( TEXT ) un: sephiroth

[aonibi]

Good afternoon,

If I may: what are some activities that those ages 14-18 enjoy engaging in here?
If you're in that age range, or have been in the past, what was a typical day like at home for you at that time?

Are you employed here? If so, what is it you do? Does it align with your skills and interests? Did you have any experience when you began it?

Thank you for any answers you can provide.

Comments

[moochobliged]

sure! i'll have to get a new sword first. my old one's long gone.

and you're not wrong! someone else usually handles that stuff for me. do YOU want to get a job?

[aonibi]

I'm certain that's manageable. I've been told that there are fiends here, so weaponry must be reasonably easily acquired.

I'm technically already employed at home. I'm just not sure how applicable my skills are to a job here.
Maybe you can find something entry-level here.

[moochobliged]

i've seen a blacksmith in town! maybe they'll loan out weapons for hunting, you know, provisionally.

ehhhhhhh
what are your skills? besides swordsmanship.

[aonibi]

It's worth asking, I would think, though I'll admit I'm not certain how that would work. I've typically been issued my weapons by Shinra.

They're mostly warfare-related. I'm trained in a number of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and various types of magic. I have leadership training, finance, budgetary, and logistics training, some medical training that's primarily meant for battlefield triage. Et cetera.

[moochobliged]

i'll find out and let you know! you'd definitely like the longsword, if there are options?

most of that sounds pretty standard to me, but i'm an emperor's son. what kind of magic?

[aonibi]

I have one of my swords here with me, so I won't need another at this time. Thank you, though.

Is it? Do royalty typically learn such things?
Various types. I only have elemental materia with me here, though.

[moochobliged]

really? it came with you? lucky!

well, the competition between the clans has always been pretty intense. if i wanted to keep up i had to learn all of that pretty quickly.

[So he's actively ignoring the financial part, never mind that.]

i have no idea what a materia is. is it close to alchemy?

[aonibi]

Yes, I'm very grateful. I wouldn't be helpless without it, but it is a comfort to have. Aonibi also has a regen spell worked into the metal, so it's helpful to my allies in battle. [ not everyone's quite as sturdy as sephiroth. ]

That's fascinating. I assume the competition is a matter of succession and influence?

Materia is crystallized mako, what we'd consider the lifeblood of our planet. Depending on the way the mako crystallizes (and other factors), different kinds of energy can be produced.
I'm not familiar with alchemy except as a pseudoscience, though.

[moochobliged]

ahhh i'm jealous, my sword was just a sword. did you name yours? what does aonibi mean?

and it was, but i'll be taking the throne as soon as i get home from this place!

i'm not going to lie to you, that sounds like it could be a use for alchemy. but i'm not an alchemist or a materia... magician?

[aonibi]

No, I assume Aonibi was named in Wutai, where I believe it was made. It was assigned to me by my handler. My Wutaian isn't as strong as it should be, but I believe it refers to a color, a particular sort of blue-black or blue-gray, and is associated with the night sky.

Congratulations, then. That is, if you want the throne. [ people fight for power all the time, but.. he also doesn't want to assume. maybe it's just obligation driving this stranger, after all. ]

People need some training to use materia effectively, but anyone can do so, so we don't have a term for it like that. Is alchemy a legitimate science where you're from?

[moochobliged]

that's interesting, but what do you have a handler for? i had bodyguards, but.....

["Handler"? Sounds weird.]

still: thanks!

in my country it's called alkahestry and it's mostly for medicine, and i don't know how to do any of it either, but it's pretty widely respected. alchemists in other countries are [....,] military. if you'd seen them, you'd believe it's legitimate too! they do some incredible, impossible things.

[aonibi]

Well, it's more a formality than anything, since as Shinra assets go, I'm capable of doing and thinking for myself. My handler usually handles my orders, provides updated gear and weapons, and reports back to the president and the professor on my conduct.

Truthfully, if you've had similar training to mine, I expect that you don't need bodyguards?

That's fascinating. I don't know much about alchemy, but it sounds very different from what I've heard. I wonder why your version is so different from other nations'.

[moochobliged]

there are more assets who aren't like you? who need to be "handled"?

and i can take care of myself, but i'm something of an asset in another sense. my clan would suffer if i got myself killed, so, bodyguards.

it's not really my area of expertise, or i'd tell you... it's a case of different priorities, i think.

[aonibi]

Most weapons don't wield themselves. I'm an exception.

Because you'll be inheriting the crown. Yes, that makes sense. Is it strange to be here without them?

I see. I guess it's not that different from use of mako/materia. Thank you for indulging my curiosity this far.

[moochobliged]

you're indulging me!

[Fair's fair!!]

i've been traveling, so i haven't been home in a while anyway. i'm used to it.

anyway, i know you don't have alchemy back home, but are you a homunculus?

[aonibi]

Where were you going?

No. At least, I don't think so. Why?

[moochobliged]

to another country, to research alchemy.

i've met a few, and most of them talk about themselves like you do. like they're tools for a purpose. although most of them were pretty arrogant about it, too...

[aonibi]

To help with ruling your country?

[ .. oh. ] No, I was born. I had a mother. I'm also a research specimen, though.

[moochobliged]

for immortality, but technically yes.

research for what?

[aonibi]

Why? [ why would anyone want to live forever? ]

Stronger SOLDIERs. I'm enhanced.

[moochobliged]

why not?

you can't stop there! enhanced how? did it hurt?

[aonibi]

The only person I know who is immortal doesn't seem happy about it.

[ he sidesteps the question of pain a little uneasily. ] I can't talk about the professor's methods, but I'm stronger and faster, difficult to injure, and I heal extremely quickly. My skill with magic is better than anyone else's at home, as well.

[ there's other things, but that sums up the parts shinra cares about. ]

[moochobliged]

that's one person. besides, it wasn't for me, so i don't really know.

[In any case, this SOLDIER thing is starting to sound weirdly close to "King Bradley minus the homunculus part," which is, hm, not great. It's definitely wise to pivot, yes--]

there aren't any good methods for human experimentation. well, no wonder you're looking for new hobbies!

[aonibi]

I guess there could be people who enjoy it.

The professor is a genius, but yes, it would be nice to experience more of life here.

[moochobliged]

[ThE pRoFeSsOr iS a GeNiUs—no, he's going to behave, he's being nice.]

do you want to come climbing with me?