Isabella's Arsenal (Level 3)

NAME:
Atmospheric Distortion

TYPE:
Alchemy: Elemental (Air)

LEVEL:
Level 3

FORM:
1) Fox's Tail: Folding fan x2
2) Mas y Menos: Cestus x2


BRIEFING:
The transmutation circle consists of three circles. In between the outermost two, three symbols are transcribed at three points, enhancing the circles power of compression, decompression, and movement of airflow, making it able to accomplish these feats faster than on her own. Inside the middle circle is the standard alchemical symbol of air, which connects the three symbols previously mentioned to one another. Inside the air symbol is yet another circle, containing a curved line. This line is designed to create a barrier between the areas of pressure she makes and the rest of the atmosphere, allowing her to successfully increase and decrease atmospheric pressure without nature getting in the way, though the extent of which she can push nature is limited by her own force of will and ability as an alchemist.

In order to use properly, an alchemist must know a few things. Basics include standard atmospheric pressure, the force it exerts, and the flow of air from high- to low-pressure areas. Through this, an alchemist can control the flow of air to his or her advantage. This is not enough, however, as air pressure varies in elevation. As such, an alchemist relying on this transmutation circle must be sure of the local differences before attempting to do anything rash or dangerous. Self-control is also important, as imposing too much or too little pressure on a target can yield unwanted results. Similar problems can develop when pressure is changed to rapidly or slowly.

In general, this alchemy is best used at lower altitudes (sea level is convenient, but by no means necessary), as the higher the elevation, the less atmosphere there is to use, and the less effective the technique.

A special mention should be made for the transmutation circles on her gloves. There are slight changes, made specifically to deal with increasing and decreasing air pressure (back of hand and palm, respectively). Since they are dedicated to a specific purpose, they are more potent than her “universal” air pressure circle at what they do.

By further practicing and refining her art, Isabella has managed to better control the shape that her alchemy takes. By taking the same mass and energy and focusing it down to a smaller area, she can artificially increase the force of her abilities. In the case of applying it at a range, she can better control her alchemy to hit certain points on a target, at the expense of losing area of effect and, by association, crowd control abilities.

PICTURE:

Spoiler:

1) A Xingese-style fan, it folds into a nice, compact space of about 12"x1"x2". With a flick of a wrist, the fan slides open and locks the metal support structure into place, and can be disengaged with by hitting a safety switch. Utilitarian in look, the metal skeletal structure is silver, and uses a durable cloth instead of wood or paper. In the center on the front side is the transmutation circle, carefully dyed into the cloth with a crimson ink.

2) A pair of cesti, which, in this case, is a fancy name for a pair of gloves with metal plates stitched into them (picture of an example is below, in the spoiler). The glove doesn’t cover past the first knucle on the thumb, and leaves the tips of her index and middle fingers exposed, suggesting that they are modified versions of a pair of work gloves she uses with fine tools. These black leather gloves have a 1/8” thick titanium plate stitched to the back of the hand, with one transmutation circle inscribed on it. Smaller, slightly thinner titanium plates are also stitched from the first to second knuckle, though this is more of a personal and tactical preference than of alchemic importance. On the palm of each glove is a second transmutation circle, which serves a different purpose than the first.

Spoiler:

SPECIAL ABILITIES:
Level 1:
Atmospheric Folding: By increasing atmospheric pressure greater and/or faster than the target can compensate for, Isabella is able to cause physical harm to living things, ultimately being able to damage or even crush internal organs when enough pressure is applied.

When used with her fan, it is an area of effect, creating a sort of dome that “explodes” inwards* on the target(s), and can be used from a distance.

When used with her gloves, it works a bit differently. The alchemy is activated while she’s punching, which will bring nearby atmosphere under her control. Upon hitting the target (not with her palm, though), the alchemy executes, and condenses the atmosphere to strike the target. If the atmospheric “punch” is in the same location as the location hit, it occurs as soon as Izzy withdraws her hand. It can also occur somewhere else on the body of the target, but this requires prolonged contact with the target. Isabella lovingly refers to this effect as the “Double Tap.”

Level 2:
Pressure Push: By reducing the air pressure in a certain direction on the target (and consequently maintaining it), Isabella can effectively push things. Since the air pressure is normally equal on all sides of everything, the effect of one push is negated by a push of equal force in the opposite direction. By making it unequal, there is (obviously) no longer a counter-force, causing the atmosphere to push the target in the same direction as the low-pressure side. In a strange twist, this is more effective when used on a large surface area, and weaker against things with a smaller surface area. This ability, though, can be used offensively, defensively, and for mobility, as explained below.

With her fan, Isabella has the advantage of range and being able to affect a larger area, at the expense of strength (compared to the specialized circle on the palms of her gloves). In addition, Isabella can afford to maintain the low-pressure side on the target, as well as control directly what area on the target is affected.

With her gloves, she must physically contact her target with the palm of her hand in order to activate and execute the alchemy. On a target that’s not herself, it automatically travels around the target to roughly the opposite side from the location touched, sending the target away from her. Even though the alchemy is briefly maintained, it is more powerful that the effect from her fan, and thus pushes a human-sized target 10-20 feet away. Larger objects, ironically, fly farther and faster due to increased surface area.

This alchemy can be used on Isabella herself, with either her fan or gloves, in order to boost her speed and/or mobility. Due to her kinesthetic sense (her brain’s ability to know where parts of her body are without having to actively check and see), she does not need to place her hand opposite of the side she wishes to be pushed in (i.e. her stomach in order to move forwards). In general, her gloves are better suited to giving her more speed, making them great for dashing, at the expense of mobility. Her fan, on the other hand, still increases her speed, but allows for greater mobility, due to an area of effect and the ability to more easily shift the direction. While increasing her speed/mobility, though, she cannot use her other abilities on another target, as it requires her concentration. As such, in order to use another alchemic ability, she would need to stop using whichever boosting effect she had enabled.

Building kick… IMPLOSION!: A vacuum is an area lacking in air pressure, at least relative to the atmosphere around it. The effects of less atmosphere range from trouble breathing to one’s circulatory system literally reversing its flow (which, by doing so, actually speeds up the suffocation process as red blood cells return oxygen to the lungs; ironically, to stay alive longer, one would have to exhale, buying them a few more seconds). With newfound knowledge, Isabella can create a vacuum, which has a few different effects, depending on what it’s used against.

With her fan, once again, Isabella has the advantage of range and area of effect. Against living, breathing targets, they will have trouble breathing to varying degrees, depending on how little atmosphere is left in the area. Things such as engines, fire, and bullets, which require air for various purposes (engines require air for their internal combustion components, fire needs oxygen for fuel, bullets need air in order to fire) will have trouble working, or not work outright. It takes time to suck the oxygen out of a large area, however, so its strength depends on how long she maintains this ability.

With her gloves, she trades range and are for strength and speed. Pressing her palm against the target will allow her to create a vacuum within him/her/it, which can occur very rapidly. This can quickly stall an engine to a stop, stop a fire in an adjacent room, or even start pulling air out of a human body through the lungs.

Normally, when Isabella stops the vacuum, she controls it back to normal, which can be done quickly, but still takes attention and care. In either instance of her fan or gloves, she can forgo the smoother return to normal atmospheric pressure, and instead just break the alchemic walls that allowed it to be created to begin with. This, in turn, creates an implosion, which sucks in anything within range due to a sudden, powerful rush of high air pressure moving into a low-pressure zone. With her fan, this cannot be safe for Isabella if she is too close, but with her glove, she can be close to her target when this happens. Again, her fan specializes in a large-scale explosion, which can be devastating to closely grouped targets. Her gloves, however, can pull apart one’s organs, or even collapse one’s skull into itself, depending on the location of the vacuum.

Level 3:
Shaped Charge: Refining her alchemy, Isabella has learned to shape and focus her alchemy for precision strikes. This came out of a realization that she has been wielding her alchemy much like a club, while she’s run into situations that she needed a rapier instead. By focusing her alchemy to a smaller area, she can increase the force of her attacks. Although this yields more power per hit, this does have its drawbacks. When used in melee, it means her margin for error is even smaller than normal. For her ranged uses, it means she sacrifices are of effect for focused firepower, making it unappealing for use against multiple opponents.


*= Explosions start from a center and explode outwards, and implosions drag things towards its center due to high-pressure atmosphere violently filling a low-pressure zone. This ability is neither of these, since it starts from a large area and pushes down into a center, before returning to normal again. Hence, “reverse explosion.”

APPROVED

;D nice. See, now you have a badass ability.

Updated for (currently potential) level 2 abilities, added a new transmutation device (technically 2 gloves, but it's only 1 pair!), and modified her level 1 ability to be used in conjunction with her new transmutation device.

For the record, my plan with Isabella was to have her be the weapon, and for her alchemy to augment that fact (more Major Armstrong than Colonel Mustang, I presume). That's why I not only added the gloves, but also adapted her level 1 ability to work with them in addition to her fan.

With that, I leave this to your mercy.

Good, good. Just remember not to play this godmoddish. Even Dai and Reila, who are powerful, have limits. Just be sure you know yours. ^_^

Changed to add her level 3 ability. Couldn't think of how to go more in-depth about it, but if required, I'm sure I can ramble on more about it.

Looks fine by me~ :3