#alchemy of souls react to

[onlyswan]

summary: in which alcohol plus k-drama is equals to your and jungkook’s tears.

> fluff / wc: 4k

> warnings: oc’s first attempt at becoming a pro bartender lmao they both drink alcohol!!, alchemy of souls spoilers!! (they watch the ending of part 2), mention of a stab and blood, they cry over character deaths together >:( (sike?) maybeee a little surprise bc jk is so in love y’all idk what else to say </3 💍

note: welcome to the result of my jungkook + aos brainrot. you can read more of inwhich!jk in glasses in this drabble. :D thank you anonie who sent this ask! + as always i’d appreciate it a lot if you lmk if you enjoyed mwamwa <3

—

“i miss my boyfriend.” you sigh dramatically as you slump over the dining table, popping a vodka-soaked cherry in your mouth.

despite being hopelessly in love, you and jungkook don’t necessarily feel obliged to spend every second of every day with each other. of course, it was different at the early stages of your relationship, when you had to cross oceans and move mountains to spend time together, even if it meant hugging for only ten minutes and parting ways again.

however, things changed when you started living under one roof. the burning passion of your love isn’t dying down, no. in fact, you would go as far as saying that it is growing more gracefully ardent. after all, there is no greater peace than knowing that at the end of the day, wherever the street signs and the unmarked paths may lead you to, you and jungkook choose to come home to each other’s arms. is this not the real honeymoon phase, as they like to call it?

he left early this sunday morning to attend a small reunion with his childhood friends in busan, while you spent the day reading a book and painting the numbers one to ten of the little paint by numbers kit you stumbled upon at the book store last week.

it’s a sunny day on an abundant island, with a lighthouse standing close to the edge. and maybe, just maybe, you regret ignoring the simple flower bouquet beside it because the details drawn on this canvas are the literal definition of tiny. you ended up feeling dizzy by afternoon because of the strain it caused to your fucked up vision.

to make matters worse, the doorbell rung at around 5pm, and a minute later you were already unboxing the basics cocktail set you ordered two days ago. it includes a 18- and 28-ounce shaker set, jigger that has a dual-side (ounce and two-ounce) pourers, strainer, muddler, and bar spoon.

to summarize what you’ve been doing with your life lately: you’re trying to explore the random things you’ve always been curious about, in hopes that they’ll help you find new hobbies and interests.

you thought about baking, but jungkook already does that, and quite frankly, you’re not at a place in your life where you have a high capacity for the patience it requires. mixing drinks, on the other hand, takes a relatively shorter time to do. and what makes it even more enticing is that you can take a shot whenever you mess up, as if you’re playing a drinking game.

there’s no better way to spend your sunday evening, right?

“baby, why the hell are all the alcohol outside of the cabinets?”

right… except you’re already intoxicated… and the world is spinning. you’re desperately yearning to hug jungkook, so he can make it stop, but you’re not even sure if he’s coming home or he’s staying over at his parent’s house for the night.

you react belatedly to the confused voice, lifting your head to squint at the man who grabbed a bottle of white wine from the cluttered countertop.

“hey, who are you? the bar is closed. put that down.”

he laughs lightheartedly when he realizes how drunk you’ve gotten. as he places it back down, the bottle clinks against the cold white stone. your heavy head collapses on top of your outstretched arm as he walks towards the opposite side of the dining table.

you open your eyes, one before the other, when you feel a presence hogging your space. a sheepish smile curves your lips as the beautiful face of your dear beloved greets you.

jungkook’s prescription glasses moves with his scrunched up nose as he grins at you playfully. “it’s the boyfriend you said you were missing.”

you reach out for him as soon as he finishes saying the sentence, silently asking to be embraced. slaves to your touch — his hands, which are resting on the sharp edge of the table and the top rail of your chair, eagerly slip down to encircle your waist.

you lazily lean your cheek on his shoulder, revelling in his welcoming body warmth. “why are you back early? aren’t you tired? you should’ve just rested at your house.”

“mhmm, i had to.” he hums, deep and raspy voice making his chest vibrate against yours. “we talked about marriage and all that jazz. i couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

with an airy huff, you pull away to glare up at him childishly. “i sure hope you’re not thinking about anybody else.”

he runs his tongue across his lips, unconsciously tugging at the silver lip ring with his teeth, but his loving smile stays. “you know that you’re the only one for me.”

“still! i like to hear it from you sometimes.” you giggle before taking a sip from a cold glass of cherry limeade, a refreshing treat you’ve been enjoying since before he arrived.

“vodka?”

“vodka.”

you swallow once more before handing him the glass, swaying your feet under the table as the delicious mixture of sweet and tart permeates your tongue.

“mhmm, wow!” he exclaims after taking a sip, tilting the glass a little bit to the side to look at the light red beverage with knitted eyebrows. “wait a minute- why is this so good?!”

you excitedly tug at the hem of his sweatshirt, begging for more pats on the head. “i had a lot of fun using the shaker.”

he lightly kicks out the chair to your right so he can take a seat, shrugging off the backpack full of clean clothes you packed for him last night incase he wanted to stay longer in busan.

“i did well with this one, right?”

he enthusiastically nods in response as he takes another gulp, chewing on the block of ice that also managed to slip inside his mouth. you melt into his affectionate touch when he cups your cheek with his delicate palm.

“maybe making drinks has been your specialty all along.”

you frown in disagreement. “i’m not sure. i made bloody mary before that one and i don’t know if i did something horribly wrong or it’s just supposed to taste that disgusting.”

amused laughter racks his body as he takes in the endearing sight of your genuinely downcast expression. you jut out your bottom lip in annoyance.

“it really tasted like poison! i got goosebumps!”

“shit, now i’m scared of you actually getting alcohol poisoning.” the back of your hand is rewarded with a sweet kiss by jungkook’s vodka-stained lips. the wide doe eyes behind his glasses meet yours curiously. “your hand smells like coffee.”

“oh- oh! the dalgona martini!” you rip your hand away from his to point at the martini glass standing at the very center of the dining table. “i just finished that. it should still be cold.”

he carefully slides the glass towards him to avoid spillage, fascinated lips forming a pout as he observes the thick portion of dalgona sitting on top of the mixed baileys and vodka. he didn’t even notice it at all because it’s almost the same color as the wood. has his vision gotten that bad?

“this looks yummy. you haven’t tried it yet?”

you shake your head, which you instantly regret because your vision blacks out momentarily. you swallow thickly as you attempt to blink away the shiny, swirly shapes dancing infront of your eyes.

“fuck, no. i already had classic martini, and mule. i’ll throw up.”

“jesus christ, baby. how many drinks did you try making?” jungkook finds himself so worried that he harshly takes off his glasses without reason, putting it aside on the table.

you giggle loudly at his reaction, using your folded arms as a pillow. “that’s all! i promise! besides, didn’t you drink with your friends, too?”

his face glows with uncontainable fondness at the mention of his friends.

“i was talking and laughing the whole time that i didn’t even finish half of my beer.”

your hazy eyes study his jovial and carefree features, and just like magic, they make your heart feel lighter inside your chest. heavens know that you wish for nothing more in the world than to see him this happy everyday.

“i’m so glad you had a great time, my love.”

“me too. i’ll tell you all about it when you’re sober and capable of memory retention.” he pokes fun at your drunken state as he picks up the glass of dalgona martini.

you roll your eyes before impatiently guiding the drink to his mouth. “just drink it already.”

“oing?” he blinks in disbelief, sipping on the glass again as if his tongue could’ve possibly fooled him the first time. ”i actually like this one more. i didn’t expect that.”

you abruptly perk up in your seat upon witnessing his candid review. “what? you’re joking!”

of course… you’re cursed. it had to be the one you hated making the most.

truth be told, you impulsively made the dalgona martini simply because it’s the only drink in the last online blog you found that you had the complete ingredients for.

you were obviously not prepared enough for this activity. but baileys, vodka, sugar, coffee, and water? yeah, any house would definitely have those.

then came your ridiculous dilemma: despite being intoxicated, you’re still terrified of using the electric whisker. and so, you had to do the whisking the hard way. to put it lightly, it was absolute hell. your arms and wrists are sore after shaking and whisking vigorously for the past three hours.

“it’s exactly what i needed after a long trip.” he moans. his shoulders spring up in delight as he licks off the foam around his lips, and you use your thumb to brush it away from the spots he missed.

jungkook grabs your hand before you could pull away, making you audibly gasp when he sucks at your thumb in his cold mouth. his insatiable tongue pokes the inside of his cheek after.

“uh- i think i tasted a hint of soap.”

“‘course you did. i just washed the dishes, you dummy.”

his pink lips part open as he processes your words, but he quickly brushes it off with a shrug. he noisily takes another sip from the glass.

“i can just clean it off my tongue with more martini.” he argues with a dimpled grin.

he grants you with a quick kiss, smudging the foam on his lips and transferring some of it to yours.

“ugh, you’re so sloppy!”

his laughter echoes in your home as he walks away. “i’m taking this with me to the bathtub!”

“don’t take an hour in there again.” you grumble out a complaint. “we need to watch alchemy of souls!”

—

“even if you decide to seal that door, i know how heartbreaking it will be for you, so it does not upset me so much.”

the flashback from four episodes ago confirms that it was foreshadowing this moment — park jin had sealed the door of jinyowon, a deep cave where relics are protected so they won’t unleash life-threatening dangers upon the world outside. lady jin and maidservant kim are stuck inside the collapsing sanctuary, holding back said relics from escaping… and the latter is none other than his wife-to-be.

jungkook anxiously bites the nails of his thumb and pinky finger, switching back and forth. the television screen reflects on the lens of his glasses as his eyes become shiny with tears.

“is this really the final episode? there’s no season three?”

“no, it ends tonight.” you reply in between embarrassing loud sobs, attention trained to the man mournfully calling out his lover’s name over and over again as he clutches her engagement ring to his chest.

the hot tears you fail to catch stream down to your temples, and then your boyfriend’s naked stomach. you’ve comfortably settled on the bed after finishing your nightly routines. your head is lying by the bottom of his ribcage, and that’s where the other edge of the cozy blanket enveloping the two of you rests. you grabbed a small portion of the cotton in a loose fist, and you’ve been keeping it close to wipe your tears with.

“oh my god, i can’t fucking do this. my head is being split open.”

you toss aside the remote control after pausing the episode, crawling to the nightstand to pop the painkiller in your mouth, which you prepared to be supposedly taken tomorrow morning. maybe you’ve sobered up a little, but the combination of the alcohol and the woeful crying have resulted to an agonizing migraine.

with his long and slender fingers, your boyfriend removes the hair that stuck to your tear-stained face before tenderly wiping your cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

“making my baby fucking cry, too. i need that son of a bitch jin mu to burn in hell.” he curses to release his pent-up anger from the past 29 episodes, referring to the main antagonist of the series. the harshness of his tone contrasts the gentle kiss that lingers at the corner of your lips.

after drinking water, you wipe away jungkook’s tears with tissue paper, gingerly dabbing at the sides of his nose as well. he has a very sensitive skin, and because tears do contain salt, they can cause slight irritation and stinging when he cries. it’s something he once quietly complained about in passing, but somehow, it stuck with you throughout the years.

“does it hurt a lot?” he worriedly caresses the back of your head.

you meekly nod in response.

“should we just watch the rest of it tomorrow then?”

“noooo.” you drag out the word, shifting on the bed to return to your previous position. “my pain is nothing to compared park jin’s pain. i must persevere.”

and just like that, your tired eyes begin to water again. jungkook chuckles, affectionately holding your face in his hands. he isn’t surprised to find your skin to be warmer than normal.

“aigoo, your eyes are so red. at least put your glasses back on.”

“fine.” you mumble in defeat as you pat around the mattress, looking for the glasses you haphazardly threw aside when your intense emotions started to take control over you.

his rosy cheeks rise like buns in an oven as he smiles. “i love it when we match.”

—

park jin stands before the greedy individuals who conspired to steal the foundation of jinyowon, the fire bird, which dries up the world when it is awakened. it will be used in a rain ritual to create another ice stone, a ball of energy similar to that of the sun or a star. and to point out the obvious, having it in your possession would mean becoming the most powerful being there is.

“evil always does what it wants without ever stopping. but why is it that virtue always needs to prove itself over and over again?”

“…yes. i do wish to save her. i would do anything to save her, even if it meant i would lose my sanity. but even so, i will stop you from getting what you want. not a single one of you has the right to laugh at me… and call me… a hypocrite.”

you feel jungkook shiver below you. he is immensely engrossed with the actor’s phenomenal performance, flawlessly depicting what ‘seething’ anger means. he puts his tattooed arm underneath his head to get a closer view of the subtitles. these have to be some of the best written lines he’s heard from this show so far, and he hopes to remember them by heart.

the two of you watched with bated breath when he starts fighting against several warriors, and then it happens… jin mu removes the barrier of the fire bird as a threat.

“oh, fuck you!” you kick your feet in annoyance.

park jin is forced to focus his energy on re-sealing the fire bird, leaving him vulnerable to the attacks of his merciless opponents.

“no, no, no.” jungkook chants under his breath, heart thundering with fear. “this can’t be happening.”

you know what is bound to happen. they did show three coffins at the end of episode nine. but denial denial denial is a stage of grief after all, and so, with a broken sob, you squeeze your eyes shut.

when your eyelids flutter open, a sword has already been driven through the center of his chest, and dark red blood uncontrollably spills from his mouth. jin mu spitefully pulls it out from behind before he weakly falls on the ground. jungkook stays quiet, it happens so fast but he feels suspended in time, while your horrified crying carries on.

you unwillingly remove your head from his chest before you can cry a river over his shirtless torso, opting to sit up beside him.

“bunch of cowards.” he couldn’t resist mocking as the group scrambles to leave the place before it completely burns down, jin mu taking re-sealed fire bird along with them.

park jin jolts awakes coughing up blood. he painfully forces himself to lie on his back, and the camera reveals that he’s been holding maidservant kim’s ring all along. with trembling hands, he puts the ring on himself. you cover your own mouth as you listen to his worn out sobs.

a look of love and admiration shines on his dull eyes, and you swear that he smiles softly, before his arms fall limp on the dusty ground.

is the moon watching? and the stars? have they ever witnessed something so gutwrenchingly tragic?

“he wore the ring on his pinky! and it didn’t even fit halfway!” your glasses is left abandoned beside you again as you finally allow yourself to weep freely.

seeing that you clearly need a break after that heartbreaking scene, jungkook pauses the episode.

“that’s so cute, but-” you hiccup. “this is so unfair. they were supposed to get married and have babies!”

“oh, baby. i know.” he coos softly, hugging your side and peppering your cheek with kisses. his own tears drip from his chin and he brushes them away with the back of his hand. “their souls will be together in after life though, don’t you think?”

you gradually grow quiet and calm at the thought he proposed, but- “i don’t think they can make babies there.”

“shit.” he chuckles as his forehead lands over your shoulder, glasses slightly sliding down his nosebridge. “you’re right.”

“this is too much. i can’t-” you blow your nose in sheets of tissue paper before throwing them in the bin you dragged next to the bed earlier. “it hurts so much. they just wanted a peaceful life together.”

the two of you grieve for the what if’s and what could’ve been’s. he can’t possibly think of anything more tragic than being forced in a position to choose between the love of your life and the humanity; only to end up perishing at the hands of the evil who made you do it.

and what did he have left? a lifetime’s worth of love to take with him to the grave, and whatever’s left of his pride and dignity? jungkook wouldn’t want any of those. he only wants you.

he lifts up his head, a small smile playing on his lips, swollen and cherry-colored from the nervous nibbles of his bunny teeth. “we’re crying like this and they’re not even the main characters.”

“need to sue the writers for emotional damages.” you groan, tense muscles slowly relaxing in your boyfriend’s embrace. “how many minutes left?”

“40 minutes.”

“i can’t even open my eyes anymore. sorry, babe. my head-”

it’s almost as if it’s been dunked underwater. the throbbing pain spreads numbing pressure from your temples to the back of your head.

“i told you we can finish it tomorrow. it’s fine.”

jungkook briefly leaves your side. the television screen turns black after he pulls out the plug. he throws away the crumpled tissue papers, and then he places your glasses on the safety of the nightstand.

“how cute… don’t fall asleep on me yet.” he fondly coos at your half-asleep figure. “you’re dehydrated. drink some water first.”

a straw pokes your lips. with your eyes shut closed, you hold onto his wrist to steady the tumbler as you take a long sip. by the time you let go, the water has reached the line indicating that there’s only three quarters of it left.

you softly fall back on your pillow with a ‘thump’, turning your back on him to face his empty side of the bed. he also drinks his share of the water before filling in the blank beside you.

he hums in acknowledgement when you pull at his arm to make it your personal pillow, leaving his own glasses on the nightstand as well before facing you.

you give him a small hazy smile, threading your fingers through his soft and luscious hair. “love your pretty and healthy hair.”

“i love you.” he whispers like a confession as he strokes the back of your head. “close your eyes now.”

“i love you, too.” with a peaceful sigh, you nuzzle your face against his chest. “jungkook?”

“hmmm?”

“were you happy today?”

a lump grows in his throat, bigger than the one he felt when he was browsing through engagement rings online. emerald cut, cushion cut, round cut. sapphire, ruby, diamond. size 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5… he was hanging on the thin line that separated excitement and anxiety. the two-hour train ride passed by like a radio song he didn’t pay attention to. but you don’t need to know about that. not right now.

he swallows it down, embracing you tighter. “i still am… happy. if i delete those scenes from my memory.”

“me too.” you mumble before succumbing to the void of darkness beneath your heavy eyelids.

—

between the alcohol and the coffee that he simultaneously drank, it looks like the latter won the upper hand. more than twenty minutes later, jungkook is still wide awake, overcome by his clamorous thoughts. the conversations he had with his friends echo in his mind, and he paces back and forth between your shared past and future. the future… there is no future if there is no you.

he closes his eyes, instructing himself to focus on the steady rise and fall of your chest instead of the things he cannot control.

he kisses the top of your head. “i love you so much.”

however, he won’t be able to sleep peacefully until he learns what happens next. he needs the closure because he would truly despise having a bad dream about them. after all, they didn’t show maidservant kim dying. there is a glowing firefly of hope he’s been enchanted to follow into the abyss of the night.

with careful movements, he wears his glasses and his wireless earbuds. he holds his phone using the arm you’re lying on, while his hand under the blanket absentmindedly rubs your back, palm smoothly running up and down the expanse of your skin.

his jaw slacks open only three minutes after he picked up where you left off. jang uk, the male lead of the show, reveals to those grieving infront of the three empty coffins that their loved ones did not pass away.

the following scene unveils park jin, alive yet unconscious on a bed, and maidservant kim who is holding his ring-clad hand, weeping for the traumatic night the two of them suffered.

jungkook chuckles in great relief, blinking away the tears from his glassy eyes.

“fuck, they’re alive.”

—

“fuck, they’re alive!” you almost choke on the haejangguk, a hangover soup, that you started to heartily eat not even two minutes ago. “i almost died crying last night and it turns out that they lied to me?!”

jungkook chooses to feign ignorance. he innocently watches the screen with his wide doe eyes, bunny teeth biting at the rim of his glass of white milk.

“wow, i’m speechless.“ he squeaks out. “how did they even get rescued?”

—

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[lynnlyrae]

The Devil, the Scientist, and the Most Beautiful Creature 

This is my attempt to analyze the connection between the Teacher, Faustina and Luna through the lenses of Goethe’s “Faust” and determine the origins of the “cursed moon twins”. There’s also alchemy.

This text will consist of four parts. And yes. It is long. Reader, you are warned.

Enjoy!

PART ONE: PARACELSUS, THE FATHER OF BABEL 

What do we know about Paracelsus:  

Lived in 15-16 centuries; 

Was a scientist;  

His actions led to the Babel Incident. 

The real world Paracelsus was “the father of toxicology”, our Paracelsus is The Shapeless One. Alright, this is a bold statement, but why not. 

The twin six-pointed stars above Paracelsus head (Ch. 7) have always stood out to me. Guess who else has exactly same two six-pointed stars as well? Teacher/Saint Germain (Ch. 55)! 

Some other similar motives: 

Paracelsus’ face is always obscured, we never see his eyes, only vague shadows. Teacher’s face was always drawn without eyes before the Big Reveal Moment in Ch. 55. He’s also known to frequently change his name and appearance, to the point where it’s not always possible to determine whether one’ve met him before (Vanitas has met him in another form, but has no idea when and how it happened). 

Paracelsus wanted to save the world from sufferings and guide people to happiness (Ch. 7). He also assembled a team of scientists to conduct a research. Teacher/Saint Germain is referred to as savior by Misha, and he also saved Noé from human traffickers. He also claims his ultimate goal is world peace (Ch. 61). But the goal is shared with someone (he says “our” wish specifically). 

And honestly, their vibes just fit so well. Paracelsus and Saint Germain, two mysterious figures who are renowned scientists and alchemists with ambiguous lore — why wouldn’t they be the same person?  

Since I want to use “Faust” as base for analysis, let’s assign him a role – Mephistopheles. I mean, just look at this (Ch. 61). It’s as devilish as it can get! The free force in s shape of a fine gentleman that ultimately creates destruction. 

Mephistopheles also claims to be an observer: 

“I’m so involved with Man’s wretched ways,

I’ve even stopped plaguing them, myself, these days”. 

And look how well it fits to Teacher, who left the Court to enjoy his little things in a secluded mansion (manipulating kids and raising pawns) and also claims to be an observer!  

Alright, I’d like to keep this part short because my main focus here is Faustina-Luna situation, so let’s move on. We’ll get more bits of this manfailure there anyway. 

PART TWO: FAUSTINA, THE QUEEN OF THE RED MOON 

What do we know about Faustina: 

she’s a Queen and the first vampire of red moon to ever exist, while Teacher was by her side the longest; 

she has a special power to control other vampires as herself, not as Naenia; 

she’s mostly active as Naenia and was likely cursed in 17 century; 

there are two physical bodies that are stated or hinted to be her: one in her bedroom in Carbunclus castle and one in Ruthven’s lab. 

Now let’s take a look at Faustina’s bodies (Ch. 13, Ch. 26). I briefly mentioned in one of my recent posts that I think Faustina changed bodies at least once, possibly due to them being damaged by curse. I believe these pics support this idea: the body in the castle looks like that of an adult person, with limbs and fingers much longer than those of the body that was seen in Ruthven’s lab and reacted to Naenia’s name (Chloe also summoned Faustina in the same body of a young girl). 

Additionally, when Ruthven talks about her connection with Saint Germain, she is portrayed as having adult-like proportions (Ch. 19). And when Naenia takes more human-like shape, it also has adult-like proportions (Ch. 9). So I think she was cursed as an adult, and her original body is the one in the bedroom, but her soul went from one vessel to another, while her cursed form remained more like her original body. 

While we are on the topic of bodies, I’m going to show you this. Thankfully, the moment when Luka stayed at Faustina’s bedside wasn’t omitted from the anime — and the queen’s skin looks quite the same color as Luna’s. I’m not sure what to do with this information yet, but it creates another link between them. It’s quite interesting that Faustina’s corrupted form looks a lot like Luna’s normal form.

Ok now that I’m done with this idea, let’s move on to something more interesting: Faustina’s role in the story. 

Right now her position is not really active: she steals true names as part of the Charlatan, but it’s unlikely that she in control of the organisaton (at least in present time), and Ruthven leads it. She obviously can’t fulfill her duties as a Queen either: they’re taken over the Senate (which again includes Ruthven) and a puppet-on-the-throne Luka (who is, again, under Ruthven’s control. Ruthven, what kind of power play is that?).  

But I think it’s wasn’t always like this. After all, she was an absolute monarch with magical power to make every vampire fall to her feet! And, well, she had to do something even before that, right? 

I believe that prior to becoming a vampire she was involved in Paracelsus’ research, possibly even as an alchemist. While the majority of well-known alchemists were male, there were some cases of women conducting and publishing researches in this field as well. A notable example are Sophie Brahe (1559-1643), who studied astronomy and was also well-versed in Paracelsus’ medical texts, and Isabella Cortese(fl. 1561), who was the first woman to publish a book on alchemy, titled The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese. Tbh I just really hope that Paracelsus team (Ch. 7) will include women in general…

Of course, my desire to see Faustina as an alchemist is not enough to claim that this is a credible theory. So let me elaborate on that a bit more (and we’ll get to Luna right after that). 

Her name derives from the name of a Ghoete’s character Faust, a man who makes a deal with the Devil to exchange his soul for fulfilling his desires of knowledge and pleasures. Faust is deeply dissatisfied with his life: 

“He drives his spirit outwards, far,

Half-conscious of its maddened dart:

From Heaven demands the brightest star,

And from the Earth, Joy’s highest art,

And all the near and all the far,

Fails to release his throbbing heart”. 

… And Mephistopheles offers him everything he wants. 

I think she literally is Faust. And her Mephistopheles wanted to grant her wish that they probably shared (Ch. 61). 

Faustina (well-educated person dissatisfied with reality) met Paracelsus (who offers a way to change the entire world). Perhaps he plays both the role of God and Devil in this version, since Paracelsus is described as someone who actually wanted to help people, but his action led to a literal apocalypse. Way to go, Paracelsus! 

Anyway, in my theory, she joins the research and becomes the first vampire during the Babel incident. Perhaps all other scientists, except for her and Paracelsus, died during the incident (but the research itlsef survived and was later used by Chloe’s family). Faustina was reborn as the Queen and Paracelsus as the Teacher. 

Why only Faustina is considered to be the first vampire and not both of them? Well, they didn’t necessarily fully awake as vampires at the same second of the same day. Or maybe the Teacher hides his identity and true powers this good… After all, he is known to mess with history (for example, he removed everything about Ruthven from his books, leading Noé to being completely oblivious about his existence). But honestly the parallel between vampires reacting to presence of Faustina (Ch. 38.5) and Teacher (Ch. 55) are interesting… 

PART THREE: LUNA, VANITAS OF THE BLUE MOON

What do we know about Luna: 

they’re the only known vampire of the blue moon and are considered abnormal and dangerous; 

Naenia is the one who steals vampires’ true names, but it’s believed to be the fault of the first Vanitas;

they’re told to have created the Books of Vanitas (it may of may not be true); 

they’re canonically agender, neither male nor female, and regret knowing what they are (Ch. 51).

I mentioned here that Luna is a Homunculus. Now it’s time to explain what led me to this idea.

Noé points out that Luna and Faustina look alike (Ch. 49) Is it connected to whatever knowledge Luna regretted having? Considering Luna’s unique blue skin, blue blood and their statement “I’m not like any other living thing in the world”, I don’t really think Luna could be Faustina’s human twin. Or rather, it’s not my first guess. I’m inclined to believe that Luna was an artificial being whose creation was connected with Faustina. 

In “Faust II”, the theme of artificial human, the perfect creature that surpasses humanity and yet serves their creator, is also present. Faust’s student, Wagner, works on a project when Mephistopheles visits him. Wagner claims: “A Man is being made!”, Mephistopheles jokes about a “loving couple hidden up the chimney”, but Wagner pronounces this way of creating life “unfashionable” (🤝) and delivers a beautiful speech: 

“The tender moment from which life emerged,                                      

The charming power with which its inner urge,

Took and gave, and clearly stamped its seal,

First in a near, and then a further field,

We now divest of all that dignity:

Though the creatures still enjoy it, we,                                                   

As Men, with all our greater gifts, begin,

To have, as we should, a nobler origin”. 

The interesting thing here is that Wagner’s creation is alluding to Paracelsus’ recipe of homunculus in Of the nature of things, 1537 (I found this in an article which referenced a publication by R.D. Gray Goethe the Alchemist. A study of Alchemical Symbolism in Goethe’s Literary and Scientofic Works.) Paracelsus called the creature “chemisch mensch”, but Goethe adapted that to Homunculus, an alchemical term. 

The Homunculus desires to become fully created: “Since I exist, I must find things to do”. He (this character is referred to as a male in “Faust”) seeks “the beginnings of creations”, to “reach at last the human state”. In order to achieve it, he wants a connection with the sea goddess Galatea (here a version of Aphrodite), but his brittle flask hits her chariot-shell and breaks. He spills in the sea and dies, but he also merges with the sea itself. 

Now that I’m thinking about it… Painfully familiar… Blink if you too were forever traumatized by “I won’t die, Noé. Even if I’m no longer here…” in Ch. 1… 

Well, back to Luna. Just like Goethe’s Homunculus, Luna was created in a certainly unique way. Here it’s time to remember the fairytale about Vanitas, told by Noé to Amelia (Ch. 1). Granted, it’s something he learned while under Teacher’s care, and we know he isn’t above censoring of wildly retelling anything, but Amelia doesn’t correct him on anything, so let’s accept this fairytale as it is. 

Perhaps the “birth” of the first Vanitas on the night of a blue moon refers to the artificiality of their creation? Artificiality can be equalized with “unnatural” birth of the Moon in the fairytale version. Even if the concept of homunculus will not be directly named in VnC, we already have the idea of an artificial being that differs from all living things in this world, is nonbinary and possibly agender and is able to perform unique functions — to control the book of Vanitas. 

Interestingly, our Vanitas and Misha are also to some extent “artificially created” – without experiments of Moreau and Luna’s bite they wouldn’t have been able to control the Books. It’s possible the reasons for the existence of Luna and both their children were somewhat similar – it was merely an experiment conducted in order to change the design of the world. (Ch. 48) 

Perhaps those “reasons to exist” are also the reason of Luna’s regrets and the reason to forbid Vanitas to allow Archivists to read his memories. We don’t know why it’s so. Maybe Vanitas learned something about Luna, and now those memories are meant to be hidden carefully. Maybe Luna just wanted to find out about themselves, asked an Archivist to read their memories (Machina, perhaps), and was so traumatized that simply wanted their children to never go through this kind of pain. 

And the knowledge that traumatized Luna? It could have been knowledge about the purpose of Luna’s existence. I don’t think Luna was created by accident. They were meant to do something or to be something. The Books are said to be created by the Vampire of the Blue Moon, but they could have been created for them as a tool to rewrite the world once again. 

In “Faust” Mephistopheles tells to the audience: 

“In the end we’re dependent on

The creatures we’ve created”. 

What if Paracelsus and Faustina needed someone else to fully realize their plan? And that someone was Luna, “the most beautiful creature in this world” (Ch. 55) (he’s so real for this). 

Saint Germain, the president of Luna fan-club, everyone!

Oh, one more little thing. The “perfect creation” of alchemy is the Philosopher’s stone.

Carbunculus is one of many synonyms for Philosopher’s stone, which may be anything from a rock to a human-like being (waving at fellow FMA fans); 

It’s also the name of Queen’s castle;  

And Goethe uses this word to describe how Homunculus looks: 

“The deep alembic now has passed, 

And like a living coal at last 

A fine carbuncular fire is glowing 

Into the dark it’s brilliance throwing”. 

No way it’s a coincidence. Just. No way. C’mon, it Jun. So… Luna is the “ultimate creation” of alchemy, VnC’s version of Philosopher’s stone and Homunculus at the same time. 

PART FOUR: THE THRIAD 

Now that we’ve assigned roles to all of them, let’s go deeper in another rabbit hole that is alchemy. This one is hella hard to research because of the amount of extremely different modern occult groups. But alchemy was my childhood hyperfixation, so… let’s do it. 

Together, Faust, Mephistopheles and Homunculus form a triad. (Yes, Wagner created Homunculus, but he kinda diss appears from the plot afterwards and Homunculus goes on a journey with Faust and Mephistopheles). This is kinda relevant, because Goethe actually researched the topic and it’s not unreasonable to connect his characters (and their VnC analogues) to certain alchemical symbols.

The triad is Salt, Mercury, and Sulfur. Here we can see irl Paracelsus at work again, because he was among the alchemist who popularized this theory. In alchemy, the idea of “feminine meets masculine” is pretty common, but unfortunately, different sources assign these qualities to different elements in the triad. That being said, the common point is that one is “female principle”, one is “male principle” and one is “neither, or the spirit itself”. The most common division of that in the triad is: 

Sulfur — the active male principle. Causes change. Brings an object to be changed. Associated with fire and sun. Red King. 

Mercury – the passive female principle (it’s just medieval occult stuff is I’m sorry). Needs something to give it shape and change it. The chaos of creation. Associated with earth or water and moon. White Queen. 

Salt – pure and undivided salt is the result of the interactions between mercury and sulfur. Such perfect things are the purpose of alchemy. 

Here are illustrations from Splendor Solis, which was also written under the influence of Paracelsus. Really can’t get away from this man… The first one is the Chemical wedding, the second one is… also that. Just in a fusion way I guess. Here the result of the Weddking is portrayed as Hermaphrodite with two heads (like in the myth, where human souls were originally of dual nature, but got divided into two parts that are men and women), but sometimes it’s a child or a person with both male and female features. Hermaphrodite can also be called Rebis (which means “dual matter”, aka Philosopher’s stone) or Androgyne (hello Luna).

I don’t expect Faustina, Saint Germain and Luna to fulfill this specific roles just like that. Rather, I think their roles would be mixed a bit, like how Saint Germain is both God and Devil. Still, the idea of the first one providing an idea, the second one helping him work on it and a third one being born out of it all as a perfect creature is intriguing to me. 

The three of them are the oldest, most ancient and perhaps the most mysterious vampires in VnC, and I’d love to them connected in such a way where one can’t exist without the others.

In conclusion: tragic ancient vampires own by brain.

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

Hiii ✨️ I have a little ask for you!

How would the Primis crew react to a fem S/O that's generally quiet and reserved, only to learn that she is a big nerd when it comes to her special interests? Maybe she info-dumps and gushes about her knowledge of her special interest, and that's how they learn that she's really smart.

I, myself, am a huge nerd when it comes to astrology. Yet not many people know that 😅

Do take your time. I love your work 🩷

-🌾

AAAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

I know I have to do this one!!! As a bonus, I'll throw in my personal headcanons for their astrological signs

Reactions of Primis: Quiet Fem S/O Excitedly Info-Dumps Their Passions (Includes Personal Perspective about Astrology)

Edward Richtofen - Sagittarius

His mind is always running a mile a minute all the time. So already listening to his s/o talk about their interests helps distract from The Horrors™️. Seeing you bounce about with joy after weeks of turmoil puts the softest smile on his face... And the biggest kiss on yours!

Intellectual conversation of any kind is something he needs for a close connection. Sharing one-on-one quality time like this is exactly what helps him thrive in a relationship. Even if a topic isn't something he is knowledgeable with, it will have importance to him if it's important to you.

Richtofen is rather strict about his scientific profession and typically scoffs at any pseudosciences. This is all a façade. What he will never tell you is that he secretly practiced alchemy in the past and has occult involvement with the Illuminati. Nevertheless, he would always be gentle to his s/o. The doctor will simply stay respectful and curious about your interest with astrology. I think in the long-term he might just spill a tiny bit about his practices to you.

Tank Dempsey - Scorpio

Seeing his soft-spoken sweetheart so suddenly excited is a very pleasant surprise (and he hasn't been able to find many good surprises this whole shitshow of an expedition). The fact that you trust him enough to open up so brightly like this helps him grow closer to you. Tank is a very good listener, but please forgive his dopey smiling the whole time. Your soothing voice and happy little mannerisms are making his heart throb. It's truly a sweet thing to see.

You never fail to open his mind to new experiences and interest. You can be both sharp-minded and sweet. Those are just some of many shining reasons why he loves you so much. With that being said, please come to him the moment you need an ear to let you infodump. Tank Dempsey is best known for his loyalty and reliability, so please remember that.

He thinks the mythology behind all the constellations are really cool! Orion is his favorite one. I suggest explaining to him during a stargazing date about the various celestial events while lying down on his chest. If it gets cold at night, he'll have you burrow underneath his leather jacket to keep warm. As for astrology readings, he would like to have his horoscope read (and perhaps get a tarot reading as well with you!)

Takeo Masaki - Libra

Takeo is a strong support who's always there to listen no matter what is on his partner's mind. He’s someone who will listen and nod without interruption. He may chuckle if you start to get jittery with joy about what you’re lecturing to him. Such a vibrant soul hidden in such a timid angel!

Takeo’s presence is very patient. If by chance you feel worried about “talking too much”, he reassures you that you could never do such a thing. You deserve to be able to thrive in what makes you so happy. And for shame on whoever tried to invalidate what you had to say!

Out of everyone in the Primis Crew, Takeo is the most spiritual without a doubt. He very much believes every soul carries a fundamental purpose. Being a more introverted soul, he can often be found reflecting in solitude. He would be able to discuss the philosophy of destined fate and similar divination topics with ease. Because it can go hand in hand, I think he would be able to perform a bit of Reiki healing if you were feeling particularly stressed.

Nikolai Belinski - Aries

Nikolai is already doting on you to begin with as his quiet yet kind girlfriend. Once something inspires you to express yourself, he is taken aback by how much passion you have for your special interest. It keeps him wondering more about you. You’re just a beautiful enigma he so desperately wants to know more of!

He’s more of a listener, but his add-ons to the conversation are either genuine questions to learn more about said topic or slipped-in compliments about how brilliant you are. Nikolai also may bring up stories it reminds him of. He could spend hours learning about just about anything you tell him.

The Soviet Union repressed a lot of expression, one of them being astrology. Because of this, Nikolai is completely new to it. Typically, he is a skeptic approaching anything that he comes across. But being his beautiful little treasure, you have the gift to get him to understand that the universe wants what’s best for him. He would grow to trust the divine and the guiding light of fate itself. He says the most profound things that would touch your soul with an enlightening comfort.

[ramlightly]

So how does magic work in the Lapis and Malady world? Is it something anyone can do with training? Is it a born trait?

Can either Lapis or Malady perform magic?

I'm kind of in weird place with the setting of Mad Dog where I'm trying to pin down specifics but from a place of someone who like their magic systems to be soft and malleable otherwise they start feeling more like video game (this is just my opinion obviously). But here are some of my thoughts currently:

There is are two perceptions of magic.

First, there's "old magic": the magic of spirits, and nature, and riddles and stories. The type of magic where you lay down salt to protect against evil spirits, and if you give your name to a stranger on the road you might lose your soul. Chaotic and strange and beautiful and destructive, the stuff you find in fairytales. Then there's the method that humans have developed. No one calls it "new magic" but, well, it's basically the type of magic developed by wizards to make magic consistent and useful. It the era of spells and rituals and alchemy. It's what lets a regular person use a magic enhanced lamp to burn all night. It's what humans use to defend against spirits, to make towers that rise to the heavens, and to conduct wars of untold horror. In theory, any one with the right access, knowledge, and training can learn to how use magic. But you can tell a wizard from a crowd, the continual use of magic changes people's bodies, a reflection of their personalities and power. It's why Cinder's body and hair are forever stained black with ash.

Now, you can probably guess that there's a lot of overlap there. Like Lapis is someone descended from a spirit, thus can has innate powers like the illusions, but he still can learn and cast spells. Meanwhile Malady... in theory could learn magic? But, first of, he doesn't want to, he has a particular dislike of most wizards. And also he is a corpse reanimated by strange magic, so who know how that would react with other spells.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! I've been really enjoying your metas and I appreciate the canon backing and effort you put on them. Thank you for posting!

I wanted to ask you what your opinion is on the duel in GoF, when the wands connect and Harry kind of overpowers Voldemort: Do you think it was a battle of wills? Of pure raw magical power? Or, if you think it's both, could you share your thoughts on that? tysm!

(btw Harry is also my favourite <3)

Thank you so much! Harry deserves all the love in the world honestly.

Now, I think the priori incantatum duel was mostly will-based. Harry outright says it:

The direction of the beam’s movement was now toward him, from Voldemort, and he felt his wand shudder angrily. . . . As the closest bead of light moved nearer to Harry’s wand tip, the wood beneath his fingers grew so hot he feared it would burst into flame. The closer that bead moved, the harder Harry’s wand vibrated; he was sure his wand would not survive contact with it; it felt as though it was about to shatter under his fingers — He concentrated every last particle of his mind upon forcing the bead back toward Voldemort, his ears full of phoenix song, his eyes furious, fixed . . . and slowly, very slowly, the beads quivered to a halt, and then, just as slowly, they began to move the other way . . . and it was Voldemort’s wand that was vibrating extra-hard now . . . Voldemort who looked astonished, and almost fearful. . . . One of the beads of light was quivering, inches from the tip of Voldemort’s wand. Harry didn’t understand why he was doing it, didn’t know what it might achieve . . . but he now concentrated as he had never done in his life on forcing that bead of light right back into Voldemort’s wand . . . and slowly . . . very slowly . . . it moved along the golden thread . . . it trembled for a moment. . . and then it connected. . . .

(GoF, 665-666)

Harry states how he is concentrated. How he has no idea what he's doing but he knows he needs to push the bead forward. Voldemort's shock, as he wasn't expecting it, allowed him to be caught him off guard and he wasn't putting his all into it. Not the way Harry was. Voldemort likes being in control, he likes knowing and understanding what's going on. He doesn't like it when things go awry or when he doesn't know something. It leaves him off balance at this crucial moment. I think Voldemort did intuitively push the beads toward Harry at first, but the moment they started moving, he was stumped. He didn't know how to react to it. Like, he planned this night for months, and this was not in the script. Of course, he's off balance.

The spirits (yes, spirits, because unlike ghosts they are not made of a person's soul but a person's spirit, which is more like their life essence. Alchemy, yay!) that later came from his wand weren't helping him either, distracting him and guilting him while encouraging Harry. and Voldemort, contrary to popular belief, is susceptible to it. It unbalances him and definitely gives Harry an edge in a battle of wills.

Not to mention, Voldemort was fighting to rectify a failure, Harry, on the other hand, was fighting for his life. The latter always encourages more determination. Like, that duel isn't life or death for Voldemort, but it is for Harry. This explains why he could pull off the force of will necessary even if he wasn't exceptionally determined and resilient — which, for the record, Harry is.

And as Harry mentioned above, it's a lot of concentration and will. But, it's also magic, but not exactly, raw magical power. I mean, I talked in the past about how Harry just gets complex magic intuitively or thinks about magic in completely different terminology from everyone else? This is another example of that.

This is a spell that no one has seen before, not just that Harry hasn't seen. And yet, Harry understands. He knows what would happen if the beads of light reach his wand. He knows he needs to get them to Voldemort's wand. He also clearly knows how to achieve it. He just instinctively knows what to do even if he has no idea what he's doing.

Voldemort, on the other hand, likes to know what he is doing. He is more methodical about magic, he needs magic to make sense, to be known, to him at least. Even when he was a child at the orphanage, you know Tom Riddle experimented with his magic very methodically. He tried small things, seeing if he can replicate them and under what situations. He had a whole system he used to experiment and allow himself more capabilities. He practiced months before he attempted anything with Billy's rabbit. Harry doesn't need all that. Harry is fine winging it with magic in a way basically all of Wizardkind struggles with. Honestly, if there's really a power the Dark Lord knows not, it's how to just roll with it, the control freak (affectionate).

I'd add that if there was a significant difference in magical power between Harry and Voldemort, it would have had an effect, but I think, raw power-wise, they're pretty equal, as the prophecy implies. Because of that, in their case, raw magical power doesn't really play a part.

So, I'll call it a bit of a mix between force of will and capacity for intuitive magic. Two things Harry's got in spades. (but mostly force of will)

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Okay since I'm apparently not getting anything done today and I finally named the Tremaine girlies, have some Evie & Tremaines & Charmings drama for Soulmark AU.

Okay so. Evil Queen should have a power to fake soulmarks via magic alchemy or what. Y'know, as a little treat.

Since Ursula got the ability to see souls (for drama purposes), it is only fair EQ can have some fun too.

Also I gotta figure out some soulfuckery for the Faciliers too.

Anyway. She passed this knowledge on to her daughter. Banishment does that to you, yeah? She was bored. Also, Evie is her heiress, not her husband's daughter.

Banishment - Evie spent ten years with only her mother. Now she's entering the Isle society with zero knowledge of the Drama (tm) and in dire need of an alliance.

And, you know. A soulmark would make for a neat alliance. It's like marriage alliance but on crack. And she has a very convenient means to fake it as she wishes.

She goes for Anthony Tremaine, the reasons being "reasonably pretty, rich for Isle standards, runs a neutral territory"

Now, Anthony already has two soulmarks. However, Evie doesn't know that.

She learns this by Anthony going "Again?" And his cousins teasing him about getting a harem and whatanot.

... this scene also includes Anthony and Dulcia having to explain what "foreplay" is to the younger ones. For closely unspecified reasons.

„Wait, have Harriet and Ginny stopped trying to kill one another? I though it was like foreplay or something.“ „Not really, they have not.“ „So it IS like foreplay?“

Evie reacts to this by saying „Okay I'm not doing that, I faked the mark, I'm gonna give you the tincture to make it go away tomorow.“

The Tremaine girlies want the tincture to fake soulmarks.

Anthony desperately does NOT want them to get it.

Unfortunately he does NOT get a say as Evie still wants the alliance. So she gives them the potion-thingy. (You spread it on your skin and if you touch other person's skin, it'll react and leave a mark that looks like a soulmark.)

Evie is now basically adopted by the Tremaine girls. It's adorable.

(it's not. It's terrifying)

And when she gets to Auradon, well, let's just say. This girl has a type.

The type being "Rich, influential, and owns a lot of mirrors".

So yes, she immediately goes for Chad Charming.

Now, I cannot emphasise this enough, they're SO bad for eachother and for everyone around.

Chad thinks he's using her and meanwhile she's looking at him with poorly concealed murder in her eyes. She thinks she should have added "can carry out a semblance of inteligent conversation" to her list.

The Tremaine girls support her anyway, they think it's funny.

And NO Evie will not be dumping him. She's Evil Queen's daughter. She can save actual feeling for extramarital affairs and not get caught, please and thank you. Or maybe just kill him once ut won't be too suspicious.

In fact, Anthony has a bet going on when the murder is gonna occur. He didn't tell that his sisters and cousins, though the reaction of the older ones would be along the lines of "Well good for her" and "Girl power" and "Slay, queen." (You see, they younger ones would be upset.)

[thesilliestangel4ever]

Hihi again! This is a lot sooner than I thought I would be requesting, buuuut I have a lot of ideas in my head just kinda stored there lol.

Could I request Azul x a Male Reader who really loves to hug Azul? Like he’ll just kinda run up to Azul and hug him ya know? Sometimes he might pick up Azul and spin him around or something. But! He gets super flustered when Azul hugs him :00 Please take as much time as you need!! Make sure to take breaks and drinks lots of water! :D

Ty!!

Hello again !! Thank you very much ❤️ and the same goes for you, too!

" Affectionate, yet so flustered. " You love hugging Azul! But, why do you get so flustered when the roles are reversed?

Includes: Azul Ashengrotto

Warnings: Male reader (<- not clearly stated but they're male)

|| Fem aligned dni

Azul Ashengrotto ✿

Azul gets very flustered when you hug him, especially when it's out of nowhere. When you run up to him and hug him, he'll let out a quiet yelp before fixing his glasses and straightening out his uniform, pretending you his soul didn't just nearly leave his body.

He gets blushy even when you don't surprise him. Physical affection flusters him a lot because he's not used to it.

Oh, and if you were to pick him up and spin him around he will scream. And if you do it in public he'll get very embarrassed and yell at you to stop. It's not that he hates it, but he doesn't like people looking at him when you do that, it's not good for his reputation or image. I mean, how would students react to some guy grabbing the Azul Ashengrotto and spinning him around like a child?

Azul is rather touch starved, so he's a bit stiff in the beginning when it comes to physical affection, and because of this he rarely initiates it.

But one time, he comes up to you in private and hugs you from behind. And he's a bit confused when you freeze up. And that's when he realizes that you get flustered when the roles are reversed! He finds this so cute.

And from then on, he begins initiating physical affection just to see that reaction again.

Azul had asked you to come over to the Mostro lounge for a study date, and thankfully you weren't busy so you agreed. When you entered, the building was eerily empty. Then you hear someone clearing their throat, alerting you of their presence. You knew it was Azul, and you were about to turn around- before you felt arms wrapping around you.

You, naturally, freeze up. But you don't exactly freak out because you know it's Azul. But you were definitely feeling a bit bashful. "I missed you." He muttered. "We saw each other in alchemy today" you whispered, yet he didn't miss the slight tremble in your voice.

He lets go of you, spinning you around. He's met with your flustered expression, as you play with your hair out of embarrassment. Azul had found out your weakness, and he's going to use it against you. Not in a bad way, of course!

I hope this made sense! This was very fun to write so I hope you like it ^^ oh and i had no idea how i could put in the fact that readers male except for that one line, but i hope thats okay!! If you're unsatisfied I can rewrite this!

Read my rules before requesting, please!

[discordiansamba]

(1/2) If demons are of similar nature to rift-creatures, does Keith have any level of tolerance for that kind of energy, the kind that is so dangerously corrupting to most mortal people? Are demon-contracts a safer and more stable cousin of the corrupted magic Haggar uses? Would having demons around that on occasion possess people have let humanity build defenses against that kind of energy? (If they had, Shiro would likely know about it. Would that offer any protection against Haggar's magic?..

(2/2) … and how would certain other paladins react if Shiro identified the evil they were fighting as akin to demonic power? One more reason to stay very quiet about a certain half-demon)

Great questions!

To start off, yes- Shiro does recognize that there's something... inherently familiar about the energy that clings to Haggar. He doesn't want to go so far as to say they are demons- they're in space after all, but it wouldn't surprise him if there were creatures similar to them out in the universe, a belief that is only reinforced after he meets Allura and Coran (who have more in common with humans than they have differences, at the end of the day).

And yeah, basically this is the one area where humanity's magic would actually have a leg up on Altean alchemy, because whereas the rift creatures were only 'recently' discovered (from Allura's perspective), humans have known about them for their entire history. Their entire magic system was developed around demons- both to use them and to exorcise them. I think this is something Haggar would (subconsciously) recognize, and that's part of the reason why Shiro's arm was replaced in this AU- like a shackle to hold that threat back.

(Does it stop Shiro from forging his first ever familiar contract in deep space? No. No it does not.)

I think contracts are a 'safer' way to harness the power, though 'safety' is debatable when it comes at the cost of one's soul half of the time. But generally you get what you ask for with no hidden surprises! Familiar contracts are even safer than that, giving form and physical presence to demons who otherwise cannot obtain a corporal form of their own.

Keith might be keeping secrets, but Shiro decides that this information is vital to the rest of the paladins and is honest about his own bloodline and what that has allowed him to determine about Haggar. It definitely cements Keith's decision to stay quiet, though!

(also yes, Keith can resist the rift creatures.)

[astrogriffin]

Do you have any 9 headcannons?

One of my ones is that the doll 2 got 9 his voicebox from was designed by the scientist back in his toymaking days, not personally made by him but more like he sold the design to a manufacturer and the scientist planned for the stitchpunks to be compatible with parts from his previous works, especially since he probably had little resources in his lab to begin with.

Some of my headcanons are:

7 really hates humans and she is happy that they are gone.

The scientist told 1 everything about their origins and alchemy and the war and all that, that’s why 1 is so terrified and why he’s keeping everyone else ignorant of it all. The scientist never told any of his subsequent creations because of how 1 reacted to it.

6 was never told anything by the scientist but he inherited all that knowledge through the soul.

5 and 6 have a very close brotherly bond and they found comfort in eachother through both suffering under 1’s abuse.

2 never feared 1. 1 felt threatened by this and it’s partially why he decided to get rid of 2.

8 discovered the magnet-thing by accident. He never told anyone and none of the others know that they can get high from magnets. 2 would absolutely experiment with it if he ever found out.

[khaotunng]

ALCHEMY OF SOULS: LIGHT AND SHADOW'S UK, THE 'BAD NEWS' CHOSEN ONE

(a short analysis on Uk in season 2)

I was talking to a friend here about AoS s2 and how Uk being basically overpowered meant the stakes weren't that high during the action scenes (the opposite of s1, where he was learning and growing and the underdog in every nail biting duel), when I realised why this aspect of s2 didn't bother me that much, if at all. Sure, we saw Uk grow into the mage he is in s1, so we feel a lot of pride and our hearts break seeing him so powerful yet lonely, but it's not only that. The entire season deals with the consequences of Uk being so powerful, continuing the storyline started in s1 of Uk being, basically, a Very Messy Chosen One, weird conception included. We remember how in s1, he was treated like shit because he should not fulfil his destiny and come into his powers, he was a Bad Thing Waiting to Happen. Therefore Uk has always been the trigger, in s2 he is also the nuke.

Season 2 answers the questions: What can you do if you're basically a god? How would people react? Can you really come home if you're not who you were before?

And again, it's a perfect continuation of season 1. I saw posts I loved saying s1 shows a perfect asshole/asshole main pairing, describing Uk as self-centred, and they're kinda right. Episode 1 season 1: we see Uk help a wanted assassin escape her fate at the hands of his friends and adoptive family basically, because he needs her. He was never ready to fight for the world, only for himself AND the few he loves (Naksu, Maidservant Kim, his childhood friends). Take this kind of person... and give him the power to not only be a magical overpowered prodigy and incredible warrior, but also a (technically rightful) king. On top of that, make him heartbroken because the only person he loved and wholly trusted killed him. It's a disaster.

This is how we meet Uk in s2, struggling to and outright avoiding answering these questions. He lives as a husk of himself, separated from society, using his powers in a very limited way. Inaction is the only way, he thinks, to avoid war. He is kinda right: the moment he starts wanting things again, the moment he acts again (the moment Cho Yeong is back in his life), he becomes an enemy. His existence is the reason why Jin Mu manages to turn so many to his cause: if power like this exists and walks among us, why should we settle for anything less?

In the end, Uk has to grimly embody Jin Mu's ideals: someone so powerful can amass even more power and do basically whatever he wants, even burn the representatives of 8 main families alive. He is also, again, the Chosen One of the Bad, Terrible News: the awakening of the fire bird could not be stopped, even if it is one of the main quests of 'normal people' throughout s2.

The shift in Uk in season 1 was spectacular, satisfying, hard won, flashy: from a ridiculed pampered noble to one of the most powerful mages of the country. The shift in season 2 is just as important, but internal. It's Uk choosing to do what's right –killing the soul shifters, even if it's Naksu, even if it means not killing Jin Mu himself–, and choosing to do what's right for the world, even if said world can't accept him in full. Uk giving his golden medallion to the Crown Prince isn't just the culmination of the two finally reaching an understanding, but Uk knowing he, powerful as he is, can decide the shape of the future of the country. Without his approval, the Crown Prince could never have become the king.

Finally, of course, the reason why Uk can grow is the same in both seasons, his bond with Cho Yeong. First she is his master, bringing him to full powers, helping him face his destiny, then she is his true companion, the only person who can stand beside him and help him find his rightful place in the world. Season 2 is very different from season 1, but all the good elements are there, and without it, season 1 would not end properly. I understand why some people say season 2 felt unnecessarily fanservice-y (there are standard moments of badassery on Uk's part and romance tropes abound), but actually season 2 is more profound and thought-out than one may think. Or maybe I just love Uk too much and this is just a long and unnecessary tumblr post.

alternative title of the series: uk and the very bad, terrible prophecies where he becomes a god

[zonerobotnik]

Are there any other stories you have planned or have thought about that you would be interested in talking about?

I'm still interested in that age reversed Andrew and Varian AU, even if you never write it.

Gonna be honest…I have no recollection of this AU. Can you remind me when I talked about it?

As for other stories…let's see…

This is gonna get long. Keep in mind, many of these are so far on the back-burner they may as well be on the cutting block.

Tangled:

There's an AU where Soul and Clyde came back during the takeover and actually made things worse for Rapunzel and the nobility because they have grudges.

There's an AU where Varian broke out of prison and chased after Rapunzel to follow the rocks.

There's an AU where Ulla, Donella and Quirin fled to Saporia after Fred's father didn't listen to Fred and Varian was raised Saporian and also in full knowledge of who and what he is and uses alchemy and his powers to play pranks on Corona and tease the King and is called the "Blue-Stripe-Bandit". (Aged-up Varian)

Conqueror of Corona: Rapunzel returns to Corona to find Varian has taken over and has also seduced nearly every man and woman in the Kingdom, including her parents! Can she resist his teasing temptations, or will she give in? (NSFW, aged-up)

There's an AU that's an RP I'm doing with Viruna that features Rapunzel sneaking in and finding Varian has taken over her room and her bed and he has no intention of moving out OR giving back her Kingdom.

There's an AU where Rapunzel didn't think to use the decay incantation to free Quirin and Varian is pardoned but still alone without his father after she tried and failed to use the healing incantation on the amber and avoids people in his manor while translating the scroll for Rapunzel as part of his redemption.

There's an AU where Varian betrays Rapunzel during "Cassandra's Revenge" after Cassandra tells him that the spell that Rapunzel wants to keep from her will help her lower the rocks in the Kingdom and persuades him to her side, especially since Rapunzel forgot to tell Varian WHY, exactly, they couldn't let her have that power.

There's a Star-Crossed Lovers AU where Corona and Lunos are at war and the Sun and Moon (and their hosts) are fighting each other but the hosts don't actually want to fight and so they meet in secret defying their Kingdoms and their Celestial Powers to have a secret love affair and refusing to use their powers to help in the war. (aged-up Varian

There's an AU where Zhan Tiri realizes Varian has moon powers when he reacts strangely to the decay incantation during the battle and drops her whole plan to capture him for study and takes him away to a hideaway built of golden rocks.

I'll See You on the Dark Side of the Sun: An AU that has a fic I've been poking at where Rapunzel, shortly after moving to the castle, goes into the SunSpot by accident while sneaking outside of the castle and gets involved with a cloaked man with an aphrodisiac cologne and dark intentions. Lucky for her (or is it? She doesn't think so) there's a dark angel from the sunlit side of the Kingdom that is watching out for her, though his arrival is a little late. (Aged-up Varian, NSFW)

Two Men and a Demon Baby: An AU where Varian Tiri is a baby demon that hatched when Fred was grieving his missing daughter and Quirin took him to see his secret Kingdom-secret demon egg, which caused the baby to imprint on both of them.

Villain Teamup: An AU where Cassandra went straight back to Corona instead of wandering aimlessly and found Varian and Andrew recently broken out of prison. (This AU was made LONG before I came up with High-Security, Lucas, Varian being whipped, or Andrew's mistreatment, and also has Andrew being an asshole, but still a big brother to Varian.) The trio team up and later recruit Lady Caine as they plot to attack Corona once all the royals are in town.

Town Secret: An AU where Varian seeks out Gothel for help with a horrible sickness in the village and Gothel brings Rapunzel to heal them all, and they swear to keep Rapunzel's presence a secret from the Capital. (Aged-up Varian)

An AU where Varian and Rapunzel are swapped; age, stones, and roles in life. Varian is now the kidnapped prince and raised by Gothel to believe he's a flower turned human and lives with Gothel and his mother's cursed colleague Regulus. Ulla is Queen, Quirin is King, Rapunzel is the village weirdo, Frederic is in the Brotherhood and Arianna was an adventurous princess from another land that fell in love with the handsome knight and settled down in Old Corona with him. And Eugene and Cassandra are where they usually are.

Eye for an Eye: An AU where Varian goes COMPLETELY off the deep-end after being broken out of prison by the rocks and going to claim the Moonstone Opal before Rapunzel has even reached Vardaros and later returns into the public eye having recruited many criminals until his "Knights of the Moon" and a thirst for absolutely humiliating and destroying Rapunzel and Frederic, capturing Frederic and later luring Rapunzel into an impossible game to win her father back or be their captive as well. (Aged in-story, NSFW)

Little Demanitus: An AU where, following the events of "Cassandra's Revenge", Varian is approached by Zhan Tiri and enticed into making a Deal with her to help her remove the Sun and Moon powers from Rapunel and Cassandra, and to study them with her as she once did with Demanitus.

There's an AU where Andrew is abhorrently abusive that he keeps Varian inside, hides the fact the King and Queen are dead and the city is in ruins and, once Varian is sixteen, takes advantage of the fact he will do anything to make him happy. (Might trash this, I actually don't enjoy it and only wrote up an outline out of pure spite.) (Implied NSFW)

New Girl in Town: There's an AU where Varian escaped prison during an earthquake and flees the Kingdom, only to return years later disguised as a woman with magic (see the necklaces in "The Secret of the black Rocks") to sneak into the castle as a maid and seduce both Eugene and Rapunzel to cause trouble in paradise, as well as cause some trouble for the Kingdom in secret. (Another might scrap)

Make you Proud: An AU where Varian joins Rapunzel on her trip to the Demanitus Device because he collapsed from the long run and so wasn't thrown out and was with Rapunzel when she spoke with Xavier.

Arranged: An AU where Varian is arranged to marry Rapunzel but she loves Eugene who her father doesn't approve of and Varian has been carrying on a relationship with Cassandra in secret (aged-up)

That's just the Tangled stuff, do you want to see the stuff for my other fandoms? XD (Gravity Falls, Death Note, Danny Phantom)

[criticallyobs]

Welcome to a new series of Podcasts where we React and Discuss Potential future Obsessions. Join us as we react to the following trailers:

- Moon In The Day

- My Demon

- Pit Babe

- Kidnap

- The Trainee

DISCLAIMER: There are spoilers for Destined with you, Alchemy of Souls and Final Destination.

Be sure to join us on Twitter @criticallyobs. You can also leave your questions for us on the individual episodes.

Thanks for keeping us company - Z and M xoxo

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 52

Parties are beginning to converge. Meanwhile things are getting worse for Roy.

The top of Central HQ are trying to come up with their cover story in case word gets out. They're planning on placing the blame on a dead man who can't defend himself. When talking about candidates, they haven't mentioned Izumi, so they're probably not desperate enought to chase down someone they have no control over. Kimblee gets brought up, but he's quickly dismissed because "he doesn't have the nerve".

Roy and Wrath are having a chat. Roy's eye do the thing when he brings up Hughes's funeral and Selim Bradley. When asked why his hands were shaking, Wrath said they shook with anger from Elicia's crying. When someone dons the military uniform, they may be fated to die in it. As someone with no ideals, Wrath likely sees no point in holding a funeral nor mourning a dead soldier. At best, he was annoyed to be there because he had to be there as part of his 'duty' as Fuhrer King Bradley. And he became angry that anyone would react in any way beyond Hughes being nothing more than a soldier.

When Roy brings up Wrath's child, Wrath says "My child?" with special emphasis on "My" as if he doesn't really consider Selim to be his child. When Roy asks how Selim would react to finding out Bradley is a homunculus, Wrath has to pause before saying Selim can never be his weakness.

Fuery is feeding Corporal Black Hayate when he gets the transfer notice to South HQ. Meanwhile, Breda is sent to West HQ and Falman to North HQ. And finally, Hawkeye is now Bradley's personal aide.

While the primary purpose is to scatter Roy's forces to where they can't work together anymore, I think it's a little more insidious than that. We know from chapter 32 that there are border skirmishes on the West and South. Meanwhile, the North is a future target for the Homunculi's plan. I think the end goal is to get them all killed in combat.

I wonder if any of this was in the works after the Super Heist. Wrath told Father he was going to strip Roy of power. And he said it was the last straw when he connected Roy to Heist 3. One idea I have is the transfers for Fuery, Breda, and Falman might have been for the Super Heist. Meanwhile Hawkeye becoming Bradley's assistant was specifically for Heist 3.

Also, Storch first appeared in chapter 27 alongside Bradley in South HQ.

What could Scar even do to help May find Xiao Mei? Did he walk up to random people, ask if they saw Xiao Mei, and then run for it whenever the MPs came by?

And then he and May find Al with Gluttony. Scar advises they not pursue but changes his mind when he needs somewhere to hide from the MPs.

Gluttony didn't bother to lock the gate behind him.

I think Gluttony might have eaten part of the chain. The two ends of the chain are broken.

Ed is only human, and a young one at that. He's been on a journey for years, but he's only recently uncovered the horrors of the world. It's been less than three months since Nina was turned into a chimera. He discovered the truth of the Philosopher's Stone less than two months ago. He met Greed about two weeks ago. It's been days at most since he learned he didn't transmute his mother.

Ed is not acclimated to the horrors that Alchemy can create. He's created his own horrors, but he regrets his actions. But now he's facing a monster made from hundreds of souls that scream in pain and anguish. And the monster delights in their suffering.

And Ed is a kind person at heart. He can do nothing but hear their screams and remember when he couldn't save a little girl.

One of the souls that dragged Ed into Envy's mouth was the same one that begged him to kill him.

Nina Trauma Count: 7

back

Spoiler Discussion

Selim can't be Wrath's weakness because Selim is Pride.

And Wrath put an emphasis on the idea Selim is his child because that's not the case. They're siblings.

But I'm curious why he hesitated to respond to Roy's question. What would Selim think if he learned the father he idolizes is a Homunculus. It obviously wouldn't have any effect because they're both in on the ruse. But Wrath probably wants to keep his secret for other reasons. If he was found out, he'd have to abandon the human life that he enjoys. He'd no longer be able to be with his wife, the only thing he ever got to choose for himself.

[bisexualmultifandommess]

Next up is probably one of my favourite anime characters of all time.

Alphonse Elric!!

I think Al definitely knows that he likes different genders but hasn’t got to a point where he really knows what his sexuality label is. He’s young and still figuring things out and he also still has a lot going on with being a soul in a suit of armour.

He didn’t really get too many crushes back when his mum was still alive and before he lost his body because he was young and didn’t really like romance. He wanted to focus on alchemy and hanging with his brother and Winry.

His attraction towards people is based more on their personality and how they treat others. He doesn’t look much into how someone looks and will care for them either way. This is something that became even more apparent to him after he lost his body and so many people perceived him as a big guy in a suit of armour instead of the young kid he is.

He doesn’t really feel comfortable being out to anyone at the moment except Ed. He came out to Ed because he knew how much his brother loved him and knew that he’d support him. He hasn’t told anyone else yet because he wants to be able to trust them.

Ed is even more overprotective of him after finding out. This guy gets angry so easily just because someone called him short so imagine how he’d react to someone being homophobic towards his little brother.

The next people he is considering coming out to are Winry, Roy and Riza. He trusts them a lot but wanted to build up his courage a little before finally coming out to them. It’s his journey and he wants to go at his own pace.

Hughes definitely would’ve been so supportive of Al so I think Al would’ve felt safe telling him.

Al is very loving towards people so he finds that he develops crushes easily. I think he had a crush on Ling and found him a little cool.

Apart from obviously sleeping, eating and being able to properly hug his friends and family, one thing that Al is looking forward to when he gets his body back is exploring his sexuality and coming to terms with everything. He was so young when everything changed so he wants to be able to experience new things that he couldn’t while he didn’t have a body

[hollowed-theory-hall]

why did voldemort become a wraith-thing after the killing curse rebounded the first time? does having a horcrux give your original main soul piece a way to not move on?

speaking of which, how could he use the horcruxes to resurrect himself?

Hi!

So, I kind of answered the first part here. The Horcruxes essentially act as anchores. It means they don't let your soul pass into the afterlife since each Horcrux binds your soul to the world of the living, so your soul can't pass into the afterlife.

So, what happened to Voldemort when the killing curse rebounded is different from what happens when the killing curse hits. I think I mentioned it before, but basically in Alchemy everything alive (in Alchemy rocks are alive) is made out of three components:

The soul

The body

The spirit - life that binds the soul and body.

What a killing curse does is essentially disrupt this binding and sucks out the spirit (hence why the spirits of Cedric, James, Lily, and others left Voldemort's wand during the Priori Incantatum in the graveyard. They were the spirits taken by the killing curse). This kills a person because you cannot live without spirit. Then the soul moves on to the afterlife and the body is left behind.

But Voldemort's body was completely destroyed and he had no spirit of himself appear out of his wand during the Priori Incantatum. The rebounded curse was different from a regular killing curse. And I think I can tell you why:

“By which time I shall be gone, and you dead!” spat Voldemort. He sent another Killing Curse at Dumbledore but missed, instead hitting the security guards desk, which burst into flame.

(OotP, 813)

Rebounding spells or spells that hit the wrong target tend to be unpredictable and react in ways different from their regular nature. This missed killing curse set the table on fire, which is not what a killing curse does. But, again, magic is all about intent. Since Voldemort cast the spell with the intention and emotion to kill Dumbledore, all the energy of the spell then just dispersed over the table with no intent, since Voldemort had no intention towards the table when the spell was cast. Basic rebounding and missed spells are very dangerous and unpredictable.

So, when the killing curse rebounded that Halloween night, it destroyed Voldemort's body and released his soul and spirit. The wraith he ended up becoming is his soul that isn't tied to anything.

As for the second part of your question, the simple answer is: he can't.

Horcruxes are anchors, not a way for him to return to life. Sure, a Horcrux is essentially a soul, so the diary could create a body for himself using Ginny's magic and steal her life to bind himself to a new body and return to life this way, but it wouldn't be Voldemort that came back, it'll be Tom in the diary. So, the Horcrux only stops him from moving to the afterlife, from truly dying, they don't help him to return to life. If they did he wouldn't need Wormtail to resurrect himself.