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violetrose-art · 3 years

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Frankenweenie Headcannons, Theories, and Ideas

This is just a list of the theories, headcannons, and ideas I came up with for Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. I might add more later on, so watch out

-When he was six years old, Victor Frankenstein got Sparky as a small puppy from the local pet shop

-Elsa got Persephone as a gift for her seventh birthday

-Victor’s full name is Victor Charles Frankenstein

-Victor is strongly not fond of sports, especially baseball. But he does love to play fetch with Sparky and ride his bike

-Victor secretly has a crush on Elsa, but he’s too nervous to say anything. But he wouldn’t mind just being friends with her

-Even though he doesn’t get along too well with Toshiaki and Nassor very well, Victor doesn’t mind Bob (who was one of the “cool kids”) being nice to him

-Victor used to have a pen pal in London named Shamus Holmes. They wrote to each other back and forth almost every week, until Victor reached college. That was when the letters from Shamus stopped coming

-Victor isn’t allergic to anything, but he does get nauseous around peaches for some reason

-When he grows up, Victor either wants to become a scientist, a vet, or a movie director… but he can’t decide

-Victor likes to watch both horror and sci-fi films. His favorites are Karloff’s “Frankenstein”, “The Fly”, “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms”, “Behemoth the Sea Monster”, and “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers”

-The Monday after Dutch Day, Victor was told to stay after school for baseball practice, but when he hit the ball and ran around the diamond, he broke his arm and got a black eye and he was suspended from the baseball team… which he thought was the best day ever

-Victor isn’t particularly fond of his young cousin, Vincent Malloy. He’s often annoyed by Vincent's slightly obsessive mannerisms and all of his Vincent Price talk and Vincent's mother blames Victor for introducing her son to scary movies in the first place

-Victor was born on August 31st, 1957

-Elsa’s full name is Elsa Anais Van Helsing

-Victor and Elsa first met on their first day in kindergarten. They both reached out to grab the same toy, but their hands touched and their eyes met. After a tiny squabble over the toy, they started playing together and they quickly became friends

-Elsa was born on October 28th, 1957

-Elsa isn’t into sports, but she enjoys going swimming or roller skating on occasion… She also likes to watch Victor Frankenstein at baseball practice sometimes

-Elsa is highly allergic to bees and pistachios

-A year after Dutch Day, Mayor Bergermeister forced Elsa to take ballet lessons recently and she doesn’t like it

-Elsa has an interest in history and she thought about becoming a historian someday

-Elsa has a secret crush on Victor, but she’s too shy to say anything

-After the events of Dutch Day, Victor promised never to reanimate Sparky again if he died one more time. Eventually when he was in his late teen years, he let Sparky die because he and Elsa wanted Sparky and Persephone to be together in death. The two dogs were buried in the pet cemetery together (Romeo and Juliet style)

-Elsa likes to watch horror movies in secret. Her absolute favorites are “Bride of Frankenstein”, “Dracula”, and “The Phantom of the Opera”

-After Dutch Day, Victor and Elsa started to grow closer and closer, as well as their dogs Sparky and Persephone

-Despite her uncle's protests of having a dog around, he agreed to let Elsa keep Persephone. But he insists that she keep the dog away from his front lawn

-Sparky and Persephone had four puppies together. Their names are Coal, Raven, Anastasia, and Hades

-When they were in the eighth grade, Victor and Elsa had their first kiss at a Halloween dance at school. They had their second kiss after a Christmas dance recital; they were performing the Nutcracker together. They started officially dating when they were freshmen in high school

-Elsa’s favorite books are “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, “Romeo and Juliet” and other works of William Shakespeare and her favorite writers are Lewis Carroll, Harper Lee, and Shakespeare. She also enjoys Edgar Allen Poe’s works

-Elsa considers Weird Girl (aka, Mindy) a friend, but she doesn’t like it when she creepily stares at her

-Elsa had a pen pal in New York City named Kristen. They wrote to each other a few times a month, but they lost touch when they reached senior year in high school

-When Victor and Elsa grew up and got married, they had two children. Their names are Peter Timothy Frankenstein (age 12) and Moira Juliet Frankenstein (age 8)

-Weird Girl’s full name is Mindy Cecilia White

-Mindy was raised by a single mother who was a medium, as well as a psychiatrist

-Mr. Whiskers was adopted as a kitten by Mindy from a local pet store. He was the only one of the litter that wasn't adopted because of his large starring eyes

-Mindy took the same ballet classes as Elsa

-Mindy has a crush on Edgar. She secretly hoped that Mr. Whisker's would one day dream about her and Edgar

-After Mr. Whiskers’ death, Mindy fell into a deep depression. Elsa was there to comfort her in her time of need and she even helped her bury the body in the pet cemetery

-Mindy first discovered Mr. Whiskers’ ability to predict the future through cat litter one morning after changing it; it was shaped in the letter B. On that same day, a girl named Brooklyn from school got three strikes at the bowling alley

-Mindy was born on April 3rd, 1958

-Edgar’s full name is Edgar Abraham Gore

-Edgar has a crush on Mindy, but he believes she’s out of his league and was too afraid to approach her

-At one point, Edgar wanted a snake or spider for a pet, but his mother told him no. Once tried to adopt a wild raccoon, but got a scolding from her when he let it into the house

-Edgar was born on September 14th, 1958

-After Dutch Day, Edgar developed a fear of rats

-Edgar still wants to make a death ray with Victor, even though they can't actually make one

-Mindy and Edgar started dating when they were in their sophomore year

-When they got married, Mindy and Edgar had a daughter named Giselle (age 7 ¾)

-Toshiaki’s full name is Toshiaki Ito Oroku

-Toshiaki's mother and father were originally born and raised in Japan until they moved to the US a month before he was born. Being an open community towards different race groups, New Holland was the perfect location to start a family

-Toshiaki was born on May 28th, 1956

-As a reward for winning his first science fair, Toshiaki was given a pet turtle, who he named Shelly. Shelly was unfortunately passed away when he was left outside in the hot afternoon in his aquarium for too long

-Toshiaki and Victor are frenemies, mainly friends, but mostly enemies

-When Shelly died two times, Toshiaki was very upset. But luckily, he had his friends to comfort him after his second and final burial

-In school, Toshiaki met one of the new girls, a Japanese girl named Mae-Lee, and he quickly developed a crush on her

-Years later, Toshiaki and Mae-Lee got married and had two children, a daughter named Shelley Sue (age 8) and Yoshi (age 7 months)

-Nassor’s full name is Nassor Hannibal Karloff

-In school, Nassor stood out from the other children due to his height and cynical macabre personality. The only thing that made him happy as a child was his pet hamster, Colossus. One day Colossus went missing and Nassor was frantic with worry. About five days later, Colossus was found trapped inside the wall and he had starved to death, leaving Nassor heartbroken

-Nassor has an interest in Ancient Egyptian culture around pharaohs and the afterlife. It was his idea as tribute to Colossus would be mummified and placed in a large tomb

-After Dutch Day, Nassor was found wrapped up and he was untied by the others. While he holds no grudges against Toshiaki, he doesn't exactly forgive him for causing Colossus's second death

-Nassor was born on February 24th, 1956

-After Dutch Day, Nassor met one of the new girls, a young lady named Hillary, and he was instantly infatuated with her

-When Nassor and Hillary grew up, they got married and had a son named Darwin (age 12)

-Bob’s full name is Bob Adam Hill

-Bob’s dad passed when he was rather young, making his mother, Mrs. Hill, extremely protective of him, and he finds it super embarrassing

-Bob hates it when people talk about his weight. When he fell down a manhole by accident, he got stuck and had to have a crane to pull him back out

-Bob was born on July 6th, 1957

-In school, Bob had a crush on a girl named Jenny

-Bob first met Toshiaki shortly after Shelly's death. Despite Toshiaki's cold behavior towards him at first, they became good friends

-Bob has an interest in marine life and he has a fish tank full of different kind of fish up in his room

-When he grew up, he and Jenny got married and had a son named Carl (age 12)

-Mr. Frankenstein’s full name is Edward Steven Frankenstein

-Edward was an avid lover of sports, especially baseball. He played as a star athlete in high school, where he first met Susan who was cheering with the other cheerleaders

-Edward has a bit of hard time understanding his son, Victor, but still supports him nonetheless

-Edward likes to role play with his wife Susan that he's a travelling salesman when her "husband" isn't around the house

-Edward often gets people who ask him about his last name Frankenstein. An old family rumor was that he was a direct descendant of the original presumed fictional scientist, Dr. Frankenstein

-Edward tries to get along with his next door neighbor, Mayor Bergermeister

-Mrs. Frankenstein’s full name is Susan Delia Woods Frankenstein

-Susan and Edward Frankenstein first met in back high school; he was a star athlete while she was the head cheerleader. A few years after graduation, they got married and she gave birth to Victor at age 31

-Susan has two sisters, Lillian and Francine. Francine is the eldest, Susan is the middle child, and Lillian is the youngest. Lillian is Vincent Malloy’s mother

-Susan isn't as social with the other mothers/housewives with their gossiping. She prefers the company with her family instead. She is friends with Mrs. Van Helsing, though

-Susan had a pet calico cat when she was younger named Lacey. But poor Lacey died when she was around Victor's age, so she knows what her son was going through

-Mayor Bergermeister’s full name is Robert “Bob” Clarence Bergermeister

-The Bergermeister family has been mayors of New Holland for generations. They were known for their strict laws, rules, and leadership towards its citizens

-Bergermeister has a very low tolerance towards animals, especially dogs… probably because he never had any pets growing up

-Elsa’s father’s full name is Jonathon Gabriel Van Helsing

-Elsa’s mother’s full name is Lydia Hermione Bergermeister Van Helsing

-Mr. and Mrs. Van Helsing are philosophers, hence why they tend to be away a lot. They travel to countries mostly in Europe, like Romania and the Netherlands. They sometimes take Elsa with them when they have to go out of the town, state, or even country. But most often, she stays behind because of school and just wants to be at home and spend time with Victor

-Mayor Bergermeister is in fact the older brother of Lydia by four years. Like most siblings, they do love each other but sometimes can’t stand each other

-Lydia is one of the few people and things that actually scares Mr. Bergermeister, despite the fact that that she’s his little sister. She doesn’t take nonsense from him or anyone else and she’s not afraid to stand up to him. When she’s done, he usually replies weakly “yes, sis” or “yes, little sis”

-Jonathon grew up in Romania for most of his childhood, but when he lost his parents, he immigrated to the United States to make a better life for himself. He met Lydia when he was about to start high school

-Bergermeister loves gardening, especially his first prize flowers. He absolutely hates it when the neighbor's dog lays his "business" all over the lawn

-Bergermeister cares deeply for his niece and younger sister… but he isn't very fond of her husband, Jonathon

-At first, Bergermeister greatly disliked the idea of Elsa and Victor being together, but he eventually grew to respect him

-Bergermeister used to be married; he and his wife even had a son named Bernard. But the couple had a huge fight and they filed for a divorce. When the divorce was finalized, his ex left New Holland and she took Bernard with him

-Bernard Bergermeister was never close with his cousin, Elsa. In fact, Elsa often found Bernard to be quite repulsive

-When Bernard grew up, he met a wealthy young woman named Lucille and they had a son named Bruce (age 13)

-Mr. Rzykruski’s full name is Ivan Darius Rzykruski

-Ivan was born in a small Eastern European village. He grew up influenced around various scientists in the community. Both of his parents were scientists in different fields of expertise and would encourage him to pursue his dreams

-By the time Ivan was 18 years old, he immigrated to the United States and eventually landed a job as a university professor teaching quantum mechanics. He met with various famous scientists in his career

-Ivan tends to be a bit dramatic in his teachings. He briefly took acting classes in his youth, but he wanted to focus more on being a scientist

-During one of his science lectures, Ivan met a woman by the name of Vanessa. They quickly fell in love, got married, and had a son named Dirk. Unfortunately when Dirk was about 9 years old, Vanessa passed away because of cancer. Ivan was heartbroken and he and Dirk missed her terribly. When Dirk was 10, Ivan sent his son to a private boarding school in another part of the state. But when the boy turned 14, he went back to public school

-Dirk grew up and met a woman named Clarice. They got married and had a daughter named Ingrid (age 13). But Clarice died of a terrible sickness when Ingrid was about 3 or 4, then Dirk died in a car crash when Ingrid was about 7. That was when Mr. Rzykruski took his granddaughter in and raised her as his own

-The gym teacher’s full name is Coach Darla Gladys Barnes

-Bob’s mom’s full name is Barbara Deborah Ferguson Hill

-Vincent Malloy’s full name is Vincent Sebastian Malloy

-When Vincent grew up, he met a woman named Marilynn, they got married and had a daughter named Winona (age 7). But Marilynn got into a bad car accident and passed away, leaving Vincent to raise his daughter on his own

-The invisible fish Victor reanimated didn't die. In fact, the fish used its invisibility powers to slip out of the glass jar Edgar was keeping it in and disappeared into the sewer, rumored to still be there

-The reason that New Holland has so many lightning storms is part of an old town legend. Centuries ago when the first settlers built New Holland, there was a young witch by the name of Loretta Thistletwing and while she was a good witch, she kept her true nature a secret from the superstitious townsfolk. Unfortunately, one fateful night, Loretta accidentally caused her powers to be revealed and the townsfolk formed an angry mob to have her killed. However, her beloved familiar black cat, Midnight, heard of the danger and tried to defend his mistress, only to get killed in the process. Outraged by the loss of her beloved pet, Loretta unleashed a curse upon the town right before they burned her at the stake, saying that the town would be cursed with perpetual thunderstorms and any lightning that hit a deceased pet would bring it back to life, unleashing its fury upon the town. This is why the lightning brings dead pets back. But Sparky is the only good one to be reanimated because Victor loved him so much

-Susan and her two sisters are the three granddaughters of Victor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot. Susan’s son and only child, Victor, was named after his great-grandfather who passed away before his birth

-In the past, New Holland had experienced horrible monster attacks and many of them were based on famous movie monsters. There was a mutated bulldog made out of slime (based on the Blob), a half lizard/fly (based on the Fly), a gigantic pet capuchin monkey (based on King Kong), and even a phantom like cat (based on the Phantom of the Opera). Of course, the current townsfolk never believed these supposed stories until the Dutch Day incident

-Legend has it that the curse Loretta put on the town could only be broken when a pet that had been deeply loved by its owner was brought back peaceful and the townsfolk came together to save it should it die again. This ultimately ended up happening by the end of the movie and the curse was unwittingly broken

This is all I've got so far, but feel free to tell me what you think and tell me which one is your favorite

#frankenweenie #Tim Burton

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jmroscoe · 4 years

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Halloween Review #4 — Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

It’s not hard to see why Brian Yuzma was chosen to direct Bride of Re-Animator, the sequel to Re-Animator, Stuart Gordon’s absurdly gory adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s story about a mad scientist obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. Just four years after Re-Animator premiered in 1985, Yuzma directed Society, a movie about a teenage boy who discovers the social elite are all part of a gruesome cult, and it was even grosser and scarier than Re-Animator was.

But Yuzma’s Bride of Re-Animator is not as gross or scary or clear in its messages as Yuzma’s Society or Gordon’s Re-Animator. It’s more a screwball comedy with a horror backdrop than a proper horror movie. Bride of Re-Animator is closer to Scooby-Doo or Young Frankenstein than it is to Re-Animator.

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Is that a problem? No, of course not. There’s a very fine line between being horror and humor. Yuzma has a good grasp on the distinction and delivers an enjoyable hour-and-a-half movie that doesn’t drag on too much.

Its cast of characters includes a cartoonishly evil Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) who is more obsessed with reanimation than ever, a Dr. Graves (Mel Stewart) who displays more emotion when a disembodied head insults his thesis than when it comes back to life and a fat, wife-beating, bumbling police officer who misses the obvious clues all around him.

Dr. West reanimates a body only to immediately shoot it in the head with a gun, killing it again. West steals a dead body from the hospital by putting dark sunglasses on it and wheeling it out while propping its head up with his hand, a clear riff on Weekend at Bernie’s (which came out the same year as Society). All while a playful, silly score by Richard Band plays in the background.

Yes, there’s gore. But nothing on the scale of Re-Animator or Society. There are some morals you can glean from the movie — living things are more than the sum of their parts, it’s unhealthy to never let your mistakes go, giving birth can be a traumatic experience — but none that aren’t explored better in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which the movie obviously borrowed a great deal from.

Perhaps Yuzma, in taking apart an H. P. Lovecraft story and a Stuart Gordon film then re-assembling it into something unlike its parents, is telling us about originality of ideas or death of the author?

No, I genuinely think he just wants to make us watch a bunch of gross-out gags and say, “Oh man, that was so gross, haha.” It rules.

#bride of reanimator #reanimator #brian yuzma #movie review #movie #film #review #horror #scary #scary movie #horror movies #blog #criticism #stuart gordon #gore #gross #hp lovecraft #society

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bridesofhorror · 3 years

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Verses

Verona Verses:

She Rises from the Ashes - AU: Verona is severely wounded and on the brink of death from the stakes and explosion trying to save the Monster; however, she manages to survive. Weak from her wounds, she stays hidden until she has fully healed and returns to her husband and Aleera at their lair.

B.D. (Before Dracula) - Past Verse: This verse takes place while Verona is still human and hasn’t met Dracula.

A.D. (After Dracula) - Past Verse: This verse follows Verona and Dracula meeting for the first time.

The First Bride - Past Verse: This verse follows Verona as a new vampire and the only bride of Dracula before Marishka and Aleera are added.

Main Verse: Follows the events before the present plot of the Van Helsing movie.

Main Movie Verse: Follows the present plot of the Van Helsing movie.

Eva Verses:

Main Verse 1: Follows the ending I developed with the Bride searching for the Monster after she murders Frankenstein and inherits his wealth and assets.

Main Verse 2: Follows the plot of the film as The Bride learns about the world with Dr. Frankenstein as her guardian.

The Monster and His Mate - AU: Follows the ending of the film with Victor saving Eva and the two traveling the world together.

Children of Frankenstein - AU: The Bride and the Monster are “raised”/mentored by Frankenstein together.

The Modern Prometheus - AU: A verse to be developed more in line with Shelley’s novel (with the Bride bringing brought to life fully).

We Belong (Un)Dead - AU: A verse to be developed more in line with the 1935 film with the Bride surviving the explosion.

Van Helsing (2004) - AU: The Bride was actually the first monster that Dr. Frankenstein reanimated; however, she escaped days after her birth and ventured into the world alone. Upon hearing the death of Frankenstein and his new monster, she returned back to Castle Frankenstein with hopes the rumors that the monster was still alive. Unlike the Monster, she is unaware Dracula funded the Doctor’s experiments to use her (and the monster) as a means to raise his undead children.

Katherine “Kay” Caldwell Verses:

We are Undead, Immortal - Main/AU: Frank doesn’t actually kill Kay in her sleep and she catches him right before he tries to set her on fire. She kills him in retaliation and eventually leaves her home to travel…and escape from further suspicion and harm.

Delving into Darkness - Past Verse: This verse takes place during Kay’s time in Transylvania where she first meets Alucard.

Main Movie Verse: Follows ‘Son of Dracula’ after Kay turned into a vampire.

#verses #the monster demands a queue #(not me realizing I wrote these up before I officially started my blog and didn't post them)#(to be editted)

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krispydefendorpolice · 4 years

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Demon’s Bride Drabble

The Miraculous Awaken - Part 1

So, if anyone’s following my MLB posts it may be apparent I’m kinda salty on Cannon Adrien and his propensity for sexually harassing Ladybug. (Yeah I know I’m not at all subtle about it). Well I’m not gonna pull a Astruc and right the poor kid off. My Badass Assassin Marinette would put that Alley cat in his place right away. So Main story is gonna be kinda screwy for now, since in Chapter 1 I introduce alley cat Adrien but I have a reason. (Yes the reason is it was gonna be a heavy salt fic but there’s another reason I’m not changing it.) Today we get some backstory...

Next Drabble Masterpost

Vocabulary list

Piáo chóng -lady bug

Bào -panther

Fangshi- specialists which include necromancers

Jiangshi- type of reanimated corpse

Dao- curved single edge sword in china

__________________________

Ladybug stood high above the enemy forces against him. The Fangshi called out, “Piáo chóng, surrender the power of creation. For you are no match against my Jiangshi.”

“I will not give in to you Fangshi. Bào and I will stop you,” Ladybug answered.

With the final rejections the Fangshi sent his Jiangshi warriors to attack Piáo chóng and Bào. They stood back to back and fought down wave after wave of Jiangshi. They were holding strong until Bào was too slow to defend against the blade of one Jiangshi. He fell and Piáo chóng turned to defend his fallen comrade but he too, was cut down by the Jiangshi behind him.

Piáo chóng stared at his beloved Bào on the ground near him. He reached out but before he could hold his cats hand the Fangshi stepped between them.

Kneeling next to Piáo chóng the Fangshi looked at him curiously as he bled out. “Poor Piáo chóng,” he said, “you and your little Bào could have survived this if you had only given me your miraculous.”

Piáo chóng did not answer. His grip tightened on his dao preparing to strike back...

The sudden slamming of the bedroom door had all five children scream in fright.

“What is this? Why are you all still up?” Sabine Cheng asked of her students.

“Sorry Maman, I was telling them the story of Piáo chóng and Bào facing down the Fangshi of Sichuan,” Marinette said as she and the others climbed back into their beds.

Sabine walked to each bed and tucked the child in. “Such a story at this time of night? No wonder you screamed,” she shook her head as she ended up at Marinettes bedside. “Why you have such a fascination with that story of all the legends of the Miraculous I will never know.”

“It’s because Piáo chóng and Bào are facing the enemy together and even until the last breath they fight together,” Marinette cried standing on the bed and jumping. “Not even the Fangshi could stand against the power of Piáo chóng and Bào when they are together. They use the last of the Miraculous power and tear the souls of the foul Fangshi from his body and send him to meet Yama.”

“Yes, yes,” Sabine agreed with a smile as she watched her small daughter bounce on the bed, “and we can share that story just as easy during the day, my miracle, tonight you and the others need rest. We train at dawn as always and I will not have sleepy Jiangshi in my class.” Marinette fell to the bed in a fit of giggles as her mother tickled the girl.

“Maman, will Piáo chóng and Bào return someday?” Marinette asked as she was tucked under the covers again.

“Perhaps someday they will,” Sabine answered, “perhaps someday all the Kwamii will return as we have so many of their blood children here in Tiān. But that is a thought for another day. Right now you must all sleep. Good night my little Miracles.”

“Good night, Maman,” Marinette said.

“Good night,” Luka, Juleka, Kagami, and Damian said together.

It was quiet as Sabine closed the door and for the first few minutes as they waited to be sure she had really left them alone.

“Do you really think we could be wielders, Marinette?” Juleka asked.

“Why not? We are all descended from the Wielders of the past,” Marinette answered.

“You may all be but there is no way either Mother or Grandfather are descended from wielders,” Damian argued.

“Oh hush, Dami, if any of us are going to be wielders you certainly will be. After all not every wielder was a descendant in the past. The blood-lines had to start somewhere after all.”

“Maybe,” he conceded reluctantly. “If you were going to be a wielder who would it be?”

“I would be Piáo chóng defender of life and Creation,” Marinette said with absolute certainty.

“Even after what happened with Grandfather,” Damian turned to look towards Marinette in the dark.

“Especially after that,” she said flatly.

“I think I’d want to be the dragon,” Kagami said to interrupt the silence following Marinette’s statement.

“Juleka and I are descended from the last know snake holder so I guess one of us would get that one,” Luka said.

“You would Luka,” Juleka said, “I think I would get either the mouse or the fox.”

“What about you Dami?” Marinette asked when he didn’t speak up.

“I don’t think I would get one.”

“Fine, but if you did which one would you want?” Damian ignored the rustling as Marinette turned over in her bed to look at him.

“I think I would want any miraculous that would let me take all of us and the moms and Papa Dupain and my brother far, far away from here and from Grandfather.” Damian finally said.

“That sounds like the horse Miraculous and it’s power Voyage,” Marinette hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah that would be a good one too.”

Damian stared at the moonlight streaming over the floor as the others slowly drifted into sleep. He would like the horse to get everyone away but that wasn’t the one he wanted. He wanted the black cat, he wanted to be the Bào to Marinette’s Piáo chóng. But he knew it wasn’t going to happen. While the others had families with ties to Tiān and the Miraculous wielders of the past, he and his family were invaders. There was no way he would be trusted with a Miraculous after the deaths his family caused.

Damian fell into a fitful sleep thinking about what would be and what might have been. His last thoughts were for the Piáo chóng and Bào in Marinette’s story, who had defeated the Fangshi at the cost of their most beloved person. I won’t let that happen to the others, he thought as he finally fell into slumber, I refuse to let it happen.

________________________

So Thoughts on this first story? Yes, Luka, Juleka, and Kagami were raised with Marinette and Damian in the League. They were in fact tapped as exceptionally talented or had great potential by Sabine and she took them as her personal students, hence the kids sleeping in the same room as Marinette. That and I headcannons that the league would raise the kids in small groups like mini-soldiers. Yes, they are assholes.

I mentioned blood children of the Kwamii above. It’s my personal headcannon for this story that every person has a potential personality leaning towards one Kwamii or another, but certain wielders were so seeped in the magic of the miraculous that it affected their children too, making them more likely to wield the miraculous next and so on with each generation building upon the power of the past. This pattern continues until you end up with True wielders (I’ll get more into that in the next chapter 😈) who are the children of many generations of wielders and possess a bit of the Kwamii magic at birth. I hope you enjoyed this history from Demon’s Bride.

Taglist:

@ozmav @mindfulmagics @multifandomscribette @mochinek0 @inevitableenquere @zebrabaker @persephonebutkore @tog84 @luciferge @sonif50 @ravennightingaleandavatempus @northernbluetongue @actual-human-disaster @clumsy-owl-4178 @aarushi-03 @bluerosette23 @g-arya @moonyloonyx @fertileleaf @shreky-boi @thanks-captain-obvious @panda3506 @hinata3487 @thequestionablyhuman @dontgiveaflyinflip @dast218 @chocolatecatstheron @asianfrustration13 @slytherinsheashire @weird-pale-blonde-person @yin-390 @mycupisbroken @vixen-uchiha @kuroko26 @autisticlinx @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @mariae2900 @zalladane @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @tbehartoo @novicevoice @violatiger8 @thebookish3lf @fandomkitty8 @redscarlet95 @gingersnapnoir @chewbaccaatemythoughts @thepeacetea @megawhitleycalderonpaganus @winter-gardenflower @schrodingers25 @littleredrobinhoodlum

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unseenphil · 5 years

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No one asked you, brain.

What I didn’t need this morning: My brain going,

“Hey, remember how the old WOD called itself Gothic-punk? What if that were Gothicpunk, and assumed a combination of high tech and low life but with the trappings of gothic horror fiction and punk ideology.

And I was like “Oh yeah, smart guy? What’s Gothic high tech?”

“Draculas and Frankensteins, obviously.”

“Fuck.”

So yeah. In the year 20XX global climate change and (vampires who can literally control the weather) have led to a drastic increase in windswept moors and perpetually overcast skies. The rich live nearly forever thanks to advanced organ replacement techniques (pioneered with the creation of Adams and Liliths, artificial people sewn together from corpse parts,) or by just being literal parasites and buying their way in to aristocratic vampire clans. The working class isn’t just exploited for their labor, but for their blood and bone. All the buildings have extra gargoyles, and for some reason the moon is almost always full

You’re the folks who fell through the cracks. Maybe your spouse had you declared invalid and locked you in an attic so they could pretend everything was normal to a new, younger bride or you were separated at birth from your better looking twin, only judged fit for organ harvesting. Or you could be an artificial person sewn together from parts of several people who agitates for the rights of the reanimated.

Maybe you were chosen to be a vampire’s lover and fled before they could turn you. Maybe you’re a former resurrectionist, the men and women who harvest corpse parts for the Frankensteiners, only you finally rebelled when your own organs came due. Or maybe you’re a galvanist who wants to apply the science of electricity to something -besides- animating the dead.

(Hacking in this setting probably involves brains in jars working in parallel and a degree of actual alchemy to adjust the chemical solution they’re living in.)

Anyway, I figured I’d get this all written down and hope it goes away.

It probably won’t though.

#I didn't really need this idea #I have too many

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xmxisxforxmaybe · 5 years

Text

Remnants, Part VIII

Hang in there, friends. It’s not over yet! If you’ve got questions, shoot me an ask and I’ll answer if it won’t spoil the plot : )

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII

Summary: You are in the midst of formulating your dissertation, but you’ve hit a wall. Your doting aunt, Rebecca, has a solution that brings you face to face with Ahkmenrah, Fourth King of the Fourth King. As the connection between you and Ahkmenrah grows, and as the secrets of his ancient tablet unlock, the once-king will find himself faced with a difficult choice.

Thanks so much to @kitkatcronch @kpopperotp12 @seafrost-fangirl @sassystrawberryk @perfect-rami @txmel and @limabein for reading : ) If anyone else wants added to the taglist, let me know. I’ve greatly appreciated the feedback!

Warnings: Character death (sort-of, of course) but it is somewhat graphic.

Your hasty exit did not go unnoticed.

“Oh, Y/N. What happened with Ahkmenrah?” your aunt asked as she sat next to you on the stairs, her voice filled with concern.

You swiped at your cheeks and your nose in an attempt to pull yourself together before you looked at Rebecca. You felt ashamed for leaving her out of all of this and ashamed for crying on the steps of the American Natural History Museum in New York City.

“I don’t even know where to start,” you said in a hushed, miserable voice.

Rebecca’s phone lit up and she glanced down.

“Larry’s with Ahk. He figured, when he saw you run out, he should go check on him.”

“Good. That’s good,” you mumbled, trying to swallow the next wave of tears.

“I feel so horrible, Y/N. This is all my fault!”

“What?” you asked, dumbfounded.

“I knew the two of you were close, but I thought it was a good thing. Ahkmenrah isn’t just a wax figure—he’s human. He needed,” Rebecca paused, narrowing her eyes and pursuing her lips as she thought of how to articulate herself. “He needed a purpose. And when Ahk started working on deciphering his tablet, I figured that you helped give him that purpose, just by being his friend, someone he could relate to.”

“You couldn’t have known, Aunt Becca.”

“But I should have. I mean, look at him. Listen to him. He’s the embodiment of everything you’ve ever loved,” Rebecca explained. “It’s no wonder the two of you fell for each other. I essentially set the stage for a low-budget, kinda weird Rom-Com.”

You huffed, a tiny ghost of a laugh, as Rebecca ran her hand through her hair, clearly feeling guilty.

“You have nothing to feel guilty about. Ahkmenrah and I both knew what we were doing. We talked about it. We ignored logic and embraced the chaotic unknown. I’d say it works out for the characters in about 80% of those Rom-Coms, right?”

“I don’t know if I’ve seen one with this level of a twist in the plot, though.”

“Mmm, maybe a new plot for a Twilight reboot? Forbidden, half-alive boyfriend, stupid girl who makes stupid decisions and feels like death when boyfriend breaks up with her—well, hell. I guess it already is Twilight.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re pregnant,” Rebecca said, joking, but seriousness did hang on the edge of her tone.

“I’m not that stupid. I hold birth control as a central part of my belief system.”

“I would hope so, PhD candidate,” Rebecca said, scooting close to you and wrapping her arm around your waist.

You laid your head on her shoulder, her company helping you to feel composed enough to at least get yourself back to your apartment.

“So, what did Ahk say tonight?”

You took a deep breath and summed up what had happened during and after Ryan’s unexpected visit.

Rebecca was quiet for a while; you didn’t need to her to say it because you already knew.

“He’s right,” you said.

“He is right about one thing,” Rebecca began. “You can move forward. You can, eventually, forget about him and live the life of your choosing.”

“But I don’t want to,” you said, feeling hopeless.

“Only time can fix that, sweetheart,” Rebecca replied with a sigh as she kissed the top of your head.

“Did Larry say anything else?”

Rebecca picked up her phone, but there were no new messages.

“Ahkmenrah and I have something that we were working on and need to finish, so I’ll be back tomorrow night. I hope,” you stopped, not wanting to divulge what you considered to be Ahk’s secret about the tablet. “I hope it will bring us back to where we were; I can bury my feelings. I can be just his friend. Friends do love each other, after all . . .”

You trailed off as your eyes searched your Aunt’s, desperately hoping to see the spark of agreeance within them. Instead, all you saw was sadness, maybe even pity.

You stood up, fixing your clothes and adjusting your purse.

“Let me take you home,” Rebecca said.

You shook your head.

“I need to walk. Need to clear my mind. I’ll be fine—you know everywhere between here and the village is safe.”

Rebecca sighed, “Stay alert. Don’t get lost in your head, and text me when you get inside your apartment.”

You hugged Rebecca and she squeezed you back, reluctant to let you go.

“Thank you, Aunt Rebecca. For everything.”

Rebecca gave you a loving smile and watched as you crossed the street to enter the subway. When you glanced back up, she gave you a wave before she turned and headed back into the museum.

* * * * *

Maybe you were delusional, but you really thought when you and Ahk returned to see his death that he would change his mind—after all, this was the kind of experience that could really bring two people together, the kind of experience that could really make someone realize just how important it is to choose happiness over everything else. At least you thought so, given there really was no precedent for hopping through a doorway into a 4,000-year-old reanimated pharaoh’s memories.

Once you latched the deadbolt, you sent Rebecca a quick text. She responded immediately, stating that she was happy you were home safe. You thought about asking her how Ahk was, but as you looked around your apartment, the memory from the night you brought him here assaulted you.

You saw him, standing in your living room, dripping and shivering.

You saw the heat in his eyes as you touched him, and you reached up to touch your lips as you remembered the passion of your first, real kiss.

When you walked into your bedroom to change into an oversized t-shirt, you gazed out of the window, watching the flickering lights of the city, listening to the noise of the streets that siphoned into your room, filtered and muffled through the glass.

When you climbed into bed, you could almost feel Ahkmenrah’s body on top of yours, almost see the intensity he delivered with his eyes as he slid into your body. Everything, well, almost everything about that night had been perfect, and you thought that it was that night, there in the underground café when Ahk had kissed you because you promised to teach him to read, it was then that you fell in love with him.

The tears came slowly this time, sliding stealthily out of the corners of your eyes as you continued to watch the reflection of lights glittering in the window panes.

The only thing keeping you from sinking into an actual pit of despair was that you were going to see him again. Ahkmenrah was trusting you with his one last secret, and you were going to prove your love by being selfless, by providing him with support as a friend. He would see, afterward, how much he meant to you, that you really would do anything he asked of you.

* * * * *

Ahk is dressed in his full wardrobe, his golden breast plate that he rarely wore was glittering in the soft lights of his exhibit, and his face was nearly unreadable; the only emotion that seemed to be swirling beneath his regal expression was apprehension.

For the first time, Ahkmenrah did not greet you with a smile, and you felt a little piece of your heart break. But being in denial had its perks; you told yourself it was simply because he was about to witness his own death. Anyone would be stingy with their smiles in a circumstance like that.

“Are you ready?” Ahkmenrah asked solemnly.

“Yes. Are you?”

Ahkmenrah gave a firm nod. He removed his tablet from the wall and rearranged the hieroglyphs. Ahkmenrah spoke, the door opened, and the two of you walked in, knowing death was waiting on the other side.

* * * * *

Of course Kahmunrah chose to murder his brother during the Festival of Min, one of the Egyptians most robust celebrations to praise the god for his fertile blessings that allowed their crops to have flourished. The swath of grain that Ahkmenrah, as pharaoh, had cut to start the celebration is laid on top of a small pedestal in the center of his table. Everyone is giddy, feeling secure in the future of their great nation and in their young, virile king.

Kahmunrah sits to Ahkmenrah’s right, clearly secure in his position as not only prince, but as the vizier to his little brother.

You turn to Ahk and question why Kahmunrah held such a high position.

“Despite his shortcomings, he was my brother. I trusted him. I loved him. And at no time during my reign did I ever feel threatened by him. He made the perfect royal advisor; we disagreed, at times, about foreigners and war, but he always acquiesced to my decisions. I appreciated his passion for our land. He hid his—”

“He hid his crazy really fucking well,” you interrupted.

“Yes. He truly did. And I only know that now after revisiting so many of my memories and entering his thoughts. Something inside of him snapped the day my father made me king.”

You return your eyes to the celebration.

By this time, Ahk’s marriage to Sitmut is arranged. It is strange to watch Ahk with his future bride; when they greet one another, he cups her face and looks at her lovingly before kissing her forehead. The love that flows between them is palpable, but it feels familial. No wonder the pharaohs kept harems or elected to have a secondary wife; as important as the propagation of the family line was, incest merely served as a means to an end.

As you watch the festivities, you can see memory-Ahk, flirting with pretty girls, drinking, laughing, and it is clear he is at the very height of his power. Sitmut stays amongst her female companions, and you can’t help but notice she pays a lot of attention to one very beautiful girl. As they sit, drinking wine and eating sweets, their thighs press together on the stairs, while their glances linger just a little too long.

Your heart aches for Sitmut, trapped into a marriage and a false lifestyle, all in the name of duty.

Ahkmenrah’s memory becomes a little hazy as he consumes more and more wine, but the celebration shows no sign of ending. In fact, while Ahk’s vision blurs, his hearing amplifies, the music and carousing grow into a crescendo that blocks out almost any other sound.

And this is when you see Kahmunrah conferring with four, very large, very muscular priests behind the feasting table, their little party just hidden in the shadows of a large column.

Ahkmenrah’s parents are lying, lazily together on a set of stairs, alternating between watching the party and exchanging soft kisses. They are completely enveloped in a shroud of bliss, their sense of security evidenced by the fact that not many guards are stationed throughout the celebration.

A young man covered in enough jewels to denote his importance approaches King Ahkmenrah. He leans in, intently conveying a message.

Ahk’s brow furrows and without hesitation, he exits the room while the young man goes back to the party, quickly getting lost in the mass of people drinking, dancing, and laughing.

Ahkmenrah’s guards, six of them in total, follow the young king.

Kahmunrah’s priests slink out of the shadows and head in the same direction.

A low grown of terror escapes your throat, making the impending horror of what happens next all the more real.

You and the real Ahkmenrah rush after the priests, running to catch up with them. You can’t hear anything other than the din of the party, and Ahk’s head swivels from left to right as he strains to listen, his brows furrowed as he strains to remember.

And then you hear it. The sound of something gurgling, the sound of a body falling, followed by another thump and another and another.

“This way!” you say quickly as you take off into the hall on the right.

The hall ends in a garden similar to the one that Ahkmenrah had shown you on your first visit to his memory. Even though it is night, the courtyard is well lit, torches blazing along the interior walls and atop lamps that line the garden’s many pathways.

As you get nearer, you slip, Ahkmenrah catching you before you fall onto a stone that is covered in thick puddles of blood.

You gasp and raise your hands to your mouth in horror. All of Ahkmenrah’s guards are slain, their throats slit so wide that the blood was forming little rivers in the cracks of the stones.

The priests must have been practiced in the art of killing silently and quickly because it is clear they took out Ahk’s guards, two by two, until the final two turned to see why there were no footsteps behind them.

Kahmunrah chose his assassins well.

By the time you reach the center of the garden, the four priests, covered in blood have memory-Ahkmenrah, facedown. They hold him in place by kneeling on his wrists and ankles, and one priest reaches over to shove Ahk’s face into the sandy dirt of the garden while the other three work to strip him of all signs of royalty: his crown, his collar, his belt, and even his shoes, leaving him only in his short, thin, linen skirt.

Ahk’s teeth are bared, the veins along his neck and in his arms bulge with his efforts to escape.

Sliding between you and the real Ahkmenrah, Kahmun enters the garden. As he speaks, Ahk begins translating, causing you to jump because you had been so intently watching the scene in front of you.

“Little brother.”

Memory-Ahk freezes as he hears Kahmunrah’s voice.

“Kah! Help me!”

“Turn him over,” Kahmun commands in a cold voice.

The priests quickly flip Ahk, settling again on his wrists and his ankles. Now you can see his dirt-smeared face as it thrashes from side to side, his eyes wide and panicked, and his hands and feet purpling from the pressure of the priests holding him in place.

In that moment, it occurs to you how like Jesus Ahkmenrah looks, his feet and wrists pinned, his forehead bleeding, either from rocks in the dirt or from the ferocity with which his crown was removed. His dark skin and his curls are covered in dirt and sand, and Ahk’s skin is smeared in patches from the blood that transferred from the priests’ murderous hands.

“Kahmunrah, please,” Ahk says slowly as he sees the now unhidden crazed look in his older brother’s eyes.

Kahmunrah says nothing and only watches his baby brother struggle against the muscular priests, their muscles flexing as they increase their hold on the young king.

“Why?” Ahkmenrah whispers, as the reality of what’s to happen sinks in. “I gave you everything.”

��Kah barks out a laugh, a high-pitched, terrible noise that hangs on the edges of the night, echoing in your ears.

“Gave? GAVE?! You STOLE what was mine! Our foolish parents who favored you, loved their precious baby Ahkmenrah more than Egypt itself, made a grave, grave error. But, no worries. They will pay for that error tonight, as well. But know that you die first, little brother, so I can show them your body. So I can listen to the sound of mother’s heart breaking. So I can watch the light, the joy finally go out of father’s eyes.”

Despite Ahkmenrah’s best attempt to remain composed in the face of death, his eyes fill with tears as Kahmunrah describes his planned horrors.

“Just kill me, Kah. Let Apep claim me but please do not hurt our parents.”

“Things will go according to my plans now, Ahkmen. You’ll die, here, in the dirt, like the worthless, second son you SHOULD have been.”

Kah drops down and settles across Ahk’s hips. He counts up Ahkmenrah’s ribs, looking for a particular spot.

Without another word, Kahmun sinks the knife into Ahkmenrah’s heart and twists his wrist, ensuring his brother’s death. Kahmunrah pulls the knife out, stands, and puts it back in his belt, not even bothering to wipe his brother’s blood from the blade.

Ahkmenrah, Fourth King of the Fourth King, dies like he ruled, a good king who cared more about others than himself. Instead of begging for his own life to be spared, he pleaded for the lives of the people he loved the most.

Memory-Ahk gasps as the knife is pulled from his heart, his eyes bulging as his body dies. The priests stand, and Ahkmenrah’s limbs only twitch in the dirt as the blood escapes out of his chest. He quickly loses consciousness and his eyes lose their light as his last breath struggles out of him, the blood from his heart soaking into the dirt beneath him.

You know, that for the rest of your life, you will never forget the image of life leaving Ahkmenrah’s eyes.

At the instant the blade sinks into memory-Ahkmenrah’s chest, real Ahk’s hand flies to his heart and his knees buckle. You reach out, catching him and guiding him to his knees as he watches the blood flow out of the gaping hole in his memory’s chest.

And as the blood ebbs into the dirt, the memory itself begins to fade, greying around the edges and the commands of Kahmunrah are silent, even though you can see his lips moving. Ahkmenrah is frozen on his knees, his eyes trained on his lifeless body.

“Ahk! We have to go!”

He doesn’t respond.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, you mutter under your breath as the scene continues to darken; the memory is now like a tunnel and only Ahkmenrah’s lifeless body serves as the single pinpoint of light left. The darkness is coming and coming fast.

You yank the tablet out of your backpack and hope to the gods that it will listen to you.

You scramble the tiles into the same order as the ones that are marked “Return” in Ahk’s notebook, and you speak the words you had heard Ahk speak to end your other adventures within his memory.

Sure enough, the door appears.

You grab Ahkmenrah under his arms and haul him toward the door.

He shakes you off, his movements damn near feral.

“No! My parents! I have to save them! I have to warn them! I can change it—I know I can!” Ahk says, pulling at the sides of his cape and twisting his hands, panicking.

“Ahk, it’s done and you can’t change the past because this is your memory. They’re gone, and we have to go, now!”

“No,” he says, looking wildly about at the increasing darkness. “No, no, no, no,” he chants, hysterically in ancient Egyptian.

You eye him carefully and know you only have one shot. You position yourself between him and the door, and in a swift movement, you pivot to the other side of Ahk and push him as hard as you can, jumping after him as the door begins to recede.

* * * * *

You both landed in a sprawling heap on the museum floor. Ahkmenrah’s crown skittered across the stone, his Wesekh’s clasp shattered and beads pooled under him. He’d also lost his sandals and they were nowhere to be seen. You must have tackled him right the fuck out of his shoes.

You were breathing heavily, and the remnants of tears glistened on your face. Ahk’s eyes connected with yours as he began to gasp for breath, his lungs clutching for air.

You scrambled over to him, grasping his shoulders and sitting him upright. You reached to unhook the pins that held his armor in place, pulling it off of him, letting it clang to the floor.

“Come on, Ahk, just breath, in through your nose, out through your mouth, in through your nose, out through your mouth. Concentrate on my words, come on. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

You repeated the mantra until Ahk was breathing normally enough. He reached up and held his hand over his heart, and you followed, threading your fingers with his.

“He can’t touch you now, Ahkmenrah. It’s done. You’re safe.”

“You’re safe,” you repeated as you pulled him into your arms, stroking his hair as he began to cry, clutching onto your arms as his tears soaked through your shirt.

You had no idea how long you sat there with your pharaoh in your arms, clinging to you like a drowning man, but you held him and rocked him, saying nothing other than a quiet whispering of, “It’s okay, Ahk. You’re safe now.”

Ahkmenrah took a deep, shaky breath and slowly pulled away. You lifted his head and swiped at the wetness covering his face. You kissed his eyelids, tasting the salt from his tears, and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

“I could never have done this without you, Y/N. Thank you.”

“I owed you, remember? And I would do anything for you, Ahkmenrah. Anything.”

“Truly?”

“Truly,” you said with a small smile, hope quickening the beating of your heart.

Ahkmenrah stood, gathering strength before he spoke with authority.

“Go. Go now and do not return.”

Whatever you were expecting, it wasn’t this. You shot to your feet and clutched at his shoulders, holding on to him, the role of the drowning man now reversed.

“No, Ahkmenrah! I meant what I said. I’m in love with you. I can’t just leave knowing that you’re here, right here,” you said, placing your palm in the middle of his chest.

Ahkmenrah took your hand and lifted it to kiss your palm.

“Finish your dissertation. Go to Cairo—it’s where you belong.”

“I could have you transferred there! There’s a huge movement in the community to restore artifacts to their home territories and—”

Ahkmenrah looked at you with such sadness it stopped you in the middle of your plea.

“Y/N, that is what I am now. An artifact, a remnant of the past.”

“You’re real! You’re fucking real,” you said, your voice breaking as you pushed his chest hard enough to cause him to step back. “You said you fell in love with me only after I saw you as a real person, not as some historical thing,” you finished, gesticulating wildly.

“I never said I was in love with you, Y/N. I am a reanimated mummy, an artifact. This is all that I choose to be.”

Every ounce of fight that had been coursing through your body came to such an abrupt halt that you swooned backward, and Ahkmenrah reached out to steady you, his hands firmly grasping your upper arms.

He was right. Never once did Ahkmenrah say those words. It was you—you who had said them, and you who had believed he felt the same way.

You shook your head, refusing to believe that he was choosing to see himself like this, as what you had fought to reconcile with from the beginning, as what you could no longer even remotely see him as now. Ahkmenrah was choosing to become an exhibit at the museum, choosing to become nothing more than a wax figure.

And just as suddenly as the fight had gone out of you, a realization struck you. Ahkmenrah never had a chance to choose; he didn’t choose to become king; he didn’t choose to be brutally murdered by his brother; he didn’t choose to be wed to Sitmut; he didn’t choose to become the master of the tablet; he didn’t choose to come back to life.

But he could choose now—and he was choosing to let you go, to let you live a full life. He was choosing to stay safe, to be under the guardianship and protection of the museum that he now thought of as his home.

“You understand,” Ahkmenrah said, a spark of his normal self showing through his pain.

“I do,” you said, holding his gaze, your body damn near lifeless as he still held onto your upper arms.

“Goodbye, Y/N. Thank you for everything you have given me, and I hope that one day, you will accept this as the right choice.”

Your eyes filled with tears for the umpteenth time in the last 48 hours, and you kissed Ahkmenrah; you kissed him with every ounce of love that you felt for him; you poured everything you had into that kiss.

You only stopped kissing him when you couldn’t breathe anymore, and after your lips pulled slowly away, he rested his forehead against yours.

You slid further into his arms, one last time, and he squeezed you back before pushing you away.

“Please. Go,” Ahkmenrah said with a steady voice.

You couldn’t look at him again because you knew if you did, you’d climb into his sarcophagus and only the Anubis statues would be able to remove you, probably by using their spears to turn you into a large piece of Shish Kabob.

For the second night in a row, you sobbed on the front steps of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

But this night was the last.

* * * * *

“You did the right thing, Ahk,” Larry spoke up as he stepped out from behind the back wall of the exhibit.

“I love her, Larry. I had to let her go.”

“I know, Ahk. I know.”

#Ahkmenrah #ahkmenrah fanfiction #natm ahkmenrah #ahkmenrah imagine #ahkmenrah x reader #female reader #ahk #NATM #rami malek #rami malek's character

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urfaustus · 4 years

Text

@ghoostiing asked: ' are we considered monsters? like the monster frankenstein built? '

The sun shines on Elijah, but in such an unflattering way. When it came to anybody else that the sun seemed to catch, it was always a compliment from nature in the genius’s perspective. Hey, look at this human being, but also look at this beautiful person in the most gorgeous moment you could imagine! Yet, when the sun fell on the engineer, he would argue the flaming ball had different intentions for him. It never caught him in the perfect light, it was never a scenario, where--oops! The sun is in my eyes, but look how sexy I am despite that! -- Elijah blinks his eyes shut, offering a bitter frown in response to the source of natural light before he forces his attention elsewhere.

Gray-blue eyes fall to the floor beneath him as he ponders to himself, though they’re quickly pulled away from where he’s looking once he hears the nearby shuffling of one of the giant house’s residents behind him. Pursed lips as his head tilts back, catching view of the person who has walked in and recognizing them instantly.

“Ah, good afternoon Spec!” Elijah greets warmly, before using his index finger to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose to their rightful position. His lips cast just as warm of a smile to the firewall-turned-android, his brilliant mind already beginning to forget what he’d previously been so upset about. “What can I do for you, my friend?” His question is followed up by a gentle gesture to the empty chair that was next to the engineer’s and he welcomes them to fully enter the room and relax with him.

Their curious question is certainly something that Kamski is surprised by, many android models were capable of discussing philosophy and the programmer would be lying if he tried to say he and his Chloes never took the time to discuss many of life’s difficult and un-answerable questions. His amazement is purely due to the fact that Spectr was not a product of Elijah’s -- at least not directly -- and the truth is he just isn’t fully aware of what this android is capable of. Cyberlife has turned into its own entity separate from Elijah Kamski and he is no longer privy to many of the projects the corporation has manufactured during their time apart.

“I see you’ve discovered a few of my personal effects.” Eli responds, addressing their specification of Frankenstein’s Monster in a playful manner while he begins to gather his thoughts in order to best answer their question. It was no secret that the human was a fan of Mary Shelley’s classic story, though perhaps it was a secret that the engineer often found himself relating to Victor Frankenstein’s role from that tale.

Very much unlike Frankenstein, it would be difficult to deny that Elijah is attached to and proud of the form of life he has created, but the two men definitely share a similar heaviness on their shoulders, a guilt felt towards the effort of what each man was responsible for creating, or more specifically for Eli, founding.

Idly brushing his thumb against his chin hairs, Elijah considers his words one last time before finally speaking, answering Spec’s question. “That depends on one’s interpretation of the book and one’s understanding of what the definition of monster is, I assert. Victor Frankenstein is an extremely smart man whose obsession results in the birth of the supposed monster. Frankenstein’s monster is essentially shaped and molded by his treatment of those that occupy his life and the environment that surrounds him.”

“There is a duality between the creature and the Frankenstein family’s nanny and one of Victor’s adopted sisters, Justine, who is also someone that is rejected by those who she was born with. Her mother has little care for her, but the Frankenstein family--and Victor in particular--more than make up for her abandonment by providing her with love that she desperately requires. The creature, of course, receives none of this from neither Victor nor those he attempts to befriend and throughout the book grows resentful and violent; finding himself eventually capable of framing Justine for the murder of Victor’s younger brother, whom the creature himself had killed.”

“Frankenstein’s creature is an interesting example of a monster in design, but perhaps he might be one of the most human characters throughout the execution of his story. He begins his life with an intense desire to be loved and accepted, particularly after being instantly rejected by Frankenstein and soon after being chased away by the family of a blind man he befriended, regardless of the fact that he discreetly assisted them by collecting firewood. Like all things that are alive, the creature desires a partner to love and be loved by and eventually demands of Victor to create him a bride of his own, because of his unshakable belief that he deserves happiness like everyone else. When Victor destroys her out of his many rapid fears of the project, the fury and desire for revenge brings the creature to murder Victor’s wife on the night of their wedding.”

“Frankenstein himself, while he begins the story human, finishes it resembling a monster perhaps more than the creature itself. Growing up in a very functioning, loving family of three sons and two adopted daughters, the brilliant Victor even regards his best friend as more capable than himself. What makes Frankenstein relatable begins with how he deals with the death of his mother which is to bury himself in his work and force himself to continue his studies while he is still grieving. This coping mechanism is extremely weak and later on in the book it proves itself to be detrimental to the man’s mental health as the creature continues to terrorize him and rob him his loved ones’ lives. The further that the creature pushes for respect from man or happiness, the sicker Victor appears to become. The levels that the two are willing to send one another to are endless. For example the creature’s cunning capability of incriminating other people for the crimes that he himself has committed not once, but twice! As well as the way that Frankenstein becomes so caught up with this creature that he neglects his brand new wife on the night of their wedding because of the pure fear of the creature that has been instilled into the scientist. It’s only when he discovers her lifeless body that he finally finds it within himself to do something about this mess.”

“Up until this point, the man has failed absolutely every person he holds dear due to his fear of his creation, his shame of the creature’s unnatural state and the unhealthy obsession he bears with death and reanimation, his inability to act on their behalves in the wakes of their deaths and how he has been incapable of facing the reality of what he’s made and admit to those that supposedly matter in his life the secret he had been hiding. Now he chooses to put an end to the source of pain that has haunted both him and his creature for so long but only now that is too late, now that neither could possibly prosper in any form.”

“Throughout the text, both the supposed man and supposed monster seem to dance between both roles, both characters have it in them to be wonderful people and both prove themselves capable of committing acts that are so vile, shocking and sickening. They compliment one another quite well in this nightmare, despite the glaring differences that are established between the two; the line between each becomes so blurry by the end of it that it’s truly up to personal interpretation for one to distinguish which one is Frankenstein and which one is Frankenstein’s monster. Both are capable of being quite monstrous, but both of them have very human behaviors and hearts: the fear of facing responsibility and not holding oneself accountable in response, or crafting a comfortable coping mechanism from grief and being incapable of fixing a situation for your loved ones because of it, or having the desire to be desired, to need a friend, only to grow angrier and full of resentment the more you are rejected, or to find yourself so obsessed with the concept of revenge or getting back at someone that when you finally achieve it, you’re incapable of knowing what peace is.”

The engineer draws his eyes to the android, slightly turning his body in his seat to better face them. Fingernails combing through his own hair, which has been lazily pulled back into a sloppy ponytail after having spent the day doing laps in the pool.

“...To actually answer your question, Spectr, I do not consider you monsters in the same vein as Frankenstein’s monster. I’ve spent a very large portion of my life with many individuals who have proven to me that they could be capable of allowing themselves to turn into such horrific things if they wanted to, but they instead resist and find healthier, smarter, and safer ways to earn respect, maintain their dignity, to teach us while being viewed as an equal and loved like a living person and I very much maintain the belief that people like Markus and Connor and -- even you -- will continue to show us that you guys are the furthest you possibly could be from being defined as the monster from that story.”

“You could borrow the book if you’d like. In my experience, these things are better to be interpreted in one’s own way -- you don’t need to be told how to view those characters or yourself.”

#long post #[𝚒𝚏 (ask = 𝟷); { 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖.𝚘𝚞𝚝.𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚗(“𝙸𝚗𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜”);]#frankenstein spoilers #ghoostiing #i've been working on this analysis since saturday

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videoassocdallas · 5 years

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Bart Chat 2/23/19 Greetings all, We are very excited about DOCUFEST coming up October 3rd-6th at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas, but before we get to that, we have a program coming up this Saturday at The Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. As you may or may not know, they have a great Gordon Parks photo exhibit going on there. Most People know Gordon Parks from Shaft fame but he was also a great photographer and seeing the show is worth the trip. We are teaming about with Amon Carter to show his earlier documentaries, Diary of a Harlem Family (1968, 20 minutes) and The World of Piri Thomas (1968, 60 minutes). Parks tells the story of the Fontenelle family. He was inspired to make this film after photographing the Fontenelles for a Life magazine photo essay on race and poverty in an attempt to show that, regardless of race and class, families across America all work to provide for their children. This a rare opportunity to see these films so please check them out. The World of Piri Thomas gives an unflinching view of the “mean streets” of Spanish Harlem as told by one of its most noted inhabitants. In this film, Thomas, who was a painter, poet, author, ex-con, and ex-junkie, shares his experiences and reads from his book, Down These Mean Streets. Now back to DocuFest. We live in, shall we say, unique times when questions about what is real and what is fake constantly permeate decision making. Should I click on that? Can you believe what he said? Can that be true? In these titles, DocuFest presents fresh oasis of media that ascribes to presenting reality and framing reality in a way to make us better citizens, to create awareness, and make us whole in a time when the news makes us feel empty, angry, less connected to the world and in the end, less human. Come to the Angelika Film Center Dallas and spend four days with us and you can rediscover joy, brilliance, tragedy and be moved by it all. This fest is more than just a series of movies, it is a way to reconnect with your sanity. (Did I oversell this?) The first two nights, we have two theaters. Opening night, we start with a preview of Flannery, a new feature film about the great southern writer Flannery O’Connor. This is a really great doc by a good friend, Elizabeth Coffman, whose work we have shown before, but this is her best film to date. If you ever read O’Connor’s work, this film tells her fascinating story in a style that works with her style. At the same time, in another world in the next screening room, we have Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story. We have seen him play, we have seen him talk, now see how he attained success with interviews of family and friends who knew him back in the day. Then our late shows on Thursday have A Woman’s Work, by Yu Gu, a documentary about NFL cheerleaders who are fighting for their rights. It follows class action lawsuits and the women who have the courage to stand up to the NFL for their rights. Then we have a classic: When DA Pennebaker passed away, we wanted to show one of his films to honor his memory and what he meant to documentary film. We thought of The War Room (directed by Chris Hegedus) because we have an election coming soon and we thought about Don’t Look Back, which is the obvious choice and we don’t do that, so we went with Ziggy Stardust to remember both Pennebaker and Bowie. Pretty cool for opening night. On Friday night, we start with a new documentary about legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham, in 3D!!!!!!! It’s hard to imagine modern dance without the influence of Cunningham and his lifelong collaborator and partner John Cage. In his film, the filmmaker assembles dancers from the Merce Cunningham dance company to perform the classic works, in a new way. Often 3D can be a trick or a gadget but here with an artist working with moving in space, 3D brings it alive. At the same time (sorry, on Thursday and Friday night you will have to make tough choices) we are proud to show Midnight Traveler, the story of filmmaker Hassan Fazili’, who had a bounty on his head from the Taliban and had to leave with his wife and their two daughters. In this film, shot with a mobile device, he documents the everyday moments of family life interspersed with the peril of this dangerous journey. This film helps put a voice to the people who are having to leave their countries, seeing, knowing and understanding their struggles. The late-night Friday program is just as special. Varda by Agnes is a film that was on many best-of lists from Toronto. Agnes Varda has had a long and fascinating career as a filmmaker, and she gets to tell her story in this doc. (We have been happy to show her work for years, including the great Beaches of Agnes.) In this film, we see her in many different audiences talking about her work. It is a great way to hear her talk about and view her work. It’s a must-see. And finally, the last program is controversial (Can you believe we would do that?) It is American Dharma, Errol Morris’ film about Steve Bannon. This played a few festivals last year and Errol got blasted for giving Bannon some oxygen. Indeed, I was not keen on the idea of the film and then I saw it. Bannon does get to put this burn it all down point of view in the film, while Morris does call him on things, it is not as much as most audiences would like. However, as we get into this next election cycle, it is good to see what made Trump’s campaign successful, at least from one person's point of view. Also, I think it’s better to get into the heads of an opponent than to think you know them. And the actual film is fascinating. Bannon is very much influenced by films, and he has made films of his own. He talks about 12:00 High, a classic film about the Air Force, heroism and WW2. Morris recreates the main set of 12:00 High and the interview takes place in the set. It brings a strange unsettling context to their discussion, and I think it works. That’s just the first two nights and there is so much more, which I will detail in the next newsletter. Speaking of immigrants, last night I got to see a special screening of Detras de Realidad which will show in Frame of Mind October 10th at 10:00 PM. This program is made by women about their own journey to Texas and what their life is like here. Frank, honest and in their own voices. I really liked what they did, but I was so happy to meet the makers who learned how to control the image and use the medium to tell everyone their stories. Thanks so much to Amber Bemak who taught then and Ignite Dallas at SMU for making it happen. Speaking of Frame of Mind we have a great new show on Thursday night at 10 PM. Each year on the series, we feature a retrospective of a Texas filmmaker and usually, they are old folk. This year, we took a different approach. Explordinary is Sarah Reyes and Daniel Driensky. They are great at straddling the world of digital and analog media, as well as film as art and commerce. They have traveled the globe documenting, in their unique way, artists, skaters, film labs and many other things. They put together their own retro and it rocks. 10:00 PM Thursday, Sept 26th. What else is happening around town? On Thursday, there is a special screening of the Princess Bride as a benefit for Hope Kids of North Texas. Next weekend, there is the North Texas Film Festival in Plano. There is the Alice Cooper film that played at DIFF and things like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Poltergeist, and Reanimator, so if you are into these and many are, not so much me, go for it. My favorite film they are showing is Mack Wrestles, a short I saw at SXSW about the Mack Beggs, a local athlete who goes through a sex change and still wants to wrestle. This is a must-see. As for The Texas Theater, on Wednesday, they are showing a film that has been getting lots of buzz (I have not seen it, yet) called Anthropocene the Human Epoch. It is one of those national we are all showing the same film tonight, programs. On Thursday, they are showing not one but two Les Blank films (I love Les Blank films) called Chulas Fronteras and Del Mero Corazón. These are newly restored, so they should look great. They are some of the first films that showcase Texican border music, including Flaco Jimenez and they sound great. Then they are showing the Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool film that was on PBS, made by the great Stanley Nelson. We have an interview with him about this film and the rest of his work on the podcast The Fog of Truth. Then Friday night, Theater Cine Wilde presents a film that is actually wild, Todd Haynes' Poison. A really great film that showcased his voice is his Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. On Tuesday night, The Magnolia Theater is showing Yentl, Barbara Streisand’s film about gender inequality in the Jewish religious community. Bart Weiss Artistic Director Dallas VideoFest

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9lph9tr0n5s · 6 years

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Meet Rohan and Valkyrie (aka my take a stand au)

So, everyone in the zootopia fandom has seen all sorts of OC’s, fanships, stories, fanarts and other stuff that would be too much to remember. But, i’ve never seen someone create a fusion OC (even though they exist in other fandoms). So, without further addo, may I present you zootopia’s FIRST fusion character…

ROHAN WILDESAVAGE!!!

This beauty is the merged character of Robyn and Hannah by @crewefox . After eight months of wait i’m finally glad and proud to introduce you all to my OC. what follows will be a bio of her charachter. Then I’ll put a link to her backstory and the whole series of events that led to her birth. Beware that the read more option may not work, both in the app and in the computer

BIO:

Full name: Rohan Marheather Wildesavage

Species: fusion, fox/rabbit hybrid

Fusion components: Robyn Heather Wilde and Hannah Marian Savage

Date of first fusion: 28th of june 20344, Canary Islands

Jobs:

-Robyn: mechanic

-Hannah: radio host and ballet dancer

-Rohan: fitness and MMA trainer

-common jobs: superhero leader, dimensional traveller and peacekeeper

Physical description

-Age: same as Robyn and Hannah

-sex: female

-gender: bisexual with more intrest in females due to Hannah being lesbian

-height: 8.2 feet (around 2.5 meters)

-fur density: soft and smoother than silk, can get winter coats

-fur color: overall ginger with darker spots on the fingertips and the eartips, black eyebrows and tail tip and black and white stripes following hannah’s pattern. Rohan can change her fur color in any possible color scheme: from plain tan, to cream with red spots or patches, to black with yellow stripes (as a chevron) to even purple or shining blue silver

-paws: all have paw pads like a fox, the feet are as long as a rabbit and can stand up digitigrade and both hands and feet posses retractable, sharp claws

-tail: long, wavy, poofy, soft and capable of moving as a third arm thanks to more muscles in it. Rohan usually likes to smack unsuspecting targets to prank them

-Body shape: slender like Hannah with wider hips and strong muscles taken from Robyn

-eyes: right one teal and left one turquoise normally, can be changed in any color like the fur in any combination possible: red, green, pitch black, blue with orange shard… the eyes can also assume a plain colorization

-ears: longer than Robyn’s, slighty wider and capable of hearing further than any other mammal.

-muzzle and mouth: the muzzle lenght is between Robyn and Hannah’s and the nose has a very sharp smell range. The mouth is composed by sharp teeth and a razor buck tooth

-other peculiarities: Rohan can assume a feral form, standing on four legs, or just with her hind paws digitigrade; unlike most hybrids she’s fertile and this fertility has been transmitted to the components; her body is very flexible, but it can’t stretch like plastic

Character

-personality:

Robyn’s side:

-rash: Rohan can trip into dangerous situations without thinking twice, but always manages to get out alright, mostly

-crass: when Rohan is angry or really pissed, she can swear as instant reaction to an insult or a bad comment

-loyal and trustworthy: like Robyn, Rohan is loyal to her friends and, in no case, she can be corrupted or turn with the bad guys. She’s also extremely careful in respecting a promise or keeping a secret

-respectful: despite having the habit to center herself in rare situations, Rohan knows who’s in charge or is the most experienced on something. Many times, she asks for constructive criticism or honest thoughts about a certain subject and acknoweldges when she’s wrong

-hot tempered: strictly related to having a coarse tongue, Rohan has robyn’s short fuse when being pestered, mocked or scolded. This can occasionally lead to a fight when it happens and the one who insulted her heavily won’t go back home without a bruise… or a broken bone

-gold heart: deep inside, she cares about who she loves and is always willing to help for any problem

-energetic: Rohan as a carefree and upbeat personality just like robyn

Hannah’s side:

-empathetic: Rohan, like Hannah, instantly recognizes what somebody else feels and either joins someone in their happy moments or comfort sad mammals

-polite: from Hannah, Rohan has inherited her calm and collected demeanor, which strangely enough, doesn’t clash with Robyn’s short fuse

-focused: Hannah’s focused mind is another trait that distinguishes rohan: she can elaborate a good startegy, study someone from the outside and guessing the inside and never lose track of an individual or lose control of the situation

-clingy: when Rohan gets attached to someone, it’s hard to take said attachment away, and this can lead to rohan putting first him/her than her team if he/she’s in danger, just like Hannah with Robyn

-emotional: while this is mostly a trait taken from Hannah, Robyn has also a tender side: when sad, Rohan can easily burst into tears while trying to keep herself collected and this leads many people to believe she’s a crybaby

-romantic: Hannah’s romantic side shows up in Rohan when being courted by someone; this unfortunately has led to episodes of boys and girls chasing her for a date because they found Rohan “lovable as hell”

Common traits:

-dorky: both Robyn and Hannah are dorky af, so it’s normal to see Rohan being silly in a playful way

-adaptive: wheter the situation is a long wedding or a hard strike againts a crime lord gone wrong, Rohan quickly adapts to the situation and keeps up, just like Robyn and Hannah

-smart: although many see Robyn as a normal C student and Hannah as a top A mammal, both girls are extremely intelligent. Just don’t overestimate her

-loving: is there much to say about this? Rohan deeply cares about anyone and is always available for comforting or cuddling someone

Unique traits:

-tricking: Rohan seems dumb from shallow and small-minded individuals, but 75% of the time she’s just faking; she’s a cunning mammal and this shows in her ability to pull of tricks or turn the tide of a situation in a way neither robyn or hannah are capable of. This seems to be a recessive trait taken from Robyn’s father Nick.

-charismatic: this charismatic side the wildesavage couple has doesn’t show up very often; things change when rohan is in the game: thanks to her charisma, Rohan is a natural born leader, and everybody follows her or ask for her advice; this trait seems taken by both Nick and hannah’s father Jack

Favorite things in groups

-Favorite foods and drinks: everything KFC cooks, turkey meatballs, spaghetti with tomato sauce, masala cod, fried ginger crickets, pepperoni pizza, crispy mcbacon, oven pasta

-favorite movies and TV shows: Enter the dragon, the princess bride, Star Wars: the last jedi, black panther, karate kid, the big bang theory, steven universe, every disney princess movie, fantasia, the incredibles

-favorite games: the uncharted series, the last of us, overwatch, call of duty black ops 3, rise of the tomb raider, destiny 1, Star Wars battlefront 2 (the old and the new one), titanfall 2, horizon zero dawn, GTA 5, team fortress 2, god of war (the 2018 version)

-fandoms: disney princesses, Star Wars (the sequels side mostly), MCU, love stories, Overwatch (not the porn, nor the toxic side)

-favorite music: punk rock music, dancable music, Green Day, Ed Sheeran, Queen, the Pirates of The Caribbean, Star Wars, star trek, back to the future and the incredibles themes, Cole Rolland, Imagine Dragons

General Likes and dislikes:

likes:

-being petted, cuddled or having her fur stroked

-crude humor

-dancing

-being a dork

-topping herself

-being nurturing and kind to everyone

-friends and family

-protecting zootopia for good

-dancing

-comfortable clothes

-travelling

Dislikes:

-bullies

-being pressured

-having a fight with a loved one

-hypocrites

-being harassed just because of who she is

-small minded mammals

-corrupt people

-whoever threatens her city

-heavy junk food

-strobo lights

-nudity in public

-toxic mammals and fans

Family:

Robyn’s side:

-father: Nick Wilde

Occupation: mayor of zootopia

Status: alive

-mother: Judy Hopps

Occupation: police chief of the first precinct

Status: alive

-grandmother: Marian Wilde;

Occupation: former vigilante known as “the maid”, now hero trainer and supporter, mostly for hacking and I.T. professor at the zootopia university

Status: formerly dead, currently reanimated and alive

-grandfather: Robin Loxley Wilde

Occupation: former vigilante known as “hood”, now hero trainer and couple advisor

Status: formerly dead, currently reanimated and alive too

-Grandparents (Judy’s side): Bonnie and Stu Hopps

Occupation: carrot farmers

Status: alive

siblings:

-Ryan, Ronan and Reginald (reggie) Wilde: Robyn’s triplet brothers; Ryan is a laid-back lover of yoga, Ronan is a pro gamer and Reggie is a panmusical mammal

Status: stillborn at the beginning, now brought back to life

-Luna Wilde (Robyn’s half sister)

Occupation: surgeon at the zootopia hospital by day and patroling zootopia by night as the vigilante Andraste

Status: alive

Hannah’s side:

-father: Jack Savage

Occupation: MCB agent (major crimes bureau)

Status: alive

-mother: Skye Winter

Occupation: MCB agent, works with Jack

Status: alive

-known grandparents:

Hannah Savage

occupation: pensionate

Status: deceased then brought back to life

-siblings: none

Others:

-Victoria Todd (luna’s mother)

status: dead, then reanimated

-Alice Kirabito-Wilde (Robyn’s sister in law)

Occupation: videogame and anime reactions youtuber, superhero, quartermaster and weapons assistant

Status: alive

CHILDREN:

After a year Robyn and Hannah adopted their first son Aaron, he wished to have siblings like her moms (who also wanted biological kids on thier own); this was possible through a pregnancy pen: a device invented by olivia dawson and crafted by her and luna which allows two blood drops and a drop of seed of each couple member (gay or hetero) to mix and create full embryoes and literaly plant them into the one who wants to be pregnant, but the “carrier” has to be female; from this union, five kits were concieved and born from robyn as aaron’s birthday gift, who decided to carry on the pregnancy and aaron welcomed to the family his new siblings. Also, after a foster home was shut down due to cruel personnel and heavy mistreating of the orphans, robyn and hannah decided also to adopt two mammals who were unwanted and left without a family. Needless to say: all those children made judy go on cloud nine… and it gave nick a heart attack.

Biological:

-Ash, Sarah, Iris, Dylan and Mitchel Wildesavage (respectively M,F,F,M,M)

Species: fox/ rabbit hybrids

Date of birth: 8th of december 2039

Adopted:

-Aaron Wildesavage (this character is also by crewefox, he was so adorable i decided to keep him in my AU too)

Species: male koala

Date of birth: 31st of december 2033

Adoption date: 21st of december 2038

-Skylar Wildesavage

Species: non-binary otter

Date of birth: 24th of august 2033

-Penny Wildesavage

Species: female black labrador

Date of birth: 15th of february 2032

Both skylar and penny were adopted the 27th of october 2040

Side notes:

-i know dogs shouldn’t exist in the zootopia universe, but in mine they do

-Robyn and Hannah originally wanted one or two kits, but Robyn’s bunny genes let her have five kits in the end

Since Robyn and Hannah are both superheroes, there had to be Rohan’s superheroine alter ego so, i present you VALKYRIE

Now it’s time for the superhero part

SUPERHERO SHEET

Alias name: Valkyrie

Alligned to: team Ceartais, ZPD, MCB, Camelot

Role: leader

Hero suit: red carbon fiber jumpsuit with white parts, a dark red hood and cape made for gliding and flying when necessary, a dark turquoise chestplate, blue and white shin and forearm guards, a blue and white checked mask and a gem storage in the middle of the chest for the infinity fragments protected by a small sheild. The suit itself has tron-like lines as an attire choice. The suit, the cape, the armor plates, tthe mask, the lines and the weapons can change colors into everything and every pattern. The suit itself is resistant to fire, shocks, electricity, cuts and explosives; the problem is that some parts are left exposed and rohan has to be careful to those weak spots

Power level: supermammalian to god-like

Steel blood powers: Robyn and Hannah’s originary power both originate from some nanomachines called “steel blood” which helped them survive a severe case of sepsis and other damages occured during a tsunami that nearly killed them

Robyn:

-healing factor: Robyn’s primary power consists in a powerful healing factor which repairs and wound or damage instantly. This also renders her, and by proxy Rohan, immune to poisoning of any kind, by simple alchol and cigarettes to vast amounts of cyanide in her body. Unfortunately, the more poison enters her body, the more it takes to rohan to process it. Also, the healing process takes more time if Robyn or Rohan are shot to the head. Another good side though is that Robyn and Rohan can survive being grinded, having their head chopped off, being squashed by two walls and being liquefied

-super strength: the steel blood also strengthened Robyn’s muscles, giving rohan an immense physical force, at the point of being five times stronger than robyn normally is

-high jumping: strong muscles and an energic, athletic attitude is the perfect match to jump high. Rohan can jump about

-high stamina: the nanites powered up her whole skeleton and inner system, which means that rohan, and robyn in the first place, can fight for a long time, running over 100 miles, training in a gym for 24 hours straight without getting tired if put under pressure. Eventually in the aftermath of one of those things, Robyn (or Rohan’s) body feel and become more tired than usual and require more amount of sleep to return in shape

hannah:

-faster reflexes and speed: since hannah was blind when she received the steel blood nanites, those should have supposedly healed her sight; instead they went on powering up her reflexes and speed. This makes rohan agile and fast on the battlefield

-ability to become blind and go back to full sight on command: this power was mastered during a time when Robyn and Hannah were left stranded. Hannah managed to get her sight back, but also practiced between shifting in full sight and blind. While seemingly useless, this power can come very handy if someone generates a strong light and rohan can still fight without necessarily closing her eyes, especially if she doesn’t have a protection

-super senses: when Hannah or Rohan go blind, all the other reflexes (hearing, taste, contact and smell) heighten up to compensate the lack of sight. Those senses can become handful depending on the situation

-pulse field generation: Hannah’s trademark power consists in “seeing” while blind. While tecnically what hannah sees is a blank world with no writings or images but just the primitive shapes of her surroundings, the nanomachines allow her heart to generate a pulse everytime it beats that detects all surfaces and objects in five miles. Rohan’s area is wider and can arrive up to 20 miles

-healing factor: Hannah also has a healing factor, but it works slower than Robyn’s. Rohan partially compensates this with a faster regeneration in case of sight or hearing loss

common:

-memory link: Rohan’s memory is made up of all memories from robyn and hannah and her own, which are all stored into a neural, indestructible cloud. If one member loses all memories, just one tap on the body or fusing can make the lost memories come back. By proxy, the wildesavages share rohan’s memories and their own, this means no secrets between the couple in normal life

-feral state: if robyn is shot to the head, all her strenght and speed multiply by nine, but, as the name suggests, the nanomachines while healing the damage awaken her feral instincts, making her a savage beast. If this should happen to rohan, she would turn savage for a shorter time than robyn. Only few mammals and beings know how to tame while savage

infinity gems powers (they’re much more than the listed ones and some must be discovered): after being found out by Robyn and Hannah, six fragments of the infinity gems linked with them and grant more powers. while these powers are mostly used by rohah, robyn and hannah also use them separatly, abeit with less efficiency than their fusion. The fragments after rohan unlocked the infinity state, transformed into full gems

power (red):

-energy control and manipulation: the power gem allows rohan to manipulate all sorts of energy in any form, from kinetic to nuclear, and any way: force fields, power sharing, recharge, power overload…

-laser, maser wave or pulse energy blast: most importantly, rohan can use that enery to mimic and use a certain energy primarly for a laser blast; said power can manifest in a powerful shockwave or a presence that burns and slowls incapacitates everyone near her. Rohan could kill someone with her powers, but she chooses not to unless there’s no other choice, or her foe is unpowered and defenceless. In that case, she uses the power for knockback

-energy and power share: Rohan can gift some of her power to anybody else who needs it to strenghent him or her. This also applies to electronic devices

-maximum power state: when rohan unleashes the full power of the power fragment her body becomes glowing red in color and physically a pure manifestation of energy. In this form rohan is surrounded by energy vamps like a sun and is totally invincible. This form consumes a tremendous amout of energy, leaving her helpless when she stops, so rohan must use this as a last resort

Time (orange):

-time manipulation and travel: thanks to the time gem, Rohan can control time around her and with others. She can freeze a single moment, create a loop, rewind her own time or a recent situation and even age or de-age every living being. With the right amount of focus rohan can also travel through time

-time mastress state: at full strenght, the time fragment turns Rohan’s body orange and magical gears appear. In this form rohan’s time powers are amped up to ridiculous heights at the point rohan BECOMES time itself and is able of creating or erasing some events or a complete timeline. In the aftermath Rohan dissociates temporarly for three hours before her molecules line up

Reality (yellow):

-reality manipulation: the reality gem allows Rohan to bend the primary shape of everything around her at her will, always turning the situation to herself, like a wizard using magic. But if the power is used without limits, rohan could alter reality for a long time before fixing it, thus she has to be very careful when using the reality related powers

-creation of everything: this superpower allows Rohan to do everything she imagines: she can materialize a toy in front of her, turn water to fire of give herself new powers; the only things she can’t do are: copying powers related to the other gems (unless she temporarely gives new powers to other beings) and bring people back from the dead

-illusion and hologram control: rohan can create multiple copies of herself or turn temporarily a place in what she wants to with hard light

-reality bender state: this state renders rohan yellow and the surroundings in an area of 10 meters constantly shape. All the afromentioned powers are strengthened at the point rohan can create multiple universes at once. This state doesn’t consume much energy and it’s currnetly rohan’s most used super form

Soul (green):

-soul dislocation: with the power of the soul gem Rohan can either exit her body becoming a green ghost or force the enemy’s soul to exit the body, leaving both, rohan or the foe, numb and defenseless

-control and power over life: the soul power can also heal wounds, physical and broken morales, temporarely take back the dead as zombies or trap other souls into the fragment

-soul detector: Rohan can discover and make visible all ghosts (souls of dead beings), talk to the and even command them if necessary

-ability to travel to the soul realm: the soul gem hosts a pocket dimension called soul world; here all the souls of the dead live a neverending life of joy. Rohan can enter this world and take whoever she wants without turning them into ghosts and her soul powers within the world increase even more

-soul guardian state: in this state Rohan gets engulfed by green light and has total control over the spirits: she can evoke hordes of ghosts againts her foes, catch easily all souls within a certain range and gradually weaken everbody. The aftermath leaves Rohan internally weakened and unable to move, though she still can see everything happening around her with the same perception as someone in a dream

Mind (blue):

-mind control and other abilities: Rohan’s most basic abilities with the mind gem include: controlling the mind of the weak, shutting their mind down leaving them open for attacks, creating false memories, breaking brainwash and telepathic control on others and reading memories. Rohan is also immune to all mind-based powers; for example, she can’t be brainwashed

-mind link: Rohan can connect minds withan ally and see through its eyes. She can also talk to them in their mind by giving them advices and makes them immune to mind control. Usually though, Rohan uses this tecnique to calm down scared mammals since she can also alter emotions

-memory share: just by touching on the head somebody, Rohan can share her memories to other mammals

-brainstormer state: Rohan becomes all blue by entering this form and becomes able to access all the minds of a single planet she can go into. The aftermath isn’t as bad as the other, but it does leave her with a huge headache that lasts for five minutes after she exits this form

Space (purple):

-teleportation: Rohan can teleport herself in any place she wants. Where she goes depends on her memories of the place, or where she looks at. She can also teleport enemies or teammates away or where she wants too

-ability to control space and movements around: the space gem also allows Rohan to speed up, slow down or stop movements in a maximum area of three miles, usually by bloking foes in mid air or speeding her time up becoming faster from the eyes of the spectators. Rohan has also total control over gravity: she can increase it or decrease it to the point of nullification in a certain spot

-molecular dislocation: Rohan can phase out her molecules becoming intangible; while dislocated phisically, she can’t be hit or touched and can pass through any solid object. She can also phase out her opponents and stick them into solid objects, but she doesn’t use that power very often on normal, powerless criminals since she finds it brutal

-traveller state: Rohan’s last normal final state covers her body in purple light and nullifies gravity in an area of 50 miles. Rohan’s space powers heighten up exponetially at the point of teleporting an entire population on another planet or move planets herself. Rohan can also create gravity wells or black holes and dislocate entire armies. The aftermath leaves rohan intangible for one hour

common:

-immortality: since the infinity gems are part of the universe itself, Rohan and by proxy Robyn and Hannah can’t die in any way. If they should be disintegrated, their bodies would simply regenerate and their aging becomes stuck at the age of 25

-self awareness: this doesn’t mean rohan has total control over her senses, instead, rohan is fully aware she is an original invented fusion character by me, that their components were born from the mind of an irish, bisexual assistant surgeon and that their parents come from a very beloved disney classic movie. In few words, she can break the fourth wall

-SECR (acronysm for supreme energy coalescence ray): rohan can channel the power of the six fragments into a powerful, multi colored beam which can totally erase existance where it hits; she swore to use this power only if the enemy outranks her or in apocalyptic, near failure scenarios as her goal isn’t to cancel life. Rohan doesn’t need to enter the infinity state to use the SECR

-the snap: Rohan’s most powerful move definitively constist into the snap, where rohan uses all six gems and snaps her fingers to make every wish of hers come true. This time the aftermath is a mix of all the other aftermaths of the singular powered state of the fragments: namely, rohan becomes intangible, dislocated in time and soul, physicaly and mentally weakened for eight hours. The only way to carry her to safety is trapping her into an electrostatic box. When the “hangover” effects vanish, rohan wakes up with a giant headache. The snap has a cooldown of a year

-infinity state: even if the snap is indeed powerful, Rohan can enter the ultimate state by unlocking all the ultimate power states of the fragments and combing them. In this form, Rohan becomes totally white in color with gold shades. her powers heighten up to god-like levels and she’s able to use any power, steel blood or infinity based, heightened up, while accessing to every mind in the universe, bending all matter and reality at her own will, moving entire galaxies, controlling time while also having vision of future and past events and powering up every ally, no matter where they are or which species they are, temporarely gifting her powers to them. The aftermath effects are the same of the snap, but the time for the relocation lowers to two hours, and there’s no headache

weaponry, gadgets and arsenal:

-mega nightstick: Robyn uses a titanuim telescopic baton 1 meter long in combat, formed by two nightsticks and two handles which can simply split in two or also form two tonfas with the two handles. When Rohan plays the baton (which becomes 2 meters long with her) and it’s subweapons become harder than diamond. Each stick also has a hidden blade made out damascus steel with a diamond tip in case of tougher opponents

-constructo guns: Hannah’s primary weapons are two guns which can combine into other weapons after their upgrade: for example, a simple machine gun, a shotgun, a grenade launcher, a minigun and a small crossbow. They can also fire traquilizing pellets, laser shots or normal bullets

thanks to the realty fragment both weapons can combine into five other weapons, which also have powered up forms

- a baton with guns on each end; this doesn’t have a powered form, but it can still split and form two tonfa guns

- a javelin with a ninjato-like blade and a double barrel gun where the blade is placed. When powered, the guns spin in a circle and fire faster than a minigun while the blade knocks back enemies up to three miles

-a double sword with the central handle curved, a blade with an axe tip (like megatron’s sword on TF5) and a long barrel for sniping as long as the blade on each sword; normally it can also split up into two blades with curved handles, turn into a hi-tech bow or a giant boomerang. Powered up the guns shoot bullets and laser that pierce through everything, the blades cut even more (but not everything), the bow shoots further, its arrows strike harder and the boomerang locks onto the enemies until it gets them

-a halberd with a giant blade and a grenade barrel on top; this could be considered as a more brute version of the javelin since Rohan uses it for larger opponents. The powered form grants two additionals grenade launcher barrels and allows every strike to cut enemies or generate slices of pure red energy

-a baton that turns into a whip with a flick of the wrist and a double gun separated from the melee weapon unlike the previous four; the baton can let the tip and the rings of it’s whip form exit and let a yellow energy blade come out of the handle while the rings and the tip form a small shield. Powered up, the whip can generate small quakes where it lands, the shield assumes the aspect of a circual saw and the energy blade becomes able to slice through everything

(if you are confused and don’t know what the weapons look like, i can say that for some i got inspired from the weapons the praetorian guard from The Last Jedi wields)

volcano comet: while the nightstick, the guns and their combo forms are more than a match for any enemy, rohan wields a red, double bowed crossbow which can shoot tranq darts, arrows and laser beams at ligthspeed, for sniping attacks

concussion grenades: these grenades developed by Robyn and Hannah’s friend Olivia Dawson, create a shockwave that pushes everyone meters away from the explosion point

hacker spine: in honour of Marian Wilde “the Maid”, Robyn asked to graft into her suit a short-range hacking device which activates only whey she and hannah fuse and allows her to enter the enemies’ computers and devices, thus controlling them or shutting everything down

hyper goggles: Rohan’s domino mask contains many options into her lenses: x-rays, heat vision and ray beams

-fighting styles: boxing, MMA (mixed martial arts), blood ballet (a style invented by hannah which mixes dance styles and MMA), cloak and dagger strikes, teräs-kasi, shien, djem so and yuvo

small side notes:

-when dressed in civilian clothes, rohan sports her gems combined into a single rainbow gem embedded into a jade bracelet

As for her backstory, the link is here

And there she is; after months of working on her bio i’m finally proud to welcome the first zootopian fusion to the fandom. I hope you like her and if you wish to use her for a story or a fanart, message me first. I may add extra info later.

And to finish, here are the credits:

thanks to @crewefox for allowing me to use robyn, hannah, scarlet, bullet, aaron and other characters (too many to name) and helping me with the correction of the post

thanks to @jafethortiz who made the arts and the coloring

special thanks to @chickwithdreads and this post for giving me inspiration about the charater sheet

And last but not least, thanks to the whole zootopia fandom, who dedicate a bit of their time to admire the first zootopian fusion character

thank you and see you soon

the infinity gems, iron man, namor, mister fantastic, black bolt, doctor strange, professor x, the skrulls, the super skrull, the kree and ronan belong to Marvel®

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ashilrak · 7 years

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#SensationalSaturday

The purpose of #sensationalsaturday is to talk about fanfic and show some appreciation for the hard work these wonderfully talented people put in, so here are some old and new favorites I’d highly recommend <3

This is a longer post and some are repeated from my fic rec page

he takes (and he takes and he takes) by threefundamentaltruths ( @your3fundamentaltruths )

“"Those whom God has joined together let no man put asunder."It’s a miracle he doesn’t laugh at that part of the rite, because there will always be three people in their marriage – the two of them and the man who brought them together, love of whom drove them to seek comfort in each other.”

Justice and Ardor by Rainah ( @thellamaduo )

“In 1777, general George Washington was disposed as the head of the patriot army and replaced with Horatio Gates. The coalition fell apart, and what was once a United States descended into petty kingdoms. Henry Laurens rules South Carolina, John Laurens his bold young heir. He arranges a marriage alliance with the Schuylers of New York.

With them comes Alexander, bitter at the loss of his upward mobility and having an affair with John's bride. Maria, the palace librarian, struggles to hold together the underside of the court, picking up the pieces of the political chess games. Assassinations, affairs, and politics abound as wars for control break out among the courts. In a world of feudal politics, the personal and political seem impossible to separate.”

On the Construction and Tending of Greenhouses by Iniquiticity ( @iniquiticity)

“The general expressed to his friend he did not mind an ill-tempered, sharp-mouthed, too-witty stubborn boy of nebulous birth with hardly any standing rank of his own once removed from his adopted castle, and such the deal was struck. On the next sunrise, the sewing of wedding garments began.”

But Your Inadequacies Fill Up His Heart by liese_l, one_golden_sun ( @liese-l @likearootlesstree )

“John Laurens is an omega who has good reasons not to trust alphas.

So when he meets Alexander Hamilton and Gilbert du Motier-Lafayette, two alphas who have been a mated-pair for years, he wonders why he can't resist their magnetic pull.”

The Candidate’s Omega Arrangement by Walkerbaby ( @walkerbaby )

“If widowed, alpha Senator George Washington of Virginia is going to convince voters in the flyover states to elect him President of the United States he respects "traditional family values" and for that he needs an omega. Omega activist Alexander Hamilton is a tad forgetful when it comes to picking up his heat suppressants. When these two meet on a D.C. street what should have been a fairly strait forward heat turns into something more. What they didn't expect was the complications that come from actually falling in love with your own spouse.“

Spoils of War by grumblebee ( @grumblebee-trilogy )

“Prince Benjamin Tallmadge lived a peaceful life. Free of the pressure of inheriting the throne, he prepared himself for a life of religious servitude. But when his father scorns a neighboring King, Benjamin must give up his freedom and wed the tyrant King Washington to ensure peace between their two kingdoms. Alone in a new kingdom, far from his family, Ben contemplates if anyone could learn to love such a bitter, cruel man.“

All Things Will Kill You by Walkerbaby

“Alexander Hamilton joined the army to find glory in battle. So how exactly to he end up falling in love with his commanding officer? And what's he supposed to do when his older lover boots him into a tent with another aide who isn't afraid to let Alexander know that George Washington isn't the only one that finds him desirable? Or when Lady Washington keeps sending him to have tea with the Schuyler sisters -- who's chaperones are apparently never where they're supposed to be? And at this point? If he makes it out of this war without his own lovers shooting him in the back he'll be lucky. And the British -- they're just going to have to wait in line.

Canon Time period.”

Nightsongs by Rainah

“They call Angelica a pirate, a witch, a temptress that holds the souls of men in thrall to captain ships with sails as dark as midnight.They call John a ghost, a spirit reanimated by Night Queen's magics. Her first mate on ships crewed by the damned.It's legend, mostly. She's got no more magic than any person you'd grab off the street, and she is more focused on helping John heal than holding him in thrall. Her ships are crewed by freedom seekers, by adventurers, by people who've found they can't live a normal life. Until they take Maria Lewis and Aaron Burr captive on a raid...”

patience gets us nowhere fast by founders ( @gaylams )

“"Alexander leans into him, whimpers, tips his head back and Gil counts seven hickeys on his throat, seven, and he blinks away the strange jolting shock of knowing it was Thomas who put them there, who sucked and bit and worried at the skin until it bloomed dark reds and purples.".The One Where alexander and thomas inch their way slowly towards one another whilst all their friends watch in a mixture of horror and amusement, otherwise known as: Five Times people were kind of surprised and One Time someone was not”

For Here Is Rest by Nimravidae ( @tooeasilyconsidered )

“After a devastating personal loss, Benjamin Tallmadge retreats from the life he knew in Connecticut. Seeking solace, he finds himself in rural Virginia fixing up a small house with only the company of the surrounding woods and his reclusive widower landlord, George Washington."Every spirit builds itself a house; and beyond its house a world; and beyond its world, a heaven. Know then, that the world exists for you. Build, therefore, your own world."”

it feels more like a memory by saffron612 ( @queenofquell )

““Alexander Hamilton! I’m at your service, sir!”Aaron looks at the hand and doesn’t take it. His hands are safely in his pocket, but he’d taken off his gloves, and he is not particularly in the mood to feel the single most consequential juncture of a stranger’s life.Alexander is still grinning at him, and the moment is stretching on, and he refuses to put his hand down, and Aaron has about half a second before this staring contest verges beyond the mere impolite and into the territory of heavy, awkward weight and scattered excuses—and before he can think better of it, Aaron takes Alexander’s hand.”

I Know What I Want by salamandersaladman

“Everybody wants to be loved, and Alexander Hamilton is no exception. Besides, what possible repercussions could there be to wanting to be surrounded by admirers? Even if one of them is your best friend.College!AU in which everybody in the hamilsquad is just trying to navigate their love lives, and literally everyone knows John is in love with Alex. Especially Alex.”

A More Perfect Union by holograms ( @acanofpeaches )

“ Hamilton survives the duel. He gets more time, and Burr does too.“

An Unconventional Relationship by holograms

“What happens in Monticello, stays in Monticello.(the result of tjeffs asking the hamiltons for a threesome)”

Runaway by grumblebee

“Benjamin Tallmadge, through unfortunate circumstance, can no longer go to Yale. With home life becoming unbearably toxic, he leaves home in the dead of night in search of a better life. His new life takes him to the Appalachian Trail, miles and miles of wilderness that stretch down the East Coast. Ben forages, hunts (pitifully) and pretends he is just another hiker doing the 6 month trek. But summer is waning, and the first cold snaps are rough in the mountains. Barely making shelter, Ben hunkers down for what might be his last night. But someone else is here. And well, what would you do if you were a runaway; cold and alone, when a tall man offers you a warm bed for the night... “

#Hamilton #Turn: Washington's Spies #Fic Rec #sensationalsaturday

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silverscreenclassics2016 · 5 years

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by Paul Batters

Of all the monsters in the pantheon of the ‘children of the night’, perhaps none have had such an impact on the sympathies of an audience as the Frankenstein Monster. Many films have been made where Shelly’s Gothic tale is told or at least appropriated the story. Yet none have ever been able to match the performance Boris Karloff’s performance as Dr. Frankenstein’s near-immortal creation.

This discussion does not aim to focus on the mechanics of the film-making process of the first three films nor their storylines; insomuch that if they are brought up, it’s done so as a reflection of Karloff’s performance. Indeed, a great deal of discussion and discourse has already covered the making of the three films I would like to focus on. If anything, this is a celebration of Karloff’s portrayal.

In popular culture, the Frankenstein Monster has become reduced to a mindless brute – a near-indestructible automaton whose brain can be as interchangeable as a car-battery and is easily identified by his stiff walk and arms stretched out in front of him. With respect to Universal Studios, who played just as important a role as Dr. Frankenstein in bringing him to life, they are greatly responsible in creating this image. Indeed, mention the name ‘Frankenstein’ and the vast majority of people will identify the name as that being of the Monster and not the family name of its’ creator. Even in the Universal world, three other actors other than Karloff (Lon Chaney Jnr, Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange) all portrayed the Monster to varying degrees of success yet adding to the demotion of the Monster from the brilliant portrayal borne of Karloff to the aforementioned description. If ever a creature from the dark went through a more incredible array of change in character, none were marked than the Frankenstein Monster.

What audiences need to be reminded of is the pathos and touching humanity that truly embodied Frankenstein’s creation, reflected so beautifully by Boris Karloff. As a result, I will speak of the Frankenstein ‘trilogy’ because they feature the great man and are without a doubt the best of the Universal films, after which admittedly they would later denigrate into exploitation, particularly after Karloff left the role.

Frankenstein (1931) deserves its’ place as one of the most important films in cinema, let alone its’ position as one of the greatest horror films of all time. Unlike its’ equally important predecessor Dracula (1931), it has held up well and has some of the most memorable cinematic moments in film history. As important as James Whales’ direction was, his pick of a 44-year old bit part actor was far more important and fortuitous. Whale could see there was something about Karloff’s face and personality that he couldn’t quite put his finger but knew intuitively would work. If the film and of course the Monster belongs to anyone, it’s Karloff.

The birth of the Monster is without doubt one of the greatest moments in film. The mad machinery will galvanise the Monster, the moving of the hand and the hysterical rantings of Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who is in the incredible heights of rapture as he ‘knows what it feels like to be God’, all remain as iconic moments in classic horror. Even here, without seeing Karloff’s face, he is able to act with one hand to convey life coming to what had moments before been a dead cadaver.

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But out first view of the Monster’s face is that moment when Karloff became the star. Whale built the tension even further by having Karloff walk in backwards to be followed by that slow turn and the close cutting to that horrific face. Lurching forward at his creator, he shuffles forward following Frankenstein’s commands to sit in a chair. The stiffened movements are like that of a child learning to walk but the doctor’s creation is not a child. He’s a reanimated human jigsaw, complete with a ‘criminal brain’ – a plot device non-existent in the novel, which would forever be associated with the Monster. Initially there appears to be no emotion, and Karloff’s heavy-lidded eyes and sunken cheeks evoke in the audience a dread and horror that will soon turn to empathy and understanding. And it’s all a result of Karloff’s mastery. Again, without any words, his pleading eyes and desperate need for warmth and light, breaks the dread we feel but he is soon faced with not only being ignored but then completely rejected and treated horrifically at the hands of his creator, his former mentor Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan) and his cruel and sadistic assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye). By the time we see the Monster in chains in the bowels of the place where he was born, the audience begins to wonder who the real monsters are, with Karloff beautifully portraying a poor and confused being who did not ask to be born and surrounded by hostility from his first interactions with humans.

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But murder will follow; Fritz will pay for torturing the Monster once too often and then Dr Waldman before he is about to dissect and examine the drugged Monster. Karloff portrays the Monster with a hungered and desperate confusion, but he is also far more complex than it may appear; a far cry from the mindless shell that stomps around in later films. Karloff’s Monster is the abandoned child who knows nothing of the world and when he finally does find a human connection with a small child (Mildred Harris), it will end in tragedy. As an aside, the re-edited version that was re-released in 1938 and would show on TV screens for decades, was un-intentionally far more suggestive of the Monster doing something far more horrifc to Maria.

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When both creator and creation finally do face each other again, Karloff exudes menace and anger at the God-parent who has rejected him. Dragging Frankenstein to the top of an old windmill whilst being pursued by the enraged villagers, Karloff’s Monster is again surrounded by hostility and violence. His end comes as he is consumed by the flames that he so fears and does not understand, panicked and screaming in terror (a far cry from the final Universal film of the classic horror monsters which shows him walking stupidly into burning flames). It is a terrible end for a being that did not ask to be created, abandoned to the cruelty of a world he does not understand, all beautifully conveyed by the mastery of Boris Karloff.

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But of course it is not the end. Universal realised that the real star of the film was not Colin Clive but Karloff and the resulting Bride Of Frankenstein (1935), is a far better produced film, with a beautiful musical score by Franz Waxman (which was notably absent from the first film) and far greater liberties taken by Whale as director in terms of themes. The film, thus, is a masterpiece with the story continuing where the last film left off. There are some cast changes and the inclusion of Una O’Connor as Minnie, a servant in the Frankenstein household, reflects Whale’s eccentric humour. (As an aside, I find O’Connor’s screeching an almighty annoyance and her being in the film is superfluous). As the audience discovers, the Monster has survived but burnt and injured, fleeing into the woods for refuge. But not after committing two more murders.

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Again, Karloff’s portrayal transcends the make-up and indeed his work from the first film. Wracked with hunger and desperate for basic human connection, his struggles seem to be over when he meets a blind hermit (O.P Heggie). The kindness and genuine humanity of the scenes that follow are touching and beautiful, and Karloff shines as he hears the prayer of gratitude given by the blind hermit, seemingly amazed by the beauty of words he has never heard before. As the hermit cries, a tear also runs down the Monster’s cheek and he comforts the weeping old man. Here Karloff shows that his portrayal is not of a Monster but a lost soul, who seeks only friendship and love. Much has been said and disputed about the scene; regardless it is as the Hermit states ‘two lonely souls who have found each other’.

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Another first for the Monster is that he learns to talk. It appears he has been living with the Hermit for some time, as wounds have healed and he has learned to speak. The words, of course, are basic and the word ‘friend’ is closest to the Monster’s heart. Karloff was against the Monster speaking, feeling that it meant something was lost. With the greatest of respect to the man, this reviewer feels it does not detract from the portrayal and indeed holds firm textual integrity with the original novel, where the Monster not only speaks but is articulate. His desperate need for expression starts to grow and after losing his friend and sanctuary in the Hermit, he is again pursued and abused.

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Despite being captured and briefly shown in the now famous ‘crucifixion’ pose (hence highlighting his treatment as an outcast and misfit outside the sensibilities of society to be persecuted), he breaks out, using his incredible strength and thus also planting a seed to another important trope. Karloff again shapes a menacing figure as he makes his way through a graveyard, only to enter a crypt and marvel at the face of a corpse. Despite the necrophiliac-like suggestion, the Monster finally has someone who will not reject him. But during this fateful moment, he will meet and make a new ‘friend’ in the form of the notorious Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) whom the audience knows is planning to create life from the dead with Frankenstein. It is also an important moment of consciousness for the Monster as he verbally acknowledges that he knows Frankenstein made him from the dead, after which the Monster intones: ‘I like dead’. Pretorious responds, ‘You’re wise in your generation’. But here the Monster will be manipulated (or allow himself to be) in order to achieve his deepest desire, a friend – or more to the point, a ‘wife’.

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Karloff presents a cruel side to the Monster as he joins Pretorius in forcing and bullying Frankenstein into creating a friend for him. But his brutal menace melts when he first sees his ‘bride’ (Elsa Lanchester). His happiness turns to depression and resignation, noting that his rejection by the world is now complete. Deciding to end it all, he tells Frankenstein and his wife to ‘Go! You Live!’ but warns Pretorius to stay and as he declares ‘We belong dead’, the lever is pulled and the whole laboratory with the Monster is blown to atoms. Again, we see the Monster shed a tear as he looks longingly at his ‘wife’, still desperate for love.

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Karloff’s expression of the Monster transcended the first film, not only because he actually spoke but because Karloff was given greater screen time and there was the recognition that he was the real star. If empathy with the Monster was felt by the audience, it is most evident in Bride Of Frankenstein. The damaged Monster is not only physically hurt but wounded deep within, so much that he wants to end his life. Karloff is superb and whilst the film could not have existed without the first, it is an outstanding film. Again, as he did in the 1931 production, Karloff surpasses the make-up with a powerful range of emotion conveyed through his incredible skills and the intuitive powers he held as an actor.

Bride Of Frankenstein was the high point of chiller genius at Universal, and whilst there were solid and successful films in the horror cycle which followed, it is difficult to place them on the same pedestal. The amount of horror films began to dwindle afterwards and the few that were released did not have the level of quality that had first enthralled audiences. But other changes had occurred as well; the new Breen Code, the banning of horror films in Britain and even changes at Universal Studios itself would all have a major impact. However, in 1938, the double billing of Dracula and Frankensteinwas a huge hit and Universal decided to start a second cycle of horror, starting with the production of Son Of Frankenstein (1939).

The casting of Basil Rathbone as the late Baron’s son, Wolf, was quite a coup and the focus of the film does move to him. Without the direction of James Whale (who had lost the desire to direct), the appointment was given to Rowland V. Lee, who whilst competent and interesting in his vision, cannot bring to the screen the magic touch of Whale. It also didn’t help that the script was incomplete and changes were consistently coming in each day. More importantly for this discussion, the former looming presence of the Monster was reduced to a haunting spectre at least until later in the film. After the heights of the first two films, Karloff’s portrayal becomes somewhat muted, explained in the plot as the result of the psychological and physical traumas that he has endured. Whilst in the previous films, the Monster was a figure of fear, menace and horror, he would be now reduced to one of curiosity. Indeed when the audience first sees the Monster, he is weak, barely alive and in a coma. But the inherent scientific curiosity of Wolf demands that he bring the Monster back to consciousness.

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The sets are fantastic and Rathbone’s performance is memorable, as well as that of Lionel Atwill as the Police Chief. But ironically, the one man who steals the film from everyone, even Karloff, is Bela Lugosi as the evil and twisted Ygor. It is perhaps the meatiest and most interesting role since his star turn as Dracula, and if ever there was the ‘sideman’s revenge’ for Lugosi, than this was it.

There ARE moments where the Monster’s humanity shines through; his anger at seeing himself in the mirror and the depths of his self-consciousness emerging, the relationship with Peter, the Baron’s son and the howl he gives when he find Ygor’s body, perhaps reminiscent of his role in The Old Dark House as Morgan, the brutal butler weeping over the body of Saul. But sadly, there is the foreshadowing of the tropes that will soon take hold in the mind of the public when it comes to the Monster. He follows the commands of Ygor without question, and whilst this emerges to some degree in Bride Of Frankenstein, there is a sinister motive to the Monster’s relationship with Pretorius. Now, he is nothing more than a mindless slave being used for Ygor’s mad schemes. This will be repeated ad nauseum in future films. Gone is the desperate and futile search by the Monster for his sense of self and an answer to his creation. The range of emotions once present are missing and we see a Monster that is flat and limited in scope.

Additionally, the concept of the Monster being almost ‘super-human’ and indestructible emerges, particularly when Wolf states: Two bullets in his heart but he still lives! And even when he is pushed into a boiling pit of sulphur at the end, the audience has already been trained that it’s not really the end. Karloff is still imposing as the Monster particularly in the final scenes but he could see the writing on the wall. He would never play the Monster again in a major film and lamented the direction in which his beloved Monster was headed. Son Of Frankenstein is still a lot of fun and deserves applause for its’ strong cast and exceptional photography. It’s a tight film and the direction holds it together, with an eerie atmosphere on an outstanding designed set. But something seems to be amiss.

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Karloff would never pour scorn on those actors who followed him in the role, for he was too kind and humble to do so. He did, however, feel that the make-up was doing all the work, even during the filming of Son Of Frankenstein. He felt that the character ‘no longer had any potentialities’ but added that ‘anyone who can take that make-up every morning deserves respect’. Karloff adored the Monster and would forever state that he owed it everything, giving credit to everyone from Whale to make-up artist Jack Pierce, characteristically excluding himself. It must have deeply affected this true gentleman when the Monster became the butt of jokes, which he had always hoped would never happen. When asked to assist in the promotion of Abbot And Costello Meet Frankenstein(1948), he reportedly stated that he was happy to do so ‘as long as he didn’t have to see the picture’. Indeed, as much ‘fun’ as the Universal Pictures of the 1940s are, the menace of the Monster from the early 1930s was not meant to be fun and dark fairy-tale essence of the first horror cycle is missing.

Sadly, to a public long trained to accept popular culture’s depiction of the Monster (now named Frankenstein), the brilliant portrayal of Karloff seems distant. Yet if one trulywishes to discover the origins of the cinematic Monster, they need only need turn to the original trilogy and watch a master at work. Karloff always praised others, such as Jack Pierce for the make-up. But Karloff did what no-one else has been able to do – he transcendedthe make-up and costume and blended it into his own fascinating and deeply motivated portrayal. Karloff claims he owed his career to the Monster but the Monster owed everything to Karloff as well.

Paul Batters teaches secondary school History in the Illawarra region and also lectures at the University Of Wollongong. In a previous life, he was involved in community radio and independent publications. Looking to a career in writing, Paul also has a passion for film history.

The Frankenstein Monster: Boris Karloff And His Incredible Portrayal by Paul Batters Of all the monsters in the pantheon of the ‘children of the night’, perhaps none have had such an impact on the sympathies of an audience as the Frankenstein Monster.

#1930s cinema #bela lugosi #Boris Karloff #bride of frankenstein #classic horror #frankenstein #James Whale #son of frankenstein

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