So Many Monsters: A Drabble Collage
Title: So Many Monsters: A Drabble Collage
Author: quietprofanity
Fandom: Multifandom Work (Comics and Manga/Anime) - See Below
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. For Credits, see below.
Warnings: Non-explicit sexuality and mild violence.
Summary: Eight variations on the same theme.
~*~*~
If Al had his body back, the first thing he would want to do is touch him. He couldn’t remember what it was like, now. The accident took away the memory of touch as well as the body that did. He remembered hugging, but not the contact of skin-on-skin; the same way he remembered having the beginning feelings of an adult, but nothing more.
The feelings didn’t come back in his dreams, but certain thoughts … certain wishes … they did. The need to touch again came with the need for more … And when that happened, sometimes Al never wanted his body back.
~*~*~
I know you’re not the Someone Just for Me, but I wish you were. If you were the Someone Just for Me, maybe I could change things. Maybe we could really be together forever, just like we are now - not with me going away and hiding you inside me.
I wish I could do that. I’m your little sister, after all. I was made just for you. So why can’t I give up on loving someone the same way you love Daddy? Why can’t I just love you?
Maybe because I know I would still not be the Someone Just for You. Maybe because I know I can’t love you more, the way I should. Maybe it’s just because in the end, we are only machines.
…
Chi?
~*~*~
At first, she could have the hope. Soul Society wasn’t a peaceful place - no. No, of course not. An empty chair could just mean an emergency.
The hope continued into the weeks ahead, when Soi Fong would wake up at all hours of the night. Dried saltwater made her eyes stick together, fresh tears let her blink as she watched the night sky, waiting for Yoruichi’s form streaking by in the moonlight - a dark blur of taut muscles and flowing hair.
The passing of months let her sleep through the night. Still, the dreams remained, or at least something close to them. Her daydreams of happy reunions became sweaty, warm tumbling at night. She was still young, then, but growing up. Things were changing. Things always changed.
Or so the others in the Secret Mobile Corps told her. Yoruichi was gone. New comrades would come.
And they were right. Yoruichi was gone. New comrades did come. She had stopped hoping, replaced that hope with anger, but it never stopped the dreams.
~*~*~
June 13, 1978 6:12 a.m.
Had dream tonight. Ugly dream. Tried to stop thinking about it. Almost worked.
Smashed Richter’s nose on barstool. Told me where to find man who drove the car with the little boy into Hudson. Louis Johnson. Feelings returned after leaving the bar.
Won’t let them return now.
It works best to stay angry. When we were a team he said he would never give this up. Talked about truth and justice. Doing what’s right. Lied. Best to be angry.
June 15, 1978 9:30 p.m.
Beat Louis Johnson until every rib smashed. Told me he didn’t do it. He said the mother was crazy. Was right. Later heard mother confessing on TV. Police got her before I could.
Returned home. Liberals on TV already giving sympathy, said the chemicals in her brain after the birth of the child made her crazy. It was not her. It was her brain.
Thought dream would fade. No. Becomes more vivid. Can hear the breathing. Can smell the cologne. Can feel it. Disgusting.
Saw homosexual on TV who said he couldn’t help it. Couldn’t help it like the mother. Couldn’t help it like Dreiberg. Said he had to stop fighting, I remember.
All liars. I will never give in.
~*~*~
Jealous? No way! I’m not jealous. Well, not in THAT way. Mom, come ON. I liked Yuki-san’s writing. Well, sure he’s hot. Yes, SMOKING hot. Yeah, I guess it’s true that I asked for the cigarette butts and bits of his hair and … LOOK, I have a boyfriend, Mom.
Oh … er …
No, I know. I’m really not upset he’s gone. It was time. Yeah, I remember, too. I guess it was a knee-jerk reaction. Shuichi hated him so much that I wanted to stay with him on principle.
You know, Mom? I was thinking about how quiet it is now. If Shuichi heard us talking like this about guys he would always come up behind me and make jokes. And then I would make fun of him. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have made him cry, but come on! He was annoying.
Oh, don’t YOU cry, Mom. No, I didn’t mean it. I miss him, too. A lot. But he’s happy now. I mean, who else gets instant success and love at nineteen? Damn if I don’t want it …
What? Oh … I guess I said that last part a bit too loudly.
I don’t want to talk about it. No, Mom, please. It’s small of me. It’s just hard, I guess. When I think of all those hours I spent getting good grades and all that time I spent with my … ex-boyfriend. Time that Shuichi spent playing songs and goofing off. It’s just …
Never mind. No, I SAID I don’t want to talk about it. No, no, I am NOT jealous that he has Yuki. Sheesh! I … No, school is just hard and … and maybe I liked my boyfriend … ex-boyfriend … more than I thought I did. I … I … I’m glad Shuichi has it so good. I was worried he wouldn’t succeed. I just … I just didn’t think it would happen to him first.
Mmm … tissue. Thanks, Mom. I’m sorry. Yeah, you’re right. It will get better. It’s just … it’s just hard right now.
~*~*~
Ayeka had the moment. She could have gone into Haruna’s world and taken Tenchi out herself, but it was Ryoko’s face in the drawing. She’d lost.
She’d make Ryoko pay for that later. Ayeka would never have Ryoko’s powers, but she knew the best ways to annoy her. And in the end, that was what mattered. The hunt had become more important than the quarry.
Actually, no … she would never get the chance to make Ryoko pay.
Tenchi would never MAKE them leave, especially not Sasami and her. They were still family … Still, it wouldn’t last. Mihoshi and Kiyone would go, then the rest of them.
Their way of life would be over … but of course, it was over already. How long had she and Ryoko been on this “waitress” mission? How long had it been since they had all decided, if not to move on, then at least to change?
It had been good to change, to live and work with her greatest rival. Their last fight was a reminder of what they lost. At the time, Ayeka hoped it could go back to being that way, but no....
Ayeka looked at the spot where Ryoko last stood and shed a tear - the last for Tenchi, the first for so much more.
~*~*~
I never had any friends when I was a kid. These days I can’t help but think that maybe it was better that way.
I said this to Mary Jane and she reminded me that this war would have started without me. The whole situation is bigger than all of us, bigger than Steve and Tony, even. When I look at it that way, it makes sense. I don’t like it, but it makes sense.
But when I think about Uncle Ben and Ned and Harry and Ben Reilly, when I think about Flash just out of the hospital, and when I think that I’ve betrayed both Steve and Tony now, it makes a lot less sense.
“I’m not a team player.” That’s what I told Steve. Steve. I thought of him then as “Captain America.” That’s the way I thought of him when I was ten and only wished he was my friend. Then he was, and Tony was. Dreams come true, huh?
I don’t recommend dying if you can avoid it - even if you have that whole “coming back” part included in the deal. Too many bad experiences. I guess I just hoped a real change would come with a new body, a new suit.
I wish he’d listened to me. I knew I’d only disappoint them.
~*~*~
“Admiring our handiwork, I see.”
Destiny closed his book and turned in the direction of his sibling’s voice. “I know my wish that Dream would stop his quest with Delirium is your doing and my sorrow over it Despair’s.”
Desire continued to smile. “I can’t imagine why you’re upset with us. I thought it was appropriate. Our situation is not unlike those of the mortals in your book, no?”
“The mortals, god, and robot, you mean. And no, it is not appropriate. I am Destiny. It serves me no good to wish that things were different, or want what I am not supposed to have.”
Desire rolled its amber eyes and lit a cigarette. “You make something close to being a joke and then go back to being boring again. You’re right, maybe we shouldn’t have bothered.”
With that, Desire disappeared and Destiny, now undisturbed, continued along his path.
~*~*~
Characters belong to: Arakawa Himoru, CLAMP, Kubo Tite, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Murakami Maki, Kajishima Masaki; AIC; and Geneon Entertainment, Stan Lee; Steve Ditko; Joe Simon; Jack Kirby and Marvel Comics, and Neil Gaiman, respectively. All are used without permission for non-profit purposes. Please don’t sue!
Title taken from the song “No More I Love Yous” by Joseph Hughes and David Freeman of The Lover Speaks, which was also covered by Annie Lennox
Author: quietprofanity
Fandom: Multifandom Work (Comics and Manga/Anime) - See Below
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. For Credits, see below.
Warnings: Non-explicit sexuality and mild violence.
Summary: Eight variations on the same theme.
~*~*~
If Al had his body back, the first thing he would want to do is touch him. He couldn’t remember what it was like, now. The accident took away the memory of touch as well as the body that did. He remembered hugging, but not the contact of skin-on-skin; the same way he remembered having the beginning feelings of an adult, but nothing more.
The feelings didn’t come back in his dreams, but certain thoughts … certain wishes … they did. The need to touch again came with the need for more … And when that happened, sometimes Al never wanted his body back.
~*~*~
I know you’re not the Someone Just for Me, but I wish you were. If you were the Someone Just for Me, maybe I could change things. Maybe we could really be together forever, just like we are now - not with me going away and hiding you inside me.
I wish I could do that. I’m your little sister, after all. I was made just for you. So why can’t I give up on loving someone the same way you love Daddy? Why can’t I just love you?
Maybe because I know I would still not be the Someone Just for You. Maybe because I know I can’t love you more, the way I should. Maybe it’s just because in the end, we are only machines.
…
Chi?
~*~*~
At first, she could have the hope. Soul Society wasn’t a peaceful place - no. No, of course not. An empty chair could just mean an emergency.
The hope continued into the weeks ahead, when Soi Fong would wake up at all hours of the night. Dried saltwater made her eyes stick together, fresh tears let her blink as she watched the night sky, waiting for Yoruichi’s form streaking by in the moonlight - a dark blur of taut muscles and flowing hair.
The passing of months let her sleep through the night. Still, the dreams remained, or at least something close to them. Her daydreams of happy reunions became sweaty, warm tumbling at night. She was still young, then, but growing up. Things were changing. Things always changed.
Or so the others in the Secret Mobile Corps told her. Yoruichi was gone. New comrades would come.
And they were right. Yoruichi was gone. New comrades did come. She had stopped hoping, replaced that hope with anger, but it never stopped the dreams.
~*~*~
June 13, 1978 6:12 a.m.
Had dream tonight. Ugly dream. Tried to stop thinking about it. Almost worked.
Smashed Richter’s nose on barstool. Told me where to find man who drove the car with the little boy into Hudson. Louis Johnson. Feelings returned after leaving the bar.
Won’t let them return now.
It works best to stay angry. When we were a team he said he would never give this up. Talked about truth and justice. Doing what’s right. Lied. Best to be angry.
June 15, 1978 9:30 p.m.
Beat Louis Johnson until every rib smashed. Told me he didn’t do it. He said the mother was crazy. Was right. Later heard mother confessing on TV. Police got her before I could.
Returned home. Liberals on TV already giving sympathy, said the chemicals in her brain after the birth of the child made her crazy. It was not her. It was her brain.
Thought dream would fade. No. Becomes more vivid. Can hear the breathing. Can smell the cologne. Can feel it. Disgusting.
Saw homosexual on TV who said he couldn’t help it. Couldn’t help it like the mother. Couldn’t help it like Dreiberg. Said he had to stop fighting, I remember.
All liars. I will never give in.
~*~*~
Jealous? No way! I’m not jealous. Well, not in THAT way. Mom, come ON. I liked Yuki-san’s writing. Well, sure he’s hot. Yes, SMOKING hot. Yeah, I guess it’s true that I asked for the cigarette butts and bits of his hair and … LOOK, I have a boyfriend, Mom.
Oh … er …
No, I know. I’m really not upset he’s gone. It was time. Yeah, I remember, too. I guess it was a knee-jerk reaction. Shuichi hated him so much that I wanted to stay with him on principle.
You know, Mom? I was thinking about how quiet it is now. If Shuichi heard us talking like this about guys he would always come up behind me and make jokes. And then I would make fun of him. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have made him cry, but come on! He was annoying.
Oh, don’t YOU cry, Mom. No, I didn’t mean it. I miss him, too. A lot. But he’s happy now. I mean, who else gets instant success and love at nineteen? Damn if I don’t want it …
What? Oh … I guess I said that last part a bit too loudly.
I don’t want to talk about it. No, Mom, please. It’s small of me. It’s just hard, I guess. When I think of all those hours I spent getting good grades and all that time I spent with my … ex-boyfriend. Time that Shuichi spent playing songs and goofing off. It’s just …
Never mind. No, I SAID I don’t want to talk about it. No, no, I am NOT jealous that he has Yuki. Sheesh! I … No, school is just hard and … and maybe I liked my boyfriend … ex-boyfriend … more than I thought I did. I … I … I’m glad Shuichi has it so good. I was worried he wouldn’t succeed. I just … I just didn’t think it would happen to him first.
Mmm … tissue. Thanks, Mom. I’m sorry. Yeah, you’re right. It will get better. It’s just … it’s just hard right now.
~*~*~
Ayeka had the moment. She could have gone into Haruna’s world and taken Tenchi out herself, but it was Ryoko’s face in the drawing. She’d lost.
She’d make Ryoko pay for that later. Ayeka would never have Ryoko’s powers, but she knew the best ways to annoy her. And in the end, that was what mattered. The hunt had become more important than the quarry.
Actually, no … she would never get the chance to make Ryoko pay.
Tenchi would never MAKE them leave, especially not Sasami and her. They were still family … Still, it wouldn’t last. Mihoshi and Kiyone would go, then the rest of them.
Their way of life would be over … but of course, it was over already. How long had she and Ryoko been on this “waitress” mission? How long had it been since they had all decided, if not to move on, then at least to change?
It had been good to change, to live and work with her greatest rival. Their last fight was a reminder of what they lost. At the time, Ayeka hoped it could go back to being that way, but no....
Ayeka looked at the spot where Ryoko last stood and shed a tear - the last for Tenchi, the first for so much more.
~*~*~
I never had any friends when I was a kid. These days I can’t help but think that maybe it was better that way.
I said this to Mary Jane and she reminded me that this war would have started without me. The whole situation is bigger than all of us, bigger than Steve and Tony, even. When I look at it that way, it makes sense. I don’t like it, but it makes sense.
But when I think about Uncle Ben and Ned and Harry and Ben Reilly, when I think about Flash just out of the hospital, and when I think that I’ve betrayed both Steve and Tony now, it makes a lot less sense.
“I’m not a team player.” That’s what I told Steve. Steve. I thought of him then as “Captain America.” That’s the way I thought of him when I was ten and only wished he was my friend. Then he was, and Tony was. Dreams come true, huh?
I don’t recommend dying if you can avoid it - even if you have that whole “coming back” part included in the deal. Too many bad experiences. I guess I just hoped a real change would come with a new body, a new suit.
I wish he’d listened to me. I knew I’d only disappoint them.
~*~*~
“Admiring our handiwork, I see.”
Destiny closed his book and turned in the direction of his sibling’s voice. “I know my wish that Dream would stop his quest with Delirium is your doing and my sorrow over it Despair’s.”
Desire continued to smile. “I can’t imagine why you’re upset with us. I thought it was appropriate. Our situation is not unlike those of the mortals in your book, no?”
“The mortals, god, and robot, you mean. And no, it is not appropriate. I am Destiny. It serves me no good to wish that things were different, or want what I am not supposed to have.”
Desire rolled its amber eyes and lit a cigarette. “You make something close to being a joke and then go back to being boring again. You’re right, maybe we shouldn’t have bothered.”
With that, Desire disappeared and Destiny, now undisturbed, continued along his path.
~*~*~
Characters belong to: Arakawa Himoru, CLAMP, Kubo Tite, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Murakami Maki, Kajishima Masaki; AIC; and Geneon Entertainment, Stan Lee; Steve Ditko; Joe Simon; Jack Kirby and Marvel Comics, and Neil Gaiman, respectively. All are used without permission for non-profit purposes. Please don’t sue!
Title taken from the song “No More I Love Yous” by Joseph Hughes and David Freeman of The Lover Speaks, which was also covered by Annie Lennox