Twisted reason: KimbleyxArcher manifesto
Jun. 19th, 2005 10:52 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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ship_manifestoTitle Twisted Reason
Author Manian,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
theburrahobbit
Fandom Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing Zolof J Kimbley x Frank Archer
Word count 5300 words
Spoilers The whole anime, especially episodes 31-42
Comments Thanks tomaaya1x2, who did a very thorough beta. Also, thank you to _nineveh_, sariaust and ayuamarca, for discussing, analysing and giving me one or two bitch-slaps to gain reason.
Written with fond wishes to everyone who got me into this pairing and kept me liking it.
Concerning transcription and other linguistic things
There is some discussion concerning the transcription of names. Kimbley may also be written as Kimblee, Kimberly, Kimble, Kimbly or Kinburii. His first name, here written Zolof, has also been transcribed as Zolf, Zorof, Zorf, York and Jork. Lior may be written as Rior or Riore. Ishbal is sometimes called Ishvar. It happens that King Bradley’s title, here President, is Fuhrer, because of translation differences. Also, State Alchemists are sometimes called National Alchemists. Amestris is sometimes names as Amestria.
The word homunculus is one used now and then in this text. The plural of this is homunculi, as it follows the second declination of Latin.
Fullmetal Alchemist
The original mangaka of Fullmetal Alchemist (Japanese title is Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) is Hiromo Arakawa, and the anime (51 episodes and a not yet released film), which differs quite a lot from the manga after about half the series, is produced by Square Enix. However, this ship manifesto will only be dealing with the anime, as in the manga we encounter some problems with it, like the sheer immobility of one character, and the total lack of the other.
Fullmetal Alchemist is set in a parallel world in the country Amestris, a military dictatorship which culturally is close to early twentieth century Europe, ruled by the President, called King Bradley. Something central in this world is the science of alchemy, which is to understand, break apart and then recompose the elements of an object, hence transforming it into something else. Even if most alchemists work by themselves (“alchemy is for the good of the people” is a reaccuring phrase in the story), the state employs some of them, and these are if called bound to use their science in order to kill people in war. They are called State Alchemists, and also carry a personal title.
The brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, two alchemy prodigies, attempt to resurrect their mother with alchemy, but this only leads to that Ed looses an arm and a leg and Al looses his whole body and has his soul affixed to a suit of armour. They set out on a quest to find the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary object that will let alchemists to things that usually are impossible in the science. Ed becomes a State Alchemist, with the title Fullmetal Alchemist, to gain access to the privileges these have, but is through this drawn into the fighting against an unknown but very powerful enemy, and the military seems to be quite a part in it all.
Zolof J Kimbley
When Kimbley first comes into the storyline properly, he is in prison for criminal acts in war, and is known as “the Ally Killer”. It does not take long before it comes up why. He is an alchemist (formerly a State Alchemist, with the title Crimson), and his speciality is reassembling the element in the human body to make it into an explosive. Together with some other alchemists hired by the state, he had stopped a war in the Eastern country Ishbal about seven years ago, but he had not only killed Ishbalites but also Amestrians, and had therefore been sentenced to death. He had however been held alive, as the state needed guinea pigs for their alchemic experiments. Now, after having been locked in for seven years, he escapes and becomes a member of a gang of outlaws, consisting mainly of chimeras (creatures made by merging together two or more species with alchemy), lead by Greed, a homunculus (an artificial human created with alchemy). He is not at all popular with the chimeras, being an alchemist, as the ones who made them how they are now, but they help him and he helps them, mainly by exploding things.
Kimbley encounters lieutenant colonel Archer during one of their (not so successful) raids, and the suggestion of getting him back into the army is put forth. A few episodes later, it is clear that he accepts the proposal, and betrays the homunculus. He is reinstated in the military with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and goes, together with Archer, Eastwards, to the city Lior, where conflict is raging. The idea is that Kimbley is to solve this, simply by blowing things up. He is however killed before this happens at the hands of one of his old victims.
Zolof J Kimbley is the kind of character that ensnares and fascinates, but is obviously severely damaged in the head and very vicious. He kills for fun and thinks that humans are empty and pointless. They are just potential explosives – especially people from countries who are opposing Amestris’ expansion. No such thing as guilt seems to exist in him, something that gives him an almost psychopathic (in the proper psychiatric sense of the word) personality. Just to strengthen this association, he is very verbal and almost always polite (except when he gets angry – and then he is very impolite), but there seems to be a sarcasm behind it, turning the concept of politeness around. He seems the kind of person you would happily talk to for a quarter of an hour and quite enjoy the company of, and then suddenly realise that there is something wrong with this man and fruitlessly try to back out of the conversation. In one way quite interesting, in another just horrid and repellent.
Fanon characterisations are not so much in conflict with each other. Sometimes there is a tendency of one-sidedness in it, when all Kimbley seems to think of is explosions. Often he is, despite being verbal in the anime canon, bad at expressing feelings, at least those of a warmer variety, and usually he is not pictured as a master of tact, which usually leads to intrigues and misunderstandings between the characters. When he is paired off with people, he is not only something of an emotional retard (at least on the outside) but also has a, to put it lightly, warped sex drive. He is usually written as a polygamist, unrestrained swine that will not think twice before hurting someone (and quite alot hints that that is what he is). There has been some fics and the like when he hurts Archer (more or less severely), and in some he does not seem to care at all, but in some guilt, something totally alien for his character, sets in. Usually it is not out of character, though, but more something hidden. Some characterisations point to the passionate and changing in his being. He lives for what he loved, be it his science or himself or even another person, and, just like his alchemic speciality, he changes everything into something dangerous.
Frank Archer
While Kimbley is understandable, despite his warped sense of morals, lieutenant colonel Archer is something of a mystery. What we know canon-wise is almost nothing, and therefore fanon characterisations differ quite much.
When Archer first come into the plot, his rank is lieutenant colonel and he is in charge of the military court in Amestris. He is described as a man who is true to his military duties, which means that he likes war. We soon realise that he is ready to use extreme methods to gain power, not stopping at abducting children or killing people in the name of the military. Later, we are also told that he is jealous of colonel Mustang (one of the main characters that have reached a high position in the military at a relatively young age) who seems to have gotten all the attention and promotions that Archer thinks he should have gotten. When in Lior he says, before making an indirect and failed attempt on the colonel’s life that he will be the war-hero in Lior that Mustang was in Ishbal.
Archer enters the plot in episode 29, and is then on his way to the South, trying to track down the Elric brothers, but instead he stumbles over something that is “more valuable”, a homunculus, that he abducts and leaves to some scientists in South City. He also seems quite fascinated by Greed’s chimeras. Throughout the series, he shows example of what is almost a perverse fascination for alchemy, which of course is quite important in this pairing, as the other part of it is an alchemist (in the majority of smut fics for this pairing, some kind of alchemy kink is involved).
The most crucial thing Archer does for the plot, however, is recruiting Kimbley back into the military. He makes the suggestion in episode 31, and in episode 33 Kimbley betrays the homunculus’ gang and returns to the army. We do not see anything of Archer until a few episodes later, and soon after that he goes to the East, now promoted to colonel. He is one of the few survivors in the Lior massacre, and the only thing we see of him for quite some episodes is just a quick sequence in which he is in quite a bad state. He reappears in episode 48, equipped with automail (artificial limbs of metal) as a substitute for half his body, turning him more into a killer machine than a functioning human. In the last episode he is shot down by Hawkeye, a first lieutenant who helps colonel Mustang.
The two main fanon characterisations are one that is quite close to the canon and one that is based on the canon and keeps going. In the one closest to canon Archer is very cold often filled with confidence and with a need to dominate, even if he may submit if he gets something out of it. That is probably the key with this version of the character – his selfishness and striving for gaining power. Not much of a conscience seems to exist within him, and he does not dwell on his mistakes, is he even thinks he might ever have done any. This characterisation of course gains points for being so close to the canon, but the problem with it is that it is hard to make it work in interaction with other characters, and also, the risk that he will become too cold to be human exists, and with such a characterisation, nothing will ever get beyond the point where sex is the main thing, for example.
The other characterisation works from the hypothesis that what we see in the anime is just a façade, a theatre part made by Archer himself to play. The façade itself corresponds well to the canon, being ruthless, remorseless and self-confident. What is under this mask, however, is a man without self-confidence and very little actual grasp of reality. His actions are not so much to please himself, as in the other characterisation, but others, to gain their trust. Archer’s sometimes fretful behaviour and how his mood swings are interpreted as neuroses and general mess-up. There is a lack of practical experience in most fields, his education is shown as theory-based, and he has after fulfilling it more or less been dumped into the real world. Whenever his childhood comes up it is pictured as lonely and strict, with very controlling parents. He is interpreted as lonesome and confused concerning everything from identity and sexuality to values and right and wrong. Archer in often this interpretation is self-condemning, submissive and masochistic, when the other version is self-glorifying, dominant and sadistic. The natural draw-back here sit hat we need some fanon to make this characterisation work, but otherwise it has a much more understandable ring to it than the earlier mentioned one, simply as it is more human.
There is not one “correct” fanon interpretation, of course, and different stories need different versions, but they both have their ups and down. It is simply a matter of personal taste.
The relationship – the canon
Here is where I will have to stop and make something of a confession, one I usually do not like to make. Kimbley and Archer have, in the whole anime, between five and ten minutes screen time together. They have two conversations, both around one or two minutes long. However, which should better be said before you stop reading here thinking this is just another crack pairing, it is obvious that there is more to it than this. There are a lot of things that happen that the anime does not show us. (There are also a lot of things that I hope and like to believe happened, that the anime certainly does not show us.)
The relationship between Kimbley and Archer is obviously, from the beginning, based on want – of subordinates, power, knowledge and other things as well, perhaps. They first meet during one of Greed’s gang’s splodey sessions at the South Headquarters. While Kimbley is outside, Archer suddenly appears up on the roof, his gun pointed at the alchemist. Their conversation here is very basic, starting with Archer asking if the President is aware that Kimbley is still alive. Then he asks him if he has considered rejoining the military, and says:
‘I can make that happen.’ One can feel the immense tension between the two during this scene which stretches over about half a dozen lines. It is like a bomb, ironically enough, detonating.
So, Kimbley has been locked up alone in a small cell for a good seven years, the only people probably talking to him being the jailers (and that is probably not the height of conversation). After he has escaped jail he ends up as a part of a gang of non-humans, that he does as a principle does not like. Even if some of the chimeras and the homunculus might talk to him, also they are outlaws. The group is totally isolated. However, quite suddenly, a human speaks to him – not as if he was a madman or lesser being but as someone with potential and strength. This is Archer who does. So, even if we cannot be totally positive on this, we can at least assume that Archer is the first human in seven years who speaks to Kimbley in a civilised way. This, even for someone who see humans simply as potential explosives, this must be relieving.
The next time they show up together is two episodes later, in episode 33, when Kimbley betrays Greed’s gang. Now they are standing side by side in a hole Kimbley has just turned a wall into, both smugly grinning. Once again there is tension, but now it is in control and ordered. In the very beginning of next episode Archer welcomes Kimbley and another alchemist, Shou Tucker, who is a chimera expert, back into the military. Tucker spends a lot of the scene asking if he really did mean that they will be safe and that he will be able to continue his research and Archer answers patiently in the affirmative. However, what are particularly of interest in this sequence are the lieutenant colonel’s eyes. In the middle of talking to Tucker, they suddenly jump to Kimbley and stays on him a few intense seconds. Tucker is not the most beautiful creature there is, he is himself a chimera and does look grotesque, but this sudden change of object of observance is strange – and makes me all fandorkish.
Kimbley is not the kind of person who lets other people boss him around and Archer is not a man who would, despite prone to use extreme methods to gain power, risk his reputation by associating with the wrong people, like criminals of war. We know, however, that they strike a deal. Archer’s part of it is getting Kimbley back to the military, while Kimbley’s, strangely enough, is to deceive the homunculus’ gang. What would Archer get out of the destruction of the gang? True, they had tried to destroy the military’s headquarters in the South of Amestris, but it does not seem very relevant. Revenge does not seem like the main reason here. Of course, it might be a part of it, but as the gang did not do much damage to revenge, really. Also, the one who does make most of the damage they do inflict is one of the few people who are actually spared.
Something he would get out of it, though, is the Crimson Alchemist. The Crimson Alchemist, who is a criminal of war and deemed mad. Why would someone who is motivated and wants to make a glorious career associate with outlaws, madmen, prison breakers? Taking the matter into his own hands like that is obviously nothing that the higher-ups would like. I severely doubt that he went to the President, bobbed a pretty curtsey and asked if would he please be allowed to recruit a mad criminal of war, sir. It might even get him into trouble and hurt his reputation, even if it did not. So, why strike a deal that you get very little out for? Lieutenant colonel Archer is not the type of person doing things like this out of the goodness of his heart, he is in fact quite self-centred and would probably want something for himself. So, obviously, there is something in this deal that is exchanged that we do not quite get to know – material, physical or emotional. The whole thing is all too risky for any other possibility.
Archer rants quite a lot about Kimbley and really seems to like mentioning him. Of course, it freaks people out to know that a mad alchemist is under the command of the person you are talking to, and this would give him the upper hand in the situation. Also, the sheer power of being able to control such abilities as those Kimbley has would probably give anyone a kick of adrenaline, even if they were not a bit power-crazy. These facts might explain some of the ranting. However, what does not say that he is not simply head-over-heels in love with the alchemist? The chance quite exists.
When Kimbley and Archer turn up together again after quite some episodes, it is on a train with officers on their way to the East and war. This is where the news that Kimbley has rejoined the military is broken to the good guys. They get more and more annoyed and worked up about it, while Kimbley and Archer are growing more and more smug and superior. Throughout the scene they smirk, obviously very happy with themselves, and, it seems, each other. They almost act like a newly married couple, all smug and delighted.
When they reach Lior Kimbley is sent in to find Edward Elric’s body (only presumed dead) and to handle Scar, a religiously fanatic murderer from Ishbal (it later comes to light that Kimbley is the one who is the cause to Scar starting his killings). Things go quite bad, instead of simple victory Kimbley encounters trouble with Scar and fights him almost through two episodes. Back at the military base, Archer frets around, complaining that the communications have ceased to work and hits random things (but also makes a grumpy comment on that he might just be blowing random things up in a whiny wife-complaining-on-her-husband way).
Later, after quite a fight, Kimbley is finally killed and Scar (now missing both his arms and soon dead as well) drops him from a roof. Archer watches this happen through a pair of binoculars. Of course we are not told what is going on in his head, but his outer reaction is quite interesting. First he seems stunned, and then looks stern, then he starts making the troops pull into the city, but his way of acting is somewhat strained, not only cold as before, but almost dead. The few times he smiles after that is very uneasy or even false. Even when he is grabbed by the collar by Ed, who shows up, he does not react. This totally blank behaviour continues until he is finally gravely injured and then put together into something of a killing machine. I would say that he simply looses his mind somewhere after being derived of almost half his body, which is obviously a quite traumatic experience for anyone, even if I would like to think there might be other reasons to his loss of sense.
At first when he has seen the dead body he speaks several times of that Scar has “killed a State Alchemist”. After the troupes have entered Lior, Ed comes running and tells Archer that there is only Scar left in the city and that the people have surrendered.
‘Surrendered?’ Archer answers. ‘I can’t believe this. They have killed the Crimson Alchemist.’
‘So that is your reason?’ Ed answers. (Episode 42, 17:16-25.)
Being Archer’s subordinate and the fact that he helped him back into society again and therefore can throw him out just as easy obviously puts Kimbley in a position of debt. However, with a simple flick of his hand Kimbley could turn Archer into an explosive that would detonate in a matter of seconds, something that gives the alchemist the upper hand. Thus, they both have duties to and power over the other. It might in one way create a power play, but it might also make things more even.
One quite small detail that puts an entirely new perspective on the relationship between Kimbley and Archer is this. When Archer first enters into the plot in episode 29, the first thing he does is hum. What he is humming is a part of Beethoven’s ninth symphony (a musical piece the Japanese quite like to get into anime). Kimbley, on the other hand, does not hum or anything alike in the anime (however, he whistles in the manga – quite left up to the imagination what, though), and does not seem to be the kind of person who does, in the beginning. Despite this, when they both reappear in the story line in episode 39 on the way to the frontlines, Kimbley hums, and not any musical piece, but Beethoven’s ninth symphony. This ought to indicate that the characters have spent a lot of time together. It of course does not say anything of the kind of relationship they have, but we could without making it sound unreasonable that there has been quite some time together.
The relationship – the fanon
KimbleyxArcher is a very good example of the traditional ChaosxOrder pairing, in which the chaotic one (here Kimbley) often turns out to dominate the orderly one (here Archer), and often where the one representing chaos seems to have much more actual order than the latter. A number of other opposites fit quite well on this pairing; stability and instability, heat and cold, practice and theory, and so on. Some fanon versions of the relationship complements a lot of opposites to the list, as Archer is often characterised as upper class, while Kimbley is shown as lower class, Archer is sometimes written as inexperienced when it comes to relationships and sex (which leads to awkwardness), and Kimbley as hypersexual and not-so-very-tactful (which results in quite the opposite).
I have always liked the idea that the two of them might balance each other’s complicated minds. It is, after all, a dysfunctional pairing consisting of two dysfunctional persons. Archer is as closed as Kimbley is open, and while Archer has too many barriers, Kimbley has none at all. As they are so different, they might be able to live through each other and therefore find some comfort. The comfort potential of course comes together with the angst potential. The opposites mentioned above, especially the fanon ones on sexual experience and of class, are bound to clash. The deeper characterisation of Archer usually involves a lot of anxiety and shame, for anything beyond a strict business relationship, which leads to general uncertainty in the relationship to Kimbley, who is bad at being subtle and usually quite all over the place. Also, judging from the juridical and political situation of Amestris and from how these factors were in the inspiration source, early twentieth century Europe, we might assume that there are laws against homosexual practices, and if not, that would probably not be something looked lightly upon. As the society is Europe-inspired there will surely be prejudice that both of the characters will have been fed with. The question is, however, how much Kimbley, all happy with himself and without a conscience, would dwell on such things. Archer would, at least in the deeper characterisation, probably be struck by remorse concerning this. To this, almost without doubt, there are laws prohibiting fraternization, which Is when two persons in the military have personal, for example sexual, relationships with one another. Also this might sing the man in charge of the military court just slightly.
To add to this, Kimbley had been locked up for quite some time, is yet adjusting to a more normal life (even if an entirely normal life would be hard for someone like him) and many people assume that when it comes to deeper emotions, he is just as lost as Archer seems to be. Also, both of them are instable and have their fits, which ought to shake a relationship quite a lot. So, the comfort might be needed.
And with the comfort potential comes the fluff potential. Perhaps this is because it is so wrong with two ruthless and insane characters being sweet and happy together, and therefore it becomes so right. Usually the fanon fluff is simple in its character, quite often involve domestic situations, such as baking or cooking or pets (cats, usually), or has to do with intimacy (everything from innocent cuddling to sex), but usually also has another dimension. This is two persons who we can assume have not had very happy lives (while we know some about Kimbley’s past, that he was in Ishbal and after that in prison, we know nothing of Archer’s – the fanon theories usually picture him as very lonely and unhappy of his situation), and in one or another way they suddenly found someone who can, despite being twisted and sinister as well, understand. It is like a warp of confidence, which the scene on the train when they sit smirking at the other officers shows. Also, before this part of the anime but after Kimbley is recruited into the military Archer starts acting slightly differently, in a longer extent speaking his mind and stating his opinions.
But however much they are opposites, they are also alike. Starting at a shallow level, they seem to be about the same age (somewhere around thirty it seems, although we can only guess concerning this), and the world does not seem to have been very cooperative with any of them. They both have goals they want to achieve, and are both very stubborn, ruthless and not very bound by the law. There is a lot they would like to avenge and dominate. None of them are really sympathetic - on the contrary, really (although the way they are characterised of course is subjective, we can from an objective view say that a lot of things they do are very immoral). They are both twisted minds – and therein lays the attraction.
The extent of Kimbley and Archer’s relationship has been thoroughly discussed. Of course this is an area I cannot witness for other people’s opinions in (and they differ, I am convinced), so I will simply only be able to state my own views here. The time that passes between their first meeting by the Southern Headquarters and Kimbley’s death in Lior is usually thought to be somewhere between one and two months, although three or four months has been mentioned, which of course is extremely short time for a relationship. However, after quite some thinking and discussing my own humble opinion has become, but after quite some thinking and discussing my own humble opinion has become that this relationship is, at some level, based on love. I think it would take a lot for two so selfish and reserved persons to let someone come so close, and, it seems, letting the other one become a part of their egoistic world, is also something that may need a lot of devotion and trust. There is no “I“, but a “we”, it seems. Obviously there is respect between them, because without it, Archer would not have cared to recruit the alchemist and Kimbley would not bother if he killed Archer off after getting what he wanted. Of course, this would be something that had developed during the time they have no canon screen time, so we cannot know properly. The balance between opposites makes it all very sweet, and also the potential of comfort does the same. The confidence and unity they show in the train scene hints, at least in my eyes, to that the earlier tension has been channelled and turned into something else, something warmer. Archer’s so fierce reaction to Kimbley’s death also makes me think that he meant something to him, as I cannot possibly imagine that all that fretting and screaming is only because of his master plan to become a war-hero has been ruined. No, what he says directly after it and also after the din has calmed concentrates a lot on Kimbley, not of the failed plan.
I doubt that they ever realised this themselves, as the time was so short, and if they did I do not think that they would manage to say it to each other. Despite this, I think they, unknowingly or not, made it clear, perhaps just by the simple acts that we see in the canon. Even if they had been granted (pardon for using this fatalistic expression) many more years, they might not have been able to correspond it, but that too is one of the charms with this pairing. It is silent, the actual reasons never being proclaimed openly, and it is also silent because it is all about unconditional understanding. There is no need for words.
Of course, it is messed up, and it is broken. It might never actually have worked, and it might have gone terribly wrote, if it had not been cut off so abruptly. It might also have become something very happy and idyllic. We can never know, and perhaps also that adds to the charm of the pairing, but also the intensity of the little time they did have. Also, it is both a dysfunctional pairing but also a pairing that works as love-based. It contradicts itself, just as the characters and their opposites contradict each other. But, as they say, opposites attract – but will they drive each other mad, if they already are?
Links
Explosion – the KimbleyxArcher fanlisting
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
_deadlyweapons_ - a KimbleyxArcher community
Fanfiction recs
Mortis Poetica, R, by_nineveh_ – Wonderful dark fic concerning Kimbley’s morbid passions for killing, blood and Archer.
No Reason to Believe, G, byayuamarca – Hilarious crack (or?). Two sergeants show up at lieutenant colonel Archer’s house to investigate if he is committing gross indecency or not. His maid is not quite as co-operative as they want her to be.
Treasure, PG-13, bymaaya1x2 – Another dark, bloody fic. Kimbley comes back from his killing sessions in the night, and what Archer thinks thereof.
Break me, R, by_nineveh_ – “He had cried the first time.” Clear-sighted, beautiful and oh-so-right ficlet by one of my favourite FF authors.
Untitled, PG-13, bykase_n_ko – Kimbley makes advances, but Archer rejects him of the reason that he does not want his pyjamas spoiled. Terribly sweet fic in which the differences between the characters are made very clear.
Proposing, PG, bylaylah – A pretty example of fluff for this pairing, involving Kimbley, Archer, a very nice restaurant and a ring box…
Author Manian,
theburrahobbitFandom Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing Zolof J Kimbley x Frank Archer
Word count 5300 words
Spoilers The whole anime, especially episodes 31-42
Comments Thanks to
maaya1x2, who did a very thorough beta. Also, thank you to _nineveh_, sariaust and ayuamarca, for discussing, analysing and giving me one or two bitch-slaps to gain reason. Written with fond wishes to everyone who got me into this pairing and kept me liking it.
There is some discussion concerning the transcription of names. Kimbley may also be written as Kimblee, Kimberly, Kimble, Kimbly or Kinburii. His first name, here written Zolof, has also been transcribed as Zolf, Zorof, Zorf, York and Jork. Lior may be written as Rior or Riore. Ishbal is sometimes called Ishvar. It happens that King Bradley’s title, here President, is Fuhrer, because of translation differences. Also, State Alchemists are sometimes called National Alchemists. Amestris is sometimes names as Amestria.
The word homunculus is one used now and then in this text. The plural of this is homunculi, as it follows the second declination of Latin.
The original mangaka of Fullmetal Alchemist (Japanese title is Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) is Hiromo Arakawa, and the anime (51 episodes and a not yet released film), which differs quite a lot from the manga after about half the series, is produced by Square Enix. However, this ship manifesto will only be dealing with the anime, as in the manga we encounter some problems with it, like the sheer immobility of one character, and the total lack of the other.
Fullmetal Alchemist is set in a parallel world in the country Amestris, a military dictatorship which culturally is close to early twentieth century Europe, ruled by the President, called King Bradley. Something central in this world is the science of alchemy, which is to understand, break apart and then recompose the elements of an object, hence transforming it into something else. Even if most alchemists work by themselves (“alchemy is for the good of the people” is a reaccuring phrase in the story), the state employs some of them, and these are if called bound to use their science in order to kill people in war. They are called State Alchemists, and also carry a personal title.
The brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, two alchemy prodigies, attempt to resurrect their mother with alchemy, but this only leads to that Ed looses an arm and a leg and Al looses his whole body and has his soul affixed to a suit of armour. They set out on a quest to find the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary object that will let alchemists to things that usually are impossible in the science. Ed becomes a State Alchemist, with the title Fullmetal Alchemist, to gain access to the privileges these have, but is through this drawn into the fighting against an unknown but very powerful enemy, and the military seems to be quite a part in it all.
When Kimbley first comes into the storyline properly, he is in prison for criminal acts in war, and is known as “the Ally Killer”. It does not take long before it comes up why. He is an alchemist (formerly a State Alchemist, with the title Crimson), and his speciality is reassembling the element in the human body to make it into an explosive. Together with some other alchemists hired by the state, he had stopped a war in the Eastern country Ishbal about seven years ago, but he had not only killed Ishbalites but also Amestrians, and had therefore been sentenced to death. He had however been held alive, as the state needed guinea pigs for their alchemic experiments. Now, after having been locked in for seven years, he escapes and becomes a member of a gang of outlaws, consisting mainly of chimeras (creatures made by merging together two or more species with alchemy), lead by Greed, a homunculus (an artificial human created with alchemy). He is not at all popular with the chimeras, being an alchemist, as the ones who made them how they are now, but they help him and he helps them, mainly by exploding things.
Kimbley encounters lieutenant colonel Archer during one of their (not so successful) raids, and the suggestion of getting him back into the army is put forth. A few episodes later, it is clear that he accepts the proposal, and betrays the homunculus. He is reinstated in the military with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and goes, together with Archer, Eastwards, to the city Lior, where conflict is raging. The idea is that Kimbley is to solve this, simply by blowing things up. He is however killed before this happens at the hands of one of his old victims.
Zolof J Kimbley is the kind of character that ensnares and fascinates, but is obviously severely damaged in the head and very vicious. He kills for fun and thinks that humans are empty and pointless. They are just potential explosives – especially people from countries who are opposing Amestris’ expansion. No such thing as guilt seems to exist in him, something that gives him an almost psychopathic (in the proper psychiatric sense of the word) personality. Just to strengthen this association, he is very verbal and almost always polite (except when he gets angry – and then he is very impolite), but there seems to be a sarcasm behind it, turning the concept of politeness around. He seems the kind of person you would happily talk to for a quarter of an hour and quite enjoy the company of, and then suddenly realise that there is something wrong with this man and fruitlessly try to back out of the conversation. In one way quite interesting, in another just horrid and repellent.
Fanon characterisations are not so much in conflict with each other. Sometimes there is a tendency of one-sidedness in it, when all Kimbley seems to think of is explosions. Often he is, despite being verbal in the anime canon, bad at expressing feelings, at least those of a warmer variety, and usually he is not pictured as a master of tact, which usually leads to intrigues and misunderstandings between the characters. When he is paired off with people, he is not only something of an emotional retard (at least on the outside) but also has a, to put it lightly, warped sex drive. He is usually written as a polygamist, unrestrained swine that will not think twice before hurting someone (and quite alot hints that that is what he is). There has been some fics and the like when he hurts Archer (more or less severely), and in some he does not seem to care at all, but in some guilt, something totally alien for his character, sets in. Usually it is not out of character, though, but more something hidden. Some characterisations point to the passionate and changing in his being. He lives for what he loved, be it his science or himself or even another person, and, just like his alchemic speciality, he changes everything into something dangerous.
While Kimbley is understandable, despite his warped sense of morals, lieutenant colonel Archer is something of a mystery. What we know canon-wise is almost nothing, and therefore fanon characterisations differ quite much.
When Archer first come into the plot, his rank is lieutenant colonel and he is in charge of the military court in Amestris. He is described as a man who is true to his military duties, which means that he likes war. We soon realise that he is ready to use extreme methods to gain power, not stopping at abducting children or killing people in the name of the military. Later, we are also told that he is jealous of colonel Mustang (one of the main characters that have reached a high position in the military at a relatively young age) who seems to have gotten all the attention and promotions that Archer thinks he should have gotten. When in Lior he says, before making an indirect and failed attempt on the colonel’s life that he will be the war-hero in Lior that Mustang was in Ishbal.
Archer enters the plot in episode 29, and is then on his way to the South, trying to track down the Elric brothers, but instead he stumbles over something that is “more valuable”, a homunculus, that he abducts and leaves to some scientists in South City. He also seems quite fascinated by Greed’s chimeras. Throughout the series, he shows example of what is almost a perverse fascination for alchemy, which of course is quite important in this pairing, as the other part of it is an alchemist (in the majority of smut fics for this pairing, some kind of alchemy kink is involved).
The most crucial thing Archer does for the plot, however, is recruiting Kimbley back into the military. He makes the suggestion in episode 31, and in episode 33 Kimbley betrays the homunculus’ gang and returns to the army. We do not see anything of Archer until a few episodes later, and soon after that he goes to the East, now promoted to colonel. He is one of the few survivors in the Lior massacre, and the only thing we see of him for quite some episodes is just a quick sequence in which he is in quite a bad state. He reappears in episode 48, equipped with automail (artificial limbs of metal) as a substitute for half his body, turning him more into a killer machine than a functioning human. In the last episode he is shot down by Hawkeye, a first lieutenant who helps colonel Mustang.
The two main fanon characterisations are one that is quite close to the canon and one that is based on the canon and keeps going. In the one closest to canon Archer is very cold often filled with confidence and with a need to dominate, even if he may submit if he gets something out of it. That is probably the key with this version of the character – his selfishness and striving for gaining power. Not much of a conscience seems to exist within him, and he does not dwell on his mistakes, is he even thinks he might ever have done any. This characterisation of course gains points for being so close to the canon, but the problem with it is that it is hard to make it work in interaction with other characters, and also, the risk that he will become too cold to be human exists, and with such a characterisation, nothing will ever get beyond the point where sex is the main thing, for example.
The other characterisation works from the hypothesis that what we see in the anime is just a façade, a theatre part made by Archer himself to play. The façade itself corresponds well to the canon, being ruthless, remorseless and self-confident. What is under this mask, however, is a man without self-confidence and very little actual grasp of reality. His actions are not so much to please himself, as in the other characterisation, but others, to gain their trust. Archer’s sometimes fretful behaviour and how his mood swings are interpreted as neuroses and general mess-up. There is a lack of practical experience in most fields, his education is shown as theory-based, and he has after fulfilling it more or less been dumped into the real world. Whenever his childhood comes up it is pictured as lonely and strict, with very controlling parents. He is interpreted as lonesome and confused concerning everything from identity and sexuality to values and right and wrong. Archer in often this interpretation is self-condemning, submissive and masochistic, when the other version is self-glorifying, dominant and sadistic. The natural draw-back here sit hat we need some fanon to make this characterisation work, but otherwise it has a much more understandable ring to it than the earlier mentioned one, simply as it is more human.
There is not one “correct” fanon interpretation, of course, and different stories need different versions, but they both have their ups and down. It is simply a matter of personal taste.
Here is where I will have to stop and make something of a confession, one I usually do not like to make. Kimbley and Archer have, in the whole anime, between five and ten minutes screen time together. They have two conversations, both around one or two minutes long. However, which should better be said before you stop reading here thinking this is just another crack pairing, it is obvious that there is more to it than this. There are a lot of things that happen that the anime does not show us. (There are also a lot of things that I hope and like to believe happened, that the anime certainly does not show us.)
The relationship between Kimbley and Archer is obviously, from the beginning, based on want – of subordinates, power, knowledge and other things as well, perhaps. They first meet during one of Greed’s gang’s splodey sessions at the South Headquarters. While Kimbley is outside, Archer suddenly appears up on the roof, his gun pointed at the alchemist. Their conversation here is very basic, starting with Archer asking if the President is aware that Kimbley is still alive. Then he asks him if he has considered rejoining the military, and says:
‘I can make that happen.’ One can feel the immense tension between the two during this scene which stretches over about half a dozen lines. It is like a bomb, ironically enough, detonating.
So, Kimbley has been locked up alone in a small cell for a good seven years, the only people probably talking to him being the jailers (and that is probably not the height of conversation). After he has escaped jail he ends up as a part of a gang of non-humans, that he does as a principle does not like. Even if some of the chimeras and the homunculus might talk to him, also they are outlaws. The group is totally isolated. However, quite suddenly, a human speaks to him – not as if he was a madman or lesser being but as someone with potential and strength. This is Archer who does. So, even if we cannot be totally positive on this, we can at least assume that Archer is the first human in seven years who speaks to Kimbley in a civilised way. This, even for someone who see humans simply as potential explosives, this must be relieving.
The next time they show up together is two episodes later, in episode 33, when Kimbley betrays Greed’s gang. Now they are standing side by side in a hole Kimbley has just turned a wall into, both smugly grinning. Once again there is tension, but now it is in control and ordered. In the very beginning of next episode Archer welcomes Kimbley and another alchemist, Shou Tucker, who is a chimera expert, back into the military. Tucker spends a lot of the scene asking if he really did mean that they will be safe and that he will be able to continue his research and Archer answers patiently in the affirmative. However, what are particularly of interest in this sequence are the lieutenant colonel’s eyes. In the middle of talking to Tucker, they suddenly jump to Kimbley and stays on him a few intense seconds. Tucker is not the most beautiful creature there is, he is himself a chimera and does look grotesque, but this sudden change of object of observance is strange – and makes me all fandorkish.
Kimbley is not the kind of person who lets other people boss him around and Archer is not a man who would, despite prone to use extreme methods to gain power, risk his reputation by associating with the wrong people, like criminals of war. We know, however, that they strike a deal. Archer’s part of it is getting Kimbley back to the military, while Kimbley’s, strangely enough, is to deceive the homunculus’ gang. What would Archer get out of the destruction of the gang? True, they had tried to destroy the military’s headquarters in the South of Amestris, but it does not seem very relevant. Revenge does not seem like the main reason here. Of course, it might be a part of it, but as the gang did not do much damage to revenge, really. Also, the one who does make most of the damage they do inflict is one of the few people who are actually spared.
Something he would get out of it, though, is the Crimson Alchemist. The Crimson Alchemist, who is a criminal of war and deemed mad. Why would someone who is motivated and wants to make a glorious career associate with outlaws, madmen, prison breakers? Taking the matter into his own hands like that is obviously nothing that the higher-ups would like. I severely doubt that he went to the President, bobbed a pretty curtsey and asked if would he please be allowed to recruit a mad criminal of war, sir. It might even get him into trouble and hurt his reputation, even if it did not. So, why strike a deal that you get very little out for? Lieutenant colonel Archer is not the type of person doing things like this out of the goodness of his heart, he is in fact quite self-centred and would probably want something for himself. So, obviously, there is something in this deal that is exchanged that we do not quite get to know – material, physical or emotional. The whole thing is all too risky for any other possibility.
Archer rants quite a lot about Kimbley and really seems to like mentioning him. Of course, it freaks people out to know that a mad alchemist is under the command of the person you are talking to, and this would give him the upper hand in the situation. Also, the sheer power of being able to control such abilities as those Kimbley has would probably give anyone a kick of adrenaline, even if they were not a bit power-crazy. These facts might explain some of the ranting. However, what does not say that he is not simply head-over-heels in love with the alchemist? The chance quite exists.
When Kimbley and Archer turn up together again after quite some episodes, it is on a train with officers on their way to the East and war. This is where the news that Kimbley has rejoined the military is broken to the good guys. They get more and more annoyed and worked up about it, while Kimbley and Archer are growing more and more smug and superior. Throughout the scene they smirk, obviously very happy with themselves, and, it seems, each other. They almost act like a newly married couple, all smug and delighted.
When they reach Lior Kimbley is sent in to find Edward Elric’s body (only presumed dead) and to handle Scar, a religiously fanatic murderer from Ishbal (it later comes to light that Kimbley is the one who is the cause to Scar starting his killings). Things go quite bad, instead of simple victory Kimbley encounters trouble with Scar and fights him almost through two episodes. Back at the military base, Archer frets around, complaining that the communications have ceased to work and hits random things (but also makes a grumpy comment on that he might just be blowing random things up in a whiny wife-complaining-on-her-husband way).
Later, after quite a fight, Kimbley is finally killed and Scar (now missing both his arms and soon dead as well) drops him from a roof. Archer watches this happen through a pair of binoculars. Of course we are not told what is going on in his head, but his outer reaction is quite interesting. First he seems stunned, and then looks stern, then he starts making the troops pull into the city, but his way of acting is somewhat strained, not only cold as before, but almost dead. The few times he smiles after that is very uneasy or even false. Even when he is grabbed by the collar by Ed, who shows up, he does not react. This totally blank behaviour continues until he is finally gravely injured and then put together into something of a killing machine. I would say that he simply looses his mind somewhere after being derived of almost half his body, which is obviously a quite traumatic experience for anyone, even if I would like to think there might be other reasons to his loss of sense.
At first when he has seen the dead body he speaks several times of that Scar has “killed a State Alchemist”. After the troupes have entered Lior, Ed comes running and tells Archer that there is only Scar left in the city and that the people have surrendered.
‘Surrendered?’ Archer answers. ‘I can’t believe this. They have killed the Crimson Alchemist.’
‘So that is your reason?’ Ed answers. (Episode 42, 17:16-25.)
Being Archer’s subordinate and the fact that he helped him back into society again and therefore can throw him out just as easy obviously puts Kimbley in a position of debt. However, with a simple flick of his hand Kimbley could turn Archer into an explosive that would detonate in a matter of seconds, something that gives the alchemist the upper hand. Thus, they both have duties to and power over the other. It might in one way create a power play, but it might also make things more even.
One quite small detail that puts an entirely new perspective on the relationship between Kimbley and Archer is this. When Archer first enters into the plot in episode 29, the first thing he does is hum. What he is humming is a part of Beethoven’s ninth symphony (a musical piece the Japanese quite like to get into anime). Kimbley, on the other hand, does not hum or anything alike in the anime (however, he whistles in the manga – quite left up to the imagination what, though), and does not seem to be the kind of person who does, in the beginning. Despite this, when they both reappear in the story line in episode 39 on the way to the frontlines, Kimbley hums, and not any musical piece, but Beethoven’s ninth symphony. This ought to indicate that the characters have spent a lot of time together. It of course does not say anything of the kind of relationship they have, but we could without making it sound unreasonable that there has been quite some time together.
KimbleyxArcher is a very good example of the traditional ChaosxOrder pairing, in which the chaotic one (here Kimbley) often turns out to dominate the orderly one (here Archer), and often where the one representing chaos seems to have much more actual order than the latter. A number of other opposites fit quite well on this pairing; stability and instability, heat and cold, practice and theory, and so on. Some fanon versions of the relationship complements a lot of opposites to the list, as Archer is often characterised as upper class, while Kimbley is shown as lower class, Archer is sometimes written as inexperienced when it comes to relationships and sex (which leads to awkwardness), and Kimbley as hypersexual and not-so-very-tactful (which results in quite the opposite).
I have always liked the idea that the two of them might balance each other’s complicated minds. It is, after all, a dysfunctional pairing consisting of two dysfunctional persons. Archer is as closed as Kimbley is open, and while Archer has too many barriers, Kimbley has none at all. As they are so different, they might be able to live through each other and therefore find some comfort. The comfort potential of course comes together with the angst potential. The opposites mentioned above, especially the fanon ones on sexual experience and of class, are bound to clash. The deeper characterisation of Archer usually involves a lot of anxiety and shame, for anything beyond a strict business relationship, which leads to general uncertainty in the relationship to Kimbley, who is bad at being subtle and usually quite all over the place. Also, judging from the juridical and political situation of Amestris and from how these factors were in the inspiration source, early twentieth century Europe, we might assume that there are laws against homosexual practices, and if not, that would probably not be something looked lightly upon. As the society is Europe-inspired there will surely be prejudice that both of the characters will have been fed with. The question is, however, how much Kimbley, all happy with himself and without a conscience, would dwell on such things. Archer would, at least in the deeper characterisation, probably be struck by remorse concerning this. To this, almost without doubt, there are laws prohibiting fraternization, which Is when two persons in the military have personal, for example sexual, relationships with one another. Also this might sing the man in charge of the military court just slightly.
To add to this, Kimbley had been locked up for quite some time, is yet adjusting to a more normal life (even if an entirely normal life would be hard for someone like him) and many people assume that when it comes to deeper emotions, he is just as lost as Archer seems to be. Also, both of them are instable and have their fits, which ought to shake a relationship quite a lot. So, the comfort might be needed.
And with the comfort potential comes the fluff potential. Perhaps this is because it is so wrong with two ruthless and insane characters being sweet and happy together, and therefore it becomes so right. Usually the fanon fluff is simple in its character, quite often involve domestic situations, such as baking or cooking or pets (cats, usually), or has to do with intimacy (everything from innocent cuddling to sex), but usually also has another dimension. This is two persons who we can assume have not had very happy lives (while we know some about Kimbley’s past, that he was in Ishbal and after that in prison, we know nothing of Archer’s – the fanon theories usually picture him as very lonely and unhappy of his situation), and in one or another way they suddenly found someone who can, despite being twisted and sinister as well, understand. It is like a warp of confidence, which the scene on the train when they sit smirking at the other officers shows. Also, before this part of the anime but after Kimbley is recruited into the military Archer starts acting slightly differently, in a longer extent speaking his mind and stating his opinions.
But however much they are opposites, they are also alike. Starting at a shallow level, they seem to be about the same age (somewhere around thirty it seems, although we can only guess concerning this), and the world does not seem to have been very cooperative with any of them. They both have goals they want to achieve, and are both very stubborn, ruthless and not very bound by the law. There is a lot they would like to avenge and dominate. None of them are really sympathetic - on the contrary, really (although the way they are characterised of course is subjective, we can from an objective view say that a lot of things they do are very immoral). They are both twisted minds – and therein lays the attraction.
The extent of Kimbley and Archer’s relationship has been thoroughly discussed. Of course this is an area I cannot witness for other people’s opinions in (and they differ, I am convinced), so I will simply only be able to state my own views here. The time that passes between their first meeting by the Southern Headquarters and Kimbley’s death in Lior is usually thought to be somewhere between one and two months, although three or four months has been mentioned, which of course is extremely short time for a relationship. However, after quite some thinking and discussing my own humble opinion has become, but after quite some thinking and discussing my own humble opinion has become that this relationship is, at some level, based on love. I think it would take a lot for two so selfish and reserved persons to let someone come so close, and, it seems, letting the other one become a part of their egoistic world, is also something that may need a lot of devotion and trust. There is no “I“, but a “we”, it seems. Obviously there is respect between them, because without it, Archer would not have cared to recruit the alchemist and Kimbley would not bother if he killed Archer off after getting what he wanted. Of course, this would be something that had developed during the time they have no canon screen time, so we cannot know properly. The balance between opposites makes it all very sweet, and also the potential of comfort does the same. The confidence and unity they show in the train scene hints, at least in my eyes, to that the earlier tension has been channelled and turned into something else, something warmer. Archer’s so fierce reaction to Kimbley’s death also makes me think that he meant something to him, as I cannot possibly imagine that all that fretting and screaming is only because of his master plan to become a war-hero has been ruined. No, what he says directly after it and also after the din has calmed concentrates a lot on Kimbley, not of the failed plan.
I doubt that they ever realised this themselves, as the time was so short, and if they did I do not think that they would manage to say it to each other. Despite this, I think they, unknowingly or not, made it clear, perhaps just by the simple acts that we see in the canon. Even if they had been granted (pardon for using this fatalistic expression) many more years, they might not have been able to correspond it, but that too is one of the charms with this pairing. It is silent, the actual reasons never being proclaimed openly, and it is also silent because it is all about unconditional understanding. There is no need for words.
Of course, it is messed up, and it is broken. It might never actually have worked, and it might have gone terribly wrote, if it had not been cut off so abruptly. It might also have become something very happy and idyllic. We can never know, and perhaps also that adds to the charm of the pairing, but also the intensity of the little time they did have. Also, it is both a dysfunctional pairing but also a pairing that works as love-based. It contradicts itself, just as the characters and their opposites contradict each other. But, as they say, opposites attract – but will they drive each other mad, if they already are?
Explosion – the KimbleyxArcher fanlisting
_deadlyweapons_ - a KimbleyxArcher communityMortis Poetica, R, by
_nineveh_ – Wonderful dark fic concerning Kimbley’s morbid passions for killing, blood and Archer. No Reason to Believe, G, by
ayuamarca – Hilarious crack (or?). Two sergeants show up at lieutenant colonel Archer’s house to investigate if he is committing gross indecency or not. His maid is not quite as co-operative as they want her to be. Treasure, PG-13, by
maaya1x2 – Another dark, bloody fic. Kimbley comes back from his killing sessions in the night, and what Archer thinks thereof. Break me, R, by
_nineveh_ – “He had cried the first time.” Clear-sighted, beautiful and oh-so-right ficlet by one of my favourite FF authors. Untitled, PG-13, by
kase_n_ko – Kimbley makes advances, but Archer rejects him of the reason that he does not want his pyjamas spoiled. Terribly sweet fic in which the differences between the characters are made very clear. Proposing, PG, by
laylah – A pretty example of fluff for this pairing, involving Kimbley, Archer, a very nice restaurant and a ring box… 
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Date: 2005-06-19 10:55 pm (UTC)::saves::
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Date: 2005-06-20 01:47 pm (UTC)And thanks.
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Date: 2005-06-20 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 01:45 pm (UTC)And thanks very much. ^^
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Date: 2005-06-20 11:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 01:46 pm (UTC)(Hehe, I know. Me and Hohenheim, that is.)
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Date: 2005-06-20 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 09:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-21 02:39 am (UTC)You gave me a new appreciation for this pairing. Thanks! ^_^ Kimbley/Archer is still love~!!
(You still had a few spelling/grammatical errors but it wasn't that bad. I only noticed because I automatically proofread everything I see. Great job anyways!)
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Date: 2005-06-23 09:04 pm (UTC)(Ah, sorry about that. I'm slightly dyslectic, which kind of gives me a reeson to it, anyway. ^^)
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Date: 2005-07-23 05:54 pm (UTC)I think you did a very good job with this! Even though Archer and Kimbley barely have any screentime together, you managed to find a lot of hints. It's impressive how much thought you put in this and aigsfklhrhgdkh- now I have to rewatch those episodes. Great job! Oh, and that humming part? That's just scary! xD Very intresting.
.... *dork*
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Date: 2005-07-24 06:20 pm (UTC)I actually found a scene today with the two of them alone in a car, which I had totally missed. I was equally devastated and happy about it.
*dork as well*