#worse to be a clone. feels more malicious | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jellyfishsthings · 3 months

Text

Warnings: this is going to be a multi part series and it's going to be angsty cause I am in my feels. Female reader, Padmé and Anakin were together but had a healthy break up, Jedi reader so forbidden love

This story takes plays in Clone Wars yet many events have been changed (like the meeting of Ashoka and Anakin... don't worry the sibling energy is still there.)

series masterlist

The meeting ended way faster than it was planned due to… you guessed it, a surprise attack. Both me and Anakin fought with great intensity and when it was over, we had won every Senator over. Our job was done. And so after bidding goodbye, we headed towards our ship. Anakin sat in the driving compartment ready to pilot the ship back to the Temple and I joined him.

A comfortable silence enveloped us, safety and protection radiated from him and sooner than later I felt myself slip into a much-needed slumber.

A set of plain dark grey doors stood tall before me, and as I reached to open them my hand came short several centimetres under the handles. A tall black man called Windu stood beside me, silently assessing me. I stood on my tiptoes and opened the doors. Several pairs of eyes turned towards me and I felt myself shrink back. Master Windu placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a slight push while whispering "It will be alright".

My feet carried me to the buffet of the cafeteria and my mouth watered at the sight of the plethora of food. I wasn't used to it and my stomach growled as the minutes flew by. In the end, I chose rice with some chicken because I knew that even though I could eat anything on the table my stomach wouldn't be able to handle more than that. I headed towards the far side of the room, where next to no one was sitting.

A blond boy suddenly appears in front of me, startling me. He has a kind face, that is framed by shortcutted hair and a small braid, a padawan. He smiles at me as he examines me.

"Hi, I am Anakin. You can join me and the rest of the padawans if you want to."

"No thank you."

"Are you shy? Or just really stuck up? Because there is this girl Jade…" He says maliciously. "Well let's just say that no one likes Jade."

I snort a small chuckle and he laughs at me.

"Is it okay if I come and sit with you?"

"Sure," I said back to him.

He simply rushes back to his table and grabs his lunch before coming back to the table. He lets his tray down with a thud and he beams at me with a toothy smile, some of his teeth are missing, as he sits down. He must be older than me by a year or so or two.

"I see you chose the chicken. Good choice but it is a bit like a tyre you know, probably overcooked. You should try the roasted beef next time. It is simply great."

The ship rocks side to side being caught in a star storm, a hushed curse sounds as I shift my position trying to get comfortable.

My body is covered in sweat and I pant like crazy. My sides burn like there is no tomorrow.

"Again?" Anakin asks with a smirk.

"I hate you"

"Oh come on, trouble. I am sure you will beat me next time."

I roll my eyes at the nickname. You crash five fighter jets and set only two fires and suddenly you are a pariah. Anakin was the only one who defended me because somehow he had figured out that I wanted to go home or to what was left of it. He stopped me at the last minute and he crashed three out of the five jets.

Training with Anakin late at night when the whole Temple rested. When the nightmares started nothing could calm me down. The sleepless nights started to catch up with me, and the dark circles that adorned my eyes were prominent. After a while, he suggested joining me when trying to fall asleep like we used to do when we were little. And for a time it worked and then they got worse. He believed they were just nightmares but they were memories of the abuse and the destruction.

Then Master Obi-Wan said that we had both fallen back on our training and that we should be focused only on that. That was our priority. And so one late night in the training room turned to hundred and to thousand. We would fight to the brink of exhaustion and then we would turn off like lights.

In the meantime, we have both grown. My body started to turn more feminine, and curves showed up, attracting creepy stares from the boys and glares from the girls. Anakin on the other side gained a lot of height, surpassing me by a full head. His once lean body slowly became more muscular, and his shoulders were broadened.

I examined him as we both tried to gain our breath.

As he was still trying to calm down, I lunged at him. Raising my lightsabers, trying to disarm me. His quick reflexes were his saviour. Our sabers clashed as we attacked and defended ourselves. It was like a dance, a brutal one and we matched each other. No one could know for how long we stayed there until he missed a step and went down like a sack of potatoes.

"That … was not … fair. I was caught off guard." He says breathlessly.

"Say that… to your enemy… next time." I say to him smirking and I grab his outstretched arm, pulling him up.

"I miss the days when I did all the talking. You were less mean." He says with a pout and I laugh at him. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see him for six months.

I feel someone move me from my sitting position and being laid down on the reclined chair. A light duvet covers my body. His familiar scent fills my nostrils and drifts me back to sleep.

Master Windu watches me from the top of the stadium and his encouragement comes to me in waves through the Force. Today I gained my knighthood. And after all of the struggles and challenges, this moment of that day is not my favourite.

I found myself unable to sleep so I took a walk through the Temple. I tried to meditate. Still, I feel on edge, some would say that it is because of my achievement of becoming a Jedi Knight. I wander in the aircraft zone, his favourite place. I need to feel close to him, now more than ever. A few months ago he left for the war front with some other padawans and Jedis, for some reason, I was not approved to follow. At least not yet.

I see a craft landing and I hide behind a pillar, holding tightly one of my lightsabers in my hand, ready to attack.

A deep voice sounds. "I already told you, Master. I didn't not hint that-"

"That is the problem with you you never think." A familiar voice said. Obi-Wan's voice sounds tired and full of panic. "You could have been killed."

"Don't say that Master. I didn't do anything wrong." The deep voice says mischievously, his voice laced with mirth.

"Oh really. Well, I guess there is nothing wrong with jumping off of jets, and completely trusting your life on a droid, no offence Artoo, or challenging your opponents. You are being reckless."

I slowly pull myself out from my hiding space trying to get a better look at the two approaching figures. Obi-Wan is the same, only his robes are more tattered and he looks bone tired as he moves at the pace of a sloth.

The figure next to him wears dark clothes blending in the dark night sky. Yet I am able to make him out. His blond hair has grown from his short spiky haircut. He seems even taller and his body more muscular than it was. It fits snuggly against his armour. Ani, he is here, he is back.

Without a second thought, I sprint towards him and jump on top of him. He staggers back by the force of the sudden impact. His arms shoot out to catch me as he gains his footing.

"Hey, trouble. I missed you." He whispers into the skin of my neck as he buries his head in the crook of my neck, breathing me in. His arms tighten around me and I wrap my legs around his waist. He is solid, covered in hard muscle and almost double in size. His voice is several octaves lower than it used to be. Everything about him makes my stomach roll and coil into a knot. That's when it all started. Since then I could not pull my eyes from him. Since then I could not stop thinking and fantasizing about him.

I am woken up by the rumble of the edges shutting down. I blink the sleepiness away and pull myself up ready to head towards my room. A hand grabs mine, stopping me on the spot.

"You look beautiful, you know. You should wear dresses more often." He says as he looks at me with a loving gaze. I blush harshly as he walks away, only turning his gaze back to me to say "Goodnight, trouble."

My eyesight finds the first reflective surface and I take a long look at my appearance. My hair had fallen from the messy curled bun Padmé had somehow made at the top of my head. The dress truly compliments my figure, making every curve stand out, daunting every man to take a look. Yet my strong arms stand out, in contrast to the soft aspects of my body making me look like a true fighter. Making me look like a Greek goddess.

words: 1.622

#anakin skywalker x female reader #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker fluff

42 notes · View notes

cloud-somersault · 8 months

Note

Soul anon yet again and sorry to bother you but -

YES MACAQUE SHOULD HAVE SOME RESPECT ON HIS NAME! HE'S NOT WEAKER OR LESSER!!

In s1, in that fight, he was very much holding his own! A friend pointed it out to me, but Macaque was VERY much in control of that fight. Not only was he pressuring Wukong with his smoke monster, but he was the one who transformed first, he controlled what powers he used and knew how Wukong would respond to them in kind, he was the one who lead Wukong around the battle field, he worked out from using his trick of turning into MK just how much Wukong cared too. (And how much Wukong didn't care about him, and knowing Macaque, probably also interpreted that as never caring about him in the past either.)

He also took out a couple of advantages, MK entering the fight, and removing the staff of the battle too. If Wukong had used clones to try and take the staff, Macaque could have done the same to prevent it and to harm MK, if Wukong tried to take the staff himself, Macaque would have had an opening to take if Wukong had done so. By placing MK under the staff, Macaque perfectly laid out the fight even from the beginning to his advantage and forcing Wukong to fight him on more even ground.

In S2, Macaque also had 100% control of that fight. He did what he did out of good motivation, and technically succeeded since the result was MK telling his friends what was going on. Of course, Macaque missed that Wukong was gone and MK was the one who felt abandoned and that's why MK identified with the warrior in the play. (Also! The play was not trauma dumping and toxic! The entire LMK fanbase is cordially invited to fucking fight me about that!) (Also acknowledging that it was fucked up what Macaque did, but I don't feel like that was entirely malicious either. Mk def needed a shove to open up to his friends about what was going on. Macaque also chose a way that didn't hurt or injure MK's friends, and everyone ignores that for some reason! He also gave MK a way to get shit off his chest, to let MK vent some frustration as well while shifting back into himself to prove that Wukong wouldn't say that sort of thing to MK. Surprise, it wasn't Wukong being a jerk! It was Macaque all along. And when MK didn't understand the point of what Macaque was trying to say/teach, Macaque told him in clear terms. And again in S4, when MK didn't understand the point, Macaque was also forth coming. It proves that Macaque is a good teacher, that he tries one route to get MK to learn something, and if MK doesn't or can't, takes the time to really explain it to him in a way that Mk WILL understand.)

In S3, Mk knew that Macaque was still the only one who could hold off Wukong long enough to MK to get to the staff and restore Wukong with it. And can we acknowledge (assuming Wukong did kill Macaque) that Macaque was STILL willing to fucking SQUARE UP and do it, because if they failed, well, he didn't have anything to lose? Like, straight up Macaque was asked to fight against his murderer, would be well within his right to refuse due to that experience and pain and trauma, and did it anyway because he knew he was their only shot at remote victory? The term coward shouldn't ever be applied to LMK Macaque. That shit takes guts.

So far, in every instance, Macaque measures up and has never failed to rise up to the occasion. Taking on Wukong twice, doing what he can to help, and teaching MK when Wukong isn't around to do so.

And in JTTW, canonically he was evenly matching Wukong in power and ability. If the fanbase is going to also headcanon and use stuff from JTTW, then why the cherry picking that Macaque is EVIL and not as STRONG?! It's so frustrating. Wuking and Macaque aren't the same, but it doesn't mean that they aren't equal in power.

Also Macaque's ability to plan and his tactician nature would make me argue that he would be the worse person to have as an opponent. Seriously that scene in S3 with the vans? *chef's kiss* that was set up beautifully. Macaque could absolutely be an eldritch horror and I think he should be allowed to be. Let him go ham. Be the theatre kid he was meant to be. As a treat.

you're absolutely not bothering me, this is such a joy to read!! i def argue that macaque has shown that he's a better teacher to MK than Wukong (i'm not being mean to wukong, because he himself acknowledges he's not good at it) but macaque just thinks in that way, and creates lessons for MK to learn like a mentor should.

i joke that shadow play was about macaque talking about his divorce (bc it's funny) but he told that story and crafted this entire experience JUST to teach MK a lesson and he DID allow MK to vent and it did lead to positive outcomes with Macaque warning him about what was coming. like ultimately, it was a good thing and MK did get a little roughed up, but his friends were never in mortal danger?? like Macaque had them in that lantern for multiple days, but he didn't do anything to them. he didn't bargain for them. he literally only did that to teach MK something.

but it's the way he goes about it and how it's framed, because when he dissect it down, it's clearly not as bad as fandom wants it to be or makes it out to be.

and if we are working on the "canon" that wukong did a murder, what macaque did on the s3 special is nothing short of heroic, something the show itself acknowledges by changing his motif in the music from a minor chord to a major one to signify a more uplifting tone. it's more positive and victorious compared to the key his motif is usually played in.

and the fight with wukong in s1 was so good! i love that display of his powers, how wukong takes him seriously, how he was having trouble stopping him and the ONLY reason they won was because of that staff. he's a serious threat!

i just think he's a fun character to mess around with and yes, he's based on an archetype, they all are, but when you flesh out that archetype and give it more depth? you get a really amazing character with complexity and dimensions that make him feel real and that's beautiful.

and macaque should absolutely be allowed to go ham. i think he should do some fucked up shit on the side. he's just too clever and smart not too!! i wanna see a celestial primate lose their shit not because of strength or stubbornness but like. just from being smart and analytical. i love that parallel of how differently wukong and macaque would tackle things.

and that's why they should both train MK. he gets a little of both!!

#ask #anon #oh lmk macaque my beloved #i sure do want you to go forth and commit crimes #LMFAO sorry i do love him and thank you for sending this ask!#always happy to hear/know more people feel the same

15 notes · View notes

hazards-lab · 17 days

Text

Searching for a Rat

Summary Cop RIck is out on a search mission for a Rick wanted by the citadel. Tags/TWs Dubcon, Kidnapping

The sound of running on crunching leaves disturbs the quiet of a forest on a far off planet. Though the woods look like earth’s they’re not. The soft quiet breath of Cop Rick can be heard. He quickly dive’s and hides behind a tree trying to be as quiet as he can, trying not to get caught. “Oh Cop.. I can hear you’re breathing.. I know you’re near.” The voice is strong and unafraid, despite the fact he had just been running too. Not even a slight hitch, or hint of being out of breath. Of course this only scares Cop more. Cop had been trying to track down Rick Prime. He had been told to do so, for a while he was the one doing the following, but Prime caught on. And Cop was now the one being chased. “Come out and I’ll kill you quickly. I’m sure they have a project phoenix set up for you anyway.. I know who made the Citadel. I know who you really work for. I’m sure you don’t know who, though.” Cop considered coming out for a moment, Prime was right. They did have a clone back at the Citadel ready for him. ‘What does Prime mean?’ Cop thinks to himself. He worked for the Citadel government, he knew his employer. Growing ever curious, Cop peaks his head out from the tree he’s behind. But Prime isn’t there.. No one is. The silence of the forest grows ever louder. “There you are.” Seemingly appearing out of thin air behind Cop is Prime; he is tall and covered in various scars. Cop nearly jumps out of skin. He falls to the ground, trying to crawl away from Prime. Prime only stares down watching the pathetic man struggle. It makes him laugh and soon enough he’s bent over in a fit of laughter. Cop’s skin crawls, his laughter only making him more unnerved. He freezes, unable to move besides shaking. Prime catches his breath, no longer laughing just staring at Cop. His expression is blank. “Maybe I’ll keep you.” Cop stutters over his words, trying to respond to Prime’s threat. “Like.. Like a pet..?” Cop trails off in a question, his words unsure. He shook his head, thinking maybe he heard Prime. Prime; stays silent. The blank expression still on his face. Had Cop been making things up? Prime stared like he had nothing at all. “Like a pet?” Cop asks again, this time getting a reaction from Prime. His eye twitching slightly, a smile spreading on his face. His sharp yellowed teeth on display. Prime moves to be on his knees, still towering over Cop. The wet leaves soaking into his pants. He moves a hand to be on Cop’s shoulder; Cop flitches but doesn’t resist. “Yeah.. like a pet. You’re cute, sorta.. skittish though. We can work on that.” Cop is now the one with a blank expression and for a moment he even stops breathing. Just completely frozen and numb. Prime chuckles, moving a hand up to Cop’s chin. He makes Cop look up at his face. Cop’s expression changes from numb to a pleading look. His face begging to be let go. Prime moves closer to his face, their lips nearly touching. Even though he’s scared out of his mind, Prime’s warmth feels nice. His body heat warming him up in the cold woods. Whether it was his fear making him not think clearly, or something different entirely; he leaned into Prime. Pressing their lips together. After a moment Prime leaned back, staring deeply into Cops’s eyes. He smiled, but it was a different smile, not the malicious one he displayed earlier. It was a calm and soft smile. “I think it’s settled.” And with that Prime picked Cop, carrying him out of the woods. Finding his portal gun he had hidden a few hours prior. He opens a portal, walking through with Cop in his arms. He sets him down on his bed, wrapping a small blanket around Cop. Cop, now warming up on Prime’s bed, felt the fear bleeding into his mind once more. The fear made worse by Prime locking the door from the outside, keeping the both of them stuck. Prime strips down, right in front of Cop not even bothering to pretend he has some sense of care. He tenses up as Prime does so, fearing the worst.

Prime notices but continues with what he was doing, he walks over to a dresser, pulling out what looks to be a pair of PJ’s. He changes into them, causing Cop to calm down. Prime moves to be sitting on his bed next to Cop. “What should I call you.. Cop’s not gonna work.” Cop shrugs, the exhaustion from running and hiding now hitting him. With little adrenal in his system, he has nothing to keep him up. Curling up in Prime’s bed he drifts off to sleep. Though he was scared, he was tired more than anything else. He could think of a way out if he got rest.

#rick and morty fanfiction #cop rick #rickcest #rick prime #writting #fanfic

3 notes · View notes

sketching-shark · 11 months

Note

I dont know if you ever gave your thoughts on the whole "MK being this fourth spiritual monkey" thing. I personally don't like how "special" they made MK. I just feel like his character loses something by going down this route. I preferred it when he was just a normal fanboy who happened to get the superpowers of his idol. Now it's "MK is actually secretly this stone monkey who is possibly destined to bring chaos to the world and shift the balance" or whatever.

Monkie Kid spoilers & some complaining below

Oh mewd anon. I'll give it to Flying Bark that the idea that the stone which birthed Sun Wukong regenerates and produces even more stone monkeys is a pretty neat idea (could very much explain the origin of the other three spiritual primates as well the Monkey King's children in Journey to the South & maybe also Wuzhiqi if you wanted to introduce a genuinely malicious & powerful monkey as a murder grandpa. But yeah giant growing monkey family ftw). Buuuuuuut in this particular case it kind of seems to currently stand as another one of the 5 bajillion examples of the "normal guy who's thrust into an extraordinary situation turns out to be the One Foretold in the prophecy all along." It seems to be hinted that the writers want to do something about defying destiny with it, but we'll see if that works out. As it is I'm feeling leery about this choice, especially since it was YET AGAIN the source for even more trauma for MK and was accompanied by YET ANOTHER instance of SWK bashing, with Qi Xiaotian's ink clone seeming to strongly indicate that the monkie kid's opinion of the Monkey King has in truth gotten so terrible that he's now terrified he'll be the same "fraud" and "force of destruction" as SWK. I guess it's possible that the ink clone is supposed to be like destructive intrusive thoughts of the "you're bad and stupid and everyone secretly but understandably hates you" variety that will be sincerely explored and dealt with later on. But it genuinely sucks that MK's overall experience of being SWK's tudi is now indicated to have apparently been so awful (what with all the trauma and being constantly lied to) that he thinks being a stone monkey yaoguai means that he's doomed to be just as bad as and potentially even worse than SWK :(

Personally I think it could have been an amazing story if we ended up with a scenario where MK deliberately CHOOSES to become a monkey yaoguai for some reason, and that this ends up being a way for him to become closer to a multivalent figure like og classic SWK who is both yaoguai, monkey, human, buddha, and god all at the same time. I'm in no way an expert on Chinese folklore and mythology, but I've never come across a single story of a human choosing to become a yaoguai as a way to cultivate and better themselves; it seems to only always be yaoguai who cultivate themselves and seek a human form, or deities who "degrade" to yaoguai because they want to enjoy Earthly pleasures or are being punished. Feels like it could be a neat story too about defying destiny and social norms in spite of all adversary so that you can become to be the person YOU want to be, which is one of the things that the Monkey King is most beloved for.

(Also side note that at least some people are reading the situation of some yaoguai as metaphorical for transness and as such this kind of story could fit quite well with the popular headcanon that MK is trans).

#anon answered #monkey critical #also i know a lot of people want to see swk either break down in tears and/or get into a fight with mk #and fair enough but I also think this could be made more unique #if mr. just believe in yourself himself comes to sincerely accept every bad thing people think about him & stops believing in himself too #like okay great you were all right about how he sucks entire & he now thinks so too so what do we do now #idk. just might be nice to have something besides Qi Xiaotian getting traumatized & SWK getting yelled at

13 notes · View notes

the-nameless-wacky-inventor · 1 year

Note

Bestie..you KNOW that I need to know what Mads' Hand???? Is about XD

SSLDKFJSDLKJ I THINK I'VE ACTUALLY SHARED THIS ONE WITH YOU HELP

Takes place in the Royalty AU, it's essentially just me trying to find a way to get rid of Mads' hand so he matches my main clone one he's based off of. It's the one that this legendary autocorrect moment is from-

Mads got his hand cut off? So sad alexa play hips don't lie.

It's in a border skirmish with St. Canard, the fighting is getting worse so Mads and NFenton went down to deal with it. Things.... didn't go as planned.

The king was chasing off one of the last few stragglers from the clearing when there came a shriek of metal behind him, and a scream of pain that would’ve scared the birds from the trees, if there’d been any that’d stuck around that long.

In an instant he whipped around,

To see the Mad Ducktor falling off of his horse.

A soldier from St. Canard stood over him, a wide and malicious grin on his face, sword at the ready to strike his fallen foe once more.

Almost faster than humanly possible the king had crossed the clearing, intercepting the intruder’s sword right as it plunged down towards Mads’ body. The king surged forward and threw the soldier backwards, standing defensively over Mads.

The soldier smirked one last time, before turning and running back into the trees.

“Someone follow them, make sure they get out.” The king barked, already twisting around. Instantly three soldiers leapt back on their horses, and were in hot pursuit of the retreating enemies.

Fenton fell on his knees next to Mads, a hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder. He wasn’t too concerned, he knew Mads could defend himself better than anyone here and was likely not too badly injured.

Until he saw the amount of blood.

The king’s eyes instantly widened, looking up to meet Mads’. “What- what happened? Where is all of this coming from?”

The forest floor was already soaked, it seeped into the dead leaves and stained Mads’ purple cape and clothes.

Mads gave him a feeble laugh, he already looked pale. “O-oh, it’s fine! It doesn’t hurt that much! I-it did for a second at first, but now I can barely feel it!” He sounded shaky, but genuine.

It takes a minute for the adrenaline to die down and the pain to catch up with him.

“Help him up, we need to get him to the tent and find a way to stop the bleeding, I don’t know if we can wait for Blue.”

The three immediately nodded, one already pulling Mads up by his shoulders while the others supported his sides.

Mads squawked slightly in surprise as they all crowded him at once, and then again when he was sat up so smoothly that Mads was sure he wouldn’t have been able to do it on his own, even when he wasn’t injured.

However his new position gave him an easy view of his injury, and he froze as he looked down. “Oh.”

The king put his hand on the side of Mads’ face, directing his head away. “Hey, it’s alright, we can figure it out-”

“Y-yeah, that’s not good.” Mads’ voice was shakier than ever.

“I know, but-”

Fenton broke off as Mads suddenly lurched backwards, the soldier holding him up from behind scrambling to keep him from falling all the way back. His arm in Fenton’s hand went slack, and the duck scowled.

Mads had fainted.

“This is what I was trying to prevent!” The king snapped angrily at the three soldiers. “Just… get him to the tent.”

Don't know how canon this is going to be to everything, I'm probably gonna have some stories that take place in the future (so after this) where he doesn't have his hand and some where he does (and this never happened). It's just something fun to play around with.

#you get two snippets :3 #anyway nowhere near close to finishing this one and it's hella old but it's still fun #thanks for the ask!#mars-wants-candy

8 notes · View notes

prince-everhard · 1 year

Text

Weekly Oneshot Challenge - week 9

Title: you will find a way Rating: T (canon-typical violence and blood) Fandom: Naruto Word count: 1277 Summary: When everything goes to hell defending Tazuna, Sakura reaches deeper than she ever has before. [part of the mokuton sakura rewrite]

Sakura might have been proud of herself with how quickly she realized that something was wrong… if she hadn’t immediately felt a thick, heavy knot of fear settle in her stomach. She drew a kunai and fell back to where Tazuna was standing before the construction workers had even gotten past their bewilderment at the sudden wall of mist before them. “Get off the bridge,” Sakura managed to croak out past the lump in her throat. The workers nearest to her turned to look, bemused at getting ordered around by the little girl with pink hair. “Go!”

“Get off the bridge.” At Kakashi-sensei’s harsh demand, they began dropping their tools and sprinting away. Sakura looked toward her sensei for- she wasn’t sure what she wanted. Comfort? Assurance? She wasn’t going to get it. Kakashi’s attention was completely taken by the massive sword that he just managed to block with his own crossed kunai.

“Sensei!”

“Stay with Tazuna!” Kakashi-sensei sounded strained, like the effort to hold Zabuza back was so immense he could barely speak. “Remember the mission!”

Zabuza laughed, even as Sakura set her stance defensively. “Don’t worry, little girl. I won’t keep your sensei long.”

It took everything Sakura had to stop staring at Zabuza in fear, but she tore her eyes away to look for her teammates. Kakashi-sensei had Zabuza handled (she hoped). Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke was-

Sasuke was locked in combat with that strange masked ninja they’d seen earlier, at the first encounter with Zabuza. So they were working together. The masked ninja was incredibly fast, and Sasuke was somehow keeping pace. Sakura noted, even past the sick worried feeling in her stomach, that maybe Sasuke had earned top student spot after all.

Her eyes flicked from fight to fight, trying to keep an eye on the most obvious threats. Tazuna seemed content to stand behind her. Her single little kunai seemed so useless in the face of these enemies. Her hand still stung from her training accident. And her knees felt weak from the weight of the malicious killing intent that seemed to fill the air even worse than the fog.

Kakashi-sensei… Sasuke… somehow, the two of them were evenly matched with someone like the Demon of the Mist and his partner. Sakura even had a little surge of hope when Sasuke sent the masked ninja flying from a vicious kick. But the ninja stood back up, seemingly uncaring about the blood trickling from below their mask, and instead flew through hand signs so fast Sakura couldn’t even see their fingers. And the dome of mirrors that surrounded Sasuke only became more worrying when the masked ninja melted into one and began darting around Sasuke even faster than before.

Sakura was very, very grateful when Naruto showed up.

Even if he did somehow end up trapped inside the mirrors with Sasuke, he was a welcome helping hand. Sakura watched Sasuke try to melt the mirrors- they were made of ice so it wasn’t a bad thought, but of course a kekkei genkai wouldn’t be so beholden to the rules of physics. And what else could such a powerful jutsu be? Sakura wasn’t totally sure it was a kekkei genkai, but it was likely. That kind of power would certainly suit a Demon’s partner. Sakura tried not to pay too much attention to the fight, though Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza even seemed to be watching it fairly intently, only occasionally taking swipes at each other in their own fight.

Naruto took his usual course of bombarding the mirrors with tons of clones. After a moment of that technique, two things happened at once. One, Kakashi-sensei reached up to uncover his sharingan. Two, Zabuza flew through some hand signs and summoned even more fog.

Sakura reflexively drew closer to Tazuna even without Kakashi-sensei’s warning. With such low visibility, a threat could come from anywhere. Sakura really only had enough chakra for two clones (and how exactly did Naruto summon so many? What kind of chakra coils did he have?) so she summoned them both and surrounded Tazuna as best she could by herself. “Don’t worry,” she murmured. “Stay behind me and I’ll protect you.”

It was awful, only being able to hear the battles nearby and not see what was happening. It put Sakura on edge.

That edge, thankfully, saved Tazuna’s life as Zabuza was suddenly there. He swiped down with his almost comically giant sword and Sakura’s kunai-holding arm nearly buckled under the pressure. She could walk up trees and on water, but she still didn’t have as much muscle as a full-grown man. Maybe I don’t need muscle, Sakura thought. She could use chakra to hold herself horizontally. Could she use chakra to hold back a blade? There wasn’t time for doubt. Sakura cycled chakra through the muscles in her arms, her legs- anywhere that would bolster her push back against Zabuza. A clone popped as she used her chakra freely. There was no point in reserving it if she was dead, after all.

“Oh?” Was all she heard from Zabuza before Kakashi-sensei was there to take his attention again.

Sakura was tired, and her legs trembled, and she felt weak from lack of chakra. But she still stood, peeking back at Tazuna to make sure he’d survived the brief onslaught.

Sakura heard a scream, feral and heartwrenching, and the fog cleared to show her a nightmare.

Sasuke, full of senbon on the ground, bloody and motionless. Naruto, tears streaming freely down his face, chakra pouring from him as he turned on the masked ninja. Kakashi-sensei, frozen and staring at Sasuke even as Zabuza swooped in for the kill.

Something snapped inside her. Sakura moved without thinking, without planning. Her remaining clone exploded in a puff of smoke as she fell to her knees and slapped her hands onto the ground. Wood exploded upwards into a wall between Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza, catching the blade of Zabuza’s sword just in time. A second wooden wall- smaller, curved like a half dome- sprung up to defend Naruto and Sasuke’s unmoving form. Sakura trembled, pushing up until she was kneeling in front of Tazuna, her kunai forgotten in the dirt. I did that.

What happened next was hazy to Sakura, pushed to the limits of her chakra and her nerves. Naruto did… something, hitting the masked ninja so hard that they were blasted out of their mirrors and their mask cracked right off their face. Kakashi-sensei pulled out some kind of scroll and lunged at Zabuza with somehow even more terrifying killer intent. Dogs leapt right out of the ground and pinned Zabuza in place- summons, she thought through her daze; sensei has ninja summons. Lightning crackled around sensei’s hand as he charged Zabuza. And then suddenly the unmasked ninja wasn’t next to Naruto. They were impaled on Kakashi-sensei’s arm, just in front of Zabuza himself.

Zabuza thanked his partner- Haku… their name was Haku- but as a tool. Which Naruto exploded at, shouting about Zabuza being Haku’s dream and how trash Zabuza was and… well, Sakura couldn’t follow. She could feel herself trying to pass out from the chakra exhaustion, but she struggled to stay awake and guard Tazuna. She did see Kakashi-sensei carefully lower Haku’s body, closing their eyes one last time. Like a slideshow in a dark room, Gato showed up. Zabuza turned on him after Naruto’s words. Sakura thought maybe she had already passed out and began dreaming as Zabuza laid down next to Haku, tears rolling down his cheeks as he died.

The last thing she remembered was Kakashi-sensei’s hand ruffling her hair before she succumbed to unconsciousness.

#naruto #fanfic #weekly oneshot challenge #mokuton sakura #prince fic #this has other parts that will be posted in upcoming weeks #it's also one of my backups because i've had a lot going on these past few weeks #and i desperately needed a break #so keep an eye out for sister oneshots

8 notes · View notes

mischiefs-hawk · 2 years

Note

Prompt: Can I get a DinLuke fic with Luke being on the verge of embracing the Dark Side when Din calles him sweetheart(or any other term of endearment) and that pauses Luke enough for Din to hug and kiss him back to the Light Side?

Thanks and I hope you find any fic you're looking for quickly and easily in the future!

Boom, here we go! I hope you enjoy it and thanks again for helping me find that fic!

((TW for implied Child Abuse. ))

Din knew his partner was powerful- knew that other people around the galaxy considered Luke to be godlike. Despite all of that, the Mandalorian had never felt afraid of Luke. Afraid for him? Sure, all the time. It just went with the territory of being the last known Jedi and the consort to the newly ‘crowned’ Mand’alor. Not to mention, his sister was one of the most important people in the New Republic and their father was…

Din didn’t actually know who the twins’ father was. Leia did not like it being brought up and it always made Luke sad. Therefore Din didn’t see a point in bringing it up.

Gar taldin ni jaonycl gar sa buri, ori’wadaasla, after all.

The point of all this to say is that Din never was afraid of Luke’s power. He just couldn’t imagine the man who treated Grogru and the other foundlings as tenderly as him was even capable of hurting another maliciously.

To defend? Of course, defending the innocent was practically in Luke’s genetic code but nothing beyond that.

The Mandalorian was certain he knew who Luke was and what the jedi was capable of.

That was until they had gone to the dusty hellhole known as Tatooine to aid Boba in dismantling a recently established slaver ring.

Boba and Luke were not exactly friendly with one another unless both or one of them was drunk. Din knew Luke had something to do with Boba being thrown in the Sarlaccc pit but for Din’s sake they often tried to at least not start a fight when around one another.

The only other time the ex-bounty hunter and jedi got along was when they were working together to destroy slaver rings. Luke, as the son of a enslaved man, always was ready to aid in getting rid of any slaver scum. Even if it meant working with Boba Fett.

And as must as Boba distrusted the Jedi as a collective, he knew Luke was good for his word.

Everything to that point had been routine- there hadn’t been many foolish enough to try and start up slavery again on Tatooine but still some just never learned.

This time, however, it seemed primarily children had been the targets as they had been snatched from their families in other planets along the outer rim. That was enough to already have a proper Mandalorian’s blood boiling.

It was not until they had found the slavers’ headquarters that things started to become clearer. These children were not being put to work as normal slaves but something so much worse.

By the time they had gotten the children out, Luke had the leader cornered. It was a black and yellow zabrak male- his face scarred into a permanent sneer.

Even when faced with an angry jedi, the man didn’t seem to lose his composure. Din couldn’t decide if he was very brave or very stupid.

“Who cares if a couple brats get early jobs? There’s so many out there it doesn’t matter if we get some money out of them before they’re too worn out by the suns-“

The last jedi growled- actually growled- his lightsaber twirling in his hand- moving the blade close to the man’s neck.

Din hadn’t noticed it before, but the temperature had dropped significantly. Even where they were inside the slavers’ headquarters, it should not have even be possible to feel this cold. Hell, even within his armor Din shouldn’t have even noticed it.

A glance at Boba told him that the other Mandalorian felt it too.

The more the slaver spoke, the more frigid the room became until Luke thrust his open hand forward in the shape of a clenched fist.

Beside Din, Boba froze clearly seeing something that Din didn’t.

“You need to do something,” the clone said turning away to face the only entrance into the room. “You need to do it now.”

Din had never felt afraid of Luke but in that second, he felt afraid of what Luke could do.

What Luke could do if he was blinded by anger- even if it was righteous anger.

The Mand’alor stepped next to his consort, removing his helmet, and sliding his blaster back in its holster.

“He deserves to die, Din.”

One of the things Din loved about Luke was his clear blue eyes- how they reflected the sky’s beauty on a clear summer day.

His beloved’s eyes had never looked like this before- never had streaks of lightning that seemed threatened to overwhelm Luke any second.

“He does,” the older man agreed. “But Luke- cyar’ika how do you feel right now?”

The term of endearment, mixed with the question seemed to do the trick. Whatever darkness that had a hold over Luke immediately dissipated. The warmth returned to the room, and Luke’s eyes took on their normal appearance. Only now instead of yellow, they were brimming with tears.

Before either of them could say another word, or the zabrak could stand, Din had shot the man in the face at point blank range. The sound had made Luke jump, looking around wildly like he wasn’t sure where he was.

“Let’s go home, cyar’ika okay?”

Din’s consort nodded, looking like the world had shattered. He knew they would probably have to talk about this later, but it was a conversation best held in their own home. Away from this planet that had caused Luke so much misery.

Putting his helmet back on, Din lead Luke out of the building. Now cleared out of children who would be taken back to their homes- the ones who had made it through the ordeal, anyway. The few who had been lost would have their remains returned to their families.

Before stepping back on their ship, Din commed Boba with an order more than a request.

“Burn it down and don’t let anyone know what happened to Luke.”

“Consider it done.”

There were many people in the Galaxy who trusted Luke- the last Jedi and the son of the hero with no fear. That being said, there were plenty of people who were afraid of Luke and his power. If they knew how close the Jedi had come to crossing that line- well, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.

#star wars #luke skywalker #starwars #dinluke #din djarin #gift fic #skydalorian #boba fett #tw: abuse

25 notes · View notes

ninjastormhawkkat · 2 years

Text

Mutants and Metahumans of Fair City: Part 3

TW: Verbal and Emotional Abused characters along with a few others

Lady Redundant Woman: Beatrice Bixby did not have a great life before the accident. Her old boss was a complete jerk to her as well as the other employees, but he seemed, according to Beatrice, to have it out just for her. He was always yelling at her, saying she always did things wrong, and made her do the hardest jobs in the copy shop and afterwards, continue to unfairly critique and criticize her work skills. It was from this that Beatrice developed her distrust and dislike of managers and higher-ups (even after Dave became manager) along with her inability to speak out often when she is not in villain mode. Beatrice was forced on a late shift and was working on fixing a copy machine (which she loves greatly like canon) when the accident happened. Beatrice at the time was not aware she developed powers and the copy shop she worked at had to close for a while because most of her other coworkers became mutants or metahumans and were dealing with the aftermath of the outbreak. When she was brought back, her boss was actually way worse than before due to everything that happened. One very late shift, her old boss started really berating Beatrice over some common, minuscule mistake. He started jabbing his finger at her and wound up pressing her nose which created another duplicate of her right before their eyes. Both were shocked at this development, Beatrice even more so at the sight of her new duplicate. Shocked, but still angry, the boss criticizes her more harshly, calling Beatrice a freak and accusing her of purposefully doing this herself and making her a pretty weak metahuman if all she can do is duplicate herself. Beatrice snaps. She looks at her boss with a furious expression and first yells at him to be quiet. Which he does out of shock from her outburst. She then switches to a menacing grin and replies in a low, malicious tone of voice. “Let me show you how ‘weak and pathetic’ I am now boss!” She hastily presses her nose so many times until about twenty or so clones pop out and swarm the now terrified boss. Police found the guy a few days later surround by a lot of paper, huddled up mumbling “Sssso Many, Ssso Many.” He was looked over by doctors and was put in a psychiatric hospital for his mental health where he still remains up to the current time line.

This Lady Redundant Woman’s powers are different from canon. She still repeats herself 3x. on certain words. Her duplicates though are more dangerous. They don’t have any voice issues. If Beatrice creates a duplicate of someone, they can sound exactly like them. Beatrice observes a target for a long while before sending out her duplicates. They have the knowledge on how to act like the real deal due to her memories and observations of them. Her duplicates are more multiple and don’t run out of ink. Although Beatrice does develop an addiction to copy machine ink as a food source. They still can be destroyed by water or a strong punch from Wordgirl but that is about it. These duplicates can have the exact fingerprints from the real deal if they are duplicated from a living person, not an imaginary one like Royal Dandy.

Invisibill - He is a metahuman with his canon invisibility powers. He received them at the beginning of the explosion. He used to use his powers at birthday parties and celebratory events. Not everyone liked him and he was unfairly criticized a lot. He was not making much money as an entertainer so when he heart about the Coach’s villain school, he decided to join up. Invisibill is similar to his canon self but is more jaded due to his harsh treatment in the past. If and when he feels petty, and if someone is mean to him or BLHG, he will turn invisible and prank that person, most often de-pantsing them in public. He is not as energetic and oblivious as his canon self and can tell pretty on when no one wants to talk to him.

Big Left Hand Guy - He is a mutant. He was not mutated at the start of the event. He used to work at a construction company. An accident happened at work where his left hand was crushed by a block of cement. It hurt at first, throbbed a bit, than expanded to the size of canon BLHG’s actual left hand. The doctors thought it was a regular injury at first that just swelled out of control. After multiple tests, they discovered that he was just a mutant with recessive DNA components that were not activated until the accident. His bones expanded along with his flesh. Unfortunately BLHG could not go back to work because his big left hand kept getting in the way. He saw a flyer for the Coach’s villain school opening up and decided to try it out. He became teammates then roommates with Invisibill. Like in the canon episode, BLHG and Invisibill were both downgraded to common criminals which are below super villains. They both have been approached by The Protector to join the “Metas and Mutants Forever” cause. The have not yet responded, but have considered the option.

The Coach - He is a human. Once a Life Coach, he then met the Whammer and decided to create a school for villains so he could teach them and use novices for his own gains and benefits. The Coach is more secretive about where he holds the school rather then at his home. A follower of The Protector approached The Coach in a dark alleyway one day with a message from the metahuman. The messenger said, “The Protector wants to let you know that the only reason you are alive right now is because your existence is too pathetic to be bothered getting rid of, BUT if The Protector hears or finds any evidence of you clearly mistreating or abusing metas and mutants very harshly, then the Protector themselves will ‘handle’ you personally as justice for all mutants and metas.” The Coach is more paranoid in this au than in canon. With good reason.

Miss Question - She is a metahuman. Like in canon she was struck by lighting and that’s what triggered her metahuman genes and give her the canon powers. After the episode “Where Have All The Villains Gone?” she was kicked out of the villain league for her actions. She was found by the Protector and convince her to work as a spy for The Protector. She would greatly apologize and grovel in front of the villains for her actions and they let her back in. Her job is to gather intel and information about each Villain (and further info about Wordgirl) and give them to The Protector as well as due some errands on the side. The Protector so far keeps Miss Question in the dark about the reasoning. When Miss Question tried to make The Protector reveal the truth, her powers seemed to reverberate off them and back onto her, but fuller force and more painful. Miss Question has decided it is better just to do as she is told by The Protector. The Protector only scolded her for her actions and reminded her not to do it again. The Protector can be a force of nature, but they can also be eerily patient. Like a parent to a child.

Captain Tangent - Captain Tangent has always been a metahuman with telekinetic and material morphing abilities, but only for metal. Captain Tangent was never aware of his powers because they were not strong enough to develop. When he found the “cursed hook” (it wasn’t cursed, the pirate statue and voice was part of an old attraction that was shut down after the outbreak. The restaurant was built over it.) Besides levitating metal, Captain Tangent can also manipulate the shape of metal to build a ship or other pirate weapons as well as a metal body of armor.

Nocan The Contrarian - Nocan is a normal human. Contraria exists in this au. Funny thing though when he first came along, no one could tell if he was a mutant or metahuman. His use of contrary words and mindset did not help to clear anything up.

The Whammer - he is one of some mutants to also have a superpower. He has his canon powers, but the horns on his head are his actual horns. He developed his powers after the accident. Besides his whamming abilities, The Whammer can also use his horns as a weapon to ram into buildings or Wordgirl. He surprisingly has not developed any concussions. His helmet is a clip on that can fit around his horns. The Whammer dresses up as a wrestler because he likes how they wham into each other.

Quick Headcanons:

-The Villain organization was created by Mr. Big, Granny May, Lady Redundant Woman, Chuck, Amazing Rope Guy (he was hired to be used as a distraction most of the time) and Hal Hardbargain. They created the organization to take advantage of the chaos and potential crime committing available. They were difficultly handled by the police until Wordgirl came along.

-The villains are not as friendly with Wordgirl as canon but a majority (save a few) do respect her and won’t go too far because she is a child.

-Steven did not write his “Superheroes and You: A Practical Guide” but rather a book about Mutants and Metahuman studies to help people understand themselves and others better. Miss Power’s organization published the book as a sneak way to get Steven’s scientific studies. The book is still out there, but now Steven is disgusted and does not want anything to do with it. Wordgirl got help from her dad and learned how to be a hero from comic books.

14 notes · View notes

mwolf0epsilon · 2 years

Text

Never Forgetting...

Summary: Olly doesn't forget easily.

[THIS MINI STORY IS NOW ON AO3]

---

Many things Olly can't seem to forget.

The malicious glint in the Mad Cloner's eyes, reflected on every preservative tank he kept in that horrid lab of his. The only sympathy he got being of clones worse off than he.

The feeling of his body growing larger and more muscular under the strain of both his skin and the restraints. The mostly sightless audience keeping their frozen gazes upon him.

The look in his brothers's eyes when he limped towards the bunks, ill-fitting scrubs barely covering his arms, shins and midriff. The recognition, the shock, the worry, the fear... They'd clung tightly to him, just as he'd clung to them in turn. Trying to protect him from further harm.

The pain and confusion after Umbara took his brothers from him. The fear when Order 66 was called out and he didn't understand what it was. The anger when Dogma neglected to mention Sulu Ra was on this Force-forsaken planet... Now he had to deal with two missing vode, an injured ori'vod and nephew, a madman with a lust for cruel experimentation, and any potential fallout that this would bring.

Olly was afraid of the Kaminoan, that he couldn't forget either, but he was more afraid of losing his family than anything else in this galaxy. And maybe... Just maybe... He might have someone that might lend him a hand if he asked...

#Eps Writes #star wars #the clone wars #forceful intervention au #clone ocs #riot trooper olly olly oxenfree

11 notes · View notes

hellowkatey · 3 years

Text

it's too late

for whumptober day 5: i've got red in my ledger / betrayal / broken nose | 678 words | obi-wan & anakin (gen)

AU: Obi-Wan makes it back to the Temple while Anakin is still conquering it

* * *

He can feel him. The same vessel of raw power that somehow forms the shape of Obi-Wan's best friend. The fact he can feel him means that Anakin knows he's here too.

It is customary for Masters and padawans to sever their training bonds after the apprentice is knighted. Customary was never a word that described Obi-Wan and Anakin, though. Obi-Wan feels the touch of darkness from the familiar invisible hand gliding along the edges of a linkage that once brought him comfort .

Or, who was once familiar. Obi-Wan doesn't recognize this twisted cloud of darkness, anger, and malicious hate that now terrorizes the Temple halls. Though Anakin's distinctive fingerprints in the Force saturate every charred painting and crumbled body the Master passes with a heavy, mournful heart, Obi-Wan still cannot find it in him to believe this is the truth.

It can't be.

He's wrong, and his failure manifests as a swift, mind-numbing punch that sends him keeling to the side. His earlier fall from the upper levels of Utapau exhausted his energy. The Jedi Master already teeters on the edges of Force exhaustion, which means the figure in the dark hood was able to strike him across the face with his durasteel hand without interference.

He could have done far worse, Obi-Wan realizes when his hand falls away from his face dripping in blood from his throbbing nose. Yet, now they stand face-to-face, and Obi-Wan cannot take his eyes off the glimmer of gold that peeks out from beneath the hood.

"What are you doing here?" Anakin asks in a low, dangerous tone.

"You really don't know, Anakin?" Obi-Wan blurts out in outrage before he can think better of himself. His words are slightly slurred from the blood dripping down the back of his throat, but the tears already beading in his eyes would have caused that effect either way. "You had to step over the body of a creche-mate you slaughtered to reach me, and you're going to wonder why I've come?"

"You were supposed to be dead."

"Are you disappointed?" Anakin doesn't reply. Just stares out the window at the embers that float by. Obi-Wan's shoulders droop, words he never thought he'd ever say starting to feel sour on his tongue before he's even uttered them. "If you are, just say it. I'm not afraid to say I'm disappointed in you."

Gold eyes blazing with fury meet his.

It's not just fury, though. That's the narrow line Obi-Wan has chosen to walk.

"Your disappointment means nothing to me," the padawan who used to curl into his side after missions and drowsily ask if he did a good job, says. "This is who I was meant to be," the boy of supposed prophesy who Qui-Gon used his last breath to vouch for, yells. "and I won't let you get in my way, Obi-Wan. I'll do what I must,"

The last part statement is the only part that Obi-Wan thinks Anakin truly believes.

"I don't want to hurt you, Padawan," Obi-Wan whispers, but his grip still tightens around the hilt of his saber. "I want to help you."

Their training bond strains. Obi-Wan feels the fear and anger poisoning their once-impenetrable bond. Had the last years of the Clone Wars not frayed it considerably already, it maybe would have held out for longer. Just before it snaps, a tiny glimpse of light brushes against him. It's too late, it whispers, heavy with remorse and apology and grief that rivals the weight on Obi-Wan's own heart. Obi-Wan's most prized accomplishment— his student and the bond they formed— shrivels, and Anakin Skywalker is silenced.

"Then you will die trying," the Sith sneers, and the quiet halls that once stood for peace and light are filled with the desperate clashes of lightsaber combat.

* * *

more of my whumptober fics here

#whumptober2021 #no. 5 #i've got red in my ledger #betrayal #broken nose #star wars prequel triology #SW: PT #fic #drabble #obi-wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #anakin falls to the dark side

52 notes · View notes

grumpyhedgehogs · 3 years

Text

this tired old elegy

Summary: CC-5052 and a company of other clones bound for decommissioning are instead auctioned off to slavers on Tatooine. Or they would be, if someone mysterious didn't intervene. The resulting chaos stirs up memories Bly craves; CC-5052 thinks they might be best forgotten. Or: In which Bly is This Close to breaking out of the chip's control by himself and Obi-Wan shows up to give him that extra push. AO3.

Notes: A scene that's been kicking around in my head for a while, of two ships passing in the night. Hinted Codywan and Blyla.

Warnings: Mild violence, seizures, slavery, mind control, grief.

The clones of Kamino are dying out.

They’ve known this for a long time now. The Empire used them, wiped out the last of the Old Republic with them, and shunted them off, thrown out with yesterday’s trash when they weren’t useful anymore. CC-5052 has heard the horror stories, the ones the admirals always shut down if they heard them spreading among the ranks. Clones decommissioned before their time. Clones going missing, or going against orders in the field. Clones found with a single blaster shot to the head and no explanation for their deaths given. Clones pushed from active duty, given menial jobs or guard posts. CC-5052 heard CC-2224 has a teaching position now.

Disgrace is a clone’s lot, and it tastes sour in the mouth.

This though? CC-5052’s stomach turns over when the doors to the spaceport he and three of his brothers three other clones have been held in for days on end finally open. The air that buffets him is arid, dry and hot against his skin. Sand flings itself, clawing, searching, into his eyes, and CC-5052 coughs against the assault. It does little to help. He never thought for a second that he’d come to this end. It’s poetic in a way his Jedi the Traitor he served under would have found poignant once upon a time. Enslavement is how the clones of Kamino came into this world, so enslavement should be the way they go out, shouldn’t it?

Tatooine is a wretched planet, CC-5052 decides as he and his vode his family the rest of his company are led onto the calling block. The Empire has no use for him, and so it sends him to a useless place.

“One hundred credits,” the auctioneer offers, gesturing at one of the three other clones to CC-5052’s left. A hand raises in the air before them, and the auctioneer dispassionately raises the price by another hundred credits. And so it begins. Is this all there is for him?

I’m going to die on this dust-ball.

The crowd around them is sparse; the midday suns beat down on them all, slave and free sentient alike, and no one is immune to their rays. Most attendants are covered from head to toe in brown, black or white fabrics, wrapped up like mummified remains. Sunlight reflects off of any and all surfaces. A mother carrying a child’s metal cradle passes by on the edge of the crowded marketplace, and the shine off of the basket pierces directly into CC-5052’s brain. He hisses, air whistling between his teeth, eyes clenching. The pain rockets through his skull--it seems to be doing that a lot lately, random headaches plaguing his sleep. Migraines are not uncommon in the vode the clones, but he doesn’t want to examine what they mean. They’re far too often accompanied by a wave of grief that threatens to swallow CC-5052 whole.

His attention has wandered too far; the price has gone up five times since he last checked, and the auctioneer is getting excited now. They bounce on their toes, rattling off higher and higher numbers with a growing grin. As if this is just a good day at the market for them. As if it simply does not matter. As if they don’t matter.

What he thinks now is treason, of course. They are Empire property, were Republic property before that. If the Emperor saw fit to sell him off, who is CC-5052 to argue?

I hate him.

The thought nearly rattles every bone in CC-5052’s body with its intensity--but there is no time for him to examine its implications, because three things happen in very rapid succession.

First, an explosion goes off somewhere nearby and behind CC-5052; debris and sand sail through the air, pelting down on the crowd before the slave auction. The ground rolls beneath their feet, and CC-5052 has to stumble to keep his balance. The auctioneer does not have his luck, and trips right off of the platform, facedown in the dust. It startles a laugh out of CC-5052--Bly--but then he inhales more ash and coughs instead.

Second, the chains around his wrists loosen unexpectedly before falling away completely. His arms aren’t quite as burly as they used to be, from inactivity before the auction and from years of being shoved to the sidelines before that, so Bly’s CC-5052’s wrists slip easily between his manacles. Above the roar of growing fires and screaming citizens, he can just make out three identical thumps as the clones beside him rub raw skin that mirrors his own.

Third, through the confusion and panic setting into the crowd, the fleeing forms and those who have fallen prone and lain still, through the smoke and fire and noise, CC--Bly looks up and sees a hooded person beckoning to him. He can’t see their eyes, can’t see anything but brown fabric and smoke and a hand lifted in greeting, which turns its palm away after a second and crooks its fingers. There’s a tickle at the back of his mind, and, his migraine raging so badly that his vision wavers as he jumps down, Bly follows. His brothers are right behind him.

The stranger ducks and weaves through the enraged crowds, avoiding fire and danger deftly. There’s something almost comforting about slipping into their shadow, something familiar and warm that Bly almost doesn’t recognize. For a moment, Bly thinks wildly that the stranger probably has blue skin, but the thought evades him when he tries to examine it more closely.

They are outside of the city limits within fifteen minutes. The figure stops and waits for the clones to approach, never turning to look at them. Bly CC-5052 (Bly?) stops a few feet away, outside of arm’s reach. Just in case. Their head turns, but the hood obscures anything defining.

“Who are you?”

They shake their head. Fair enough.

Why did you save us?”

His brothers--clones--brothers shift on their feet behind him, anxious for the answer. The figure shakes their head again.

“Will you answer any of my questions?” Their shoulders hitch minutely and he gets the distinct feeling he’s being laughed at. For once, it doesn’t seem malicious. It’s refreshing, even if it does intensify the stinging behind Bly’s eyes. “Fine. What do we do now?”

At this, the figure finally reacts. They turn and point into the distance; Bly raises his eyes to the horizon, where a tiny homestead sits beyond the wavy hot air. Then the figure jerks their fingers towards the spaceport that lies in ruin behind them, then points to the sky, and clenches their fist, bringing it to rest in their flat palm. Then they flatten their fist and mime a ship's take-off.

“Lay low out in the Wastes and come back to steal a ship later.” Bly translates. The stranger nods.

Good enough for Bly.

The stranger lets them into what can be generously described as a hovel. There are four rooms in total, and the larder underground is nearly empty. It’s completely bare when he and his brothers are finished with it. There are no beds, only a slab of rock in the corner of one room with a threadbare blanket on it. It makes CC-5052’s heart twist in his chest. It makes Bly’s migraine even worse, so bad he has to sit down or trip over his own feet. Grief overwhelms him. He comes to with the stranger’s hand on his shoulder, and a clone--his name was Gardener, he was a Coruscant Guard, he was just a shiny when they blew it all to pieces--counting his breaths for him.

One thing at a time.

“You got anything to hunt with out here?” Bly asks when his lungs don’t feel like they’re the size of straws. The stranger hands him what amounts to a wooden spear.

Killing womprats takes all day and into the evening. Bly and his brothers--Gardener and Ink and Database, he knew them once--prowl back through the early twilight and drop them at the stranger’s doorstep. He tries not to feel like a cat bringing home a trophy.

“Body heat would keep you warmer than those rags,” Bly says as they settle in for the night. The stranger, who has not dropped one ounce of cloth from their figure the entire time, shakes their head and turns away. They leave the blanket for Ink to use.

The wind howls around them the entire night.

Taking the ship is easy; it’s small, privately owned. The slaver driving it won’t be missed. Bly wonders where the auctioneer got off to and how long it might take to find him.

CC-5052 wonders if he shouldn’t report back to the Empire for decommissioning. Bly rejects it. The migraine gets worse, howling in his mind like the wind does out in the Wastes.

The stranger freezes beside him where they’ve been keeping an eye out for any more crew the clones need to take down. A soft palm clasps Bly’s shoulder and the pain recedes.

He tries not to shake them off too harshly, but the last time someone did that, touched him like that--

She’s not here anymore.

Bly resolves not to go back. There’s nothing left in the Empire for him anyway.

They killed everything I ever loved.

He gets sick from the pain in his head. He wonders how long he’ll last on the outside. Something tells him, not long.

“We’re taking off soon.”

The stranger nods. Their shoulders are a stiff, hard line against the backdrop of the Tatooine horizon. Bly finds himself at a loss for words, and filled with a sudden desperation to speak.

He finds his voice, choking, hoarse. As the wind howls across the dunes, he has to raise his volume to be heard. “You could come with us.”

It has the opposite effect than he wants; they jerk back, settling into a more defensive posture. Bly raises his hands in submission, but can’t help taking a step forward. “We’re not going back to the Empire, if you’re worried. We--things happened to us there. Because of the Empire--we’re not who we used to be. But we’re free now, and we wouldn’t hurt--”

Sandstorms and windstorms happen quickly on this planet, and a huge gust nearly takes them both off their feet. Sand flies into his face for the second time in as many days, and, coughing, Bly reaches out and blindly finds his savior’s hand. He tugs relentlessly, fumbling his way through the sudden gusts and dust to the overhang where they’ve stashed the ship. He’s thankful his brothers are already on the ship; no one else needs to be caught up in this mess.

“Are you alright?” His gloves are covered in grime and it takes three or four swipes at his eyes before Bly gets his sight clear. He reaches out, catching hold of the stranger's arm as they cough and bend to spit out dirt a few feet away, face hidden by the low light here. Their headscarf has fallen from the wind, their hood flipped down for the first time. His hand brushes their shoulder, fingertips catching against the only exposed skin they have at the base of their throat, and the stranger flinches back instinctively--and then they turn to look at him.

Obi-Wan Kenobi looks older now. His voice is softer. “Commander Bly?”

“Jedi.” The death sentence falls from Bly’s lips without his knowledge and his vision wavers again. The next time the black spots clear away, Bly’s hands are wrapped around Kenobi’s throat and squeezing. The Jedi’s eyes bulge grotesquely, but then Bly’s hands loosen without his consent, flying down to pin themselves by his sides. He topples over and only Kenobi’s quick reflexes stop him from burning his face against the sun warmed sand beneath their feet. The force holding his hands down relents, as if surprised, and Bly scrambles back, his head pounding. CC-5052, who had been receding for days, weeks, maybe even years, surges against him and Bly retches as he lunges again.

Kenobi was always known for his keen battle sense, though, so Bly is hardly surprised when he’s sidestepped. He throws his weight towards the Traitor (Jedi-General-friend) again only to have his outstretched arm caught and folded around his own back. Kenobi lets CC-5052’s weight fall against his own chest, allowing them both to fold gently to the ground. Another arm wraps firmly across CC-5052’s chest, pinning his other arm to his side. Spittle and froth foam at his lips, choking him, but Kenobi does not let go.

It feels as if a rusted spike has been driven through CC-5052’s skull. Adrenaline is making him shake, as if he’ll fall apart.

“No, my friend,” Kenobi says, almost too quiet over the animal sounds caught in CC-5052’s throat. “You’re having a seizure. You’re ill. Whatever has been done to you--it’s breaking down.”

Bly jerks and spits and gasps his way out from under CC-5052’s influence in fits and starts.

“I--I didn’t--I didn’t mean to attack--”

“I can sense that, Commander.” When Bly fails to strain against his hold any longer, Kenobi’s fingers raise to tentatively touch his temple. “You’ve got pain, here, all the time. It intensified when you attacked, and your presence slipped away. Faded, like a radio signal from far off. Like--like Cody’s did.”

Bly doesn’t have to ask what Kenobi means.

“I’m sorry,” he says, and then something snaps and he can’t seem to stop. Years of torment, too built up to be pushed back. “I’m--I’m so sorry. I--I never wanted--we never meant to--I’m sorry.”

“You need not apologize, Bly.” Kenobi’s touch is soothing, as much as it prompts his migraine to rekindle. “You need not be sorry. It was not you.”

Her face drifts before his eyes, overlapping Kenobi’s when he meets the man’s eyes. She loved Bly, he knows she did. Bly loved her too. Suddenly, it’s all-important to tell Kenobi of this, for someone to know, for a Jedi to know.

“I loved her.”

“She knew.”

It feels like absolution.

“We loved you all.” Bly says, the final, most agonizing confession. “We loved the Jedi.”

“We loved the Vode.” Kenobi assures gently. Then his fingers find Bly’s temple again and the world goes a pleasant, fuzzy white. “We loved you all too.”

It feels like a gift.

Bly wakes up with three of his brothers, a stolen ship, and only the memory of a stranger with a fading smile to account for his time on Tatooine.

95 notes · View notes

dammitadolfnomorecake · 2 years

Text

*** Cloning prt 9

Premise: Captured Lance. Cloning. Langst.

Scene: When the team finally find Lance, they don’t expect to find him with a child that’s the splitting image of Keith. Non con body modifications. No Mpreg. They all live. I guess season 6ish because I love our grizzled Keith…

Pidge and Hunk were sitting on Red’s ramp as Keith stumbled his way out. Lance had liked him. His feeling were returned. Lance liked him and it went a hell of way to explain why Keith had gotten on his nerves repeatedly. He’d left with the intention of clearing his head before heading back to Black to see Shiro. He could definitely use some brotherly advice right about now.

“How is he?”

Pidge had her knees to her chest, Hunk’s arm around her. What he’d seen when fighting Shiro… countless clones of his brother all sleeping… Lance must have faced the same horror

“He’s asleep. Today was hard for him, but I feel we made progress”

Sniffling, Hunk hugged Pidge tighter

“I know he’s not okay, but I don’t know how to help him…”

“It’s okay, Pidge. He knows we’re all here for him. He just needs some time to think and adjust now that we know some of what he’s been through”

Wiping at her face, Keith couldn’t help but sympathise. “Knowing” and knowing were two seperate things

“I can’t even imagine how he’s not worse… The kids… the kids are yours and his, aren’t they? Allura put it together…”

Biting down sighing, there was no going back now the team seemed to have figured it out

“They are. They used traces my DNA off of Lance’s clothing. He’d been looking after my jacket while I was gone. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner”

“You were trying to keep him calm… Are you okay?”

“I don’t think any of us are right now, but we’ll get through it all as a team”

“But you’re the one… this is all too cruel. What did he do to deserve this? Why didn’t they take one of us?”

“Pidge… Hey… Thinking like that is only going to make you miserable. Lance would have sacrificed himself for anyone of us any day of the week because he’s an idiot like that. We have him back, and though he’s been through a lot, he’s more worried about you guys and Shiro. For now the best we can do is let him get some rest”

“How can… how can you be so calm?”

Keith didn’t think he was calm. Not internally. Not when Lance loved him back. He’d had foolish romantic ideas of how he’d tell him all before this went to quiznak

“Trust me, I’m freaking out too. I’ve got two kids now, and my best friend went through something horrible that I can’t go back in time and prevent… but we’re a team and we’ll get through this as a team. You guys should get some rest too. I know you want to go check on him, but all we can do for him is let him know we’re here for him. Red is his safe place, and until he’s calmed down, invading that space is likely to cause another panic attack or him to shut us out further”

“He’s shutting you out? You’ve spent the most time with him since he’s come back”

“Yeah, Pidge. Not that I’m about to let him get away with it. He’s stubborn and still isn’t fully convinced this won’t turn out to be another trick. And after what I saw with Shiro I can’t blame him for thinking that way”

Sidestepping around Pidge and Hunk, Pidge reached out to take his hand

“We’re here for you, too. Do you maybe want to talk to us?”

“I do, but I need to get my thoughts together. I was thinking of taking my wolf for a walk, then coming back to check up on everyone. He’ll be okay”

Pidge let his hand drop

“Okay, as long as you know you can talk to us”

“I know. Make sure you two take a break and get some rest”

“You too”

Leaving the pair on Red’s ramp, Keith headed away from the campsite. His faithful wolf would appear when he felt like it and right now he had some serious self loathing to do in private. He shouldn’t have pushed Lance the way he had. Lance was trying to pull away from him, using his confession to throw a wall up between them. Keith wouldn’t label it as a malicious act… so much as Lance thinking stupid things. He’d been his best friend, building something solid between them in the background of this damn war. It made sense why Lance had looked after his jacket, it’d been some link to Keith… the idiot teenager he’d been crushing on.

Keith waited for Lance’s call. He waited and he waited. He waited as Shiro woke and the team began to heal around the huge gaping hole of Lance’s pain. Sometimes he’d see Lance at the base of Red’s ramp watching Lancella run around on her tiny little legs while he held Laith and watched her. He was happy enough that Lance was slowly venturing out, and the night Shiro had woken up he’d even come down to see everyone. But that… that conversation… he’d talked to Lance but not about that again.

Sitting by his brother, Keith was watching the flames dying slowly in the camp fire. He still found himself getting a shock he was now a father of two, the initial panic would fade a little as warmth bled into his feelings about it

“Has he talked to you about it yet?”

Snorting at Shiro, his brother knew damn well he hadn’t. The others had gone to bed already, but he hadn’t been tired

“You know he hasn’t. I know he’s not ready for a relationship”

“But you were”

“Yeah. I know I need to tell him I get he’s not ready and apologise for pushing. I was stupid thinking that maybe what I felt for him would be able to fix some of his hurt… but I don’t want to scare him off”

“I think that’s exactly what you need to tell him, kiddo… and here’s your chance”

His brother had noticed Lance coming down the ramp with Laith, Keith realising he’d set him up to have that conversation with the few words of theirs. Stretching his good arm, Shiro smiled as Lance grew closer

“Hey, Lance. Out for a midnight walk?”

Bopping slightly as he rubbed Laith’s back, Lance gave them a tired smile

“Laith wouldn’t settle, he kept waking Lancella. She’s not a happy girl if she doesn’t get a full nights sleep”

“I wonder who she got that from?”

Keith stilled, expecting Lance to be hurt, instead he needed

“Yep. She’s got all my worst bits. I… if I’m in the way, I can go back. I… thought… maybe Keith could help? And he could see his uncle Shiro?”

Shiro smiled at the word “uncle”. Keith had thought everyone would be aunty or uncle, so maybe he’d missed something?

“I’m going to be uncle Shiro?”

Lance shifted his weight, Laith letting out a grizzle

“Um… you are Keith’s brother… I… um”

Stumbling over his words, Lance’s anxieties sounded like they were getting the best of him. Keith internally sucking down a deep breath that he didn’t dare do out loud. If only he could have kept his social awkwardness inside too

“I can hold Laith… if that’s okay. It’s… good to see you out Red, man”

“I… um, realised I was swapping one cage for another. What good is being free if we only spend it inside Red?”

Shiro patted the spot next to him, both of them noticing the way Lance tried to hide his flinch

“That’s very wise of you, Lance. I know you probably don’t feel safe in open places, but you’ve made a good step here”

“I… maybe. It’s still hard, but you went through worse”

“I’m doing better. Plus you know how Keith gets”

Lance stepped around the fire, hovering before lowering Laith. His son looked pissed at the world. If Lancella got all Lance’s worst bits, his son had gotten his view of the world

“He does have a way of helping… um, here, take Laith. He should… maybe spend some more time with you…”

He’d said he’d be there, even when his son was crying his head off. He wasn’t only going to be there for the good bits, he wanted to be there for all of the bits

“Okay”

Lance sat, leaving a fair gap between him and Shiro, enough space that if he wanted to bolt neither of them could catch him. Lifting Laith to his shoulder, his son grizzled on as Lance adjusted the blanket he had around him

“I’ve tried feeding him, he’s been bathed, I tried cuddles and he’s still not happy. I think he’s a bit blocked up”

If Lance said Laith was blocked up, then Keith had to assume he knew what he was talking about, even if he didn’t know what that meant. Shiro chuckled lightly. How he hadn’t known his brother was no longer his brother cut deeply

“Lance, you’re good at this, but Keith seems a little clueless. You mean constipated, don’t you?”

Oh. Ohhh… Oh. Ouch. That couldn’t be comfortable… Reaching out, Lance stroked the wisps of Laith’s hair

“Yeah. I was there for all cousins and my niece and nephew. I didn’t think… I never thought that… I’m sorry”

“What can we do to help him?”

“I was going to ask Coran or Hunk if we had something like brown sugar. A little bit dissolved in water usually works…”

“We can ask them in the morning, or should I call them now?”

Lance shook his head

“Let them sleep. Speaking of sleeping, are you doing okay with that Shiro?”

For Lance it had to be weird. He’d been cloned but not the same way Shiro had. It kind of gave them a bond he was on the outside of. Cloning had robbed Shiro of months of his life, and cloning had given them two beautiful kids

“I’m taking it slowly. The other’s are filling me in on what happened”

“Okay. If you want to talk… I might not be the best person but…”

“I know, kid. But speaking of sleep, I might head to bed. I was already going to when I noticed you on your way over”

“I can go”

Shiro had purposely worded things the way he had trying to reassure Lance

“No, no. I’m not trying to run you off. Those pods never get any easier to wake up from”

“No, they really don’t. If you want Keith I can take Laith back”

“No, you two spend some time together. I know you’ve been through a lot, Lance, but I’m proud of you. It’s not an easy thing to come back to normality afterwards”

“You’re right about that. Every sound makes me jumpy… it’s… it’s been a bit better in Red. He’s watching Lancella so if she gets up she won’t be able to wander”

“Just don’t forget we’re a team and we’re all here for you”

“As long as you don’t forget that either”

Leaving them, Lance moved a little closer to Keith as they both watched Shiro disappear towards Black

“You could have gone with him”

“He’s big enough to handle himself… and he knew I wanted to talk to you”

“I… kind of wanted to talk to you too. Keith…”

Lance was going to give his answer, but Keith feared he’d influenced Lance too much

“Lance, I understand. I thought… I thought if I could show you that I care about you, maybe that’d be enough for you to start healing, but you’re not ready for a relationship, are you?”

Looking down to his lap, Lance gave a small shake of his head

“No. Not yet. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to give you and answer without at least trying to be and I’m not. I’m sorry”

Still, hearing out loud made Keith’s stomach drop

“I think I would have been madder if you’d said yes…”

“It’s not a no forever… but it’s also not a wait for me. Maybe if you’d come back and none of this had happened it might have been a yes. I… I really, really quiznakking like you… but I… I need to heal… and I don’t want to… to jump into this. It’s not just me. It’s the kids. It’s you. It’s this whole war around us. I… I can barely make it through the nights. And I don’t want you to wait. If you find someone I want to be able to be strong enough to support you. I want you in our lives. And I’ll never deny you seeing them, but… yeah”

Lance sounded miserable… Keith wasn’t sure he’d ever find anyone else he’d feel the way he did about Lance with

“I’d like that. To be involved. You’ll have to teach me. I had no idea what you meant about him being blocked up”

“Will you be okay with being friends?”

“I’m not about to ignore you because you return my feelings but aren’t there yet. You’ve had just as much of a major trauma as Shiro had. Maybe even more so seeing he didn’t experience what you did”

“I don’t know. I know both our traumas are very different. We both have the scars from them and both our bodies have been changed without our permission. It’s not really who’s trauma is worst”

Schooching closer to Lance, Keith hoped sitting close enough to barely be touching brought some comfort

“Do you want to tell me more about it?”

“I… I don’t want to gross you out”

“Trust me, I’m more angry at them than I could ever be grossed out. You said they changed your body?”

“They… they made it so I could nurse Laith”

“Nurse?”

“As in feed… it’s probably pretty weird”

Oh… that explained how Lance had kept Laith alive

“You didn’t ask for any of this…”

“But I’m not meant to be able to”

“Dude, I thought you were going to tell me you had extra arms hidden away or something”

Lance snorted, before leaning down to kiss Laith’s hair

“No. I’m not sure that wouldn’t have been on their plans. No extra limbs or weird psychic tricks”

“Damn. Well I’m not letting you get kidnapped again so I guess you miss out”

“So rude. You’re good with him. He didn’t want to settle against me like he has with you”

“You think? I’m shitting myself here. I keep telling myself not to drop the baby”

Lance hummed softly

“Kids kind of seem to know when you’re not going to hurt them. It’s when you’re an adult that it all becomes complicate”

“You… you know I don’t want to hurt you, don’t you?”

“I’m not sure you can, I got major moves while you were off on vacation”

Keith wouldn’t describe it as a vacation, and if he was forced too the closest thing would be a forced vacation. He’d never meant to leave the team as long as he had

“I promise you can go through puberty all over again with your mother on the next space whale we find”

“That’s a hard pass… but maybe after two years I’ll be fixed again?”

The joke in Lance’s tone fell flat

“Lance, you don’t need to be fixed”

“I do… I’m so tired, Keith… and I’ve felt so guilty since you left. I felt like I ran you off by taking Red who always should have been yours”

Why had he told Lance to leave the math to Pidge? Past him deserved to be punched for it

“You didn’t”

“I still feel I did. I wanted you to find your mother… but when you left it all… it was all messed up and now you’re back and I’m wondering if you wouldn’t have been happier returning to the Blades than coming home… home to this”

Lance sure could be thick sometimes. Yes, Voltron needed to know about Lotor as soon as possible, but he could have called from Blade HQ rather than tracking down the castle

“I came to find you were dead. You were dead and gone… and I went crazy at the thought. I would take you how you are a million times over those feelings. The… We all need you”

He’d been going to say the team, but this went beyond the team. The universe needed Lance because Lance was the only one he trusted to be his right hand man… and he needed him. Him and their children, that counted as a “we”.

Sighing softly, Lance let his head thump lightly onto Keith’s shoulder

“I’m trying”

“I know you are”

“I want to be okay”

“And we’ll work towards it”

“I’m sorry I’m not ready. We could have been secret space boyfriends”

“There’s still time in our future”

And there would be. He’d make sure to make the time, no matter how long it took. Lance was more than worth the wait. Besides, he’d waited too long as it was and he’d never make that mistake again.

*Eight Months later*

Sitting on top of Black, Keith stared out across the sunset bathing the world in its orange and red hues. Earth had never felt like home, and now he could honestly say there was nowhere in the galaxy with sunsets so amazing.

They’d barely had a moments peace. The Atlas needed to be completed. Shiro needed the gem out of Allura’s tiara. His old nemesis Jame’s needed repeatedly to be put in his place, and their kids now lived with Lance’s family. Feeling his comms vibrate, Lance had been out all day at the markets with the others, having been avoiding him for the last two days. So seeing his name on his comms had been unexpected. Answering the call, Lance’s voice still sent his thoughts scattering

“Dude, where are you right now?”

“Just chillin’ with Black, watching the sunset. What’s going on?”

“Oh, you know. Someone told me to call him when I was ready or needed him… and right now I need him to look back over his shoulder”

Doing what he was told, for some reason only known to Lance he was decked in frypans and saucepans

“You see… the thing is… I’m not very good at this”

Keith didn’t get why Lance was still talking into his comms as he came closer

“Good at what?”

“This… call. I didn’t know if you’d answer”

“I’m not about to ignore you”

Even if Lance had been ignoring him

“Even if I say it’s that call”

What call? What the quiznak had Lance been up to? And why was he acting so strange?

“Lance?”

Coming right up to him, Lance turned his gaze to the sunset

“I was talking to Coran, he was teaching me all about Altean courting rituals. I can’t remember all of it, but I can at least use these pans to cook you something better than Garrison food”

Courting… Courting… It clicked into place. Their conversation from so many months ago

“Lance…”

Sitting down next to him, Lance made a show of continuing to use his comms

“I told you I’d call when I reached my decision. I think… I think I’d really like to take you up on your offer if you think you still want me?”

“I… Nothing’s changed for me”

“So how about it, Mullet? What about we give being secret space boyfriends a shot?”

“No”

For a moment the disappointment in Lance was visible. His face a range of emotions before Keith finally put him out of his misery. Leaning across he took Lance by the chin, kissing him softly as the sunset bathed his features in its rich hues, but Lance was the only thing he could see

“I don’t want to hide that we’re dating. I want to say you’re mine”

Lance let out a long breath, a smile spreading on his lips, being himself as he snorted and pulled away to look at the sunset

“Thank god for that. Keeping it a secret would have killed me”

Letting the silence hang for a moment, Keith had to know

“Why didn’t you answer when I tried talking to you?”

“Oh… right. I… Earth is nothing like how we left it. Mami already adores you… but… I wanted to do this right. Instead Coran dressed me up like this and today Pidge ruthlessly used the fact the they made a TV show about our time in space to get her way. I… I wanted to call you, but I needed to make sure that I wasn’t going backwards again. You know… That right now was when it finally felt we could be an us”

Lance had gone backwards. He had when he’d come home and things hadn’t been the same. They’d all had counselling forced on them, and he’d thought things were slowly improving, only then he’d found that Lance was sleeping at the Garrison. He was afraid he’d hurt someone with the nightmares he’d been having. James’s teasing and constantly picking a fight hadn’t helped. Lance had laid him out during a training session and Keith couldn’t be prouder

“I like the Lance who knows what he’s got and who he is”

“Good, because I told Mami and she’s pretty much planning our wedding with Krolia’s support. I… I didn’t know if I’d missed my chance”

“What makes you think that?”

“James. You do realise he picks fights with you because he likes you. Take it from someone who did the same”

“Idiot, I don’t have time for him”

“Still… I wouldn’t have blamed you. Laith’s been asking for you”

“And Lancella?”

“I’m the lamest dad ever because you haven’t been around to take her out on your hoverbike”

He’d been there for Laith’s first “da da”. But not for Laith’s first steps. Lance’s Mami had called them, too proud to get the words out. Lance had been right about her. She’d adopted all of them right away. Having gotten her son back alive, she’d also overcompensated too, determined to show him he still had a place she’d acted like no time had passed, Lance frustrated and moving into the Garrison permanently as he focused on his efforts on recovery. He’d been the best one out of all of them to keep his counselling commitments. Introducing Lancella to all things Earth, Lance’s Mami had torn into both of them when they’d taken Lancella for her first ride

“Mami would kill me”

Lance ducked his head

“Maybe a little. I don’t know what comes next for us”

“Neither do I, but we’re a team, right?”

“The best. You and me, neck and neck until the end”

This time Lance initiated the kiss. Keith deepening it until their teeth gnashed, both of them snorting as they pulled away

“We need to work on that”

“Funnily enough, mullet, we have all the time in the world. Or at least until we head out again”

“Fuck it, even then”

“Shiro would scold you if he heard you swearing”

“Let him”

Relaxing into each other, Keith found the bravery to hold Lance’s hand. His heart was still hammering away from the fact he’d been kissed. He’d thought it already a pretty perfect sunset, but he was now entirely sure it was the most perfect sunset of his life

“Just to check, we are dating now, aren’t we?”

Lance nodded

“Yeah, samurai”

“Good”

Yep. This was the most perfect sunset ever.

7 notes · View notes

enigmaticvariation · 3 years

Text

Why C!Wilbur and Dirk Strider are the same character: a thread

I said I would never touch Homestuck again, but this has been plaguing me for hours. This will be in bullet point sections because this is just my train of thought.

Personality - They both act confident and sure of themselves to the point of egotism as overcompensation for crippling self hatred - They are laid back characters and often act as the straight man towards their more chaotic and high strung peers. - They are born leaders and have a strong desire to be in control of situations. - If they are not able to be in control they will eventually start taking it out on the people around them regardless of whether they intend to. - They have a strong interest in a particular creative field, which acts as a motif throughout their character arc (Wilbur with music and Dirk with robotics.) - They both have a distinctive signature hairstyle and have a strong association with hats - They are both extremely introspective to the point where they often don't communicate with those around them.

-They're both extremely pretentious

- They need a shit ton of therapy but never ended up getting it

(This is long as hell, the rest is going under a read more)

Relationships

- They have a younger brother figure who looks up to them a great deal. (We all know the parallels you can make with Tommy and Dave but I'll just lay them out again. Hot headed word vomity blonde boys with red baseball shirts, music disc motifs, a somewhat naive best friend who is often treated inferior to them by the antagonist/narrative itself associated with the color green, and a huge hero complex also pushed onto them by the narrative itself.)

- Their younger brother figure has complicated feelings towards them due to being in close proximity to them while they were at their absolute lowest mentally and has trauma related to the experience. (Bro and Pogtopia Wilbur are in no way a one to one comparison due to Bro having a disconnect from Dirk while Pogtopia Wilbur is literally just Wilbur. Also, Bro is much worse than Wilbur ever was, he was extremely physically and emotionally abusive towards Dave in a way Wilbur never even got close too.)

- Wilbur and Dirk have a strong need to help their friends improve themselves and act in a way more fit to how they want them to be. This is due to their need for control and is not inherently malicious, but can end up being obnoxious at best and slightly manipulative at worst. This can be seen in how Dirk tries to teach Jake to be less naive and how Wilbur tries to teach Tommy to be less rash.

- They both have a somewhat distant father figure who is seen as a great hero in the eyes of many. This figure lived centuries before they were born, only in Dirk's case his father figure wasn't immortal and he was a genetic clone of him.

Alternate Selves

- Alternate selves are a strong underlying motif in both of their arcs.

- In Dirk's case, he has many literal alternate selves. In Wilbur's, he only technically has one but he has been split up into alternate selves through Tommy's perspective, the person closest to him.

- This is more cosmetic, but they both have an alternate self that is a ghost (brain ghost dirk and ghostbur.)

- Dirk's alternate selves (or "splinters, if we're going to use the homestuck term) are a more direct reflection of himself than Ghostbur is to alivebur, but they show how other people view them and how they view themselves.

- They both feel disdain and resentment towards their alternate selves, (in wilbur's case a lot of this is shown with ghostbur's feelings towards alivebur,) going back to their self hatred.

Relationship towards the narrative

-As much as I dislike the Homestuck post canon, it's still a part of Dirk's story worth mentioning that parallels Wilbur. This section is comparing late season 1 Wilbur to Ultimate Dirk.

- They are both characters that often break the 4th wall and seem to have somewhat of an awareness that they are in a story.

- Due to their need to be in control, they often manipulate the story to stay relevant within it. This can be seen in how Ult. Dirk takes over the narrative in the epilogues, and how Wilbur decides within the story to take over as the villain.

- Once they are unable to be in control anymore, they choose to die as a way to end their character arc within the story and to leave behind a legacy.

- They’re extremely obsessed with meddling, Wilbur came back from beyond the fucking grave to meddle.

Also, you can’t tell me that Dirk Strider WOULDN’T name his crossbow chekov’s gun. He’s that bitch.

#idk how to tag this #dream smp #dsmp #mcyt #mcyt analysis #dream smp analysis #dsmp analysis #homestuck #wilbur soot

42 notes · View notes

inkweaver22-blr · 3 years

Text

Phew! Here’s chapter 15!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one so let me know what you think!

AO3 Link

Scattered Cicadas - Chapter Fifteen: Distressing Encounters

Tang faces a foe more powerful than Lady Bone Demon.

----------

Tang ran his fingers through Xiaotian’s fur as the young monkey slept. He smiled at the content look on the kid’s face.

He didn’t like this timeline.

These quiet moments of safety and peace were becoming increasingly infrequent this cycle. Tang did his best to be a comforting presence for his son, but the threat of their enemy always loomed in the back of everyone’s minds.

Tang looked at the clock and sighed. If he was going to get any work done before the shop opened he would have to get going soon. Tang placed a kiss against Xiaotian’s forehead before standing to leave.

“Baba?”

Xiaotian was looking up at Tang with half open eyes, obviously still more asleep than awake.

“Go back to sleep, Xiaotian,” Tang said as he resumed running his hand through his kid’s fur. “I was just checking on you before I left.”

“Where ya goin’?”

“I need to head to the shop early to do some paperwork. You don’t need to be up yet.”

“M’kay,” Xiaotian slurred, already falling back asleep from the sensation of Tang stroking his head. “Be safe.”

“I will.” Tang leaned over and placed another kiss on Xiaotian’s head. “I love you.”

“Love you.”

Tang’s heart leapt. It was the first time Xiaotian had confessed his feelings to him this cycle. He smiled down at the once more sleeping figure.

He probably wouldn’t remember this conversation later, but Tang was proud of how much progress Xiaotian was making. The amount of emotional trauma he had been subjected to this cycle was immense. That his loving spirit hadn’t been extinguished was a miracle. Tang was going to do his absolute best to nurture that spirit back to full strength no matter what.

Tang left the apartment and made his way to his antique and artifact repair shop. He was Tripitaka once again this cycle and seemed to have developed a knack for tinkering with relics over the years.

Pigsy, in contrast, was a semi-retired mercenary who liked to hang out at the shop when he had nothing else to do. It was an interesting change in dynamics with Tang being the busy one with a shop while Pigsy loitered around distracting him.

Not that he minded seeing his husband for most of the day.

Tang unlocked the shop and made his way to the back to put away his coat. He picked up several sheets of paper and began working on checking his inventory.

If it had only been Pigsy and himself swapped around, Tang might have found this cycle to be enjoyable. Unfortunately for nearly everyone, that wasn’t the case.

Tang frowned as he absently made a note to order more clockwork springs for his personal repair kit.

This timeline was… pretty bad. It seemed that there was some new crisis every week that would leave horrible emotional damage on anyone involved. Worse yet was the demon who was responsible for the majority of the trauma.

The Monkey King.

Tang shuddered as he remembered the first time he saw the cruel expression of the monster that wore the face of a member of his family.

Tang thought the cycles where he was the villain were bad enough, but at least he could choose to be reformed.

The Monkey King was a bloodthirsty and malicious foe that made any evil version of himself seem tame in comparison.

This anomaly in personality was the result of a plan hatched by Wukong and Macaque hundreds of years ago. Early on during the Journey to the West, the two monkeys had swapped places, with no one being the wiser. So while Wukong was off plotting his revenge against Heaven, Macaque was the one who learned humility and love from Tripitaka and the others.

The end result was the Monkey King being sealed under a mountain with his own staff by Macaque with the assistance of Queen Iron Fan and Red Son who wielded the Samadhi Fire.

Not without a steep price, however.

Macaque had lost his right eye. Red Son had almost been consumed by the sacred flames until Guanyin placed a hoop around the boy’s neck, sealing the flames and unfortunately his memories of being a demon as well. His parents were forced to keep him a bit at arms length to prevent the seal from breaking.

Tang clenched his pen as he thought about the more recent events.

Mei, who was being emotionally neglected by her parents, had witnessed Xiaotian’s adoptive father, the Yellow Wind Demon, being freed from his mink form. She had attempted to fight him, only to be blown away. Once she returned with her family’s spear, she managed to force the demon to retreat. Macaque had then proclaimed he would take her on as his student.

But the worst was yet to come.

Yellow Wind Demon tricked Xiaotian into removing the staff that was sealing the Monkey King away. It was then that the horrible truth had been revealed.

Xiaotian was a clone of the Monkey King.

Tang had to stop and take a few breaths as nausea rushed through him. Luckily Xiaotian had become independent enough that the Monkey King couldn’t just dispel him, but that didn’t stop Tang from having nightmares about it.

Mei and Red Son had rushed off to save Xiaotian from Monkey King’s clutches, and Tang had followed after them. The pure hate the demon monkey had sent his way when he had recited the tightening sutra for the first time in all the cycles to rescue the kids would be seared into his memory for years to come.

Xiaotian had turned against his creator and now lived with Tang and Pigsy in their apartment. The trauma of being a copy of that monster was still strong, but Tang intended to smooth it out with endless kindness and love.

Tang pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes as the image of a sinisterly grinning Monkey King filled his head once more.

He had been extremely lucky that he hadn’t been recognized as Tripitaka by the demon. He had no doubt the Monkey King would then stop at nothing to hunt him down for turning Macaque against him. Not that it had been too hard once he and the others had pointed out to Macaque how abusive the Monkey King was in their relationship.

Tang sighed as he tried to focus on his inventory list.

He hated feeling this powerless. The Monkey King was the most terrifying adversary he had faced across the timelines. Worse than even Lady Bone Demon and the Mayor. He was going to get ulcers from how worried he constantly felt.

The bell above the front door chimed, signalling an entering customer. Had he forgotten to keep the sign flipped to closed?

“I’m sorry,” Tang said, not turning from his paperwork. “But the shop is closed at the mome-”

A paw clasped around his mouth and a strong arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him close against someone. Tang dropped his papers as his glasses fell from his face.

“Hello Tripitaka,” a horrifyingly familiar voice said.

Tang turned in terror to see the sneering face of the Monkey King leaning close into his own.

“I missed you so much.”

No no no no no!

How had he found out?!

“Let’s go find Liu Er and the kid and go home now, hmm?”

Tang’s blood ran cold.

Monkey King didn’t want him dead. It was so much worse than that.

He wanted Tang to be a part of his twisted family with Macaque and Xiaotian.

The thought of being used against his old friend and son to make them comply made Tang’s pulse quicken.

He couldn’t let that happen!

Adrenaline rushed through him as previous years of fighting experience kicked in.

Tang shoved his foot back into his captor’s, managing to catch Monkey King by surprise and push him off balance. The strength of the Earth suddenly seemed to flow through him as he grabbed the demon’s arms and managed to throw him over his head into one of the displays on the wall.

Instinctively, Tang raised his hands as another power came forth. He quickly called out the tightening sutra while casting a binding spell simultaneously. The Monkey King snarled in pain as his fillet squeezed his head and ropes of golden-yellow light wrapped around him.

Tang waved his hands and recited another spell, summoning several domed barriers of light around the demon as he knew the ropes wouldn’t hold for long. He would worry about how he was doing this once he was out of danger and not running on autopilot

“You’ll regret that!” The Monkey King bared his fangs at Tang as he strained against the magic ropes, several of them already beginning to snap.

“The only thing I regret, Wukong,” Tang said coldly, his hands glowing golden-yellow as he began to manipulate the Earth beneath the shop, “was not being a good enough teacher to show you the error of your ways.”

The Monkey King snarled in defiance as two enormous slabs of rock burst through the floor and fused together around the barriers holding the demon. Tang rushed forward and placed the strongest seal he knew onto the makeshift prison.

It wouldn’t keep the insanely powerful demon trapped permanently, but it would buy Tang enough time to get to his husband and son and escape to somewhere safe.

Tang picked his glasses up and ran from the shop, placing another seal on the building itself for good measure. A few of the friendlier shopkeepers from the neighboring buildings were standing outside.

“Are you alright Tang?”

“We heard a loud crash coming from your shop.”

“The Monkey King is trapped inside,” Tang said a bit breathlessly. The shopkeepers looked panicked. “He’s after me. I need to get my family to safety. Can you make sure this street is evacuated before he escapes?”

“Holy shit!”

“Y-yeah! We’ll take care of it! Just go get somewhere safe!”

“Thank you. You all might want to stay away for a while as well in case he tries to use you to get to me,” Tang said. They all paled a little at that and quickly left after wishing him good luck.

Tang took off at a sprint towards his apartment. He had left his phone in the back of the shop with his coat. Hopefully it was still early enough that neither Pigsy or Xiaotian had left yet.

The adrenaline was quickly wearing off, and he felt the powers he had used ebb away entirely. Tang would have normally been endlessly fascinated at this new development, but the threat of the Monkey King was still hanging over him. He would have to examine what had just happened later once they were all somewhere safe.

There was an explosion in the distance, followed by an enraged roar.

Tang grit his teeth as he ignored the stitch in his side and ran faster.

He really didn’t like this timeline.

----------

And here we have the second most popular AU by @winterpower98, the absolute angst-fest that is the Swap AU.

The scene where Wukong shows up is directly referencing this comic that got commissioned by @stylishbutdefinitelyillegal.

I’m not sure if I managed to capture Tang’s thoughts on this timeline clearly or if I just managed to give a brief, crappy summary of it instead. :/

And what’s up with those powers from past cycles showing up? That’s certainly never happened before.

Guess we’ll have to wait and see!

Until next time!

#Ink Writes #Scattered Cicadas #Monkie Kid #Tang #Qi Xiaotian #Sun Wukong #winterpower98 #Swap AU #stylishbutdefinitelyillegal #LEGO Monkie Kid #Tang Monkie Kid

19 notes · View notes

charlemange1 · 4 years

Text

Ranking adaptations of Victor Frankenstein from least to most evil

The character Victor Frankenstein has been adapted many times over the years. Sometimes he’s a heroic YA protagonist while others have him using his clone army to wipe out humanity and take over the world. But which Victor is truly the worse?

After reading several adaptations, I’ve decided to rank Victor’s morality in each one and find out! The gothic lit community doesn’t talk about these adaptations much, so hopefully this list can introduce the fandom to some of the lesser-known interpretations out there!

This is part one, which ranks printed retellings only. If people enjoy it, I’ll do a part two and merge the films into the mix!

Disclaimers (please read):

SPOILERS! Victor’s actions in these adaptations will be thoroughly analyzed with no regard for the spoiler tag.

Some of the more evil Victor’s get into dark territory, and while I will not go into extensive detail (lest I go insane) if mentions of abuse, sexual themes, possessive behavior and murder bother you, don’t make my mistake and turn back! (I will leave an additional reminder when said parts come up)

This list centers on Victor’s actions and NOT the quality of the books themselves—so if you see your favorite title getting a low score it’s not because it’s a bad book—it’s because Victor is a jerk.

This list is by no means complete, just the ones I’ve read personally.

These are my silly personal opinions and if you disagree with my ranking that’s perfectly fine!

Ranking: On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being fantastic and 0 being “run if you see this man in a dark alley.”

10/10 Perfect Sunbeam. Overall great, wholesome guy!

*crickets chirp in a serene backdrop of a Romantic field*

Good dude

Junji Ito’s Frankenstein: 8.5/10

Props to the master of manga monsters for making the twist be that Victor is not secretly evil/insane.

Not only does Victor pity the creature and agree to create a mate for him—but he keeps his word! This is especially touching when you consider how the creature treks alllllll the way to Switzerland to dig up Justine’s head as a face for the bride. (Henry says he probably didn’t know it was Justines, but come on, you just happened to pick up the head of the girl you framed and carried it for miles across land and sea to deliver it to Victor instead of stopping somewhere closer? I don't buy it.)

Victor even goes the extra mile, kindly stating:

Yet the bride rejects the creature (not Victor’s fault) and in revenge, the creature kills Henry, Elizabeth, and Alphonse. In retaliation, Victor follows him onto the ice and relates his tale to Walton before dying.

Victor's actions are nothing heroic, but what more could he have done? He didn’t break his promise and kill the bride like in the original novel and he clearly cared about reanimating “Justine” as shown in the above image.

And did I mention this manga was done by Junji Ito? Would YOU stay in the same room if you created a Junji Ito monster? Didn't think so! After the initial mistake of abandoning his monster, this Victor did the best he could to make amends and protect his family--making him an overall good person.

Decent guy

This Dark endeavor by Kenneth Oppel: 7/10

Serving as a prequel to the original novel, This Dark Endeavor tells the untold story of what leads young Victor Frankenstein to create his monster.

While Victor very much struggles with his angsty dark desires (bad), he tirelessly searches for the alchemic "Elixir of Life" to save his twin brother (good). A brother who is more talented than Victor, has the heart of his love interest, and Victor believes everyone prefers over himself.

Good on you, Victor, for letting the love for your brother override understandable sibling jealousy. If that wasn’t enough to make him decent, letting a few fingers be cut off to save his twin definitely does.

What brings Victor down to a 7 is his relationship with Elizabeth. It’s born out of jealousy from her loving his twin rather than genuine affection. Even if this retelling makes Elizabeth a feisty, pants-wearing independent female (to lessen the possessive undertones Victor exhibits, I presume? Read it and judge for yourself), the relationship does nothing positive for his character. Tricking someone into kissing you is a jerk move, bro.

Ok I guess….

Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel 6/10

The sequel to This Dark Endeavor loses Victor’s careful balance of good and bad traits its predecessor boasted. Victor wasn’t perfect in TDE, but the majority of his negative actions stemmed from trying to save his ill brother and were mostly forgivable. In Such Wicked Intent, his understandable sibling jealously now comes off as petty since Victor’s twin is already dead.

Victor trying to bring his brother back to life (good) is undermined by his growing reliance on supernatural butterflies that increase his abilities despite other characters pointing out the obvious danger. Victor is also not the greatest parent to Twin 2.0 and the previous issues with him and Elizabeth from book 1 don’t improve. He’s the same Victor from TDE, but the plot focusing on his selfish desires makes him more flawed as a result.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (the original novel): 6/10

Depending on how you interpret the events of the original novel, Victor is either a college Dad in over his head and trying his best after an initial mistake, or a misogynistic, irresponsible jerk only capable of thinking of himself. There are enough professional articles to support both interpretations, and I’m not the person to pick one over the other.

However, if the narrative he tells Walton is to be taken as truth (and the creature not correcting Victor's account tells me it is), Victor spent most of the novel trying to fix his mistake (intentions may vary)—and isn’t too bad as a result.

Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel: 5/10

Despite being a crossover with Pride and Prejudice, Kessel tries to be as faithful to the original Frankenstein as possible. However, the few changes he makes hurts Victor from a moral standpoint.

Victor’s not the greatest guy when handling the romantic gestures of both Mary Bennet and Henry. Also, murdering his creature's mate with poison right before they leave to start their happily ever after is awful, but understandable from his point of view.

Then there's P&P's ending, where Walton describes meeting Victor on the ice. It’s revealed that Victor left killing the creature's mate and the Bennet’s out of his narrative. While this is probably Kessel justifying why Jane Austen’s characters and his changes weren’t mentioned in the original text (and who can blame him?) it does make Victor a liar. In the original, the creature never called Victor out for omitting anything—so altering the story on his deathbed places P&P’s Victor a rung lower than his original counterpart.

Ehh….

Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan: 4/10

As a nearly-word-for-word retelling with minor, humorous changes by the comedian Spike Milligan, Victor is more pathetic than anything. He’s a harmless, pathetic, hilarious jerk.

Some quotes:

"I bounded along with feelings of unbridled joy and hilarity. From a great distance my family could see me bounding with unbridled joy and hilarity." (53)

"'I tell you,’ I said, ‘that murderer had his trousers down, was eating fish paste sandwiches and traveling 100 miles per hour.’" (59)

"‘I can offer you no consolation,’ said he.

‘Then piss off.’ said I." (54)

Here’s his jail visit with Justine in animatic form (and me shamelessly plugging my other creative endeavors)

Monster by Neal Bell 3.5/10

Warning: contains mentions of animal abuse

On one hand, Victor wants to conquer death to save his family and is clearly disturbed over Justine's and his mother’s death. However, the man expresses little concern at the possibility of William getting struck by lightning with his kite in front of his mother who had already lost 9 children.

He can also talk to dogs and cats (for…some reason?) who are portrayed as intelligent beings with feelings—yet that doesn’t stop him from eating said dogs in the Arctic and killing said cat after threatening her with a knife. He also flings around Bible verses while being painfully egotistical about “being God”.

Using Henry’s romantic affections toward him to his advantage, briefly forcing himself on Elizabeth, and tenderly caring for his monster only to abandon him after the creature expresses a want to die just makes him an awful person all around. The fact he doesn’t do these things with clear malicious intent saves him from being any lower.

Quotes:

ELIZABETH: A bone. A brittle bit of skin. A tooth—

VICTOR: Would you not be womanish now?

Be useful. Here—hold the Leyden jar,

While I attach the string…

VICTOR: A satisfactory morning, then, Mister Puss—tormenting the dogs?

CAT: God gave me a duty. I fulfill it.

VICTOR: Papa says there is no God.

(He takes out a knife)

Pretty bad dude

WARNING: Please note that some of these Victors get into unsavory territory. If the mention of sexual themes/abuse/murder bothers you turn back:

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd: 3/10

This one was tricky. The narrative chugs along with Victor being an intelligent, thoughtful guy with only a few obsessive tendencies. He’s chilling with the Shelleys, talking to the poor in the streets and financially supporting Fred’s family along with giving out generous tips. He’s a cool guy. He’s a great dude! He’s….revealed in the final 2 pages to be recounting everything from a mental asylum, the monster was in his head, and he’s actually the one that committed the murders.

Alrighty then. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Having his insanity revealed in the final pages, it’s hard to judge whether there was genuine malicious intent or if Victor truly thought he created the creature and believed he was doing good in trying to “stop” it. No matter his intentions though, the body count remains and a child strangler has no place being anything higher than a 3.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White: 1/10

We all knew this one would make the list. Elizabeth’s first flashback sets up Victor as having serious issues—the question becomes how low will he go? Turns out pretty low.

He’s the one who killed William and framed Justine along with murdering his father, brother Robert and various people at Ingolstadt.

What really makes him despicable is that Elizabeth is the novel's main POV character who only sticks with Victor so she’s not thrown out on the streets. He’s abusive, controlling, dominating, and so possessive that he’ll perfect reanimation so that not even death can take her away from him! Yikes. I can’t stress enough how being in Elizabeth’s POV makes these actions all the more menacing.

Quote:

“There was never another path for you. Consider how much worse it has all been for me. How much I have had to suffer. And how much of that suffering has been caused directly by you!” His face twitched, and his fingers tightened on the pistol. Then he sighed. “It does not do to dwell on it. There is no point in fighting. This is your fate, Elizabeth Frankenstein. I will let no other claim you—not man, not death, not even God.” (279)

Nice guy.

Despite his terrible actions, Victor is trying to "save" Elizabeth from death. In his mind, he wants what’s best for her. It’s a crazy mind that mixed up domination and love, but the fact that his evil actions come from wanting to keep someone he wants to control cares about safe vs. other versions where his crimes stem from wanting to rival god and rule the world, this version isn’t THAT bad. At least his hearts in the right place—even if his mentality is utter garbage.

The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Theodore Roszak 0/10

*insert my screams of insurmountable anguish here*

Caroline: Hey son, you should do NSFW things.

Victor: Sure. I will now do NSFW things.

Victor: *proceeds to do NSFW things*

The reprint of this novel mentions on the cover it’s erotica, but the copy I bought (and to this day have not finished) had no such disclaimer. I’ll break my rule and speak on the quality of this book: there is none. For an alleged “pro-feminism” novel everyone is terrible—and Victor is no exception.

Literally Satan.

Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein Series: -∞/10

So you’ve read far enough to join me in Hell.

Where do even I start? This is a Victor who extended his life to the present day. Who worked with Hitler, Stalin, Castro and regretted the fall of the Third Reich. Who created an army of emotionally deprived “new race” creations to kill people and assume their identities so he could ascend the ranks of politics. Who, once he has enough of his new race integrated into society, desires to commit mass genocide on humanity and establish himself as supreme ruler of the world—only then can he conquer the cosmos as well because why the hell not?

Oh, and he’s a wife-beater/murderer too! Which isn’t a problem, considering he can create a new wife whenever he sees fit (he was on Erika 5 by book 3). The sheer lack of any positive traits in this man is laughable. Koontz really, REALLY wants to get across that Victor is a bad guy.

And if you’re somehow not convinced by the above description, here are some quotes I pulled from the first 3 novels as a bonus to reeeeeally sell how despicable this clown is:

Regarding Elizabeth:

“Victor had not loved Elizabeth. Love and God were myths he rejected with equal contempt. But Elizabeth had belonged to him. Even after more than 200 years, he still bitterly resented the loss of her, as he would have resented losing an exquisite antique porcelain vase if [his creature] had smashed that instead of the bride,” (3.97).

Regarding Mary Shelley:

“When Mary Shelley took a local legend based on truth and crafted fiction from it, she made Victor a tragic figure and killed him off. He understood her dramatic purpose for giving him a death scene, but he loathed her for portraying him as tragic and as a failure. Her judgment of his work was arrogant. What else of consequence did she ever write? And of the two, who was dead—and who was not?” (1.79-80)

(Author Note: For your information, Victor, The Last Man is considered by some to be the first dystopian novel)

His…ah…"friends”:

“Fire was featured in some of his less pleasant memories. The great windmill. The bombing of Dresden. The Israeli Mossad attack on the secret Venezuelan research complex that he had shared with Mengele in the years after World War Two. Nevertheless, he liked to read to the accompaniment of a cozy crackling fire,” (1.76).

“Victor admired Hitler. The Führer knew talent when he saw it.

In the 1930s and 40s, Victor had worked with Mengele and others in Hitler's privileged scientific class. He made considerable progress in his work before the regrettable allied victory…the problem with the Führer had been that his roots were in art and politics…The future did not belong either to artists or to politicians,” (2.24-25).

Dat ego tho:

“When I die, those cells will be capped descend a signal that will be relayed by satellite to everyone made of new race flesh, to every meat machine that walks. And you will fall down dead,’…Victor smiled, anticipating triumph in spite of their silence. ‘Did you think a God would die alone?’” (3.345).

Civilization would not be remade or sustained by Christianity or by Islam. Neither by Scientologists nor by the bright-eyed adherence of the deliciously solipsistic paranoid new religion encouraged by The Da Vinci Code. Tomorrow belonged to scientism. The priests of scientism were not merely robed clerics performing rituals, they were gods, with the power of gods. Victor himself was their Messiah,” (2.25).

“With Victor's unstoppable drive for power, with his singular intellect, with his cold materialism and his ruthless practicality, and now with synchronicity on his side, he had become untouchable, immortal.

He was immortal,” (3.329).

“How they goggled at him, abashed by his wisdom and knowledge, mortified by their ignorance, over-awed by his godlike power,” (3.330).

“’Murder,’ said the caller. ‘murder…excites me.’

Victor kept the growing concern out of his voice. ‘No, your mind is fine. I don't make mistakes.’” (1.156)

Oh yeah, he has a wife, doesn't he:

“This is why Victor requires …the cruel humiliation of his partner. He has long ago transcended the guilt that committing acts of cruelty might spawn in others...the exercise of raw power thrills him,” (1.244).

“I have given you a life…remember that. I have given you a life, and I will choose what you do with it,” (1.464).

Wives view of him:

“She owned literally hundreds of outfits. Having been created to his ideal measurements, Victor had purchased everything…She hoped that someday she would be allowed to shop for herself. When Victor allowed that, she would know she had at last met his standards and earned his trust. Briefly, she wondered what it would be like not to care what Victor—or anyone—thought of her. To be herself. Independent. Those were dangerous thoughts. She must repress them.” (1.107)

And those are just the PG bits, he does much, much worse.

In conclusion:

So yes, Spike Milligan made Victor a pathetic jerk, Casebook made Victor a madman, Memoirs made him an erotic predator, Dark Descent had him as an abusive boyfriend ruthless in possessing “his Elizabeth”, but nearly succeeding at worldwide genocide while abusing/murdering/manipulating people to achieve his goals makes Dean Koontz’s Victor Frankenstein the worse, more morally despicable Victor Frankenstein of them all. At least from what I’ve read.

Annnnd that’s it! If you want me to make a part 2 and add in the films/plays let me know! Hopefully at least one of these peeked your interest as something to check out during spooky season.

Shameless plug-in: here’s my own Frankenstein adaptation

Bonus!

Ranking the books on how much I liked them personally!

Great:

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein: Nice to see Victor’s villainy stem from family relations and not ego and wanting to defy God for a change.

Junji Ito’s Frankenstein: Phenomenal artwork, fairly faithful adaptation, and the changes serve to put Victor in a better light—which I love! The master of manga monsters himself made the right choice in keeping the creature more monstrous in this version instead of focusing on his humanity.

This Dark Endeavor: Frankenstein characters go on a Harry Potter styled adventure. Need I say more?

Average:

Such Wicked Intent: Victor’s character takes a dip, and pit monsters/life-absorbing butterflies don’t quite fit in a Frankenstein prequel.

Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan: It’s a silly, stupid comedy. Got a few chuckles out of me.

Pride and Prometheus: The concept works way better than it should. However, it follows the original text to a fault and can be boring at points.

Bad:

Warning: contains mentions of suicide

Monster: Victor’s character was far too inconsistent to be likable. He can talk to animals why, exactly?

Casebook of Victor Frankenstein: So, Victor is revealed to be crazy in the final 3 pages? So, the monster was in his head? Alright. But other characters throughout the book SAW the monster and described him like Victor did. So, there’s no way to separate Victor’s POV from reality and that kills the reread value and makes this a waste of time. Don’t get me wrong, the creature being symbolic for Victor’s inner demons is a fascinating direction if done well—and I recommend the essay “Frankenstein: The Man and the Monster” by Arthur Belefant if you want a much shorter exploration of this concept. It’s not perfect, but beats Casebook by a longshot!

Also, taking the real-life suicide of Percy’s wife Harriet and turning it into Victor murdering her and framing it on someone else to mimic Frankenstein’s Justine/William scene is just wrong. You made a woman’s suicide a cheap plot point in your fanfic of the mistress’s novel. That is what you did, author.

Dean Koontz Frankenstein: It starts out good and has great suspense—too bad the actual plot is awful. Victor’s so painfully evil it comes off as comical, the characters are bad/bland, plot holes abound (they state Mary Shelley’s novel is canon, then mention the windmill which was only in the films—so who even IS this Victor? Book or film?). The conclusion in book 3 is one of the most underwhelming finals I’ve ever read, and the creature “cures” a kid of Autism in the final chapter. No really. How this is a book series/comic series/movie is beyond me.

So atrocious I couldn’t bring myself to finish:

Warning: contains mentions of sexual themes

The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein: It claims to be pro-feminist, but the women “good guys” blatantly state they are grooming children for sexual rituals and Victor and Elizabeth are coerced into doing NSFW things by Victor’s mother in the name of “women’s rights”. Here’s the kicker: these awful actions are framed as being positive. I—a woman—loath this novel. Maybe things got better by the end (and if there was some plot twist that changed the entire setup, I apologize for ranting about nothing) but I’m not reading to that point to find out! This will forever stay both my first and last experience with erotic literature. Thank goodness The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein exists to give us a decent feminist take on Frankenstein!

#THIS TOOK OVER 5 YEARS AND I'M FINALLY DONE!#victor frankenstein #frankenstein #halloween #gothic literature #classic literature #frankenstein adaptations #frankenstien au #frankenstein memes #the casebook of victor frankenstein #the dark descent of elizabeth frankenstein #frankenstein according to spike milligan #dean koontz frankenstein #Monster neal bell #this dark endeavor #such wicked intent #pride and prometheus #charlemagne1

117 notes · View notes