Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

SECTION: History of Atossa and the Outside

AUTHOR: Edward Elric

DATE: X/X/1921

SUMMARY: An overview of how the “Outside” regards Atossa, with discussion of what led to the separation of Atossa and how it connects to “Quirks.”

The Continent of Atossa - art by @quasar-crew (aka me!)

The Outside's understanding of Atossa is fairly limited and there has been next to no engagement between governments over the past several centuries. Even prior to 1600 XE and the emergence of Quirks, official communication was at a bare minimum since the two sides of the border isolated themselves. 

The following is an excerpt from the Outside that discusses Atossa:

Colloquially known as “the Hidden Continent,” Atossa is a landmass in the northern hemisphere. It stretches from the Mediterranean to the Ural Mountains, which serve as natural barriers to the region. Much of our knowledge of Atossa is limited to hearsay, ancient stories, and a handful of accounts written centuries ago before Atossa isolated itself from the rest of the world. From these records, we can put together that Atossa contains a diverse array of biomes and climates, from the mountains and glaciers of the north to the great desert in the center of the continent.  

[...]

One of the most notable characteristics of Atossa, and part of what has defined its borders, is that Quirks did not develop within the bounds of Atossa and modern technology cannot function inside its borders. Furthermore, those who attempt to cross the border find themselves plagued by illness. The “Border Sickness” or “Atossan Sickness” as it's sometimes known, with symptoms including nausea, anxiety, headaches, and fatigue, becomes apparent in the vicinity of the continent's borders. The deeper one attempts to push into the continent, the stronger symptoms become, enough to render victims bedridden. This, paired with the isolation, has given Atossa a reputation similar to that of the Bermuda Triangle in the popular consciousness.

– Excerpt from Ecceleston’s “Hidden: How Atossa Became a Global Myth”

The Outside doesn’t know much about the countries or politics within Atossa, however they still have information that is typically recent as of the past couple decades. For instance, they did not know that Roy Mustang was Fuhrer, but were aware Claudio Rico is the current Prince of Aerugo, and he was crowned about 15 years ago. They also knew enough about Amestris to identify Officer Talfon by his uniform. The fact they know anything at all, even if it is a few decades out of date, indicates the presence of unofficial trade and communication channels near the borders. (Much like how we within Atossa know a bare minimum of the Outside, but have maps of the continents and artifacts from the bordering nations.)

Prior to contact with Japan, Outsiders generally knew more about the countries closer to the Atossan border, including elements such as culture and government structure, but the farther in from the border, the less is known. Much of the knowledge of countries and governments seems to have come from texts and verbal anecdotes that made their way to the Outside.

The inner workings of Atossa are relatively unknown. Thanks to maps that have come from the continent we know the names of most of their countries and their approximate borders. From these, we can get a hint to the relationships between these countries and their respective cultures.

Xiang and Drakama seem to be among the largest nation-states within Atossa. Little is known about Drakama, other than it being located in the northern part of Atossa. Xiang is located in the far east of Atossa and is separated from eastern Asia by the Ural Mountains. Records from Xiang have revealed it has an ideographic language, which seems to share a common ancestor with the Sinitic language family. Translation of these records has indicated that in the past, and perhaps even today, Xiang had a monarchy and a number of noble families.

Continuing westward there is a large desert which splits Xiang from the rest of Atossa. Texts indicate that languages east of the desert have similarities to English and French, suggesting a shared root language. Bordering the desert, near the center of the continent is a country named Amestrix, which the most recent records indicate seems to be engaged in frequent warfare with surrounding nations. Comparison with older texts suggest this is not an infrequent occurrence. 

Other central-continent nations include Creta, a decentralized unitary state, and Aerugo, a nation along the Mediterranean coast and for which we know quite a bit about (relatively speaking), thanks to its proximity to the outer borders and sailors that crisscross the Mediterranean Sea. 

– From Kharkov’s “Into the Unknown: A Reconstruction of Atossan History”

Outside authors also describe what they call “satellite states,” the countries that reside along Atossa’s land border. These land borders do not see as much trade as along the southern sea, but the western border in particular is still a route for human migration and trade goods, despite what countries on both sides of the borders claim. These satellite states also experience impacts to technology and Quirk demographics due to being so close to the Atossan border.

Atossa is bordered by a number of “satellite states,” with France and Russia holding the main land borders. These countries, despite their proximity to Atossa, have rarely interacted in any official capacity. However, it’s generally recognized that the border with France, particularly the non-mountainous northeast portion, is the largest avenue for human migration into or out of Atossa. (Though such migration is still quite low, discouraged by the “Border Sickness.”) The countries closest to Atossa, particularly France and England, have a much larger Quirkless population than the rest of the world, as high as 80%. It’s presumed this is due to these countries' proximity to the Quirk deadzone of Atossa proper.

Furthermore, while not entirely surprising, Atossa and the Outside have different dating systems. Atossa currently lists the year as 1921 XE, while the rest of the world uses a system that lists the date as over a century later. It’s unknown why or when our dating systems diverged, but it is worth noting since it can make communication across the borders even more challenging.

The Schism:

It's well known that a schism developed between Atossa and the Outside beginning centuries ago, though the cause of this schism has been long debated. While there has never been complete isolation, the schism is so extreme and so mutually-agreed-upon that it is generally agreed that it couldn’t have happened without some kind of driving force, though what exactly that is has baffled people for years.

Even prior to the emergence of Quirks, Atossa was fairly isolated. There was some immigration and emigration, but most of it was done by people already living in border regions. Outsiders near the border states were known to ostracize Atossans, viewing them as “cursed.” Atossan attitudes were slightly better towards Outsiders, but the name itself – “Outsiders” – succinctly states the Atossan position on the matter. However, after the emergence of Quirks approximately two centuries ago, Atossa shut its borders almost completely. Any Outsiders with visible deviations from the assumed norm tended to be shot on sight, and even following the acceptance of Quirks on the Outside as they became majority, Atossans regarded Outsiders with suspicion.

There’s no exact date as to when Atossa and the Outside began to drift apart, but within Atossa, it’s been theorized that the destruction of Xerxes is tied to the schism. It wasn’t long after the Xerxes cataclysm that migration between Atossa and the Outside started to decline. Some historians argued it was due to the Outside fearing the stories of Xerxes’ destruction and staying away out of superstition. However, most agree that superstition can’t explain the magnitude of aversion and the consistent, physical impacts that Outsiders refer to as “Border Sickness.”

Various historians have attempted to ascribe the schism and border sickness to everything from volcanic eruptions to plague to evolution. Yet, while theories can explain portions of the schism and its history, none of these can explain it all.

One recent theory that holds weight is that the “Border Sickness” is due to the differences in the electromagnetic field between Atossa and the Outside. Within Atossa there are small, chaotic magnetic fields that disrupt Outside technology, and have necessitated designs in Atossa that enable electric current to flow consistently. It’s possible these small, shifting magnetic fields could interfere with the electrical signals in the human body, perhaps to the extent to which to cause the infamous “Border Sickness.”

Yet, even the electromagnetic field theory has its pitfalls. Atossans can leave the continent with only a fraction of the ill effects suffered by Outsiders coming into Atossa. If this theory were true, we’d expect Atossans and Outsiders to be equally impacted. Furthermore, experimentation with Quirk users capable of neutralizing electromagnetic fields reveals that even when the chaotic magnetic fields are removed, those with Quirks still find themselves ill at the border. And lastly, it was observed that Outsiders with Quirks were more heavily impacted by the “Border Sickness” than those without Quirks, which suggests the underlying cause to be linked to Quirks themselves.

In all, the separation of Atossa and the Outside has been rife with speculation and suspicion. I want to propose that the Schism did indeed result from the destruction of Xerxes. To explain it, I’ll need to draw on the little known history of what, exactly, caused Xerxes’ destruction. 

There are dozens of oral and written histories accounting Xerxes’ destruction. While the details shift, the core generally remains the same: a calamity strikes down an entire city-state in a single night. The tale of Xerxes has even reached beyond Atossa into the Outside, though the names used differ.^[1] The cause of Xerxes’ downfall is typically ascribed to divine retribution for the some sin on the part of Xerxes, since there was little else to explain how everything dropped dead overnight nor how it remained undecayed for so long. These stories, aside from a handful of fragmentary accounts from merchants, are our main source for understanding what happened in Xerxes.^[2]

However, through a series of classified events, we have come to understand that Xerxes destruction was due to the actions of a handful of people, who sacrificed the entire nation in pursuit of power, and to do it, they transmuted the souls of the city. Over a million people died in a single day. It was the single most deadly, bloodless event in human history. And for almost everyone it came out of nowhere .

There is no doubt that the devastation of Xerxes resulted in terror, panic, and reasonable superstition in the face of such an unknown and powerful threat. All are factors which would have increased the isolation between Atossa and the Outside, as everyone sought to distance themselves from Xerxes and watched their neighbors with a wary eye, wondering if they would be next. However, even still, it is not enough to explain the Schism.

It’s well attested^[3] that after a human transmutation, there will be a “bad taste” in the air that will hang around for weeks afterward. This is not just because human transmutation often has a gorey aftermath, but is suspected to be due to the Gate itself. Unlike a typical transmutation, which opens and closes the Gate with little evidence save the actual transmuted object itself, a human transmutation is a violation of the Laws. In a human transmutation, the Eye of Truth looks upon and exacts Judgement. Even if the alchemist escapes with their life intact, the Eye’s gaze permeates the surrounding area.

If this is the case for a soul transmutation on a single human, then what would be the consequence for a transmutation a million times larger? Perhaps, the isolation of Atossa.

A transmutation on the scale of Xerxes could very well have affected the entire continent of Atossa. Exposure to a site after a soul transmutation does not typically result in the kind of severe degree of unsettlement or nausea that Outsiders experience in Atossa (exempting any instances of gore or mutilation due to transmutation). However, soul transmutation on so large a scale is bound to have more severe consequences.

The question now becomes: why aren’t those within the bounds of Atossa affected? Well, just as those exposed to a strong smell for extended periods can become accustomed to the stench, the case may be similar for Atossa. Atossans have born, lived and died under the lingering effects of the Eye’s Judgment, so we do not notice the metaphysical “stench.” Furthermore, as the record of immigrants attests to, Outsiders can survive within Atossa despite being unused to the “smell,” though it can take years until they are able to function “normally”, if they are ever able to at all.

This does not entirely explain the presence of the small chaotic magnetic fields that disrupt Outside electronics, but the Gate and its Judgement are not easily understood. It’s quite possible that the Gate’s Judgement affects the elementary particles of the material realm in some way. One theory is that just like how alchemy can reshape arrangements of protons and electrons, shifting the forces within atoms themselves, things exposed to Judgement vibrate at some fundamentally altered wavelength.^[4]

Chapter Text

SECTION: Quirks

AUTHOR: Edward Elric

DATE: X/X/1921

SUMMARY: An overview of the phenomenon known as “Quirks,” including discussion of their connection to alchemy and potential origin.

Quirks, known as kosei (個性, こせい) or “individuality” in Japanese, are a relatively recent global phenomenon, and are broadly considered as “unusual / extrahuman abilities and/or features.” What exactly makes a Quirk a Quirk is rather difficult to define, as the Outside tends to have a stance of “you know it when you see it.”  

The origin of these abilities is similarly uncertain. While both Atossa and the Outside recognize their emergence and spread several centuries ago, as it led to the complete closing of Atossa’s borders, little to no headway has been made at uncovering what led to Quirks. There are dozens of theories and no straight answers.

The boundaries between really minor Quirks, being Quirkless, or being physically Quirkless but having a weird thing you can do that’s labeled as a Quirk, is a large area of uncertainty.

– Quote from Yorime [...]

While the Outside can clearly mark some things as “Quirks” – for example, the ability to produce fire, or having scales instead of skin – what exactly marks enough of a deviation from a baseline “normal” to become a Quirk is difficult to say. When does being very adept at a skill become enough of a deviation to become a Quirk? It’s easy to say in extreme cases, not so otherwise.

Furthermore, a canny reader might point out that “producing fire” is possible by way of alchemy, and it is a good point. However, while Quirks can resemble alchemy in many ways, and their breadth means that there is supposedly no limit to what they can do, most Quirks are limited in scope compared to what the entire alchemic field can accomplish.

Quirk Gates:

In alchemy, Gates are a representation of a person’s alchemical knowledge and their understanding of it. Gates can grow and shift as an individual learns, but the Gate consists of their earned knowledge — that which they have learned to do and/or paid a toll for. 

It’s understood that alkahestry and alchemy are essentially two different “languages” tailored towards manipulating the energy of the universe. This manipulation cannot violate the natural law of plausibility, but instead functions more as a “shortcut”. For example, alchemy can induce and accelerate chemical reactions, and alkahestry can accelerate the body’s healing, both short-cutting an already extant process. 

Alchemy and alkahestry go about their respective manipulation in different ways, with different matrixes to pull and direct the energy. Based on how these “languages” of alchemy and alkahestry are structured, what is quite easy in alchemy might be a struggle in alkahestry, or vice versa. In alchemy it is a trivial matter to alter the base elements of the transmutation itself. However in alkahestry, such atomic transmutations are much more risky. Alkahestry excels in tracing and even manipulating the energy of the body (a concept known as the Dragon’s Pulse) – something that, in alchemy, is very dangerous and borders on soul transmutation.

While understanding the mechanics of Quirks and how they do their manipulation would likely take ages more, I recently made the discovery that Quirk users seem to have their own Gates. As mentioned, in alchemy Gates are a representation of a person’s alchemical knowledge. Quirk Gates seem to be a representation of a user’s Quirk, at least, that is what I could gather in my brief encounter with one.

Thanks to this discovery, alongside other encounters,^[1] I hypothesize that Quirks manifest due to the Gate, and similar to alkahestry and alchemy, are another “language” that enables manipulating the universe’s energy, though to a much more extreme (yet limited) extent.

An illustrated example of the Quirk Gate belonging to Tsukauchi Naomasa. - art by @quasar-crew (aka me!)

Quirks and Alchemy:

Despite the surface-level similarities, and their connection to the Gate, Quirks differ from alchemy and alkahestry in several key, fundamental ways: 

1. Quirk users are stuck with their Quirk. Unless they take another’s Gate, they cannot change or modify their own. Their Quirk is almost literally etched in stone. While a Quirk user might be able to uncover new applications of their Quirk or increase their ability to draw on their Quirk Gate, they cannot deviate from what is already written on their Gate.
2. Quirks are incredibly diverse, ranging from abilities that mirror the capabilities of alchemy (e.g. manipulation of stone or other materials); quirks that change the physical makeup of the user (e.g. a cat’s head, body of concrete), making them akin to natural chimeras; or quirks that defy physics (e.g. growing in size without regard for conservation of mass, changing the buoyancy of an object with a single touch). While some Quirks could be explained under alchemic laws, many violate the tenets, and there is no clear “Law” unifying quirks.
3. Quirk users cannot use alchemy or alkahestry. In Atossa, anyone can learn alchemy or alkahestry.^[2] While it can be a struggle for someone trained in alchemy to learn alkahestry, there is technically no limitation on it. It’s simply the difficulty of someone learned in one language of understanding of the universe trying to comprehend and understand another. But Quirk users, even if provided with a transmutation circle drawn to react automatically to the touch of any living thing, cannot activate it. They are functionally inert. 

The first point shows Quirks violate the “principle of learning” within alchemy, that anyone can theoretically learn and do anything in alchemy. It is also a violation of the principle of “Equivalent Exchange,” since Quirk users have not “exchanged” anything to learn their abilities. They have not paid the Toll for their powers in the form of learning and practice. Instead they are born with a fixed set of “operable knowledge” they can work from, which cannot be changed in any way.

For an analogy: alchemy is a sandy beach, while a Quirk is a box of toys. 

The second point, and perhaps most egregious, Quirks have no regard for the Laws of Alchemy, and many Quirks break them as a rule. There is no conservation of mass or energy and boundaries in biology and evolution are routinely shredded and then tossed in the fire. While some Quirks imitate things possible through alchemy, the users may only be able to perform unreasonably narrow actions. (For example, manipulation of cloth fabric threads, but based on its state of being in fabric, not being made of cotton or polyester fiber.) And, some Quirks break physics and natural law entirely.^[3]

It seems that the definition of Quirks has at least some basis in philosophical perception and understanding, which would make sense considering the somewhat philosophical and symbolic existence of the Gate. (For instance, being able to control the threads of any fabric when they are part of clothes, but not those same threads in an unwoven form.) This could explain the paradoxical scope of Quirks, where they can be strangely narrow if they are truly meant to be energy or material manipulation, and the absurdity of physical mutations that include fusions of everything from animals to plants to human-made materials and technologies.

Lastly, there is some sort of interference between Quirks and alchemy. Quirk users cannot use alchemy and no one in Atossa who uses alchemy has a Quirk.^[4] This interference could be explained a few ways. 

First, it's possible that the fixed unchanging nature of Quirk Gates prevents modification of the Gate, and thus any inclusion of alchemy knowledge. However, my leading hypothesis - which could work in tandem with the prior theory - is that this interference is due to Quirks acting as perpetual transmutations. I theorize Quirks are, in essence, a “constant” transmutation. Just as two alchemists cannot transmute the same molecules at the same time, a Quirk user cannot perform alchemy since they are already engaged in a “transmutation.” While certain Quirks can be used at will and turned “on” or “off,” I posit they are never truly off. Instead, there is always a current running through a Quirk users’ body that belongs to their Quirk, preventing the use of alchemy. 

It’s also important to note that there are different levels of Quirk. What the Outside calls “vestigial Quirks” are very minor abnormal traits (e.g. green hair, subtle color changes to the eye, etc) which are not generally counted in the Outside’s Quirk Registry, and those with only vestigial Quirks are regarded as “Quirkless”. In the course of my experiments^[5] I found that some of those with vestigial Quirks were able to use alchemy, while some were not. There is no clear delineation for when a Quirk becomes “too much” and the user can no longer use alchemy, something which warrants further investigation. 

Origin of Quirks:

The first officially recognized quirk belonged to a child born in Qing Qing City, China. The baby was born luminous, radiating light from their body. However, this is hardly the first Quirk, it was just the most immediately obvious.^[6] There are a handful of records of other early Quirks. Some of these accounts come from All for One^[7] and were acquired from one of his hidden hideouts.^[8] Based on his records, we see that some adults had Quirks at the time of the birth of the Qing Qing child. Thus, while exact dates are difficult, we can estimate that the first Quirks emerged at least a few decades before the Qing Qing child. 

All for One makes note that many early Quirks were found in a several hundred mile radius of the Korean Peninsula, which could be due to it being the actual epicenter of Quirk origin, or due to the high population densities in the region.

The origin and what actually kickstarted Quirks is unknown, a mystery further deepened by the linkage of Quirks to the Gate. Quirk scientists on the Outside have made several claims about their origin including that "Quirks are a ‘disease’ spread by rats" and, "Quirks are the “next stage” in human evolution." Neither of these makes much sense. 

First, in the ‘disease’ theory, rats are merely a vector of transmission, and I fail to see how a virus or bacterium carried by a rat could create such radical changes. And, even if there is such a virus/bacterium that can induce Quirks, we’d expect to see more Quirks in non-human organisms due to interspecies transmission. Secondly, the ‘evolution’ theory is soundly disproved by the sheer diversity of Quirks across individuals, and the fact that simple biology could never produce many of the kind of Quirks we see today. 

Regardless, it is clear that investigation into the origin of Quirks, and how that ties to Quirk Gates, is needed. Though, considering time will only continue to bury the past, and no revelations were made at the time of Quirks’ emergence, it is highly unlikely anyone will be able to uncover the Truth behind their origin. 

...

[Editor’s note: Regardless of how many times we ask Elric to retype the following section, it remains unreadable beyond this point. He has requested we keep it included.]

Quirks first emerged not by any natural means, but by subversion of the Laws. They arose through the fault of a human who had heard rumors of the powers of alchemy and alkahestry, in the time after Xerxes’ fall, and decided to use it to alter the birth of their child. The Practitioner was foolish. While they were creative enough to construct a human transmutation circle, they had no regard for the cautions and Laws of alchemy. They completely disregarded the tenet of equivalent exchange, thinking they did not apply.  

The Practitioner used human transmutation on their spouse in hopes of conceiving a child, something done by several before-presently-after, each time with considerable consequence. But what was not known was that the Practitioner’s spouse was already pregnant, though the child was stillborn. The transmutation was not to raise the dead, but to make life from nothing. Yet the spouse was still alive, and while the child was not quite ever living, they remained linked to their parent’s lifeforce. The transmutation could not distinguish between the living and not, since they were one being. The resulting Rebound was disastrous.

It was a Paradox. A not-quite-ever-living inside a living one, a transmutation to alter the living done on the not-quite-ever-alive. The resulting rebound killed the Practitioner, as is due course. However, something else happened to the Gate of the child, of the parent. Souls go through their Gates upon death, but the child and parent were functionally one being at this point in time, alive and never-living, all at once.

Their Gates were opened in the transmutation, and should have enfolded in on themselves following it, but the Paradox was a snag, a multidimensional doorstop. Their Gates were opened, and then left open. This was the beginning of Quirks, a Gate left ajar. While the first Quirk was never realized to be such, as the effects of this could not be seen by those limited to three dimensions, it would-is-had lasting consequence.

The Paradox of the Practitioner caused a… corruption of sorts, a faulty wiring in the space between the physical and the metaphysical. The Gate was opened during the Practitioner’s transmutation, but the Paradox kept it wedged open. While initially the impacts were limited only to the child-parent, the one(s) the transmutation was done to, a Gate had never been left ajar in such a fashion. And as it was, the impacts did not stay with them. All that came to investigate the aftermath of the Practitioner's heresy – a scene of blood and gore and looming dread – left with their own Gates nudged open, ever so slightly. 

For though the Gate is like a Door, it is also a dam, a precipice. It is the dividing line between the physical and the metaphysical, between what is Perceived and all that Is and what makes things Be. Alchemists and alkahestrists are learned in the language of opening the Gate, of pulling the threads that show all that something that Is can Be. But while they open the Gate to do their transmutations, it is never open long.

The child-parent’s Gate was never closed. It turned from a Door to a Floodgate. 

Those that visited upon the Practitioner's Paradox were beset by what poured from the child-parent’s Gate. This flood, in turn, nudged the Visitors’ Gates open, ever so slightly. And thus, the Paradox began to spread. 

Quirks arose slowly. First, it was just this faulty connection, Gates left ajar. But the Gate was never meant to never be shut. What lies beyond-inside it is everything and nothing. Usually Gates are marked as their holder learns the language of the Universe. But here there was such an outpouring that everything inside-beyond the Gates needed somewhere to go. With nowhere else, it carved into the stone of the Gate, and began to manifest.

And so, Quirks emerged. The first were simple, even plausible. A different compound in hair to make it purple, blue, green. A handful of swapped genes could turn skin to scales, or make it bioluminescent. But then came Quirks that made the impossible, possible. Quirks that could violate equivalent exchange, that could make something from nothing, that could tap into the metaphysical, by pulling power from the Gate. It was not breaking the Laws, exactly, for the Gate itself borders the Laws by existing beyond-inside-around them. Instead, Quirks collected their own set of Laws that were never quite Law.

The humans occupying the land they call Atossa remained guarded against this Paradox – though it was unintentional – by virtue of another corruption. Alchemists say that, following a human transmutation, there is a “bad taste” in the air that lingers for weeks afterward. And the transmutation of Xerxes was so large that the fallout spread across the entire continent of Atossa. 

This fallout did not affect the residents in any way they might physically discern, as unlike with Quirks, the Gate shut once more in the aftermath. However, the transmutation briefly exposed the entire continent to the energy of human transmutation. It exposed the continent to the Judgement of the Eye of Truth that lay beyond the Gate of Xerxes. Just as a “bad taste” lingers in the air for weeks following a single human transmutation, clinging to every atom, it happened a billion times over in Xerxes. The entire continent was steeped in the Gate’s Judgment, permeating down to every atom in Atossa, into the earth and all living beings for a thousand years. If a single human transmutation leaves a “bad taste,” the Fall of Xerxes saw every person within a hundred miles of the edge of the fallout zone with their hackles raised. While it is possible to become accustomed to the lingering “taste,” the opening of the Gate of Xerxes would lead to Atossa’s isolation.

When Quirks later came about, they ended up failing to “corrupt” the Gate connection of those of Atossa. Atossa was accustomed to the Gate in a way those unaffected by Xerxes’ Fall were not. While Quirks saturated the landscape with the Gate’s energies, that energy still bowed to what Judgement had wrought. Judgement’s role was to enforce the Laws, and it had branded the Laws into every atom in Atossa. Even Quirks could not defy that. 

Due the soul transmutation of the people of Amestris, which was several orders of magnitude larger than the one that befell Xerxes, it is likely the fallout of that transmutation will stretch ever farther. The effect that will have on Quirks remains to be seen, especially considering the souls were returned, but Judgement’s reach may serve to seal any further weeping energy once more behind the Gate.

Chapter Text

SECTION: Persons of Interest

AUTHOR: Edward Elric

DATE: X/X/1920

SUMMARY: An overview of the person of interest known as “All for One.”

…

All for One seems to be a lot like the Homunculi, ^[1] particularly the leader of the Homunculi, sharing similar surface level traits to the Homunculi and traits associated with Philosopher Stones. This includes immortality, red energy discharge when powers are utilized, and having a god complex.^[2]

All for One is notable for “stealing Quirks,” and based on what I’ve learned about Quirks, it seems likely he’s stealing Quirk Gates, since he is able to fully use the Quirk, and the original user no longer has access. 

Normally, stealing a Gate should be impossible, however, because we are dealing with Quirks, pre-established logic is thrown out the window. Furthermore, there is a significant difference when it comes to what , exactly, All for One is stealing. If All for One takes the entire Gate, then, after the fact, the prior owner has no Gate whatsoever. However, if All for One is, in essence, stripping the “information” from a Gate, the inscribed knowledge, then the prior owner still possesses a Gate, and All for One integrates the information into his own Gate.

Without knowing what is happening, ^[3] I am inclined to think All for One is simply stripping the information from the Gate, and leaving it a blank slate, as opposed to taking the entire Gate. Admittedly, I am biased, because while both options are heretical under the Laws I am familiar with, stripping the information feels slightly less so than forcibly taking the entire Gate. (Both things should be impossible for mortals, anyways, but stripping the information feels less so.)

One method of determining this should be through using the same alchemy test I used when first investigating the ability (or lack thereof) of Quirked individuals to use alchemy. If, after having their Quirk stolen, someone can use alchemy it would imply that All for One is not taking the entire Gate but instead stripping the information from it. However, if they can’t use alchemy, then it could be because they no longer have a Gate, or , if they do retain their Gate, then there is still some facet of their Quirk etched into the Gate. 

It’s uncertain whether All for One would be able to “steal” an alchemic Gate…^[4] On the one hand, All for One has not paid the Toll for the knowledge on the Gate, and thus should not be able to make use of it. But on the other hand, that the information exists on the alchemist’s Gate means said Tolls have already been paid. 

All for One’s ability to “steal” an alchemic Gate would likely depend on whether he steals the entire Gate, or merely the alterations to it (i.e. its inherent information). If the former, he could steal alchemy by taking the entire Gate. But if the latter, All for One would likely be unable to steal alchemy, because the Laws of Alchemy are much stricter about accessing information you have not paid the Toll for. And as prior Quirk experiments demonstrate,^[5] even if your Quirk can force Truth you have not paid a Toll for, you cannot necessarily process or retain that information.

Additionally, if we speculate more broadly, this Gate theft may have a rather peculiar side effect. The Gate is, to put it simply, the gateway of the soul. It is the way by which alchemists and alkahestrists are able to channel the energy of the universe into their transmutations. 

Due to the Gate’s connection to the soul, it's possible that if All for One takes a Gate, or part of a Gate, he also ends up taking… not the entire soul, but an echo of the soul, tied to the individual’s Gate. This isn’t a full soul, merely a vestige. But, if you gathered enough of them, it’s likely that the combined soul vestiges could begin to approximate the effects of a philosopher’s stone. If true, this would make All for One something like a pseudo-homunculi and accidental, self-made philosopher’s stone. ^[6]

However, it should be noted this is pure speculation, since the combined effect of Quirks and simple coincidence could be the cause of All for One and his various… eccentricities, as opposed to alchemy.

[Author’s note: I’m not entirely sure where this section came from, I didn't write it and can't even read it, but I’m compelled to keep it.]

[Editor’s note: Fullmetal, sir, I am concerned.]

[Author’s note: Noted, and ignored.]

Addendum: One for All ***

One for All is (was) the Quirk of a line of individuals, most recently those known as All Might or Yagi Toshinori, and Midoriya Izuku, the current holder. One for All was originally formed as a merger between a stockpiling Quirk and a Quirk that can be transferred between hosts. While One for All is typically known for its increasing power with every new host, it also “stockpiles” the Quirks of those it passes through. 

This is done by way of the Gate. When One for All passes to a new host, it merges with their existing Gate, leaving them able to use One for All’s accumulated Quirks as well as their own. When passed on, the previous host no longer holds One for All’s Quirk Gate, merely a memory of its etchings. They will be able to continue using their own Quirk, and One for All, for a period after the transfer, but soon these Gate remnants will decay.

Both of One for All’s most recent hosts, Yagi Toshinori and Midoriya Izuku, were Quirkless prior to their acquisition of One for All, and would have been capable of using alchemy or alkahestry prior. However, with the acquisition of One for All, their previously malleable Gates were fixed and alchemy or alkahestry was rendered impossible.

However, following the transfer of the Quirk, Yagi Toshinori’s Gate existed in a paradoxical state. He was, technically, not in possession of One for All, but he could still utilize it, though his ability to do so waned as the etchings of One for All faded from his Gate. This is a phenomenon not previously seen among the previous holders of One for All, as the rest have died soon after transfer. 

The one in full possession of One for All has access to the entire breadth of Quirks that it has stockpiled, including the Quirks of prior hosts. However, usage of these Quirks is dependent upon the soul vestiges of the original holders that cling to the Gate. The Gate is the pathway to the soul, and so to take the Gate takes part of the soul.

Midoriya Izuku, the current holder of One for All, has been granted full access by every prior holder. Other holders were also able to utilize their predecessor’s Quirks, though to a more minor degree.

In addition, due to the lingering soul vestiges, One for All also turns the host into a pseudo-philosopher’s stone, similar to the individual known as All for One. However, One for All is nowhere near as potent as All for One, since it only has eight vestiges, while All for One’s likely number in the thousands.