza or Armstrong, perhaps? The stuff with Ishval is kind of/sort of resolved, or on it's way to healing that rift since the policies against Ishvalans have been repealed.

2) During the series. Ed and Al are off doing their own thing, Bradley is still in control. The PC's get their marching orders from either Bradley himself of Mustang, delivering Bradley's commands. There's still tension with Ishval and such. Things are still pretty tense in Central, lots of troops around and such.

[Karma]

Oh, I had assumed this would be in Brotherhood continuity. Hrm. Maybe during would be better since they don't diverge much until halfway.

[Vergil1989]

Forgetting the fact I KINDA wrote my background so that it was after the show, mostly because I had assumed as much going by your opening post, I think we'd be better off doing this after everything was said and done personally.  We'd have more freedom, things can go anywhere we'd want them to, and we wouldn't be restricted by what we could do for the most part.  That's just my opinion though, and I can easily fix my background if need be in any event.

[Karma]

If it's in 2003 continuity then I have some reading to do...

[Vergil1989]

Well, if we DO go with after the show, (and I've only see most of the original FMA and that was a little while ago now, I tried Brotherhood but I haven't even gotten through the first season yet,) I love Armstrong, but I'd rather take my orders from Riza Hawkeye personally lol.  She's levelheaded, and while Armstrong is a formidable soldier, he's....eccentric lol.

[MissFire]

It's not going to affect much story-wise, really, as we'll be going off on our own little way. It's just going to affect who's in charge of the military, who's giving orders, and the attitudes that people would have towards the state alchemists and certain characters based on their heritage. I was planning on setting it after the show (2003), but thought I'd ask opinions anyway.

[catherinehellfire]

I'm thinking after might be easier anyway, I feel like it leaves things open for some more original NPCs and gives more control over the storyline so it doesn't have to bend around the big events of FMA so much.