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Entry tags:
(no subject)
Title: N/A
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist, panfandom RP
Character(s): Frank Archer, mentions of Zolf J Kimbley, Lysandre, Augustine Sycamore, Kirei Kotomine, Cammy Meele, Cynthia, Hinata Hajime
Pairing(s): N/A, mention of Lysandre/Sycamore I guess?
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,563
Summary: Archer skims through the notebook he kept at Hope's Peak and tries to write a letter to Kimbley.
Author's Notes: Obviously based on events in Dangan Roleplay round 2. Takes place before the final log.
"We're going back to headquarters. We've already told your friends and loved ones that you've survived. We'll pass messages along to them. Have your messages ready within the hour."
Archer makes his way back to his room feeling a little dazed. Hinata didn't give them specifics about the people who were told, but there's only one person who would care if Archer lived or died during this game, and that must mean that Kimbley's alive, right? Of course, Hinata could have failed to mention that not everyone had friends and loved ones to tell, but the kid seems blunt, wouldn't he have said something like that? Archer doesn't know. He's not sure he wants to right now.
The room is small - much smaller than Archer is used to - and clearly only meant for one person, but that suits him fine. The only person he'd want to share a room with was Lysandre, but after all this he still doesn't trust the man. He doesn't think Lysandre will stab him at night or anything like that, but trusting the man who put them through this game isn't something Archer wants to do right now. He can talk to him and he can be friendly with him, but trusting him is out of the question. Besides, he's certain that Lysandre and Sycamore are sharing a room and the last thing he wants to do is get involved in that. Sycamore seems to be doing much better now, which is good, but he can't help but wonder if Sycamore has made a terrible mistake in having Lysandre revived.
Archer finds what he's looking for in the desk drawer. It's a small, dark notebook with thick pages and lots of writing inside. It's the notebook he kept with him during his time in the "school", but the pages are full now and there's no sense in carrying it around with him. He has a new notebook now, of course, and that one's already halfway full. It has much more positive memories than this one, but Archer can't bring himself to throw the old one out.
The first few pages are dedicated to the last murder he investigated in Amestris. Everything is very clinical and detatched; the handwriting is as neat and perfect as always, without any smudges on the page or anything out of place. It takes a few pages for the handwriting to change even the slightest bit, but the stress of the "school" becomes obvious in his handwriting after only a few days. The first pages of the book dedicated to the event chronicle all the other students; their likes, dislikes, their Super High School Level Title and anything else listed on their profiles, just in case the IDs stopped working. At the very bottom of each one is an opinion, and they all bother Archer.
The opinions are on how easy it would be to kill them.
He said he wouldn't kill anyone. He had been adamant about that after he started regaining his memories, but before that... Before that he had considered each and every one of them. Several are ruled out (Kirei and Lysandre because of stature, for example), but one that isn't ruled out is Cynthia.
He almost shuts the notebook right there, but morbid fascination presses him to turn the pages. The entire thing is written in Amestrian - it probably would have been possible for Cammy, Kirei, and Schuldig to read it and get an idea of what was being said, but Archer has put quite a bit of it in code just to make things even more annoying. It's a simple code; swapping the letters around in a way he's memorized and doesn't need a cheat sheet for, but he's been doing this since he was a child because he's always been paranoid.
The next few pages discuss the events in the school before abruptly cutting off and being replaced by the first investigation's notes. Like the investigation from back home, everything is clinical and removed from the more personal information before. This isn't in code, so perhaps that's why.
The page after that is once again in code and it talks about the first execution. The clinical tone is still there but the handwriting is shaky. Archer doesn't have to read it to know he was terrified.
That process is repeated throughout the notebook; periods of peace are discussed in code, almost like a diary, then an abrupt shift to details about the murder, then more code and the execution, presented without any of Archer's opinions on it. After awhile something else pops up, often in the middle of the week's events: a list of items found that could potentially be used as weapons. This checklist is referenced in the investigation notes and any missing items are always noted.
It's not surprising how clinical all that is; that's how Archer has always done it. It's not distancing himself from the murder because he's never needed to do that, but it helps him think clearly. He continues to flip through the pages, never stopping for long enough to read more than a line or two.
There are a few charts near the end of the book that display what looks like hastily drawn panels with buttons, each labelled with a number. The pages after that explain just what the buttons do. He remembers those and for a moment he's almost tempted to smirk; setting off the body announcement was far more fun than it should have been. To this day no one knows that was him. He doesn't end up smirking because immediately after that he remembers what the buttons in the room Cynthia found did. Holograms - is that what the others called them? Technology that allowed Lysandre to create their friends and family and put them through the worst situations imaginable in order to get them to kill.
He doesn't feel rage at Lysandre, he just feels empty.
Finally he reaches the last few pages of the notebook. The ending is written out in code of course, but the second-to-last page has four words written on it in large letters. They're still in Amestrian and they're still in his perfectly neat handwriting, but they seem completely out of place considering what the rest of the book was like.
DO NOT LOSE HOPE
He does smirk at that and flips the page. This is why he doesn't carry that notebook around with him; who would actually take him seriously with something like that written in the back?
The final page is blank. That's the reason why he opened this notebook in the first place. He wanted to write the note to Kimbley on a piece of paper the alchemist would recognize. This little notebook is the same as all of Archer's others, right down to the stationary. Kimbley will recognize the faint lines and off-white color, he's certain of that.
Of course now he's faced with the problem of actually writing a note to Kimbley. Somehow he hadn't considered just how difficult this would be when he was flipping through the notebook. Archer takes a seat at the desk, fishes the pen out of his pocket and stares at the page. He considers writing "Dear Kimbley" then realizes just how ridiculous that sounds.
Kimbley,
That's as good a place to start as any, he suspects. It's not overly formal but it's not abnormal either. He used to leave notes for Kimbley all the time before he went to work, though he never saw any of those notes again so he assumes Kimbley destroyed them all. He was probably mad about Archer not letting him use the stove. There's no sense in dwelling on that now, not when he only has a little bit of time left to write this letter.
What does he say in this letter? Kimbley has supposedly been told what happened, that Archer survived a killing game, but he doesn't want to include details in case someone else intercepts the letter. He doesn't have to worry about most of the Future Foundation reading it because he's certain they can't all read Amestrian (or German, he supposes), but what if the letter gets into the wrong hands back home? He can't say anything too damning, but if he doesn't tell Kimbley what the hell happened, the alchemist is just going to be irritated at him when he finally does return home.
Assuming Kimbley isn't dead, of course.
Archer finally decides that fretting about it isn't going to do any good. He's going to write what he thinks needs to be said and he's going to send the letter off. He isn't going to worry about it.
Kimbley,
I understand that you've been told a bit about my situation. I will explain everything to you in full when I next see you again. I apologize for the delay. I'll see you soon.
- Frank Archer
It's simple and blunt, which is normal for Archer, but he's still not satisfied with it. What is he supposed to write? "I've missed you"? He's not putting that in there. He finally shrugs and carefully tears the page out of the notebook, frowning at the uneven edges. He'll have to find a pair of scissors first, but for now this will do.
After all, he isn't lying. He will see Kimbley again soon.
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist, panfandom RP
Character(s): Frank Archer, mentions of Zolf J Kimbley, Lysandre, Augustine Sycamore, Kirei Kotomine, Cammy Meele, Cynthia, Hinata Hajime
Pairing(s): N/A, mention of Lysandre/Sycamore I guess?
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,563
Summary: Archer skims through the notebook he kept at Hope's Peak and tries to write a letter to Kimbley.
Author's Notes: Obviously based on events in Dangan Roleplay round 2. Takes place before the final log.
"We're going back to headquarters. We've already told your friends and loved ones that you've survived. We'll pass messages along to them. Have your messages ready within the hour."
Archer makes his way back to his room feeling a little dazed. Hinata didn't give them specifics about the people who were told, but there's only one person who would care if Archer lived or died during this game, and that must mean that Kimbley's alive, right? Of course, Hinata could have failed to mention that not everyone had friends and loved ones to tell, but the kid seems blunt, wouldn't he have said something like that? Archer doesn't know. He's not sure he wants to right now.
The room is small - much smaller than Archer is used to - and clearly only meant for one person, but that suits him fine. The only person he'd want to share a room with was Lysandre, but after all this he still doesn't trust the man. He doesn't think Lysandre will stab him at night or anything like that, but trusting the man who put them through this game isn't something Archer wants to do right now. He can talk to him and he can be friendly with him, but trusting him is out of the question. Besides, he's certain that Lysandre and Sycamore are sharing a room and the last thing he wants to do is get involved in that. Sycamore seems to be doing much better now, which is good, but he can't help but wonder if Sycamore has made a terrible mistake in having Lysandre revived.
Archer finds what he's looking for in the desk drawer. It's a small, dark notebook with thick pages and lots of writing inside. It's the notebook he kept with him during his time in the "school", but the pages are full now and there's no sense in carrying it around with him. He has a new notebook now, of course, and that one's already halfway full. It has much more positive memories than this one, but Archer can't bring himself to throw the old one out.
The first few pages are dedicated to the last murder he investigated in Amestris. Everything is very clinical and detatched; the handwriting is as neat and perfect as always, without any smudges on the page or anything out of place. It takes a few pages for the handwriting to change even the slightest bit, but the stress of the "school" becomes obvious in his handwriting after only a few days. The first pages of the book dedicated to the event chronicle all the other students; their likes, dislikes, their Super High School Level Title and anything else listed on their profiles, just in case the IDs stopped working. At the very bottom of each one is an opinion, and they all bother Archer.
The opinions are on how easy it would be to kill them.
He said he wouldn't kill anyone. He had been adamant about that after he started regaining his memories, but before that... Before that he had considered each and every one of them. Several are ruled out (Kirei and Lysandre because of stature, for example), but one that isn't ruled out is Cynthia.
He almost shuts the notebook right there, but morbid fascination presses him to turn the pages. The entire thing is written in Amestrian - it probably would have been possible for Cammy, Kirei, and Schuldig to read it and get an idea of what was being said, but Archer has put quite a bit of it in code just to make things even more annoying. It's a simple code; swapping the letters around in a way he's memorized and doesn't need a cheat sheet for, but he's been doing this since he was a child because he's always been paranoid.
The next few pages discuss the events in the school before abruptly cutting off and being replaced by the first investigation's notes. Like the investigation from back home, everything is clinical and removed from the more personal information before. This isn't in code, so perhaps that's why.
The page after that is once again in code and it talks about the first execution. The clinical tone is still there but the handwriting is shaky. Archer doesn't have to read it to know he was terrified.
That process is repeated throughout the notebook; periods of peace are discussed in code, almost like a diary, then an abrupt shift to details about the murder, then more code and the execution, presented without any of Archer's opinions on it. After awhile something else pops up, often in the middle of the week's events: a list of items found that could potentially be used as weapons. This checklist is referenced in the investigation notes and any missing items are always noted.
It's not surprising how clinical all that is; that's how Archer has always done it. It's not distancing himself from the murder because he's never needed to do that, but it helps him think clearly. He continues to flip through the pages, never stopping for long enough to read more than a line or two.
There are a few charts near the end of the book that display what looks like hastily drawn panels with buttons, each labelled with a number. The pages after that explain just what the buttons do. He remembers those and for a moment he's almost tempted to smirk; setting off the body announcement was far more fun than it should have been. To this day no one knows that was him. He doesn't end up smirking because immediately after that he remembers what the buttons in the room Cynthia found did. Holograms - is that what the others called them? Technology that allowed Lysandre to create their friends and family and put them through the worst situations imaginable in order to get them to kill.
He doesn't feel rage at Lysandre, he just feels empty.
Finally he reaches the last few pages of the notebook. The ending is written out in code of course, but the second-to-last page has four words written on it in large letters. They're still in Amestrian and they're still in his perfectly neat handwriting, but they seem completely out of place considering what the rest of the book was like.
DO NOT LOSE HOPE
He does smirk at that and flips the page. This is why he doesn't carry that notebook around with him; who would actually take him seriously with something like that written in the back?
The final page is blank. That's the reason why he opened this notebook in the first place. He wanted to write the note to Kimbley on a piece of paper the alchemist would recognize. This little notebook is the same as all of Archer's others, right down to the stationary. Kimbley will recognize the faint lines and off-white color, he's certain of that.
Of course now he's faced with the problem of actually writing a note to Kimbley. Somehow he hadn't considered just how difficult this would be when he was flipping through the notebook. Archer takes a seat at the desk, fishes the pen out of his pocket and stares at the page. He considers writing "Dear Kimbley" then realizes just how ridiculous that sounds.
Kimbley,
That's as good a place to start as any, he suspects. It's not overly formal but it's not abnormal either. He used to leave notes for Kimbley all the time before he went to work, though he never saw any of those notes again so he assumes Kimbley destroyed them all. He was probably mad about Archer not letting him use the stove. There's no sense in dwelling on that now, not when he only has a little bit of time left to write this letter.
What does he say in this letter? Kimbley has supposedly been told what happened, that Archer survived a killing game, but he doesn't want to include details in case someone else intercepts the letter. He doesn't have to worry about most of the Future Foundation reading it because he's certain they can't all read Amestrian (or German, he supposes), but what if the letter gets into the wrong hands back home? He can't say anything too damning, but if he doesn't tell Kimbley what the hell happened, the alchemist is just going to be irritated at him when he finally does return home.
Assuming Kimbley isn't dead, of course.
Archer finally decides that fretting about it isn't going to do any good. He's going to write what he thinks needs to be said and he's going to send the letter off. He isn't going to worry about it.
Kimbley,
I understand that you've been told a bit about my situation. I will explain everything to you in full when I next see you again. I apologize for the delay. I'll see you soon.
- Frank Archer
It's simple and blunt, which is normal for Archer, but he's still not satisfied with it. What is he supposed to write? "I've missed you"? He's not putting that in there. He finally shrugs and carefully tears the page out of the notebook, frowning at the uneven edges. He'll have to find a pair of scissors first, but for now this will do.
After all, he isn't lying. He will see Kimbley again soon.