#homunculus' first panic attack

[beholdenning]

One day, you find yourself waking up thoroughly sore, scraping yourself off the floor of a Monastery classroom. As you strain to remember how you wound up there, you catch sight of your hand – except it’s not yours. Nor are the clothes you now wear, or the body beneath them. Your actual self is standing opposite you, staring back in shock and… covered in dust? [...] [Grants Any Weapon +1]

Night, dawn, sunrise. Light begins to stream through uncovered windows upon closed lids. The first bits of birdsong had started since the fifth bell of the day, which Denning had been listening to intently alongside the slow activity of the monastery's earliest risers — Themself soon to be among them — When instead, a pull into heaviness seizes them, a most curious lapse of consciousness.

Dawn, sunrise, morning. Light trickles through shuttered windows upon closed lids, eyes rolling and darting underneath, crusted with a foreign grain, the fabric of soft sheets catching on fingertips, a pillow smelling lovely of soap, the weight and stifle of a blanket and fabric upon skin. The morning is still cold upon the cusp of spring, but the room, the light makes it pleasantly warm.

Something is wrong.

Something is very wrong.

Try as they might, Denning cannot bolt upright. Even their eyes resist articulation, weighted down, as if their entire body is covered by a smothering weight — Incomprehension roils with a tight coil of erratic heat right below their throat, bobbing into their chest; Below, their abdomen a yawning hollow, an imploding space. But they are not full hollow, no — More warmth rushes through their every extremity in a steady pulse, each choking draw of breath cools the inside of their throat. And in their veins, a blaze calls for them to beckon forth — Like that peculiar arena, but they cannot discern why —

It is. Too much. Too much. What is this? Too much.

There is a strange noise resounding through the air, gasping and thin. Denning does not realise they are the source. Denning does not realise the source is not them. Hands find purchase upon the mattress, but they are small, frail, fragile, flesh —

Flesh?

Something acrid shoots through their gut as they push up onto their knees, blue hair falling into their sight like a curtain. "L-ord Nergal," they rasp, high and tarnished-sweet. (They have never heard this voice, how do they know to make this voice?) "Lord Nergal, what is wrong with me?!" The coil in their throat winds tighter, and they find themself having to clamor for breath as they sit back up, eyes darting wildly.

shut it out, gather yourself, like how you learned to shut the noise of quintessence —

Student-issued room. Ill-kept. Books and tomes and notes and letters and untidy candles. Closet partially ajar, the clothes within in disarray. Denning stumbles back to their feet like a newborn deer, staggers to a mirror, stares into blue eyes, half-crazed —

A fearful young girl stares back at them.

They know this one in passing. Marquess Ostia's daughter. If ever there was a time to wonder about a cruel jest, it would be this. The awful, forsaken coil they cannot name continues to burn, burn, eat them alive, a candle at both sides —

This is simply too much. They fall backwards, painfully, with an unbridled shriek.

@higaneion

synapse, snap back // lilina + denning

[dixbolik-lovers]

Could you please make the nightmare req homunculus au but for the sakamakis?

Here's the first one~ Kanato was included in it, so he won't be in this second part. :3

. . .

Shuu

Not wanting to cause trouble for himself, Shuu forces his panic attacks to be quiet and contained. It's a pain if people get mad at him, so it's easier to bite down on his wrist, stifle the sobs, and force himself to stay quiet. When you figure out that he's upset and then go out of your way to comfort him, he's confused... and more than a little wary. Still, when you're letting him lean up against your side and enjoy the warmth of human contact while he tries to calm down, it's too much of an effort to resist.

Reiji

He's terrified of you seeing him at anything less than his best, so being reduced to tears from a mere dream is the exact kind of thing he'd much rather hide. Considering that the nightmare was about you disposing of him for not being good enough, your attempts to comfort him are almost more distressing than anything. Reiji is too panicked to contain himself, though, so he ends up just sobbing harder over your efforts. He can't stop apologizing, and is only spiraling more when you're kind.

Ayato

When you first find him in this state of panic, Ayato is certain it's going to end very badly for him. He can't imagine you being anything but disappointed in how pathetic he's acting... and that only makes him panic more. Despite his frantic insistence that he's fine, that he'll shut up and calm down and stop being so noisy, though, he'll still cling to you the second it's clearly acceptable. Reassurance does wonders when he's like this, but he's still going to be sobbing into your chest for a while.

Laito

After the nightmare he had, he's almost more afraid of you touching him than the dream itself. When all he can think about is being changed against his will and used until there's nothing left of worth, touch feels like a threat. Laito hates having any part of himself out of his control, but he's too panicked to contain the tears and too frightened to pull himself together and put on a smile, as usual. You wind up just sitting in the room with him, talking about silly things until he's calm enough to think again.

Subaru

He's painfully ashamed of himself for acting so stupid and weak, and even when you try to comfort him, all he's thinking about is how this pitiful display gives you even more reason to get rid of him. Whatever he broke in his initial panic only makes him more self-conscious and terrified, and he can't stop thinking that you're only here to punish him for making a scene. When you're gentle with him, though, he breaks. Crying so hard it hurts, he just wants to curl up and hide from all of this— from you, and everything.

Kino

If you touch him while he's panicking so badly, Kino is only going to spiral more. The nightmare left him terrified of wasting away, of you deciding that he's not worth the trouble to keep alive— he's desperate to take a little bit of your energy just to feel more secure, but he's so deep in his meltdown that he can't imagine that being allowed. He'll struggle and try to push away from you, but only cries harder if you back off or try to leave. He knows he's causing you trouble, but he's too scared to make himself stop—

[sakura-code]

Dual-Sword AU

When I first heard of this AU I had an idea for the twins forte. Like how Coalescence can resonate with other fortes. Two Coalescence can synchronize with each other, allowing Yuma and Makoto to have a sort of twin telepathy.

And they will be able to tell what the other is thinking and feeling subconsciously. They may be the same but there personality’s have slight differences. Makoto is more active but has trouble understanding people but is really confident in himself. Yuma is more passive and his doupt makes him dismiss his own correct duductions. Because they are feeling each other’s real thoughts they are dismissing.

Yuma calmed Makotos silent panic attacks and Makoto becomes angry on Yuma’s behalf.

Oh my gosh, I am so using this! I’ve been wanting to find a way to give Yuma and Makoto their own powers specifically together. And especially giving them some sort of twin telepathy because I really wanted to add that.

I definitely like your take on what the twins are gonna be like, because it is accurate. In my own speculation, I think when those that makes a pact with Shinigami in exchange for their memories, they would revert to the Core of their personality. In Yuma’s case, it’s being empathetic and kind, yet anxious as well, which could be the Core of his personality since he was little (it’s just expressed differently because of life and memories he made over the course of his life). Makoto may have similar traits, but since by logic he was first born three years ago as a Homunculus, his personality would be different based on the personality he currently had when he was first born/created, such as being emotionally detached, having more confident in himself, and suppressing his anxiety more internally. But of course, they are still two sides of the same coin and able to connect very well through their own empathy and twin telepathy.

I’ll probably expand the twin Coalescence a bit more overtime in the future, like having them share the burden and limits they get from the Fortes (like when Fubuki is exhausted from using Time Leap, both Yuma and Makoto would get half of the exhaustion they are sharing). Kind of helps to lean into the themes of working together to accomplish their goals.

[srslysierraa]

Hi Hi! ~ 🌙 anon here! I saw your current state of panic in having nothing to write so here I am! Your free to decline this request if you'd like!

Parings:

susbedo x gender-neutral! reader x jealous! albedo!

genre: fluff + crack

okay so imagine susbedo and albedo fighting over you in dragonspine in front of the group consisting of the characters present in shadows admist snow storms (bennett, traveler (either one is fine), paimon, amber, and eula).

albedo confronted susbedo after seeing him with his significant other and just hugging them a bit too close with his face buried in the nape of his lover. jealous, he tried to pry his lover away only for susbedo to cling onto them like a koala.

and thus it began a tug-of-war between the two homunculus's for you as the group watched in bewilderment and... I guess shock -

susbedo isn't the whopper flower by the way it's the third, cocky albedo -

thank you and have a good rest of your day! 👓

“ Not yours, mine. ”

Prompt ;; fake!Albedo and Albedo fighting over you in Dragonspine, never in a million years did you thought you'd be in a position you are now.

Type ;; one-shot, fluff + crack.

Chars. Involved ;; fake!Albedo / Subject 3, Albedo, Eula, Amber, Bennett. [Genshin Impact]

Triggers ;; identity theft.

A/N ;; THANK YOU SM, I love how this is a susbedo one too since I've been brainrotting him all day 😭 Albedo was nice but Susbedo really made me feel things fr so this is great shdbjdj. Also i really hope this is what you meant-

Walking through the white snow of Dragonspine has always been soothing for both your eyes, and mood. Though for some reason, recent events had been so far from relaxing.

Here you are, standing in the crowd with the rest of the people you've been walking with for the past hour or so, right after defeating a plant that somehow in some way replicated your beloved's looks to a T - well, almost that is. You noticed it first, when he showed up out of nowhere after the avalanche. You rushed up to him, worry in your eyes and looking all over him for any signs of injuries, and yet he didn't have any particular expression on his face. All he said was, "I'm okay." And immediately looked away.

At first you thought he was just tired, especially after having to jump down after Bennett during the incident. Maybe he hit his head? But suddenly you noticed something, something.. odd. He no longer has his little mark on his neck. You were confused, definitely, but something held you back in asking about it, seeming like it wasn't the appropriate time to do so when all everyone wanted was to head back. Still, you couldn't shake the fact that something was wrong with Albedo, and soon enough after you, Traveler, and Eula got together to talk about it, "Albedo" attacked you up to the moment where the real Albedo shows up and all of you had to take down a mutated plant.

And that's chapter one of today's weirdest events.

Albedo assured everyone that the reason this whopperflower in particular was trying to be Albedo was because of Durin's blood that seeped through the ground of Dragonspine, and you bought it, i mean - between Albedo and you, it's obvious who's the brainy one in the relationship, so you had no reason to not trust his hypothesis in the matter.

Or so you thought.

It's not like he's particularly being bad, all Albedo wanted was to protect you. He knew that there was another one, subject three, most likely lurking somewhere right now. And if he's trying to target everyone that had contact with him, then you're no doubt part of the hitlist. It doesn't help that you know Albedo's secret of him not particularly being a "normal" human, so the least he could do is not tell you about the failed experiment - the 'third' Albedo.

And so here you are.

Walking by the snowy wonderland as you finally thought that the whole "fakebedo" drama has come to a close, sometimes stopping by the fire to warm yourself up. You sensed that something is lurking, but you merely assumed it's a fox or a boar considering it is Dragonspine. But as you're about to turn around, you were met by a really familiar face.

"Oh! Albedo, you scared me!" You huffed, jumping back when you saw your lover inches from your face as you turned. "What were you thinking sneaking up on me like that?! You almost gave me a heart attack," The sigh was almost trivial, a bit exaggerated, but that was a common thing between you two.

Though, at first the Chief Alchemist only tipped his head to the side just a bit, before a small smile graced his features. "Sorry," It was short, but maybe he was just teasing? You shook your head, crossing your arms as you look at him. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at camp? We agreed that we'll all be meeting you at your camp soon, no?"

Albedo looks at you with an unreadable expression, silent for a few seconds before perking back up, "Meeting?" "Mhm," You smiled. "What? Did you forget? Me, Eula, Amber and Bennett are supposed to see you really soon, what if they see you left the camp and head down the mountain!"

His expression went soft, a hand by his chin as he replicates his signature thinking stance. "I see, no i didn't forget, don't worry. Let's walk back up together." You couldn't help the small smile creeping up your face, nodding softly as you start to walk side by side with what you assume was your lover.

The walk was quite peaceful, finally a moment of relaxation after the chaos, as you and Albedo take care to make sure that each step was careful. However, the blonde looked at you, as if studying you. You chuckled a little, "What?" as Albedo snaps his gaze away. "Nothing. You're perfect." As sudden as it was, you mustered a small laugh thanks to how he said that with a blank expression. "That's awfully random, thank you Albedo, you're perfect as well." Is what you would say, but he shakes his head immediately.

"No. I'm different, imperfect. You're an organic and real human being, your existence and mine are nothing short than opposite, and since you're perfect, I'm hardly am." Though no tone was raised or too low for comfort, you can still see the solemness behind the words. You stopped your steps, tugging at his sleeve as you look at him. "Albedo, look at me." Your voice was soft, borderline whisper, but he obliged - stopping his walk to look back at you.

"We've been over this, haven't we? I do not care if you were made synthetically by human hands. I do not care if your existence weren't created the same way mine did. The fact that you exist is a miracle in it's own, and i wanna cherish that miracle. So please, stop thinking you're any less than what i am just because of how you were brought to this world, you're perfect, purely because you're you. I love you."

Fake Albedo never understood anything about the real Albedo, how he gotten his recognition, how he won over many people's affection, how he's able to live a normal life amongst humans despite of his secret. And definitely not how the hell he somehow has someone like you by his side, but he also understood one thing at this moment, he understood exactly why Albedo decided to have you beside him. He understood why everytime he spies on Albedo, the real one always looked so at peace when talking to you. It seemed so obvious to him now.

As Subject three stared at you with a bit of wide eyes, you can't help but felt embarrassed ; like the whole speech was unnecessary. But as you're about to defend yourself from said embarrassment, you felt a pair of arms around you, embracing you tight with a small "Thank you." to the side of your ear. The blush crept it way to your face, feeling it heating up despite the cold weather. "Of course,"

After you broke the hug, you both continued the peaceful walk, occasionally talking about a few things. You however, slowly getting a bit colder due to the unlit torches along the way, Albedo noticed this before asking, "What's the matter?" The shook of your head seemed forced, but you went through with it. "Nothing, a bit cold is all, how are you not bothered by the cold hm?" Albedo remained silent, slowly embracing you in another hug out of nowhere.

"Uhm, Albedo?" "Yes?" "What're you doing?" It was obvious what he's trying to do, so you couldn't help but giggle as you ask. But Albedo only continued the hug, before answering you. "You seemed warmer earlier when i hugged you, i was wondering if i could warm you up this way again."

You hugged him back, obviously, though it didn't seem so obvious to him as to why you did that, he only responded with "I'm not cold." A few seconds into the hug, "I know, but i wanted to hug you anyways." Such a simple sentence can leave someone like Subject three so dumbfounded, both you and Fakebedo remained in that position in a while, and as you two broke out of the hug, you couldn't help but cup his face and give him a small peck on the forehead, before humming to yourself as you leave him frozen in his position.

The camp was right up ahead, and as you about to go near it, what you thought was Albedo suddenly pulled you to his side - burying his face to nape of your neck as he hugged you close to his chest. You can't help but see Amber's bow from the tip of the snow, signaling that she and the rest have arrived. "Albedo, we can't let them wait too long, I'll let you do this later-" "No." That caught you off guard, as he only tighten the grip on your waist. "Stay, just a little while longer." He kept his face buried as you try to pry him off, no luck of course, he was too busy cherishing you to ever think of letting you go. "But Albedo-"

"Y/N?"

You swear you're seeing double when you suddenly heard what sounded like another voice of Albedo's, that is until you looked up to see the real owner of said voice. "...Albedo?" You croaked out, looking at him in bewilderment, the rest of the gang rushed towards you three also, Eula being the first to say something. "What happened here? Y/N? Where were you?!" The Spindrift Knight questioned, though Albedo, the real one, seemed obligated to answer. "We were worried you might be in trouble due to you not attending, but i can see that you merely just got held back by something unfortunate."

You were confused, and you had every right to do so, because if that's Albedo then.. Who's the person embracing you right now? Before you knew it, Albedo already had your arms in his, tugging you to come to him. Seeing as Eula already has half a mind to cut whoever is latching onto you right now, you obliged, releasing yourself from the grasp of the mysterious Doppelganger of Albedo's.

"I, I don't understand but, that means that that one is bad news right?" Bennett asked, pointing to Subject three. Fakebedo only narrowed his eyes, getting himself a handful of your arm in his. "Let go." He hissed to his real counterpart, tugging you along to his side.

"I should be the one to say that." Albedo's words though sounded calm, was obvious to have a bit of anger behind it. He tug you back to his side as well, taking his arm to be by your waist, keeping your body safe in his hold. "Let's go." He told you, but that didn't last long as Fakebedo suddenly pulled on your arm to make sure you didn't go with the real Chief Alchemist, in doing so also pointing a blade towards him. "Give her back!" As he was about to slice at him, Eula and Bennett intervened, you can almost see the sad expression as he looks at you before both Bennett and Eula goes chasing the fake one away. Amber made sure both you and Albedo isn't hurt, while you do a little inspection of Albedo yourself, hoping that he didn't get cut in anyway.

You stayed in the arms of your real lover, muttering an "I'm okay," to Amber, before looking down on the path Subject three had taken to flee. You felt a bit sad with how desperate he seemed, but you could never leave Albedo, especially not for a literal fake copy of him.

"Albedo?" "Hm?" " Tell me one thing only you and i would know." "Remember how you were messing with my alchemy things only for you to create a glittery substance, and because you think it's pretty you thought you could touch it but then your finger turned blue and it made your whole hand glittery, and a few hours later you forgot about it so you wiped your eye with your glittery hand only for your eye to get even more itchy and messed up because you kept getting glitter in it and-" "OKAY! That's enough, that's enough. Thank you, love."

[detroitbecomeonline]

I've played this campaign about once a week for almost 1.5 years with my friends, and we are all very dedicated to D&D. Our previous campaign took over 2 years to complete. So he existed far before my DBH blog began.

Kylikan Labson is a Paladin caucasian half-elf with perfect dark hair and blue eyes. He's the most handsome man in the landTM. He has the gallant aesthetics of a knight in shining armour and table manners to match. His biceps are as thick as your head. Great abs. #1 ass. (Party voted.) He's the walking embodiment of handsome masculinity and is the voice of the party, with the highest charisma he talks his way in and out of good work. Women swoon over him in the street. Literally.

But that's the image he adopted after he joined an anti-corruption society. With his thick Russian accent and inclination towards intimidation and manipulation, he knows how to get information or, at least, where to get it from. (Russian spy with the exterior of a white knight.) (Cue an interrogation scene where he back-handed an evil wizard for talking back. Cue an interrogation scene where he stood in front of an orc solider, unsheathed his sword, palmed the blade thoughtfully in his hand and politely asked the soldier where the explosives are.) But this heavy side of Kylikan makes sense. After all, he escaped his creator to be here.

Kylikan had been grown in a lab. An evil wizard acted as abusive adoptive mother until he figured out a way to escape the castle tower. Quite literally a Rapunzel set up. At twenty years old, he finally ran through the forest and met people who helped him dive into a new life. He promptly met people from the secret anti-corruption society (The Watch) although he didn't know they weren't just any normal mercenaries. Culturally, he was taught to honour Aasimar as "angel bloods" as they're holy in nature. He doesn't favour one god, but believes that they all exist and therefore gets his powers from the holiness of his bond to uphold righteousness.

42, appearing in his late 20s as per half-elf blood. Mercenary career established. Single! (Bisexual. Practising chastity.) Generous, serious, straight-forward and actively wants to provide for those around him.

He met the party. His world turned upside down. A young adult elf girl with dark necromantic powers that she couldn't explain. A human man from the enemy who fights with shadow magic. A gorgeous Aasimar woman who didn't even know what an Aasimar was. (And of course a male dwarf who came and went and a female cleric gnome who joined who needed help and ended up staying. The elf and the gnome have crushes on him.) The elf and the human quickly became daughter and father.

He screwed up so many times. He had sway with anyone else but the dark power users and the angel blood. He was a dick. He came across in poor ways in almost every interaction. He freaked the Aasimar out Big Time when he brought her golden jewellery. She had a panic attack because she didn't know what being an Aasimar meant. The party thought he was hitting on her. Absolutely Not. After finding out the elf with dark powers sourced them from a horrid patron, he attempted to arrest her. The party knocked him out. He tried bonding with the human man who was a similar age to him, but their personality differences made it incredibly difficult. They fought a lot. Think Edgin and Xenk.

These people didn't understand their roles in the world! Or maybe... He misunderstood his. He's spent time with the angel blood. And they've become social equals, though he'd honour her with smaller gifts and praised her when she got her wings. But after dozens of events, Kylikan's mother found him. She'd been watching him. Studying him in the free world. And through his work of dismantling an evil society of science and testing the limits of the material plane, he discovered what he really was. He was the first successful homunculus-like being of free will, imbued with divinity. He was supposed to be an Aasimar. But the experiment had failed. (I screamed when the DM narrated this. Holy shit.)

And with this, the Aasimar discovered that she wasn't so natural either. With no guiding voice, she discovered that she wasn't deserted by the gods, no, she simply had no holy figure in the first place. The evil science society helped conceive her in her mother's womb, since her parents were desperate for a child. They imbued the successful string of divinity into the fetus. Two fetuses. Twins. One was taken as payment at birth, a horrible surprise to her parents. Had Kylikan been responsible for the Aasimars' existence?

He assured her that the fact she was artificially created made her no less of a person. That she was real. He was real. And the stars aligned for them to meet, for who would he be, a "fake" man without a holy being to worship, and she a "fake" Aasimar with no one to honour that? They were destined for each other. And he honours her because they're friends. (Equality unlocked.)

Yet, those with "evil" magics would be there for him. To love him and to help him. He made up with the elf after days of being bitter after the failed arrest. She trusted him and he kept betraying that trust due to his own suspicions. But she had good, holy intentions. And they met an NPC (human's literal daughter, elf's adoptive sister) who came from a devil cult. And she held values of fighting against corruption. Kylikan learned that these people are just like him. They are good.

But tragedy is swift. Kylikan's mother killed the human man in a fit of rage (and a really good roll). The battle could've gone differently had Kylikan not panicked due to his trauma. But at least he saved the angel blood. At least he saved her. The elf would never forgive him now.

And now he must carry the body of the man who hated him back up through the dungeon. The man who decided this one time to trust him. To help him take down this science lab dungeon. He died for him. And as he carries the body on his shoulder, the elf girl screams ferally that her only father figure is gone. Her own trauma breaks from her surface. And he was supposed to be an angel blood. He was supposed to be an angel blood. Everything was black and white a year ago, but now it's simply the Truth versus the Lie.

who wants to hear about my dnd character. i promise this is compelling as hell

[mrpenguinpants]

This I! The Kaeya Hilichurl anon, and wow didn’t expect you to reply to that so fast but yes I can sense the angst potential!!!

Little Kaeya back in Khaerin’arah (can’t spell sorry) having a crush on said person but getting separated... oh... what if Dainslief is aware of this??? (I assume he knows Kaeya? I’m not too versed on Dains lore)

Just the realization and shock in seeing someone he knew reduced to a monster and with the possibility them being killed because wuh oh they’re a threat to travelers and such... hehe

Link to first post: Kaeya talking to hilichurls

Link to third post: Not so fluffy version of Kaeya meeting hilichurls

jk I’m not taking a break. I’m quickly sliding into this ask because I love to suffer.

Kaeya hilichurl anon, what a name haha. I will say now, if you want a fast reply, send me an ask during my catch up days. Otherwise it will take me days to get back to you because I’m so busy and have shit reply times. I promise, I will answer everyone unless tumblr throws your ask into the void 🙏

---

I know I wrote about this with keqing anon but I love wholesome and pure Kaeya during his Khaenri’ah days. Then when he’s thrown into Teyvat, he ends up being a really aloof and shy person that ends up mimicking other kids emotions to fit in?? It’s in my masterlist somewhere but besides the point.

I completely adore the Prince Kaeya and Knight Dainsleif idea?? I feel like it’s not going to be canon but until we see more lore, I’m gonna pretend it is. Okay- JESUS CHRIST ANON our brains are just synced. It’s hivemind time. Okay okay, sit with me. I’m pulling out the markers for this. 

So since I believe Dainsleif isn’t human and might possibly be a god or a homunculus, I don’t think he ages. He’s been in the Khaenri’ah royalty line for a very long time, simply acting as a guard or an advisor. He doesn’t particularly care about the the citizens of Khaenri’ah, it’s just his duty to protect them. Similar to Morax in a sense. That is until Kaeya is born and this wholesome and pure boy absolutely cripples Dainsleif’s heart and wow, is this what emotions are? I really like the mental image of adult Dainsleif playing with little Kaeya in all his clumsy glory. Trying to teach Kaeya how to become a successful ruler, only for Kaeya to wander off somewhere and sending Dainsleif into a panic attack. It’s wholesome. 

But when little Kaeya develops a crush on someone, Dainsleif and all his dumb glory thinks okay, I’m gonna protect your crush because they make you happy. And your happiness matters a lot to me. So when Khaenri’ah goes to hell and Kaeya’s father takes Kaeya to Teyvat. Dainsleif saves his crush and tries to heal them. Naturally, it doesn’t work and the crush slowly turns into a hilichurl. But due to Dainsleif’s knowledge, he manages to keep the crushes sanity so they don’t completely transform into a monster. 

(I think he knows Kaeya since they are both from Khaenri’ah. Or it’s hinted that it is but it’s not totally confirmed)

Now, fast forward to present day and adult Kaeya. Let’s pretend that Hilichurls in Teyvat are brainwashed byproducts of Khaenri’ah citizens (just to soften the blow of Kaeya killing his own people), when they meet a special hilichurl that doesn’t attack them but actually runs away from them. It’s weird for Kaeya and the traveler. So they follow after it and see that it appears to act like a normal person. It doesn’t dance around fires and it seems to be secluded from other hillichurls. Perhaps it’s an intelligent monster?

Since Kaeya can speak hilichurl language, technically khaenri’ah language, he’s the one that’s chosen to communicate with it. It’s completely up to you how the series of events take place but at some point, Kaeya realizes that this used to be his first love. His first love doesn’t understand Teyvat’s language the same way the Traveler can’t understand Hilichurl. So Kaeya acts as a translator except this is Kaeya. Someone that doesn’t want to consider what happened to Khaenri’ah and still has a lot of personal issues with going back to his home after what happened. But he still wants to protect his first love even if they became a monster. So he does what he always does, he lies. 

---

Honestly, you can bend genshin characters so much that you can make anything angsty. Sometimes I’m writing something and I’ll say to myself, WOW THIS CAN GET DARK REAL QUICK. I am looking at anyone “immortal”, Albedo, and Kaeya. Do you have any idea how badly I want to ruin Albedo’s image? I fully commit to the idea that Albedo is a psychopath. 

[pheita]

Cost, hollow, and dirt for tiny scene sunday

Here we are @stormbrightwriter. You might want to read this piece beforehand for better understanding. I really should gather all the pieces of Talaina's backstory.

The echo of screams resounded hollowly from the mountainside as the attackers fled in panic, at least those of them who still could. Dirt, blood and sweat caked Talaina's fur and blinded one eye as she watched with a wild look as the attackers fled. Behind her sat Rashimela, doing her best to shield herself and Taninehko. No one had expected that they would be attacked on their way to the royal family's secondary residence. It was all well secured, too close to the capital and in the heart of the country. Nevertheless, they had been attacked by a group of foreign agents. "Are you guys all right?" "I'll be fine," Rashimela groaned in pain. The first attack had knocked her right off her feet and hit her right in the middle of the ribs. Taninehko stood behind her and tried to help her up. "Come on, we don't have far to go. There's a doctor there." "I should take care of you." Talaina laughed at her response. The attackers had been outnumbered and had the element of surprise on their side, but in the end they had been outgunned and had paid a heavy price, as the surrounding bodies proved. A hand rested on Talaina's shoulder. "How did you do that?" The tension left her abruptly and she slumped. Taninehko was able to catch her just in time. "I don't know." "It was the same as the training fight back then." "What do you mean?" Carefully, he helped her to Rashimela. The three of them made themselves comfortable and looked at what of their luggage was still in order. "Your shield. It's different from others." "I've noticed that, too." Rashimela's nod confused Talaina even more. "How come you never said anything?" "I thought you were doing it on purpose." Too done to respond in any other way, Talaina just growled. "How different?" Rashimela and Taninehko looked at each other. If it hadn't been clear long ago, after years as his warrior wives, that he had no interest in relationships or sex, Talaina might have become jealous. Or maybe she wouldn't. She valued him as more than just a prince. He had become her best friend. "It hurts to come in contact with that," he ultimately explained. "It feels like it's pulling something out of me. Like it's pulling the life out of me." Rashimela's addition confused Talaina even more. "Drawing the life out?" she repeated, looking behind her where the bodies of the attackers lay as mute proof of that very fact. Stiffly, she stood up again and walked toward the corpse that lay closest. Rudely, she nudged it with her foot to turn it over. Startled, she gasped for air. Taninehko was standing next to her. "Wow, I don't want to come to the dark sea like this." The corpse looked like the person had died of old age. A few times, she took a deep breath. Unconsciously, her hand went to her homunculus, which vibrated and hummed under her touch. Since that first fight with Taninehko, the Orb had remained blood-red. Now she knew why. "My shield sucks the life out of anyone who touches it." "I'm afraid so." Sympathetically, Taninehko put an arm around her. From the other side, Rashimela limped up and stood at Talaina's other side. "It saved our lives." Slowly, Talaina took her eyes off the corpse and looked first at Rashimela and then at Taninehko. "But at what cost? I am a monster." "No, Tany, you are my shield. A monster would use it for fun, but you only do it in an emergency to PROTECT. You are not a monster." Something in Talaina couldn't believe him. She was sure the rest of the world wouldn't see it that way.

[lotusthekat]

The spies hide out in every corner

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Rating: G

Relationships: Edward & Alphonse

Characters: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric; MENTIONED - Pride

Summary: His little brother has gone through so much.

Word count: 1.120

AO3

A/N: I can’t stop writinggggggggg

TRIGGER WARNINGS - nightmare, panic attack and trauma

--

His little brother is fast asleep.

Al has been having trouble sleeping these days, obviously because he hasn’t done so in years. He seems to relax when Ed makes him company, though it always takes him a little while to fall asleep. Tonight, Al didn’t take too long and in just a few minutes, he was breathing soundly.

Ed holds him in the meantime, pretty much awake. He hasn’t been tired, not with his little brother back home, always needing assistance and reassurance. Sometimes Ed himself needs the physical reminder that Al isn’t a giant armor anymore; that Al is fragile and yet solid on his lap.

Ed strokes his back and his long, uncut hair every now and then, Al breathing in and out. He doesn’t think Al has had such a deep sleep since coming back, and for that he’s grateful. The younger Elric needs all the rest he can get, all the time he needs to readjust.

Ed looks beside them, glasses of water, medicine and flowers decorating the bedside table. He smiles at all the love and attention their friends have given them lately, but he also appreciates the privacy the brothers have now.

Everything is okay.

…

Al shivers.

But Ed knows it’s not from the cold.

He looks at his little brother’s face, finding a frown and muscles twitching. Al is mumbling something, most of it nonsensical except…

“… n… no…” Al starts shaking his head and his eyes are forced shut.

Ed’s heart suffers for him once he realizes it must be a bad dream.

“Al,” he whispers, still getting a hold of him, “Al, wake up.”

The starved boy only makes more noises, each more tense than the other.

“No… don’t!” He gasps.

“Al,” Ed says louder, trying to soothe him repeatedly. “Al, you’re okay.”

Except it does very little to calm him down.

If anything, Al starts panting and he moves back and forth as if trying to break away from Ed’s hold.

“S-Stop!” Al yells.

“Al, wake up—”

“Let me go!” He shakes his arms to break free.

“Wait, Al-!” Ed subconsciously tries to hold him back but—

“LET ME GO!!”

Maybe due to Ed’s shock, Al is able to push him away.

And then Ed hears something hit the ground.

And everything goes cold.

“AL! ”

The scream that follows is worse than anything he’s ever heard.

Al is crying out in pain, heaving so violently that Ed panics and yet he remains there, unable to do anything.

Next thing he knows, the nurses have rushed to their rescue, and they put Al back in his bed, trying to calm him down. Al is still yelling and desperately trying to escape, begging them to let go of him.

Ed is forced to watch everything from afar, without going to his little brother’s aid. He struggles not to cry.

He feels nothing but guilt.

--

It takes maybe twenty minutes or so for Al to stop, and even then, it’s all thanks to sedatives.

Thankfully – thank goodness –, Al did not break any bones nor did his condition worsen. The nurses still emphasized he should stay in bed and not make any physical effort. And they also made a very harsh reminder that Ed should stay on his own bed.

Yet the older Elric remains seated beside his little brother, though respecting the latter’s boundaries. Al is nowhere near alarmed right now – he sleeps as if he hasn’t begun panicking in the first place –, but Ed is swallowed by questions. He wonders what could have scared Al this badly. Ed has had nightmares of his own, but he doesn’t remember Al ever having them when they were younger.

Regardless, he’s helpless as he’s unable to comfort his brother without making things worse again. Ed hates seeing Al suffer and he hates that he can’t protect him from whatever horrified him.

Suddenly, a tiny, sedated voice talks to him.

“Brother…?”

In less than a second, Ed looks back and finds Al already staring at him.

“Al? Weren’t you sleeping?” He asks.

“Not really…” Al looks down. “I’m… I’m sorry for scaring you, brother.”

“No- No, Al, you don’t need to apologize for anything, I’m the one who—” Ed exasperatedly grabs one of his own unkept bangs. He decides that’s not the focus. “Are you okay?”

“… Not really.”

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Al hesitates yet he nods either way.

“Do you remember anything?” Ed insists.

“I-I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Al…”

“It was really bad.”

“I know it must’ve been, that’s why I wanna know,” Ed tells him. “I’ve never seen you so scared like that.”

Al is looking somewhere in the dark, away from Ed; he looks at something unknown to everyone.

“… Pride was controlling me.”

Pride… that damn homunculus. He was a real pain to defeat. Now he remembers when Pride controlled his brother’s armor, pretending to be him, using him as hostage.

“I c-could… I could feel his shadows taking over me,” Al continues, still not facing Ed. “But I was in a human body… h-he was going to kill me.” Fresh tears glow in his tired eyes. “I couldn’t escape.”

Ed gazes at him with sympathy, unable to imagine the horror Al must have been in. Pride was perhaps the most horrifying of the homunculi, his shadows easily eliminating anything in his way. Pride took advantage of his little brother, he controlled Al and could have easily killed him if he had the chance. Al could very easily take care of himself and Ed believes that, but at the same time all Ed wants is to find Pride and kick his ass again.

“Al, he’s not coming after you ever again,” Ed says with certainty. “No one is getting their hands on you again, okay? I’ll make sure of that.”

His little brother looks up at him, unsure. Al… raises his thin arm, hand reaching out to him. Ed does not hesitate to take it in his.

“I don’t want to sleep again,” Al whispers.

“I know… but you need rest. I’ll be right here with you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you again, brother.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m your big brother.”

Al smiles sadly, eyes slowly closing. “You’re always looking after me and not yourself…”

“I’ll be okay, Al.”

“Sure, I believe you.”

Ed rolls his eyes. Only Al is this sassy when he’s almost asleep.

“I mean it, though,” he whispers, “you can trust me.”

Al yawns, “I know…”

“You can go to sleep. I’m right here.”

“Mmm… g’night…”

“Good night, Al.”

“Love you…”

Ed is grateful Al can’t see the stupid grin on his face now. He touches his brother’s face carefully.

“I love you, too.”

[anthropwashere]

deadfic: our indestructible days ch 1

More deadfic for the Good Intentions WIP Fest, though since the event’s over I’ll spare the poor mod yet more of my horseshit. 

This was, in fact, the first fic I really tackled post 2017 BH watch! And boy does it show. I’m doing y’all a favor by editing it to hell and back before posting any of it, honest. Due to that however, I don’t know how many chapters there will be. At least 4, since that’s as far as I’ve gotten in the editing process. We shall see!

All you need to know for this one is: What if Kimblee didn’t stop Pride from possessing Ed on the Promised Day? :)

Title comes from Puscifer’s “Dear Brother.”

=

The air burns against his flaking skin, molten stone growing dark yet still radiating a dangerous heat. Everyone else has gone after Father, the rattle and scrape of transmuted stone fading. It's just the two of them now, the alchemist and the homunculus, and Pride has the upper hand.

“This container won’t last much longer,” he says matter-of-factly, leaping down to stand before the boy. In the dusty sunlight filtering in from above Edward Elric’s eyes shine, catlike and calculating. His breathing is ragged, spit between clenched teeth. He’s pinned by cords of unyielding shadow. If he struggles much harder, Pride might break something.

That thought demands brief consideration. It would be satisfying to take Edward apart bone by brittle bone, to take his pound of flesh for the damage incurred to his Philosopher’s Stone. The left arm would sever easily, if he but sharpened his shadows. Tempting, yes, but ultimately pointless.

“But still,” he continues thoughtfully, a new plan already fallen into place. “Like my father is, you are of Hohenheim's bloodline. We’re virtually brothers. Which means, Edward Elric, I can use your container. Your body belongs to me!”

It is an easy thing to invade the bloodstream, entering through a thin cut on the boy’s cheek. Pride fills every vein and artery with shadows until Edward’s heart is smothered, his blood sludge. He ignores the screams, the uptick in thrashing. This is tricky work, something only achieved twice before, and he hadn't seen either success firsthand. His Stone is too big for such a little cut. He spares a tendril of himself to stab the boy's chest, wrenching open a wound big enough to deposit his core directly against the thrashing heart within. Connective tissue regrows at a breakneck pace, sewing him irrevocably into a body a thousand times more complex than his original container.

With that taken care of Pride lashes out with a snap of white teeth, unfettering the strangled soul. The body still writhes, pain a thing of the flesh rather than the spirit, but there is less resistance after that. If it's lucky, the boy's soul will be absorbed into his Stone, its energy and knowledge assimilated, made useful. Then again it could simply burn up in the transference, an ember caught in a cold wind.

Either way, that which was called Edward Elric will no longer be a concern.

What a big fuss Wrath made of it, with his story of the man who became a homunculus who became King. A little pain suffered is nothing, when the alternative is death.

Edward’s screaming makes this all the sweeter.

Without its contents, his old container collapses to so much dust and an empty pile of clothing, and— 

—ah. 

There are memories, kept just beneath the surface of Edward’s dying panic. The mind is easy to parse when the soul is absent. Old night terrors, old horrors. Loneliness. What a childish thing to fear.

A heartbeat. 

Another. 

Waiting— dreading— the body’s rejection of him. 

But it never comes. Barely a shudder of resistance, the only lash of alchemical reaction his Stone instinctively healing injuries the boy had incurred.

The silence after that's finished is a breathless, giddy surprise.

Pride tests his new container carefully, casting an unhappy glance at the automail arm he’s now saddled with. It’s an unpleasant weight, cold and heavy; the leg much the same. It'll take time he doesn't have to adjust to them. How pathetic, that humans must rely on machinery to recover from serious injury. Once he’s regained some of his strength he’ll have to do something about them.

Something shifts within him, a sensation not unlike vertigo stealing his breath. Pride hesitates, wobbling on unfamiliar limbs, but the feeling passes. He smiles. A strong bloodline indeed.

“Fight all you wish,” he says aloud. “I've won.”

Even his voice has changed. His true voice is marred, pitched deeper. Weighed down. He is weighed down by this new container. It's strange. This is all very strange. But he must adjust quickly, for the battle isn’t won yet.

He shakes unfamiliar blond hair from his new container’s eyes, looking up through the hole punched through the many underground floors beneath Central Command. Four thin stone pillars ascend through it, stretching all the way up to the parade grounds. Such a distance. Even the sacrifices shouldn't have been capable of stretching so much material so high without it collapsing. What did they do? What was that array they activated that allowed them to perform alchemy again?

The fight has shifted. He must return to the fray, now that he’s been renewed. Father would—

Father expects him to—

No. 

Not yet. He’s not strong enough to rejoin that fight, yet. His Stone was damaged even more than they’d anticipated when he forced Mustang through the Gate. 

Pride sniffs, tasting the air. There are humans nearby; more souls to consume. He licks his lips and sends his grinning shadows upward.

He is hungry.

=

Major General Armstrong kneels beside the body of Führer King Bradley, hating that she's been sideline for what is surely the most decisive battle Amestris has ever seen. Her men are up there, where that pale creature had ascended only minutes ago atop a pillar of molten stone. Bullets and mortars were near useless against the lesser homunculi; what could their Father be capable of?

Her pulse is still racing, a sour taste settled in her mouth. She knows acutely what it feels like to die, and the experience has left her feeling hollowed out in a way she's unsure of how to voice. She remembers a maelstrom of suffering, countless voices begging for release. It's not something she'd wish on a Drachman, let alone endure again. If not for the Elric brothers' father she'd still be trapped in that hell. They all would be.

Is it fear that still makes her heart pound, or cowardice?

Her lip curls. Fear is justified. Fear is the intelligent reaction. To fear something means you're paying attention. Cowardice, however....

She shakes her head. Four of the human sacrifices—Izumi Curtis, Alphonse Elric, Van Hohenheim, and Mustang—had been afraid, and yet still determined to stop that monster. Even blinded Mustang hadn't hesitated to fight on, utilizing the famed Hawk's Eye to direct his flame attacks. It's both begrudging and gratifying, to realize the man has a stronger spine than she'd thought. 

The fifth, Fullmetal, is still below fighting Pride. There'd been sounds of combat, and then screaming, but it's gone quiet now. The distance and echo distorting the sounds had made it impossible to determine who had been doing the screaming. The lot of them on this level have been keeping a wary eye on the hole in the floor since then. They don't know what that particular homunculus is capable of and the only alchemist left here is the serial killer Scar, and he's in no shape to assist. The idiot boy had better not die while the battle's still on.

She eases to her feet, hissing pain despite her best efforts, and cats her sight on the blue sky above. A single blast of power had punched a hole in this underground labyrinth clear through to the surface. How can they defend against something like that?

Bah. Defeatist's talk. The alchemists will do all they can to do just that, and her men will support them. They're Briggs men. They'll do whatever it—

"What the hell?!"

"What is that?!"

She turns sharply toward where the few soldiers who'd insisted on staying behind as a protection detail are gathered. They've all drawn their weapons, aiming at the hole in the floor. Ribbons of—shadows—stretch up from below, splitting open to reveal red eyes and white jaws.

Damn! And here she'd thought Fullmetal had been left behind to fight the homunculus alone for good reason! Was the boy really so useless as to die now?

"PREPARE YOURSELVES!" She bellows, striding toward the lashing shadows. A glance is all she needs to know it would be futile to try and keep distance in a room as small as this. Better to be with her men. She may have lost the use of her sword arm but this is a fight she will not—cannot—leave for her men to fight alone. "Fire at Selim Bradley the moment he shows himself!"

The red eyes narrow. The white jaws grin. Grating laughter echoes off of the stone walls. "That container has been discarded, Major General," the mouths all say in the same mocking voice. "But are you really going to risk injuring this body?"

From out of the depths a figure rises, lifted up on tendrils of shadow to step lightly onto the rubble-strewn floor. Her men curse, guns dipping. Somewhere behind her Mr. Curtis and the frog chimera inhale sharply. She can't blame any of them.

The grinning boy with living shadows curling at his boots is Fullmetal.

"Edward," Izumi's husband says, hushed. The boy pays him no mind, eyes flat and cold as coins.

"It was wise of you to stay behind," Fullmetal—no, Pride—says, still smiling. The shadows stretch and curl, painting the room in streaks of black. "Your contributions to the war effort are greatly appreciated."

Too late, she understands what he means to do. "No! Don't you dare—!"

The shadows strike, and her men begin to scream.

=

"Edward Elric."

His name whispered out of the murk. A voice calling him awake. He can't pinpoint where it's coming from. Everything else is so loud. There are so many people nearby, all of them screaming, all of them begging to die. Everything is so red.

"Fullmetal."

He tries to put a name to the voice. He knows it. Doesn't he know it?

Fraying. He's being... stretched. Pulled apart. Losing his sense of self.

He's losing himself.

"Surely you're not going to roll over as easily as that, are you?"

He... he knows this voice.

A pinpoint of white, searing amongst all this writhing red. The shape of a man comes into focus. White clothes, long dark hair, the wide eyes of a madman, tattoos on his outstretched palms.

"K...Kim...blee...?"

The man smiles. "Ah, so you are still in there. Good, very good."

"Where... what is... this...?"

"We've both become a part of Pride's Philosopher's Stone now. Two souls clinging to our individuality amidst a howling mob of anguish." Kimblee rocks back on his heels, throwing out his hands. His face is a picture of bliss. "Isn't it exquisite?"

He looks away, out at the writhing, the screaming. Nothing but gaping mouths and dark eye sockets everywhere he looks, the barest suggestions of human shapes. Souls. How many died to make this Stone? "It's—loud. No. No, this. This isn't. This isn't what I...."

It's getting so hard to think.

Kimblee looks almost disappointed now. "Tell me, Edward Elric. Are you truly so weak as this? Unraveling at the first glimpse of something beyond your control?"

He looks down at himself. Two arms, two legs. No automail pulling insistently at his bones. Of course not. He's only a soul, nearly as red as the others twisting all around him. He's inside a Philosopher's Stone, which makes him only one more lost soul. Wisps of red peel from his limbs, chafed and scraped away by the chaos pushing and pulling at him from all sides. He's falling apart. Losing himself. Soon he'll be nothing but babbling energy, regenerative power for the homunculus he's become a part of. For... for....

"Pride."

Kimblee raises one curious eyebrow. "That's right."

"Where—Where is he?"

"A bit preoccupied eating to overhear this conversation, if that's your concern."

He—Edward, he's Ed, gotta stay focused, he can't slip again, his name is Edward—strains, struggling to remember what happened. How he came to be like this. He was.... There had been.... Pride. Selim had been badly—injured? damaged?—after forcing the Colonel through the Gate. His container was failing. He'd pinned Ed down—pain, it had hurt—and declared that Ed would be... that Ed's body would be....

Ed's just a soul now. He doesn't have a body, no skin to prickle and no breath to catch, but a chill runs through him all the same. "He. He took my body. He made me his new container. Didn't he?"

"That's right."

No matter where Ed looks it's all souls, no glimpse of what's going on outside this Stone. Ling—and Greed, for that matter—have always had a good idea of what was going on when the other one had been in control of Ling's body. How did they—

Hold on.

Ed looks back at Kimblee, who just smiles pleasantly back. Eating. Pride can't hear them right now because he's eating. The hell does that mean?

"I can't see," Ed snaps, shoving at a soul that's drifted uncomfortably close. His hand is paler, more defined than it was before. He's got a good grip on himself again. He really should've paid more attention when Ling talked about the meditation shit he did while Greed was refusing to share. "Ugh. Where is he? What's he doing, Kimblee?"

Kimblee chuckles and waves his hand. The tempest of screaming parts like a theater curtain; bright light spills in that leaves Ed blinking and shading his eyes. He goes to it anyway. He has to know what Kimblee meant—

His sight adjusts, and he's looking at a bloodbath.

There's red sprayed across the near wall, splashed along the floor, drips and splatters and scraps of tattered uniforms everywhere he looks. A single soldier is in view, firing wildly right at Ed only to have the bullets deflected by a shadow pitted with familiar eyes and bloodstained fangs. The gun in the soldier's hands clicks, the clip emptied, and the shadow cuts him down. Ed can hear the brutal crunch of bone, the muted spurt of spilled blood, the ragged tearing of meat. He hears someone laughing. His voice. His stolen voice multiplied weirdly through the shadow mouths as Selim's had been. 

Ed hollers, twisting away, but Kimblee's white hands hold him fast. The man's voice roars out, ragged with terrible glee. "Don't avert your eyes! Don't look away! That's your body out there, cutting those men down. Take credit for the destruction your hands have wrought!"

"NO! NO! That's not—it's not me—get the fuck off—I don't want this!"

"Then what are you going to do about it?!"

"—no, no, I don't—I—w-what?"

Once Ed's stopped struggling Kimblee all but drops him, still grinning from ear to ear. "I thought about interfering, when Pride first tried to take your body for himself."

"What?"

"I'm perfectly content in here, but he decided to throw away his honor as a homunculus. So proud to be what he is, that very quality he was named for, but the moment he found himself in grave danger he sought to escape into the body of a human." Kimblee snarls. "He's pathetic. A disgrace."

Ed watches his body's left hand rise, pointing at—Major General Armstrong? Her face is a mask of blood, and the rest of her isn't much better. Sig's beside her, one arm slick and hanging heavily, the other supporting Scar who looks like he narrowly escaped a meat grinder. Behind them he can just glimpse Jerso in his frog form, lying so still it's impossible to tell if he's still breathing. The window or whatever out into the real world flickers as—fuck—as Pride looks at another soldier spring out from behind cover. He empties his clip in record time, unerringly aimed at Ed's chest. Do any of the bullets hit? Do they hurt? The soldier's cradling his rifle strangely, one hand clumsily wrapped in bloodstained cloth. 

"Why?" Ed asks, weary. A shadow arcs out, bristling with teeth, and bites through the man. He goes down with a bizarrely muted scream and another spray of blood. "Why didn't you stop him? This—this wouldn't be happening if you'd stopped him!"

Kimblee regards him, eyes narrowed, face unreadable. "Führer Bradley is a homunculus," he says conversationally. "And Greed. His vessel is human as well, isn't it?"

Outside, sounds of crunching, splattering, chewing. Ed watches a clean white uniform stain almost black with gore. "Yeah? So what?"

"I started to think a little, that's what." Another little chuckle. Fuck, this guy really is crazy. He's enjoying this. "The homunculi make such a fuss out of being better than humans. More evolved, above our petty fears and desires. They're so proud to be the puppeteers of this country, the hands on our yokes as they've guided us to this Promised day."

Ed watches the shadows finish off the soldier, nothing but a smear of blood and a couple glistening pieces of meat left behind. The window flickers again as Pride turns his head to regard the last of the survivors.

"It's funny," Kimblee says. "For how much they talk, they so rarely deliver on their promises. So I ask you, Edward Elric. What are you going to do now?"

The General. Sig. Jerso. Scar. They're going to die. Pride's going to kill them. For all Ed knows they might think he agreed to let Pride take his body.

He looks at his hands. He's nearly himself again, or at least as nearly like himself as he can be without his body. He's got two arms here. Two legs too. An arm and a leg, and a body, and the whole damn country on top of it now. He's made way too many promises to fail here.

Ed sets his jaw and leaps out into the light.

[auricbound]

💚guilty time.

memories meme. | accepting.

it’s an unnaturally cold night in alenthaal.

so far, they’re only a month in. just barely three more before the promised day arrives, and ed’s been trying his fucking hardest to keep it together. lum’s been doing her best to help him with what she can, only being one piece to their little therapy puzzle.

neither of them can sleep. for lum, it’s a matter of the chill reminding her too much of lucaun’s funeral. for him, it’s a matter of his body feeling like its fucking on fire, with every fiber of his being trembling uncontrollably as he gets through another night without al.

lauriam’s old room. that’s what this was- where he was staying for the next three months or so. he’s not just in some inn, he’s in a HOME, a home that isn’t his, a home without alphonse by his side. 

it doesn’t feel right. it really, really doesn’t feel right. this bed should not belong to him. this space should not belong to him. he doesn’t deserve it, not with how much trouble he’s given lum since he first came here. how much trouble he’s given all of her “group” since coming to this one place they knew would be safe from the influence of central command.

it’s all just buzzing as he slams his pen down, no longer able to focus. his sight has abandoned him, and quite frankly, he doesn’t think he can look at these alkehestry arrays for even a second longer.

taking in new information has been a problem for him ever since he saw the gate, and he can’t fucking take it anymore. his head feels like it’s going to explode along with the rest of him. 

just like always, the world around him has darkened. although morbid, he’s found a sense of comfort in it. even with the rest of him falling apart, he can always count on this dreadful emptiness returning. 

it’s been his one and only constant. every single night, without fail, it’s returned, trying to embrace him. trying to drag him down completely. he’s resisted, of course. 

he’s of no use to al dead. getting his body back is a joint effort, and he knows that. no matter how much his own mind tries to convince him otherwise, he’s at least able to think that one portion through. it doesn’t stop his fantasies, though. 

“ ed ? it’s me. are you up ? ”

he doesn’t turn. he can feel her, behind the door, no matter how faint her presence may be to him right now. she’s probably just about the only person he can sense, with how powerful charity’s energy is compared to the rest of humanity.

at least he can’t hear the screaming of a philosopher’s stone from within her like with greed. only the static of the gate accompanies her being, though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t prefer the former.

he’s gotten all too used to the unending cries of his own conscience.

“ ... yeah. come on in, lum. ”

ed can’t even hear himself speak. he makes no effort to turn in his chair, knowing full well that lum’s already trudged over to his side, sleep deprived and holding what’s probably her third mug of coffee.

“ any progress s’ far ? can’t make heads or tails of anythin’ on my end. ”

“ ... no. can’t- can’t focus. sorry. ”

wordlessly, she puts an arm around his back, gently as possible, and squeezes. his voice is probably shaking like the rest of him. 

“ ... it’s okay, edward. you don’t have to push yourself, alright? it’s not goin’ anywhere. i won’t go anywhere, either. we can work on this for as long as we need to.  ”

he knows already, but he lets her say it again anyways. his scar always flares to life whenever any of them say it, but it’s stabilizing. it makes him feel like a person again.

he can’t see anything that’s not within an inch of him anymore. it always gets like this, right when it’s about to hit at its worst. but he should be fine. lum’s here with him. she knows how to help with his panic attacks. this is just going to be like any other night so far. his chest is just going to close up like always when the phantom suffocates him, and he’ll have al’s lum’s hand at his back to force him to breathe.

“ oh, but you wish it could be that simple, don’t you, edward ? ”

no. no, this isn’t right. it- it always appeared in front of him, no matter what. those blank white eyes meant to copy his would stare into his own, taunting him, just like they always have. 

it was only the hands that ever formed from the back. he was always choked from behind, with the smoky reflection trying to drag him back down from the front. trying to keep him down.

luitumi vanishes. he can only feel it, the inescapable wave, crushing his back as the horrible mimic sounds from his left side.

lum is gone. 

his one method of grounding, and he can no longer see or feel her. he can only feel those claws gripping at every part of him once again, the phantom tendrils from the gate returning to assist.

for the first time this night, he turns, face to face with the creature he’s created. the form is too human for him to be comfortable with. 

“ did you honestly think getting used to it would help, edward ? i am you. we are one, bound together for as long as we live. it’s my job to make sure you and i remain EQUALS. ”

“ sh- shut up. y-you’re not fuckin’ real- you’re not- ! i know you aren’t- ! you’re just- you’re just some shit m’ brain made up, you’re not- ”

“ am i, edward, truly? ”

“ then why don’t you do yourself a favor then and prove it ? i’m right here. if i were truly some figment of your imagination, you should be able to kill me with your own mental will. ” “ or are you too much of a coward to go through with your own fantasies of killing yourself ? it wouldn’t do any harm. you’ll finally be able to see your own truth, edward. ”

his heart leaps. there is nothing grounding him, not anymore. there is nothing to keep him from acting out on his pure hatred for himself.

desperate for an answer, the phantom is quickly pinned to the ground, ed’s own hands wrapping around its neck. no longer will he be the one suffocating. he won’t- he can’t. he’s so tired of drowning, so tired of it.

“ y-you can’t- i won’t let you. n-not a’ymore. n-not ever again. you’re not  r e a l . ”

the phantom only stares back. 

“ i wonder when you’ll see it, edward. what the truth behind your existence is. behind what our existence is. you’ve always known, deep down, but you’ve repressed it, haven’t you ? you don’t want to admit to yourself what you did that day, do you ? ”

“ shut UP- ! ”

he slams its head into the floor. he swears he can hear some kind of crack, but they don’t shift one bit. it’s not enough. not enough to kill them.

“ you’ve let your pride consume you, edward. how many times must i bring you back to where you belong ? to restore those memories you’ve shut away, only for you to deny them again ? ”

“ SHUT UP-! ”

he can’t breathe. he tries to tighten his own grip, to keep up, but he can feel hands clawing at his own. is the phantom finally trying to resist ? is he winning ?

“ why don’t you look at what you’ve done, edward ? ”

the clawing grows stronger in intensity. he does not see the hands doing it.  his throat closes up, and he can only choke as he stares at the faux version of him.

“ look at your hands, child. this is who you are. a beast that needs taming. ”

desperate for anything, he does. one hand is lifted-  and he sees red.

“ wh-wha- ”

the phantom just laughs. 

a screeching cackle that hurts his ears, it laughs, and it reaches out to his stomach, digging into the sensitive flesh as it brings itself up to his ear, the whisper sending chills down his spine.

“ i cannot be killed, edward. we are one and the same. ”

just as quickly as it appeared, it vanishes, and he finally sees again. he sees the person whose blood he just spilled, eyes dull and glassy, staring at him with what he can only describe as sheer terror.

unbreathing, unblinking. a warm corpse.

“ luh... ”

he can’t feel anything. he can’t feel, not even as he brings his trembling hands to her face, trying to get her to move, to do something. the bleeding from the back of her head only continues, every last drop of her own life spilling out beneath them, staining strands of desert gold and sunkissed skin. he can’t feel a pulse.

“ l-luit-tumi, th-this- thi-this i-isn’t f-funny, c-c’mon-”

all too quickly, he starts breathing once again. in and out becomes a desperate struggle as he tries to get air back within his own lungs in an attempt to speak, paying no mind to the whines escaping his own chest.

“ l-lum, p-please, y-’y g-gotta, p-please- ”

“ you’re too late,” the phantom calls. “ look what you’ve done. ” and he is. he is looking, trying to bring her back. sh-she can’t be dead. he refuses to accept that. he refuses to accept that he’s killed her, this has to be some kind of joke.

and yet, she still doesn’t move, the color fading from her body. 

“ l-lum-”

and then he feels it.

the energy of charity, but not the energy of luitumi. it’s crackling, deep within what he’s sure is her chest, desperate. it reaches out to him, the fury of the homunculus freezing his bones.

" humility, what have you DONE ?! ”

and not even a second after, his body finally gives out, falling to the floor. he cannot see, cannot hear, cannot breathe.

he can only feel as lucaun’s energy slams through where the door should be, picking up the faint wavering of panic as his consciousness fails him.

[chisupamoved]

to know more about the characters that i play ;;    fiona bell! @aimeramie​​ :)

i think for those who fiona would get along with are; felix, link, hiyajo also very likely yamato as well.

now for the good stuffs.

she end up in a car crash with her parents who sadly end up dying in said car crash, when fiona wakes up she finds herself within this castle.

she's not overly athletic nor has a lot of physical strength, so her being in a castel with things that want to kill her? not overly a good time for her at all. but she's very intelligence, which helps her out during these times of being chased around the castle. 

she's rather jumpy? i believe given the setting of the game it's understable tbH but she get's very jump at the sight of bugs along, a thing in the game is that she has a panic meter so her seeing blood can set it off and that can set her into a panic attack state.

Fiona studies both art and music, she has skills in playing the piano and for my sake I'd like to think she can play the violin

during her time in the castle she meet a dog called hewie and he then is with her until the rest of the game, he's very helpful by getting her items and attacking the bad guys for her -u- i like to headcanon if she ends up leaving the castle that she ends up of course keeping him as her own.

she has a thing inside of her called an azoth which is why she's in this hell in the first place, it's something to do with her father's bloodline-- the castle she's in is actually owed by her family she isn't aware of her ancestry until later within the castle, it's a good old bloody time i tell you

pretty much her death was a homunculus, and i'm still on the side line thinking if to make her half human and half homunculus or not. it's not stated within the game if she is sO i could really go wild with that which i really thinking i might go ham. 

the game has different endings while i love the idea of doing different verses for all four!! It's hard as the first two endings she doesn't really learn much about who she really is from them but she does end up leaving the castle with Hewie? So mostly I'd go down the lines of one of these two. Unless someone knows the game then I'd be SO hella down to go a little darker and do ending C or D with someone!!

bonus thing.

she has different outfits in the games, they do different things my fav to use this this one as she can’t die while wearing it and who doesn’t want to play a serious horror game while wearing this? i mean a+

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 37

Last time: Beard was Father Of The Year, General Raven got used as construction materials, and Kimblee was a creep. Onwards!

Some Briggs soldiers walking dramatically towards some light? Or forces from Central that got some fur-lined coats, Sideburns is saying they showed up as Winry’s “escorts” and answer only to Kimblee. Episode 37 - “The First Homunculus” Wait, what? The first Homunculus? Does this mean that we’re getting an episode on Uncle? Awesome! Winry’s tinkering on Ed’s arm while saying she should have been told they were heading north, and no, the excuse of “we were in a hurry” isn’t going to fly buster. And what sort of trouble did they get into to get locked up? Aw hell no Kimblee, don’t you go saying this is all a “misunderstanding” from a lack of communication (and I see what you did there, implying the boys got in trouble because they didn’t talk just like they didn’t tell Winry anything). Oh, how gracious of you to get them released soon. Winry, don’t trust this jerk. See, Ed agrees with me, warning you to stay away from him. But if Kimblee has one thing going for him now, it’s an admittedly smooth twisting of Winry’s emotions by being polite, saying that he was with a group who tried to save her parents, claiming he admired their bravery, and that he found their bodies with a picture of their little girl sweet LETO smite this man down. [Kimblee]: “Your parents were true heroes, and it’s an honor to meet you.” Wow. Ok, Kimblee just earned some serious Evil Manipulator points there. How are Ed’s vague warning supposed to hold up to that? Even he has to admit he only has Riza’s story to go on- oh ho HO! But that wasn’t the only thing they talked about! [Cartoon!Riza]: “Speaking of Winry, you’re in love with her, aren’t you?” [Cartoon!Dog]: *snickering* And here’s Ed, lying on a bed in his undershorts as Winry leans over him- wow. Smoooooth, buddy. Real smooth. Just lie there determinedly facing away from your crush and recite the periodic table, that won’t raise any concerns at all. [Winry, quietly]: *sigh* “Why did I have to fall in love with such a weirdo?” [Ed, snapping out of it]: “Eh? D-did you say something?” [Winry]: “No Ed, I didn’t say anything.” *painful wrench twist distraction, go!* Alright, Ed’s all put back together, although I’m a little worried about this new arm being slightly weaker than the old one. Ah well, when it breaks that’ll give us an excuse for more shy crush freakouts. Oh hey, Buccy! What are you in- uh oh. Run dude, run! Before she sees- too late, Winry is now going gaga over Buccy’s arm, apparently a “M-19 Mad Bear Lightweight Combat Model”. With diamond-tipped claws, to boot! Aw, Buccy’s blushing. Now he’s sad to hear that Winry’s already Ed’s mechanic OW dude what the hell?! [Wounded!Ed]: “What’dya do that for?!” [Heartbroken!Buccy]: “‘Cause life isn’t fair!” *storms out* Now the local mechanic’s offering to show Winry the northern automail in his workshop, Ed protests briefly but then Kimblee swoops in to have a chat. Gee, this’ll be fun. Aw, and Al’s still locked up, with some of Kimblee’s goons keeping an eye on him. Al muses about their strategy of keeping the brothers separated and parading Winry as a reminder of their hostages. Although “I never realized how nervous we make them” is a good point. They just need to bide their time for now and wait for the opportune moment to strike. Just don’t take too long.

Armstrong the Great is checking in at the backup tunnel entrance, a soldier’s saying the Advance Team’s been gone a week when they only had three days worth of food. Buccy’s leading the second team, goes so far as to ask for the entrance to be sealed with concrete if they aren’t back within 24 hours. Yyyyeah, do you remember Sloth? That monster that tore through your foundations a few days ago? These are Goths we’re dealing with, that won’t be enough. Regardless, you’d better hurry. Meanwhile Armstrong the Great tells her troops that she has full responsibility for Raven’s disappearance, if he’s found then they’re ordered to place all blame on her. Down in the tunnel now, the team sets off aaaand we’re in Central now. Right, Roy was meeting with Armstrong the Great’s spy. She says that things are getting rough up north, and what the strong defense of Briggs needs is a good offense. Uh, what? Ok, I can understand the whole defensive aspect of an army built around a massive fort, but they just finished researching Combined Arms to make Tanks. How exactly is their attack power lacking? Whatever, let’s just accept that the North is “lacking” in an aggressive offense and use the excuse to get Roy involved. [Flower Lady]: “Oh no, Madame Olivier needs the strength of your army, not you. She said you might as well just get lost.” Wow. For being the guy to kill Lust, Roy just gets no respect these days. 3500 cens poorer (or quite a bit more if I read all those zeros on that bundle of bills right) but critical intel richer, Roy asks the departing Flower Lady who she is. Get a name for future intel drops, right? [Flower Lady]: “Oh, just someone who’s served the Armstrong Family-” *removes bandana to reveal the Armstrong Hair Curl* “-for generations.” She’s totally Granny Armstrong, isn’t she? Man, she just has to meet Granny Rockbell. Turns out that people you fought through hell with years ago can become close and powerful allies. Who knew? Now… what about all these flowers? Back underground in Sloth’s tunnel thaaat’s a decapitated horse. Ok.

So good news: they found the Advance Team! Bad news: they found the Advance Team, meaning they should probably turn around right now. Oh hey, survivors! Let’s grab them and head back to base to debrief or you could kneel down and talk to them in the middle of this massacre. *headdesk* I thought you guys were supposed to be defensive experts? Wouldn’t that entail withdrawing from an area that is clearly Bad News? Aw crap. There’s an eye, and it does not look happy. One of the survivors is screaming about getting rid of the lights, the Shadow ooh so that’s how they survived, it’s like Vashta Nerada where it attacks with shadows. No lights, no shadows. Oh crap it’s those little arms from the intro, put those lights out! It’s coming! It… stopped? Glared away from the panicking soldier and withdrew. Why didn’t it attack? Well whatever, the troops lucked out this time and are taking the survivors back. Maybe Armstrong the Great can get some proper answers out of them. Riza! Dropping off paperwork for Bradley, he’s not around (talking with the Shadow, maybe?) so Mama Bradley takes them for now, she’ll make sure that HOLY LETO SHADOW ARM LOOK OU Wait, what? Selim? What was… Yikes. Ok, so apparently when it’s not butchering soldiers in tunnels, the Shadow’s playing bodyguard for Bradley’s son. Huh. I guess he really does care about his family. Although that’s going to be problematic, if when we try to take Wrath down his kid intervenes with his “imaginary friend”. I don’t suppose we can convince him to side against his poppa? A butler’s taking Selim back to his room, Riza’s complementing Mama Bradley about her kid- [Riza]: “He seems like a really sharp kid.” [Mama Bradley]: “He certainly is. He’s the pride of pride of pride pride pride FUCK “-pride of my life.” RUN. RUN NOW.

the creepy music has started up as Mama Elric says that Selim is “related to my husband” but we know that Bradley is a Goth, Riza starts to panic as she connects the dots, briskly walks away thinking about how Bradley was raised as a test subject without any family, I suppose he could have had Selim with another woman before he married Mama Bradley but the music points towards a darker possibility [Distorted Voice]: “So, you’ve put it all together?” There’s Selim, standing in the hallway behind a stock-still Riza, she recognizes the presence as the same kind of bloodlust when Gluttony tried to kill her. Little Selim just stands there grinning cutely, saying she has nerve to demand answers as little shadow hands spread across the ground. And he’s insulted when she calls him a Homunculus like Gluttony, as if he’s on the same level as that dumb muscle. Yup. Selim Bradley is Pride. “The First Homunculus” wasn’t Uncle, it was this little kid. Craaaaaaaap. Sooooo, yeah. I just went to Tephi’s room and apologized for taking so long with this episode. Like, WOW. I cannot thank you guys enough for not spoiling this. This is… wow. Mid episode pictures of sweet little Selim with a book (aaaaahhh the Elrics met him in the library and had no idea aaaaahhhh) and Pride, a little red-eyed boy grinning madly surrounded by arms and eyes and so many teeth. We’re back to Riza and Pride, and wow Riza’s got some guts to ask questions even now, trying to figure out what Pride means by The First Homunculus (so what does that make Uncle?). Pride’s amused by her question gaaaaah there are arms going up her legs and around her arms and around her neck and touching her cheek no no no. Pride’s asking if she’d consider joining the Goths oh HELL no you are not turning another of my babies into a Goth, she refuses. [Pride]: “So that’s a no? That’s too bad. Oh well.” Riza just got cut across the cheek wait no you can’t kill her she’s a hostage you do that and Roy will burn Central down oh thank Leto it was just Pride being a jerk, Riza calls him out on the wastefulness of killing your hostage and Pride laughs and withdraws. With one final warning that wherever she is, he’ll be watching from the shadows. Well. This is just GREAT. Back to Briggs, a much, much lesser threat is offering Ed a job. Or actually, he’s passing his own job of hunting down the Ishvalan, Amestrian, and Xingian on to Ed. Wait, scratch the Xing Princess, the third job is “carving a crest of blood” at Briggs. Well that sounds like an upstanding and totally-not-evil task! So what- [Kimblee]: “It’s just like what I did in Ishval. It’s very simple; we kill everyone and soak the land with their blood.”

Of course Ed leaps up and begins saying the proper response, but quiets down when he remembers that Winry is with some of Kimblee’s mooks a room over. Kimblee… dude, really? No I don’t think that Ed joined the Military thinking that he’d be massacring innocents, he even says that he joined intending to never kill. Really now, we’ve already seen you butcher superior officers just to hold onto a Philosopher’s Stone, and now you have two. Why are you still supporting the Goths? [Kimblee]: “I’m curious to see how the world will change.” Huh. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, Kimblee has espoused a sort of survival of the fittest philosophy. Humans vs. Goth, which will win in the end? But you’re a human, why help the other- ah, ok. It’s less about Human vs. Goth, more about Kimblee’s total freedom against those of us who think mass murder isn’t the way to do things. Kimblee’s more confused at the idea of Alchemists who aren’t as self-centered as him, as he places… oh boy. There it is, the one thing that Ed and Al set out to find from the very beginning of our story, what they dreamed would solve their problems until they discovered the cost: a Philosopher’s Stone. And Kimblee’s offering it for Ed’s obedience. Faced with the easy way, Ed lowers his head, and then asks to discuss things with his brother and his mechanic. Back in the cell, Kimblee’s listening in as Ed straight up tells Winry she was brought as a hostage. Wow, way to break it gently. Obviously she’s a little confused and upset to learn she’s being used by the bad guys as a restraint for the Elrics. Meanwhile, Al’s shocked to hear that Ed was offered a Philosopher’s Stone, but Ed shuts him down before he can go on about the ingredients. Too much for Winry to hear? Al looks in shock to his older brother who is nearly crying...oh? Ed’s face firmed up and Al squinted his eyes as the Dramatic Music starts up, do they have a plan? Al looks away and tells Ed to do what he wants, the elder brother tells Kimblee that he’s in on the plan. First step - Find Scar, to get vengeance for Winry. As the Alchemists walk away Al tells Winry the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone, then quickly reassures her that they’d never use one, especially when they think there’s another way: May’s Alkahestry. And since she was traveling with Scar, their best bet of finding her is going along with Kimblee’s hunt for now. [Winry]: “I see. Then I guess I had better hurry up and come up with a believable excuse.” Huh? Next day outside of Briggs, Kimblee and the Elric Brothers are getting ready to drive off, when Winry runs up? Oh! She’s inviting herself along as Ed’s mechanic, claiming she needs to be around to spotcheck any issues with the new upgrade! As Ed and Winry fall to squabbling Kimblee resigns himself to Teenage Crush Antics and walks away. Bye, Armstrong the Great! Nice meeting you, hope you get your second army soon to start the revolution! The convoy drives off, Ed worries that things could go badly for the Trio but Winry is determined to not be the Damsel in Distress anymore. Well alright then! Main thing this episode was of course PRIDE, I have to go back and rewrite so many theories once again because of that reveal. Should be an interesting fight! Then we’ve got Ed pretending to go along with Kimblee’s mission for now, we just need to wait for the best moment to turn around and smack down that jerk. Good luck going on the mission Winry, you’re gonna need it.

[schrijverr]

Gluttonies stomach, but different

Post the “Inside the belly” episode of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, a different take on what could have happend in “Doorway of Darkness” with a Harry Potter crossover.

Edward ends up in Hogwart alone and meets Harry Potter while he sets up de DA. 

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: mentions of canon stuff, so the genocide on the Ishval people and Xerxes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edward was facing off against Gluttony and Envy with Alphonse and Ling when it happened. They were all beat up and Edward was trying to figure out how many injuries he had when he heard Alphonse gasp. He looked and saw Gluttony getting ready to swallow Ling. Making a split second decision to save the bastard, he jumped and pushed Ling out of the way leaving himself in the beam of light on his own.

~

The conversations in the Great Hall stilled when a bright light flashed at the front and a small boy came flying out. He landed and rolled to break his fall. When he looked up he was vigilant, looking around ready to attack, which he seemed pretty capable of.

The teachers all flew out of their seats and surrounded the boy while holding him at wandpoint. While they were getting to him the boy started yelling in a language that they didn’t understand and he waved his arm which had a metal knife protruding from it. He yelled: “Where am I? Don’t come any closer! I said Don’t come any closer! I am the Fullmetal Alchemist, does that mean anything to you? I gave an order, stay back! Tell me where I am. Do you work for Father? Where is Alphonse, or Ling? Don’t make me ask ag- What did you do to me? Why am I saying these words?”

The boy had been hit by a spell cast by Dumbledore, who calmly said: “I merely cast a translating spell so that we could understand you.”

He wanted to add more to that statement, but the boy cut him off: “A spell? Really. You want me to believe such nonsense? Magic tricks don’t exist. Now tell me where I am and who you are.”

McGonagall frowned and asked the boy: “What are you? A muggle?”

That seemed to confuse the boy, but before he could answer Dumbledore said: “You are at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, my boy. I am Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, but more call me just Professor Dumbledore or Dumbledore.”

“Yeah, magic” the boy scoffed, “you already told me that. Now what makes you believe that’s real? Probably some sort of strange alchemy. Now I’ll ask you some more questions, since you seem to be in the mood of answering, Albus. Where am I? Where are Alphonse and Ling? Do you work for Father? And- stAY BACK!” he yelled the last part when they moved closer.

He the noticed the entire student body staring at him and he snarled it their direction: “What are you all looking at? Don’t you have some weird fancy education to get to, “magic” or something.”

He huffed and mumbled some curses. Then he turned back to Dumbledore, as the students left the hall under instruction of McGonagall, and said: “You’re gonna answer or do I have to beat it out of you?”

That made some wands higher in defense which he scoffed some more at and rolled his eyes. Dumbledore had put away his wand completely and said: “I’m sorry I can’t help you. I do not know these people you speak off. Now, I feel like you have asked enough questions for us to return the favour. Who are you and where did you come from?”

The strange boy looked uncertain and for the first time since his arrival he didn’t look like a threat or an enemy, but as what he was, a scared injured boy. McGonagall put away her wand as well when she had taken a closer looked at him. He had bandages wrapped around his head, he was breathing heavily and it seemed to cause him pain, then you had a wound on his right leg that was oozing blood, and when she looked closely she noticed that the blade, which he still held defensively, wasn’t attached to his arm, but part of a metal construction that stood in for where an arm had been.

As soon as it has come the vulnerability was gone and a mask of confidence and authority slipped back on. “I am Edward, Edward Elric also known as the Fullmetal Alchemist.” the boy introduced himself.

“And where are you from, Mister Elric.” Snape sneered.

Edward scowled and said: “If you insist on titles use the right ones, it’ll be Major Elric to you.”

Ed never liked titles, but that man reminded him of some of the nastier higher-ups from back home who would do anything to look even more down upon you than they already could, so it felt good to be able to pull rank against such a guy for once.

Flitwick recognized the title and asked: “You serve in the military? At your age?”

Edward turned to professor with an eyeroll, back never leaving the safety of the speaking table. He looked annoyed, but when he saw the little Professor he brightened a bit and said: “People are always surprised by that, I’ve been there for three years now. I don’t mean to brag, but I hoped my reputation had reached beyond the borders. Which reminds me: where am I?”

“You are in England. So, where are you from?” Dumbledore said taking back the control of the conversation.

“England.” the boy mused, “Never heard of it. I’m form Amestris. How far away is that? I need to get back.”

Dumbledore looked thoughtfully and said: “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of you home country.”

Edward frowned and said: “Are you sure? We aren’t exactly unnoticeable with the amount of wars were in. You didn’t even hear of the Ishval civil war or the war with Aerugo?” Dumbledore shook his head and Edwards eye widened in panic as he started to ramble, “Do you know Drachma, Creta, Xing or even the fallen Xerxes.”

When none of the countries seemed to be familiar to is new audience the boy started breathing even more heavily as he was getting more panicked every second. He whispered to himself: “This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, people need you, is this Truths doing, wouldn’t surprise me that bastard, this is not happening, it just can’t. Oh no, I left Alphonse and Ling there with those two monsters, what could be happening to them, no, no, no, no, no.”

His panic, however, was cut short by Madam Pomfrey who stepped forward to help him. Within milliseconds the panic was gone. It was as if the boy sensed a threat and his boy acted on its own. Before they could blink Madam Pomfrey was on the ground with the arm/knife to her neck. He looked around at the professors suspiciously, eyes feral.

He seemed like he was dangerous, more than they could have anticipated. Instantly all wands were pointed at him again and Sprout said: “We don’t want to hurt you, Edward. We just want to know how and why, so let Poppy go. Or you’ll leave us no choice.”

Any sane person would know that he was surrounded by a bunch of skilled wizards and have surrendered, but this boy wasn’t most people. He clapped his hands in a prayer like manner and pushed Madam Pomfrey away with his foot before slamming his hands to the ground. The moment his hands touched the ground blue lightning shot up and with that a gigantic pillar of stone with the boy on it.

Spells and curses bounced of the pillar leaving the boy unharmed. The pillar grew and grew until Edward had reached the roof, they heard him curse and then it was quiet.

Dumbledore and McGonagall shared a look and McGonagall asked: “What kind of magic was that, Albus?”

“I don’t know, Minerva, but I am happy that Dolores is at the Ministry all day.” then he put his wand at his throat and bellowed: “Major Elric, come down there and put away your weapons and we will do the same. We do not want a conflict, if you explain your situation to us we can try to help you and look at you injuries.”

It was silent for a few more seconds then the pillar shrunk again until Edward was kneeling on the ground. He chocked: “I got, I got swallowed by Gluttony. I think that his, his stomach is a defect portal of truth and I, I ended up here by accident. I have people waiting for me and, and I, I don’t know if I’ll get back in time. What if a minute here is a year home, then everybody, everybody I know will be, will be dead and the Homu- the Homunculus will have won and Amestrist will be flattened just like Xerxes and I could do nothing.”

He screamed in frustration and some teachers could feel their heart break for the boy. He looked so small and helpless in that moment that it was easy to forget what he had just done.

~

Edward was now taken care of and sat wrapped up in a blanket in the Hospital Wing. He had apologized profusely to Madam Pomfrey and he had looked quite surprised when she had forgiven him. Dumbledore and McGonagall were now allowed to talk to him. “I guess I should tell you stuff now, right.” Edward said as they approached his bed.

“Uhm, so apparently magic is real here, in my world there is alchemy. It’s based in science and if you study you can do it, you don’t have to be born with some sort of gift or something. I am a State Alchemist, which basically means that I’m a dog of the military and when there’s war I need to help fight.”

“But you’re a child!” McGonagall exclaimed, unable to help herself. She hated to see kids fight.

Edward smiled and said sadly: “I gave up childhood four years ago. I made a mistake and pulled my brother along with me and I need to fix that mistake. In order to do that I need funds and access to certain things, being a State Alchemist provides that.”

“How did they allow you to join the military at, how old are you?” Dumbledore asked curiously.

“I’m fifteen now, but I was twelve when I joined, uhm, you need to take a test and one passes it of the hundreds, they probably thought I couldn’t pass it. There isn’t an age limit on it, but since I joined they’re working on that. They can’t touch me though, made sure of that.

Anyway, in search on answers I stumbled onto something, a conspiracy to wipe out my entire country. I was working with my brother, Colonel Mustang and his team, plus the twelfth son of the Xing Emperor to stop it. I was fighting two of the Humonculi when Gluttony opened his stomach and swallowed me, then I was here.”

“How do you know that it was a portal. And how could someone swallow an entire being?” Dumbledore questioned.

Edwards eyes hardened and they could see the soldier in him, a soldier who had seen too much. He said: “I’ve seen something like it before and I am here, where my countries and rules don’t exist, so logically it’s a portal and I am in another universe. As for your other question, he’s called Gluttony for a reason. At first we thought it was because of how much he could eat and what he could eat with his normal mouth and because he’s always hungry, but then he surprised us when we thought we had him tied up. His entire front can turn into this big mouth with an eye in the middle,”Edward shuddered, but went on, “He called it eating, but it would be this beam of light and when it died out everything it touched would be gone, like it had never been there at all. He was about to eat one of my friends, Ling, but I managed to push him out of the way and got hit myself. When I disappeared, I left him and my brother, Alphonse, behind still fighting him and his sibling, Envy. He can take on any shape.”

Dumbledore nodded and said: “That seems quite a pickle you’re in. We want to do anything in our power to help you, but we are also facing some problem at the moment. We are on constant watch of our government who don’t want to acknowledge that a Dark Lord has returned, so I don’t know how much we can help.”

Edward nodded and said: “I understand, I just need to find a place with lots of books, a bed and food. If there’s a training area that would be ideal, but I can manage without. You won’t see me until I’m going home. I hope you can help me.”

His eyes were pleading. McGonagall had a stroke of brilliance and said: “Albus, he could stay in the Room of Requirement. Dolores won’t even have to know he exists.”

A twinkle appeared in Dumbledore eyes and soon Edward found himself pacing up and down a hall imagining the room he wanted and feeling like an idiot. Then he looked to his side and saw that a door had appeared. With wide eyes he turned to Dumbledore who just seemed amused at his bewilderment. He huffed and bid Dumbledore goodbye as he went into the room.

~

Edward had been living in the Room of Requirement for three days when something happened. He was pouring over a book while absentmindedly eating something when a door started to appear and his training room changed a bit. He wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t stretched his back at the exact moment it happened.

With his hand ready to clap he watched as a group students entered. They were chattering, but that stopped when they noticed him. A boy with black hair and green eyes asked: “Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?”

A girl with bushy hair stopped Edward from answering as she said: “Harry, that’s the boy from the Great Hall.”

“Are you sure, Hermione? They said it was a big prank form Peeves.” a Red head boy said.

Edward decided to speak up now, he said: “With what I heard you are be familiar with a cover up about everything that’s been going on. Another tip, if someone could be your enemy don’t say names. Anyway, what are you all doing here?”

None of your business.” the black haired boy said.

Edward rolled his eyes and said: “I don’t care what you do here, if you leave me alone. I just want to know if you’re gonna make any loud noises. Because if I’m gonna decipher this I need some quiet. The name is Edward, by the way.”

The other boy hesitated, then he said: “I’m Harry. We’re going to practice Defense Against the Dark Arts here, because out teacher is useless. Now tell us why you’re here.”

“Seems neat.” Edward nodded, “I live here, for now that is. Dumbledore said no one would find me here, but seems that old weirdo was wrong.”

“Don’t say that. He is one of the greatest wizards of our age.” the girl exclaimed.

“Yeah, and I am great too, but I never get respect anywhere, so whatever. Besides he calls himself Professor, but I didn’t read anywhere how he earned that title so that’s a bit pretentious, don’t you agree.”

All the kids were mad now, Edward rolled his eyes, but apologized: “Wow, sorry, geez. I didn’t know everybody loved the dude. Besides since you’re here and he thought I would be alone means that he doesn't know about this assembly. I keep my mouth shut about this and you don tell a soul outside this room about me. Is that a deal?”

He held out his hand a Harry hesitantly shook it. Edward nodded, satisfied with himself, and went back to deciphering the text in front of him. The kids looked at each other and stared at him, unsure of what to do and confused with the entire situation, until Edward snapped: “You didn’t come here stare at me, go on with your weird meeting.”

And that they did. For the next hour Edward ignored yells, light flashes, stares and weird pep talks. Then they left, which Ed was grateful for.

~

Over the next few weeks Edward became more stressed, but also better friends with the DA, as the group called themselves. It was nice to have contact with the outside world and other humans and Hermione was pretty smart.

Until now he had managed to hide that he was a muggle and simply told them that he was on the run for Voldemort and had sought refuge by Dumbledore. He had pretended to not know the guy so that it wouldn't seem like they were in on it together. His story was also helped by the fact that he turned up on the only day Umbridge was gone, which most would find hard to believe was a coincidence.

It was just a normal lesson when suddenly a house elf appeared exclaiming that Umbridge had found out and was coming. Immediately that whole room turned into a flurry of sounds and movements as everybody scrambled to get out. Hermione caught Eds eye and quickly transformed his clothes into some Ravenclaw robes and said: “Roll with it.”

After that it all became kind of a blur and Edward was mostly concentrating on not getting noticed. He only really came to when he was running on a bridge out of Hogwarts with Harry yelling about saving Sirius. He quickly did a double take and reevaluated the situation. When he had come to his conclusion Harry had already convinced his friends to help him and they didn’t wait for him to catch up. He yelled after them: “Stop!”

“What is it Ed? We need to move, fast.” Harry said.

“We can’t go.” Edward said.

“We already had this conversation. Sirius is in danger, we need to save him. He’s the only family I have left.” Harry told him.

With pain in his heart Ed said: “I know, but you can’t. It’s a trap, I’m sure of it.”

“Well, I’m not taking any chances, you might not understand, but I’ve lost enough and I’ve seen enough violence to be able to handle myself.”

Harry started to walk away again, but something inside Edward snapped. He said in a laughing disbelieving, borderline insane, tone: “What did you just say? I don’t understand loss, sacrifice, violence. Don’t make me laugh, kid. I’ve seen more than you can imagine, you wanna be tough, you want to fight? Dumbledore Army was it, right. Well, let me tell you a thing about armies, they couldn't exist without a hierarchy and you should listen to your superior. If you want to be a soldier that’s fine, but as a Major I outrank you, so when I tell you no to go, it’s not a request, it’s a order.”

“You are not the boss of me.” Harry yelled.

“And you are not a fighter. I see you with your fancy spells and your dueling, but war is far different from that. They won’t be fair!”

“Don’t you think we know that!”

“Maybe you know, but you haven’t seen. Entire villages wiped out, civilizations lost in a day, thousands of lives gone. You say I don’t know loss, but I’ve seen it. Dad, left. Mom, dead. Brother, walking time bomb. A friend, without working legs. An entire race, on the run, alone and scared, most of their brethren slaughtered. Monsters roaming around planning to wipe out my entire homeland and I’m stuck without being able to help. Useless.” Edward wanted to continue ranting, but was caught off guard by a flash light.

Harry and his friends looked at the vacant spot where Ed had been not to long ago. He was gone. “What happened?” Ron asked.

Harry shrugged and said: “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out later. Right now Sirius needs us.”

“You’re not going to listen to him?” Hermione said.

Harry shook his head determinately and ran off again.

~

Edward blinked and looked around. He was in a familiar white void, with Truth sitting across from him. In the orb floating in front of them, he saw Harry taking off. He looked at Truth and said: “Why didn’t you let me stop him?”

Truth looked at him and said: “Everywhere there is a balance, people who need to things at a certain time in  order to ensure that their world flows its course. Everyone there will forget you existed, because it doesn't make sense for you to be there. You’re lucky I found you before you could change the story.”

“Will I remember it?” Edward asked.

The Truth shook his head and then left, leaving Edward in the room with two doors. He looked confused and asked: “Have there always been two doors?”

[majingojira]

Monsters of the 20th Century

I had this odd notion.  A (brief) analysis of the origin of various supernatural creatures, as I wondered what ‘new’ monsters/supernatural beings had been created in the 20th century (roughly).   I’ve completed some of the research, and I’d like to share it with you all.  I’m also gonna tag @tyrantisterror because he is one of the more knowledgable people about monsters I know about on tumblr and I’m sure he can correct me a bunch in this!

1. Frankenstein - 1817 - The oldest literary monster and outgrowth of the concept of the Homunculus and Golem as an artificial being.  So pervasive is its reach, western ideas of Tulpa are tainted by it (every time you read about a tulpa ‘going out of control’, that is the influence of Frankenstein). 

2. Dinosaurs - The Dragons of the age of science entered pop culture in 1854 at the latest with the opening of the Crystal Palace Park.  Other prehistoric animals had captured people’s imagination before, and they didn’t start to enter fiction until 1864 (”Journey to the Center of the Earth”) and a short story by C. J. Cutliffe Hyne had an ancient crocodilian in his story “The Lizard” (1898).  Ann early Lost World style adventure, “A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder” by James De Mille in 1888 has the first true dinosaurs in them.  There, Antarctica has a warm spot where prehistoric monsters and a death cult lurk.  In 1901, Frank Mackenzie Savile’s “Beyond the Great South Wall” had a Carnivorous Brontosaurs worshiped by Mayan remnants.  “Panic in Paris” by Jules Lermina had dinosaurs attack a city, but it was published first in France so few saw it.  Finally, we have Conan Doyle in 1912 with “The Lost World” which solidified dinosaurs as a thing in fiction. 

3. The Evolved Man/Mutants - After “The Origin of Species” is published, it wasn’t long until Evolved Men or Mutants started showing up in fiction. “The Coming Race” and (1871), “The Great Romance” (1881).   They are generally big-headed and often have ESP of some sort.  In “Media: A Tale of the Future” (1891), they can control electricity too. It wasn’t until 1928 (”The Metal Man” by Jack Williamson) that Radiation was thrown in as a cause for Mutation.  Cosmic Rays would follow in “The Man Who Evolved” by Edmond Hamilton (1931).  After that, we have “Gladiator” by Philip Gordon Wylie (1930) where we have an engineered “Evolved Man”, and “Odd John” by Olaf Stapeldon which grants us the term “Homo superior” followed by “Slan” by A.E. van Vogt which has Evolved Humans as a persecuted minority.   And with that, everything that makes the X-Men what they are is collected.

3. Man-Eating Tree - First reported in 1874, the idea of man-eating plants grew since then to encompase many monsters, but started as Folklore about ‘Darkest Africa” (Madagascar) in the New York World.  They’d print anything back then.

4. Hyde - While it is tempting to link him to Freudian Psychology, Freud did not publish his work regarding things like the Id until much later (he didn’t even coin “Psychoanalysis” until 1896).  What is springs from, I currently cannot say without more research. 

4. Robot - Though there were automata since the days of the Greeks (Talos), the first Robot in modern fiction is from “The Future Eve” by Auguste Villiers de I’lsle Adam (1886).  THough the term Robot is not invented until 1920 with “Rossum’s Universal Robots.”  They definitely offshoot from Frankenstein, but with a more mechanical bent.  

5. The Grey Alien - The modern idea of an Alien has it’s first antecedents in the 1800s.  Specifically with the essay “Man of the Year 1,000,000″ by H. G. Wells (1892-1893). He speculates what humans will evolve into, and basically invites the Gray by accident.  It wouldn’t achieve it’s alien attachments until much later.

6. Morlocks - With the Evolved Man, there is also the ‘Devolved Man’.  That is what the Morlocks are. They are, as the name implies, tied to Well’s “The Time Machine” (1895), and the word has become a catch-all for subterranean monster-men, be they Mole People, CHUDs, or straight up Demons (’GvsE’). 

7. The Martians & Their War Machines - The First Alien Invader, and the first Mecha can be traced to “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells, 1897.  Not much more to say as far as I’m aware.

8. The Mummy - The 1800s saw an Egyptian craze in England, leading to some really nasty habits (google “Mummy Powder” if you need ipecac).  1827 saw “The Mummy!: Or, a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century” which is more a bit of futurism with an ancient protagonist.  Though “Lost in the Pyramid” (1868) by Louisa May Alcott predates it, it is overshadowed by Conan Doyle’s horror story “Lot No. 249″ (1892) which has the classically animated mummy going out and killing people under control of another.  The former is a “Curse” story rather than a monster.

9. Cordyceps - Everyone these days knows the Cordyceps fungus as a great source for making zombies, and I’m lumping that fungus in with these other monsters because, well, fungus’ that take over humans is a monster of the 20th century.  Best known for Toho’s film adaptation “Matango” (1963), it is inspired by a short story from 1907 by William Hope Hodgson called “The Voice in the Night”.  There, the poor victim doesn’t realize they’ve completely become a fungus monster, acting as a warning for those near the island.    

10. Aerofauna - Conan Doyle strikes again with “The Horror of the Heights” (1912).  A pretty tight little horror story of a whole ecosystem high above our heads in the clouds.  Many a sky tentacle owes its existence to this one.

11. Lich - Possibly derived from Kosechi the Deathless of Russian folklore, the idea of undead sorcerers became a staple of the works of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smyth, dating back to 1929.  Though Gary Gigax coined the idea together for D&D and based it on Gardner Fox’s “The Sword of the Sorcerer (1969)

12. Bigfoot and The Loch Ness Monster - I lump these cryptids together, because (thanks to a ton of research by Daren Naish, Daniel Loxton,  Donald R. Prothero, and others) we can trace them back to the same source: King Kong (1933).  The idea of prehistoric animals being out in the world in hidden places goes back to Conan Doyle’s “Lost World” (1912), but Kong made it widely popular.  And between the giant ape and the Brontosaurus attack (and the timing of sightings picking up), we can blame Kong for this.

13. The Great Old Ones - Lovecraft’s primary contribution to fiction first appear in “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926) and expand upon from here.  As near as I can tell, he made a LOT of monsters.  These include “Ancient Aliens” & Shoggoths (1936 - “At the Mountains of Madness”), Gillmen (1931 - ”The Shadow over Innsmouth”), & The Colour Out of Space (1927).  14. The Thing - The Ultimate Shapeshifter.  It first appears in 1938′s “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell, Jr.  Though Campbell's square-jawed heroes literally tear the Thing to bits, it reached its zenith of horror in adaptation.  I can think of no earlier shapeshifting humanoids of such variety at an earlier time, or of such fecundity. 

15. The Amazons - The Amazons do indeed come from Ancient Greece, but it was a way for the Greeks to rag on Women.  It wasn’t until later that women co-opted the image of the Amazons as a source of empowerment, and that was codified in 1942 with one character: Wonder Woman. She helped spark the Amazons further into the culture, or at least, Amazon women who have superpowers (as they did in those early stories).  From there, we get a more recent direct descendant that was part of the reason I started this list: Slayers from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

16. The Hobbit - Though ideas of ‘Wee Folk” are part of worldwide Folklore, Tolkien took them out of the realm of Faerie, and made them... idyllic middle-class Englishmen with his 1937 book of the same name.  With the Lord of the Rings following in 1954-1955.  His works also gave us other monsters and supernatural beings: Orcs, Ents, & Balrogs. 

17. Gremlins - An Evolution of the wee folk once again, this time adapted for the mechanical era and of a more malicious bent. It became slang in the 1920s, with the earliest print source being from 1929.   They were popularized by Roald Dahl in”The Gremlins” (1942).  Later they were used to vex Bugs Bunny (1943′s “Falling Hare”), and then they got their own movies in the 1980s.  The rest is history.  

18. Triffids - There are a LOT of fictional plants out there, and a lot of carnivorous ones, but the Triffids were the first to be extremely active in their pursuit of prey.  From 1952′s “Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham, the story is a keen example of the ‘Cozy Apocalypse’ common in British Fiction, sort of like the whole ‘schoolboys on a desert island make well of it’ thing that “Lord of the Flies” railed against. This paved the way for everything from Audrey II to Biollante.

19. Kaiju - 1954.  You know what this is.  Between Primordial Gods and Modern Technology, the Kaiju are born.  The difference between a Kaiju and a Giant Monster is a complex nuanced one, sort of like what makes film noir. But, in general, if the story has Anti-War, Anti-Nationalist, and/or Anti-Corporate Greed leanings, it’s probably a Kaiju movie.  If not, then it probably isn’t.

20. The Body Snatchers - Another horror of 1954 from the novel “The Body Snatchers” (1955), which includes aspects that the movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” did not.  Like that the Duplicates only last 5 years and basically exist to wipe out sentient beings with each planet they infest.  Clearly drawing from the idea of the Doppelganger, these Pod People have evolved into a new form.

21. The Blob - That 1958 movie has one catchy theme song.  The whole thing was inspired by an instance of “Star Jelly” in Pennsylvania, circa 1950.  It was tempting to shift this under the Shoggoth, but I think they are distinct enough.

22. Gargoyles - Longtime architectural embellishments, they did not become their own “Being” until 1971 with “The Living Gargoyle” published in Nightmare #6.  The TV Movie “Gargoyles” came soon after in 1972, firmly establishing the monster.  Though it was likely perfected in the TV Series “Gargoyles” (1994). 

23. D&D - From 1973 Through 1977, D&D was formulated and many of its key monsters were invented.  Partly as mechanics ways to screw with players and keep things lively.  This brought us Rust Monsters (1973), Mindflayer (1974), Beholder (1975), and the Gelatinous Cube (1977). 

24. The Xenomorph - Parasitoid breeding is applied to humans to wonderfully horrible effect in the 1979 film “Alien”.  It became iconic as soon as it appeared. 

25. Slasher - The first slasher film is often considered to be ‘Psycho’ (though the Universal Mummy films beyond the first prototype the formula).  The idea of an undead revenant coming back to kill rather randomly started in the film “The Fog” (1980), but was codified by Jason Voorhees in either 1984 or 1986.   I am no expert on this one, though, so I am not fully certain.

26. The Dream Killer - Freddy Krueger first appeared as a killer in dreams in 1981, but there were other dream killers before him.  They could only kill with extreme fear, though.  Freddy got physical!  I think.  Again, more research is needed.

27. Chupacabras - This is another cryptid inspired by a movie.  In this case, “Species” (1995). No, really.  This is what it comes from.   I know a lot of these are really short down the line, but the research for this one is thorough and concise! 

28. Slender Man - The Boogieman for the Internet Age.  An icon of Creepypastas and emblem of them.

Needs More Research: The Crow/Heroic Longer-Term Revenants, Immortals as a “Group” (might go to Gulliver's Travels, but I’m trying to track Highlander here) are also on the list, but they are proving extremely difficult to research, so I thought I’d post what I have at the moment.  Shinigami might also be on the list since they are syncretic adoption of the Grim Reaper into something more.

[autumnbell32]

Am I the Asshole?

When she was first introduced as our new Front End supervisor, I liked her- her quiet demeanor, her rarely used subtle smile. Although I try not to push their boundaries of social interaction, I am drawn to quiet people- probably for selfish reasons. I liked waving to her as she sliced cheese or stocked hummus- sometimes I would get a nod or a wave back, but I never expected a response. I heard murmurings from fellow cashiers that hinted at their dissatisfaction with her promotion, but she hadn't even been given a chance in her new role yet so I ignored what I thought were baseless comments. She was my age but her hair had turned almost completely grey and white, and she used the opportunity to dye her hair purple or burgundy or pink without having to use bleach. I liked that. One time she even asked me to drive her to the pet store so she could begin a freshwater fish hobby, but I had to cancel at the end of the shift, as I was covered in hives from some flavor of generalized anxiety...I don't remember which. I still wish to this day that I had taken her, though. I would have liked to help facilitate that type of satisfaction- the relieving type you get when you know you are adding something soft to your daily life.

There was a poison on the Front End- something that isn't uncommon in grocery stores, I've found. Sometimes it is just one person, sometimes it is boredom, sometimes jealousy or apathy. I liked my job as a cashier. I liked interacting with people in their everyday life, stocking the front beverage coolers during the quiet evening hours, taking deli soup home with me on Sunday afternoons, going through the motions during those eight hours because I was thankful to finally have a job that didn't drain my soul (I accepted the lower pay and added gig work to supplement income). I tried not to be dragged by my shirt collar into drama, but unfortunately I was dealing with a stale medication regimen and symptom flare- increased paranoia, pathological feelings of inadequacy, being driven (despite my better efforts and self-soothing hand wringing) to seek reassurance at least once every shift. That type of vulnerability and divergence was a visible weakness that everyone noticed and perhaps some people liked to take advantage of.

Perhaps the poison had seeped into her ear. Perhaps my perception of actual events was off. She didn't like that I had to call off because my mental health was on shaky ground. I tried to joke once when she made a comment about a call off that didn't even occur on her shift. "Just bipolar things," I said with a shrug of the mouth. I go about blotting at stigma the wrong way sometimes. I overshare. I assume vulnerabilities always strengthen human connections. Another supervisor started coming to me and telling me things- the new supervisor threw my coat out of a chair she wanted to sit in, she thought it must be convenient to be able to call off for mental illness (??....!), she thought I talked to customers too much. The seeds were planted, my trust was lost, I didn't want to wave at her when our paths crossed anymore. When I felt my mental health had healed enough to try a higher paying job again, she asked me on one of my last days, "You going to be on your bullshit at this new job now?" I guess I was, because the frequent panic attacks, self-neglect, and feeling like a crumpled homunculus surrounded by grown, functioning adults came back. I had to once again leave my career.

I have since seen her twice- once in a doctor's office, where the old tension was a loud, sinewy silence. The other time I saw her occurred while I was doing some gig work on a grey evening marked with halogen street lamps. I was delivering a grocery order to an area of town that was unfamiliar to me and, as much as I tried to ignore the feeling, made me very uncomfortable. "Don't leave the groceries on the steps, come inside the porch door and put them on the floor," the delivery instructions indicated. I laughed to myself, preparing for a low rating because...fuck that. I don't go inside anyone's residence in any part of town with this work. Luckily the porch door was already open and I was able to stand on the lowest step and swing the groceries as gently as possible up onto the porch floor. I probably looked like a big nerd as I powerwalked back to my car. Before buckling in, I looked up and saw that supervisor walking down the street at the same pace, holding one strap of her backpack as it rested on her shoulders, almost as if to provide added support. I remembered that she took the bus from work and then walked home from the bus stop. I watched her for a moment, also remembering how much she came to dislike me. I hated that she had to walk home in this area, though it is probably something she is used to (maybe...who ever gets used to feeling unsafe, really?). She quickly rounded the corner and disappeared. I drove away to my next delivery.

Stay safe, my friend. I'm sorry if I seemed like an asshole.

[misterbombastic]

First things first: we actually do know what elves called their dicks, because even the glorious JRRT couldn't keep his hands out of his pants. The poetic term (yes, elves seem to have engaged in erotic poetry) would be gwî, but for everyday usage gwib was the preferred term. Puntl is provided as the coarse, moderately transgressive term, and likely what you would be invited to suck if you went down on a male elf. Alas, due to the ban on the Noldorin language, we have no surviving slang for Fëanor's johnson.

Second, if we assume that JRRT's intention is the guiding light for inferred details of the history and function of Arda, we are left with several clues as to the genital features of elves. In early drafts of the Silmarillion and pre-LotR writings that would eventually give rise to the War of the Ring, JRRT called them "gnomes" rather than "elves," a detail that reflects his internal monologue about them and is consistent with his para-LotR writings about them, including mutilations, betrayals, incest, genocide, colonial violence, and misotheistic rebellion. His mental image during the construction of Ardan history was almost certainly closer to the Rankin-Bass imagery than the Peter Jackson interpretation. Thus we are left to interpret the idea of gnomes-- a Paracelsean ideology tied closely to alchemy-- and of their Germanic and Norse equivalents, nature and household spirits that include classic Germanic dweorgs (that is, dwarves) but with the added qualification of tallness as a common indicator of worthiness.

I discern here between dwarf-figures of Greek and British mythology, which tend to be lusty, massively endowed pranksters, and gnomes/dweorgs, which are rarely cast in a sexual light. Some textual support could be interpreted for the influence of Pan on the elves, given that Silvan elves (and their Rivendell cousins) are singing, dancing, merry-making, traveler-harassing figures throughout the books. If we adhere to this interpretation, elves are probably packing huge veiny wangs that could put your fucking eye out while you're trying to slip em the suck.

I feel that it is, however, more likely that JRRT would have viewed his elves as more romantic and less sexual. Certainly they reproduce at an exceedingly slow rate and for an incredibly small window of their adult lives. A Panic elf would be extremely unlikely to live for two thousand or more years and sire no more than three or four offspring. For this reason, we are most likely dealing with the less overt sexual characteristics of a Paracelsean elf, which rules out giant Priapus-style horse cocks that are eternally bone-ready, but leaves us with less to go on than we might need, if we're gonna pour a giant silicone elf dick.

Ah, but now we've alluded to reproductive evidence of elvish sexual activity, and down this road we find some very interesting possibilities. For one thing, the gnomes of Paracelsus were closely related to the concept of the homunculus, and tended to be sexless or at most secondary-masculine (think garden gnomes). We can assume, in combination with the romantic, Victorianistic leanings of JRRT, that male elves were not afflicted with unwanted boners, and found it fairly simple to reserve their sexual activity to intramarital intercourse. Additionally, in the extracurricular writing Laws and Customs of the Elves (LACE henceforth), we find some fascinating aspects of elvish sexuality laid bare. Elves are incapable, it seems, of adultery, which actually kills them. They are also heavily implied to be incapable of masturbation, and are explicitly hesitant to remarry after the death of a spouse, which carries over into the Silmarillion, when Fëanor's father seeks permission from the spirit of his mother (who has died in childbirth) to remarry. Clearly, something about their physiology and/or psychology is not compatible in any way with promiscuity, and the consequences of promiscuity can be literally fatal.

The lethality of sex can, I feel, be best comprehended as an immune function similar to rH incompatibility between mother and fetus. It would, from an evolutionary standpoint, benefit a male elf (ellyn) to be certain that his offspring are actually his own, since their gestation and childhood are protracted and may consume a great deal of resources. This may have resulted in a gradual evolutionary arms race, in which an ellyn might conjugate not only his genetic material but also a dose of antibodies and/or chimeric B-cells, which are keyed to attack all sperm without his specific antigen set. In return, the female elf (or elleth) might perhaps develop her own antibody/B-cell dosage, but this begs the question of how to confer them to the male, since transmission of microbes from vagina to penis is much less reliable than the inverse. I am getting a horrible idea and I will refer back to this concept in a moment.

So assuming that extramarital sex results in autoimmune-induced death similar to anaphylaxis in mechanism, we ask ourselves: what about the other compelling aspect of elvish sexuality, that of interbreeding with humans? Leaving out the question of DNA compatibility-- which is demonstrated in canon, and which we must accept as legitimate if we are to consider this topic at all-- we have a disturbing question to address. We have multiple incidents throughout the history of Beleriand and Middle-Earth of elven/human offspring, all of which occur between a Man and an elleth. Given that the two species are capable of creating not only hybrids but fertile hybrids (Elrond produced three offspring), it is foolish to imagine that in all of Ardan history there was never a potential ellyn-woman romance that resulted in offspring, unless there was something preventing reproduction between ellyn and woman that did not exist between man and elleth. The safest bet is not that all ellyn-woman romances remained chaste-- anyone who's met a teenager can tell you better than that-- but that ellyn-woman sexual activity is incapable of producing offspring.

This is extremely unusual, as the most obvious reason for sex-discriminant infertility is more likely to favor female humans than male humans. Human ova contain mitochondria, while human sperm consume their mitochondrial power for motility and do not confer mitochondrial DNA to their offspring. Either something is happening on an immune/cellular level, which would seem to conflict with our immunological theory of lethal adultery, or something is happening on the mechanical level-- something which is, perhaps, related to the transference of female immune material to the male partner.

Perhaps, to put it crudely, the ellyn just can't get it up.

In humans, the penis consists of several structures of erectile tissue which cradle the urethra between them. This specialized tissue is capable of interrupting venous return, creating penile engorgement and thus erection by trapping blood within the corpus cavernosum. This tissue is notoriously indiscriminant about stimuli, making it easy for male humans to ejaculate without even the participation of another human. Elves, on the other hand, can't even masturbate, an activity so universal among species with external genitalia that it's almost unimaginable for a species capable of poetry to be incapable of wanking. And yet human males can couple with elven females. This implies some weird-ass shit, so I suggest you pour yourself that drink right now.

Male elves achieve erection by external constriction. To have sex, they need some biological equivalent of a cock ring. Whether their penises are "innies" or just flaccid except during intercourse, they are incapable of restricting venous return on their own... and yet the elven vulva must be compatible to some degree with penetration, or else man/elleth coupling wouldn't produce offspring. One may, if one is willing to consider extreme possibilities, entertain the idea that the elven vulva may exhibit some mechanical trait that assists the ellyn in achieving erection by constriction, by restricting venous return through strangulation.

Something that would not put off human males universally, although it might make man/elleth couplings more rare and account for the relative scarcity of elf/human offspring.

Something that would make it impossible for an ellyn to penetrate a woman, or to achieve orgasm and ejaculation with a human female.

Something that would even allow the ellyn to contribute internal disposition of antibodies and B-cells reliably, potentially through urethral penetration of the penis.

The elvish vulva, my friends, consists of outer labia, inner labia, a vaginal vestibule opening on a penetrable vaginal canal, and a set of tentacles.

In elven intercourse, the vulval tentacles constrict and penetrate the flaccid penis, simultaneously permitting/inducing erection and depositing immune bodies deep in the genitourinary tract, most likely the bladder, where they can swim up the ureters to the renal anastomosis and infiltrate the bloodstream. The erect elvish penis is then able to deposit its genetic-- and immune-- material within the vagina. Human females, having no corollary to these tentacles, can arouse a male elf and even engage in non-PIV sexual activity, but can never obtain genetic material from male elves, and therefore no ellyn/woman pregnancies occur.

For human females, this means you can have a hot elf boyfriend that can never get you pregnant, but he's likely to leave you eventually for somebody who can actually get him off. Male elves probably got the fuck around in Middle-Earth, since they could chow down on human pussy for decades before settling down with a nice elleth who would get knocked up as soon as they exchanged fluids.

For human males, this means that you're totally capable of landing a hot lady elf, as long as you don't mind her tentacles crawling up your dick every time you shark her in the ass while she's asleep, and as long as you don't mind that she can totally cheat on you and in fact might have chosen to fuck you specifically because she can screw around behind your back without breaking out in a fatal case of hives.

Aragorn was one kinky-ass fucker.

And if you read all the way through this drunken, giggling spiel, the silicone elf dick you're looking for is of normal to generous proportion, but it's strangled up and down with simulated tentacles, or at least constricted by a really tight cock ring.

I thought way the fuck too much about this. I consulted the LACE about this. Fuck every last one of you for goading me into this nightmare of grisly overanalytic humiliation. I hope all your girlfriends catch you.