#detailing corpse classification

[nevertheless-moving]

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE DEMON OF YUNMENG

Chapter One/ AU Masterlist — Chapter Ten

Holy FUCK my pants are disgusting. 

It was an unpleasant thought to wake up to. But it was an even more unpleasant sensation.

Setting that aside for the time being, Wei Wuxian forced himself to his hands and knees, arching outward and inward to crack his back into something resembling normal shape. A vision assaulted him — Lan Zhan returning to the tent and catching him in this position. He had to stuff a fist into his mouth to hold back laughter at the following mental image of Hunguang-Jun mounting a clothed man and humping him like a beast until completion. 

Holy shit, he actually would, wouldn’t he? He would for sure be into that.

Wei Wuxian shook his head, refocusing. After a few more stretches, he began the painstaking process of peeling off his pants, wincing where it pulled at sensitive skin and hair. He did his best to scrape himself clean, but fucking hell he needed to bathe. Somewhere that Lan Zhan wouldn’t be tempted to look at his dick and inadvertently learn a secret that would require the Demon of Yunmeng to murder the Lightbearing Lord, something said demon really, really didn’t want to do. 

Ha! Even if I go off on his own, can I trust that Lan Zhan won’t follow to sneak a peek? 

The Honored Second Jade of Lan. Unable to resist peeping. He bit back another round of hysterical giggles. 

He hesitated getting dressed; Lan Zhan's pants looked like a decent enough fit — any minor extra length wouldn’t matter once he had boots on. But dried come was literally flaking off him. Not to mention the sweat. Reluctantly, he searched for one of his soiled pants from last night — just something to get him to the nearest stream. To his confusion, he couldn’t find any of his dirty clothing, just the clean Quinquin pouch. 

Annoyed, he pulled on his second to last clean pants and underrobe — way too nice for his current state and location.

“Oi, Lan Zhan!” he said, clamoring out of the tent. “Did you steal my underwear?”

Lan Wangji was pointedly silent.

It took him a moment longer than it should have to realize that the silence was actually not pointed; Lan Zhan simply wasn’t there.

He looked around more thoroughly, discovering that not only was Lan Zhan gone, but also his tent was missing, so that was a little disturbing. But he figured that Lan Zhan must have stolen it alongside his clothing for some currently inscrutable reason.

There was a bowl with a plate over it, resting on a suspiciously flat tree stump which he was fairly sure hadn’t been there yesterday. Lifting the plate revealed a steaming portion of brilliant red congee, along with what looked like two pheasant’s eggs poached on top. 

“What the fuck,” Wei Wuxian said outloud. Again, no one answered, but he did notice a note tucked into a crack in the wood, which he pulled out eagerly.

“River two Li Northeast.”

Wei Wuxian sank to the ground, resting on his heels and pressing the note to his forehead. He tried to imagine Lan Zhan’s line of thought. Did he consider writing something like “I made breakfast,” before discarding it as a waste of words? Or did communicating so frivolously sincerely never even cross his mind? Obviously, Lan Zhan had made spicy congee. And hunted down an egg and delicately cooked it. Who else would have done such a thing?

Quickly, he checked to make sure he hadn’t woken in an elaborate illusory trap.

Nope. 

Lifting the bowl revealed a warming talisman, which he had expected — what he hadn’t expected was for it to be one of his designs. Jiang Cheng had complained that his book of slightly more academic than practical talisman adjustments had barely sold enough copies to be worth the hassle of distribution, but he had also complained about him publishing too much on gui, so. 

He supposed he knew that Gusu Lan had always diligently purchased copies of his cultivation treatises, if only to decry them as heresy from an informed high horse before ritually burning them or whatever they did with such things. He hadn’t thought that Lan Zhan was particularly interested in talismanic arts, but he was a distinguished young master with a properly well rounded education.

Still, it was a little flattering. Really, the spellwork was objectively not worth the time it took to draw, but the food maintained significantly better texture than “standard” warming charms. 

Lacking any better plans, Wei Wuxian ate breakfast. It was pretty good. Not quite spicy enough, but very close. 

Since Lan Zhan hadn’t returned by the time he finished, he made his way to the river, opting to leave everything in the tent as it was because if the river had another under-informative note beside it he was going the fuck back to sleep.

When he finally found Lan Zhan, the man was meditating by the water’s edge, which was normal enough. What was strange was the washboard beside him and the  fabric strung delicately from lines that Lan Zhan must have been carrying around with him. 

No, wait, the lengths of cord aren’t strange — who the fuck carries a washboard around? Aren’t Lan robes spelled to look like that?

“You didn’t actually have to clean my underwear,” Wei Wuxian said, approaching.

“Taking responsibility,” Lan Zhan said, opening his eyes.

Wei Wuxian snorted. “If you say so.”

Lan Wangji rose, frowning at Wei Wuxian’s legs. “Will fetch this morning’s clothing.”

“Lan Zhan you don’t have to —” But he was already moving. Wei Wuxian just barely managed to grab his arm as he passed. “Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji stopped, looking at him. This close, the small height difference between them was a bit more noticeable, if only because Wei Wuxain was fairly unused to tilting his head back to talk with anybody.

���Ah —” he said, briefly distracted, before marshaling his exasperation. “If this is because of, you know, the stuff we did — you really don’t have to. Very willing participant and all that.”

Lan Zhan nodded solemnly.

“Washing my clothes isn’t actually your responsibility. That was a joke.”

“Mn.” 

Wei Wuxian let go, and Lan Zhan continued the way he was walking.

“I —” Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Zhan again, opened his mouth, then gave up; his dick was too itchy for this conversation. Maybe he likes cleaning? And… stealing bird’s eggs? “Fine, whatever, I’m going to go wash, I've got come practically glueing my legs together — you’re, uh, staying in this section of river, right?”

“Mn.”

He hesitated, but felt the need to ask again. “...You’re sure? No wandering up or downstream from here?”

Lan Wangji lowered his head.

“I mean if you say you won’t, I believe you, of course, just…” he trailed off weakly. 

“Will not dishonor Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji swore, looking up with golden eyes that were WAY too intense considering the frivolity of the subject matter. Unfortunately, that actually was the level of intensity he needed Lan Zhan to bring to the table on this particular promise.

“Right.” Wei Wuxian cleared his throat. Lan Zhan’s face was very close.

Very close.

//

 “I really need to bathe,” Wei Wuxian insisted hoarsely, pulling back from Lan Zhan’s mouth.

Lan Zhan’s throat bobbed as he nodded. His fingers released all at once from Wei Wuxian’s ass, then he disappeared back towards camp in a swirl of white.

Wei Wuxian pressed a hand to his face, allowing himself twenty seconds to just stand there breathing heavily before pushing his way downstream. 

Alright, Lan Zhan has to be the one who’s unusual here, not me, he thought mournfully. He came twice last night and once this morning, same as me! How is he hard again? I mean, I’m not not impressed but seriously! Chafing!

Mind gradually warming up to the day, he resolved not to spend overlong mulling over the cutsleeve stuff between him and Lan Zhan. Based on how the last few days had gone, there were even odds everything would dramatically change between them again by tomorrow morning. In any case, he had bigger things to worry about  — namely the trial that had started all this.

Even with an increasingly credible and scandalously appealing alternate story, there were a hundred different ways it still might come to a fight. And he wouldn’t ask Jiang Cheng to spend sect lives and honor defending him.

It was entirely possible that they were approaching the point where Jin sect would give up on subtlety in their quest to seize the Yin Tiger Tally; they might already be there, if it turned out this whole “conference” was just a trap to lure him into prepared killing grounds.

Unless he chose to run and leave behind this mess entirely — something he couldn’t quite bring himself to do while there was still a slim chance of returning home — he was walking into that tower. Into terrain that the Jin would have ample time to prepare against him.

He whistled idly — a few lost spirits perked up in the distance, but nothing strong enough to be worth the effort of hunting down and trapping. What he really needed was a proper unsanctified mass grave, or a powerful ghoul. 

Ooh, maybe if I finish that tracking tool? Where was I with that? Oh yeah, multiple sensitivities… okay, if i give up on distinguishing between types of resentful energy and just amplify power…

By the time he made it back to camp, he was so lost in his thoughts that he barely greeted Lan Zhan, opting instead to immediately spread out paper on the conveniently flat stump, frantically trying to get his thoughts down before he lost their pattern. He definitely meant to say something to him at some point, but then he had an idea for amplification riding off the connection between iron and dragon lines…

It wasn’t until he finished charming a shaved iron needle floating in a cup of tea that he realized he had no idea where the tea had come from.

Blinking, he looked around. Another crude yet level table had appeared to his right, already covered with paper. Damn, Did I miss Lan Zhan chopping down a tree? Again? He looked around. More tables. Ok, not all stumps — I missed Lan Zhan chopping up a tree. Maybe two. And also carrying the pieces around.

What the actual fuck, he thought, flummoxed. 

Sure, he had gotten into this sort of flow before, but to where he completely ignored his surroundings? Only behind a dozen layers of wards — an actual mo could have walked right up to him and cut his head off for all the attention he had been paying.

He stood, popping his fingers and cracking his back. Lan Zhan wasn’t far, seated on the ground a short walk away. He was doing something with his hands. Grinding ink. 

Wei Wuxian didn’t remember pausing to grind ink. Despite having clearly been writing for hours. And his fingers weren’t peeled open. So he obviously hadn’t absentmindedly started using blood.

His heart did something funny. 

Lan Zhan looked up.

“...I’m finished,” Wei Wuxian said, not sure where to begin with the tea and the tables and the ink  and the pants and the egg. “At least for now. I’ll need to pick up some decent copper for a casing. I guess I could use wood, but it wouldn’t maintain… anyway.”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan put down the inkstone. His fingers were stained black. Wei Wuxian looked down — his own hands were a lot worse, though the black of his robe did a lot to hide mess beyond that.

If we started making out right now it would be incredibly obvious where we grabbed each other, he thought.

“If we started making out right now it would be incredibly obvious where we grabbed each other,” he said.

The whites of Lan Wangji’s eyes ran red even as gold was edged out by black. 

“Wait, you can hold me up with no effort?” Wei Wuxian asked a minute or so later, heels wrapped around Lan Zhan’s back, Lan Zhan’s hands forming a seat with no apparent strain, and apparently enough extra energy to do a fair amount of pinching. 

“Mn,” Lan Wangji confirmed, switching to one hand to show off, which incidentally settled more of Wei Wuxian’s weight onto a few spread out points across his ass.

“Ngh,” Wei Wuxian said, as Lan Zhan used his now free hand to work at a somewhat tangled red hair ribbon. “Wait, I had a point — so tha — aa — at means you didn’t even nEED to pin me against things! You just did it because you wanted to!” 

“Frees my hands,” Lan Zhan argued reasonably.

“Yeah but think about it —” Wei Wuxian said, as Lan Zhan walked them towards the tent. “You didn’t even have to wait until I was up in that tree to tackle me, back at the hunt! You could have just grabbed me and held me up in the air like this.”

Lan Zhan froze. “Shameless!” he hissed through clenched teeth. Down below his cock jumped, nudging at Wei Wuxian’s ass somewhat left of center.

Wei Wuxian cackled. “Oh man! Does that always happen when you call me shameless?! If I had sat in your lap back when I was studying at cloud recesses would we have figured this out a lot sooner?”

Lan Zhan finished pulling the ribbon free, and Wei Wuxian felt his hair fall down on his shoulders.

“Not…always.” 

Wei Wuxian cackled some more.

Did Lan Zhan’s eyes soften? Wait, was that an honest, intentional joke?

“I knew you were funny,” Wei Wuxian crowed, delighted.

//

Yunmeng Zhi Mo sat leaning against a tree, watching with amusement as Hunguang-Jun methodically worked mostly white pants along a washboard. 

“You know you really don’t have to do that.”

“Mn.”

“I mean we’re even on orgasms, aren’t we? I feel like things are pretty fair, as far as that’s concerned.”

“Mn.”

“Lan Zhan, I’m serious,” he said, exasperated. “Grinding my ink — cleaning my clothing— you’ve been acting super weird since we started, you know. Why are you doing all this stuff for me?”

Lan Zhan dunked the cloth in the water. “Want to,” he finally said, not turning around. The back of his ears were pink.

Wei Wuxian sighed heavily, rolling his eyes.

I guess this is what happens when someone that repressed gets to start having orgasms, he thought ruefully. He’ll get over it once the novelty wears off. Probably. 

“Oh!” he said, snapping his fingers. “Did you pack my tent?”

“Mn.”

“Why?”

“...Wanted to be ready to travel.”

“Okay…” he said slowly, eyeing the clothing on the line.

“Dried it first,” Lan Zhan added, misreading the look.

Wei Wuxian blinked. “Dried? What, you actually wasted spiritual energy on that?”

“Not waste. Prevents mold.”

“I —” Wei Wuxian laughed. “Alright, thanks I guess?”

“No need.”

“But you strung up clotheslines for our pants, because…”

“More delicate fabric.”

“Right, sure, but why — you know, whatever, it doesn't matter. How do you feel about detouring a bit towards Chang'an? One of the trade towns that direction should have some decent metals.”

“...Not the way to Carp Tower.”

“How long would it take you to fly us to Lanling, if you went fast? At most it would be a few hours from here, right?”

“Mn.”

“So why bother rushing! Worse comes to worse, we can leave the night before. I don’t want to stay in that snakepit any longer than I have to, and I strongly suspect the feeling is mutual."

Wei Wuxian paused, grimacing at the idea of actually showing up early for this thing.

"I’m not saying we shouldn’t generally move that direction," he added quickly. "To be on the safe side, and its probably not a great idea for us to be spotted flying all over the place together — I think the element of surprise will work best to avoid giving the Jin too much time to prepare —  but, anyway, my point is — wouldn’t you rather spend the next couple weeks enjoying ourselves while we prepare for the shitshow?”

Lan Zhan glanced back, eyes raking up and down Wei Wuxian’s body.

“...Mn.”

Prev (Chapter Ten) MDZS AU Masterlist Next (Chapter 12)

[into-the-fraymotif]

hey hey ! i saw that queue was empty and figured i'd yeet another request your way, i hope you had fun writing the last one that is still currently in your inbox while i'm writing this x)

This one is a pretty big group attack, i know this one will take more time, but it's also gonna be awesome so it balances out

Knight of light + *Thief of Time + Witch of Space + Sylph of hope + Seer of Blood + Prince of Doom

i imagine the *thief is very chill and doesn't have much of a party-breaker personality, figured i'd clarify since it affects the fraymotif

Thank you for your time! i look forward to seeing what you do with this one

Alright, I figure I should clarify some things about what I've dubbed partybreakers. It's less of a "the partybreaker player engages with the Fraymotif in XYZ ways," and more like "this Fraymotif has XYZ qualities, which makes it a 'partybreaker.'" So not all Thief Fraymotifs would result in a partybreaker, it's just that a Fraymotif that has themes of wielding your teammates as weapons (/neg) and/or treating your teammates as obstacles or indiscriminately to the Targets of the Fraymotif. It's sort of hard to explain as it is kind of arbitrary, but the gist is that 'partybreaker' is an informal classification of Fraymotif, and not a component of them. Hopefully that makes any amount of sense lol.

Subito Subtleties of a Grave Scherzo

Knight of Light [one who protects and protects through information, relevance, and fortune] + Thief of Time [one who steals and steals through time, change, and activity] + Seer of Blood [one who knows and knows through bonds, connections, and sacrifice] + Prince of Doom [one who destroys and destroys through death, decay, and finality] + Witch of Space [one who manipulates and manipulates through space, creation, and passivity] + Sylph of Hope [one who heals and heals through beliefs, ideals, and positive emotion]

Subito (suddenly; sudden) + Subtleties (details that are subtle) + Grave (triple entendre meaning something deadly, the place where a corpse is buried, and from italian "Grave" meaning solemn, indicating an excruciatingly slow tempo) + Scherzo (a short orchestral piece of music)

The Knight and Sylph begin by creating a cognitohazard that the Seer ensures only spreads through the targets. The Knight protects their allies through exploiting the flow of information, and the Sylph floods the targets with false beliefs that everything is great and that they are gaining the upper hand. While the targets are all making a quick jaunt through pyroland, the Prince cleaves through the targets, inflicting a sort of miasma that the targets are unable to be aware of.

The Thief makes use of this by stealing the targets' futures from them, and that along with the Witch containing the Prince and Thief's havoc to a specific area of effect, causes the targets to rapidly begin to decay and deteriorate. The Seer directs this by giving the Witch the focus to exempt the Prince from the affected area, as well as the Seer, Sylph, and Knight working to prevent and mend any leakage of the Prince's wanton destruction from affecting the rest of the party, if and when it happens. The Witch collapses the Space around the targets, slamming them together, which ends up clearing any statuses the party had caused.

This party actually works well together, especially if the Prince knows the difference between destroying their aspect and destroying through their aspect. Also I have no clue what the Thief would do with all that stolen Time, so have fun dealing with their following shenanigans lol

Thanks for your patience!

[methaler]

NAGOYA-KEI: All Possible Bands

Resume:

Nagoya kei is a visual kei subgenre, mainly focusing on bands from Nagoya, Japan, which emerged primarily between 1993 and 2004. It is characterized by a dark, theatrical, and melancholic style, influenced by Kuroyume and positive punk.

Key characteristics include:

Aesthetics: A "subtractive" visual with a focus on black and white and a sickly makeup appearance, less elaborate than kote kei.

Origins: The subgenre was heavily influenced by the band Kuroyume.

Scene Growth: Developed around companies like noir and the livehouse MUSIC FARM.

Musicality: Inspired by positive punk and GASTUNK, featuring a sludgy, bass-forward sound in the second wave.

Periods: Had a first wave that ended around 1996 and a second wave starting in 1998, with bands like kein and Phobia.

Nagoya kei is considered a style that ended around 2004, although some bands continue to follow this aesthetic. more details at: https://vk.gy/blog/what-is-nagoya-kei/

Based on vk.gy, I tried to compile all possible Nagoya-kei bands into a playlist, remembering that they were classified by the users themselves, some of which may not have the same characteristics, just because they were formed in Nagoya. Another observation is that some bands have more than one VK classification, not being Nagoya-kei only.

Bands I couldn't find on YouTube: Baccarat, barby, BLAIR, CHRONICLE (クロニクル), CORPSE ANOTHER PERSON, Corpse Corps, Diza Wä・re, dizarray, Duty, Ea -Visual Diversity-, HEROINE, LOA-ROAR, Lunatic Maria, Mellzoviey (メルゾヴィ), Mephisto (魂爵惑), Mirror, Miss☆Tea☆Blue, NAVIS, Ne:LiMiT, nord, OBLAAT, ЯEVIVAL, Roses., Shelley, SICK, SILU(:)ÉT, the Abyss, Tragus., UNDEAD, VEIRL, ZILD.

[dr-octavio-kalev]

ANM-021: "I'm a doctor, trust me"

"Do not say that the plague still ravages the old port."

Subject Classification: H-01-021

Damage Type: Immunological 🟢

Danger Level: MODERATE 🟠

Anomaly Type: Humanoid

Discovery Classification: Captured (01)

Department: Middle Zone

Responsible Researcher: Dr. Edmundo

Identification: "I'm a doctor, trust me"

Containment: ANM-021 must be contained in a standard humanoid containment cell in the middle zone of the MOTHRA Institution, located below the main hall, which directly leads to the exit of the underground base MOTHRA 4LPHA. ANM-021 must be communicated with cordially and formally before any transport attempt, unless it shows emotional irritability, in which case it must be sedated and transported.

While ANM-021 is generally cooperative and friendly with most Foundation personnel, he can become particularly irritated or sometimes aggressive if he feels he is in the presence of what he calls the "Prague." Although the exact nature of this plague is currently unknown to the Institution's researchers, it appears to be related to some type of tropical endemic disease in Brazil, especially the bubonic plague, which invaded Rio de Janeiro in the 1900s, brought by traveling sailors.

ANM-021 will become hostile towards individuals he perceives as being affected by the disease, often having to be restrained if he encounters such individuals. If left uncontrolled, ANM-021 will generally attempt to kill any individual.

Important Note: The individual, Dr. Oswaldo, carries syringes that can be highly harmful to humans and living beings. Caution is recommended when interacting with him.

To facilitate the continuous containment of the individual, the entity must be provided with the corpse of a recently deceased prisoner at least once every two weeks for study. Corpses that become instances of ANM-021 must be removed from ANM-021's containment cell and incinerated.

Description: ANM-021 is a humanoid entity, approximately 1.76 meters tall, that has the exact appearance of Oswaldo Cruz, considered the greatest sanitarian in Brazil. He identifies himself as Dr. Oswaldo Cruz and potentially is indeed the same.

H-01-021 originally speaks Portuguese (Brazilian, with a certain imperial accent and mannerism), also speaks Spanish, English, German and French, and generally has the habit of mixing the languages. The "Prague" he refers to seems to be related to some type of tropical endemic disease in Brazil, such as yellow fever, malaria, or leishmaniasis. Or, as mentioned above, the bubonic plague that affected Rio de Janeiro.

ANM-021 claims to be a doctor seeking to save Rio from the plague, referring to himself as "The Savior of Rio." The subject carries a bear leather doctor's bag containing various surgical instruments and chemicals of unknown origin and composition.

[[collapsible show="+ Open Equipment List" hide="- Close List"]]

### Equipment List with ANM-021

#### In the Bag:

1. Antique Leather Medical Bag:

- Scalpel: Finely sharpened surgical knife.

- Saw: Manual saw for cutting bone.

- Forceps: A set of five forceps of various sizes.

- Hemostats: For clamping blood vessels.

- Retractors: To keep incisions open.

- Sample Vials: For tissue or blood samples.

2. Syringes with Lethal Liquids:

- Syringe A: Transparent liquid causing paralysis and cardiac arrest.

- Syringe B: Green liquid causing rapid tissue necrosis.

3. Vials with Unidentified Chemicals:

- Vial 1: Blue liquid labeled "Antidote?"

- Vial 2: Red powder, a potent sedative.

- Vial 3: Yellow gas causing temporary blindness and disorientation.

4. Medical Reference Book: Filled with notes on medical procedures and the plague, as well as detailed anatomical drawings. ANM-021 seems to have encoded the entire book, making it readable only by him.

5. Dressings and Bandages: Rolls of sterile bandages and dressings.

6. Small Mortar and Pestle: For grinding herbs and mixing compounds.

#### On the Body:

1. Leather Gloves: For handling dangerous substances.

2. Dark Medical Coat dated from the 19th century

- Small Notebook: Containing various names of people and some historical figures.

- Set of Pen and Pencil.

- Fine-Tipped Tweezers.

- Small Scalpel: For quick use.

3. Antique Stethoscope: Used for "diagnosing."

4. Golden Pocket Watch.

5. Extra Syringes:

- Syringe C: Purple liquid inducing a coma-like state.

- Syringe D: Black liquid causing hallucinations and psychosis, capable of reviving vital functions post-mortem.

6. Herb Pouches: Containing lavender, chamomile, and mint.

#### Additional Notes:

- Anomalous Surgical Mask: Protects against airborne pathogens and increases immunity.

[[/collapsible]]

The individual frequently attempts to perform operations on those he deems sick, which involve opening the chest and injecting a green solution into the heart. This operation typically results in the subject's death, after which they are reanimated as an instance of ANM-021-2.

ANM-021-2 instances are reanimated corpses that have undergone surgery by H-01-021. They appear to retain little or no memory of their previous lives and are completely loyal to Dr. Oswaldo. They have never attacked anyone unless ordered by ANM-021, in which case they can follow his commands. These instances show no signs of decomposition or rigor mortis but exhibit pale skin and lifeless eyes. They do not seem to feel pain or emotion and do not require food, water, or air to survive. They are susceptible to physical damage and can be neutralized by conventional means.

Oswaldo considers 021-2 as his "cured patients" and expresses great pride and satisfaction in his work, claiming they are free from the plague and superior to normal humans. He seems to have a final goal of "curing" all of humanity of the plague by turning everyone into 021-2 instances. He shows hostility toward anyone who attempts to impede or question his methods and believes he is performing a service to humanity.

Interview conducted between ANM-021 and Colonel Antônio Bento, transcription follows below:

(The colonel enters ANM-021's containment. Dr. Oswaldo is seated with legs crossed, reading a book, with an ANM-021-2 instance standing behind him as an sort of security guard. Dr. Oswaldo signals for the colonel to sit.)

Antônio Bento: Dr. Oswaldo Cruz, may I ask you some questions?

ANM-021: Certainly, my comrade. I am all ears.

Antônio Bento: First, I would like to know more about your activities. You consider yourself a doctor, correct?

ANM-021: Ah, yes, I am a dedicated doctor. But... I cannot sit idly by while Rio is destroyed by the prague.

Antônio Bento: It is necessary... you wouldn't understand.

ANM-021: I know you are a "hero of the people," comrade. You also care about our people. Do you not? Yet you keep me here.

Antônio Bento: Hm... what are you reading?

ANM-021: Communist Manifesto.

Antônio Bento: Can you tell me more about your method of "curing"?

ANM-021: My method is simple, yet effective. I perform an operation to remove the prague from the hearts of the afflicted. A special solution is injected, purifying them.

Antônio Bento: I see. But what about the victims? They don't survive your intervention, do they?

ANM-021: Unfortunately, some do not survive. But it is a necessary sacrifice to save Rio. They are reborn free from the plague, as my loyal cured patients.

Antônio Bento: So, you believe your actions are justified, even if they result in people's deaths?

ANM-021: Absolutely. I am doing a service to humanity. The prague must be eradicated, no matter the cost.

Antônio Bento: I understand your perspective, Mr. Oswaldo. But the Institution sees your actions as a public safety threat.

ANM-021: The Institution is blind to the truth, colonel, listen to my words. You are as imprisoned here as I am. You can free yourself from this prison, free us, and free Rio. The Institute does not comprehend the magnitude of what I am trying to achieve.

Antônio Bento: I understand. Well... in that case... I don't know...

Intercom: Colonel Antônio Bento. Please exit ANM-021's containment. The interview is concluded for now.

Antônio Bento: I have to go now, Oswaldo.

>End of transcription.

Addendum 021-BR-1.1: Discovery History

ANM-021 was first discovered on ██/██/19██, in a small village in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, after the end of one of Oswaldo Cruz's last sanitary campaigns against the bubonic plague and the disappearance of the same. The cabin was filled with various papers, notes, and pamphlets stuck to the walls, and Oswaldo was in a clear state of insanity and madness. ANM-021 was surrounded by several 021-2 instances, which attacked Institution agents. After a brief confrontation, all were contained and transported to the middle zone. The cabin was set on fire, and all witnesses were administered Class B amnestics.

During interrogation, ANM-021 revealed that he had spent the last few months traveling through Brazil, looking for sick people and trying to cure them. He also mentioned encountering several other ANMs during his journey, some of whom he considered allies and others he viewed as enemies. He refused to give more details about these ANMs, saying they were "confidential matters" in an ironic manner.

>End of record.

[spontaneousglitterbees]

Here’s a hell of a theory about Undertale/Deltarune that’s probably wrong, but like. Imagine. (Spoilers for Undertale and the first two chapters of Deltarune)

Papyrus and Sans aren’t literal brothers. They’re dancestors.

Basically a spinoff theory after watching some JaruJaruJ and HalfBreadChaos videos: the idea is that Sans is from the Deltarune universe (given he and other Deltarune monsters, since they have no magic but still have bodies and per an unused Susie sprite, bleed), and in that game he only refers to “my brother”. Starting from the presumption this is an intentional detail, plus the description in Undertale that Papyrus is “Forgettable” in possible reference to the Goner dialogue (tl;dr: “what if everything was exactly the same, except you didn’t exist”) you arrive at the thought that, since we haven’t seen him in Deltarune yet, Papyrus just. Doesn’t exist there. We aren’t going to meet Papyrus, because he isn’t in Deltarune at all.

But what if that’s not it?

Papyrus dusts if you kill him in Undertale. He is pretty blatantly made of magic, and the river person brings up the “man from the other world”, no Papyrus attached. It is not unreasonable to imagine Papyrus is native to the Undertale timeline/universe. But every other major and supporting character in Undertale seems to have some kind of parallel in Deltarune, making Papyrus a deliberate exception. So: what if he, a skeleton of unclear origin with no defined family, is fulfilling the same “niche” as Sans? Or, in so many words, Papyrus is who Sans would have been were he from the Undertale universe? Homestuck, a series Toby Fox did music for pretty prolifically, has a very similar concept in “dancestors” where there are mirrored counterparts of a character in two different versions of their universe (an initial universe, and one after a ��reset’ of a reality-warping video game) where the initial character’s ancestor takes their role in the other world and vice-versa (being a pair of descendant/ancestor). Something inexact but similar could be going on here.

I think that has very interesting implications for what the skelebros are, what they represent, and how they link to eachother. Each is the only skeleton monster we know of from their respective universe, making each fundamentally lonely. Smashing together some ideas from Undertale fanon circa-2015, if the skeletons are some variety of experiment by Gaster (thus Sans’ Gaster blasters, among other things), that could exacerbate the feelings of not fitting anywhere or really belonging, since they’d likely have no roots or peers, hence seeming to drift into (Hometown and Snowdin). The nature of that experiment can also explain why the two of them are far more different from one another in appearance and personality than any other “alternate versions” between universes: a sub-theory I’m not fully committed to but partially considering is the skelebros are kind of a Frankenstein situation for Gaster, where a human skeleton acts as a base for an artificial Monster; the two could, in that case, just have come from two different corpses. Whether that comes to pass or not, I think there’s a bigger reason at play.

I’m torn on whether this will be text or just metatext, but it seems on-brand for the nuance here to be both: these experiments, the skeleton brothers, are reflections of the world(s) they’re from. Papyrus embodies the gentle kindness that is integral to Undertale, and Sans is equipped to cope with harm and hardship, emotionally and circumstantially. IIRC Asriel has lines at the end of the Pacifist route about how not all worlds are like Undertale’s, and not every conflict can be resolved just by talking things out-- bringing attention to the way there isn’t really malice in Undertale’s world. It’s idealistic where Deltarune isn’t exactly cynical, but has potential for more nuanced and varied morality (see: the “weird” route, a lack of good/bad classifications and, reportedly, endings; see also my thought that the Shadow Crystals you collect in Deltarune show you not the truth or a parallel universe in a literal sense, but instead show you your own fears and anxieties realized: thus a Susie looking at Kris derisively when shes demonstratively friendly towards them, Kris seeing through their hand in a kind of dissociation esp seeing as they aren’t always in control of their own body bc of the player, etc.) and those themes turn Sans into a more complicated figure, moralistically. One less willing to trust people, one who is necessarily guarded upon first meeting people because he’s been burned before where Papyrus just isn’t. Paps is from Undertale; there was never a need to get defensive.

JaruJaruJ’s latest video (about UTDR and blood) brings up the idea that Sans may have taken the time-and-space warping machine we see in his shed in Undertale as a means by which to escape some stable time-loop around The Roaring. Imagine with me a scenario where kind, trusting, lonely Papyrus (potentially one without as much confidence or bravado to him without someone there to believe in him, yet) sees someone like him for the first time. Someone he doesn’t need to worry about impressing, or maybe someone he doesn’t even think to impress because they’re just like me, they look like me, and they’re on their own, too, and that Papyrus does not think twice before helping him up. It seems very in-character to me that, even knowing it’s beyond improbable that it’s literally true, Papyrus would decide that this new strange friend of his isn’t just his friend, but his ‘brother’, they’re family now. And cynical Sans, who (metaphorically speaking) always keeps one eye open sees the first person to greet him in this new and strange frontier doesn’t have ulterior motives, that there is no ‘catch’ to his companionship, but in a turn of events there is just an unconditional acceptance of him beyond anything he could rationalize, at first. It makes some sense with how protective Sans is of Papyrus: after all, it’s the Undertale universe. Who, except maybe Flowey and the player, is out to take advantage of his brother’s naivete? It could just be a result of remembering other timelines and the player specifically, sure, but if Sans is from Deltarune that focuses the context on who he is as a person more than the circumstances around him. Sans sees something valuable in how the Undertale world treats people, an underlying positivity he himself cannot achieve, and the will with which he tries to protect it becomes more powerful, at least imo, if he is not of that world and it chose to accept him anyway. It makes him feel similar to the player, in that sense, where you want to protect what is good there because the reality you’re accustomed to is unlike it. I think if Papyrus just started calling Sans his brother, one day, he’d probably just accept it as the kindest thing anyone’s ever done for him. If it wasn’t true before, it is by the time they move to Snowdin together.

Potential bonus idea, the shopkeep in Undertale implies the skelebros moved into town recently (compared to Frisk’s arrival), but like. What if Papyrus, the “forgettable”, lived there alone before, and just nobody took notice of his presence until his brother helped boost his confidence? 

Either way, I think Sans probably played lab assistant more than Papyrus, but Papyrus probably knows more than he’s letting on as well. There’s potential that, similarly to Homestuck, there’s ambiguity in how Gaster fits into all of this and how that meshes timelines together. I almost think Gaster may have been from Undertale and been less than a stand-up guy (not evil, probably, but more like a Prometheus bringing ill-intent and moral complexity to the Underground, hence his motif of 6′s as the closest the Underground gets to a devil figure), made Papyrus, and, when he fell into the Core, had some semblance of himself end up in Deltarune to make the equivalent Sans (and mess with Spamton over the phone, among other things).

As for Deltarune!Sans’ “brother”? Unclear. If Sans is maybe a bit more directly involved with Gaster than Papyrus (in a ‘keep your enemies closer’ sort of way) his ‘brother’ may be another experiment or associate of Gaster’s. The Vessel fits into that role somewhat, thus why Kris and the player can’t hang out with them (they appear to be stuck in the game’s code for now, however that manifests in-game) but that would then gender the Vessel. It’s possible that A) Sans has not actually met the Vessel, but only knows of their existence and at this point sardonically remarks about just the idea of having family to Kris (so we see character development from him in reverse order?) or B) since the Vessel was discarded prior to Chapter 1 shortly after their creation, they then took on an independent identity and adopted he/him pronouns with it regardless of the player’s intent (trans rights). Possibly both! I think if it is the Vessel it’s probably that Toby wrote in ‘brother’ to stay consistent since ‘sibling’ or something like it would be too conspicuous. It’s very speculative, but would probably throw a lot of people for a loop while keeping some narrative satisfaction intact (plus, paralleling Papyrus again with contrast between a strong bond with chosen may-as-well-be-blood family and potential for less-than-amiable family that is functionally the same level of ‘blood family’ but feels more obligatory due to shared circumstances, highlighting the difference the kindness Papyrus represents can make).

Idk you’ve heard of Sans is Ness I raise you one Sans is Papyrus

[touhoulostword-journal]

Blue Goodbyes | Artist: Yumeno Rote

Story 1 "Vile and ludicrous is the sight of the fake tomb and stage made from the corpses of the gods." "Truth" so often is vile and ludicrous, both in the human world and in the gods' world. How wonderful it would be if you could clearly define what is real from what is fake. sigh I'm sorry for complaining. Won't you listen to me a little before you go? It would help take my mind off things. I don't know whether to call Kanako Yasaka one half of me, my partner, or me in a different form… On second thought, I am her and she is me. That's all that needs to be said. In contrast to her, I have a man's name and am a god who features in tales of great bravery. (That's why they are included in the Nishin Yakudaku myths that detail the agreement between Amaterasu and Ame no Koyane.) I heard people like you are referred to as marebito. I can't say I know much about them, so I'm afraid I can't help you on that front.

Story 2 It seems that the Child of Miare is of the opinion that divine spirits should be clearly distinguished from the Yaoyorozu no Kami. But supposedly, her method for doing so was not entirely the same as the half-youkai antique store owner's. …Why do I know those two, you ask? The Child of Miare is the reincarnation of Hieda no Are, is she not? So it's only natural that I know of her. As for the antique store owner, he's one of those youkai who can read the memories of tools, correct? I heard about him from a god who resides in tools since, while I might not look it, I'm also a god with a fairly deep connection to tools. There are other methods for dividing the gods, such as into the Kunitsukami and Amatsukami or the native gods and the foreign gods, but these, too, fail to make clear distinctions. There will always be those who exist on the border, as well as those whose classification differs depending on the situation and conditions you apply. Even the old, outdated gods are complex and intriguing.

Story 3 Divine spirits are said to be ghosts that have attained divinity, as well as the deceased form of those who have become gods. However, fully-realized desire spirits, which originate from humans, and mere god spirit fragments, such as "bunrei", are also known as divine spirits. A singular explanation on this topic does not exist. It may be possible to refer to all spirits that acquire faith as divine spirits. The spirit and the body are opposites, but since divine spirits can possess false corporeal bodies, just as ghosts can, finding a solid definition may be challenging. Using ghosts as a reference point to explain divine spirits could lead you to believe that divine spirits are all gods who were once human. This is because only humans can become ghosts. However, bunrei, natural spirits, and the souls of animals and plants could also be considered as types of divine spirits that, despite not being human, act as if they were. For now, I shall state that both ways of thinking are possible, and neither is wrong…

Story 4 Yaoyorozu no Kami are gods who retain their original power from before they were named… Or so it is often thought. Divine spirits may or may not be included in this definition, with there being explanations for both schools of thought. The explanation as to why they wouldn't be included exists because a significant portion of the famed divine spirits were once human. Humans who become gods basically cannot avoid having names. This is because, given an absence of extenuating circumstances, it's impossible for a praised and respected human not to have a name. With that being the case, Yaoyorozu no Kami, who are not restricted by names and possess almost all of their original power, seem more likely to be gods who were not former humans, or gods whose time as humans lies in the distant past. The layering of history is a purifying force… Some gods may acquire strength by having their names forgotten. But things are slightly complicated by the fact that, if their names are forgotten, faith in them dwindles. This means that a clean distinction, such as "divine spirits are personal gods and Yaoyorozu no Kami are natural gods," cannot be made. In fact, it may be safer to assume "Yaoyorozu no Kami" refers to a diverse group of gods beyond count.

Story 5 "With the gods in Heaven, all is well on Earth." That's likely an example of a theory from the outside world about the existence of gods. Setting aside the necessity for faith, perhaps the gods would be happy with humans thinking that way about them. But that's not the case when it comes to the relationship between gods. Through the spacetime of culture, gods are connected―at times, loosely, and at others, rigidly. The hall of worship is like a shrine's entrance hall. The gods don't live there, but they will appear there when the bell is rung for them. It's also the perfect place to invite new gods in. The gods actually reside in a place called the inner sanctuary. Shrines that appear not to have an inner sanctuary are often built in front of mountains or the like. That mountain then serves as the inner sanctuary, or may even be the god the shrine was built to worship. Speaking of which, Kanako lives on a mountain, not in an inner sanctuary, right? And that mountain isn't behind the hall of worship but in front. I guess she does as she pleases. Everything was made of shintai to form a spiritual structure that is far too special. It's almost like Noah's Ark. But if that's the case, then we are both the planks used to build the arc, as well as the animals that boarded it. That would make the arc's main engine none other than Kanako Yasaka.

[coochiequeens]

Not only was a male allowed in a women’s prison he was given a female cellmate. And the male as a history of “Cole has had other felony convictions dating back to 2012, including for robbery, DOMESTIC BATTERY and receiving stolen property.”

Reduxx has obtained details on the identity of the trans-identified detainee who is alleged to have sexually assaulted a female inmate while in custody at the Justice Center in Hamilton County, Ohio.

On January 4, FOX 19 reported that the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) was investigating an alleged rape that had taken place between two detainees at the county jail. The perpetrator was described as a trans-identified male who had been sharing a cell with the female detainee. The HCSO had the male detainee listed as a “female” for the purposes of their classification.

While neither parties were named by FOX 19, Reduxx has now learned the identity of the alleged perpetrator after speaking with the Sheriff’s Office. 

Michael Cole, also known as Michelle, was in the Justice Center awaiting trial after having been deemed a “violator at large” by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Cole had escaped a local halfway house and had been placed in custody after being located by authorities. 

Cole has a lengthy criminal history spanning multiple states, and a perplexing track record of court documents referring to him both by male and female pronouns. 

In 2011, Cole was charged in Indiana for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, or drunk driving, and was to serve time at Steuben County Jail. The next year, Cole was indicted as a fugitive in Ohio, and later appeared in Indiana’s Steuben Circuit Court for his failure to return to lawful detention following his drunk driving charges. He was sentenced to serve time at a local county jail. According to a Cleveland.com report, Cole has had other felony convictions dating back to 2012, including for robbery, domestic battery and receiving stolen property. 

In 2017, Cole and his then-fiancée were indicted on charges related to the 2016 murder of another trans-identified male Cole had met through a “transgender support group” on Facebook. The victim, Brandon aka Brandi Bledsoe, had agreed to meet with Cole in person for drinks at a local bar in Akron, Ohio on the night of October 7, 2016. 

The next day, Bledsoe’s body was found dumped in the driveway of a residence in Cleveland’s east side. The victim was described as “wearing only underwear and had white plastic bags covering [his] head and both hands,” according to police reports. The corpse was found by a 5-year-old boy while he and his 12-year-old brother were out riding their bicycles. The victim died of a gunshot wound to the chest, but the medical examination also indicated trauma to the head.

Court documents from Cuyahoga County, where the murder took place, were very carefully worded and suggested some confusion as to what pronouns to use to reference Cole. At the time, it was reported that Cole “[did] not exclusively identify as a man or a woman.”  

Cole was then sentenced in 2018 to serve six years in prison for the charges of tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, and gross abuse of a corpse. The charges for aggravated murder and two felonious assaults were nullified. Presiding judge Pamela Barker referred to Cole with “his/her” pronouns and stated that the “defendant is a transgender individual,” but official court documents still listed his gender as male and he was initially sent to serve his sentence at Lorain Correctional Institution for men.

At some point during his detention, Cole was transferred to a women’s institution. 

Reduxx found that a 2020 letter from Cuyahoga County Court denying Cole’s motion for judicial release was addressed to the Dayton Correctional Institution, a facility which houses female inmates.

Following the January 4 rape allegations, Cole was moved from the Hamilton County’s jail back into the custody of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Despite being booked as a male under his male name, Cole is at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW), a female facility. Reduxx received confirmation from the ORW that Cole arrived to the facility on January 6 and is currently pending a returned violation hearing.

An ODRC spokeswoman had previously confirmed that Cole is being housed in the infirmary and is separated from the general population at the women’s prison. He will be at this facility serving the remainder of “a sentence that expires soon.” Cole’s expected release date for the 2018 charges associated with the murder of Brandi Bledsloe is Monday, January 30, 2023, but as the investigation into the alleged rape continues, he may face new charges in coming weeks.

Following the alleged January 4 rape, the victim immediately reported what had happened to a corrections officer. She stated that she had woken up to Cole’s hand over her mouth in an apparent effort to silence her during the ordeal. She was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center to be examined by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.

While Cole reportedly told detectives it was not “physically possible” that he could have raped the woman, court documents reportedly containing photos of “male genitalia” were obtained by investigators. Cole also told detectives that his “classification” had been sorted out at the state level, and that he was a “female.”

By Yuliah Alma Yuliah is a junior researcher and journalist at Reduxx. She is a passionate advocate for women's rights and child safeguarding. Yuliah lives on the American east coast, and is an avid reader and book collector.

[obliviouskind]

Folktales

---

---

Disclaimer: Current day Sinnoh does not follow, nor believe, in the tales listed below anymore – only its culture lingers within its population. This is considered a dead faith.

---

Before Orthism became widespread upon Sinnohan land, there was a faith which was less about worship, and more about the stories passed down and told. The myths of the land, the richness of the creatures within it. The belief that those closest to God lingered among them. In modern terminology, these creatures are either considered to be mere legends - or are considered to be abnormalities of nature. From Brook Horses, to Trolls; every imaginable horror of which could scare children away from wandering too far off their farms has been passed down by word of mouth, and left vast parts of the population fearful of the unknown. 

To this day, these stories linger on - most commonly seen within novels, though they are known to be used for teaching children how to count, sing, and write. There are, of course, still those who hold on to these superstitions. Or, at the very least, behave as though they do.

They may warn you to be extra careful, when wandering near creeks. --Below, there will be a list of the most notable beasts of which have been most commonly affiliated with these myths throughout the ages - from God’s unlike those most commonly praised now, to those whose coloring left them with a bad lot in life... 

It is important to note, however, that all tales come from somewhere… Be it from fear, or truth. A certain someone, certainly, came to take them as the latter - though that is a story for a different time...

---

FIRSTBORN

Regigigas and His Descendants

Before Time, there was Space. Before Space, there was Time and before either - there was a Titan known only as Regigigas. The very first soul to have been created by Arceus’s quiet palms, molded out of rock and soil for one purpose, and one purpose only. To die had been his destiny - and within his corpse, life would begin to flourish.  Regigigas is said to be the forefather of all life on earth. He is the very soil that one walks upon, the very mountains that one climbs and at his core, hidden deep in snow, thrums the temple of which keeps his heart closed. 

After his origins, the Giants who came after became associated with the chaos of antiquity and the wild, untamed forces of nature - most notably: Regice, Registeel and Regirock. Described as behemoths who could throw boulders several miles and who left traces in the landscape in the form of giant pots, moving blocks and burial mounds – it was no wonder that their reputation was one of hostility to the highest degree. Both to humanity, just as well as the highest of cultivations. However, though large and strong creatures - they weren't exactly… savages. Known to be able to take the shapes of humans, they could be clumsy, as well as silly. Evil, as well as insidious though sometimes, too, magical and wise. Giants have been said to have been the teachers of humanity, as well as the malevolent. 

Time and Space are depicted as the most notable of companions for these Giants and are even said, in certain tales, to have mothered numerous of their offspring throughout the ages. In current times, the presence of Giants are seen as non-existent - if not entirely gone. The aforementioned trio could be considered the last ones standing, if even that, and for those who still hold these beliefs dear; it's a sign of doomsday, and nothing less. 

(In Snowpoint, the old tradition of proposing using a necklace embellished with Registeel’s Smithing Hammer, rather than a ring, still lives on.)

---

TROLL Shiny and ‘Neutral’ Snover/Abomasnow

The word ‘Troll’ has been a descriptor whose meaning has changed over time. In modern terminology, ‘Troll’ mostly has found its footing in relation to one specific creature group – Snover’s, as well as their more developed counterparts. It is, however, interchangeably used in relation to many other mythological beings and in common language, it seemed as though it had been used as a blanket term for all beings that one would have considered evil in some form or fashion, rather than it having come with a set classification and characterization.   Giants, Mountain Creatures, Witches, Berserks and even just abnormally tall people have all earned themselves the classification of Troll within old Sinnohan records.

In central Sinnohan beliefs, Trolls have been described as having been capable of disguising themselves as people so well that they practically were indistinguishable from humans. Height, for a long time, was considered a ‘tell’ of malevolence and left many untrustworthy of those who developed these characteristics. In Southern Sinnoh, Trolls - just like Giants - have been said to have gone extinct. The spreading of Orthism over the region has been noted as the reason for this rapid decline and, if there were to still be Trolls who lingered, then their kind have resorted to hiding away beneath moving blocks, or the mountains. 

Up north, however, they wander freely upon the earth's soil… though, certainly not without troubles. 

As mentioned above, there are tales of which describe that Time, just as well as Space, have mothered the children of the Titan’s descendants. These children, most commonly, have been depicted as broad, lumbering creatures who have the ability to disguise themselves within the depths of the forests as proud firs - Abomasnow’s, whose colorings differentiated them from their less divine kin, fit this bill perfectly. The north once was littered by these half Giants, each and every one of them building their own family packs where children came about in abundance. However, as human settlements expanded and developed, the land of which once had been theirs to take now was intruded upon and understandably… Fear and hostility quickly spread.

(A mother cried out that her child had been stolen by the forest Trolls, eaten for it’s delicious, pure blood and expressed that, if nothing was to be done, then they simply would come back for more.)

Trolls earned themselves the reputation as being foul, kidnapping creatures who wished for nothing but to cause humans harm - though there were tales of which depicted that they were brighter than that and that if spoken to, one potentially could convince them not to steal the lives of others. Just like their forefathers, they could be dangerous, as well as kind. Mischievous, as well as helpful. Villages who knew of the tales, despite not having experienced any of their effects, often took measures to protect their own once it was known that a herd of Abomasnow’s and Snover’s lingered nearby. The Shiny variants were the most important to take on, as no matter if it was a Snover of Abomasnow - they, more often than not, were to be the leaders of which held these family units together. 

(Their numbers have greatly diminished over time for this reason. A common theme, as this list goes on.)

With time, however, these stories fizzled out in favor of those told in church halls - and Trolls no longer were a true fear in people’s minds. They still did exist, yes, though people now have something other than pitchforks and knives that protected them from their perceived malevolence. If you asked a Sinnohan school child in current times what a Troll was, then a Snover or Abomasnow still would be their most common answer. For they are, and were, real, and they do still exist… They just are not considered to be as mythical as they once have been.

---

EYES OF ARCEUS Shiny Murkrow/Honchkrow

Two Ravens sit perched upon Arceus’s shoulders, seeing all that he can not see, and hearing all that he can not hear. At dawn, they fly over the world and return at noon, describing to him all that the humans, as well as beasts, have done - describing every fault, every triumph and every fight in gruesome detail. It should come as no surprise that Murkrow, as well as Honchkrow, have fallen prey to the superstition of Huginn and Muninn. The glimmering, imperial coats of the rarest of sorts have been said to be the true descendants of Arceus's personal Ravens - set free into the world to watch over them when Huginn and Muninn could not. Therefore, if one happens to be watched by this bird - it's seen as an omen. 

Good, just as well as bad. 

All these tales of the Ravens sparked many villages in the past to rely on Murkrow’s for delivering messages. The birds were great companions to the humans of the land, exchanging their services for pieces of bread or silver coins and delivered the letters that, otherwise, would’ve taken months to arrive but now took just a few short days. There are tales that speak of birds that knew the human language, and these are thought to have been Huginn and Muninn themselves. In Orthism texts, the myth of Murkrow’s still linger - though their purpose have been revised from that of the old Gods, to those of new. They have been mistaken/attributed with ‘Nattramnar’ - birds who are said to manifest after suicides, or the deaths of unbaptized children and who were believed to occur at night in bird form. Primarily as Ravens.

Murkrow’s and Honchkrow’s are treated favorably by those who describe divinity to their kind.  A rare feat, for the times.

---

BROOK HORSE Shiny Ponyta/Rapidash

Another Pokémon who greatly suffered due to superstition having been described upon them, was that of Ponyta and Rapidash. With their manes having gone from fiery red, to wine dark sea - it was only a matter of time before their kind were attributed to be the spirits of forest creeks. The Brook Horse was said to have a lair within water depths and, from there, he often came - and it was not good to meet him. A horse said to be so beautiful to children and adults alike, one simply couldn’t help but follow it wherever it went. Children often wished to ride upon its back and, no matter how many children they were, room would always be made.

Its back was capable of elongating itself to accommodate all that wished have a seat.  

Sometimes, the Brook Horse has been depicted as a handsome youth - following the myths of which often humanized creatures that otherwise were considered as beasts. His goal in these tales often was to lure young women to himself, with the promise that he would bring them joy and gladness in his halls if they willingly followed him home. Though, if they grew suspicious of who he was and called him by his true name - Bäckahäst - then they would be released from his allure and all of his power would be gone. 

One could also be saved once set upon the Brook Horses back, children and adults alike, if another came upon the scene with a bar of steel at hand. What they would have to do would be to toss it between the water and horse, and then he no longer would be able to continue forth and those bound to his back would be released. However, as would become a theme in these tales… Humanity's preventative measures to these creatures became less kind with time. Just as with Abomasnow and Snover, the shiny horses were hunted and killed before they could cause the inhabitants of settlements any harm and, thusly, their numbers have greatly declined in the modern times.

---

HULDRA Shiny Gardevoir (Shiny Gallade)

The Huldra is one of several wardens which stem from similar tales, though primarily gets noticed as a fair lady who wanders the forests upon her bare feet. She is the forest's ruler, the protector of the wild. She is also said to have willingly offered her flesh to those that she takes a liking to. She lure walkers astray and seduces the men that she likes, all the while being described as either affectionate or condescending - a nymph, perhaps, she could be considered; for she held powers that primarily revolved around the seduction of men. Gardevoir fell into this characterization for many reasons, one primarily being that as far as the beasts in the wild goes, Gardevoir has an appearance that has been considered most human-like. With slender features and proportions that border on human, yet isn’t so, it was only a matter of time before they were spoken of as seducers of weak men.

The velvet spear through their chest is the mark which makes them a Huldra, though certain tales describe her as wandering with but a cavity through her breast - primarily in the southern Sinnohan forests. In northern tales, and northern tales only, there's a depiction of male Huldra’s as well. However, rather than being considered beings of beauty - they were thought of as hideous and foul.

As has been stated above: Troll is a word of which once was used as a blanketed label for all that was considered evil – and the Huldra did not escape this classification by any means. The Troll, Troll Mother and other similar names have been ascribed to her, and she has been said to have lingered in the families of Snover’s and Abonasnow’s all the same. She was, after all, the ward of the wild. 

(If one thought they might be getting seduced by a Huldra, then it was said that one ought to turn their shirt inside out and read the psalm ‘Our father’ backwards to escape her seduction. If one had coupled with the Huldra, and then were unfaithful - then misfortune would befall them at every turn, for her rage and hurt would always find you.)

---

MARA Shiny Misdreavus/Mismagius (Female)

Last, and perhaps least, there’s a creature known as Mara. In folklore, a Mara, The Mara or Nattmaran (nightmare) was a supernatural being who was said to torment sleeping people by sitting upon their breasts and ‘riding’ them – which would cause them a severe feeling of anxiety and respiratory distress. Mara was sometimes said to be a human spirit, though it did not necessarily have to take a human form when it haunted people at night. It could appear as a cat, a dog, monkey or mouse, a feather or even a ball of yarn. There are different tales as to what it is that makes a human soul a Mara. Sometimes, it was said to be due to envy, or because a cat skipped over an unbaptized child. In older Sinnohan provinces, pregnant women thought that a way to have an easier birth was to pull the placenta of a Rapidash over their head three times… It was, however, a trick which came with a price. If the child that was born was a girl – then she would become a Mara.

(If the child was a boy, it would instead become a hound.) 

In western Sinnoh, it was believed that if a child was born ‘untimely’ - between the hours of twelve and one at night - and it was a girl, that she would become a Mara. 

Misdreavus, as well as Mismagius, have been mistaken for these ‘Nightmares’ throughout time. However, it is said that it is only the ones of the female kind - and those who differentiate themselves by their color. Humans, after all, aren't Pokémon, and therefore they won't simulate them perfectly. 

(Sometimes it was considered to be certain women who during the night - often unknowingly or against their will - became a Mara. However, since a Mara could not get up in the sleeper's bed without first getting up in his footwear, the caution was that one should preferably place their shoes underneath the bed with the tips of the toes facing outwards.)

---

There are, of course, many more creatures that could be found within old Sinnohan myths. The ethnic groups of Florama and Snowpoint carry their own specific stories and names for the beings we all may know as something else, and there are creatures not mentioned in this list whom hold significance in the more modern of days – Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf being great examples. However… Perhaps that is a list best saved for a another time…

[sweetkale]

all evidence that points towards Magneto being Jewish before it was first explicitly established in 1991

!!None of this is my writing!! It’s a useful but outdated source that I merely revised to replace the G slur. It was written by Rivka Jacobs and the original can be found at http://www.alara.net/opeople/xbooks/magjew.html

The Magneto Is Jewish FAQ (revised 11/9/98)

Rivka Jacobs

(1) In Uncanny #113 (Classic X-Men #19), the added material has Magneto on Asteroid M, talking about the deaths of Magda, Anya, and he mentions Auschwitz for the first time. "I endured one death camp ... in Auschwitz ... I will not see another people fear what they do not understand and destroy what they fear." Uncanny #113 is from 1978. The additional scenes were included in 1988's Classic X-Men #19. So, we know Magnus was at Auschwitz, a death camp, not just a concentration camp. (Many fans [and writers] seem to get the two types of camps confused). There could have been a number of reasons he was at Auschwitz: he was a Polish political prisoner, a Russian prisoner of war, a member of the French underground, a homosexual from Germany, Roma, or, with a high probability, a Jew. (Out of 1.5 million victims of Auschwitz, between 1.1 and 1.2 million were Jews).

(2) In Uncanny #150 (one of my favorites) Magneto mentions, in a fight with Cyclops, "I know something of grief. Search throughout my homeland, you will find NONE who bear my name. Mine was a large family, and it was slaughtered ... without mercy, without remorse." So that eliminates German homosexual and French partisan, because the entire familes of such prisoners were not slaughtered throughout an entire "homeland." After Magneto thinks he has killed Kitty, he says: "I remember my own childhood ... the gas chambers at Auschwitz, the guards joking as they herded my family to their death. As our lives were nothing to them, so human lives became nothing to me." Storm is about to blast him for "killing" Kitty, and she says, "If you have a diety, butcher, pray to it!" Magneto answers, "As a boy, I believed. As a boy, I turned my back on god forever." So now we know that Magnus is not a political prisoner (German political prisoners were sent to camps on German soil, like Dachau, or Bergen-Belsen), he is not Polish, since whole Polish families were not herded to the gas chambers. The Poles were not the target of pre-meditated Nazi genocide. While the Russian people were the target of genocide, only Russian POWs were in Auschwitz, not whole families. So, we are now left with only two groups of people that Magnus could be from, the Roma and the Jews. Uncanny #150 is from Oct. 1981; already Magnus says something very interesting here. He says he "remembers" the gas chambers of Auschwitz, "remembers" his family being herded, he "remembers" the guards joking. Fact: no one remembers the gas chambers of Auschwitz except in two ways (or three if you believe the dead can speak to the living), either you were a Nazi SS guard or doctor or official, or you were a member of the Sonderkommando. The Sonderkommando, Jewish prisoners who were forced by the Nazis -- in all the death camps -- to do the dirty work of killing. It was Nazi official policy. The Jews, the lowest of the low to the Nazis, in Auschwitz hierarchy, followed by the Russians, and then the Roma, the Jews would be the ones to lead the victims to the gas chamber, to haul the bodies from the gas chambers to the ovens, to burn and bury the dead. The Jews would pull the teeth of the corpses, cut the hair, pile the bodies three at a time on the retorts of the ovens in just the right way. The Sonderkommando had a few kapos (overseers) who were German and Polish prisoners, criminals from civil prisons in Germany and Poland. During the summer of 1944, 19 Russian POWs from Mauthausen were sent to augment the Auschwitz Sonderkommando. Totally documented, on paper and by eye witness accounts. All other members of the Auschwitz Sonderkommando were Jews.

(3) In Uncanny #161, Sept. 1982, we have the story of Xavier's trip to Israel. There he meets Magnus for the first time. However, it should be noted that the entire story is a Charlie-dream, while he is with Lilandra. In Uncanny #161 we see for the first and last time Magnus' tattoo from Auschwitz. His number is #214782. Xavier says, "That tattoo, Magnus, were you ...?" Magnus answers, "Auschwitz. I grew up there." So now we know that Magneto was first in Auschwitz as a very young person, but we can't pinpoint the age yet. Also, his number is high for someone who was there from the beginning of the camp. The first Polish prisoners, like author Wieslaw Kielar, had very low numbers, like in the 200s. Sonderkommando survivor Filip Muller's number was in the 20,000s. He arrived in early 1942. Magnus' number is a standard number, however, without the A of the 1944 arrivals, or the Z of the Roma, or the other special classification symbols. Of course the penciller didn't know these details. So a standard Auschwitz number, which is too big, but it doesn't tell us anything.

4) Vision and the Scarlet Witch, Vol. 1, #4. Magneto has just found out Wanda and Pietro are his children. (This is from Feb. 1983). He is on the moon, in the Inhuman city of Attilan, telling VIsion about his youth. "I was born into a time and place ... Android ... where both man and mutant were persecuted for being ... different." Picture of the Auschwitz camp, guards tormenting emaciated prisoners, one of whom displays a very prominent and exaggerated Star of David on his clothing. Remember Jews and Roma were kept apart in the camp. In the next panel, however, Magneto sort-of goes into a fantasy. He says, "But unlike the other victims, I possessed the power to fight back." He imagines he's hurling Nazi tanks away with magnetic energy. What's this? In 1983, the reader doesn't know what to make of this. Keep in mind, he's meeting with Wanda, Pietro, Vision, and Crystal, and has held Luna for the first time. Is he exaggerating? Showing off for them?

(5) Now for the second most important comic proving Magneto is Jewish, Uncanny #199, Nov. 1985. Magneto with Lee Forrester and Kitty Pryde arrive at the National Holocaust Memorial in Washington, DC. (It's not really Lee, but Mystique, trying to capture Magneto). Magneto has been having an affair with Lee, he loves her. He brings her to the Holocaust Memorial? Why? Fun date, huh? Why, because he has no other family. These people are his family. Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. (The Roma have their own name for the genocide, and their own gatherings, with their own rituals and customs. Magneto has no reason to go to a Jewish gathering if he isn't Jewish). Lee/Mystique says: "Man's inhumanity to man ... how easily the race kills." Magneto answers: "Then, Lee, it was the Jews. My nightmare has ever been that tomorrow it will be Mutants." Why would he say that, why wouldn't he mention another ethnic group, if he weren't Jewish? Next, Magneto tells Kitty EXACTLY how to address the gathering in order to get information about dead or missing family members. How does Magneto know how to do this? Isn't it obvious that he's done this before? Why would he address a Jewish Holocaust gathering looking for information about his family if his family weren't Jewish? (And it is a Jewish gathering, besides the use of the word Holocaust, a speaker says in the background: "... the systematic institutionalized extermination of one people by another."). Kitty asks about her great-aunt Chava, who died at Auschwitz, and Magneto is recognized by two survivors, Ruth and David Shulman, two Jewish survivors. (Shul is another name for synagogue -- Shulman means man of the temple, or man of the synagogue). They remember Magneto as a youth in Auschwitz, and say he helped them survive. And witness him as having been there. (No implanted memories, please). They testify that he " ... Had been at that accursed place from the very start..."

Later, Mystique reveals herself, and arrests Magneto in front of all these people. Magneto says that he recognizes no authority. "My land ...all the countries of the world ... turned their back on me and mine when we were condemned to Hitler's death camps. Therefore, in return, I have sworn to deny them." So let's clear this up ... the Roma were not persecuted in Greece, the Greek Jewish community was decimated. A small number of Roma and Jews in Rumania were exiled to a new border country called "Transnistria" but the remainder of the Roma were left alone. Several hundred thousand of them. 350,000 Rumanian Jews were savagely murdered throughout the country. In Slovakia, the Roma were left alone, the Slovakian Jews were among the first sent to Auschwitz. After the Slovakian uprising was crushed in 1944, several hundred Roma who had courageously helped in the rebellion were murdered, along with the remainder of the Jews of Slovakia. Bulgaria did not persecute its Romani people. Bulgaria, although resisting deportations of its Jews, persecuted them locally. In the Netherlands, only the "wandering" Roma who were captured in camps and wagons were deported, about 500. The remaining who had bought homes or found shelter with neighbors, were left alone. The Netherlands is where Gabrielle Haller comes from -- in under two years 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported, most were killed. I could go on. There is no other people who were hunted everywhere the Nazis went or had influence but the Jews. There is no other people who had the gates of escape cut off after the war started, but the European Jews. Magneto's reasoning is based on this most extreme situation.

(6) Uncanny #211, Nov. 1986. The Mutant Massacre. Page 9 -- Betsy Braddock has just come in from discovering what happened to a wounded Morlock, who has just died. Magneto, Storm, and Wolverine are standing there in Xavier's infirmary. Betsy says, "... I saw a cadre of super-beings ... massacring every living thing in the Morlock tunnels." Magneto reacts immediately, out of pure emotion. "NO! The horrors of my childhood, born again...only this time, Mutants are the victims, instead of Jews." What else does this mean? He's talking about HIS childhood, he's making a parallel. If he weren't Jewish, he wouldn't have said Jews, he would have said Roma. The two groups of people are not interchangeable.

(7) New Mutants #49, March 1987. Magneto is dreaming. It is an entire page representation of the massacre of his family. Here we see for the first time, his family -- father, mother, sister -- as they were gunned down in front of open graves. The family members are dressed in middle class urban clothes. No peasant dress, no Roma clothing. (And it is not a cliche. Roma women always wore, at this time, their flowing skirts and distinctive scarves and clothing, similar to the Bosnian women of today). Being massacred with Magnus' family is a mixed group of people. Men in bowler hats and suits, one old woman in a long skirt. One man in a bowler hat has the side-locks of the devout Jew, but the other people could be anyone. Poles or Jews or Roma. It's Magnus and his family who are out of place. They are well-dressed, Magnus's sister in a proper school uniform with the prim collar. Every picture I've seen of the German Rom show: a people of color, having left India and Armenia five- to six-hundred years ago, the men wearing Fedoras (favorite style of hat) and normal suits and ties, and the women and girls always dressed in the long skirts and distinctive flowered scarves. The boys wear a mixture of urban short pants but scarf belts, some have socks, some don't. New Mutants #49, page 17, could show some Roma in the crowd, but Magnus' family members are definitely not Romani in this picture.

(8) X-Men Classics #12, back-up story, Aug. 1987. The actual scenes of Magneto's escape from Auschwitz. "And with World War II ending... the Third Reich defeated...it's guards wanted no witnesses left...to tell the tale of this horror..." Picture of an SS soldier about to shoot a fallen and stricken Madga. "He had been there from the start ..." Magnus has just slammed a wooden beam into the head of the SS soldier. "Grown to manhood within its electrified barbed wire fence. If he was to die, it would not be in this abattoir ... and not without a fight!" Magnus grabs a terrified Magda by the hand and drags her with him in his escape. (a) The war is almost over, it is winter, it is the winter of 1944-1945. The Roma were gone by 1945. All the Roma women were gone. Only 4 clerks, high-status friends of Nazi officials in Camp I, were left. The Romani camp was murdered in the gas chambers in August 1944. (b) This scene, by Claremont and Bolton, is completely accurate. It takes place on Jan. 20, 1945, two days after thecamp was evacuated and the Death marches began. Some 70 of the Sonderkommando were kept to help destroy the evidence of the death factory, before they were to be killed. Some 200 women from the woman's camp, Jews, were chosen to fill in the huge pits where bodies were burned. They had to haul ashes, break up human bones, all in the coldest part of winter. The SS soldiers sent back on Jan. 20th were sent to kill the women. That is exactly what you see in this comic book, because Claremont and Bolton took the time and cared enough, to do their research. Magneto was saving Magda becasue at that point, he wasn't the target, yet. If they were out by the burial pits to the northwest of the camp, that is a point close to the forest. It just makes sense.

(9) New Mutants #61, March 1988. On page 22, Magneto is alone, kneeling over the dead body of Doug Ramsey, thinking thoughts only the reader can see. This is one moment he would not misrepresent anything, to himself especially. He says, "An ill wind is coming ... they are registering mutants ... like they once registered my people in Poland ...! Who knows what horrors await us." Only the Jews were registered, and forced to wear armbands with the Star of David on them, in Poland (at the end of 1939). Efforts to murder the Polska Roma (the Polish Roma) began in 1942, but they weren't registered first. Young Magnus wouldn't have known about any of that in any case-- he was already at Auschwitz by 1942. He would only have known that "my people" the Jewish people in Poland, including the German Jews who had already been deported there in the first months of the War, were registered.

(10) Classic X-Men #19, March 1988, back-up story. Magneto is apparently working for the CIA hunting Nazis. He is about to be betrayed by them, and his lady love of that time, Isabelle, is about to be murdered. But as he is apprehending a Nazi war criminal he gets one of his massive headaches. "Pain," he thinks, "again indescribable." "Worse than the bite of the kapo's whip. The murder of parents and family, the death of a child ... the loss of a beloved wife!" So here we see that Magneto was the victim of kapos. He could not have been a kapo. He was too young anyway, as we've seen. He grew up in Auschwitz. Here he says the murder of parents, and family. The parents separate, gunned down. The remainder of his family, no doubt sent to the gas chambers later, while he was in the Sonderkommando. Remember what he said in UX #150, his entire family wiped out. So as a Jew in the Sonderkommando he not only watched his family die, he helped kill them. How can any other comic book character ever come close to Magneto for dramatic intensity, but only if he is a Jew.

(11) X-Factor Annual #4, 1989. Doom challenges Magneto to a duel of wills, with a helmet that pulls out unpleasant memories and torments the wearer. Who will crack first? Magneto takes his turn -- Doom describes what he sees, "...after the ignoble defeat of the Nazis in Germany, you and the woman Magda you rescued, fled the prison camp Auschwitz, in Poland."

"Auschwitz, where your family had perished --living skeletons -- and you had grown to manhood amid horrors most men could not conceive." First, Doom confirms that Magnus and Magda "fled" or escaped Auschwitz before liberation and after the Roma camp was murdered. Then he describes some of Magneto's family perishing, as living skeletons, at Auschwitz. They could either have been kept as prisoners, or brought in, starving, from ghettoes in Poland and gassed. They could have been either Roma or Jews. But then it's Doom's turn to wear the helmet. Doom's Romani heritage is discussed at great length. Doom is proud to be a Rom, he knows he is a Rom. Why would he not acknowledge that Magneto is also a Rom? Why did he say your family, implying your people, to Magneto? Not "our" people?

(12) And now the most important evidence, and just about my favorite X-Men comic, Uncanny #274, from March 1991. In the Savage Land, the entire comic is told from the point of view of Magneto. It is a first person narrative, he is talking directly to us, the readers. He is not exaggerating, he is not showing off. The writing is elegant and wonderful ... "My life's ambition has been to safeguard my fellow mutants," Magneto says. "Zaladane has no such compunction. And I hear the echo of Der Fuhrer's voice in the radio of memory, smell the awful stench of the sick and dying as the cattle cars brought the comdemned to Auschwitz. I wear red, the color of blood, in tribute to their lost lives. And the harder I try to cast it aside, to find a gentler path ... the more irresistibly I'm drawn back. I should have died myself with those I loved. Instead, I carted the bodies by the hundreds, by the thousands ... from the death house to the crematorium ... and the ashes to the burial ground. Asking now what I could not then ... why was I spared?!" So there it is. He describes his job at Auschwitz. That is it. This is no vague job description, this is what the Sonderkommando did. This is fundamental to the history of the Holocaust, to the history of Nazi Germany. Making the Jews the ones who had to do all the dirty work in the death camps.

Marvel cannot say they have their own version of Holocaust history. What kind of reasoning is that? Where do the editors and writers of Marvel get off making up their own history of the Holocaust? Where do they draw the line? Has any reader out there ever seen any major publisher or entertainment outfit, outside Neo-Nazi groups and the Militias or Far Right Splinter groups, who just took it upon themselves to change a Jew into a Romany and change Holocaust and Auschwitz history to make it fit? Magneto says it here, he was a member of the Sonderkommando. He was not a kapo. He was not a Russian POW. He was a Jew! On page 14 of UXM #274, Magneto is dreaming again. He again sees his family being gunned down. He again feels what it was like to be buried alive. Rogue wakes him up.

(13) Uncanny X-Men #275, April 1991, which concludes the Savage Land story from UXM #274, referred to above, also contains confirmation as to what happened to young Magnus. Magneto says, directly to the reader, in diary-like narration, as he uses the last strength of his emaciated body to push away his captors, "They think me beaten, finished. A mistake many have made in the past. As I found the strength, as a boy, to survive being machine-gunned and buried alive, and later the unimaginable horror of Auschwitz ... so do I find it in me, here and now, to break free."

(14) X-Men Vol. 2, No. 2, Nov. 1991. The beginning of the end for Magneto. But on page 24 he says to Moira MacTaggart, who has seemingly betrayed him, and enraged him, "Of course not. You worked for the betterment of the world and the race. I heard those same rationales as a boy, in the Auschwitz Death Camp. From Dr. Joseph Mengele himself!" Mengele's first victims were the Roma, he liked the Roma. He brought the children candy and extra food. And in August of 1944, after trying unsuccessfully to save the Romani Family Camp (also for his own experimental purposes) Mengele obeyed his orders and vigorously hunted down and helped exterminate all remaining Roma. He then dissected those of most interest to him, and sent body parts to Berlin. Then he turned his attention to the Jews of Auschwitz. Only his Jewish victims have survived. His Romani victims, those transfered out of the camp in the spring and summer of 1944, have rarely come forward. If Magneto is alive in Auschwitz after the start of 1945, and he personally heard Dr. Mengele, he is a Jew.

Magneto is a Jew especially since Mengele would have been one of his supervisors in the Sonderkommando.

(15) X-Men, Vol. 2, No. 3, Dec. 1991 -- Magneto to Xavier, "You speak to the best in humanity. I have endured the worst. You imagine the reality of the Holocaust, of the Nazi Death Camps. I grew up in one." Magneto says The Holocaust. This is the translation of SHOAH, and was first used after the war, and popularized by Eli Wiesel. It means the Jewish Holocaust. One can say the Romani genocide, and today sometimes you'll hear the Romani holocaust, or the Russian holocaust, or the holocaust perpetrated against the mentally ill and the handicapped. (Nazi pre-meditated genocide was really only carried to the fullest extreme against three groups, the first were the mentally ill and the handicapped, who were the first victims of genocide. The second and third groups were the Jews and the Roma). But the Holocaust is what Jewish people say when they refer to the calculated campaign of Nazi Germany to kill every Jew in the world. (They actually made lists of every country in the Western world, and all the Jewish populations. They made no such list for any other people). Nazi Germany succeeded in killing almost 6 million of their foremost victims, until the Third Reich was defeated.

(16) X-Factor #92, July, 1993. Havok and X-Factor are battling Cortez and the Acolytes, in this opening chapter of Fatal Attractions. Cortez is ranting about the "flatscans" and how mutants have to subjugate them. Havok says, "Out to destroy the "inferior" race ... in Magneto's name? Don't you know what an insult that is to the memory of the very man you claim to worship? Fifty years ago, Magnus barely survived a Holocaust that destroyed almost all of his people: all because some lunatic took it upon himself to decide who deserved to live ... and who didn't. Where's the sense in resurrecting that kind of evil ... in the name of one of its victims?!" Cortez answers, "You've seen this place Havok! You've seen the sentinels! You tell me ... where's the sense in letting the flatscans do to the mutants what Hitler did to the Jews? ..." Cortez has done research on Magneto, he says the Jews, as a parallel metaphor. Why say that, if Magneto isn't Jewish?

(17) Then comes the infamous Unlimited #2. This is a long and involved FAQ I've got going here, so I won't go into detail at the moment. But the bottom line is, everything that Gabrielle Haller says about Magneto's history is false. I don't want to go line by line over it now. Everything! Danzig was not annexed. It was a Free City, under League of Nations protection, that voted itself a Nazi government and welcomed the Nazi troops in like liberators. Gauleiter Forster, the extremely anti-Semitic Nazi leader of Danzig ordered all 10,000 Jews of Danzig to be kicked out of the city in 1939, not the Roma. The Jews. Auschwitz wasn't opened as a Polish political prisoner camp until the summer of 1940, not 1939. The Roma were sent to German municipal camps, in Germany and the Greater Reich, as early as 1933. But they were not sent to Auschwitz from Germany until 1943. The only people who were in a work camp in Auschwitz before it opened were 300 Jews from the town of Auschwitz who were forced to transform a collection of horse stables and army barracks into the Polish prisoner camp. "Genocide, extermination ..." of Poles? No. The Polish people suffered terribly, and were considered "sub-human" by the Nazis. Millions of Polish citizens were killed throughout the course of the war, as soldiers, as slave laborers, as underground fighters, as members of the intelligentsia. But this was Nazi suppression of a conquered country, not planned genocide. Roma, Yes. The homosexuals, no. Not genocide. Persecution and imprisonment. Treated terribly. But people weren't sent to the gas chambers just because they were homosexuals. And "intellectuals" ? (How could Nicieza have written this?) Intellectuals were targets of genocide? Well, I hardly think so, since Goebbels, and Albert Speer, and even Mengele were considered intellectuals.

No one was sent to the gas chambers, or was shot in an open grave, or was tortured and murdered JUST because they happened to be an intellectual. Thousands of Polish citizens who were members of the intelligentsia (the educated class, the vanguard or elite of the educated class), were murdered in the first months of the war. But there was no planned campaign to hunt down every intellectual in Europe and exterminate them. The mentally ill and handicapped, the Jews, and the Roma were the primary targets of Nazi genocide. The Russians came next. Everything Haller says about Magneto in Unlimited #2 contradicts most of Magneto's history as presented in 15 years worth of comics.

(18) Until recently, when, in Road to Onslaught, Marvel once again published that outrageous Gabrielle Haller speech about Magneto like they were proud of it (??) the next references in the Age of Apocalypse comics portrayed Magneto once again as Jewish. In X-Men Vol. 2, No. 40, where David Haller, Legion, pulls Magneto's memories out, you see young Magnus with the men, standing behind and below a high, barred window. This is an accurate portrayal of the quarters of the Sonderkommando at Auschwitz I. At Auschwitz I, only the Sonderkommando (other than prisoners awaiting execution) were kept in isolated basement cells, the windows of which were high, barred, and as seen from the outside, half-below ground level.

And why is Magneto in Israel anyway? How could he have come there? Well, why would a Romany go to Israel when at least 30,000 Roma lived in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s? And many more Rom formed a thriving community in Paris. Why not just go home to his own clan and tribe? Roma have a complex system of extended familes, clans, and tribes. Why go to Israel to "find himself" or find his "soul"? A German Jew had no place to go but somewhere else. A Polish Jew definitely had no place to go back to, since some Polish fanatics continued to murder returning Holocaust survivors well into the late 1940s. Any Jew can emigrate to Israel, under the Law of Return. All Magneto had to do was show them the tattoo on his arm. And he was home. (And in case some of you were wondering, as some of us have discussed, with the exception of the Muslim Bosnians, only the Jews of Europe practiced circumcision. It was a religious rite, not a medical procedure. Only Jewish men and boys were circumcised among the prisoners at Auschwitz. The Nazis already knew what Magneto was. He was chosen for the Sonderkommando, he was Jewish. He was not pretending to be a Jew. He wasn't misidentified as a Jew. He was a circumcised, young Jewish man). Furthermore, Magnus at this time had forged papers, that identified him as "Erik Magnus Lehnsherr." He could have immigrated to any country in the world, including the United States! If he were Roma, and didn't want to self-identify as such, why not go to America? Why go to the one country that represents enormous pain for modern Roma -- i.e., the Rom today deeply resent the focus on Israel, and the support Israel enjoys among nations of the Western world, while the Roma continue to be persecuted and ignored.

(19) In Astonishing X-Men #3, formerly Uncanny, from May 1995, we have the most clear reference to Magneto's being Jewish, written by Scott Lobdell. Magneto has just hit Bishop, and is helping him to his feet. He says, "Long before Xavier died ... before this point of divergence ... I stood by helplessly as millions of my people were led to slaughter in the name of 'genetic purity." Now the AOA is not a what-if story. It is a divergent timeline. Magneto says, before the timeline diverged. What other people were lead by the millions, led to the slaughter, in the name of genetic purity? Many people suffered and died in World War II. 250,000 to 500,000 Roma were murdered. Millions of Russians and Poles during the course of the invasions, and in political violence, and in acts of pure murder, were exterminated. But only the European Jews were "led to the slaughter" in the millions because of one man's racial beliefs. Only the Jews of Europe Persecutionand incarceration are not the same as genocide and extermination.

20) X-Men #72, cover date February 1998, published in mid-December 1997. This comic book makes a significant contribution to Magneto's history. Basically, the book reveals that the name *Erik Lehnsherr* which was revealed by Gabrielle Haller in Unlimited #2 to be Magneto's real name, is fake, and so Haller's assertion that Magneto is a *Sinte* Rom was based on false and forged identity papers.

The scenario begins with Gabrielle Haller, lying on her bed, working on a lap- top computer, writing the American Sen. Kelly, begging him to help find and secure the release of Charles Xavier. Sabra, the Israeli super-hero, a mutant and Mossad agent, suddenly appears floating in the air outside Haller's balcony doors. Haller has just pushed open the doors, saying, "You're too important to lose, Charles. I will see you ... FREE?" And Sabra says, "Sometimes, Ambassador Haller ... freedom, like the truth, is little more than an illusion. Don't you think?"

Sabra has come to Haller with information. She says to Gabrielle Haller: "I"m sure you recall shocking the world when you announced that you had UNDENIABLE proof ofMagneto's identity as Erik Lehnsherr. The undeniable has just been DENIED." Sabra then goes on to show Haller, and the readers, the file on a master forger named George Odekirk. In this file, apparently, is a computer analysis of the identity papers of Erik Lehnsherr, which shows that Odekirk forged those documents. Haller says, "He created Erik Lehnsherr? If this is true ... you must take me to him! He could be our only link to Magneto's true identity ... our last chance to stop him once and for all!"

But just as Sabra is flying Haller to the Transylvanian Alps, to meet with Odekirk, the scene switches to Odekirk, who is working on another forged passport, sitting in bed while his wife sleeps beside him. Suddenly, Odekirk looks up -- he has a visitor. It's Magneto, in full costume.

Magneto is floating in the air. He surrounds Odekirk's bed with his magnetic energy, and uses his power to keep Odekirk's wife unconscious. He says, "You failed me." Odekirk responds, "Please ... please, my wife ..." Magneto answers, "She will sleep the sleep of the innocent. She has done nothing ... but you ... YOU, my friend, have BETRAYED me." Odekirk protests his innocence, and then Magneto makes this remarkable speech: "Do you remember what you promised me the night I came to you, torn and filthy, nearly a quarter century ago? I was searching for my beloved MAGDA, determined not to lose her as I had lost so many others in the fire that engulfed all of Europe during my childhood. The authorities were in pursuit of me for the "crime" of avenging my daughter's murder. I was willing to deny who I was ... everything that my family died for ... so that I could find one woman ... so that I would not be caged AGAIN. The Erik Lehnsherr fabrication was a convenient means of ensuring that. You swore that the forged papers were FLAWLESS, that your skills were unsurpassed... but now, you have proven to be a liability. Your work has been called into queston by my enemies, and they will trace Erik Lehnsherr the Sinte BACK to you." Odekirk protests, "That is impossible! That forgery was impeccable! My work is ... " Magneto answers: "It was not ENOUGH! You gave birth to Erik Lehnsherr, Odekirk. And tonight, you have killed him. My secrets shall die with him. All that remains now ... is MAGNUS."

This scene says, subtly but clearly, that Magnus denied who he was, gave up everything his famly died for, to take the false identity of a Sinte Rom named Erik Lehnsherr. Since this entire FAQ has gone into great detail showing exactly how and why Magnus was born Jewish, it seems there is no doubt now, that Magneto's family and he himself, were Jews. Magnus would not say he denied *everything* his family died for, by taking a Romani identity, if his family were indeed Roma. As I pointed out above, only the Jews and Roms were targeted as entire peoples, and killed for no reason other than they were Jews and Roms. Magnus was either one, or the other. Since in XM #72, it is revealed that he is NOT a Rom, we must conclude he was born a Jew.

There are several continuity problems that arise from the revelations of XM #72. Several unanswered questions:

1) How much of Haller's speech (Unlimited #2) was based information contained in Odekirk's forgery, how much was based on what she personally knew, and how much did she "fabricate" herself? She makes a large number of mistakes, about nearly every aspect of Magneto's history and life. She also gets her Holocaust history and dates wrong. Did she perhaps add her own *facts* to what she found in those old identity papers? Was she perhaps trying to make the story coherent? As in, trying to make what she knew about Magnus and his history fit what she learned about *Erik Lehnsherr*? For example, where she says, on page 19 of Unlimited #2, "...Lehnsherr had taken to calling himself MAGNUS ... as if by choosing his MIDDLE name, he could bring some semblance of BALANCE and SIMPLICITY to his haunted life." This is Haller's supposition -- the reason he was calling himself MAGNUS in Israel. She knew him as Magnus back then, she had just found out, his full name was supposedly *Erik Lehnsherr.* Did she try to splice together the information?

2) While XM #72 makes it clear why Magnus cloaked himself in this false identity and ethnic background initially, what is not so understandable is why he continued to maintain that false identity after his search for Magda was over, and he immigrated to Israel. Did he use the forged *Erik Lehnsherr* passport to enter Israel? Why would he use a false identity and ethnic background to enter Israel, when he was a Jew?

3) Why would Magnus continue to use the Erik Lehnsherr identity during the Age of Apocalypse, especially since he publicly identified with being a Jew? (Astonishing X-Men #3, quoted above.)

4) Magnus worked for at least one intelligence agency, most likely the CIA (Classic X-Men #19). He then hunted dangerous mutants, for his own mysterious purposes, as shown in a brief cameo in Generation X #10 -- which was a memory belonging to Sean Cassidy, telepathically accessed by Emma Frost. During the time he was working for the CIA, his code-name was Magneto. In Classic X-Men #19, he is called only Magneto. In Generaton X #10, Interpol agent Sean Cassidy doesn't know who the man is who is helping him track down Arcady (the future Omega Red). Emma Frost, commenting from the present as a psionic guide to Cassidy's memories, calls the man *Erik Lehnsherr.* But the question is, after he left Israel, did Magnus use the false identity Erik Lehnsherr?

5) During the time that Magneto tried to follow Xavier's path, roughly from UXM #196 through UXM #253, and New Mutants issues #35 through #75, including UXM #188, NM #21, #23, #24, #26, #28, and #29, he referred to himself as Magnus, and others like Storm and Kitty Pryde called him Magnus. Even though he was disguised as Michael Xavier for the outside world, the X-Men and their associates all knew Magneto as Magnus. During this time, Magnus also identified strongly with his Jewish and Jewish Holocaust history. The question now is, what happened to the *Erik Lehnsherr the SInte* identity during this time?

6) Why, now, after so many years, did Magneto find it necessary to kill George Odekirk in order to protect his identity? We know why he took the false name and ethnic background to begin with. But we have no evidence that he continued to use *Erik Lehnhserr*, during each stage of his pre-Magneto career. After he became Magneto, after all the battles with the X-Men, after the events of Fatal Attractions, after the mind-wipe and the appearance of Joseph, after Onslaught, why would Magnus be so concerned with protecting his true identity? Was he trying to protect the memory of his family? Has he maintained contact with pre-Holocaust family grave sites, or places where he once lived? Is he worried that the very bones of his ancestors might be violated by those looking for his genetic material? Then there's Anya, his beloved daughter -- she was never Anya *Lehnsherr*. Her last name is now unknown -- is Magneto trying to protect something concerning her? George Odekirk wouldn't be the only witness to Magneto's true identity, either. What about those Carpathian villagers, who accepted Auschwitz escapees Magnus and Magda in 1945? Did anyone in Vinnitsa who knew Magnus' true last name survive his burst of electromagnetic radiation? What about Ruth and David Shulman, who knew him at Auschwitz, and recognized him, in UXM #199?

These, and other unanswered questions, remain.

By removing the *Erik Lehnsherr the Sinte* identity, fixing that particular retcon from Unlimited #2, and leaving the rest of Magneto's history intact, writer Joe Kelly and editor Bob Harras have not officially stated that Magneto was born Jewish, and was a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz. But, as was the case during the years Chris Claremont wrote the character, the references to Magneto's Jewish identity are there, subtle and at the same time, obvious.

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 68 – The Secret of Resurrection and the Outing

“Greetings to you, O Lord of the nobles. Pardon me, for I cannot rise from my respite.” 

“Have no concern. We are all aware of the state your body is suffering.” 

Lascrea raised her hand in a salute-reply to Lunark. 

When Rael learned from Seira that the werewolf who was as immobile as a corpse finally opened her eyes, he scurried back to the Lord's Hall, which he had emptied for less than 10 minutes, to share the news with Lascrea. 

Lunark also requested to the Central Knights stationed at the ward that she must speak to their lord, and their meeting was scheduled shortly afterwards. 

And they were not the only participants for today's meeting.

“I pray for your patience, although this room is not big enough to allow all of us. Our speaker must not leave her bed.”

“Have no concerns, my lord.” 

“We are alright.” 

Kei and Rosaria were standing next to Lascrea, rendering Lunark's room rather crowded. 

Her room may be the best that Lukedonia can offer, but it was designed for a single occupant. 

And the room felt even smaller because they also had virtual guests for this meeting. 

<May we begin?> 

Lunark flinched at Frankenstein's voice, transferred through Lascrea's phone that was switched to the speaker mode. 

No one would have missed it, yet no one pointed it out, for none of them paid attention to anything other than what Lunark was about to unleash.

“I believe all of you would know by now with what power I defeated the Dark Spear.” 

“We all happened to be shocked and perplexed. How did a werewolf like you got to wield power that was most certainly begotten by Raizel?” 

Everyone solemnly focused their sights and hearings upon Lunark.

Even she was still trying to wrap her head around what happened.

Upon accepting the mysterious power that offered its hand to her as she sunk deep into the sea, her abdomen punctured by the Dark Spear, Lunark realized the oh-so-familiar-for-some-reason power was none other than Raizel's power. 

As of now the power was rinsed off her like snow met with summer sun, but her psyche had been etched with memories that had connected to her during her carriage of the power. 

“This would be a long story, for I must start off from the Noblesse's disappearance into slumber 820 years ago.” 

The nobles surrounding Lunark implied fluster with their eyes. 

They knew discussion on Raizel is a must, considering that he is the source of the power Lunark made use of. 

However, they did not expect her to wind back at least six books on noble history, to land right onto Raizel's slumber that took place 820 years ago. 

“Noblesse, sir, you fell into sleep immediately following your duel against my lord, didn't you?” 

<...I did. I chose dormancy as I was stranded upon the oceanic spot not far from Lukedonia, and the zone of water and salt directly beneath became my sanctuary.> 

“Actually, I fell into the sea nearby after I was fallen as the result of my first showdown against the Dark Spear. Geologically speaking, it was near a human city called Miami, stationed in United States.” 

<Miami...? It happens to be one of the three vertices composing the Bermuda Triangle, at the center of which Lukedonia lies.> 

Lunark coerced her voice to activate, painstakingly shifting her attention away from the now-automated wince in her heart in reaction to Frankenstein's voice. 

“As you were recovering in the ocean for 820 years, your power was leaking from your coffin little by little. And after 8 centuries, the underwater domain centering on your ex-sanctuary came to absorb your power.” 

“What? You mean... Currently there is a submarine area not far from Lukedonia that holds power from Raizel?” 

“Correct. And that happens to be one of the three reasons why you, the Noblesse, and two of your heads of clans could return from death. During the nuclear missile incident, the three of you stood in defense of your homeland right above the Noblesse's ex-sanctuary. Which also served as the vessel of your remains from the clash. There the three of you absorbed the power of Noblesse teeming within, to rise back to life. Speaking of which, don't you feel there has been an increase of your power?” 

Silence heavily dawned upon the chamber as Lunark spoke; the three nobles knew she was absolutely right, their awareness of the phenomenon prevalent within them, unbeknownst to them. 

Once they defeated death, in contrast to their resolve, they could feel their powers have become somewhat more durable, more invulnerable. 

Which was forgotten momentarily due to series of huge events that promptly tagged along the nuclear missile incident, such as the downfall of Union and the QuadraNet Project. 

Hence the question regarding the resurrection of the three of the five affiliates of the nuclear missile incident was gone, but their curiosity was yet vivid. 

No, it has gotten vivider. 

“I beg your pardon, but I need more details regarding what you mentioned earlier. Now I understand how my lord, I, and Kei could return to life, but... Are you saying the return of Noblesse is also related to the place where we met our temporary eternal sleep?” 

No one emitted a breath at Rosaria's question-slash-accusation, for she touched on the spot that had been itching ever since Lunark held in her lips the “three factors” that had brought Raizel, Lascrea, Kei, and Rosaria back to the world of the living. 

All ears grew keen on Lunark's mouth, waiting for her words to water their thirst for knowledge. 

“Yes, but it wouldn't have been possible without the other two factors, one of which happens to be the half of Ragnarok that you yielded to the Noblesse.” 

Lascrea's, Kei's, and Rosaria's mouths turned agape, for they did not expect to hear the name of the noble lord's soul weapon from a werewolf.

No sound could be heard past Lascrea's phone, an evidence that Raizel and Frankenstein would look no different from them. 

“You permanently forfeited the half of your soul weapon to the Noblesse, did you not?” 

“...I did. It was left behind for Raizel by my father the lord, which Raizel gave back to me upon his return to Lukedonia after 820 years. Nevertheless, I handed it to him in order to replenish his life force.” 

“The power that used to compose the half of the Ragnarok would have by now changed into Noblesse's life energy, fully absorbed into his body. But it's not completely gone. Its remains must be there. Even though it is only half of its original form, Ragnarok stemmed from the bloodline of the noblest nobles in the lead of your kind, therefore forged with might beyond any mortal understanding. I'm sure you, O Noblesse, would have felt the weapon flowing within you ever since you received it.” 

Raizel spoke no confirmation, which in turn served as a confirmation.

It was his habit of speech; whereas he does not necessarily confirm what is right, he will deny anything that deserves his denial. 

<...Okay, so what's the final factor?> 

“...The fact that the four of them met eternal sleep, albeit only briefly, on the same day, at the same hour.” 

That was when Kei and Rosaria exchanged glances, their eyes flickering precariously, and Lascrea failed to conceal confusion marred with inquisitiveness from her face. 

“The key is that you, O lord, and the Noblesse fell into eternal sleep at the exact same moment. As your remains dropped into the Noblesse's ex-sanctuary, the power of the Noblesse embedded in the area created a reaction with the remains of the Ragnarok, its power not far behind the former. And this reaction reached out to its twin - yes, it reached out to the Noblesse, now a biological container of the half of the Ragnarok.” 

The three nobles listening to her gaped at her, looking as if they were hammered in their heads. 

“The point is that the bond between the two parts of Ragnarok still exists as we speak, even though a half of it now pulses through Noblesse's blood and soul. As the two Ragnarok's caused a chain reaction of resonation with the Noblesse's power under the sea, there formed a temporary spiritual bond between you and the Noblesse.”

<...So are you saying the resurrection allowed by the power from my master's ex-sanctuary managed to apply to my master as well?>

“...Precisely.” 

As Lunark's speech was closed, no one did not as much as mumble, too starstruck by the elements that felt so much like part of destiny, in joint with coincidence like fate. 

At then Lascrea's eyes gleamed in remembrance. 

“That reminds me of the tale I picked up from the human reporters who used to be short-term tenants of Lukedonia. There is this marine zone near Lukedonia dubbed as 'Bermudan Treasure Chest' among humans, flaunting innumerable number of rare marine species, its individuals much bigger than those from the identical classification inhabiting other areas. However, recently there have been mysterious shifts in the ecological system of this zone, such as mass deaths of marine species, including the blood-red corals exclusive to this zone.” 

“True. This place you speak of happens to be a favorite dining spot of mine, where I would often drop by to feast on the fish.” 

“...Now I am reminded of how it all began upon our homecoming.” 

<...I see. That zone must have flourished thanks to the power from my master's ex-sanctuary, which is not surprising. It has been bearing the greatest force of life on Earth for more than 8 centuries. But now its power is lost to you, two of your heads of clans, and my master, thanks to this spiritual bond thing, resulting in the end of the golden age for its marine population.>

“...Don't forget that I received unimaginable amount of power from that spot as well. So things can only take the worse turn for the natives of that zone.” 

Kei started to speak as soon as Lunark finished her mutter. 

“Quick question - how do you know all this? And how come none of us remember this?” 

“...The ex-sanctuary of the Noblesse absorbed along with his power the psyche he had harbored. I'd say the power that is held there is basically semi-animate. So after the nuclear missile incident, the entire process of spiritual bond and resurrection that touched on your lord and the Noblesse was engraved into the power within the ex-sanctuary. I managed to absorb all this when I accepted this power. But the reason why none of you remember this is because... I'd compare it to the rupture of glasses that could not stand the multiple resonance of sound waves. What you had gone through was a miracle that transcends life and death. So it'd be no wonder that it left an unseeable scar upon your memories.”

Kei was not the last one to fling questions, and Lunark answered all of them. 

The meeting was closed following Frankenstein's offer that Raizel might be able to gain more life if they are to make use of the power that is left in Raizel's ex-sanctuary (and they sort of saw it coming).

Lunark was left alone, and only then someone approached her. 

“Lady Lunark.” 

“You...? What are you doing here? Your lord and your fellow heads of clans are gone.” 

Lunark's pink pupils were sketched with puzzlement as she recognized Rael. 

“There's something I must tell you.” 

The werewolf warrior tensed, in understanding that Rael chose to confront her after Lascrea, Kei, and Rosaria at last went away. 

On the other hand, Rael was fairly calm, for there was no trouble that required his presence. 

It was but a small reason that he requested the Central Knights from the ward to notify him as soon as she awakens, even though they share nothing in common except for the QuadraNet Project. 

It was but a small but legitimate reason. 

When Lunark awakens, relay her a gratitude from me, I pray. 

That was the concise yet packed-with-meanings request from Raizel, as he sent Rael away to Lukedonia. 

That was supposed to be the sole reason why Rael was waiting for the moment Lunark opens her eyes, but lately things have changed a little. 

During the course of arrest of Deneb, the Central Knights confiscated the walkie-talkie he forced away from Yuhyung's bag. 

Which was passed on to Rael, before it can return to its rightful owner.

The QuadraNet Project may be on a hold, but everyone knew it would be on a hold only for the time being. 

When the project is to commence again, the chances are high for Rael to reassume the ambassador of Lukedonia. 

So it would be logical for Rael to keep the walkie-talkie for now, though no one can certify until when he must keep it with him. 

So Rael had no idea the walkie-talkie dropped right onto his hand would spill Frankenstein's voice all of a sudden. 

I decided to bet my hopes on Mr. Jang's walkie-talkie just in case. Boy, am I glad it didn't turn out to be a fool's hope. 

S-sir...? What's going on...? 

I need a favor. And don't fret. It's nothing huge. 

Back then Rael was busy trying to think of a favor that Frankenstein could possibly ask from him. 

He knew Frankenstein was a man of reasons, but he could not help getting anxious, in consideration of the speaker.

When Lunark wakes up, tell her to go back to her homeland as soon as she becomes mobile. 

Sir...? What do you... 

Tell her not to even think about sticking around Lukedonia and go back as soon as her body becomes good enough for her to move around like usual. 

Frankenstein did not assume any coldness in his words, but Rael could not ask what is the matter, due to the just-deal-with-it attitude he wore at the time. 

Nonetheless, Rael presumed there was no misfortune or problem that Frankenstein had in mind that had urged him to make such delivery to Lunark. 

But please tell her that she doesn't have to run back home right as she opens her eyes. Please. 

He could feel generosity, not at all feigned or halfhearted for the sake of the least of the courtesy he could pull off, as Frankenstein added one more “please.” 

Retracing his experience, Rael finally started off with his job as a messenger. 

*****

Few days later, KSA 

“And that's it for the whereabouts of the remaining lots of the Union.”

A series of nods and regards from the table headed to Tao, who had been making his laser pointer busy with the satellite images from the beam projector. 

Seoul at last regained its daily life, thanks to KSA and RK's joint administration. 

All boxes on the to-do list of treatments and examinations were checked off, and the protocol on media management and operation in case of national crisis met its closure. 

And today, the key personnel of KSA, the RK, 3rd Elder, and Yuigi were gathered at the meeting room for the briefing on the progress up-to-date. 

First of all, Yuhyung was officially discharged, permanently expelled from the registered catalog of KSA employees and staff, imperatively relieved from all his duties and privileges. 

At the same time he was charged, with the recent case in Seoul, as a result of the internal investigation on the matter.

His true crime will never be printed on the public document housing the details of his charges, but he will be legally punished in one form or another, via the man's request. 

I don't care what or how. I want the heaviest penalty you can throw upon me. 

They have yet to decide on the exact what or how, but Yuhyung's career and life are now as good as over. 

And the Union agent who was captured at the end of the calamity at Seoul was eliminated the day before. 

Before which came the interrogation on the location of and the melee force possessed by the remainder of the Union, which provided a basis for Tao to plot a satellite map. 

“The international summits over the globe are not yet very cooperative, which means we are the only manforce we can hire for this job. So my opinion is that in terms of efficiency, it'd be much better for us to select and dispatch people for extermination and shutdown, rather than to have us travel back and forth for the job.” 

“So you're saying the said people must live as wanderers until the Union is completely gone, keeping in touch with us for the sake of communication and progress report.” 

“Which is why we need someone equipped with the energy and combat abilities that will allow them to cope with years-long travel and non-stop combats, as well as flexibility in improvisation against the unexpected. And thorough knowledge in the a's-to-z's of the Union would be a plus.” 

The second Tao, Yeonsu, and M-21 finished their speech, a hand was raised in the air. 

“I'll do it.” 

The hand belonged to none other than the 3rd Elder, gaining a dozen spotlights from the spectators' wide-open eyes. 

“I'll join him.” 

And Yuigi was the second to raise a hand. 

“W-what do you mean by that?” 

Takio - obviously - posed a question in alarm.

“I'm the perfect candidate for the requirements you just listed, M-21. And unlike you and your team, with duties to protect this place, I have no requisites that will bind me from travels.” 

“Same could be said of me. Since the 3rd Elder has lost his power, he would need a bodyguard to carry on with his mission against the modified humans potentially as powerful as Helga.” 

Their logics were without a flaw; in fact, they made an appeal that was only essential. 

The results for 3rd Elder's check-up revealed that his power did not altogether vanish; however, now he has become weak, no longer capable of firing an impact on par with that from a tank upon a single glance. 

Not to mention they learned through Helga that Union was still armed with combatants including her teammate named Sol. 

A proof that it will take a miracle, not hope, for them to bypass any physical collision during their mission. 

A proof that the 3rd Elder and Yuigi are basically candidates sent from above for the job. 

And they knew they would not need to be apprehensive for another betrayal, as the two ex-agents were the ones who supplied the key solutions for the catastrophe at Seoul, thereby earning themselves virtual badges that will certify their allegiance. 

The briefing took itself through the introduction, body, and conclusion without a haste, until the 3rd Elder and Yuigi were classified into a special team to search and destroy the hidden survivors of Union around the world. 

Partially because Frankenstein curiously hurried with the briefing.

“Now, I shall take my leave. You guys stay here and... Do whatever you need to.” 

“What? Where are you off to, boss?” 

“Outside.” 

“Outside? You mean outside Korea?” 

“Yup. But don't worry. I'll make sure I'll be there to say good-bye to the special team as they leave.” 

The three men of the RK could only tilt their heads in confusion, staring as Frankenstein hustled away without even telling them where exactly he was headed to. 

“But is it just me, or... Is he kind of excited?” 

“Thought I was the only one.”

“Well, you weren't.” 

The three men felt their curiosity stacking up by the end of their chat. 

Just what could urge the blonde human to leave in urgency, with a face in full bloom with such roseate excitement so very pronounced? 

(next chapter)

There you have it - the secret behind the four nobles’ return from death. As a reminder, in this fic Muzaka was not dead during the nuclear missile incident, which was mentioned in chapters 1 and 2. It took more than 60 chapters for me to finally unleash the secret for the remaining four. XD

This is part of the reason why I wanted to write this fic. I wanted to talk about Frankenstein and Lunark’s relationship, which was never officiated or portrayed in further depth in the original webtoon, and also attempt my take on the why’s and how’s on the nobles’ resurrection. As I was coming up with theories, I was reminded of the half of the Ragnarok that Lascrea gave to Raizel, and then I remembered how Lascrea, Kei, and Rosaria stopped a missile headed to a human city. The name of the city was left unknown in the webtoon, but I decided it’s Miami, since it didn’t take that long for them to stand upon the ocean to stop the missile (meaning it’s nearby Lukedonia and stationed at the coast of the continent, which would meet the demands to describe the American city that happens to be one of the three vertices making up the Bermuda Triangle). Thus I could come up with the grand secret behind the nobles’ return from death. This “Bermudan Treasure Chest” that I created was in a way a huge spoiler, and the blood-red corals that inhabit this zone was also a hint, in a way. And of course, none of this is canon; this is purely my theory, my creation.

At last I revealed the secret behind the return of the four nobles from the nuclear missile incident, and the two villains of this fic - Helga and Yuhyung - made their official exit. And you also know what will become of the 3rd Elder and Yuigi, and now all that remains is the relationship between Frankenstein and Lunark & the reason why Muzaka’s body moved on its own for survival during the nuclear missile incident. Which means that once these two are settled as well, this fic will be over. There are only 2 more chapters to go, and I can’t tell you how thankful I am to you for staying with me all this way. I’ll see you next week and the week after that with chapters 69 and 70, respectively! Thank you so much! :)

[a-lil-perspective]

Remember Me/Holding On (For Dear Life)

A/N: The Bad Batch X Reader. Playing around with a scenario where the Bad Batch removed their inhibitor chips with Echo, thus forfeiting executing Order: 66, and they go incognito in faking their deaths thereafter. Reader doesn’t know so it’s full of angst? All-around switching up my writing a bit with this one. Feedback is always appreciated. Technically is a Reader insert but I also switched up the pronouns a bit. [Warnings: Mourning over death of loved ones, subliminal implication of suicidal thought] @shadow-hyder @starflyer-104 @thegoodbatch @kriffingunlucky @karpasia @obiorbenkenobi @everyonehasanindividuality (Tag List is open.:))

{~***~}

Clone Force 99. The Bad Batch.

A Clone Force To Be Reckoned With.

A whirlwind of gray plastoid and flashing crimson accents. A brewing swirl of personalities and a tempest of skill, bleeding together seamlessly. Much like their bond. Brothers by blood, and brothers in arms. A camaraderie unprecedented, a stellar example of unorthodoxy. Their story begging, no—demanding to be told.

I’m not the right person to do so. You’d do well hearing it from the four warriors themselves.

But they aren’t here. They’re gone.

Not gone... I must correct. Merely marching far away.

No, marching is too straightforward and monotonous for them, too regulated and predictable; a disgrace and offense to their overall prowess—those insufferable, lovable di’kuts.

Not marching: Clone Force 99 is ‘charging-headfirst-into-no-doubt-a-suicidal-battle-comprised-of-an-equally-crazy-strategy’ far away.

Yeah. That’s more like it.

Accelerated aging. The untrained eye would’ve been none the wiser. The span of a decade accompanying, yet their demeanors depicted a thousand lifetimes. Fine lines etched into coarse and defined features, each one a new resolve for each man to fight for more than just existing.

They constantly challenged me to find a new angle. Something I couldn’t find solely through the scope of Crosshair’s rifle. They cut through and canceled stereotypes, combatant through even the thick resistance of daunt and demoralization: a resilience stronger than even the sharpest cut of Sergeant Hunter’s knife. Their oddities and wonderfully endearing peculiarities: fully embraced and secured in a grip stronger than even Wrecker’s large endow of muscle. The four men: definitively and unknowingly hacking into and through even the most incredulous beings by way of their efficiency and bond—an impressive capability that gave even the ingenious Tech a run for his credits.

Their aura of commandeering and confidence incited fear, evoked jealousy, or channeled respect. I’d like to point out from personal experience that it was absolutely possible to acknowledge the manifestation of all three reactions simultaneously. The Bad Batch had a peculiar way of affecting people; almost comical, when I think about it. Enough to nearly bring a smile to my face.

They say a person never leaves you. Maker, I’m hoping that might be true. What started so perfect was over too fast.

They boasted a ferocity, but a tenderness. Each member carried their armor a little differently, a little heavier than the other. When you unlatched and peeled away the protective encasing, therein was a raw vulnerability: humanity. A vulnerability, not a weakness. A strength. One of many the unique quartet possessed.

At their core: living, breathing, feeling, humans; ideal candidates concerning the way war tried to brutally strip them of that very individuality. But they protected as fiercely as they fought. They loved as passionately as they clung to their varieties of honed adeptness. Their loyalty and liberty was as explosive as the colorful destruction left incessantly imprinted throughout battlefields.

It’s borderline treasonous to say, that the Republic could’ve majorly benefitted from some propaganda courtesy of those four. Oh, how many times I tried to convince their stubborn and surprisingly bashful selves of the prospect—seriously, wouldn’t four handsome Commandos inspire you?

They seemed to think otherwise. Kriff. From the outside looking in, I would’ve enlisted in the militia the minute I saw those dark clad figures, shrouded in enigma and purpose, handsomely poised just above the text of some patriotic slogan that would’ve captivated me in a state of naivety and infatuation. Yes please. Sign me the hell up.

Not exactly how our first encounter went, but, not that far off, actually. The Sergeant of Clone Force 99 can could recall the story in great detail.

It hurts. I want to lift the pen and stop. But I press on.

On a more lighthearted notation: what you probably also didn’t know is that the boys kept a running bet. Gotta keep things lively when awaiting their next set of intel, right? Though more often than not, the four men each managed to singlehandedly work up the energy of a wild Loth-Cat, and of their own accord, impatiently and prematurely sprung into action; innately preferring to take charge whenever opportunities present. The indefinite cardholders, if you will: you play on their terms, or not at all—a subtle implication towards their fastidious and absolutely brilliant battle plans. Part of their aesthetic and reputation, you could say. I say with all affection: pure mischief, that bunch.

To their enemies: may you experience reverence and/or embarrassment in the 250+ fluent ways the Bad Batch could (or did) utterly kick your ass. In which case: may you rest in peace thereafter. Take that, shabuir.

Anyway, I digress; though not before the brief accredit of my improved fluency in the Mando’a dialect directed to the tutelage of Clone Force 99. Their methods define as unparalleled and most certainly, never present with redundancy.

Betting was limitless to the four, especially along the seemingly most insignificant points of interest: Who can find the best hiding spot for Hunter’s thieved bandana? Toss some credits in. How long will Tech go without sleep this time? Credits in the betting pool. How soon will Crosshair run out of his next batch of toothpicks? Bet.

As for me? I would’ve bet on us. We were untouchable. I always told them it’d take a whole damn army to drag me away.

Ironically, it took a half-dozen Clone Troopers to drag me away from the gravely man bearing news of their tragic fate.

I lost a part of me I’ll never find. But as sure as it is my obligation and desire to consistently—always— remember those men in everyday passing, it is more my duty to make certain their legacy is not lost. It’s my priority, the dedication of time and breath, to depict the breadth of their influence.

You should remember the skilled men donning a palette of gray and red. The men adorning variants of a skull insignia and two matching digits: 99. Distinct characteristics, delineate biographies demanding to not be cast aside nor torn from the pages of history.

Ramikadyc—a Commando state of mind. An adjective of the Bad Batch. An inherence that extended beyond their overt classification, one that outreached towards others, an absolute; an honorable invitation bridging the gap and instilling unification between fellow Clone brethren.

A minuscule sampling scratched within this piece as a broken illustration, of the life of the greatest Commando unit to ever exist, and of incredible men.

This is not the end. It’s just the beginning.

Be’Bes’Bavar Ashnar Olaror.

The Cavalry Has Arrived.

{~***~}

Her swollen wrists flexed to knot the crimson accessory around the piece of flimsiplast at last; a seal. It never got any easier to re-read her hastily scribbled Aurebesh requiem. It folds in on itself, the material crinkles, informing the woman that her hands are trembling as she performs the simple task involving dexterity. A dark splotch newly materialized on the worn fabric of bandana vaguely registers to her, of the salty tears now welling in her eyes. She inhales sharply and awkwardly bends to lay the rolled note to rest in the garden of stone and corpses. And with it, the remnants of her already fragmented composure.

Her throat was tight again. She struggled in swallowing deep anguish amidst the sharp winds that chapped at her soft facial features and stung against the dry sclera of her red-rimmed eyes. The buzz of the cold did little to counteract the hot flush rising in her cheeks. Time hung in stasis, yet the throb of her ankles indicated a semblance of how long she’d actually stood motionless at the foot of the weathering graves.

Or maybe the ache was from the extra weight carried purposefully around her newly swollen abdomen; she could no longer tell which. The deep pang in her chest robbed her of a breath, and she felt as empty as the four corpses now six feet under the stars. The thud of a heartbeat—now two—felt cruel and indignant within the graveyard and for a millisecond, a sickly enticing one, the DC series cinched at her hip was, obscurely, the most alluring décor amid the melancholy earth.

She startled at the fleeting thought; gone as quick as it began, giving way to the flood of despair. Agony was quickly sinking it’s teeth, despondency was bearing it’s full weight on her shoulders, and respite has abandoned her. A strangled cry scraped from her dry throat, a familiar sound she’s produced a dozen times in the wake of his disappearance. Six months.

It felt like a lifetime.

She remembers in total recollection the last night she saw him. It replays like a broken holorecord every time her eyelids shut. A moment that robbed her of more time; a cruelty.

His dark eyes harbored solemnity. She gazed up in anticipation at him, a nauseating knot twisting deep in her belly. At the time, she didn’t register the feeling of dread. He told her not to worry, that everything will be alright. She should’ve been more intuitive, should’ve known those words were accursed in their own right; a distinct diction almost always bestowing a finality or goodbye.

But he was gentle and soothing with his words, albeit deliberate in presentation. In the quietude, she associates him with serenity. The man’s adoration for her transcended. His fingers curled around her own in emphasis as he pushed the newly gifted DC blaster pistol to her chest.

“From me to you.” A raised hand quickly cuts off her stubborn reiteration of her full capability and independence without the weapon in tow. “It’ll make me feel better for you to have this. Never know when you’ll need it.”

Times are changing. He desperately wanted to tell her, about everything.

“I just need you.” Her declaration is faint. The spindly man briefly clamps his tongue in quelling his own dire reciprocation threatening to spew. The faint ticking of a chronometer in the corner warns him not to break down and unravel here, it’s not the time. Not right now. Not yet.

Only when he departs.

“What you need is to be strong. For me. Okay?”

For the baby. She quickly extinguishes her pained cries. Her hand splays reflexively across her midsection in stoked remembrance, and the calloused pads of her fingers rub soothing circles in the stirring, where there was now pressure from the child‘s restlessness. Mando’a serenaded habitually from between her lips, along with a promise.

“Ner cyare ad’ika... I promise that you will know all about your family. Your Buir. Your wild Bavodu’e.” A strained chuckle unbridles, leaving a bitter taste, short and succinct before disappearing. A forlornly glance to the headstones. Her voice cadences. “They would’ve loved you. Someday, you’ll be able to feel them.”

“Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la.”

Not gone, merely marching far away.

Something hopeful and inspiriting flits deep in her soul. Her lashes flutter upward and the stars are in a particular array of brilliance. It zips across the expanse of sky, like a ship jumping to hyperspace nearby.

“Ret’urcye mhi, ner cyare.”

Somewhere not so far beyond, she can feel his warmth; the tangibility of his deft fingertips resting assuringly at her shoulders, the wind now encasing her in a mimicry of his lanky but sturdy arms. She holds tight in his absence, and the wind resonates vivid echoes of his sultry voice just past the shell of her ear and bristles the stray strands matted to her tear streaked face.

He’s not here.

The sun remains persistent in rising and combating the dark, so she wills herself to stand amidst the devastation. An abrupt halt to her story—their story—left without a full narrative or plot to flesh out, now leaves her dubious over the already shrouded future.

A fond realization, no longer destined to be a memory—for memories are manifested from events already taken place—nevertheless flickers to the surface. The fondness remains just as palpable.

A memory never allowed to transpire, aggrievedly reminding her, a memory simply not meant to be. But she wills the strength to dream, anyway. She decidedly reaches for an alternate cover to write a new story in. It starts as a rough draft, but the growing bump of her abdomen is living proof of new beginnings, of continuing legacies and a beautiful piece that wholesomely envelops and accounts for the aching, missing one.

Not a memory; no. An assurance, a promising devotion to his origins inscribed on the delicate surface of her heart, and one day, sewed and etched into her child’s. Their child.

“Little Ram’ser: a sniper, just like your Buir.”

[monster-huntologist]

Monster Ecologies: Rajang and Furious Rajang

Entry 31 - Rajang and Furious Rajang

Name: Rajang and Furious Rajang

Aliases: Rājan, Wukong for Rajang, Gekikō Shita Rājan, The Wrathful Storm for Furious Rajang, and Gold Lion for both

Classification: Mammal, Primate, Fanged Beast

Biology: Classified as Fanged Beasts, Rajang are an extremely rare species that are seldom sighted and those who do see it often don’t live to tell the tale. They have a gorilla-like body with a small tail and two large horns. They are extremely fast and nimble, jumping around the battlefield during fights. They are infamous for their extreme physical strength, often throwing pieces of terrain far larger than their own bodies. When sufficiently enraged, they can harden the muscles in their limbs to further boost their strength and defense alongside giving the limbs a bright red colour. During battle, Rajang have a tendency to go into a “Golden” mode where their power skyrockets and parts of their fur turn a bright yellow. This colour comes from the deadly electricity the beast is capable of using, often fired out as a singular beam. The electricity is actually stored in its unassuming tail, but the monster is not directly producing the energy itself and instead obtains it from an outside source detailed below. If the tail is seriously damaged or severed completely, the world is introduced to the nightmare that is Furious Rajang. A Variant of the species, its stored electrical energy now flows through its entire body and turns sections of its fur a permanent yellow. Their power levels are comparable to their normal golden state, and they stay like this permanently rather than needing to “recharge”.

Behaviour: The best way to describe Rajangs are “ultra-aggressive fight-seekers”. They are ready and willing to attack anything that so much as looks at them the wrong way. They do have some sense of restraint in that they will let fleeing opponents survive but their killing methods are often extremely brutal, sometimes crippling its victims before going for the finishing blow to the head. Rajang children rarely meet their parents, as the mother only looks after them until they are able to move properly. This is due to their extreme aggression causing them to violently attack even others of their own species that they see as challengers. They are incredibly determined once they’ve set their mind to something, powering through pain and ignoring wounds to defeat its opponents. Rajang do have moments of calm when no other monsters are nearby, but these are far and few between. Furious Rajang are much like Savage Deviljho, in that their extreme power isn’t completely beneficial. The electricity flowing through their bodies has also affected their brains, hardwiring them to a single thought: DESTROY. Nothing is safe in the vicinity of these creatures and they will often maim and massacre any living thing they see. Some specimens may even die of starvation or dehydration as killing is literally the only thing on their minds.

Habitat: Rajang and Furious Rajang are nomadic, wandering from area to area as they please. They are incredibly hardy creatures and can live in nearly any type of habitat, but are primarily found in both forests, mountains, arctic regions and volcanic regions. Due to this, Rajang can live in any habitat found in the New World.

Diet: Surprisingly, Rajang and Furious Rajang are actually omnivorous. Their diet mainly consists of meat from small monsters such as Kestodon, Gastodon, Aptonoth, Apeceros, and Wingdrakes, alongside numerous types of fruit and mushrooms too. But there is one specific meal that only the strongest and fastest Rajang are capable of attaining: the horn of a Kirin. While Kirin are too fast for the Rajang to actively hunt on a regular basis, they can snag the horn of the Elder Dragon and break it off if it is careless. These horns are actually the catalyst for the Rajangs electrical abilities, lasting for months at a time before needing to be replenished. Young Kirin that have not reached the strength or speed of their parents are much more vulnerable, but they are just fast enough to evade the beast if it makes so much as one mistake while chasing them.

Attack Method: Rajang are physical powerhouses, pummelling opponents with its fists and occasionally blasting them with its electrical beam. They are immensely strong, capable of grabbing Flying Wyverns such as the Raths right out of the sky and throwing them around. They will often tear large pieces of rock multiple times the size of its body out of the ground and throw them at opponents. The strangest attack of a Rajang involves it jumping up into the air and inexplicably spinning in place. It then rockets back down to the ground, where it will sometimes repeat the attack twice before finally landing. Furious Rajang are much the same, but hit even harder and display more advanced fighting skills. They are also capable of expelling electricity through their arms alongside their mouth.

Place in the Food Chain: As to be expected due to their extreme strength, Rajang assert themselves as apex predators in whatever environment they pass through. Very few creatures are capable of challenging them and the foolish ones that do try often end up with their heads smashed into a bloody pulp. Like Deviljho and Bazelguese, they are an Elder Dragon level threat and are one of the few creatures that actively attempt to fight them instead of fleeing. Although exceedingly rare, Furious Rajang are even more dangerous and are more akin to a natural disaster than a living creature. Some of the few Furious Rajang corpses that biologists have observed in the wild have been noted to have been repeatedly impaled by numerous icicles. This is believed to be the work of Oroshi Kirin, using their mastery over ice to both protect ecosystems from the wrath of the ferocious beast and to put them out of their misery.

This has been a report on the Rajang and Furious Rajang. Thank you for reading.

[ohshcscenerios]

Beach House

Chapter Eleven - Choose Your Own Adventure

Result of previous poll: Takashi and Mitsukuni 

Haruhi thought for a moment, considering her options. She had hoped she could be left behind at the beach house to enjoy a quite peaceful morning beneath the sun but a few of their options did entice her. She wasn’t entirely tempted to join Kyoya’s interview or the twins for a chaotic visit through the shops. Tamaki’s idea was appealing but unfortunately spending alone time with him did not. That left her with...

“I think I’d like to visit the museum with Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai, if that’s alright with you?” Haruhi said as she looked to the oldest host, her question apparent in her eyes. 

Mitsukuni swallowed his bite of tart and offered an agreeable smile, “Takashi and I would love for you to join us, isn’t that right?” He turned to address his question to his tall cousin sitting beside him. 

Takashi nodded with a small smile before finishing his bagel with jam. Last night he purposely suggested the museum in hopes of attracting Haruhi’s attention. He knew they both shared a love for history. Suddenly his bagel tasted sweeter now that fate had shined some light on him.

“You’d rather look at decorated corpses than run around the mall with us?” Hikaru sneered, taping anxious fingers against his cup. He hoped he and Kaoru would show her a fun time at the shops, perhaps even indulge her with a few outfits - of their choosing of course. 

Haruhi rolled her eyes with a lopsided smile, “That’s the key word, run. Id’ rather enjoy myself today than wear myself out keeping up with you two. Besides, I like museums. You can find very interesting pieces of history inside that you might have never known.” 

That was that for their short breakfast together. They brought their plates inside and piled them in the sink, more out of habit than lack of manners. Haruhi knew they were used to maids caring for their messes but it still irked her that she was left with the cups and plates. 

Takashi noticed her sour attitude as she stared at the sink and rested his hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention, “You don’t have to clean after us. Kyoya’s family hired a maid for when we left the beach house.” He didn’t want her to feeling obligated as the only willing person to keep the house clean, especially when someone else would be paid handsomely to do it for her once they all left. Haruhi took a deep breath and nodded before visiting her guest bedroom for a quick change of shoes. 

By the time she, Takashi, and Mitsukuni arrived to the museum it was a little past nine am. Once they were inside Mistukuni waved a pamphlet in the air as he pointed towards the different hallways leading into each exhibit. 

“Which exhibit should we look at first?” Mistukuni asked, not bothering to contain his excitement. He wasn’t a fan of death but he did appreciate art. He could walk between renaissance paintings for hours. 

Haruhi rubbed her chin as she thought out loud, “I though we were going to see a mummy but I suppose we have plenty of time for that.” She studied the hallways and noticed they were organized by decades instead of classification. She supposed the mummy would be found in “Ancient Times” by the far right but another hallway caught her attention in the center. 

“The 1950′s era seems interesting... Should we start there?” She suggested as she pointed towards the hallway directly ahead of them. 

Mitsukuni nodded, “That’s a great idea, Haru-chan. We can work our way around clockwise.” He jumped ahead of them with a hop and quickly walked towards the hallway with Takashi and Haruhi following close behind. 

The trio browsed the many beautiful, interesting, and rarely disturbing paintings and sculptures that captured the essence of each era. Haruhi read the plaques out loud as they rotated to each display. Takashi enjoyed listening to her inquisitive voice for it made his experience all the more enjoyable. In fact, just having her beside him was an enjoyment in itself.

They exited a hallway and rounded towards the last; Ancient Times. Mistukuni knew that was where the mummy rested and bid his two friends a temporary farewell, opting to buy a few treats from the small bistro corner while they went without him. He wished them luck and told them to take their time before quickly crossing the marbled floor. Haruhi only shrugged her indifference but Takashi knew his cousin was playing his impish hand in turning this outing more into a date. However… he couldn’t be too upset with the idea.

The pair walked around the exhibit, aweing at the ancient spears and delicate pearled jewelry found in tombs. A few times Haruhi looked to her senpai with a question about what they were seeing which he proudly answered with detailed facts. He brushed up his knowledge on Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, and the Dark Ages for which he thanked himself for now.

As they neared the exit Takashi noticed an interesting doll carved from wood. It almost looked like a small raccoon which instantly reminded him of Haruhi. He reached for her hand before she walked ahead and slipped his fingers between hers, not realizing his intimate grasp. Haruhi looked at him wide-eyed but didn’t pull her hand away, only followed his finger towards the wooden doll.

She chuckled, “It kind of looks like a raccoon.”

Takashi nodded, “I doubt it is a raccoon, considering that animal wouldn’t have lived in Egypt, but it’s still cute.” He looked at the ceiling, not believing he had just said that. It sounded out of character for him, at least from what he believed Haruhi’s perspective to be, but he just felt so comfortable around her…

Haruhi didn’t seem to notice his chattiness, “Yeah, it really does look cute.”

They stood before the glass display for a moment longer to observe the other relics beside the doll. They didn’t hear the small footsteps approaching from behind.

Mitsukuni immediately noticed their hands entwined together before he noticed anything else – at least of greater importance. It appeared his little plan had worked.

Mitsukuni cleared his throat which successfully got their attention. When they turned around they finally noticed they were still connected by their hands and instantly let go, slightly turning away to hide their harshly blushing cheeks.

“I just got a text from Kyo-chan. He’s finished at the hospital and would like us to meet for lunch....” He paused as an idea popped in his mind, “… unless you two would rather have lunch on your own?”

Takashi and Haruhi glanced at each other, unsure how to answer the question or explain the shift in the atmosphere between them. 

Should Takashi and Haruhi have lunch together or join their friends? (Click to Vote)

Like I’ve said before, choose wisely! Day Two has only begun (hehe). 

Next update should be around 08:00pm (ETS). Poll will end 30 minutes prior.

[dreadhaus-literature]

{Writing Research} Obsessives

It’s no secret I’ve got a love affair with obsession. I could dive into why that is, I’ve talked about it a few times before, but that’s not the purpose of this post. No, the purpose, the focus of this post, is to explore the nature of Obsessives, the different types there are, and to establish more of a clear cut style of obsession so that I can refer back to it for my own personal writing.

I’ve said before but I don’t often feel like I’m scratching the itch I have when I write about Obsessives. It never feels like enough, and I’m hoping the work I’m putting into this will help. Maybe it’s a sense of disorganization? I know what I want to portray, but there’s so much beneath the surface it’s like trying to fit the ocean in a paper cup. I’m constantly feeling like I’m missing things, like I’m not really conveying the desperation, the “I’ll die without you,” level of obsession that’s enjoyable for me to write and to experience as a reader. It’s important to me that I get this right. I may be writing it instead of experiencing it but I enjoy it in all capacities so it needs to be done correctly.

So let’s start with the basics.

What is an Obsessive?

An obsession is defined as “an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind”. To expand on that, when I think of someone who is obsessively in love, that’s the base, the foundation. It’s a love that’s all consuming, so that even day to day interactions or routines are plagued with thoughts of the Obsessive’s desire--who I will, for the sake of clarity, be labeling “Beloved”.

I.E., an Obsessive has a Beloved, the person who is their fixation.

An Obsessive may or may not know the right way to love someone. Some are more self-aware than others, they’re aware their love might be perceived as wrong or that the lengths they’ve gone to achieve it is wrong, but that won’t stop them from obtaining their Beloved--at least, I won’t be stopping them. Some writers don’t write their Obsessives actually gaining their Beloved but I think that’s weak. This is fantasy, and it doesn’t need to be a healthy relationship. Some things that would be abuse in reality I will write about in a fantasy setting and I won’t be labeling it as abuse--don’t like it? Don’t read it. I enjoy what I enjoy and this is the only time during this entire piece that I’m going to address this.

One thing that I will be taking away from my Obsessives versus what they’re like in reality, is that in reality people who are obsessed or who stalk victims, nine times out of ten, will change their obsession if their victims moves away. I am writing Obsessives for a reason, so once they’ve got their sights on their Beloved, that’s not going to change. I liken it to a soulmate. The Obsessive is convinced, wholly and entirely, that their Beloved is the only one for them. It won’t change, no matter what. That’s part of the appeal, that there’s nothing that can change this person’s love of you. You never need to doubt or worry that a Obsessive will ever fall out out love with you; once they’ve fallen, that’s it. The only way the story will end is with the two of you together, in whatever context they can have you--and yes, I am including murder. If the only way they can have you is as a corpse, that’s how the story will end.

Before I dive into the different types of Obsessive I’ve categorized, I want to add one final note--I mentioned above that I will be writing “abusive” behavior that will not be considered abusive in my stories. To add onto that, I want it to be seen as a positive. Everything these Obsessives do is in the name of love for their Beloved and is not done to be abusive, hurtful, or mean. So if you see something, like controlling behavior, you need to step outside of reality if you find yourself questioning it or having a negative reaction to it. These aren’t being written to turn a reader off, they’re written for the opposite actually--this is meant to be enjoyed. So if you find yourself reading about these Obsessives and you’re turned off by an idea, try and ask yourself, “Are you looking at this from a reality standpoint? Are you taking this to be a negative?” Suspending disbelief is important in all types of fantasy, and that includes taboo relationships like Obsessives.

Remember, they love you. Forever and ever and ever. ♥

The Different Types of Obsessives

In my research of this particular personality trait, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are different types of Obsessives. No two are exactly alike, which bodes the question--what types are there?

I’ve broken my Obsessives down to the following eight types:

Manipulative

Possessive

Controlling

Delusional

Aggressive

Sadistic

Masochistic

Protective

This classification of Obsessives doesn’t mean a character can’t or won’t display other traits, or that they don’t fit into multiple classifications--a character may possess all Obsessive traits or fit into all classifications listed above. Really, the main purpose of splitting them up like this is just to help identify immediately what an Obsessive might do or be known for.

I.E., A Manipulative Obsessive could still also be a Sadistic and a Delusional but be classed as Manipulative because that is the first place they go to when presented with their Beloved and obstacles surrounding the potential relationship.

And don’t worry, the next section will explain these types in far more detail, so that you can kind of get a clearer understanding of where I’m coming from with these labels.

I’m a firm believer in that any character can be or do anything you want them to. If you’re keen on saying a specific character can’t or wouldn’t do something, that’s your personal hang-up, and I’m not here for it--in fact I’m here for the polar opposite, and I’ve kind of made it my mission statement to prove others wrong. I enjoy Obsessives, a lot, and so I like the thought that any character I like could be one. That’s also part of why I made this classification, because no two Obsessives are alike and that might be why you assume someone like Steve Rogers, for example, couldn’t be an Obsessive.

...Until you break down what an Obsessive actually is, and find that the Protective Obsessive fits him really well.

That’s the key here; you can have anything you want in fantasy, that’s the whole point of it, and that’s why I’m exploring these traits, these types of characters. So don’t be afraid to indulge and enjoy what’s being presented instead of telling yourself this is OOC or can’t be done. I’m here to tell you, you can make anything work if this is what you want.

It’s what I want, so here we are. ♥

Classification Descriptions

As promised, I’m going to start breaking down the description of the Obsessive classifications so it’s clear what each type is capable of or is known for. The purpose of breaking it down is so you can see that any character could be tipped to be an Obsessive--it doesn’t matter who they are, everyone has the potential to fit into these categories, because everyone is capable of anything, especially when it comes to love and the desperate need to keep it.

In each classification I’m going to cover:

Definition and Defining Adjectives

Typical Behavior

Types of Rules

Types of Punishments

Common Phrases

Danger Level

The danger level of Obsessives means the danger toward their Beloved and will range from Minor, Moderate, Considerable, and High. No Obsessive will come with a “no danger” label as at the root of obsession there is always a chance for danger to present itself. It’s only a question of how much and what each Obsessive’s trigger is. The danger level also does not mean if an Obsessive category is ranked “Minor” that a particular Obsessive may not be extremely dangerous.

I.E. - Protective Obsessives are ranked as “Minor” in terms of danger, but a Protective Obsessive within that category may be extremely dangerous. The classification itself is ranked lower as they are generally only dangerous to the outside world and not their Beloved, but that may vary depending on the particular Obsessive.

Danger levels are always reflective of the Obsessive’s danger toward their Beloved; any Obsessive should be considered dangerous to anyone who threatens their Beloved or their perceived happiness with their Beloved.

Period.

Manipulatives

Manipulation is defined as “the act of manipulating someone in a skillful manner,” or “the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way.” - It’s important to remember this when you’re taking a look at a Manipulative Obsessive. This is the foundation, the basis for what type of Obsessive they are

The two adjectives I would use to describe a Manipulative would be Lonely and Clingy

These two traits tend to exacerbate their behavior and they can also trigger their obsessive tendencies; for example, if their Beloved pays them the slightest hint of attention or affection, as it is a “fix” for their loneliness or calls to their clingyness

Manipulatives arguably contain or can contain all the other classifications easily, meaning you’re most likely to notice manipulative tendencies no matter what classification you’re looking at

They may also have a higher success rate of actually landing their Beloved, as their methods are somewhat hard to divert or spot

As you may expect, Manipulatives are known for emotionally manipulating their Beloved to gain their desired outcome--which is first and foremost always going to be landing their Beloved for themselves

Things are often posed as a question, to help it seem more reasonable, or to distract from what is actually being asked

I.E. - “Can you please stop going out with your friend so much? It isn’t safe and I’m worried about you, sweetheart. They can’t protect you like I can.”

Some Manipulatives may not know they are actually manipulating; if they’re also Delusional, for example, they will simply believe what they’re doing is for the best, no matter how it’s achieved

Others will know what they’re doing and won’t care, because in the end it’s about their Beloved and no matter what, as long as they’re safe and with the Obsessive...then it’s meant to be

This type of Obsessive will never see what they’re doing as wrong, whether they’re aware of their manipulation or not

Manipulatives will often ask questions that are not rhetorical, as they desire verbal confirmation of what they’re asking

Actions may speak louder than words but if their Beloved is unwilling, then they’ll take the words even if the actions don’t match

Manipulatives, it should also be noted, will be prone to doing things like bribery for affection

I.E. - They’ll take your phone or your laptop, or they’ll take a favorite stuffed animal, and they’ll give it back if you give them a kiss, or they’ll let you go outside if you tell them you love them

These Obsessives will put themselves in the Victim role, but not in the traditional way; meaning, if you refuse what they ask, they’re hurt by your rejection and they’re confused by it, as they’re only trying to help, to do what’s best for you

I.E. - “Why are you upset? I was trying to help you, honey.”

I.E. - “Can’t you see I’m doing this for us?”

They are not above using guilt to get what they want, be it affection or really anything from their Beloved

Manipulatives, it should be noted, never set out to genuinely make their Beloved feel bad or to actually make them sad or upset--that would devastate them, to be honest, as they feel what they’re doing is to make their Beloved happy

They are just desperate to make their Beloved happy and feel they know the best way to do so

In terms of rules, Manipulatives will most likely be known for enforcing rules that limit who their Beloved talks to and interacts with, where they go and with who, and if a Manipulative has a particular trigger (such as separation anxiety) that will most assuredly come with a rule

As far as punishments go, Manipulatives run the gammot of whether or not they’ll be strict or lenient, and it honestly varies depending on the particular Manipulative

Beloveds of Sadistic Manipulatives should be careful, as that will take the emotional manipulation up to a 10, alongside physical punishments like spanking or being gagged or restrained

Beloveds of Masochistic Manipulatives, alternatively, will have to deal with a Manipulative who mopes, pouts, or constantly seeks reassurance that they were doing the right thing--which may seem punishment enough for a Beloved who has to give of themself to make the Obsessive feel better

Common phrases of Manipulative Obsessives include:

“Don’t you love me anymore?”

“I’ll die without you. I mean it, I will.”

“Tell me what to do to make you love me?”

“You know you’re mine, don’t you?”

“It hurts me when you pull away from me like that, baby.”

“Is it really so hard to love me back?”

“If you give me a kiss, I’ll give you your phone back.”

“Can’t you say ‘I love you’? Just once? Please?”

Danger Level: Moderate

Possessive

Possessive is defined as “demanding someone's total attention and love.” - That’s the easiest way to learn what makes a Possessive Obsessive

The two adjectives I would use to describe a Possessive would be Insecure and Distrustful

Possessives are often just distrusting of the environment around their Beloved but it is worth noting if a Possessive is also a Manipulative, they may pose questions to try and get their Beloved to cut ties with someone they’re threatened by

I.E. - “You say you don’t love them more than me...but you hang out with them so much. Prove you love me more and delete them from your phone.”

Most Possessives will never outright accuse their Beloved of cheating, and if they do, they don’t mean it--it’s a tactic to get their Beloved to do what they want by guilt-tripping them

Possessives and Protectives are extremely similar Obsessives; they share a lot of the same traits--the difference really comes from how those traits manifest themselves, and that distinction is also what makes Possessives and Controlling Obsessives extremely similar

Possessives will be the most prone, alongside the Protectives, to insist upon living together with their Beloved as soon as they can convince them to do so--but make no mistake, they want it immediately

This comes from wanting to be able to control who is around their Beloved, and ensuring the Possessive gets the majority of their time

A Possessive will not be happy living separately from their Beloved, period

Possessives are also the most prone to stalking their Beloved, especially in the beginning stages of the relationship-- that’s very likely how the relationship began

The Beloved will likely not know how long the Possessive has been stalking them, unless the Possessive admits it--and if the Possessive also has Manipulative tendencies that itself may be a little white lie, depending on what the Possessive is trying to get out of their Beloved

Possessives are incredibly controlling, especially when it comes to the relationships their Beloved is allowed to have

If a Possessive is also Manipulative on top of Controlling, they may be exceptionally gifted at subverting their Beloved’s time and attention from other people in their Beloved’s life

If they aren’t Manipulative, they will simple demand attention--and expect to get it

“If I can’t have you, no one can.”

It’s not just a cutesy saying, it’s the truth; Possessives have jealousy issues and the more extreme they are, or if they’re pushed or can’t openly claim their Beloved, the more dangerous they’re going to be about it

Rules of Possessives are exactly what you would expect; they control who their Beloved talks to, for how long, where they go, and it’s extremely likely a Possessive will insist their Beloved does not go anywhere without them--and they’re likely not going to be allowed to go out with anyone without the Possessive present

Rules may vary from Possessive to Possessive, but you can pretty much be guaranteed it will always include controlling time and attention so that they get the majority of it. That’s always going to be the end goal

No matter how much attention they get, it is never going to be enough

Punishments from Possessives will likely always include some form of Marking; bruising, biting, cutting, burning, branding--you name it, if it leaves a mark, they’re going to be fine with it

The more Sadistic a Possessive, the deeper and more permanent these markings will be, and a true Sadistic Possessive will scar their Beloved to ensure their claim is respected

If a Possessive leans more toward the Protective side, their marks may not scar but they will be prominently displayed and there won’t be any covering them up--and you will not be out of their sight anytime soon

Common Phrases of Possessive Obsessives include:

“I love you.” (This is said often, multiple times a day, vocally or via text, whether their Beloved responds or reciprocates the feelings or not)

“You don’t get to leave me.”

“Stop talking to them so much.”

“Pay attention to me.”

“Where are you going? I’m coming with you or you’re not going.”

“If you don’t want them to die, you’ll stop talking to them.”

“Who are you talking to?”

“Tell me you love me more than them.”

“Don’t you dare think of leaving me. I love you.”

“You belong to me.”

“I feel so afraid when I see you with others. I won’t let them take you away from me.”

“If you don’t stop covering my marks, I’m going to start scarring you.”

“You think I’m jealous right now? Keep talking to them and see how much more jealous I can get.”

Danger Level: Considerable

Controlling

Controlling is defined as, “inclined to control others' behavior.” - That’s about as cut and dry as you can get when it comes to describing Controlling Obsessives

The two adjectives that most describe Controlling Obsessives are Domineering and Protective

Controlling and Possessive Obsessives are very similar and share a lot of the same traits, and while the same could be said of Controlling and Protectives, they way they go about things differ and that distinction is what’s important

Controlling Obsessives may best be descried as a mixture of Possessive and Protective, with the addition that they will go to extremes to secure their Beloved’s safety and attention

Controlling Obsessives also monopolize their Beloved’s time and who they spend it with, and this is both because of possessive tendencies and because they believe they know what’s best for their Beloved--even more than their Beloved would

Controlling Obsessives will isolate their Beloved from others if they feel threatened, and unlike some other Obsessives they won’t feel remorse for doing it, even if their Beloved gets upset or angry over it

They know what’s best--period

They will also use threats if they need to, to get a point across or to get the end result they want--but it’s never threats against their Beloved and they don’t see it as doing anything wrong

Controlling Obsessives tell. They don’t ask.

They will require constant access to their Beloved’s possessions and that does mean their phone, computer, social media; all to monitor who is in their Beloved’s life and what is being said to their Beloved

If they do not like someone or the way someone speaks to their Beloved, not only will they insist their Beloved cease contact but they’ll handle it themselves...and depending on the Obsessive, that may or may not involve loss of life

They are extremely jealous, of anyone and everyone, regardless of the reality of the relationship with their Beloved and at times it will bleed into paranoia and they will become fearful of losing their Beloved

When this happens, their threats will increase, and their Beloved will notice a ramp up in their overall Controlling behavior; they’ll lose access to other people and will have to spend all their time with their Obsessive until the feelings pass or are appeased

Controlling Obsessives set the same type of rules you would expect from a Possessive or Protective; limits on who their Beloved interacts with, where they go and with who, and there is a strict restriction on freedom.

It’s a pretty big deal if the Controlling Obsessive lets their Beloved do anything alone and I’d caution the Beloved against getting used to it

Broken rules will result in the same sort of punishments as Possessives or Protectives; marking, bondage/restriction, the loss of privileges like a phone or access to social media, etc.

It’s important to circle back to that Controlling Obsessives are not in this to hurt their Beloved; they simply know best and won’t listen to their Beloved or be swayed

Common Phrases of Controlling Obsessives include:

“Until you learn who really loves you, you’re staying here.”

“Better get used to giving me your phone when I ask for it, sweetheart.”

“Tell me you love me.”

“You aren’t wearing that out of the house unless I’m going with you.”

“I need you and you need me. Say it.”

“Do as I say or next time this’ll be worse.”

“Behave yourself.”

“I’m doing this for us.”

“What have I told you about talking to them? You’ll only have yourself to blame if something happens to them.”

“No, I’m not giving you your laptop back. If you want it, come sit on my lap and use it. Or be without it.”

“I don’t like it when you say things like that. Take it back.”

Danger Level: Moderate

Delusional

Delusional is defined as “a persistent, false psychotic belief regarding persons outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary.“ - Are you noticing a pattern here? This is the perfect way to get your foot in the door with understanding a Delusional Obsessive

The two defining adjectives of a Delusional Obsessive would be Affectionate and Devoted

The first thing to understand about Delusionals is that they range a little on what they may believe. I maintain there are two types of Delusionals:

I.E. - Type A Delusionals believe they and their Beloved are soulmates but does not perpetuate the belief they are already in a relationship

I.E.- Type B Delusionals believe, no matter the evidence to the contrary (refer back to the definition) that their Beloved already loves them and is in a relationship with them

Because both Type A and Type B Delusionals have a “blind spot” when it comes to their Beloved, they may exhibit different levels of delusion, such as not understanding they fabricated an entire relationship, or they may exaggerate normal gestures as grand gestures of love

I.E. - A Type A Delusional may be aware they’re not currently in a relationship with their Beloved, but their Beloved smiled at them today and wished them a nice day, so that confirmed they’re soulmates and they’re destined to be together

To an outsider, the minor act of, “Hope you have a nice day!” is simply a polite gesture, but to the Delusional it’s far, far more than that.

Any show of kindness or affection is going to be off the scales important and just confirms what they already know to be true

Alternatively, a Type B Delusional will not understand they made up an entire relationship. It does not matter what evidence they’re given to the contrary, you could sit them down and explain it to them repeatedly and it will not penetrate that blind spot

Same as the sky is blue and the ocean is wet, their Beloved loves them and is in a relationship with them

It’s also important to note that Delusionals will not exhibit their delusional behavior in any other aspect of their life with the exception of their Beloved--who is essentially their trigger

Delusionals are both equally rare (Type B’s are exceedingly rare) and common (Type A’s are fairly commonplace) as a person may not know they’re Delusional until they encounter their Beloved, their trigger

Delusionals won’t understand or even register their Beloved’s lack of affection or their rejection

It isn’t that they don’t understand the word “No,’ it’s that their Beloved is just nervous!

No matter what evidence the Delusional is presented with it will not change their mind

A Type B Delusional, who already perceives themselves in a relationship with their Beloved will perceive any negative emotion or behavior from their Beloved as “nerves” or “shyness”

I.E. - You don’t want to kiss because you’re shy!

I.E. - You don’t want to move in together yet because you’re just a little scared!

This won’t deter them, however; they’ll either unknowingly manipulate to get what they want or will continually, patiently wear their Beloved down

A Type A Delusional, who believes their Beloved is their soulmate but hasn’t fabricated a relationship will be much the same way--patient, but unyielding

Any negative emotion or rejection will still be perceived as “nerves”, as finding a soulmate can be a scary experience!

Don’t worry, they’ll be there for you while you adjust to the idea of being together forever

Out of all the Obsessive types, Delusionals will have the most common rules that seem to encompass all Obsessives; they want your love and attention, and they won’t take kindly to anyone else trying to intrude

They won’t knowingly set these rules or behaviors, as Delusionals don’t see themselves as anything other than in the right, behaving as they should with their soulmate, but you’ll know if you cross a line

Punishments will depend heavily on the type of Delusional; if they’re heavy-handed they may be physical, including restraints or marking, but if they’re more into verbal punishments you may find yourself being guilted into giving up time with others to give your Obsessive what they need to feel better

Common Phrases of Delusional Obsessives include:

“I just wanted to show you how much I love you.”

“Don’t be shy, sweetheart! We love each other.”

“Why are you upset? You’re supposed to give your lover gifts.”

“Why aren’t you smiling? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Why do you always lock your bedroom door? You can’t keep me out, silly girl/boy.”

“Where are you going? Can I come? Let me come with you.”

“It doesn’t matter where you go, what you do. I’ll always be able to find you. I will always find you.”

“We’re meant to be together, baby.”

“I’ll never love anyone as much as I love you.”

Danger Level: Considerable

One final note: Unlike the rest of the Obsessives, it’s important to note Delusionals pose an almost equal level threat between their Beloved and outsiders, as this is a psychotic condition that skews right from wrong. They never set out to actually hurt their Beloved, but the danger is present in that they may not understand the difference between right and wrong

Aggressive

Aggression is defined as “a forceful action or procedure (such as an unprovoked attack) especially when intended to dominate or master.” - It’s really important you pay close attention to these Obsessives...because they mean business

The two adjectives I use to describe Aggressives are Forceful and Demanding

Out of all the Obsessives, Aggressives could be argued to be the most dangerous overall as they are without a doubt the most bold

Everything regarding their Beloved amps them up to a 10 immediately, be it jealousy or the need to “protect” their Beloved from...everything

These Obsessives will say or do whatever they feel is best and while this may cause problems with their Beloved...it’ll be okay because they know best

Like Sadistic Obsessives, these Obsessives are heavy-handed and will not hesitate to strong-arm their way into their Beloved’s life, or strong-arm people out of it

As far as Aggressives are concerned, nothing is off-limits; they deserve to have access to their Beloved and they can and will do whatever they need to do to get it

If an Aggressive is stalking their Beloved, their Beloved will be aware it’s happening, because the Aggressive will be blatant about it

I.E. - Coming home to find notes in their home left by the Aggressive, or even finding the Aggressive still in their home

Anything that’s done will never actually be against their Beloved, of course...but any outsider straying too close to their Beloved better be damn careful

Aggressives will absolutely attack or kill (depending on the Aggressive) anyone who threatens their Beloved and/or their relationship with their Beloved

Despite their forceful nature, Aggressives really do love their Beloved and will treat them lovingly; even punishments that may result in the Aggressive turning on their Beloved will be done with love, as they believe they’re doing it for their Beloved

The only exception to this is that unlike Delusionals, if their Beloved continues to refuse them, fight them, or provoke their jealousy, Aggressives will make good on, “If I can’t have you, no one can.”

Aggressives also have the least control out of all Obsessives and their Beloved definitely needs to be careful and keep that in the back of their mind

When Aggressives say, “Forever,” ...they mean it

Rules will vary depending on the Aggressive, but considering every emotion they have with their Beloved is amped up so high, anything to do with jealousy or outsiders is going to be a no-no in their rulebook

Their Beloved can expect to watch their step and should expect controlling behavior, especially if the Aggressive feels threatened or is feeling particularly needy that day

Punishments are exactly what you’d expect from this type of Obsessive; they’re almost always physical and almost always of the bruising/scarring variety

Beloveds should not expect apologies, either, because this Obsessive loves you and is only doing this to prove it to you; if you’d behaved, this wouldn’t be happening, would it?

Common Phrases of Aggressive Obsessives include:

“If you’d stop making so much noise, I’ll stop being so rough. It’s just, you sound so fucking pretty when you cry, so I can’t...really help myself.”

“You belong to me. Test me or make me prove it and I’ll carve it into your perfect fucking skin.”

“Do not tell me no.”

“I’ll let you out when you tell me you love me.”

“You think you’ve seen me jealous? Oh, baby, you haven’t seen jealous. Not yet, anyway.”

“If you try to run away from me again I’m going to break your fucking legs, baby.”

“What did I tell you about talking to other people?”

“If you keep refusing to speak to me, I’m going to make it so you’ll never speak again.”

“If you look at them again, I’ll kill them and make you watch.”

“No, I won’t let go. Not until you say, ‘I love you,’ back.”

“If I can’t have you, no one will.”

Danger Level: High

Sadistic

Sadistic is defined as “taking pleasure in the infliction of pain, punishment, or humiliation on others.” - These Obsessives almost speak for themselves, really

The two defining adjectives for Sadistics shouldn’t surprise anyone; they’re Cruel and Selfish

Sadistic Obsessives, like Aggressives, toe a line when it comes to their Beloved and the extremes they’ll go for them--and like Aggressives they will cross it and they’ll enjoy it

Unlike some Obsessives, who may not enjoy when their Beloved shrinks back or seems uncomfortable, Sadistics bask in anything they can get

Negative reinforcement is still reinforcement as far as they’re concerned, because it means they’re getting to their Beloved and in the end, that’s all an Obsessive wants--attention

They will not listen to objections, the words, “No,” or “Stop,” and pleading will only excite them further

They also won’t necessarily see these negative actions as “harmful” to their Beloved, as their Beloved is theirs to do with as they please, to love as they please and this is how they love

Sadistics will likely have the most violent punishments out of all Obsessives, as they enjoy inflicting pain and seeing their Beloved suffer for rule-breaking

These Obsessives live for tears and begging, and they are extremely adept at getting what they want

Beloveds of Sadistic, Manipulative Obsessives should buckle up, as they’re in for a real rough time of it

Sadistics are the most prone to force--they will rape their Beloved, either for the enjoyment of humiliating their Beloved or because their Beloved keeps denying them

Denying a Sadistic only feeds their desire, like fanning flames. If you’re not careful, you’ll build them into a frenzy you’ll have trouble walking away from

It’s important to note that Sadistics’s interest won’t wane once they have their Beloved broken in

Expect the opposite; now they fully own their “toy” and can break them as much as they want and it’s akin to falling in love all over again

Sadistics are known for offering hope only to take it away, or with-holding things until their Beloved is reliant upon them for it, like food or personal belongings

Sadistics may enjoy either physical or emotional pain--or both

These Obsessives are no less loving than others, however, and are most prone to marking or branding their Beloved to prove this love and devotion

Their love is claiming and it definitely means forever

The more broken in a Beloved, the more scarred or submissive, the more in love the Sadistic, so fortunately or unfortunately for the Beloved, the more time spent with the Sadistic just means the more in love they’ll fall

Sadistics will set the same standard sort of rules for most Obsessives (controlling who their Beloved speaks to, where they go, who they’re with, etc), but be aware--they may set ridiculous rules or will not tell their Beloved all their rules in the hopes that their Beloved will step out of line and they’ll be able to punish them

Sadistics live for punishments

And as mentioned above, Sadistics are going to have the most violent punishments out of all Obsessives; they are going to come down hard and with intent to bruise, to mark, to scar, to rip and tear and they’re biting to break skin every single time

As Sadistics are not afraid to force, they are fine to prove their devotion to their Beloved through violent, painful means, and this can also include forced orgasm/milking, claiming their Beloved publicly or in front of someone the Sadistic is jealous of, or marking their Beloved in a way they cannot hope to hide

Common phrases of Sadistic Obsessives include:

 “I wouldn’t have to hurt you if you’d only behave.”

“If you ever stop loving me, I’ll kill you who you love instead...and still take you back.”

“Stay still. I want your make-up perfect before I ruin it.”

“Beg. Beg me to stop.”

“This is why I punish you, baby. You have to learn.”

“What did I say about covering my marks? Do I need to make them permanent?”

“You’re just so fucking beautiful when you cry.”

“One day I’m going to kill you, sweetheart. For no other reason than you’re mine.”

“Call them. I’m going to fuck you while you’re on the phone with them so they know you’re mine.”

“You like when I hurt you, don’t you? Yes you do, I can feel how wet/hard you are.”

“M-I-N-E. Look, baby, carved right into your tummy. Now you’ll never forget.”

Danger Level: High

Masochistic

Masochistic is defined as “deriving sexual gratification from being subjected to physical pain or humiliation.” - Like Sadistics, these Obsessives mildly speak for themselves

The two defining adjectives of Masochistics are Desperate and Needy

This, straight away, paints a pretty clear picture of the type of Obsessive a Masochistic is; they are desperate for any sort of attention they can get from their Beloved...and I do mean any attention

Masochistic Obsessives are exactly what one might be expecting; they are the polar opposite of Sadistic Obsessives, and share very similar traits with Manipulatives

In keeping with being the opposite of Sadistics, Masochistics derive pleasure from their Beloved rejecting them or treating them poorly

Some Masochistics really get off on being humiliated by their Beloved--

I.E. - “Why would I ever be with someone like you?”

This may have to do with the Obsessive’s poor self-esteem, or it may simply be a sexual interest of theirs; this will depend on the individual Masochistic--but it’s always, always enjoyed

Others enjoy repeated rejections of any sort, almost taking them as acceptances because their Beloved is making them feel good

How could it not be a match made in heaven when their Beloved knows exactly how to treat them?

One parallel that Masochistics do share with Sadistics is that they’re completely fine with making their Beloved uncomfortable

Not only do they not mind if their Beloved is uncomfortable, but they’ll push their limit if they feel it will earn them either affection...or worse

Negative reinforcement may as well be positive for these Obsessives; their Beloved’s really will have a tough time because whether they’re sweet or mean, the Masochistic will enjoy it

Masochistics openly enjoy mistreatment of any sort; this includes physical or otherwise

Yes, that does mean striking these Obsessives or fighting them excites them further

There really is no wrong way to love these Obsessives...and no real way to reject them either

Like Sadistics, once their Beloved is theirs, the Masochistic Obsessive will simply evolve into a healthy S&M relationship with their Beloved

Masochistics will only grow more enamored when their Beloved gives in, as it feeds into their desperate and needy personalities, and really the end goal for them has always been their Beloved’s love and affection

Rules for Masochistics will be the same as you would expect for other Obsessives; Masochistics may be into pain of all sorts but they’re not going to tolerate someone else moving in on their Beloved, so you’ll still need to mind your P’s and Q’s around them

Depending on what other traits a Masochistic displays, they may be extra strict and controlling, and if they’re possessive they won’t hesitate to give you marks to match the ones they’ve given themselves in your honor

Punishments from Masochistics will be unique; if they have Sadistic or Controlling tendencies their Beloved should expect that to come out to play, but if they’re solely Masochistic, their Beloved will have to deal with an Obsessive who will harm themselves to prove a point

Self-harm and self-mutilation are done both as punishments to get their Beloved to behave, and also done as a reward for the Masochistic...sadly for their Beloved, it’s a win-win for the Obsessive

Common phrases of Masochistic Obsessives include:

“If you’re mad at me...If it will make you smile, you can hit me.”

“I love you so much it hurts.”

“It’s okay if you hate me. I still love you.”

“I like when you bite me when we kiss, sweetheart.”

“I carved your name into my arm. See how much I love you? Now I’m yours forever and the whole world will know it!”

“I’ll tell you I love you until my throat bleeds.”

“You can be mad at me, it’s okay, but I have to kiss you.”

“I just wanted to show you how much I love you.”

“I like when you tell me you hate me.”

“Fight me all you want. It feels good when you do.”

“No one will ever love you like I love you. I can prove it.”

Danger Level: Minor

Protective

Protective is defined as, “to cover or shield from injury, damage, or destruction.” - As with the other definitions, this is the best place to start when classifying Protectives

The two defining adjectives for Protectives are Caring and Possessive

The last of the Obsessives in the classification list may be the most common of them all--right alongside Possessives, whom they share  great deal of traits with

However, unlike almost all the other Obsessive types, Protectives have clear lines they will never cross when it comes to their Beloved

Protectives’ entire stance as Obsessives comes from an overwhelming need to keep their Beloved safe, and while they will never endanger their Beloved as a result of that...they will exert control if they need to

As with Manipulatives, Protectives show many of the same common traits with the other Obsessive types, with the sole exception that they won’t go to extremes with anything to do with their Beloved’s health

First and foremost, their Beloved’s health and safety rank above everything else--and that does include their happiness, as Protectives are under the belief that they can’t be happy if they aren’t healthy and safe

With that being said, this also makes Protectives prone to kidnapping and confining their Beloved to a single room or the Obsessive’s home for their Beloved’s own “safety”

Some Protectives will ask their Beloved to move in with them and will only resort to kidnapping if their Beloved refuses the offer, but others will simply act on what they know is best, if they can’t get their Beloved to agree to move in immediately

Like Possessives, Protectives will not be happy, nor will they be able to function properly if they are living separately from their Beloved

They will obsessively stalk their Beloved, spending hours and hours of their day watching over them to ensure their safety, and will monitor their social media--this includes cloning their Beloved’s phone or stealing their laptop to maintain a constant, present vigil in their lives

Like most other Obsessives, Protectives do not see what they’re doing as wrong, no matter what evidence is given to them in the contrary

You are so small and weak, so fragile, you’re not safe in the world without them!

They love their Beloved and the world is a dangerous, scary place; they are terrified at the thought of something happening to you to the point it will give them nightmares

That’s why they need you close, so they can be reassured nothing will happen to you and you’ll be theirs forever

This fear can make the Protective extremely controlling and coupled with their possessive tendencies this can lead to a massive reduction in personal space and freedom

While it is true, Protectives will never hurt their Beloved...they will absolutely hurt or even kill others for their Beloved

The single, smallest slight against their Beloved will amp them up to a 100 real quick, and depending on the Protective, will result in anything ranging from the offender’s life being ruined publicly, financially, or simply snuffed out

Beloveds of Protectives will have to be extremely careful with their words, because something that may not have bothered them at all may sound like the end of the world to their Protective, and the following day the Beloved’s life may be down one person

Out of all the Obsessives, with the exception of Controlling Obsessives, Protectives are going to have the most rules, but they’ll be expressly clear about them

These rules will range from not leaving the house without them, a time limit where their Beloved must answer their text messages, who they’re allowed to text in the first place, requiring their phone location being turned on 24/7, being extremely strict with meal times and ensuring their Beloved is eating enough...etc.

Punishments from Protectives will be no less severe simply because of the Protective’s stance on never harming their Beloved--if their Beloved isn’t adhering to the rules being set, then they’re putting their own life at risk

Protectives won’t accept that, not even from their Beloved

Punishments will typically be non-physical, but a corrective spanking or a bondage restriction may come into play depending on what rules were broken

Punishments will usually be verbal corrections and the Protective will expect an apology, as they’re doing what they’re doing for their Beloved and they’re doing it out of love

Common phrases of Protective Obsessives include:

“I really don’t wanna hurt you, baby, so please don’t struggle.”

“I know you thought they were your friend but...I didn’t trust them. They had to go, I couldn’t let them hurt you, could I?”

“I’ll lock you up and throw away the goddamn key if you ever do something that dangerous ever again.”

“You will do what I say. It’s for your own good.”

“You know better than to leave the house without me, honey.”

“Be good for me, baby. I don’t want to have to see your tears again.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if something ever happened to you.”

“If they hurt you, they’re dead. You hear me, baby? Dead.”

“I just want us to be happy together. I can’t let anyone get in the way of that. You understand, don’t you?”

‘‘No, you can’t go back, baby. This is your home now. You’re safe here. You’ll see.”

“I’m doing this because I love you. You know that, don’t you? I love you so much.”

Danger Level: Minor

Conclusion

Could a post like this really have an end? Maybe conclusion isn’t the right word, because now that this door is open...there’s a whole world of possibilities waiting for me on the other side.

And I’m honestly so excited about that. This research was so much fun to do, and as I mentioned, my whole purpose for doing this was to be able to take anyone in FL and apply this to them, because it’s something I enjoy and believe should be enjoyed.

So where to go from here? Well, I already have a couple ideas; one, is to go through and list some examples in a follow-up post, listing different Family members that could suit each of these classifications, to provide further example of not only the application of this post, but that my model for these being able to suit anyone actually working.

I also opened the floor for Monica to add onto this as she saw fit, and that includes being able to send me names and requests, love--like you want to see Peter Parker as a Manipulative Obsessive. So if you have any requests or questions, love, you feel free to interact with this post as much as you want. I really want this to be the start of something, not the end of something, and I’m always happy to share everything with you! ♥

Keep an eye out for this to start making a more prominent appearance in my writing, too. Which, honestly, probably deserves the devil emoji because I have asked Bunny lots of questions about what she’s okay with and what she likes...so yeah.

Consider this door open and Mama’s about to start unleashing some demons.

[fatedcaniine]

Servant Alice Profile

Avenger Alice Almarias

Servant Details: True Name: Alice Almarias Servant Class: Avenger Region of Origin: Pennsylvania, USA Age: ??? Faceclaim: Aqua from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep

Servant Parameters:

Strength : B+

Agility: A

Endurance: B+

Luck: D-

Mana: A-

Noble Phantasm: A++

Servant Skills:

Wrathful Dog Rank C

As a human forced into multiple life changing situations by a being above humanity, her body and mind slowly transformed even if she didn’t want them to. This skill acts similar to Mad Enhancement, increasing her strength as it also lowers her sanity in turn. However, it also transforms her body into a more monstrous form that she sees her own body as at times. This form is a mix of a werewolf, dragon, giant, and a demon. This form drains more prana from her Master the more transformed she becomes, and she can turn on her Master within a second if the transformation gets too far.

Disengagement Rank B-

The ability to withdraw from the battlefield in the midst of combat or reset the battle conditions. At this ranking, it has the bonus effect of returning battle conditions to what they were at the beginning of the match (1st turn) and restores the condition of this Skill to the initial value. As a unyielding warrior, she has learned when it is good to run away from a battle and when to continue to charge into combat as well. With this skill is at this rank, she is given a slight speed increase when she runs away from a battle.

Eye of the Mind (True) Rank A+

This skill is a heightened capacity for observation, refined through training, discipline and experience. A danger-avoidance ability that utilizes the intelligence collected up to the current time as the basis in order to predict the opponent’s activity and change the current situation. This is not a result of talent, but an overwhelming amount of combat experience. A weapon wielded by none other than a mortal, gained through tenacious training. So long there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning. At this rank, She is capable of calm analysis of the abilities of the opponent as well as the battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. Hundreds of thousands of fights of different kinds have given her the ability to understand how a fight will go and how a foe will act when they make movements of a combative nature.

Magic Resistance Rank D

While she was a normal human all of her lives, she gained plenty of knowledge on how magic works and how to protect herself from it. Though without the ability to call upon all of her years of skills and abilities, her protection from magic is less than what it normally would be if she was summoned at her peak.

Servant Noble Phantasm:

Castle Canem Diebus Fatalibus; A Castle of no Escape

A++ Rank, Anti-Unit

A large castle that reaches into the sky, where the outer walls are the least defensive of the entire castle. A courtyard with a single chair, a sleeping beast, and a woman covered in scars innumerable. The number of floors in this castle is hard to count, but they all are filled with corpses in many forms of decay. Some have barely decayed and only miss what they lost in life, while others have skin and muscle hanging onto the bone by a small amount of connective tissue. This is a Reality Marble based upon how she sees herself, how she wants to be even in life; locked away from anyone or anything that she could hurt by being around them. The person drawn into the Reality Marble ends up on the highest floor of the castle, unable to escape unless they make their way down to the Courtyard and kill the woman in the center.

Each floor of the castle is manned by a different Corpse that takes on a different classification that Servants can take on. Saber, Archer, Lancer, Assassin, Caster, Rider, and Berserker. To move down to the next floor, the Corpse with a Servant class must be killed, else they will never be allowed to escape as the corpse hunts them down to kill them.

The Castle, her visualization of it is based upon the Houska Castle, a place she once visited in life. A castle meant to defend the common man from the hole to Hell. A fitting place to keep the Dog from escaping and ruining the lives of those around her.

Servant Lines:

Summon

I am Avenger, though perhaps that is the best for a monster like me…

You can call me anything you want. So long as you fight for mankind, I’ll be by your side.

Level Up

I still like this feeling of getting stronger.

Ascension 1

Oh? This armor? It’s one of my favorite sets, Master.

Ascension 2

You… Still want me to be stronger? Are you sure?

Ascension 3

… I can’t tell… I can’t tell if you’re an idiot, or if you’re suicidal. Maybe both.

Ascension 4

I’ve lived for many years, Master. I’ve lost count of the years, seeing as each day was never the amount of time I wanted to deal with. But in the end, everything dies, even me. I wish… I really wish you were smart enough to not tempt Fate, but… Perhaps this is why I stand with you, Master. We’re both idiots who don’t listen to reason.

Battle Lines

Battle Start 1

Your Fate is sealed.

Battle Start 2

I hope you don’t hold back against me.

Skill 1

G-Grrraaagh!

Skill 2

Let’s see how you fight, eh?

Command Card 1

Oh?

Command Card 2

Very well.

Command Card 3

I know this will end it.

Noble Phantasm Card

Very well… Prepare yourself, monsters!

Attack 1

Haah!

Attack 2

Hrmph!

Attack 3

Huhn!

Extra Attack

You won’t survive this!

Noble Phantasm

Behold this castle. Behold the corpses. Behold your tomb. Rise up and assist me, my unending corpses! Castle Canem Diebus Fatalibus!!

Damage 1

Gah!

Damage 2

Damn, that hurts!

Incapacitated 1

D-Damn… Even now, I hate… Dying.

Incapacitated 2

T-thank… You...

Victory 1

I see. I still stand tall, against all odds.

Victory 2

Are you sure these foes were strong? They didn’t seem strong…

My Room Dialogue

Conversation 1

Are we going to be heading out soon, Master?

Conversation 2

I’m a Dog, Master. Eh? N-no of course I’m not actually a Dog! It’s a title!

Conversation 3

Even now, I can tell that the other Servants care for you. Am I really needed here then, with so many legends around you? I’m not even that well known, you know...

Conversation 4

Requires Hercules

I… You managed to summon him? Eh, do I know him? Of course I do! He’s my Sen- I mean he’s the first Dog of Fate to ever live. I look up to him, a warrior of whom I will never defeat.

Conversation 5

Requires Gilgamesh

You know, hearing of this man, I was expecting a bit more. The King of Heroes… He just throws weapons at people! I never throw swords! They need to be shoved right up your foe’s a- A-Ah! Forgive me Master. I got a bit too excited there, didn’t I?

Conversation 6

Requires any Servant with the Saberface attribute.

Um… Master? Why are there so many people with the same face? I mean… It gets kind of hard to tell who is who. Like… Is it normal for legends to share the same face? I’m not sure if that is normal.

Conversation 7

Requires Asagami Fujino

This girl… She’s very much like myself… She’s almost human, yet she’s a Servant. I… I wish she never had to suffer like I.

Conversation 8

Requires Merlin

… I met you once. I do not doubt you remember me. But… That tower… Can I go back there, someday? It was peaceful… Somewhere I felt safe… Please, just one more time.

Conversation 9

Requires Iskandar, Altria, Ozymandias, Cu, Leonardo, Cleopatra, Sherlock, Arjuna, Karma, Rama, Tesla, Drake

You know… Looking upon you… I know I’m at a disadvantage. I’ve killed gods, demons, angels and more. Yet… You stand as heroes of mankind. I… Even if I was a legend of my own, I still don’t stand a chance… God damn it…

Conversation 10

Requires EMIYA (not Alter)

Who are you? I swear I know who you are but… I keep drawing a blank. Pah, it doesn’t matter. We’re both fighting for our Master, for mankind. Besides, we both should work together, eh?

Conversation 11

Requires Aŋra Mainiiu

You… Even looking at you sickens me. All the World’s Evil… You certainly feel like that. If you try to kill a single human, I will not hesitate to turn you to a pile of blood and gore, you fucking abomination! Even if Master wants you here, I won’t hesitate!

Conversation 12

Requires Mash

Well, this is a surprise. I never see you around much, but you’re special. Don’t worry. If you ever want to relax and not fight, I’ll stand in your place. A hero needs to know when not to fight, after all.

Bond Level 1

Master, I hope you don’t mind if I made some effort to clean the room up. It was kind of a mess before.

Bond Level 2

Um, Master? Are you well? You seem to be tired. No? You’re fine? Alright then. Just… Try and slow down, kay?

Bond Level 3

I… I hope you know that you aren’t alone. I’ve felt alone many times, so I know what you may be feeling. So you should lean on them more than you lean on me at the moment, kay?

Bond Level 4

Why the hell are you getting close to me, Master? This is too much, alright!? Do you want the bastard to try and kill you!? Leave me alone, now! I’ll fight for you, but if you get any closer, I won’t stay here.

Bond Level 5

I… I can’t get you away from me. No matter what I tried, you just came back.

I, All my life I’ve had to deal with everything being taken from me by Fate. Everyone I was close to, everything I held dear, that bastard took it away from me. Yet… You stand there and tell me that you’ll keep me here.

Heh. You have to be a freaking idiot. But then again…

I’m just as big of an idiot as you, Master… No, (Your name here).

Likes

My likes? I do like peace, and I like food that isn’t stale.

Dislikes

Hate? Oh that’s simple. I hate Fate and anyone that thinks that life is ‘fated’ to happen such a way.

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail eh? I would like to use it. But… It’s probably stupid, you know? I want to go back to the day I died… And wish my sister a happy birthday. I never got to do that, you know?

Event

Something’s going on, Master. I suggest you do what you feel is important and relax when you’re done.

Birthday

It’s… Your birthday? I… Oh dear god why the hell did you not tell me that it was coming up!? I need to get a cake and a card and so much shit for you! Next year you better warn me it’s coming up! I can’t have things happen just like my first life!

Servant Bond CE Text:

How many years has it been since I saw you last?

I don’t remember, really. I do remember your face, though.

You were so mad when I didn’t give you the chance to tell me what day it was.

You pouted so much. I kept interrupting you when you tried to tell me what was going on. You thought I was ignoring you…

I wasn’t.

I knew what day it was. I knew what you wanted to tell me. And I knew what I was doing. It was your birthday, little sister. And I was going to get your cake, your card, and the present that I ordered for you.

But I never got the chance. Because he took me away that day. He took me away because he wanted a Dog to use for his ‘experiments’. I never got the chance…

And now? Now I’ll never get that chance, ever again… Please Seras… Please forgive your dumb sister, who failed you on your thirteenth birthday. Please don’t hate me…

Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday dear Seras… Happy birthday to you...

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 329

OLFACTION: SENSING THE SCENTS: Part 1

Most people believe that our perception depends heavily on sight and hearing, and therefore underrate our sense of smell. As this sense is rather subjective, for a long time it was considered a matter of preference within the framework of arts and poetry. Our association of feelings and emotions with scents has made fragrance a multi-billion dollar industry. Continuing advancements in neuroscience have led to great progress in understanding and imitating this sense, and recent technological and scientific developments have made it a hot topic.

NEW FINDINGS IN BIOLOGY

Olfaction was long considered a uniquely mammalian trait. Scientists have disproven this by showing that many intertebrates can smell. For example, birds were thought to be unable to smell, although they have nostrils in their bills. John Audubon, a famous nineteenth-century bird artist, reached this mistaken conclusion by observing vultures confronted with a covered and an uncovered animal corpse, he concluded that they could not smell. The minute weight of the birds’ olfactory bulb consolidated this widespread misconception. Recent research shows that birds use smell when finding and distinguishing food, choosing proper nesting sites and mates, and following avian navigation routes. Ken Stager, an orinthogist at Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, used turkey vultures to disprove Audubon's vulture experiment. Marine biologist Betsy Bang, who measured the olfactory bulbs and tissues in the brains of 151 bird species, calculated the olfactory bulb's mass as being between 3% to 37% of the brain's entire mass. This shows that the ratio, and not the weight, determines a bird's ability to smell.

Other examples are as follows:

•Pigeons perceive small amounts of odorants. If their olfactory bulbs are blocked, they become lost.

•Certain seabirds (e.g., white chinned petrels) are sensitive to the chemical emitted by their main food (plankton), and so follow an olfactory path over the sea.

•European starlings smell the best region for their nesting site.

•Chickens detect inedible bugs (e.g., bright-colored bad-tasting caterpillars) through smell and sight.

•Salmon return to their hatching sites years later by using the unique olfactory memory of these sites left in their brains.

Smelling is far more developed in mammals, especially dogs and cats, which can sense parts per billion or trillion and can identify millions of different odorants. Science would benefit greatly if such abilities could be reproduced in sensors. But first, how does the human nose smell?

PERCEIVING ODORS

Scientists divide human olfaction into steps. First, a potential odorant emits an odor's basic elements: volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We perceive an odor when molecules are transformed into an odor by binding the receptor proteins.(1) After binding with certain types of VOCs, these receptor proteins cause depolarization. The electrical charges produce unique signals, which the epithelium's sensory cells transmit to our neural network (axons).

These signals then are carried to a cluster of neural networks in the brain (glomeruli).(2) Ultimately, the impulse reaches the hypothalamus and describes the scent through a process of classification and identification.

QUANTIFYING SCENTS

Human odor panels or gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) are used to identify odors. Such quantification is problematic, however, because it is hard to quantify the VOC's perception in the nose as a unit of odor. Quantifying mass, volume, temperature, light intensity, and the molecular concentration of a soluble substance in a solution are reasonably objective and can be measured as a multiple of a standard unit.

But a standard olfactory measure does not exist, for it varies according to time and environment. Odor concentration is expressed as a multiple of a threshold: 50% of human "sniffers" must detect-not necessarily identify-it. This threshold is defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and is accepted as the absolute threshold of odor perception. It takes 5 or 10 odor units for the human panel to identify the odor. GC/MS also can identify the odor's chemical composition.

ELECTRONIC NOSE

After developments in electronic sight and hearing, scientists sought similar progress in odor perception. Research began at the University of Warwick (Coventry, England) in the 1980s. Its participants coined the term "electronic nose," now commonly known as "e-nose."(3) Their progress made it a commercial commodity with many applications.

E-noses have moved from being metal oxide devices, to conducting polymers, and now to laptop-size or pocket-size odor sensors. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Zurich) has made one the size of a wrist-watch. However, current e-nose use is largely restricted to labs and military applications. Scientists are trying to match or surpass the human sense of smell's accuracy and sensitivity, after which they will work on surpassing that of the canine species.

USES AND ADVANTAGES

E-noses have a wide application in agriculture. Since they can detect minute differences, an e-nose using polymer materials can determine whether a tomato is sun-ripened, picked green, or internally damaged, and whether apple juice comes from a concentrate or is authentic but pasteurized.

Volunteers often test such products. But who wants to determine if corn oil is rancid or canola oil is oxidized? E-noses, having no such "qualms," detect changed odors in oil samples and provide far more accurate reports.

In animal science and poultry, e-noses provide detailed reports about spoiled food. Judy Arnold, a microbiologist in Athens, GA, researches food quality for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

In 1998, researchers discovered that e-noses can detect gases produced by spoiled poultry products. They claim that an e-nose can determine freshness, period of time in a refrigerator, and the amount of fat in white meat. Such an objective evaluation benefits poultry farmers and producers by eliminating returns of "funny-smelling" poultry. E-noses also can detect meat's decay rate and bacteria, overall quality and freshness, the composition of mixed meat-part products (e.g., processed meat), and how long a ham has been dry-cured. Given this, the e-nose's ability to examine a bundle of scents makes it very useful. It can perform hundreds of preliminary assessments that would occupy a chemist for months.

The military uses e-noses to detect land mines and traces of chemical-biological weapons. This is important, for over 100 million land mines litter 62 war-torn countries. Although dog-sniffers are useful, this practice is inhumane (dogs are often injured) and impractical (they need lots of training).

E-noses also are better than metal detectors and ground-penetrating radar and infrared imaging-the former detects even tiny pieces of metal, whereas the latter often images pebbles. As e-noses can identify traces of TNT or similar explosives to the 100 parts per quadrillion level, their detection rate is far more accurate and efficient. Nomadics, a Still-water, OK-based company, produces a cigar-box-sized e-nose for this purpose. Tufts University produces an optical e-nose that is designed and functions much like a mammalian nose.

Environmentalists use e-noses to analyze air. For instance, e-noses can report the chemical makeup of odors emitted by a farm's store of manure, detect the compounds causing that odor, help minimize leaks, and determine a new diet that will decrease such odors. With their ability to detect toxic VOCs and compounds leaking from a factory's or waste site's storage areas, e-noses will help environmentalists force industry to change its practices. The major difficulty here remains sampling, as concentrations vary with time and place.

Caltech has used Department of Defense funding to develop a device that identifies odors in seconds. Its 32 components swell like sponges when exposed to a particular vapor, and its resistance (hence conductivity) changes accordingly. As it can detect any type of odor, doctors at the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles are studying medical applications. Currently, it is applied to patients' breath to help diagnose upper respiratory infections.

The major advantages of e-noses over human noses in these areas are objectivity; ability to measure odors over long real-time periods; and immunity to fatigue, infection, mental state, hazardous material, and adaptation (gradual loss of sensitivity).