Temporary Walk-Ins: Edward Elric and Hannibal Lecter

[pirate_anon]

Temporary Walk-Ins:
Edward Elric and
Hannibal Lecter

Hannibal Lecter is the genius sociopath of Silence of the
Lambs and its sequels and prequels. He is most known for eating
human beings. Edward Elric is the teenage protagonist of
Fullmetal Alchemist, a sobriquet he earns after sacrificing an arm
and a leg to alchemy and replacing them with metal prostheses.

Sadly, I don't know very much about either Edward or
Hannibal. My first indication of Edward Elric's existence is in
November 2006, when Draven requests screencaps from a specific
Fullmetal Alchemist episode involving the characters of Ed and
Izumi, his teacher (2006 November 8).

In December 2006, they appear again in response to an
Ed/Izumi fanfic on Livejournal, which is based around Izumi as a
mentor and mother figure to Ed, even as they have rough,
dubiously consensual sex. It is a dark, twisted fic, suiting for
someone who fetishizes and sexualizes parenthood the way
Draven does. One commenter remarks on the characters’
“closeness that borders on incestuous,” and Draven agrees,
adding, "FMA is highly personal to us... and you nailed the best
of it" (2006 December 23). It's classic Draven-- who exactly is
"us"? Why is it so personal? He encourages questions, entices and
insinuates, but the creator doesn't respond, leaving the bait
untaken. He moves on.

Things progress over the next month. Draven states an
intention to go to Seattle’s Sakura-Con in April, saying, "I'd hate
to waste the 80 hours of work that went into my automail..." and
when another commenter mentions having a "Roy Muse," he
responds, "You sound like the flip side of me. Scary, that" (2007
February 1a and b). Again, not stating outright, just heavily
implying.
The next day, Draven gets a new state ID, and the photo is
in full Edward Elric garb--hair dyed blond, a red jacket, and a
black shirt underneath (citation available upon request). Neo
will later publicly post this ID, with the name, address, and ID
number partially censored, onto his Livejournal, with the strange
statement, "this at least can 'verify' that I'm who I say I am" (2008,
December 15). This document will later end up getting posted on
Encyclopedia Dramatica, much to Draven's displeasure.

The following year, Connor's LJ ends up hosting comment
threads about Edward Elric and the new arrival, Hannibal Lecter.
Neo specifically mentions in a comment that he's looking for role-
playing opportunities, and that "Edward Elric's an option" (2007
March 9). He also states, "I just created a journal for the Good
Doctor Lecter," but I never find it.

Hannibal interacts with Connor directly, leaving
anonymous comments introducing himself as "one of Neo's....
how do I say, 'temporary walk-ins'" and posting a nude pencil
sketch "of Neo's girl... my model's in her body, at any rate" (2007
March 8). Yes, Trinity is now hosting Clarice, as seems to be
traditional.

Despite the picture's signature of "hl," Connor doesn't
make the connection at first. When she asks who Hannibal is, he
replies, "I'll leave you to figure it out by the initials. You're a
bright boy." He continues acting in this mysterious way, telling
Connor that he's giving her "an opportunity for the truth" and
that she may ask him whatever she likes. He treats this as some
grand gift, telling her that it's something that "the psychiatrists of
the world would salivate over like starving dogs." He also swears
Connor to secrecy, saying, "I also don't mind you discussing our
discussion in said journal [...] so long as you DO NOT TELL
ANYONE where I am... in any form." Connor, who's long since
learned to obey Draven's edicts, says, "Don't worry, I won't. [...] I
wouldn't want to risk it."

Anakin will later repost the same drawing, twice, and he
lies both times about Hannibal's existence. The first one keeps
Hannibal’s signature, but he claims "the 'HL' at the bottom is the
model, not my initials" (2008 June 25). Then he reposts it again
on DeviantArt a few months later, with the "hl" signature
clumsily cropped out and replaced with "Draven 2007" (2008
September 26c). Apparently unable to resist explaining himself,
Anakin lies, "The only (very minor) changes I made were to
include a block for my signature, which was illegible in the
original scan; and to lighten the scan up just barely." He also
notes, "The model, incidentally, was my wife. (She loved the
original portrait, when it was done; I wonder if she'll love it up
here on devART. (*grins.*)" Considering that statement, it seems
doubtful that any of Draven ever asked any of Trinity's
permission, the three times they posted it.

The last I see of Edward Elric is in February 2008, which is
the date on the International Alchemy Guild license that Draven
posts (Anonymous, Unknown). Since the only other system
members active around this time were Neo and possibly Anakin,
it seems most likely the license belonged to Ed.

That is all I know about these two Draven members.
Considering the ephemerality of the Internet, the length of time
that has passed, and the difficult-to-search nature of Livejournal,
I can at least take comfort that I found them at all.