fic: go directly to Hell, do not pass go do not collect $200

[xparrot]

I said it before, that I fell for Kaiba because he reminds me of Lex. Brilliant and deeply disturbed, casualties of their sadistic fathers' damage and their own ambitions. Kaiba is the more culpable of the two, having chosen his path rather than being born into it; ironic that he's the one to eventually rise above his darkness, while Lex is ultimately damned. Maybe it's because Lex is destiny's puppet victim, while Kaiba has always forged his own. Or maybe Lex just needs someone to shatter his heart.

Anyway. They're obviously a match made in some dark and deliciously twisted place.

I might've futzed with the YGO timeline; the story is set in the spring of '95, with Lex at 15 and Kaiba at 14 (for anyone flummoxed by imaging the real with the animated, please follow praiseofshadows's lead and picture Kaiba as played by Gackt). The idea is that Gozaburo sent Seto to an American boarding school for a semester to practice his English; Seto took the opportunity to learn some other valuable life skills from the school's expert. I'm not confident of the characterizations of either one of them, but hell, they're just kids here. Seriously fucked up kids.

Exchange Student {9,795 words}
NC-17 (Warnings for underaged sex and references to child abuse), Lex Luthor/Seto Kaiba
Sometimes broken edges can almost fit together. Lex meets a boy one semester at Excelsior.

Read it on AO3

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Haven't read it yet, but I want to comment before I lose the thought. I think the biggest difference between Kaiba and Lex is that Kaiba got out while Lex was still being ruled by Lionel as late as Season 5.

[lukita.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was me.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Just commented about this above - the biggest difference I see between Kaiba & Lex is that Kaiba has others there for him, trying to save him, while Lex in the end has no one, though he tries to reach out. Certainly having Lionel around for so much longer than Seto endured Gozaburo doesn't help - but after Gozaburo's death, Kaiba went totally darkside (in manga canon) and only snapped out of it because Yami shattered his heart. Even as late as 6th season Lex wouldn't need such drastic measures to save him, I don't think...

[lukita.livejournal.com]

If we're going by manga canon, Kaiba also killed Gozaburo (or was it implied?) before going darkside. Which to me means, once you've killed someone for whatever reason there really are very little lines left to be crossed. I somehow thinks Kaiba was accepted because Mokoba was there and no one was working 24/7 telling everyone who would listen not to trust their son. Ahhh, I don't know, I really like Lex so I'll justified whatever he does.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Kaiba doesn't actually kill Gozaburo (manga canon) - Seto takes over the company, and Gozaburo suicides on the spot, throwing himself out the window saying "This is what losers deserve!" and thus cementing his greatest lesson to Seto, that losing = death and therefore to win is paramount.

Yes, Mokuba is very important to Kaiba being accepted by Yugi-tachi. And I agree that Lex not being trusted is very much Lionel's fault (and the fault of his destiny; I still maintain everyone in Smallville had read the comics and knew how Lex Luthor would turn out, save Lex himself.) Lex is probably the more sympathetic, I think, because he is so justified in going evil, at least in SV canon. (then again, if Seto hadn't had Mokuba to care for, he probably never would have been driven to challenge Gozaburo; Lex is a victim of the circumstances of his birthright, while Seto became what he became out of love and the wish to do right. It's a toss-up! They've both tragic...*squishes both her screwed-up rich boys*)