FAULT: an SCP SBI AU

Philza: The Zilant. Is the immortal concept of fire and fury, which pretends to be a dragon, which pretends to be a human. Maintains his personhood by attaching himself to mortals he calls his ‘Collected’. Currently: Tommy, Wilbur, The Blade, and Tubbo. Additionally, Philza is very intent on keeping any promise he makes and was kept in the Foundation exclusively because they’d captured his Collected and made a deal. Gives great dad advice, except when the advice is ‘let me murder them for you <3’

Tommy: The Instigator. Has a blood red liquid on his hands that grows when he’s scared. When people touch it, they become aggressive to anyone but Tommy. At low TI-Red levels this leads to things like bickering, but it escalates to physical violence and brutality. When TI-Red levels consume him and he thinks he’s going to die, he summons The Blade. Lived as a normal human and met Wil, Phil, and The Blade after a summoning at 15; visited the homeless guys occasionally till the Foundation captured at 16. Abandonment issues, highly touch starved, used as a Thaumiel. Collected Tubbo.

The Blade: The Blood God. Is a massive boar behemoth with voices in his head. When attacked (or if there’s an orphan), becomes The Blood God, who will bend the universe to ensure he wins. The Blade only comes back when the challenge has been completed. Grew up as a monster in the woods, but pulled himself up out of the voices, figured out what was him and what was The Blood God, and established his own personhood. Somehow has a college degree, met Phil and Wil during a gap year. Loves gardening and murdering people for Tommy. Also managed to come out of the Foundation the least traumatized, iconic. 

Wilbur: Soot. [tags are noms Wilbur or scp Wilbur if you want to block] His legs magically rearrange so he is the tallest humanoid in the room. Oh also the void in the side of his face that eldritch abominations claw their way out of. Was basically a feral starving child till ~14 when Philza forcefully adopted him. A chronic insomniac with a heart of gold and a tongue of silver, held together despite the inherent contradictions between being a supreme survivalist and a drama hoe. Memory issues because he represses basically everything. 

Tubbo: The Pollinator. Is a honeycomb skin suit for approximately 400,000 bees. Uses they/them we/us pronouns, because they are a Hive mind/system containing at least three humans: a Little, a Foundation employee, and a lawyer/farmer. Tubbo grew up mostly normal, albeit in secret. The most recently captured by the Foundation, and a staunch pacifist. This causes them to be at odds with Philza, who did a few murderous rampages too many, and The Blade, for the reason above and also because he destroyed their legs. But they stick around because they’re attached to Tommy. 

Where Hearts Roost. Fairy tale AU, Tommy and Wilbur break into witch Philza's cottage and get adopted. Sweet, hurt/comfort, themes of learning to trust. Complete.

The Altars We Sacrifice Our Futures On. Wherein Tommy is sacrificed to The Blood God, except he isn't an orphan so Techno awkwardly adopts him and is awful at parenting. Very funny and fluffy with some dark humor mixed in. Complete.

To Return the Favor of Raising Me. Zombie apocalypse where kid Techno struggles to lead Tommy, Niki, Tubbo, and Ranboo in killing survivors to feed their brains to zombie Philza. Techno develops insane beef with Kristin, who tries to rescue the kids to her survivor compound. Heavy angst, MCD (duh Phil is a zombie), lots of traumatized children. Complete, Fandom Trumps Hate prompt.

Shred Your Wings to Make You Ours. Wing fic! Predator bird Philza shreds prey!Techno’s wings and shoves him in a hole to eat later. Only problem? Philza is a sleep deprived new dad, and accidentally brings Techno back to the nest. Now the only way Techno can survive is to pretend to be a predator, too. A literal Dead Bird Do Not Eat fic- as the whole premise is cannibalism birds.

Always at His Side, Never in His Sight. OSMP + Philza’s FlowerFall. Queer royalty AU with lots of bedrock bros angst. Tommy is struggling with insecurities, aromanticism, and growing gender dysphoria, and elects to cope with invisibility potions even as side effects grow worse. Adopted crown prince Techno dodges assassins, wrangles structural inaccessibility, and accepts his role as a martyr for Tommy. Angst/comfort with fun Origin social world building. Complete. Fandom Trumps Hate prompt.

Of Feathers and Fawning. (or ficlet here) Where Tommy is an avian and during exile his abuser takes advantage of his instincts to manipulate him. Angst heavy, deals with suffering and recovering from abuse. Complete.

Rise up and make this city glow. Young mage Niki gets conscripted invited to learn magic! Her mentor, Technoblade, had far more reservations. Hard not to, after being broken down through endless crushed rebellions. Is Niki the spark that can finally fan the flames of revolution? Complete. Fandom Trumps Hate prompt.

Lord, what fools these mortals be! Fantasy AU, Winter Court Fae Queen Kristin and King Philza try to kidnap SBI. Wacky hijinks with dark portions. Some themes of bodily autonomy, subtle manipulations, absurdity of the fae. One chapter left.

Lighting Lanterns to Bring You Home. Mythology AU where Techno is a Harvest/Revolt god that is killed every Winter Persephone style, Wilbur a Festival/Dissent god. Heavy tragedy. Themes of self change, coping with grief. Abandoned with outline.

One shots:

Where do Babies Come From? Modern AU where Philza picks up homeless kids. My first fic everyone say awww.

Worth far more than your weight in gold. Monster Hunter Techno goes after Philza, who is a raven-dragon-kenku, for taking Tommy. Phil can only talk through redacting others sentences. Monster/culture worldbuilding. Hurt/comfort, distrustful bonding. Themes of learning to value yourself, discrimination, communication.

116 East Normal Street. Human Techno bonding with his neighborhood, who are all not-so-secretly from very different genres such as 'magical girl' or 'noir detective' or 'invading alien'. Most light-hearted thing I've ever written tbh. Themes about suburban isolation but it's buried in there.

A ghost is a tragedy reliving itself. Fault AU where they are abstracted into short horror stories.

Pigmalian.exe. Technoblade is a war robot and Philza is the scientist who made him. As Philza nurtures Techno to sentience, the robot struggles with the meaning of agency and friendship. Angst and Bonding.

Vlogger and the Vampire. Parasocial? Paranormal? Why not both? Vampire emerald duo when Philza nabs a new angry fledgeling. Fandom Trumps Hate prompt.

Ficlets:

Reverse ‘The Lambs Wolves Wear’. Lambs!AU where Philza is the one replaced by a monster (angel) and his children have to navigate it.

Sandduo makes ‘The Lambs Wolves Wear’ even more tragic. “Wilbur” shows up after Philza already killed “Techno” and “Tommy”. Pure angst ensues. Complete.

Waxing and Waning. Goddess of Death Kristin tricks Philza into becoming an icarus figure, only, sun god Tommy has never been embraced before. Complete.

Civilian. Philza finds a team of child superheroes and begins to get worried about their safety. Time to take it into his own hands! Complete.

Reverse Mafia Kidnapping? Tommy kidnaps Crime Boss!Philza. Chaos ensues. Complete.

Paragon of Justice (or whatever). Superhero Techno takes the fall for Ranboo to get tossed in jail the same week villain Wilbur gets caught, too. When breaking out of jail, villain sbi decide to take a plus one! Complete.

A Study in Brood Parasites. Dark!Kristin is a brood parasite bird that plants her chick, Techno, into Philza’s family. Only, she becomes enraptured watching Philza care for his family. Surely he won’t mind if another brood parasite infiltrates his family…. Complete.

Under-The-Bed. Tommy has a brand new monster under his bed. And maybe, if he’s nice enough, Techno will protect him from the monsters over-the-bed. Complete.

Murky Depths. Tiny Merman Techno gets rescued from polluted waters by a giant Kristin and put into a fish tank to recover. He is very Andy about this. Complete.

Do you need help drowning, darling? Vampire Hunter!Techno gets only partially turned, and is in deep denial about it as his health gets worse and worse. Luckily (?) for him, vampire Philza just decided to infiltrate the hunter compound.

Your Heart in My Hands. Fledgeling Tommy isn’t integrating with the coven well :( he keeps trying to escape. But now that Philza has found the reason he was running, all he has to do is lock Tommy in a room with Tubbo until he’s turned…or consumed. Almost complete.

The Blood God and His Fledgeling. Hyper Depressed ancient vampire!Techno finds the reincarnation of Theseus, the man who refused to turn thousands of years ago. While he won’t turn Tommy without consent….he’s not above forcing the issue. Honestly kinda abandoned.

Beast and Boy. Techno is a giant monster that’s been terrorizing the town for years, but when gravely wounded limps off to die. Tommy, however, just got a new puppy!!! And is very determined his parents won’t find out about the puppy under the house. Complete.

Bunnyblade’s 5-step Plan to World Dominance. Lab bunny Techno escapes, only to fall in the TOTALLY NEFARIOUS clutches of Philza. BUT WORRY NOT! The feeble might of a random civilian is not enough to Bunnyblade’s terrible schemes! …but might postpone them for a carrot break. And some petting. Comedy.

Shoot to Kill (I know you will). Cyber punk. Death lottery reaper!Phil tries to chase down Techno, but is thwarted by the principles of anarchy. Complete.

Hibernation. au where techno doesn’t really hibernate for weeks at a time; he just thinks he does because his ‘friends’ drug him for long periods of time to help him learn how to 'lower his guard'. Complete.

The Hero of Their Dreams. Abused!Tommy finds escapism through his dreams, where he is the beloved hero of a fantasy world. And the people in his dreams will do anything to ensure Tommy never wakes up to the horrors of their reality. 5/6.

In Case of Malunion, Carve Through Bone. Collab with Sohr and Apple. Archeologist!Philza is a modern reincarnation of an ancient trio deity who unwittingly revives Technoblade and Kristin. Through a road trip of museum heists, Techno and Kristin start gathering up the shattered pieces of Phil's deitihood. Piece by piece they replace the mortal. Complete.

I've Heard It Both Ways (from The Voices) Psyche Au where Techno claims he has visions from The Blood God which helps him solve murder cases. Uh huh. That's what he's going with. Tommy (Lassiter) is having none of it. But after Skeppy (Mr Yang) captures them both, Tommy might not like the truth he finds. Complete.

The Evertrue Pull of Home. Birds use magnetic fields to navigate. Dark Kristin decides to blast his head with magnets so Philza has no compass home. Bedrock bros try to rescue him.

Can you love me, if I pretend? Human Techno finds refuge in an origins community by pretending to be a bunnyborn. It goes. Badly.

AMESMP

Context, I'm on an origins server playing a scientist phantom named Cessation.

Failure Analysis Log 3 is a fic told through a series of scientific contents regarding Wickburn Asper working on the Ancient City portal, trying to get into the afterlife. Tragedy, yuri (?!), horror.

Ame Smp intro, Seft (Cessation's phantom kid), Pod-cast posts 1, 2, battles, i'm like super behind explaining anything man gooood luck.

It was okay at first. He’d missed Tubbo so so much. They talked until their voices were hoarse, first Tommy explaining everything happening, then all his escape attempts, then anything and everything because he finally had his best friend back. He felt better than he had in weeks just because someone else was there to confirm that everything happening was messed up, and cheer him on for his clever and daring escape attempts instead of chiding or attacking him. Brilliant, Tubbo called him. It helped, since for so long he only felt weak and stupid and pathetic and Tubbo was incapable of seeing him like that.

But then he started needing the conversation for a different reason, as he began to sharply remember how long it’d been since he last fed. And to be fair Tubbo needed it too, he wasn’t getting fed either. Still. The scent of his exhales was starting to make Tommy’s mouth water. Tommy hadn’t even been aware he could smell carbon dioxide. 

And suddenly he had to question his own motives. Because he’d been close, real close to Tubbo the last few days, the pair lacking any personal space. And sure he’d missed his best friend, but was that clingy…or carnivorous? Tommy untangled himself slowly. He felt cold almost immediately with no body heat of his own. He picked the furthest corner of the room. Tubbo followed immediately, because of course he did. 

“Don’t.” Tubbo hummed a questioning note, head canted. Tommy bit his tongue, then winced as a fang punctured through. Old blood filled his mouth. He really, really didn’t want to spell it out. “I’m getting hungry, big man,” Tommy explained quietly, roughly. 

“Oh. Well- we don’t have food, but at least we have blood,” Tubbo offered casually. 

“I’m not- great. About stopping.” He’d probably end up killing Tubbo. Or worse. 

Tubbo frowned in thought, as if he could logic a solution out of something impossible. “What if I bleed into a cup, to control the amount?”

The thought made him dizzy with thirst. Tommy squeezed his eyes shut against the vision. “That- that wouldn’t work. Don’t. Cause then you’d have an open wound, and I wouldn’t be able to- no.”

Tubbo didn’t like that answer, because of course he didn’t want to watch his friend suffer. But Tommy didn’t want to murder his friend even more, and won that contest of wills. “Fine. How can I help, then?”

“I guess…try not to get hurt. No stunts. Or paper cuts. Or bruises. Just- sit still and try to stop looking delicious.”

Tubbo threw up his hands in exacerbation. “I can’t! I’m a certified snack!”

They could laugh then, in the light of day. And it was so bad when Tubbo was awake and laughing. But Tommy didn’t really sleep as much as a human did anymore. The hunger was sharper at night, acutely aware this was when he was meant to be hunting. The hours dragged a long, long time without anything to distract him from the bloodthirst, save watching the slow rise and fall of Tubbo’s breathing. It was a rhythm burned into his new nocturnal predator instincts. Each inhale replenished sweet oxygen into fresh blood in a way a breathless vampire could only steal. Tommy was running out of blood fast, starting to suffocate on it. Breath pooled around the still Tubbo, building up to overwhelm his senses in honeysweet nectar. 

And Tubbo just seemed to glow in the night. The soft citrus radiation of thermal energy radiating off him in resplendent infrared curls. Like a drop of sunlight in the depths of midnight, mesmerizing for how long it’d been since Tommy saw the sun for the last time. 

He had uncurled without awareness, catching himself already half crawling closer. Embarrassed, Tommy rose. Silently, of course. He wouldn’t want to interrupt his slumber. Steps so light they scarcely registered noise to his advanced hearing, avoiding the patches of the floor where moonlight crept across. Tommy paused at the foot of the bed, lingering. 

Tubbo. His best friend in the whole world. The sound of his heart beat was so comforting after the uneasy silence of his own chest. He missed Tubbo’s hugs so much, so warm and right unlike the cold prison of his coven. It hurt to hold a distance. Unnatural for the two to be separate. The scent of Tubbo’s breath was intoxicating. Like spring incarnate, luring him closer, closer. That was his friend. His mate. He’d always help Tommy any way he could. 

The bed creaked softly as Tommy’s knee sunk into it. When Tubbo shifted in slumber, Tommy froze, carefully watching. Minutes dragged on without response, heart so steady and familiar, divine waves of carbon dioxide washing over. As if it were an invitation, Tommy advanced crawling across the bed in lurches, carefully stunted to Tubbo’s every shift. The slightest indication, and he tensed, coiled to pounce.

It was a careful balance, intuitive even to a fledgling. The moment prey’s sympathetic nervous system activated, oxygen would flood its body. Slow respiration was alluring, but it was hyperventilation that really drove vampires into a frenzy, since it maximized time before they needed to feed again. But take too long, and that precious oxygenated blood would be wasted in its intended purpose of fueling the flight or fight response. 

The prey was far too deep into slumber. Carefully, slowly, the fledgling came to loom over. Though ravenous enough to feed regardless of its slumber, the evolutionary pressure weighed down in sharp instinct. An involuntary feeding hiss poured from his throat as his fangs bared, the prey stirring as atavistic alarm bells began to ring in the back of its mind. The fledgling seized its wrists, pinning down so it wouldn’t struggle and waste precious oxygen. At the first hitching gasp as it jolted awake, his pupils thinned to slits. 

“Tommy..?” 

It was agonizing to wait. And then he heard it, the first melodic notes of a heart slamming into over drive, fear filling the air.

“TOMMY!”

The fledgeling snarled, forcing the prey still. So easy to overpower the bucking of a human. Slow, it was meant to be slow, the fear rolled off it in waves building up fresher, sweeter blood. But impatient as he was, the fledgeling seized his prey’s jaw, slamming the head to the side to expose its neck. Its chest heaved as hyperventilation kicked in. Good enough, he decided, though Sire would chide him for not giving more time for the fear to set in, but he was so, so ravenous. Jaw open wide, wider-

“TOMMY ONE OF THEM’S ATTACKING! HELP!”

The fledgling knew no other name for himself but hunger. But his best friend calling for help woke an even deeper instinct inside him, far older than the new parasitic ones hijacking his biology.

How harrowing, to stare into the terror of his best friend’s eyes and know he put it there. 

Tommy scrambled away, pitching off the bed to fall into a heap of limbs. Something in him snarled, he needed to feed, needed to, need-

Bristling fangs snapped shut on his own wrist. Tommy closed his eyes, drinking deeply. It felt like suffocating, if he were honest. Maybe he wanted it to. But it felt enough like feeding to satisfy his bloodthirst for now, even if he knew it’d be back with a vengeance. 

“TOMMY! TOMMY HELP I DONT KNOW WHERE HE WENT. I CAN’T- HELP ME!” Tubbo screamed. 

His human vision had lost of the monster in the dark, fear spiking in tumultuous waves. But immediately he caught the glow of Tommy’s eyes once they opened. 

And suddenly he was staring down the sharpened end of the stake in the hands of his best friend.

“Heyyyy big man,” Tommy rasped. Tubbo immediately slumped with relief in a way that made Tommy feel so much worse. 

“I can’t see nothing, where’d he go? Is it safe?” Apparently, the only thing worse than your best friend realizing you’d tried to kill him, was your best friend not realizing you’d tried to kill him. 

“He’s-“ Tommy’s voice cracked. “He’s right here, Tubs. No one else. There’s never been anyone else.” 

“I suppose. But I thought you’d settle down after a few weeks. It wouldn’t have to be like this if you calmed down.” Tommy cussed him out. But it was tired, lacked the heat and creativity of his earlier days. He hated Philza for that, too. “Really now, this temper isn’t you. You need to eat.”

“Or what? End up like the Jawless One? It’s not like you have anything against keeping pet freaks!”

“You will not talk about my son like that.” That awful, ugly anger flashed in his eyes, but sunk into bloodlust as he was, it only made Tommy bristle more. “He was brutalized by humans, what kind of sire would I be if I abandoned him for that?”

“You only let it off its leash when you need a mutt to hunt me down.”

The crow stared down at him coldly, letting him drown in silence. As if Philza was too above this pathetic tantrum to even deign to respond. How did Philza make him feel every inch a small, disgusting child without saying a word? And Tommy had thought it such a vicious blow, but not when it echoed emptily in the shell of the bathtub stained with the smears of blood coating his claws and slashed along his arms. At least, the blood he hadn’t been able to lick off the tub walls to stave off the hunger. Tommy curled into himself, not liking the reflection of himself captured in his sire’s eyes. 

“He is worried about his coven. And he should be. You remind me a lot of him, you know,” Philza sibilated icily. “And one day that tongue of yours will earn you an injury even a vampire can’t heal from, just like it did him.”

“Good. Maybe it’ll be enough to off me.” 

This quiet was different. A hesitation, and the crow flew through the window to perch on the bathtub rim. Tommy hated the fact he could now recognize pity on a bird, and that Phil could surely see how red his eyes were from crying. 

In a blink, the vampire sat on the bathroom tiles, arms folded on the tub rim as he stared down at the hunched form of his fledgling. He reached in, gently prying away the claws buried deep in flesh. At once they shreds Philza’s arm, wrenching his wrist close enough to feed only for the precious blood to be yanked out of the way. Tommy’s feeding hiss faded into a low growl. Philza laced their fingers together, deceptively sweet for how inescapable the grip was. Tommy struggled, needing to feign feeding to clear his head. Yet Philza preferred he’d drown instead of battering himself trying tread water. He didn’t actually care Tommy was hurting himself, only that he’d circumvented his trap. 

Philza adopted a concerned expression, or tried to. “Is that why you didn’t want to become immortal? Because it’s harder to be suicidal?” He sounded almost laughably confused, as if he couldn’t comprehend not wanting to live an eternity. 

“It’s because I am immortal. You’re the one who killed Tommy; whatever’s left was made by you.”

“And what are you, Tommy?” he asked softly. 

“A monster.”

And Philza…laughed. Not cruel, just amused. Like it was a joke. He stifled his chuckles with a hand. “Sorry. I shouldn’t, but- gods I don’t remember being this much of an angsty brat when I turned. Sorry. I’m trying to validate your feelings. Big changes can be very scary indeed, especially when your body is changing and your sense of self hasn’t caught up. But- but a monster? Do you hear yourself?” Tommy snarled at him. “I know, I know. But I promise you’ll laugh too once you aren’t hungry. These types of mood swings are much worse for fledglings, it won’t be like this in a century or two. You really shouldn’t be skipping meals while you’re still growing.”

“We’re starving cause of you!”

“I’ve given you a meal. It’s your favorite and everything! And I decorated him for you, laid out the fine china plates and pillows. It’s not my fault if you refuse to eat.” Red eyes narrowed as he smiled. “And I know you appreciate my work, because you already tried to.”

More red. Flashing in his vision, pulsing, dark. “You’re the one trying to get me to kill my best friend! And I WANT to, because of you!”

“I don’t want Tubbo to die.” But it would be convenient, wouldn’t it? If Tommy didn’t have a reason to care about escaping anymore? “We’re doing this for your sake, this is a present to show our good will. Won’t it be great, to get to keep your best friend forever? But as ungrateful as you’ve been…you might’ve postponed too long.” His gaze traced the fading gouges in Tommy’s arms. Not concerned, since he knew it would heal in a blink once Tommy finally gave in. But perturbed. 

And then Philza sighed, and rose. “Okay. You win, mate. I cant stand to watch you anymore. At this point it isn’t safe for you to turn Tubbo. You’d only kill him, and that isn’t my intended outcome. None of this was. Sorry, I didn’t realize how much it would wear on you.”

Tommy was left staring at the empty space he’d been, disappearing behind the walls of the tub. For the first time in days Tommy picked himself up, struggling a little to sit up. He watched Philza’s retreat in amazement. “What? You mean it?” He hated the awful blatant hope in his voice. 

“I thought not. But you must admit you aren’t inspiring much confidence as to your control. Once you agree to let me turn Tubbo, I’ll let you feed from me. It’s the only way for you to be safe around him in his last moments of humanity. You do want to be there to celebrate, don’t you?”

It overwhelmed him. The tantalizing promise of blood blotted out everything else. His sire radiated heat from a recent kill, it would be practically fresh. Tommy’s chest heaved, lungs straining to fill. But to do that he had to give up his prey.

Friend. Prey. Friend. Prey. Tubbo flickered in Tommy’s mind, human and vampire instincts one and the same either way. Fresh blood, the kind his body was screaming for. Fresh love, so unlike this rotten version Philza offered. Mine. 

(And some quiet, real part of him pleading he not doom Tubbo to become the same possessive parasite he was. But Tommy could only pretend he was listening to that.)

The click of a doorknob and Tommy snapped, clawing into Philza’s arm. His sire recoiled. A low growl filled the room, the fledgeling baring his teeth when Philza tried to close his unconscious retreat. 

“Even now you’re resisting?” Philza’s smile dropped. “You…really are determined to protect this one human. Even now.” His words sounded bitter. “Fine. He can be free.” Abruptly, the growl in Tommy’s throat spluttered and choked, cut off in surprise. Please with the pronounced effect, Philza purred, “all you have to do is promise to stay.”

Everything was a blur in his head. The intoxicating scent of blood. The fear of his coven. The desperation for Tubbo to be safe. The part of him that really did want to keep Tubbo forever. 

The door he was pressed to shuddered as Philza broke the lock, pressure at his back giving away to air. Impulsively, Tommy shoved him back, filling the doorway. As the door slammed shut, a split second perfect shock was captured on Philza’s features before it was smothered. “If you really wanted to save Tubbo you would’ve taken the offer in less than one of his heart beats.”

And later the scathing words would haunt him for the rest of his life, but the Tommy of the now knew only the threat before him. All Tommy could do was growl as Philza calmly approached. “We vampires are territorial things, you know,” he murmured, leaning in so close that there was nowhere left to retreat back, thin wood beginning to splinter into Tommy’s back. Nowhere to run. Too close.

The glow of his red eye was a thin sliver as Philza captured him periphery. “I know what those instincts are screaming right now. You want him all for yourself. Dead or undead, doesn’t matter as long as it’s at your hands. It scares you. I know it does. But this too is love. I would recognize it anywhere, since it’s why I made you mine.”

“Actually, it’s cause Tommy knows I wouldn’t leave him behind.” Both vampires froze at Tubbo’s voice. 

“Then chose to stay,” Philza recovered. “I would love to have you, Tubbo, and it’s this or a grisly fate.”

“Alright, turn me. It sure beats dying.”

Pure animalistic hatred. Tommy’s roar echoed in the small bathroom, distorted and overwhelming. Philza unconsciously took a step back. 

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Tubbo screamed, pounding at the door. Tommy’s snarl only grew, determined to protect his ———-. He pressed forward, fiercely defensive. Philza caught his wrists, starting to struggle to hold Tommy back as blood desperation mounted. He leaned into the brutish strength, the world going pure red. The scent of Philza’s blood stung the air. He pushed the prey further and further back, relishing Philza’s widening eyes. The strength of a freshly fed vampire could barely hold back a feeding frenzy, closer and closer to overpowering and draining the threat to his territory-

Till his hearing caught the scrape of metal as the door began to slam open. Faster than a blink Tommy was there, catching the doorknob and wrenching it shut. The metal broke in his hands, stomach lurching as Tubbo swung it open, stake poised only for Tommy to dig his claws deep into the wood. The human couldn’t do much against the brunt of his might, pounding at the door demanding to be let in. 

A blur in his vision, and Tommy’s head whipped around, fangs bared. He bucked at Philza to keep him at bay. Tommy ensnared between human and vampire, both sides crushing him between in their determination to kill the other, and his desire to kill them both. He hated this, hated them more, everything in his head jumbled into incomprehensible tangles he’s wasn’t sentient enough to grasp. Fear, fervor, fury, famish, famish, famish, feeding- it all escaped only as a wounded growl. 

Tubbo banged furiously at the door. “STOP ATTACKING HIM! JUST LEAVE US ALONE YOU MONSTER!”

“Oh sweet Tubbo, it won’t be I who kills you if you open that door,” Philza called, catching Tommy by the jaw when he tried to instinctively bite. 

Somewhere in the swirl of bloodlust rose a great shame. He was salivating uncontrollably. It suddenly felt uncomfortable, natural, he wasn’t supposed to be like this. Tommy was a child, once, not a ravenous thing. 

“As I was saying,” Philza said, sounding breathless for all that he had been so for centuries. He traced a thumb along the arc of Tommy’s bared fang. “You’re right, I did make you this, because I love you. And I will love every part of you even if you can’t.” The tooth caught, slicing through the pad of his thumb. Tommy’s mouth exploded with fresh blood, and it felt like a small gasp of air after drowning beneath tumultuous waves.

The fresh blood only made his appetite awake with a howl, thinking it was finally, finally time to feast. Philza knew what he was doing. He didn’t flinch as Tommy bit the finger off. Greedily feeding, Tommy’s eyes sunk close, leaning in as Philza pet his hair. “There you go, love. I need you to be lucid for this next part.”

Tommy hissed as the hand wrenched, biting harder, but Philza ripped the precious blood away, muzzling his jaw with one hand. His fingers dug in painfully.

The world became crisp, color almost painfully vivid as it washed in. Disgusted, Tommy spat out the finger. But he already knew hours later he’d be shredding it for every last drop of blood. His knees nearly buckled on the horror of what he’d become. Tubbo. Oh god Tubbo. What must he think, waiting in terror for the moment his best friend finally lost control? And yet even this overwhelming revulsion-fear-anguish would fade soon, this gasp of fresh blood not enough to last eternity. This lucidity would vanish, made all the more horrific for the fact he could do nothing to stop its cessation.  

“Are you reasonable again?” The first words Tommy managed were a long string of swears. “That suffices. I know you think I’m cruel. It’s because I am. That’s the type of love reserved for a coven. To find out my precious fledgeling loves an insignificant human more than his own sire…well I couldn’t have that could I? And I really did try to do this the kind way by having him join, but your behavior has been unacceptable. Insulting your brother, hurting yourself, attacking your own sire for the sake of a human-“ his oil slick anger choked Tommy, ever so briefly, just a small trickle of his real ire. “Well. Upon reflection, I’ve changed my mind. I’ve been too lenient with your rebellious phase. For the rest of eternity, every time you think of disobeying me I want you to remember how it felt to eviscerate your Tubbo.”

Philza pressed a cold kiss to his forehead, and evaporated into a crow. Tommy was left with a blood soaked mouth and a few precious few moments of clarity holding insatiable thirst at bay. 

His own mind was the worst kind of traitor. Tommy could deal with the part of him desperate to devour Tubbo, drive back the repulsive thought with choking horror, with pain. It was the other voice that scared him more, the one that asked if it would really be so bad to make Tubbo into a monster, too. That said this was his last chance before he killed his friend.

Though a last desperate instinct was screaming at him to run in the handful of moments before dawn and his sanity broke, Tommy couldn’t. What would they do to Tubbo? Close enough to protect his friend was too close to be safe. Surely whatever torture they inflicted would be crueler. 

He could tell the moment Tubbo woke by the hitch of his breath. By the creak of the bed he could picture the arc of Tubbo’s body as he stretched, tongue curling with a yawn. The scruffy mess of fluffy hair covering bleary eyes. The flutter of his tantalizing heartbeat. The scurry of nearby prey made his mind skitter out of grasp, and Tommy covered his ears miserably.

But this might be the last time they had together, or had at all. He wanted his friend so, so badly, never mind what that want entailed. All that came out was a low whine at first, and Tommy couched to clear his parched throat. “Big T?” he made out.

“Bossman!” It hurt how excited he sounded. At once Tubbo raced to the door. It refused to budge, stuck behind the rubble of the broken tub, and toilet, and sink, and drawer, and cabinets, and ripped up floor tiles, and every last shred of protection that Tommy could scrounge up. A useless bastion, constructed as it was by Tubbo’s bitter enemy.

“I don’t have much longer, Tubbo.”

“Oh.” A shift, as he unconsciously stepped back. Trepidation laced his voice, soft like he was scared of hurting Tommy. “Can- can you hold out just a little longer?”

Tommy choked on a sudden sob. It was the first time Tubbo had begged for his life, but it wouldn’t be the last. Level now, not scared, yet, eventually screamed when it was too late for Tommy to understand it. But he heard it now, while it could still hurt.

“It’s okay!” Tubbo rushed out. “I don’t need much more time. Just- how long do I have?”

“I’m so sorry Tubbo.”

“Don’t be, just tell me.” It was abrupt, almost a snap. Because of course this was so, so much worse for Tubbo. Tommy shrunk in shame.

“Maybe a day. Two. Didn’t mean to scare you there. Just meant…I won’t be to do this anymore. Like: talking, thinking. Pretending to be a person. The blood I took from Phil wasn’t enough.” He’d licked every last drop off the bathroom floor.

“You bit him?” What kind of monster would do that? Reluctantly, Tommy confirmed. But Tubbo only laughed lightly. “Nice. Reckon it hurt?”

“Um. Probably, I bit the finger clean off.”

“Permanently?”

“Nah. It’ll regen.” Unless it got in sunlight. Not that Philza was stupid enough to.

Their conversation was nice enough, though lulled frequently, both of them distracted. But Tubbo forced the topic to be light, upbeat, and Tommy wouldn’t ruin it for the world. They ignored what was to come. They had to. And so the friends talked about movies they wanted to see, and old childhood memories, and pretended to make weekend plans for a future that didn’t exist. He could hear Tubbo pace, full of energetic life despite it all. The rustling of something or other. It did something funny to his back brain, like dangling something in front of a cat. The conversation listed to the side as it became harder to concentrated 

He slipped deeper into the familiar haze. His last wound was too long ago, but he was running out of fresh areas. And maybe Philza was right, that his desperate attempt to postpone Tubbo’s death had really only hastened it. Without blood the healing was slow. But he had time. Plummeting fast, so so much quicker than last time as the brief high petered out. Tubbo’s conversation came in random bursts, and he couldn’t tell if it was because he had nothing to say or if Tommy was losing his grasp that quick. 

The scent of fresh blood burst into his nostrils, and in a blink he was at the door, inhuman strength blurring limbs as he ripped away the mounds of ruins barring the door.

Tommy caught himself on the threshold. Claws sunk in deep as if that could hold himself back. Too eager. Alarm bells ringing. Tubbo, stop, protect-

“You can drain animals, right? Cause I’ll feel stupid having gone through all this effort if not.”

The days of holding himself back nearly crumbled as Tubbo opened the door. It only grew worse as the human immediately drained seeing him, horror captured in round eyes. The feeding hiss poured out of Tommy’s throat automatically. And a blur as he lost control, and teeth sinking into flesh, and sweet fresh blood.

What was he eating? The question was small in his head, drowning. So unimportant. He was finally fed. But persistent in a way that was annoying.

What was he eating? Who was he eating?

Tubbo. Tubbo what if it’s Tubbo stop you can’t Tubbo no Tubbo- but he couldn’t pry his jaws open even as he began to panic, the world was a blur of blood. How much had he drunk? Was it already too late?

“Philza did that to you?”

It wrenched Tommy’s focus out of the blood thirst fueled spiral. Meat squelched in his hands as he unclenched his pulverizing grasp, staring vacantly at the dead rat turned to bloody pulp. Yes. Philza did this to him. Turned him into something so desperate it would eat a dead rat.

Unsure of how he got here, Tommy slowly looked up to Tubbo as the human gently knelt before him. As Tubbo reached for him, for an irrational moment Tommy thought he meant to steal the rat before he was done, and clutched it protectively to his chest. But Tubbo carefully ghosted over the deep gouges and bitemarks in Tommy’s arms. “He- in the bathroom, he was snarling so much and I couldn’t protect you since you wouldn’t open the door! And look at you! you’re half dead!”

He stared at Tubbo in utter bewilderment. “I am dead.” After months of broken bones and pulverized flesh from escapes casually dismissed by his coven, Tommy couldn’t understand why Tubbo was so upset, using ripped sheet strips at once to wrap up injuries already beginning to recover with the recent feeding. The Jawless One alone was proof enough a vampire could survive no matter how mangled. How quickly he’d unlearned sixteen years of human education upon the subjects of pain and lethality. Philza, Technoblade, and the Jawless One were swift teachers.

“It’s fine really,” he assured, uncomfortable with Tubbo’s empathy. “It’ll heal with more blood.”

Tubbo thrust his wrist forward. “Here. Dessert? You can control it now that you’ve had the rat right? So it’s fine.” Tommy shook his head adamantly. Huffing, Tubbo rolled his eyes. “You judge dying children for needing transfusions do you? Innit literally just a blood donation?”

“No.”

“Why? You homophobic, too? Cause that’s the only other reason someone’s refused to let me donate.”

“I’m not homophobic!” Tommy laughed. A mistake, since Tubbo shoved his wrist into Tommy’s open mouth. He froze on soft skin, then spat it out. “Ew! You’re gross from not bathing for so long. Nooo thanks. Plus I think it makes me more homophobic if I do eat a gay person.”

“Why? Scared to suck another man?” He laughed as Tommy shoved him back. “Come onnnnn just a small amount? Not too much, since I haven’t eaten either and might pass out.” Tommy stared at the corpse, then glanced to Tubbo as he wiped the blood dripping off his chin and licked his stained hands. Uh. Tommy grabbed the rat by the tail and shoved it in Tubbo’s direction. Tubbo pulled a face. “No thanks big T. We don’t have a way to cook it. I don’t need to be dealing with diarrhea while we- are trapped in here. Anyway. Uh. Quick question I’ve only just now thought of this very second: how good is vampire hearing?”

“It’s- pretty good. Why?” Tubbo’s head jerked to the door. “Wait you think they’ve been listening to us the whole time??”

Tubbo gave him a ‘seriously dude!?’ expression then announced, “what? Why would they? Especially after we were saying nothing for days. Surely it’d be boring.” He rolled his eyes while tapping a finger to his pursed lips. But…if Tubbo had been measuring his words the whole time, why risk letting Tommy know his line of thought now? Well, besides the fact he finally felt sentient again. Amazed, he asked Tubbo how he managed to kill the rat. “Well, human hearing is just good enough I could barely hear them at night. So that’s why I wondered if it was driving you nuts, too,” he covered. “I had some crumbs in my pocket. Not enough for me, but Mickey over there couldn’t help himself. Didn’t know what was coming when my trap kicked in!”

“What trap?”

“…waiting until it was close enough and braining it with a giant book.”

“You’re a genius,” he said, and meant it.

Tubbo grinned. “Definitely! Here, now that you’re normal again you can help me make a trap. You’ll have as many rats as you want, bossman.” Only, he winked. And then winked again as Tommy stared at him blankly. Then nudged Tommy with his elbow. Then sighed in defeat, and dragged Tommy to the bathroom, pointing repeatedly at the window. 

Tommy shook his head furiously. Tubbo nodded just as furiously. Tommy shook his head even harder, blurring at inhuman speeds. Scowling, Tubbo stalked back out, seizing something and dragging it in. At once Tommy’s eyes were transfixed by the stake in his fist. It took a second to rip his gaze away to the long coils of tied together cloth strips. Tubbo lifted the heavy tangle of objects tied to the end for weight, swinging slightly. Pain stakingly -uh, not literally- he pantomimed actions until Tommy cottoned on. A zipline? Well he supposed it made sense, Tubbo couldn’t exactly fly. Philza had surely counted on Tubbo being slow, weak, a liability that would ensure their quick recapture. 

The vampires had underestimated Tubbo. So had Tommy. He eyed the stake casually shoved in one of Tubbo’s pockets. 

“You weren’t making the- just in case I…?”

Tubbo blinked at him. “That…wasn’t what I designed it for, no.” But by the hesitation, it became so. Tubbo tried to apologize through eyes alone for granting the only hope that had kept Tommy going. 

“Good. Good. The fact you had it made me feel better.”

Tubbo’s expression was horrible. “Welp. Is what it is.” 

With Tommy’s help, he broke the window out of the frame to maximize the size. Tubbo tingled the escape efforts, already there silently pantomiming the next step as if having run through it mentally hundreds of times. He grinned wildly, sticking his head out the window to survey the shadowed plummet below. Past the most to the dark forest and beyond, the horizon stretching out. 

And then he hesitated for the first time, turning back. “Can you?” Tubbo asked, haloed in sunlight. Just the verge of dawn, before the full brunt of day would bear down. The confidence that he glowed with flickered, uncertainty growing. All the questions he couldn’t have asked, scared of being overheard and his plan revealed. Because, truly, it was a plan only a human could make.

And, well. Tubbo wouldn’t leave without him.

Worried about what to say? Bring your personal worries about transphobia being signed into law, and trans friends being excluded from public spaces. You are a living person who deserves dignity. Remind your MP of that. On the day, you'll get guidance and brochures from Trans Solidarity Alliance that outlines our demands. This is mine from last year.

Here is an online briefing for lobbyists (10 mins read for essential info, 20 mins for details) Money issues? Trans Solidarity Alliance provides a travel bursary that you can sign up for via the link.

Got a refusal or no response from your MP?  Come anyway! You can request a same-day appointment with your MP through a process called greencarding. They will come and see you if they’re already in Parliament. Even if they don’t, they’re made acutely aware of your cause because you showed up in person. This is my greencard from last year.

Here is the EHRC Code of Practice in full. It's a tough read, but some highlights are:

Organisations can’t provide trans-inclusive, single-sex services, or they risk being sued for discrimination. e.g. domestic violence support for women including trans women, men’s rugby group including trans men (12.68).

Trans people will have nowhere safe to pee. If you’re a trans man, businesses can't allow you to pee in the men's, and you can also be ejected from women’s bathrooms if you’re perceived as a man. Vice versa for trans women. EHRC suggests a ‘third space’ bathroom, which is discriminatory and unworkable for most businesses. (13.130-133)

Sports organisations must exclude trans people from single-sex competitions (13.73).  A women’s only sports competition must exclude trans women because of their biological advantage or face potential lawsuits (13.74), but a trans man who has undergone testosterone treatment can also be excluded based on fairness rules (13.81).

Trans women are stripped of the legal definition of ‘lesbian’, and therefore no longer have legal protections if they’re discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. (2.50, 2.92).

Here is the Good Law Project's better explanation of the EHRC Code.

Sign up for the mass lobby and email your MP here, or click the main link above.

If you are not in the UK but want to support the case, please donate to The Good Law Project.