#hc; fighting

[wyrdify]

headcanon - flame alchemy research

Points of reference: - Calculations - Tattoo Analysis - Vigenère Cipher

As noted in canon, Berthold Hawkeye did not keep any paper records of his flame alchemy research. Roy, on the other hand, does keep physical, paper records. His alchemy journal is on his person at all times when awake and under lock and key when asleep. As he’s been practicing this particular alchemy for years, he’s gone through more than one journal, which are also under lock and key. The only other person who has a key to where he keeps his journals is Riza Hawkeye.

In the journal itself, Roy does what all noteworthy alchemists do: he codes it. For one, he doesn’t use Amestrian as a language base, but common Cretan, which he is fluent in. Based off that, his code is a variant of the Vigenère cipher, and he keeps the key for it separate from the journals themselves. Again, Riza is the only other person who has access to that key. As for units he uses, he generally sticks with the metric system and Celsius when noting temperature. He can automatically translate such units to the imperial system, a skill he gained before he learned alchemy.

Should anyone get their hands on his research journal, and Roy perceives them as an enemy, he’ll burn it without hesitation. It’ll piss him off to do so, but he will always err on the side of extreme caution when it comes to flame alchemy.

[tenevaya]

How I Write Ienzo/Zexion

These may or may not be unique to my portrayal. Since I’m sort of back, I thought I’d make a post that lays things out in one place.

I write them as agender using they/them pronouns. Whether or not your character knows this is up to you. More information on how they express their gender can be found here.

They are of Russian descent. Both of their parents were Russian, and came from another world. Ienzo, however, was born in Radiant Garden. Their complete history can be found on their about page.

Their parents died in a house fire when they were eight years old. They were in that fire as well, but survived. A timeline for events that occurred in their life can be found here. 

Due to the fire, they live with PTSD. They are terrified of fire. They won’t use Fire spells, and they won’t go near fire. With their PTSD comes survivor’s guilt, which I wrote a bit about here.

They are demisexual and aromantic. They are also open to polyamory provided they built up enough trust with all parties involved.

They are able to manipulate shadows. I wrote up an explanation of how that works here. Their fighting style can also be found here.

Morally, even after they regained their heart, they are in a grey area. I wrote about how they think in that regard here.

[wyrdify]

Something of note regarding Roy’s use of alchemy: he generally only uses one hand when producing flames.

As mentioned in the post regarding excessive force, Roy is very careful when he uses his alchemy. He generally only uses his right hand to produce flames, but switches to his left if necessary. He’ll sometimes wear both gloves as a general precaution, and always has at least one backup pair with him should something happen.

The only reason he’ll use both hands when attacking is if the enemy in front of him requires it, and he doesn’t have to worry about the safety of those around him. Or, he has to be beyond the point of caring where logic can’t follow.

[wyrdify]

headcanon - military training

Roy’s intent in joining the military was simple: he truly believed he could do the most good from that position, especially considering Amestris’s status as a military state. He took his time at the military academy incredibly seriously, spending any and all free time studying, quizzing himself, and making sure he learned every bit of information he could get his hands on. History, battle strategies, tactics, maps, population density, weapons--anything that he could read, he studied it until he had the information memorized.

His spot at the top of his class wasn’t an accident. He worked hard to get there. On the way, he didn’t make many friends, keeping mostly to himself save for stepping in to stop bullying situations from escalating. Befriending Maes Hughes came out of a desire to best the other man--and he did, earning Maes calling him “golden boy” more than once. It took until he was in Ishval to realize how important it was to have camaraderie and good relationships with his fellow soldiers.

Once the war in Ishval ended, General Grumman snatched him up to help head Eastern Command. The eventual promotion to Colonel came with continued hard work, especially with the Eastern troops. He worked to improve their offensive capabilities while there, taking what he learned from the academy and Ishval and applying it. Grumman acted as his mentor in that regard, helping him perfect strategies and keeping his knowledge up-to-date.

One might think that he relies on his abilities as the Flame Alchemist to win in combat, and nothing else. He tends to rely on his alchemy as a last resort, or a way to quickly end battles that would otherwise see a casualty count. And, even then, he keeps his control tight, careful, concentrated, and never uses more force than he believes is necessary. Most of the time, he relies on understanding and manipulating the battlefield, or his standard-issue handgun. 

But, even with all that hard work, he leads others to underestimate him (more info on that here). “Let them think I don’t know what I’m doing, or that I schmoozed my way into getting to this rank. It’ll be their undoing.” He’s playing the long game, and he intends to win.

[wyrdify]

Just sitting here thinking about how the temperature Roy’s fire likely gets to, and looking at how fire can change color based on temperature (and if other elements are in play). Here’s the source I’m looking at.

This will probably get into some body horror stuff so I’ll put it under a readmore.

tldr: There’s a reason Brotherhood/the manga didn’t give him a Philosopher’s Stone. Kimblee was terrifying enough.

Based on the color (bright yellow based on his dealings with Envy), and the fact he’s not mixing in other elements with his transmutation, it’s probably somewhere in the 2,100-2,500°F range. The average fire doesn’t get to that level.

Imagine if he could make it hotter. Imagine him creating white fire, or blue fire. Yes, Azula may have inspired this thinking. Just... that is legitimately terrifying. To effectively burn bone, the fire needs to be constant, and around 1100°F (Source). And it takes time--up to two to three hours. And Roy’s fire, if I’m estimating correctly, is around double that by the time he’s in Ishval. His fire appears to be orange to bright yellow. When he encounters Envy, it’s almost completely yellow.

In Chapter 61 of the manga, when Riza asks him to burn the tattoo on her back, Roy says the following: “Since the war began, I’ve learned how to control the intensity of these flames. Everything from incinerating a body to inflicting non-fatal burns on a minuscule area.” This suggests he can not only control how much fire he creates, but just how hot it gets. We don’t see how long it takes for his victims to die, but we can assume it was pretty quick. Minutes compared to hours.

Honestly... I wouldn’t be surprised if he could create white fire, and maybe even blue fire, particularly as the war goes on. However, I doubt he’d want to do so once the campaign in Ishval is over. He doesn’t want to go overboard. He doesn’t want to kill people with his flame alchemy. That’s why we never see it go beyond bright yellow, even during his rampage with Envy. Then again, his control during that is questionable.

I don’t know where I was going with this. I started researching this yesterday, and now I’m just... Roy is legitimately terrifying. It’s no wonder why Berthold never wanted to teach him flame alchemy. Look at what he could do with it.

[wyrdify]

headcanon - flame alchemy calculations

Roy’s flame alchemy may look easy to perform based on how he does it--just a snap of the fingers with a glove on, and one can summon a pillar of fire. However, that sort of thinking doesn’t account for two things: Roy doesn’t actually snap his fingers, and he’s doing a lot of calculations to make his alchemy precise. Every time he transmutes using his gloves, he has to account for the following:

- air flow - boiling point(s) of his target(s) - distance - heat temperature - humidity/how much water is present - hydrogen density - melting point(s) of his target(s) - other flammable elements/objects - oxygen density - speed of his target(s) combined with the transmutation - volume of the area

In order to produce fire, three things must be present: oxygen, heat, and fuel/combustible material (Source). Roy is manipulating those three things to transmute while accounting for all of the above (and probably more). How does he do it so fast, and how is he so precise?

Simple: adeptness for math and science along with an incredible memory.

One part of it is being exceptional at understanding physics while possessing the ability to quickly do mathematical calculations. Another part is having certain facts and temperatures memorized. For example, he knows every calculation necessary to give someone a first, second, or third degree burn by heart. He also knows how to manipulate hydrogen density to create bombs (on demand, as Havoc put it in the 2003 anime). Never mind that he knows exactly how long it takes for the human body to turn to ash (skeleton included).

His heavily coded alchemic journal contains these calculations. Good luck finding it, much less making sense of its contents. There are probably three people who have a chance at decoding it: Riza Hawkeye, Maes Hughes, and Edward Elric.

"What about when it’s raining? Isn’t he useless in the rain?” Yes and no. Rain changes the humidity levels in the air, and he has to be a lot more precise with his calculations. However, if he keeps his ignition dry (his glove), he can be quite deadly in a rainy or wet environment. Humidity increases the hydrogen and oxygen density in the air, thus giving him more material to work with.

Don’t believe him when he says he’s useless in the rain. It’s just another act of deception on his part. He wants his enemies to underestimate him.

[wyrdify]

Out of all the State Alchemists, your skills are the most troublesome.

Pride to Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist, Chapter 102: Before the Portal.

[tenevaya]

headcanon - magic

Ienzo has the ability to use all spells, save for Fire, at -ga levels. They’ve had that ability since before they became a Nobody thanks to Xehanort’s guidance. Not only that, but they can mimic the abilities of others close to their full strength. For example: Aeleus can manipulate the earth to do his bidding. Ienzo can as well, but not to the same extent, and not with the same amount of power. 

A goal they have not shared with anyone else is the desire to surpass Yen Sid in magic abilities. It is why they keep training. Eventually, they know that in order to surpass the great sorcerer, they will need to face their pyrophobia. That has been an uphill battle, and one they’re unsure of how to deal with. 

But, they’re trying.