Main Character Index | Monster X (Dr. Vivienne Graham and San) | King Ghidorah | Other Titans and Creatures | Humans

Monster X (Abraxas)

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General

Scientific name: Titanus Abraxas

A two-headed, half-human and half-Ghidorah "chimera" Titan, created by Ghidorah's severed head regenerating and transforming Vivienne Graham's body inside itself and transferring the head's (San's) own consciousness to her body's new second brain. It possesses bio-electrical abilities which differ somewhat from Ghidorah's and is incapable of flight.

Tropes #-H

11th-Hour Superpower: Their final form grants them a few new abilities and an instance of Removed Achilles' Heel in time for the Final Battle.
Adaptational Attractiveness: Downplayed. Their second form is a bit less demonic-looking than the original incarnation of Monster X, and it's outright described by Mariko as beautiful. The trope gets lessened even more by their final form.
Adaptational Heroism: This fic's incarnation of Monster X fills this trope in relation to the original Toho incarnation.
Adaptational Superpower Change: They seem to lack the original incarnation's Antigravity Beams and telekinesis, instead displaying a fresh alternative set of powers with a similarly electrical nature.
Adaptational Wimp: Being The Protagonist with Adaptational Heroism, this version of Monster X is less OP than the original villainous incarnation. Whereas the Toho version of Monster X was powerful and formidable enough to be a credible rival to Godzilla, this version would implicitly likely lose if it fought Godzilla seriously. There's also the Adaptational Superpower Change.
Adaptation Name Change: Downplayed. Due to the Decomposite Character, Monster X's non-designation name is changed from Keizer Ghidorah to Abraxas.
Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Including Anywhere but Their Lips, a Headbutt of Love, and coiling their necks around each-other in a form of embrace. They also nuzzle Manda.
Alien Blood: The same as Ghidorah's.
Androcles' Lion: Inverted. Godzilla says that if a Titan protects humans as if they're their own, then humans will return the favor to the Titan in its own time of need. Monster X later passes the same lesson on to Manda.
And This Is for...: They say this in their final form before they begin sucking the life out of MaNi/Elder Brother.
"This is for thinking you can hurt my little boy."
Ankle Drag: They pull a particularly nasty variation on the Mook Lieutenant they kill in Chapter 4 – specifically, San hooks a claw into their leg and drags them back.
Anti-Anti-Christ: It's sort of an offspring of Ghidorah, a Satanic Archetype (the Many even call it Child of the World Eater); and Ghidorah's regenerating minds are attempting to break Viv and San via talking and want Vivienne to become Ghidorah's fourth head, whilst Viv and San seek to remain aligned with Earth's Titans against the threat.
Any Last Words?: They ask Ichi/Eldest Brother as much before destroying his head in Chapter 17:
"It's customary to have a choice of last words, you know."
Anywhere but Their Lips: Vivienne and San have each at one point given the other a kiss on the forehead as an affectionate gesture and a way of comforting their sibling.
Appropriated Appellation: According to the author, Monster X has likely made some "edgelord" jokes in stride, in response to humans making "edgelord" jokes toward them up to and including an "edgelord" nickname. See San's folder for another example.
An Arm and a Leg: Subverted. It looks like they're gonna lose an arm in Chapter 13 when the Many rips off their left arm. The damage isn't lasting.
Artificial Hybrid: Monster X's body was formed by Ghidorah's severed head regenerating and altering Vivienne's body inside itself, before the first hybridised form was re-birthed from the severed head.
Awesome, but Impractical: Their Multiple Head Case is arguably this, since unlike Ghidorah they can't regrow a decapitated head, and therefore if one of their heads is fully destroyed or can't be reattached then one of the siblings will be lost forever. This gets fixed in their final form.
Badass Boast:
- Its two partly-merged minds have the below to say to Ichi/Eldest Brother in Chapter 17. See Vivienne's folder for another example.
  Ichi: HA. YOU ARE MORE LIKE ME THAN YOU CARE TO ADMIT.
  Monster X: Comes with the name. I am Abraxas. I can be good... and I can be a terrible, necessary evil.
- According to Word of God, In-Universe, Monster X can intimidate several Titans using "stock edgelord phrases" – "YOUR DEATH COMES"/"YOUR ANGEL OF DEATH AWAITS" – that Monster X originally began using as a corny joke towards humans (since Titans don't find the phrases nearly as corny as a modern human would).
Bad Powers, Good People: Mothra states in Chapter 9 that Monster X has inherited Ghidorah’s powers but that doesn’t make Vivienne accountable for Ghidorah’s atrocities.
Barehanded Blade Block: In their final form, they block a strike from MaNi/Elder Brother's spiked appendage and shatter the arm it's attached to, by lifting their arm and striking out with electrical Super-Speed.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: Viv and San show definite signs of this with Rodan later in the story; with Rodan's desire to fight them again and San reciprocating the feeling, and Vivienne growing fond of Rodan whilst still regarding him as a jackass. The Timeline reveals that they've reportedly become mates by 2022.
Benevolent Monsters: They're this to humans, being gigantic and terrifying-looking, but highly benign and even benevolent to humans who haven't crossed them. This is particularly prominent when they try asking terrified civilians for directions at one point.
Beware the Nice Ones: Monster X overall embodies this trope like Ghidorah embodies the Sadist — probably helping it, it's implied that both heads have to some degree inherited Ghidorah's violent Ax-Crazy neurons. See San and Vivienne's respective folders for details.
Tejada: "[…] for god's sake, do not make her angry. Do not fucking piss her off. Understand? We made her a demon."
Big Brother/Sister Instinct: San displays this to a T when it comes to protecting Vivienne, and Vivienne eventually comes to wholly reciprocate it when San's the one in danger.
Big Brother/Sister Mentor: Monster X is an interesting two-way example. Vivienne teaches San about humanity and mythology, while San in turn teaches her how to survive as a Titan, to say nothing of the emotional support they mutually provide each-other.
Bioluminescence Is Cool: Its Volcanic Veins are interpreted by certain Titans as communication like Godzilla's.
Bizarre Alien Biology: Possesses two hearts, a third lung (acting as an "oxygen bladder" when the main lungs are too damaged to work), a "pre-stomach" organ which is thought to filter out food toxins, numerous glands of indeterminate function. They also have traces of aurum (gold) in their defective first form's skin and bones, which turns into argentum (silver) after their second transformation, for the purpose of conducting their bio-electricity. Their second form has a mix of leathery skin and bony exoskeletal armor.
Bizarre Alien Senses: San can perceive electrical fields and currents in his field of vision. He can extend this sense to Vivienne via their neural link if they wish it.
Blood from Every Orifice: Viv and San's heads both start bleeding from their noses, mouths and eyes when Ghidorah violently makes psychic contact, in Chapter 14.
Body Horror: In its first form, where it's in a constant state of pain, has ingrown extra fangs along the jaws; and a horrifically extreme case of Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva due to their Healing Factor's defect, making it very difficult for the duo to move certain joints without risking breaking their bones.
Break Them by Talking: They successfully get under Ichi/Eldest Brother's skin by giving him the idea that perhaps he'll die permanently when they kill him, and in doing so they avenge all the Break Them by Talking that Ghidorah gleefully conducted on them.
Brown Note: Very downplayed. Monster X doesn't seem to have any detrimental effects on the minds of humans who come into contact with them. Word of God says that Monster X has a much more "passive, mild" Brown Note, if any at all; unlike Ghidorah and Thor.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: They eventually become this. Viv and San are a highly-powerful Titan in possession of all Ghidorah's ferocity but none of its malice or Ax-Crazy, they're protective of humans even more than most Protector Titans, and they're very tentative towards Manda and their human loved ones.
Burn Scars, Burning Powers: Electricity-based rather than fire-based powers, but otherwise this trope applies to Viv and San's first hybridized form, which is covered in keloid-like scars.
Charged Attack: They can perform the "Hold" type to release massive bursts of electrical power, but both times they've done this, it's carried the risk of severe Heroic RRoD.
Chest Burster: Once they're awakened inside Ghidorah during their final Metamorphosis, they violently rip their way out of the evil monster.
Cold-Blooded Torture: The inhumane experiments which Jonah and his paramilitary perform on them are both the Mad Scientist and Being Tortured Makes You Evil variety. In Chapter 16, they're subject to this from Ghidorah and MaNi/Elder Brother.
Combat Pragmatist: Averted. During Monster X's fight with Rodan, they deliberately avoid using more than four limbs at all to keep the fight even.
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Aside from San's mental voice (see his folder), in its first form, Monster X's physical voice apparently sounds like the Gravemind from Halo.
Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
- To Godzilla. Half of Monster X is genetically Godzilla's Arch-Enemy, Monster X's Power Glows is crimson compared to Godzilla's blue Power Glows, and Monster X is a land-bound Titan and then a Giant Flyer instead of a swimmer. Whereas Godzilla is the Last of His Kind who was born millions of years ago, Monster X is a newly-formed Artificial Hybrid; whereas Godzilla is a Destructive Saviour, Monster X goes more out of their way to limit destruction to human settlements when they can; and Godzilla is The Stoic, whereas Viv and San are Reluctant Psychos grappling with Vivienne's PTSD and with Ghidorah-derived impulses.
- And to the previous MonsterVerse movies' human protagonists, Joe and Ford Brody and Mark Russell. The focus of the aforementioned protagonists' screentime was repairing old, frayed familial bonds and coming to the rescue of family across continental borders, and most of them had an ex-wife or a Lost Lenore respectively. Viv and San's character journey, on the other hand, is about them forming a completely new familial bond with each-other (and then with Manda) after they've been brought together, they show signs of forming a new Fantastic Romance with Rodan, and rather than trying to get back to their loved ones they're actively defending them on the field.
- See Viv and San's respective folders below for more individual details.
Converging-Stream Weapon: In their final form, they can fire Destroyed Thunder beams from either eye which form a single, concentrated beam of electrical energy.
Counter-Attack: At one point, they wait for MaNi/Elder Brother to lunge at them, and they sidestep around him and stab two stalactites into his throat. See San's folder for another example.
Covered with Scars: Viv and San's first form is covered thoroughly in horrific keloid scars, emphasizing Vivienne's breaking trauma.
Cowardice Callout: Both Viv and San more than once call Jonah out for the Dirty Coward he is at heart, after they learn the truth behind Asher's death and about how Emma escaped from him.
Curb Stomp Cushion: They get this in Chapter 16 when suffering Cold-Blooded Torture by MaNi/Elder Brother. Vivienne is able to save San from being killed and do some damage to MaNi, but Ghidorah and the Many are still present around them, before the Heroic RRoD hits.
Dark Is Not Evil: It has dark gray, leathery skin after its second Metamorphosis.
Deadpan Snarker: Both of them have moments of sarcasm, though San is less prone to it due to his alien mindset, though he's still capable of joking around.
Death Glare: Vivienne and San both hand out a few of these.
Decomposite Character: In this continuity, Keizer Ghidorah is a separate creature from Monster X instead of being its One-Winged Angel.
Deep Sleep: Viv and San seem to fall into this in the aftermath of a Heroic RRoD, and it's implied they might've entered a Near-Death Experience during it. They experience a much more peaceful Deep Sleep after the battle against Keizer Ghidorah.
Destructive Saviour: Averted. Due to Vivienne's feelings, she and San notably go more out of their way than even heroic Titans do to try and keep Titan battles from spilling into populated areas; a polar opposite to Ghidorah's pure, senseless sadism.
Disapproving Look: They both try to give Manda one when the latter wanders off.
Disease Bleach: Non-canonically, the author imagined when designing Monster X's Gijinka that if it were humanoid, it would have white hair due to the severe stress of the first Metamorphosis which formed it, an idea which she implemented in this non-canon drabble.
Diving Save: They pull one to save Mothra from being crushed by Keizer Ghidorah in Chapter 17.
Don't Fear the Reaper: A metaphorical case. Viv and San's final form looks like the Grim Reaper of Kaiju, and they comfort Susan and are with her when she dies. The symbolism is made all the more appropriate by the fact Susan outright rejects the chance to become immortal. Poetically, Monster X sings the lyrics of "Don't Fear the Reaper" in Chapter 17. They're even classified uniquely as an Executioner Titan instead of a Protector or Destroyer.
Draconic Humanoid: Their final form is upright-standing with a roughly humanoid build, and besides the Prehensile Tail has retractable bat-like wings on the back for flying.
Drama-Preserving Handicap: For the first several chapters, their Power Incontinence feeds their problems with escaping their imprisonment.
Duality Motif: In their single-headed final form, they have different colored eyes, with either eye retaining either half's eye color.
Elemental Absorption: Like Ghidorah, Viv and San can absorb electrical energy from both manmade and natural sources to fuel their own electrical powers and strengthen themselves.
Emergency Transformation: Ghidorah inflicts a third and final Metamorphosis on San and Vivienne in Chapter 16, in order to keep Vivienne alive and her mind intact after a Heroic RRoD tears Monster X apart.
Energy Absorption: They can absorb electrical energy to feed and strengthen their attacks.
"Eureka!" Moment: They have one in Chapter 17, realizing the key to successfully mastering their violent fits.
Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Besides the example listed under San's folder; Monster X is capable of exhibiting a Ghidorah-like sadism but reserving it specifically for those they've marked as enemies.
Eye Awaken: Besides the examples under San's folder, when he and Vivienne are reborn in their final form, their new shared single head pulls this trope off rather dramatically.
Eye Beams: In their final form, Viv and San gain the ability to fire Gravity Beam-like Destroyed Thunder from their eyes, an ability which the original Toho incarnation of Monster X possessed.
Eye Colour Change: Besides Vivienne's example (see below), this trope is Played With regarding Monster X's final form. When one of Monster X's two personalities is more in immediate control than the other, their heterochromic eyes become a single color (hazel green for Vivienne, red for San).
Eyes Are Mental: Both heads' original forms' respective eye colors are retained. In their single-headed final form, they have heterochromic eyes containing both their original eye colors — Abraxas: Empty Fullness demonstrates the author's previous statements that the heterochromia disappears when only one personality is active^note.
Eye Scream: They suffer bleeding from their eyes as part of the Blood from Every Orifice that ensues during a psychically-induced seizure, in Chapter 14. See Vivienne's folder for more examples.
Facial Horror: In their first form; Vivienne's head is rather skull-like with ingrown fangs, while San's head at first doesn't have a mouth in addition to looking under-developed.
Fantastic Romance: According to the Timeline, Monster X has reportedly become mates with Rodan by 2022, which was only possible due to Vivienne getting turned into a Titan and San fusing with her.
Fire-Forged Siblings: They go through months of hell together before they form a mutual emotional bond, rendering them as inseparable mentally as they are physically.
Flawed Prototype:
- Comparative to their later forms, Viv and San's first hybridized form is defective and severely crippled, suffering Power Incontinence and movement-limiting Body Horror. According to Word of God here and here, the defects likely occurred due to San not understanding how human bodies biologically work and due to him not giving the hybrid a long enough gestation period.
- Word of God also describes Monster X as a prototype to the Many ("the First of Many"). Unlike the Many, Viv and San's first form's Body Horror is crippling and it doesn't have any ability to reshape itself for mobility. Monster X is also a lot less subservient to Ghidorah's wishes of them than the Many are.
Flip Personality: Viv and San do a downplayed form of this in their first form before San's head gains its own mouth, taking turns with control of Vivienne's mouth when they both want to physically speak. Played straighter in their Mental Fusion final form, where their two personalities can split out of their merged state and take turns individually speaking to each-other or to someone else when they want.
Flipping the Bird: Vivienne mainly does this, but San is picking up on it and humorously mistakes it for a standard way of greeting.
Foe-Tossing Charge: They bulldoze through Jonah's mercenaries pretty much by trying to flee in Chapter 2.
Foil: Besides being a Good Counterpart to Ghidorah, and besides Viv and San's individual cases (see below):
- Monster X overall is this to Godzilla. Both of them are reptilian Titans who are ultimately protective of the world, but Godzilla is positively ancient and experienced whereas Monster X is essentially a newborn. Godzilla is the King of the Monsters, whereas Monster X is essentially a pup among the Titans; and whereas Godzilla is a Messianic Archetype, Monster X is the Anti-Anti-Christ.
- Also to Manda. Monster X is an Artificial Hybrid created by Ghidorah (and half of them is a Back from the Dead former-human with their memories intact) with a ton of trauma, whereas Manda is a possible Reincarnation of a former-human as a divine reward and is innocent.
Forced to Watch: Ichi/Eldest Brother and Ni/Elder Brother are happy to let Monster X helplessly watch Thor being assimilated in Chapter 17. See Vivienne's folder for another example.
Friendly Rivalry: Downplayed, but they seem to have eventually formed one with Rodan, dueling him for the physical training and the fun of it.
Fusion Dance: Viv and San are Two Beings, One Body from the get-go. However, in their single-headed final form they also partly become The Composite with a Mental Fusion.
Gender Bender: A Two Beings, One Body Titan consisting of a "male" alien and a formerly-human female. Characters primarily refer to Monster X generally as female (likely due to Vivienne being the "main" head), but the author confirmed that Monster X is biologically hermaphroditic, and she furthermore suggested that its sex organs cyclically metamorphose between male and female.
Generational Magic Decline: Downplayed. Word of God suggests that Monster X is "half-Alpha" due to being a hybrid of a human and an established Alpha Titan, and that their Alpha Call equivalent therefore mostly likely translates to a demand for a fight instead of a dominating sound.
Gentle Giant: A monstrous Titan feared by humans not least for its resemblance/relation to Ghidorah, who is actually a case of Beware the Nice Ones and is very friendly towards Vivienne’s human friends.
Giant Flyer: It becomes this in its final form, gaining retractable wings. Word of God says their electrical abilities enable them to use the Earth's electrical field to fly in ways that not even Rodan can.
A Girl and Her X: Played With. If the girl and the X are Two Beings, One Body, then Viv and San definitely have shades of this. Vivienne is already a grown woman before being eaten by Ghidorah and turned into San's new sister, and Viv and San's subsequent bonding puts Vivienne on the path to mental recovery from severe PTSD.
Glowing Eyes of Doom / Red Eyes, Take Warning: In Chapter 4, their eyes glow a burning red when San takes control and brutally slaughters Jonah's mercenaries. It happens again in their final form during the Final Battle.
Good Colors, Evil Colors: Besides the Dark Is Not Evil and Red Is Heroic, their second form has visible traces of silver in its bone armor, in contrast to Ghidorah's and the Many's gold.
Good Counterpart: To Ghidorah; being a multi-headed Titan consisting of multiple "sibling" beings for either head, with similar powers and a very similar origin to the alien monster which created it; but Vivienne and San are benevolent and want to live in peace, whereas Ghidorah is utterly sadistic and finds purpose in destruction. Furthermore, both monsters were on the receiving end of attempts by their respective creators/transformers/originators and jailers to invoke Being Tortured Makes You Evil. Both Monster X and Ghidorah notably lack the terrestrial Titans' Humans Are Insects attitude, but their interactions with and attitudes towards humanity are completely opposite. Although both Titans can communicate psychically, Monster X's use of vocalizations (with Titans) and EVP (with humans) is much less invasive than Ghidorah's telepathy. Ichi, Ni and San were born siblings before they became the Destroyer of Worlds, whereas Viv and San became a Sibling Team. Ghidorah views its lost heads and body parts as replaceable, whereas Monster X does not. Additionally worth noting; Vivienne specifically has an Evil Counterpart in Ghidorah's middle head, and San has one in MaNi/Elder Brother (see their respective folders here for details).
Good Is Not Soft: They're mostly kind and affectionate, and Vivienne's influence on San means they go more out of their way than even Godzilla or Mothra would to minimize innocent human casualties. On the other hand, true to their Ghidorah heritage, they can be as vicious as Ghidorah when paying evil unto evil and/or when sufficiently pissed off at an enemy.
Good Lips, Evil Jaws: Inverted and Zig-Zagged, when they're in their toothy first form and their main enemies are asshole humans.
Good Thing You Can Heal: They have a notably unearthly Healing Factor, and over the story they endure and (usually) bounce back from damage that would cripple most terrestrial Titans for life if not put them down altogether, including but not limited to dismemberment.
Go Through Me: The nature of their fight against the Many at Yonaguni, preventing them from reaching the town of Higawa.
Grin of Audacity: They have a couple when about to try one-upping Keizer Ghidorah, and a few more whilst duelling Rodan, in their final form. See San's folder for another example.
Hannibal Lecture: In Chapter 6, Jonah's attempt to get to the captive Monster X after he's been attempting to break them ends up being this once they get under his skin with the death of Ash, proceeding to give him a full exchange involving a "Reason You Suck" Speech.
Headbutt of Love: Viv and San have one when San is attempting to comfort Vivienne in Chapter 11. They also more than once brush the other's horns and jawline as an affectionate gesture.
Healing Factor: Viv and San post-fusion have inherited/retained Ghidorah's regenerative abilities, but in their first hybridized form, a defect results in extra bone matter growing in place of lost flesh, which is gradually immobilizing Viv and San's body parts and makes it extremely difficult for them to move without breaking bones. The defect is fixed during their Emergency Metamorphosis, with Word of God noting that the defect was "patched out" at the price of making Viv and San less able to replace lost limbs or heads.
Heal It With Fire: Rodan's fire cauterizes some of their injuries at the Yonaguni battle, in Chapter 13.
He Is Not My Boyfriend: Downplayed. They take notice when someone first hints to them that people are shipping them with Rodan.
Held Gaze:
- Viv and San hold each-other's gazes in the Platonic form of this trope when they concile with each-other and when Vivienne is comforting San, in Chapter 5.
- Mothra also gives them a couple such gaze-locking looks to try and comfort them, one of which gives Viv and San a brief vision.
- The Antagonistic version occurs when Monster X in their final form stares down the enemy in Chapter 17. Specifically, they stare down all three of the heads of Ghidorah, who has caused both halves of Monster X so much pain and suffering.
- In Chapter 17, Thor locks gazes with Monster X as a way of reassuring them. This comes amid Thor's last stand against Keizer Ghidorah.
- In the fourth Abraxas: Empty Fullness one-shot (confirmed by the author to be non-canon), Monster X shares several Romantic held gazes with Dr. Ling when old feelings between Ling and Vivienne are stirring up and when San is, according to the author, developing a slight crush on Ling.
- See the below folders for individual examples.
Hermaphrodite: Monster X consists of two entities, one originally male (San) and the other originally female (Vivienne), sharing a single body. DNA analysis by Monarch confirms that Monster X has both male and female chromosomes from either half, and the author here elaborated on Monster X's hermaphroditic anatomy.
Heroic Build: The author's artwork depicts their second and final forms with brawny limbs and a toned, muscular chest.
Heroic Neutral: At first San and Vivienne are this, as their main objective is to escape their imprisonment to freedom.
Heroic RRoD: The duo suffers this in Chapter 6 when Vivienne overuses their powers in their first form, effectively microwaving their partly-human organs — then in Chapter 16, they suffer a more devastating RRoD. Their Healing Factor keeps them alive, but it's still not pretty.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: Both halves have some degree of this. Downplayed with Vivienne, who is scared of losing control of her new power and becoming something like Ghidorah, to the point that she needs to hear a couple You Are Better Than You Think You Are speeches. Zig-Zagged with San, who normally has decent levels of confidence when it comes to anything other than being a good brother, but will mentally skin himself alive if he realizes he's caused Vivienne any significant psychological pain.
Hero on Hiatus: During their second Metamorphosis, whilst Viv and San are pupating, the story's main focus switches to Monarch and the Russells.
Hit-and-Run Tactics: They use a bit of this when engaging and mutilating MaNi/Elder Brother in Chapter 17.
Holding Back the Phlebotinum: In the Timeline, Monster X being in the Realm Below renders them unavailable when the Titans on the surface begin behaving violently, and thus Monster X can't talk the Titans into calming down nor can the Titans communicate to Monster X what's provoking them so Monster X can then pass that information on to the humans.
Holding Hands: In Chapter 13, Monster X begins tracing their fingertips along the underside of Thor's hand, but Thor grips the tips of their fingers because he's emotional over his son's death long ago and the role that Ghidorah played in it. In the final chapter, Susan grasps Monster X's finger with both her hands after she's made peace with them. In the non-canon Abraxas: Empty Fullness Halloween Episode "Come Little Monster, I'll Take Thee Away", Ling holds Monster X's hand for some time when old feelings between her and Vivienne are stirring up and they're conversing intimately. See Vivienne's folder for more examples.
Horrifying Hero: A part-Ghidorah monster who is half a forcibly-revived dead woman, and half one of Ghidorah's heads themselves. Their first form is especially horrifying; and even their final form doesn't look like the kind of monster you'd normally associate with the good guys, nor does it look like anything you'd want to be within ten miles of if you didn't know its character. With all this in mind, it's understandable why so many people who don't know the full truth about Monster X are so wary of them and even the ones who do know can still be a little uncomfortable. Regardless, Monster X is genuinely on the side of good, and they (mainly Vivienne) are even more concerned about averting needless collateral than the average Protector Titan is.
Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: Played With. Their first, more horror-laden rebirth occurs on or very shortly after the New Year.
Howl of Sorrow: A Zig-Zagged case occurs in Chapter 17, when they let loose a noise that's simultaneously cackling and sobbing, the latter due to mourning the deaths of Thor and San-2/Youngest Brother. See Vivienne's folder for another example.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Played With; and a non-romantic but very life-partner example. San and Vivienne before their fusion were a human woman of short stature and one of the heads of the largest Titan on record, respectively.
Hybrids Are a Crapshoot: Ultimately subverted. Their first hybridized form is defective and plagued by crippling Body Horror, but with some external aid, all of this gets fixed up during their second Metamorphosis.

Tropes I-P

Iconic Attribute Adoption Moment: Their first two forms are quite unique and are a case of You Don't Look Like You comparative to the original Toho version. Once they reach their final form, they're more like the original incarnation of Monster X.
I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: They have no idea that Rodan's chest, which they frequently slap or prod in confrontations with him, is an erogenous zone. In "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", they're quite mortified to realize they were inflicting this trope on Rodan to the point where their behavior towards him was Mistaken for Flirting.
The Immune: It's indicated in the fic, and explicitly confirmed by Word of God, that the Many can't infect Monster X since Monster X is already a part-Ghidorah lifeform in their own right.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Suffers this while battling in Chapter 13.
Improbable Aiming Skills: In their final form, they fire a Destroyed Thunder beam at MaNi/Elder Brother from across a considerable distance by Titan proportions and they squarely hit their mark. Especially notable when you consider that this is the first time they're using such an ability, although it's likely partly justified by San's memories of how to aim a Gravity Beam, which displays similar properties.
Improvised Weapon: Both San and Vivienne utilize this trope a couple times, using it against MaNi/Elder Brother in both instances. The first time, Monster X uses a pair of stalactites as slashing weapons; the second time, they use a broken-off church steeple to impale MaNi to the ground.
In a Single Bound: It's capable of propelling its body through the air via electrical pulses.
Innocent Innuendo: An In-Universe one. They punch Rodan in the chest, oblivious to the fact this is basically equivalent to kissing in Rodan's species.
In-Series Nickname: Is designated Subject G by Jonah’s paramilitary. San's head is distinguished from Vivienne as Subject G-1a once they become aware the creature is Two Beings, One Body.
The Insomniac: In "Sermones ad Mortuos", Monster X apparently struggles to sleep for several days when they're grieving. See Vivienne's folder for another example.
Instant Expert: San picks up the English vocabulary directly from Vivienne's brain. According to the author, Vivienne in turn is able to use her Bone Singer ability fluidly despite her lack of experience when human due to "piggybacking" on San's natural understanding of Titans' communication.
Instant Humiliation: Just Add YouTube!: In "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", they're mortified when Ling informs them that the Mistaken for Flirting incident with Rodan performing a full-blown courtship dance for Monster X was videod by Titan observers and has near-instantaneously blown up on YouTube.
Interspecies Romance: Both Viv and San have Belligerent Sexual Tension with Rodan, and the Timeline indicates they become mates in the future.
Introduced Species Calamity: Discussed. Ichi notes in Chapter 17 that by the time the Big Bad is done with Monster X, they should become just as much of an ecosystem-disrupting invasive species to Earth's biosphere as Ghidorah already was.
It's Personal:
- Besides despising Alan Jonah based on matters of principles, both Viv and San have a very personal hatred of the old Eco-Terrorist for caging and torturing them, not least because in San's case it brings back very traumatic memories according to Word of God.
- Monster X overall has a very personal stake in the fight against Keizer Ghidorah. It has caused both San and Vivienne so much pain; from taking Vivienne's human life away from her to tormenting both Viv and San with repeated Mind Rape.
- Monster X has a very personal desire to kill MaNi/Elder Brother after he viciously torments Viv and San both, and after he goes after Manda.
It's Raining Men: Rodan drops them off next to Yonaguni this way in Chapter 13.
Jagged Mouth: In their first form, Viv and San have this trope's first and fourth types (hinting at animalistic nature and also a horrific-looking but ultimately benevolent creature). Vivienne's head has ingrown serrated teeth on either side of her jaws, whilst the author's art depicts San's head with a jagged mouth-shape.
Jaw Drop: Their jaw falls in shock in "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" when they finally twig what Rodan is doing: giving them a courtship display.
The Juggernaut: It takes a lot of punishment to even slow Monster X down when it really gets going.
Kaiju: Monster X is officially classified as a Titan. In their first form, they're roughly the size of a Skullcrawler, and after their second transformation, they're almost the same size that Kong was in Kong: Skull Island, as this official artwork by the author demonstrates.
Light-Flicker Teleportation: They pull a Lightning-Flash Flicker Teleportation on MaNi/Elder Brother during the Final Battle.
Light Liege, Dark Defender: Somewhat. At first, San and Vivienne have this kind of dynamic, although since becoming a Sibling Team they're roughly equal in terms of Beware the Nice Ones.
Lightning Bruiser: It's large, fast and extremely tough.
Lightning Reveal: MaNi/Elder Brother spots them via a lightning-flash amid the darkness in Berezniki in Chapter 17.
Logical Weakness: It's speculated in Chapter 16 and confirmed by the author that because of how differently Monster X's Healing Factor works compared to Ghidorah's, it can't regrow a duplicate if San or Vivienne's head is decapitated from it.
Long-Lived: Ghidorah's middle head implies in Chapter 14 that Monster X is this at the very least, and it's probably even The Ageless like Ghidorah.
MacGuffin Super-Person: They've become this after Ghidorah's minds have regenerated, with Ghidorah actively wanting the hybridized Vivienne back for particularly vile purposes.
Martial Pacifist: They're very much this, trying to avoid unnecessary fighting but proving incredibly fearsome when pushed the wrong way.
Mating Dance: Their Friendly Rivalry spar with Rodan ends up being an avian-like dance, with Monster X doing some things that are quite suggestive.
Meaningful Look: They make it clear with but a glare at Rodan that they know he brought Manda to a Titan warzone and are unhappy about it, even if he had a point that Manda was more unsafe being left unsupervised at his original location; in Chapter 17.
Meaningful Name: It was named Monster X in reference to Ghidorah's Monster Zero designation, due to the two-headed Titan's resemblance. Its Protagonist Title name in Chapter 10 is based on the Gnostic figure. See Vivienne and San's respective folders for more examples.
Mental Fusion: Viv and San experience this once they metamorphose into their single-headed final form. As a result, their default mental state is a merger of both their personalities which refers to themself as a singular being; although Viv and San's personalities retain their individuality, and they can split out of this merged personality back into the original two in order to speak separately.
Merging Mistake: When San fuses himself to Vivienne, their first hybridized form ends up plagued by crippling, painful Body Horror in addition to inverted power incontinence. According to Word of God, this is due to a combination of San not knowing that the hybridization needed a longer gestation period and not knowing enough about human biology.
Metamorphosis:
- Monster X is formed inside San's decapitated head by him reviving, regenerating and transforming Vivienne's body via feeding his own enzymes into her system, before eventually being (re)born from the head, and it's not all that dissimilar to a real-life metamorphosis.
- A second, shorter metamorphosis is instigated externally by Mothra in Chapter 7. This one technically counts as something of an Emergency Transformation, fixing Monster X's Power Incontinence and Body Horror.
- The third and final metamorphosis is instigated by Ghidorah as an Emergency Transformation to keep Vivienne alive.
Metamorphosis Monster: It goes through three different forms in total over the course of the story.
Mirror Character: Apart from Viv and San's individual examples (see below for details); they're arguably this to Godzilla. Godzilla, being tired and world-weary from having lived so long, fought so many foes and having outlived all his kin and many of his old friends; is arguably a reflection of what Monster X will likely look like after thousands or even millions of years.
Mistaken for Flirting: Hilariously enough. They have no idea that they're poking an egregious zone every time that they prod or put a hand on Rodan's chest during confrontations, which causes Rodan to believe they wish to mate with him and leads him to prepare accordingly in "Ain't That a Kick in the Head".
Mix-and-Match Critters: Justified by its hybrid origin. Monster X's first form resembles a reptilian Monstrous Humanoid, and their second form is noted in Chapter 10 to possess a mix of reptilian and mammalian anatomy, whilst their final form is an upright-standing Draconic Humanoid with wings.
Monstrous Humanoid: Its first form is recognizably humanoid if hunched over and quadrupedal; in its second form, San and Vivienne lose most physical remnants of Vivienne's humanity and look much more bestial; and their final form is a Draconic Humanoid. For San, these humanoid-bodied states qualify as temporarily being a Humanoid Abomination.
Monstrous Mandibles: In their final form, they have the Functional type, in the form of two jawbone-like pieces on either side of their actual jaw which can apparently flex. Word of God suggests that these mandibles probably function as additional biting tools.
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: According to Word of God, in Viv and San's final form, they have two distinct sets of teeth in their head, just like Vivienne's head in their second form possessed.
Morphic Resonance: Besides the Eyes Are Mental...
- San's head retains the same structure as Ghidorah's three heads, and Monster X retains a Ghidorah-like digitigrade leg shape. It's also worth noting, in their single-headed final form, the left eye is San's color, just as San was originally the left head of Ghidorah.
- Vivienne loses her human form's facial structure after the second Metamorphosis, but there are few recognizable physical traits (such as Monster X's hands retaining the distinct shape of Vivienne's hands when she was human) that can still identify her individually.
Moving Beyond Bereavement: The first chapter of Abraxas: Empty Fullness is about them gradually (and with needed intervention) coming to terms with the recent death of a dear loved one. See Vivienne's folder for another example.
Multiple Head Case: Of the Two Beings, One Body type. Vivienne's mind occupies the main head (formerly her human form's head before the transformation), while San occupies the secondary head; analogous to how Ghidorah's three heads shared a body. They're also able to switch (or forcibly seize) control of limbs or their whole body from each other.
Near-Death Experience: They seem to have one before Mothra revives them during their encounter in Chapter 7, similar to Madison's in the movie. See San's folder for another example.
Neck Lift: They hold a Many Mind Hive above the ocean by its neck using their Prehensile Tail, in Chapter 13.
Neutral No Longer: When the regenerating Ghidorah becomes an active threat, San and Vivienne are part of the Titans' fight against it.
Nondescript, Nasty, Nutritious: Played With. According to Word of God, manmade radiation leaves a metallic taste in Monster X's mouth if they consume it.
The Nose Knows: Monster X has a heightened sense of smell that enables them to identify things that wouldn't be immediately obvious, such as smelling and identifying blood, smelling another creature's terror up close, and smelling high levels of radiation in the air. See San's folder for another example.
No-Sell: San and Vivienne can take a lot of punishment, particularly when enraged to action.
Not a Mask: Downplayed in their final form. Methuselah asks why Monster X wears a skull-like helm over their head, unaware it's actually exoskeletal armor on their head.
Odd Friendship: Viv and San's sibling bond is seen as this by Monarch once they become aware of Monster X's true nature.
Oh, Crap!: When Viv and San's arm is severed and they don't grow a new one after several seconds, San observes it aloud, and their heads share a look followed by the narrative saying:
Oh, balls.
One-Man Army: It proves to be this when agitated. Even when it's first reborn, in Vivienne's agitated state it kills multiple mercenaries and No-Sells their ammunition before they manage to get it behind a containment field. After the second Metamorphosis, if Vivienne and San are pissed off, they can go toe-to-toe with mature and more experienced Titans.
Our Dragons Are Different: A two-headed hybrid Titan (human and Ghidorah) with leathery skin and bony protrusions, created by San transforming and essentially merging with Vivienne — as a result of the latter characteristic, the two heads' minds essentially have A Girl and Her X esque dynamic. In their second form, they have no wings and are mainly quadrupedal like eastern dragons — in their final form, they're a Draconic Humanoid with retractable wings that enable flight. Viv and San have Ghidorah's bio-electricity, but they have a somewhat different set of powers and the lightning they generate is red-tinted. They're also essentially the "offspring" of a Satanic Archetype Draconic Abomination, but they're highly benevolent and highly fierce.
Our Hero Is Dead: Chapter 6 ends with both San and Vivienne rapidly losing consciousness after they've suffered a Heroic RRoD that left several of their insides on their outside, after San expressed worry that they might die. Chapter 7 reveals that they've more or less fallen into a coma.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Monster X is mourning Susan's death, not only do they become despondent and disinterested in sparring, but their two halves in their final form become de-synchronized and disjointed. Rodan rightly guesses that Monster X is in need of an intervention from another Titan. See Vivienne's folder for another example.
Passive-Aggressive Kombat: According to Word of God, after Monster X helped to ruin Camazotz's conquest of Skull Island, Camazotz and Monster X are willing to interact civilly when neutralizing Many instances, but it's always full of barbs and snarks.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Viv and San tend toward this: Vivienne does it when she's pushed too far, and with San this trope is the main way his sadistic side manifests.
Permafusion: Monster X is the result of Ghidorah's severed left head, called San here, being mixed with Dr. Vivienne Graham. The hybrid originally comes about when San's original head, keeping a revived and mutilated Vivienne alive; feeds the head's own Draconic Abomination enzymes into Vivienne's system (which regenerates and mutates her body to form a human-Ghidorah Artificial Hybrid), and the head then transfers San's mind into a second head growing from the gestating hybrid's back. After the fusion, the only way to sever San and Vivienne from each-other is if one of their heads is severed from their shared body, leaving the other one a single-headed hybrid without its other head, on account of Monster X's Healing Factor not working the same way that Ghidorah's did; but even this weakness is practically removed during Monster X's metamorphosis into their final hybrid form.
Percussive Maintenance: They cause this in Chapter 6 by feeding enough of their powers' electrical energy into the Ural outpost.
Phlebotinum Overdose: Absorbing too much of MaNi/Elder Brother's electrical energy causes the massive muscle overstimulation to tear Viv and San's body apart, nearly killing them.
Phlebotinum Rebel: It's implied Ichi/Eldest Brother wanted the result of Vivienne's Metamorphosis to be subservient to him before San's decapitation, and fortunately San has the personality traits that lay the groundwork for his Heel–Face Turn.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: They're comparatively small by most Titans' standards, but Rodan is mesmerized by what they're capable of during an Unstoppable Rage.
Platonic Declaration of Love: In their final form which can't vocalize human tongues anymore, Monster X vocalizes "a low murmur that sounds vaguely like 'I love you too'" to Susan before the latter passes, as revealed in "Sermones ad Mortuos".
Platonic Life-Partners: Specifically Sibling Life-Partners.
Post-Victory Collapse: Downplayed. After the partly-resurrected Ghidorah's body is destroyed and Monster X personally kills the last head, they collapse on their back amidst a laughing/crying fit. They quickly pick themselves up to find Manda.
Power Degeneration: It's implied Monster X would've suffered this had the duo's Healing Factor's serious design flaw not been fixed, as lampshaded by Mariko in Chapter 14.
Power Echoes: Besides San's case (see his folder for details), in their final form their dual voices are described as echoic.
Power Glows: When its powers are being used, or when they flare due to Vivienne experiencing sudden or strong emotions, producing a crimson/orange glow.
Power Incontinence: Inverted. In their first form, Monster X has too few traces of metal in its body to conduct electricity like Ghidorah did, and they struggle to awaken their electrical powers. They succeed by using emotions such as hatred or anger.
The Power of Hate: This helps wakes up their Psychoactive Powers in Chapter 6.
Prehensile Tail: Their tail can be used for strangling in a fight.
Primal Chest-Pound: They (mainly Vivienne) incorporate apelike chest-pounding as part of their new signature intimidation display.
Psychoactive Powers: Its powers are fuelled by negative emotions such as hate or (a more easily-controllable one) anger, just as Ghidorah's powers were.
Pulling Themselves Together: Downplayed when they reattach a severed arm. They also do this after their body is torn apart and they enter their next Metamorphosis.
Pupating Peril: During all three Metamorphoses, Monster X draws this kind of awe and anxiety from humans waiting to see what will emerge. In the cases of Monster X's second and final metamorphoses, there's worry among the humans before the hybrid emerges that it'll be corrupted and as bad as Ghidorah.

Tropes Q-Y

Quizzical Tilt: They do this rather nightmarishly whilst in the process of ripping apart MaNi/Elder Brother, in Chapter 17.
Rapid-Fire "No!": Both Viv and San are respectively inclined towards making these when they're distressed about something.
Red Baron: By the time of the final chapter, humans have quickly given them several names. Word of God also says that Monster X has a Titan classification unique to them as an "Executioner" Titan.
Red/Green Contrast: Either half of Monster X retains their distinct eye color (Vivienne: hazel-green and San: red). Rather than representing a moral conflict per se (although there are symbolic elements of that due to San's past contrasted with Vivienne's); the contrast represents the duo's complimentary Sibling Yin-Yang relationship. The red-eyed San was originally 1/3 of an evil, hate-fueled Person of Mass Destruction before fusing to Vivienne, while the green-eyed Vivienne was a lifelong Nature Lover and a supportive Nice Girl.
Red Is Heroic: It produces autumn-colored lightning.
Red Is Violent: Ultimately Zig-Zagged. Their powers which produce red light or lightning are usually triggered by emotions such as anger and hate, but great enough joy or happiness can also get a bioluminescent red pulse out of them.
Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: It's eventually named after the dualistic deity Abraxas from Gnosticism, fitting what Monster X itself is as a fusion of opposing concepts (human and Titan, Nice Girl and (redeemed) Sadist, male and female, etc.).
Reluctant Psycho: Viv and San's part-Ghidorah biology influences their capacity for psychotic brutality when one or both of them is sufficiently enraged or panicked, but it fortunately only takes over their actions if they're pushed too far — according to the author, in Viv and San's case it's like an aftertaste of what Ghidorah experiences. More than this, Viv and San have issues dealing with Vivienne's untreated PTSD and both are saddened by it.
Removed Achilles' Heel: Monster X's metamorphosis into their final form enables them to stimulate their muscles via Shock and Awe to produce bursts of speed and movement, without the risk of it tearing their body apart. See San's folder for another example.
Retractable Appendages: Downplayed in their final form. They have giant wings which fold and reshape into an elytron-like bone casing when not in use. According to Word of God, Monster X's ability to do this works the same way as the Many's ability to reshape their biomass.
Roar Before Beating:
- They attempt pulling this during a training scuffle with Godzilla based on wolverines' fighting style in Chapter 9.
- Come Chapter 17, and they basically have a war chant for the other Titans before fighting Keizer Ghidorah:
  "RIP AND TEAR!"
- See Vivienne's folder for another example.
Say My Name: One of them (it's actually hard to tell which head) screams Jonah's name in rage when they rampage in Chapter 6.
Serpent of Immortality: Downplayed, but it has a serpentine quality to it, and it's indicated in Chapter 14 that it'll live at least for thousands of years, possibly even forever if not killed.
Shared Dream: Thanks to their shared neurology, Viv and San can share and enter one-another's dreams, as San does during the first Nightmare Sequence – he has less success during the second sequence, though not for lack of trying.
Shock and Awe: Has inherited Ghidorah's bio-electricity, referred to by San as "the storm", although Monster X's abilities aren't quite the same as Ghidorah's. Although their Weather Manipulation is less intense, Monster X can give off blasts of electrical energy through their body and legs which enable them to commit feats of massive speed and jumping by stimulating their muscles. Word of God also reveals they can utilize the Earth's electric field to fly in ways that not even Rodan and Mothra can.
Shut Up, Hannibal!:
- They give Jonah a Hannibal Lecture in response to one of his efforts to break Vivienne down in Chapter 6.
- Both San and Vivienne repeatedly tell Ghidorah's voices to shut up — the voices either keep pestering them or will come back for more later. They ultimately deliver this to Ichi/Eldest Brother face-to-face in Chapter 17:
  Ichi: THIS IS BUT THE ADDITION OF TIME TO AN OLD SENTENCING. WE WILL BE BACK. WE WILL ALWAYS COME BACK, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
  Monster X: Not if we find all the pieces first. But even if we don't, we'll still be there to kick your ass all over again.
Sibling Fusion: Due to Ghidorah's heads being brothers, Vivienne and San are considered brother and sister after merging into a two-headed Artificial Hybrid. They experience further fusion in their final form.
Sibling Murder: In their final form, Viv and San deliver Karmic Deaths to MaNi/Elder Brother (although Word of God has hinted they might have merely rendered him comatose rather than killed him outright) and Ichi/Eldest Brother. Whilst San in particular is both entities' actual brother, Vivienne is also considered by them to technically be their sister.
Sibling Team: Vivienne and San are considered brother and sister after their merger (analogous to Ghidorah’s heads being brothers), and they eventually become this kind of team; learning to work together and becoming each-other’s emotional crutches.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Characters note In-Universe how San and Vivienne are polar opposites in many regards yet are an inseparable Sibling Team. It influences their scientific Meaningful Name.
Sickening "Crunch!":
- Their first form, crippled by the Body Horror, at times produces muffled popping sounds when it moves with effort.
- There's also a few of these sounds during their fight against MaNi/Elder Brother in their second form, and it's ambiguous at times which Titan is being injured.
- See San's folder for another example.
Signature Roar: The author has mentioned Monster X has the same vocalizations as the original Toho incarnation (at least Vivienne's head does, as San's head is implied to have the same roar as Ghidorah).
Silence of Sadness: In "Sermones ad Mortuos", Monster X barely says anything at all when they're mourning the death of Susan. See the below folders for individual examples.
Silver Bullet: Played With. A strictly metaphorical case, but Monster X's bone armor becoming silver-infused (a notable contrast to Ghidorah's gold-infused scales) fits with Real Life lore describing silver as a repellent against evil supernatural forces, as noted in Chapter 10.
Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Played With. From their second form onwards, Monster X's protruding bone armor looks vaguely like pieces of actual armor made of bone being worn atop their dark flesh.
Skull for a Head: In Viv and San’s first form, Vivienne’s face still looks vaguely human but with an extremely skeletal, gaunt-looking structure. In their final form as Monster X, their new singular head looks very much like it’s wearing a large draconic skull as a helm, which is actually an exoskeletal part of their flesh and bone.
Slasher Smile: Besides Vivienne's individual example under her folder, Viv and San give MaNi/Elder Brother and then Ghidorah a couple such grins when fighting against either of them in Chapter 17. They also give Rodan a couple such looks in their final form, once because they're pissed at him bringing Manda to a war zone (albeit on reasonable grounds) in Chapter 17; then again before dueling him in Chapter 18.
Sleep Deprivation: On top of Vivienne's insomnia and San's individual sleep deprivation in their first hybrid form (see the below folders for the respective details); in their second form, Viv and San still have on-and-off sleeping issues due to Vivienne's PTSD and Ghidorah's episodic Mind Rape.
Snark-to-Snark Combat: They engage in some of this with Rodan in Chapter 18.
Rodan: Only half of you can say that. The other can just bluster and marvel at my skill while I leave you in the dust.
Monster X: Try it, spring chicken. I'm going to show you how to really fly.
Speak Ill of the Dead: Vivienne speaks ill of San's abusive brothers who are currently dead after the battle at Boston, in Chapter 5. San, who has no real love for them, eventually echoes this.
Speech Impediment: According to the author, Viv and San's physical speaking voices in their primitive first hybridized form sound like the Gravemind from Halo 2, with a slight underlying hint of a masculine or feminine voice depending on which of the two entities is speaking. Although Vivienne's dialogue in scenes written from her P.O.V. is formatted fluidly, scenes told in transcript form heavily imply that she's actually speaking in a slow, halting manner with gasps and breaks like the Gravemind's speech. See San's folder for another example.
Split Personality: Discussed by Viv, San and Susan in the final chapter. Susan asks if they're essentially this trope after Viv and San's Two Beings, One Body has escalated into Mental Fusion territory. Vivienne has difficulty explaining, but she says they're simultaneously and paradoxically two separate beings and a singular composite being.
Stealth Hi/Bye: Slightly downplayed in "Ain't That a Kick in the Head". The second time that Monster X approaches Rodan, the latter, who is perching on Mount Fuji^note, is taken by surprise when Monster X suddenly descends from the sky within spitting distance; having apparently not sensed Monster X coming like he did the first time (possibly due to being distracted).
Stop Worshipping Me: Downplayed. The author has passingly indicated that Titanic cults worshipping Monster X exist, and that Monster X doesn't exactly have a high opinion of their reverence.
Stronger with Age: The author has confirmed Monster X will gradually grow bigger and stronger with age. She also said this would've happened to their second form if they'd never metamorphosed into their final form.
Stunned Silence: Viv and San have a very brief one when Thor mentions his son's death in Chapter 13.
Super Prototype: Besides being a Flawed Prototype to the Many (see above), Monster X can also be considered this trope to them. Viv and San are far more, shall we say, sane than the Many are, as well as being much more mentally and physically consistent and more capable of thinking for themselves even when Monster X was in their defective first form. Zig-Zagged in their first form which had many crippling defects, but from their second form onwards, Monster X is powerful enough to win a fight against a Many Mind Hive. Even Ghidorah seems to somewhat consider Monster X to be this trope, as it upgrades Monster X's body into a more powerful form to preserve the Vivienne half and prepare her for assimilation; instead of handing her over to the Many, which Ghidorah regards as little to nothing more than tools.
Super-Reflexes: Physically, it can move its body with Super-Speed in its final form, and it's no slouch in terms of reacting in time.
Super-Senses: Alongside San's Bizarre Alien Sense, the conventional five senses he has are extremely heightened compared to humans'.
Super-Speed: Once they reach their final form, they become capable of safely doing this with their Shock and Awe powers. It works the same way a lightning strike causes involuntary muscle contractions that can throw a person backwards, but much more powerful.
Super-Toughness: Conventional weaponry which would obliterate an armoured human barely slows them down and takes time to seriously maim them – and that was when the duo was still in their Flawed Prototype first form.
Survival Mantra: Reciting the Elder Futhark has become a psychological one which helps gives Vivienne some mental defense or shelter from impending psychological trauma. Her Madness Mantra (see her folder) is also a very extreme and fragile Survival Mantra.
Swallowed Whole: Besides how Ghidorah originally ate Vivienne, and the example under San's folder; in Chapter 16, the partly-regenerated Ghidorah takes Monster X into its Belly Mouth to instigate their next Metamorphosis.
Tail Slap: Their tail can be used offensively as a deadly whip this way.
Talking in Your Dreams: Due to their Twin Telepathy, San and Vivienne can share dreams when they sleep.
Talking to Themself: In its first form, Viv and San physically talking with each-other in Flip Personality is initially mistaken by Jonah's paramilitary as a sign of insanity in Chapter 2.
Technopath: Played With. The author has indicated that Monster X can probably listen in to radio transmissions.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Mariko in Chapter 6, whom neither San nor Vivienne wholly trusts.
Terrible Ticking: Not unlike Ghidorah (but to a milder extent), they hear an echo of the Old Noise when they hear an ORCA signal, with Word of God describing it as a noise that causes the mind to scream attempting to block it out.
To Serve Man: Downplayed. Word of God here describes two things which would surely piss Monster X off to the point of overriding any reluctance Vivienne might have about eating members of her former species entirely. However, Word of God also agrees here and here that Vivienne wouldn't exactly be tempted to eat long pig a second time afterwards.
Tranquil Fury: Monster X is frighteningly quiet and calm while it brutally takes much-deserved retribution upon MaNi/Elder Brother.
Transformation Horror: Viv and San's first transformation specifically involves Horrifying Metamorphosis, with Vivienne experiencing a couple violent "spurts".
Trash Talk: Viv and San use this against Jonah while fighting the Many Mind Hive he's linked to in Chapter 13. They also taunt Rodan that he can do better whilst he's fighting them in Chapter 18.
Traumatic Superpower Awakening: A variation, and slightly downplayed. In their crippled first form, the hybrid's Ghidorah-inherited storm powers fully awaken when Vivienne explodes with rage over finding out about the nature behind the disposable vagrants' disappearances, in Chapter 6.
Troll: They get to return the favour in kind towards Rodan later in the story, avenging his own earlier prodding of their buttons.
Troubled Fetal Position: They, mainly Vivienne when she's controlling their body, go into this position a couple times when Vivienne's confused or has just had a PTSD episode.
Twin Telepathy: San and Vivienne are able to communicate with each-other this way in addition to vocal communication, due to their shared nervous system below the necks. It also causes them to share impressions of each-other's emotions. They're even able to let the other view and experience their memories.
Two Beings, One Body: Monster X was formed by San transforming Vivienne into a part-Ghidorah hybrid while transferring his consciousness to be the mind of her body's new second head.
Two-Faced: Besides the example listed under San's folder, both their heads suffer this due to their second Heroic RRoD in Chapter 16.
Undying Loyalty: Viv and San have started exhibiting this towards each-other.
Vader Breath: Their breathing is reduced by dehydration to wheezing by the time Mariko is first introduced to them.
Vampiric Draining: San's head apparently retains this ability from when he was part of Ghidorah, and he attempts to use it defensively against MaNi/Elder Brother in Chapter 16. Monster X in its single-headed final form uses this ability to suck MaNi/Elder Brother's body dry of energy, which Word of God notes essentially mummifies and de-animates the Many-derived biomass if not kill it outright.
Victorious Roar: Subverted in Chapter 17. After Viv and San have finally seen the monster that's caused them so much suffering killed, all they can bring themselves to do is simultaneously giggle in triumph and bemoan the deaths the battle entailed equally.
Visual Pun: They're physically inseparable in that they're literally Two Beings, One Body, which fits with the close emotional bond they develop.
Voices Are Mental: Zig-Zagged. Both San and Vivienne's respective physical voices emitted from their respective mouths in their first forms are described by the author as sounding like the Gravemind in Halo, and only when they scream do their voice/s prominently sound like a mix of Ghidorah's roar and a human scream. After metamorphosing into their second form, San and Vivienne communicate with humans via radio waves; San's radio voice is indicated to be the same as his mental voice, while Vivienne is able to produce words in her original human voice this way.
Volcanic Veins: This is one of the main ways their Power Glows manifests.
Walking Techbane: Zig-Zagged. They can cause appropriately Titan-level power fluctuations around technology, but they also at one point instead cause Percussive Maintenance.
Wall Crawl: They attempt this in an underground pit, using their claws like climbing axes, in Chapter 16.
We All Die Someday: They say as much to Manda, and they admit they expect to die themselves one day, but they also say they intend to fight and be strong to ensure that day comes later rather than sooner.
Weather Manipulation: Somewhat downplayed, but their electrical powers can manipulate pre-existing stormy weather, making it intensify or breaking it at will. Word of God says that Monster X in their final form can generate their own storms like Ghidorah can, but they aren't as powerful.
Who Wants to Live Forever?: They're not immune to existential angst over knowing they'll long outlive every human around them including the ones Vivienne loves dearly. Ichi/Eldest Brother tries to get under Vivienne's skin by pointing this out, and Monster X (particularly San) starts feeling it in "Sermones ad Mortuos" after his first human loved one besides Vivienne dies of old age.
The Worf Effect: Downplayed (see Pint-Sized Powerhouse). It's implied that they can make Thor or Rodan work to beat them in a proper fight, but they wouldn't stand a chance at defeating Godzilla if they fought seriously in their second form.
You Can Talk?: A Kaiju being capable of direct communication is a new curveball for humanity, especially those who didn't know beforehand that the Titan in question is a Transhuman Abomination (itself a phenomenon that's outright unprecedented); prompting reactions of bewilderment, shock and awe when humans first hear Viv and San's speaking voices, or when word of mouth about it starts spreading online.
You Don't Look Like You: Downplayed, but Viv and San's second fused form is quite distinct appearance-wise from the Toho films' original incarnation of Monster X. Completely subverted by their final form.

Dr. Vivienne Graham

A prominent Monarch scientist who had a close relationship with Dr. Serizawa. She was Swallowed Whole by Ghidorah (Ichi/Eldest Brother) in Antarctica, before being stored inside San's head to be revived and transformed, forming San's new sister as part of Monster X. She functions as the main head.

Tropes A-M

Action Girl: Due to her Titan transformation and all the combat that comes with such a life, she's now an Action Female Kaiju.
Action Mom: As a Titan, she becomes this after adopting Manda.
Adaptational Friendship: She's more explicitly close to several of Monarch's other top brass whom she was never explicitly shown to be anything more than colleagues to in the MonsterVerse materials; namely Drs. Ilene Chen and Rick Stanton, Sam Coleman, and Colonel Diane Foster.
Affectionate Nickname: Somewhat. San usually calls Vivienne "sister" (after merging with her) and "Bone Singer".
Afraid of Their Own Strength: She's afraid both of hurting humans if she so much as touches them due to her Kaiju size, and she's also wary of getting blood-drunk when using her and San's "storm".
All Girls Want Bad Boys: In "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", Ling jokingly says that Vivienne's always had a thing for "bad boys in leather", referring to Monster X's chemistry with Rodan. Vivienne grouses that Ling knows her too well.
Ambiguously Bi: There's a casual hint in Chapter 10 that she's bisexual, which Word of God has further supported since. The ambiguity disappears in "Ain't That a Kick in the Head".
Amicable Exes: The author has supported the suggestion that Vivienne and Ling Chen were once in a relationship, and they remained on friendly terms after breaking up, with the Abraxas: Empty Fullness one-shot "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" confirming that to be the case.
Arbitrary Skepticism: She works for an organization that studies ancient Kaiju, but she never believed that alien life — at least not of the technologically super-advanced variety — might exist, until San tells her of how he and his brothers exterminated such a species in Chapter 10.
Ascended Extra: She's one of the two main protagonists of the story with a healthy and delightful amount of characterization and Character Development to go with it, alongside San. In MonsterVerse canon, she's been considered by the fandom a Satellite Character and a case of They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character (especially after she was killed off in King of the Monsters), and Hrodvitnon is a Sally Hawkins fan who is openly on the TWAPGC train.
Baby Factory: It's revealed in Chapter 16 that Ghidorah intends to forcibly impregnate her with a "Death-Child".
Back from the Dead: She technically was temporarily dead after being Swallowed Whole by Ichi/Eldest Brother, before being ejected into San's neck where she was forcefully revived and kept alive in a comatose state. Apparently, her brain activity temporarily ceased before her faculties were restored intact.
Badass Boast: She has the below one for Jonah when she and San are about to escape containment in Chapter 6. See the General folder for another example.
"Did you think us defeated? Broken down to be your tool? Did you think yourself like Odin, all-seeing and all-knowing? Binding us like Fenrir, foretold to bring about great destruction at the time of Ragnarök? For all his wisdom and insight and knowledge, did it ever occur to Odin that by binding the wolf he was only creating a self-fulfilling prophecy? Fenrir's sons will devour the sun and moon, Gleipnir will break, and Fenrir will have his vengeance on Odin. This fetter will break..."
Beauty to Beast: She's acknowledged as having been a looker when she was human, whereas her and San's first form post-fusion is a real case of Body Horror (though her face is still recognizable upon close inspection). The trope is later somewhat reversed: Viv and San's complete second form is even more bestial than their first form, yet notably more beautiful.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Played With. Canon Manual materials state she always sought a life of adventure, and it's mentioned in Chapter 12 that she used to hope she could wake up at Castle Bravo to seeing Godzilla. Both those things are certainly recurring parts of her life now.
Because You Were Nice to Me: Whilst she is San's Morality Pet, the lengths he goes to caring for her throughout their imprisonment (which is far more than their human captors are giving her) influence her bonding with him in turn.
Being Tortured Makes You Evil: She's on the receiving end of attempts to invoke this. Jonah attempts to psychologically break her via Cold-Blooded Torture, as does Ghidorah later on.
The Berserker: This is the state she's often gone into in fighting until she and San reach their final form. Because it's uncontrollable and she tends to lose herself, she and San agree that she needs to learn to control it.
Beware the Nice Ones: When she was human, she wasn't easily angered but it was frightening when someone actually succeeded in pissing her off. Her temper is certainly no less fierce after her transformation into part of Monster X, plus she tends to get angry easily due to her Trauma Conga Line and PTSD.
Big "NO!": When she freaks over Susan Graham's presence at Yonaguni in Chapter 15, and when she realizes what Ghidorah is going to do to her first before it assimilates her.
Big "SHUT UP!": She throws a couple of these when someone derides her relationship with Serizawa.
Blank Stare: She playfully gives Madison a joking one when the latter teasingly asks her to perform a dance in Chapter 8.
Blood from the Mouth: Besides the example she shares with San (see above folder), blood geysers from her mouth during the Heroic RRoD.
Bond Villain Stupidity: Inverted by her in Chapter 6. Drunk with bloodlust, she almost tries to blast Jonah, then decides against it in favor of letting him lead her and San to his dirty little secret and killing him after. Had she gone through with the former option instead of picking the latter, Jonah might not have gotten away there and then.
Break the Cutie: She endures this over the course of the story’s first five chapters, leading to her Taking A Level in Badass – and her Trauma Conga Line isn’t over yet.
Broken Tears: Honestly, after the last thing she clearly remembers is running and screaming for her life amidst Ghidorah's awakening before she's suddenly woken up somewhere else transformed into a malformed, pain-wracked monster; is it any surprise in the slightest that tears are lining down from her eyes for hours? And this certainly isn't the last time Vivienne ends up crying in such a way during the fic.
Busman's Vocabulary: A mild case, but it shows at times that she's affluent in mythology and has an interest in the past.
Cessation of Existence: It's revealed in Chapter 5 that she apparently experienced complete oblivion when she was temporarily dead. It's implied by the author, and confirmed in Chapter 17 and "Sermones ad Mortuos", that this is not permanent after death for beings In-Universe, but rather is an intermediary stage preceding the next life.
The Conscience: She seems to mainly serve this function among the duo, whereas San tends to be True Neutral when it comes to aiding others.
Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
- The human protagonists of Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) (Joe, Ford and Mark) were grappling with the death of a child or spouse which happened to them years before the story's main time frame, and they'd isolated themselves (in Joe and Mark's cases) and strained their relationships with their loved ones. Vivienne is instead grappling with the death of a Parental Substitute which she finds out about during the story (making her raw grief a lot more fleshed-out and understandable), and she remains sociable with Titans and humans when she and San start communicating with them. Furthermore, Vivienne here is a Metamorphosis instead of just a human, she's female instead of male, and instead of being just a soldier (Ford) or an ex-scientist (Joe and Mark), she's an ex-scientist turned Kaiju warrior.
- Godzilla is ancient, experienced, well-versed in how to use his strengths and weaknesses, and he's famous among humans and Titans around the world. Vivienne is new to her Titan body, she's female instead of male, and whilst she was somewhat Famed In-Story she was mostly just seen as an extension of Serizawa before she got transformed into a Titan.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Her initial death when Ichi/Eldest Brother ate her alive. It's confirmed she didn't die right away when he ate her, and she was aware of what was happening.
Cry Laughing: She responds this way when informed of Admiral Stenz's death, in Chapter 11.
The Cuckoolander Was Right: In-Universe. Tejada initially thought Vivienne was a loon because of her worshipful attitude to Godzilla, but realizes Vivienne's notes are right about Ghidorah's Brown Note.
Day Hurts Dark-Adjusted Eyes: A variation. When she and San are first reborn as Two Beings, One Body, after months gestating in a "womb" inside San's old head, Vivienne reacts with pain to the indoor artificial lighting she's greeted with.
Deadpan Snarker: She has a few moments.
Death Amnesia: She doesn't know whether or not she literally died when she was Swallowed Whole by Ghidorah, until Chapter 5. Justified, as in this universe, Cessation of Existence occurs after death.
Death by Irony: Jonah lampshades the cruel irony of her death by Ghidorah, the very Titan whose containment Vivienne was in charge of monitoring.
Death by Origin Story: She's reborn as part of Monster X at the story's start, following her MonsterVerse canon death in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
Deer in the Headlights: She has this reaction when she first sees MaNi/Elder Brother and her PTSD triggers, in Chapter 15.
Deity of Human Origin: After being transformed from a human into half of a Two Beings, One Body Titan, she and her brother are considered as much a Physical God as the other Titans. She lampshades this in Chapter 12.
Despair Speech: She has this when she's in the midst of her Heroic BSoD over Serizawa's death:
Vivienne: It matters because you [San] might be able to come back, but we [humans] can't. Even if we did get out of here, we can never do what you did with me. There's nothing left of him.
San: nothing?
Vivienne: Nothing! My memories are all I have left of him.
Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?: She becomes mated to the ancient Titan Rodan, albeit only after she herself has become a Transhuman Abomination Titan.
Disappeared Dad: The matter of her biological father who died before she was born is sometimes Played for Drama, including in relation to how it influenced her Parental Substitute bond with Serizawa.
Does Not Know Her Own Strength: She has a claw variation of this upon her rebirth as half of Monster X. Not yet aware of her new Titan body's strength or sharp claws, she accidentally guts one of Jonah's men and rips him in half.
Ear Ache: A horn variation. San gets so desperate to snap her back to her senses that he resorts to biting her horns during her psychotic episode, in Chapter 9. Vivienne also gets bitten on the horns by a frustrated MaNi/Elder Brother in Chapter 16.
Eldritch Transformation: Downplayed. San semi-unintentionally transforms her from a mere human smaller than a Titan's tooth into an unnatural-looking Monstrous Humanoid with Body Horror, a second set of ingrown teeth, and a second head growing from the back. Viv and San's second Metamorphosis grants them a much more stable Titan form.
Eloquent in My Native Tongue: According to Word of God, she can speak scraps of Mandarin but her overall command of the language is awful.
Et Tu, Brute?: After she finds out about her friend Emma's betrayal and crimes, it's clear in later chapters when Emma gets mentioned that Vivienne has taken it very personally.
Eye Colour Change: Her hazel eyes turn a burning red when her and San's powers kick in. See the above folder for more details.
Eye Scream: In-Universe, Vivienne balefully remembers one of Jonah's Mook Lieutenants shooting her in her eye, long after it occurs in Chapter 4. It's revealed in Chapter 6 that when she was human, she at one point suffered a bloodshot eye due to Ghidorah's psychic influence. See the above folder for another example.
Facepalm: She pinches the bridge of her nose in Chapter 9 when snapped out of an unpleasant reverie.
Face Your Fears: In Chapter 16, she tears her way into MaNi/Elder Brother's mouth and throat to save San, this despite her phobia of monstrous jaws due to her death in Antarctica.
Famed In-Story: When human, she was one of Monarch's most famous/infamous members alongside Serizawa. After the hybrid she and San have become becomes known to the world, it draws a lot of public attention.
Family Eye Resemblance: San notes that Vivienne's biological father had the same hazel green eyes as her.
Fate Worse than Death: Ichi/Eldest Brother intended to inflict this on her when Ghidorah began transforming her. Even with her and San's separation from Ghidorah, she agrees that it would've been more merciful if Ghidorah had just killed her outright. Word of God here makes it clear that Vivienne becoming Ghidorah's fourth head would very much be this trope, filled with no end of abuse, Mind Rape, and a slow Being Tortured Makes You Evil.
Faux Flame: The author's artwork portrays Monster X's red-themed bioluminescence burning bright enough to create this effect during the events of Chapter 16.
Fire Is Red: She produces a Faux Flame effect with Monster X's bio-electrical powers in Chapter 16. Justified due to the red coloration of Monster X's lightning powers.
First-Episode Resurrection: The fic's opening establishes that after Ghidorah's middle head ate Vivienne during the events of King of the Monsters, the left head revived her with her mind intact, in a womb inside his neck, and he's been regenerating and transforming her inside his severed head so the two of them can become Two Beings, One Body as a Titan.
First-Name Basis: She's referred to by her first name by San (when he uses her name) and by the Russell's in particular.
Flat "What": This is her mental first response when Mariko gives her the first clear hint that Serizawa is dead in Chapter 4.
Foil:
- To Alan Jonah. They've both tragically lost a loved one, but Vivienne is coping with the loss whereas Jonah has allowed it to turn himself into something evil. Vivienne died committing a Heroic Sacrifice to save her friend whereas Jonah sacrificed his to save himself, both during the events in Antarctica. Ghidorah's lingering influence threatens both of them with Sanity Slippage, but Jonah slips too far and too soon to escape his fate, unlike Vivienne. Both ultimately become fused to Ghidorah hybrids, but ironically, what's left of Jonah's mind sees himself as more valuable to Ghidorah than he really is, whereas Vivienne is the Anti-Anti-Christ and is the one Ghidorah really wants.
- To Thor. They both tragically lost a loved one (Vivienne's father-figure, Thor's son), but whereas Vivienne's will to live is wholly reinvigorated by San, Thor has implicitly been waiting to rejoin his lost loved ones in death. Vivienne's an Artificial Hybrid whilst Thor is a Mix-and-Match Critter. Vivienne is curious about the old ways and rediscovering them, while Thor is a relic of said old ways.
Forced to Watch: She's helplessly forced to watch as MaNi/Elder Brother almost kills San in front of her, in Chapter 16. See the above folder for another example.
Forgotten Fallen Friend: Jonah suggests while trying to break Vivienne down that she's this to Monarch, in Chapter 5. Subverted two chapters later.
Four Is Death: Ghidorah's Evil Plan for her is to turn her into its fourth head ("dreaded number four", she notes). Made all the more fitting by the fact Ghidorah's three heads all have Japanese numerals as their nicknames.
Friend to All Children: Besides her relationship with Madison, she used to babysit Ilene's twin daughters, who regard her fondly. A deleted scene showed her scaring off a mercenary who was stalking two Disposable Vagrant children with but a Death Glare.
Gallows Humor: She tries using humor to cope with her trauma at times when it's about to surface, though it doesn't work perfectly.
Go Mad from the Isolation: Spending months locked in a sealed chamber with insomnia and no track of time gets to her, although San helps her cope and subvert the effects by being talkative and curious.
Grin of Rage: In her human life, Vivienne was known to smile a smile "that shows a little too many teeth and belongs on someone who could scare a serial killer into rethinking their life choices" when someone managed to push her to true fury. Vivienne retains this trait as half of Monster X, putting it on display when she's utterly pissed at MaNi/Elder Brother.
Happy Place: In Chapter 4, she tries to drown out Guard B-04’s abuse and avoid thinking of Ghidorah by reciting geological time periods.
The Heart: In her human life, she was beloved by her colleagues in the Monarch top brass for her charm, humor and disarming presence. Vivienne and Ilene bonded by using runes as a secret code, Vivienne and Rick could match each-other's wits, and Sam found her presence medicinal for his anxiety.
Held Gaze:
- She locks eyes with Madison in an attempt to invoke the Platonic version of this trope, but it enables Madison to see in Vivienne's eyes how mentally wounded she really is, in Chapter 8.
- Vivienne and Godzilla share a few Platonic gazes where the latter is attempting to comfort the former.
- The Antagonistic version happens when she and Alan Jonah lock glares in Chapter 13.
- The Platonic version occurs between her and Manda when they first meet. Manda makes direct eye contact with Vivienne, and Vivienne thinks she sees a momentary flash of recognition in Manda's eyes, hinting that the latter might be Serizawa reincarnated with some unconscious fragment memory of her.
- She ends up locking gazes with Susan when mother and daughter reunite in person in Chapter 15. And the look in Vivienne's eyes is nothing short of anguished.
- See the other folders for more examples.
Heroic BSoD:
- She's thrown into a gut-wrenchingly severe one after she discovers Serizawa is dead in Chapter 4, coming pretty damn close to the Despair Event Horizon. She only comes out of it right when San hits his own BSoD...
- In Chapter 16, she's initially thrown into catatonia by her PTSD, forcing San to initially do all the defending-their-life work.
Heroic Resolve: In Chapter 16, MaNi/Elder Brother ripping San's head off and attempting to devour him triggers a fierce case of this in Vivienne.
His Story Repeats Itself: Averted. The author notes that effectively enduring a mimicry of her original death by Ichi's jaws when she leaps in MaNi's gullet to save someone she cares about from the same kind of death, has not cured Vivienne's trauma button.
History Repeats: It's eventually revealed that she's at risk of this happening to her if Ghidorah's plan for her comes to fruition. Getting forcibly fused to another being to form a multi-headed Titan and furthermore being "caged" and tortured, is also Ghidorah's origin story, which culminated in Ghidorah eventually becoming the evil Omnicidal Maniac it is.
Holding Hands: In Chapter 8, Madison grasps Monster X's knuckle tenderly when the Vivienne half reaches a hand out towards her for comfort. In Chapter 14, Ren grips Vivienne's gigantic hand apologetically after he finds out about Monster X's true nature. In Chapter 15, Vivienne desperately grasps Godzilla's finger, trying to warn the Titan that she spent much of her human life worshipping about the Many targeting Castle Bravo. See the General folder for more examples.
Honorary Aunt: Besides being viewed by Madison as a Parental Substitute (see below), Madison also calls her "Aunt Viv".
Horns of Villainy: Inverted. Getting turned into a half-Ghidorah hybrid eventually grants her horns on her own head like San's, but she's still a benevolent and kind-hearted creature.
Howl of Sorrow: Gives a particularly horrific one after learning of Serizawa's death. It was literally heard by Titans as far as halfway across the northern hemisphere. This could also overlap with Death Wail, considering that she and San are a Monstrous Humanoid capable of vocalizing with humans at this point.
I'll Kill You!: She mentally screams as much in graphic detail a couple times, when she really gets pissed off by her loved ones being seriously threatened.
Inhuman Human: Particularly in her and San’s first hybridized form, where she’s essentially revived from being Only Mostly Dead but is no longer human and their first form is a Flawed Prototype with Body Horror.
In-Series Nickname: She's known by Ziyi and Yong as "Dinosaur Lady".
The Insomniac: Vivienne's memories reveal this trope was invoked on her by the frozen Ghidorah's Brown Note while she was staying at Outpost 32. After being reborn fused to San, she's initially rendered insomniac. See the General folder for another example.
In the Blood: Her Bone Singer potential is apparently hereditary and likely came from a distant ancestor or two (as noted by Word of God). It's also hinted that her lifelong Xenophilia for Titans and fossils might be influenced by her heritage.
I Shall Taunt You: She tries to bait Jonah, who's attached to one of the Many's Mind Hives, in Chapter 13, to get a psychological advantage.
It Was a Gift: Like in the King of the Monsters official novelization, Vivienne received a Yapese pendant with a carving of Godzilla on it from Serizawa on her thirtieth birthday. San views her memory of the event amidst his Heel Realization.
I Will Find You: Inverted. Once again seeing her friends, her mother and Serizawa (before she learns of his death) who don't know of her revival is what motivates her to escape her and San's imprisonment by Jonah.
Jawbreaker: Downplayed in Chapter 2 when artillery from Jonah's mercs badly damages her jaw, barely slowing her down.
Kids Love Dinosaurs: She apparently had a passion for dinosaurs throughout her childhood which she retains as an adult.
It's her favorite childhood memory. […] Her passion for dinosaurs went above and beyond a child's fascination or obsession, as her frantic mother discovered after rushing to the museum and finding her sound asleep at the foot of a brontosaurus skeleton.
Last-Name Basis: Slightly downplayed. She's frequently but not always referred to by her last name by other Monarch operatives.
Laughing Mad: She ends up toeing this in Chapter 16 when MaNi/Elder Brother trying to kill San makes her flip.
Like a Daughter to Me: To Serizawa, like in canon. Learning of his death sends her into a severe BSoD, and she goes as far as calling him "father" in both Japanese and Kaiju Talk afterward.
Like Brother and Sister: Vivienne's father-daughter relationship with Serizawa is a variation. It's mentioned in Chapter 4 that Monarch operatives debated whether or not the nature of their closeness was romantic.
Like Mother, Like Daughter: Though there are distinctions, it turns out she and her mother are both Beware the Nice Ones, both have an interest in nature, and it's from her that Vivienne got her sharp-tongued side.
Lip Losses: In Monster X's first form, her lips are partly shredded and gone at the sides due to developing ingrown, Ghidorah-like fangs.
Little "No": She gives a string of the first type when refuting Ghidorah with a Not So Similar speech (see below).
Locked Out of the Loop: Having been comatose and regenerating for half a year, she's at first out of the loop on multiple events that happened after her death in Antarctica. There are still some details she's only now catching up on.
Madness Mantra: This is a recurring mental phrase when her PTSD is really kicking into high-gear:
"DON'T LOOK UP YOU'LL DIE IF YOU LOOK UP"
Mama Bear: Her blood boils at the thought that Ghidorah hunted Madison from sport in Boston. And Manda is no exception.
Mayfly–December Friendship: It's indicated by Ghidorah in Chapter 14 that following her Metamorphosis, she'll outlive all her human friends.
Meaningful Name: Her name is noted in Chapter 1 to mean "alive", quite fitting in the context of what happens to her in this story. See the other folders for more examples.
Messianic Archetype: Lampshaded a couple times. Vivienne coming Back from the Dead is compared to Jesus, and it fits. She began her life walking amongst humanity, she died in a Heroic Sacrifice and descended into hell (or into the Devil's jaws to be more precise), she returns from the dead to the surprise of her Apostles (her Monarch colleagues and the Russells), and she ascends to godhood (Physical Godhood as a hybrid Titan). Adding to the "Twelve Apostles" archetype, Emma can be seen as the Judas for betraying Vivienne despite the latter's friendship in such a way that instigated Vivienne's death and resurrection. Like Jesus, Vivienne has a mother, an absent (not walking the Earth) biological father who she takes after in some way, and a father figure (Serizawa). Monster X is also initially met with stigma from some of humanity before Viv and San's final rebirth. Vivienne even has the fact that she worships and is guided by the "God" of this setting (Godzilla) going for her.
Mark Russell: Jesus.
Vivienne: yeah?
Mirror Character:
- It turns out imprinting on a Replacement Goldfish to ease the tragic loss she suffered is something Vivienne and Thor have in common. Both are technically hybrids (an Artificial Hybrid and a Mix-and-Match Critter), and they're both only just getting up-to-date on what's happened in the world while they were away.
- Vivienne and Manda are both "newborn" Titans and possibly both formerly-human.
- And to Susan, her own mother. Depending on Manda's Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane, Vivienne and Susan might both have a human-turned-Titan offspring who happens to be a loved one they thought dead and mourned in some form. Both of them also fight to hold themselves together through their grief despite how much it's taken out of them.
Moe Greene Special: One of Jonah's mooks shoots her in the eye, and although it regenerates, the memory sticks with her.
Monstrous Cannibalism: Defied when she, still coming to terms with what she's become, vehemently rejects San's suggestion that she eat Jonah's troops in Chapter 4.
Morality Pet: She's this to San, having a positive influence on his character growth since he fused with her, and it's because of her that San becomes determined to be better than Ghidorah. She's even able to get San-2/Youngest Brother to pull a Redemption Equals Death after Talking the Monster to Death.
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: After fusing with San, she has two sets of teeth: a universally sharp front set, and a more human-like rear set with canines and molars. See the General folder for more details.
Moving Beyond Bereavement: Throughout most of the main fic, she's still in mourning over Serizawa's death on top of all the other Trauma Conga Line shit she has piled on her. See the General folder for another example.
My Instincts Are Showing: Inverted, as she adapts to having an inhuman body, but does still retain some human-like body language and also a couple individual physical cues from when she was human. According to Word of God, it'll take her a while to adjust to feeding on radiation instead of fleeing it.

Tropes N-Y

Nice Girl: She's widely regarded as a kind person by her peers, who all benefitted in some way from her company. She's still a compassionate person after her resurrection as part of Monster X, but she's lost the "psychologically well-balanced" part entirely due to her Trauma Conga Line.
No. Just... No: In "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", finding out that some of her Monarch colleagues used to think she'd get together with Mark for Madison's sake gets a very flat "No" out of Vivienne.
Not Afraid to Die: Played With. San notes in Chapter 5 that she's not afraid of dying anymore after her first experience.
Not So Above It All: When she was human, despite her reserved and job-oriented demeanor, she apparently wasn't above making friendly mischief with some of her colleagues.
Not So Similar: She thinks this about herself and Ghidorah (specifically Ichi/Eldest Brother) during an exchange with an enemy in Chapter 14:
Ichi: OUR PAST IS YOUR FUTURE. [...] AND IN A THOUSAND YEARS, WHO WILL KNOW YOU AS YOU WERE? BUT WE, YOU AND I. WE ARE REFLECTIONS OF EACH OTHER. WE ARE ETERNAL.
Vivienne: No, no, no, no, no... I am like [Ichi], but I am not like [Ichi], in all the ways that matter. [Ichi/Ghidorah] will NEVER have me. I will NOT become like [ICHI/GHIDORAH]!
Oh, Crap!: Besides the example she shares with San (see above), she has a few of her own:
- She's horrified when Jonah telling her she's "heard it [Ghidorah]" makes her realize what the nature of Jonah's Sanity Slippage is, prompting her to desperately plead with Jonah for a moment to get his men away from San's old head, in Chapter 6.
What does he...
[flashes back to an Outpost 32 operative acting similarly disturbed]
...oh... fuck...
- When she realizes just what Ghidorah is going to do to her before it assimilates her as a fourth head, she is horrified, screaming a Big "NO!", and her desperation to escape increases; in Chapter 16.
Only Mostly Dead: She was naturally presumed dead after being Swallowed Whole by Ghidorah. Whilst it's confirmed that she did indeed die from massive physical trauma during this event, Ghidorah brought her Back from the Dead inside it within a relatively short time afterwards.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When she was human, she was not easily driven to anger, but it was frightening when someone succeeded. After she becomes part of Monster X, everyone who knew her when she was human can tell by her eyes how much of a Shell-Shocked Veteran she now is. See the General folder for another example.
Painful Transformation: Zig-Zagged, and somewhat defied by San. Vivienne is comatose throughout her and San's slow transformation into a Two Beings, One Body hybrid, but there are still a few episodes where she experiences enough pain that it gets through to her unconscious mind until San sedates her. Post-rebirth, she's agonized when San's head suddenly develops further on their body in Chapter 4.
Parental Substitute:
- She was this towards Madison, who admits a few times (including to Vivienne herself) that she wished Vivienne would've become her mother if things had happened differently. Mark and others at Monarch are aware of it as well.
- She can also be seen as a form of this towards San, in contrast to his brothers — showing him affection unlike his brothers ever did, and forming a strong brother-sister bond with him.
Past Experience Nightmare: It gets mentioned that she regularly has nightmares of Ghidorah due to her PTSD from Ichi/Eldest Brother killing her.
Pitiful Worms: A heroic case. She isn't immune to mentally calling Jonah and/or his men (who caused her and San a lot of pain) "insects" when she's sufficiently enraged and is acting.
Plagued by Nightmares: A symptom of her severe trauma is that she's chronically plagued by nightmares which include Ghidorah and her death in them.
Platonic Life-Partners: Besides her relationship with San (see above folder), her relationship with Dr. Serizawa beforehand was also this intimate. She's deeply distraught over his death.
Poorly Lit Pareidolia: In Chapter 16, she briefly hallucinates stalagmites and stalactites as Scary Teeth and gore. Justified by Ghidorah telepathically messing with her head.
Power-Upgrading Deformation: Initially, in Monster X's first form which has granted her Ghidorah's bio-electricity and Healing Factor along with San’s mind while causing Body Horror. Inverted during Vivienne and San's second Metamorphosis.
Pro-Human Transhuman: She initially refuses to kill other humans (though this fades after she Takes A Level in Badass), she still actively wants to stay in touch with her humanity despite her transformation, and she seeks as much interaction with her human loved ones as a Kong-sized chimera Titan can have.
The Promise:
- She promises San that she'll always be with him in Chapter 6. She manages to keep this promise when they're literally almost ripped apart from each-other near the fic's climax.
- Later, she tears up over the fact that she made a promise to her mother that she'd stay safe when she was human, and then Antarctica happened.
Protectorate: San initially considers it his responsibility to protect and care for Vivienne. After she Takes A Level in Badass, she and San become mutually skilled at defending themselves together.
Psychic Nosebleed: Besides the one that both heads suffer as part of a Blood from Every Orifice (see above folder), it's mentioned in Chapter 6 that when Vivienne was still human, the frozen Ghidorah's Psychic Powers caused a variation in the form of her eye turning bloodshot.
Puppy-Dog Eyes: Played With. Ren Serizawa thinks in Chapter 14 that when she was human, her gaze tended to have a "kicked puppy" look when she was emotionally hurt.
Quizzical Tilt: She has a tilt of curiosity in Chapter 3 when she hears the new visitor Jonah has brought to her using her name. She has another one in Chapter 5 when listening to Thor's call. In Chapter 9, she has a tilt of confusion when she realizes Mothra won't be teaching her how to use her and San's powers.
Rage Breaking Point: She hits hers when Jonah's Mook Lieutenant finally pushes her too far in Chapter 4, at which point she explodes whilst San takes over their body and paints the walls with blood.
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: In Chapter 16, she finds herself sicker than ever before (and that is saying something considering all that she and San have been through), when she realizes that Ghidorah and MaNi/Elder Brother wholly intend to inflict the R-word on her to break her down further.
Reflective Eyes: In Chapter 7, her eyes reflect the bioluminescent light of Mothra's insects. See San's folder for another example.
Relative Button: The Many successfully goad her to rage by threatening her mother among others. MaNi/Elder Brother and Ichi/Eldest Brother make a point of sadistically taunting her when they try to permanently kill San.
The Reliable One: She was apparently this to Monarch when human, being Married to the Job on top of her Nice Girl relations with her colleagues.
Replacement Goldfish: San's Evil Doppelgänger tries getting to Vivienne in Chapter 11 by claiming that her emotional bond with her brother is just a Replacement Goldfish for losing Serizawa.
Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: It isn't until several chapters in that Monarch discover Ghidorah eating her was not the end, and the world at large remains unaware of her true fate for longer.
Roar Before Beating: Besides her and San's shared examples above; she unleashes her own one when she starts retaliating against MaNi/Elder Brother for ripping San's head from her and moves to rescue San, in Chapter 16.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Her Unstoppable Rage in Chapter 6 could count as a brief one for her and San.
Sad Clown: She uses humor as a coping mechanism especially while suffering from psychosis, and makes sarcastic, darkly comic observations even in the heat of battle.
Sanity Slippage: She's teetered on this a few times due to her PTSD (see Shell-Shocked Veteran).
Sensory Overload: Downplayed. The first time she directly views San's memories, she feels painfully overwhelmed by how all his senses processed everything in the memories in much greater detail than human senses. She fares better the second time San lets her her see the world through his heightened senses than she did during the first time.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Her experience of being Eaten Alive has turned her into this, exhibiting definitive signs of PTSD. Her Trauma Conga Line hasn't done much to help either.
Silence of Sadness: Mariko notes that Vivienne, severely traumatized by what's happened to her and her current situation, is usually very quiet and doesn't speak while she and San are held captive by Jonah's mercenaries. See the other folders for more examples.
Slasher Smile: She was known to produce this expression when she was human as a warning sign when someone had seriously pissed her off. In Chapter 16, she gives MaNi/Elder Brother a dangerous smile during her Heroic Resolve. See the General folder for another example.
[...] the smile Vivienne would make on those rare occurrences she'd been goaded to genuine cold fury, a smile that shows a little too many teeth and belongs on someone who could scare a serial killer into rethinking their life choices.
Small Parent, Huge Child: Her elderly mother and San's adoptive mother Susan was shorter than her daughter even when Vivienne was human (bear in mind that Vivienne herself wasn't very tall), to say nothing of after San fuses with Vivienne to form a 100-foot Two Beings, One Body Titan.
Something Only They Would Say: Played Straight when Monarch become aware of Monster X's true nature and Madison asks Vivienne a series of questions only she would know the answers to. Later, Susan Graham realizes the two-headed creature is Vivienne when she hears San's voice reciting the Elder Futhark and Vivienne's voice reciting Frere Jacques.
Speaks Fluent Animal: She possesses a hereditary ability which would’ve enabled her to mutually communicate with Titans when she was human if the practices for learning to harness it were still around. After being transformed into part of Monster X, with the aid of her neural link to San coupled with her hereditary potential, she can fluidly understand what other Titans are saying and vice versa.
Stages of Monster Grief: Played With. She's at first dismayed that her transformation into Monster X doesn't turn out to be a nightmare. She eventually forgives and grows close to San, but she hates Ghidorah for psychically haunting her before her transformation, among its other evil acts. By Chapter 11, she's accepted that she physically isn't human anymore and is now officially one of the Titans, but she still fears becoming too detached from her former humanity.
Stress Vomit: She has one in Chapter 2 in response to her whole situation, shortly after becoming aware of San attached to her.
Strong Family Resemblance: Her mother facially resembles her when she was human, but with softer features. Susan Graham in turn insisted that Vivienne took more after her father in appearance.
Survivor Guilt: Her nightmare in Chapter 3 reveals she has a level of this, concerning numerous Monarch personnel and civilians who were killed by the MUTOs, Jonah’s mercenaries and Ghidorah.
Taught by Experience: San says that Vivienne is a quick learner despite her inexperience at being a Titan. She gets to prove her brother right during their sparring sessions with other Titans.
That Liar Lies: When Mariko first informs her of Serizawa's death in Chapter 4, she at first responds: "You're lying."
There Are No Therapists: She never gets a proper therapist to treat her PTSD, even after Monarch become aware that half of Monster X is a traumatized transhuman and they start holding communication sessions with her.
This Is Unforgivable!: She already hates Jonah's guts, but when Vivienne finds out about his Playing with Syringes, her reaction makes it clear that she considers it to be Jonah's Moral Event Horizon; trying to chase him down and then reduce him to oblivion.
Thousand-Yard Stare: She briefly does this in Chapter 9, and she probably did it several other times in the story when it was her or San's P.O.V. instead of an onlooker's being described to the reader.
Token Non-Human: As a Monarch operative when she was human, she can be considered this after her transformation, although it's worth noting that as a Titan it seems she's now only connected to Monarch by socialization and communication rather than by profession.
Tomboy: She isn't known to have any particularly feminine interests, nor is her demeanor all that feminine.
Took a Level in Badass: She at first rebukes San's suggestions of deliberately killing other people, namely Jonah's personnel (even when said people are really asking for it). Several chapters later, she flies into an Unstoppable Rage in which she shows Jonah's people who are stupid enough to stand in her and San's way no mercy; to say nothing how she verbally tore Jonah apart minutes earlier.
Tragic Keepsake: According to the non-canon "Come Little Monster, I'll Take Thee Away", Vivienne had a The Call of the Wild novel which previously belonged to her Disappeared Dad, and she read it during her childhood before giving it to the Russells at some point.
Transhuman Abomination: A human transformed into a Titan. In-Universe, human characters are quite overwhelmed when they find out Monster X (or rather half of it) is formerly a human who was presumed dead.
Trauma Button:
- It's advisable that one avoid directly reminding her of Ghidorah and triggering her PTSD, which can render her catatonic, or can at worst cause her to fully lose control of her half-Ghidorah violent impulses whilst temporarily forgetting where she is and who is around her. The author has even stated that being eaten alive is Vivienne's worst fear after what Ichi/Eldest Brother did to her in Antarctica.
- She's also traumatized enough by the events of Godzilla (2014) that she steers clear of the Queen MUTO despite knowing the latter isn't the same specimen that slaughtered Monarch's Janjira outpost.
Trauma Conga Line: My, oh, my. She gets Eaten Alive and rendered Only Mostly Dead (and is left with PTSD from this); she spends several months locked up underground in a space too small for her, with no track of time, transformed into a horrific part-Ghidorah monstrosity that's in a state of chronic agony, and is inhumanely experimented on with various ammunitions to test her new Healing Factor; she finds out her surrogate father is dead (she takes this particularly hard)... and when she finally escapes and gets somewhat better, she finds out Ghidorah is both Back from the Dead and can use Mind Rape tactics on her via Psychic Link, attempting to stress her and drive her down a Start of Darkness. And then there's how her attempt at a reunion with her living mother goes. And right after that, she suffers serious Cold-Blooded Torture at Ghidorah's hands.
Troubled Fetal Position: Besides the examples she and San have under the General folder, when she was human and Ghidorah was frozen, she was at one point reduced to curling into this position in the snow by exposure to Ghidorah's Psychic Powers.
Trust Password: Madison asks Vivienne a series of questions only she would know the answers to, to verify that one of Monster X's heads really is her.
Tsundere: Word of God says that she and Rodan "will go full Tsundere mode" if their Belligerent Sexual Tension is pointed out to them.
Twitchy Eye: After recovering from her psychotic episode in Chapter 9, she has a brief twitch in her brow.
Unskilled, but Strong: Being formerly human, Vivienne attacks like an enraged primate in her first scuffle with other Titans, which isn't the best-suited mode of attack for her and San's new half-Ghidorah, quadrupedal physique, and she's all-round at first very inexperienced with her new Titan body. That doesn't stop her from single-handedly giving two Titans (plus her own brother half) a tough time holding her back when she has a psychotic episode, nor does it stop her later destroying a Skullcrawler host of the Many with some aid from Rodan.
Unstoppable Rage: She fully flies into one during her escape when she learns what Jonah has been doing with the missing Disposable Vagrants, in Chapter 6. She flies into another impressive rage when her loved ones are threatened, in Chapter 13.
Vengeance Feels Empty: Implied in Chapter 13 when she kills what's left of Jonah.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Maybe not "best buds" and it's a minor example, but in Chapter 14, Vivienne finds she's missed Lauren Griffin despite them considering each-other a nerd and a jarhead respectively.
Voice Change Surprise: Shortly after her and San's metamorphosis into their second form, Vivienne attempts to physically speak to a human but finds their new form is incapable of forming such vocalizations, her hand flying to her throat in surprise, in Chapter 8.
What Is Going On?: She mentally asks as much the moment her unconscious mind stirs during her and San's first metamorphosis, in Chapter 1.
What You Are in the Dark: The narrative lampshades that during the events in Antarctica, Vivienne could have left Mark behind to save herself when he was pinned by debris and the Osprey was falling into a crevasse, and no-one would have blamed her under the circumstances; but she stayed behind to save him anyway.
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: She's cautious of the damage she can unintentionally cause to humans when fighting near a human population center.
The Xenophile: She's always been particularly awestruck and enticed by the Titans, especially Godzilla, and a passionate and driven Monarch operative in that respect.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: She's told as much twice, first by Godzilla and then by Rodan, when she's feeling disappointed in herself.
"You!" Exclamation: She has one when she recognizes Jonah at the end of Chapter 2.
You Remind Me of X: Downplayed.
- San's emotional breakdown reminds Vivienne of Madison's grief in the wake of San Francisco's destruction and Andrew's death, which prompts Vivienne to try comforting San much like she once comforted Madison.
- Vivienne thinks to herself that Rodan's behaviour reminds her of a high school ex-boyfriend.
You Should Have Died Instead: She receives a variation. Ren briefly admits among other things that he wishes it was Serizawa instead of her who came Back from the Dead.

San

Formerly Ghidorah's left head, notable for possessing a curiosity which his two brothers lacked and being the least malicious of the three. His mind survives inside the head that's ripped off by Godzilla. He's responsible for storing, reviving and transforming Vivienne's body inside his decapitated head before transferring his consciousness to the resulting hybrid’s second brain, becoming Vivienne's brother as part of Monster X. He functions as the secondary head.

Tropes A-M

Adaptational Sympathy: The film made San out to be goofier than Ghidorah's other two heads, and a doormat to the middle head who literally pushes him around and yells (roars) at him. In this fic, the expansion on San's and Ghidorah's characterization and backstory gives San even more sympathetic traits and redeeming qualities, and the abuse he suffers is not Played for Laughs in this version. He's been under chronic physical and verbal abuse from his brother heads whilst having literally nobody else for billions of years, which has in turn made him dependent, severely love-starved, and prone to self-blame and self-loathing; to say nothing of what he went through before all that with the Makers. San also truly likes and cares for Vivienne, taking his new responsibility as her brother head to heart.
Adult Adoptee: Both exaggerated and downplayed when Vivienne's mother Susan comes to consider him a son. Exaggerated in that San is a Draconic Abomination who is billions of years older than Susan, and Susan herself is elderly by the time the adoption occurs; downplayed in that San, for all his chronological age, is a little stunted.
Affectionate Nickname: After they become Fire-Forged Siblings, Vivienne sometimes calls him "brother" instead of the name she gave him.
Afraid of Doctors: Word of God has it that hospital horror would be one of the only things in humans' horror fiction works that would genuinely freak San out, not least due to his bad memories of being on the receiving end of the Makers' experiments.
Alternate Self: Having come from the severed Ghidorah-head, he only has memories of Ghidorah's actions up to the head's decapitation, and he doesn't remember what his doppelgänger that regrew on Ghidorah's body did before it died with Ghidorah at Boston. Kind of like an outdated backup file copy.
Appropriated Appellation: As of Chapter 8, he no longer considers Ghidorah's name to be his own, and he's taken the nickname Vivienne originally gave him as his new name. See the General folder for another example.
Ascended Extra: He's one of the two main protagonists alongside Vivienne, who gets a delightful deal of expansion and Character Development, whereas in King of the Monsters he was 1/3 of the Big Bad's Multiple Head Case.
The Atoner: He's become this after his and Vivienne's second Metamorphosis. Word of God says that after San's Heel–Face Turn, he dreads something evil from Ghidorah's past showing up, because it would be the consequences of Ghidorah's actions when he was still part of it made manifest.
Became Their Own Antithesis: Originally, he was the Token Good Teammate head of an Omnicidal Maniac which went out of its way to kill humans and sought to destroy all life on Earth as we know it, he was considered the Youngest Brother, and he was abused by his siblings. After merging with Vivienne, San is now part of a hero-aligned Titan that defends the Earth and goes even more out of its way to minimize human casualties than even Mothra would, but San also acts as said Titan's more unforgiving and pragmatic half; he's now the elder sibling according to himself (and he is originally billions of years older than Vivienne), and his new sibling is mutually-supportive to him.
Because You Were Nice to Me: The fact Vivienne never abuses San the way his brothers did even before they become Fire-Forged further influences San's already-present loyalty and sense of kinship towards her.
Being Evil Sucks: For him, being part of Ghidorah was this. He was never as invested as his brothers were in being an Omnicidal Maniac, his curious tendencies earned him abuse from his brothers, and he was starved of affection for eons.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's a real sweetheart towards Vivienne, and he's at least tolerant and curious towards humans if they haven't pissed him off, but God help you if you seriously hurt his sister.
Blood Knight: Though he isn't an Omnicidal Maniac like his brothers, San does genuinely enjoy a real fight.
Broken Tears: San proves that a Draconic Abomination from the stars can shed Tears of Remorse, when the realization of just how much hurt he's unwittingly caused his sister hurls him into a BSoD.
Brought Down to Badass: Downplayed. After merging with Vivienne, he's no longer able to fly and the two are still learning to control their new "storm" powers, but they're still as powerful and capable as any other Titan. He regains a bit of the power he lost in their final form.
Brutal Honesty: Downplayed. He doesn't mean to be hurtful (depending on who he's speaking to), but he's blunt, honest, and doesn't leave out details regardless of how harsh the truth is. This is partly because San is new to the very concept of dishonesty, and once he wraps his head around it, he thinks it's a waste of brain-power (as noted by the author here).
Byronic Hero: He can actually be seen as this. He's sensitive to the point of being endearing, but he's the more Heroic Neutral of the duo, and he largely reserves humane caring and consideration for Vivienne (and perhaps also Mothra), while towards most others he's more tolerant and benign than anything else. There's also his Freudian It's All My Fault tendency, and he's strategically-competent at looking out for details during combat.
Bystander Syndrome: He has a neutral attitude to general humans in distress — if said humans have given him neither reason to help them nor reason to want them punished, then San doesn't really see them as worth sticking his or Vivienne's necks out for either way. However, he'll go along with helping humans for his sister if it's what Vivienne wants.
Cain and Abel: The Abel to Ichi and Ni's Cain following his Heel–Face Turn.
Cannot Tell a Lie: It turns out that he literally lacks a concept of lying. According to the author, San regards the act of withholding information as a waste of thought.
Catlike Dragons: Downplayed. San at times produces vocalizations comparable to purring, particularly as a reassuring or affectionate gesture towards Vivienne.
Comically Missing the Point: Downplayed. Vivienne is horrified by his suggestion that they eat Jonah's mercenaries, saying she disapproves because "they're PEOPLE", so San amends his initial suggestion to: “you don't have to eat them maybe just kill them”.
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: According to the author, San's voice sounds like Grigori from Dragon's Dogma, particularly as his voice develops an accent with his Character Development.
Constantly Curious: Compared to Ghidorah's other two heads, San is very curious and inquisitive, and he has a more childlike personality. "Damnatio Memoriae" shows that he was like this even as an infant before things went to hell.
Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
- Godzilla is a marine monster native to Earth, he has a personality evocative of a Grumpy Old Man, his life bond with Mothra has romantic overtures, and he was Good All Along in the MonsterVerse movies. San is an extraterrestrial entity who is humorously hydrophobic, he has quirks indicative of a Manchild, he's Platonic Life-Partners with his new sister Vivienne, and his case of "good" is a Heel–Face Turn.
- Now let's compare him to the human protagonists of Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) (Joe and Ford Brody and Mark Russell). Joe and Mark in particular have Excessive Mourning as the focus of their characters and show signs of It's All About Me, Mark is known to lash out at and give his friends and loved ones a hard time for things that aren't their fault, and Ford is a big case of Mangst. San instead is the Draconic Abomination equivalent of a long-term abuse victim receiving recovery, he has It's All My Fault tendencies which approach Guilt Complex, San abhors humans "thundering in the ears" of their loved ones who've done nothing wrong, and he's very childlike.
Cool Uncle: Played With. He's seen as Manda's adoptive uncle just as Vivienne is his adoptive mother.
Counter-Attack: He dodges a swipe of MaNi/Elder Brother's claws and takes the chance to crack Monster X's tail at MaNi, cutting a deep gouge into the latter's face. See the General folder for another example.
Creepy Good: He's formerly one of Ghidorah's three minds, and his voice sounds like the dragon in these clips (In-Universe, San's voice notably sends shivers down the spines of human characters when they're first hearing it). Despite this, San's Heel–Face Turn is genuine, he's a sweetheart to his new sister who he means nothing but the best for, and he'll tolerate if not befriend you so long as you don't pose a threat and don't get on his bad side.
Damn You, Muscle Memory!: He has a moment of this when Monster X is propelled into the air, at which point his memories from when he was part of Ghidorah and able to fly cause him to spread Monster X's arms out; forgetting that those arms aren't wings anymore.
Dark and Troubled Past: He used to be one of Ghidorah's three minds, and he was treated by the other two as the runt of the litter. Enough said.
Discard and Draw: As part of Monster X, he loses Ghidorah's Breath Weapon, Weather Manipulation and flight (initially), but gains some new Shock and Awe powers which enable Super-Speed and In a Single Bound instead.
Distressed Dude: There are a few times where Vivienne's support saves him from his own psychological issues instilled by eons of abuse, plus there's the time his head is almost killed permanently.
Do Not Call Me "Paul": In Chapter 8, he spurns Ghidorah's name being used to refer to him, having disowned the monster he was once part of during his Character Development.
Ear Ache: Ichi/Eldest Brother would frequently bite at his horns, and it's implied that in his species this is roughly equivalent to physical slapping.
Easily Forgiven: Mothra has no reservations towards him over his participation in Ghidorah's past atrocities — which included acts of genocide and sadistic murder, nevermind the Planet Destroyer crimes Ghidorah successfully committed before making Earth its next target — whilst Godzilla as The Stoic refuses to hold onto old hard feelings. With Monarch and the Russells however, this trope is outright averted: they're at first very wary of San due to every awful thing they witnessed Ghidorah doing and attempting to do during King of the Monsters, and it takes time for them to lower their reservations towards him. Word of God also says that it'll take people in Monarch who haven't interacted with Monster X significantly longer to stop being distrustful of San.
Evil Laugh: In Ghidorah's one-shot origin story called "Damnatio Nemoriae", San cackles at the thought of unleashing Ghidorah's newfound power, not least unleashing it against Ghidorah's much-despised tormentors.
Expendable Clone: As a shed skin, he would be regarded by Ghidorah and is regarded by all three of Ghidorah's regenerated and attached heads as nothing more than a shadow and a fake version of the Youngest Brother/Third.
Expressive Hair: His horns bristle or flare out when he's angry or agitated, and they droop slightly when he's feeling defeated or sad, just like when he was part of Ghidorah.
Extreme Mêlée Revenge: When Vivienne hits her Rage Breaking Point, San practically obliterates the offender and Jonah's other Mooks, killing them in an excessive manner that prolongs their agony and doesn't leave much to bury.
Eye Awaken:
- He has one which catches one of Jonah's mercs off-guard when he and Vivienne are first reborn from San's old head, in Chapter 2.
- He has an unambiguously-heroic one in Chapter 16 when Vivienne's lightning surges into and seemingly awakens his freshly-severed head.
- See the General folder for another example.
The Fog of Ages: In the present time, he can only vaguely recall his and his brothers' earliest memories and their origin story like he's recalling a dream, because it all happened so many billions of years ago.
Foil:
- To Madison Russell. Whereas San got his wish for him and Vivienne to fully become family, Madison was deprived of the chance to have Vivienne as a legal guardian in the same instant. Madison is a teenage girl who's Wise Beyond Her Years, whereas San is an eons-old Manchild.
- To Alan Jonah. Jonah losing his daughter caused his descent into villainy and then losing his surrogate son made him even worse, whilst San being separated from his brothers and then gaining a new sister in Vivienne leads him through a Heel–Face Turn. Whereas San always puts Vivienne's welfare before his own if it comes down to it, Jonah indirectly caused Asher's death to save his own skin. San was effectively bound to the path of destruction he was led down in his backstory because of his brothers, whereas Jonah implicitly became the monster he is now due to isolating himself from all others during his start of darkness. Jonah is a leader, whereas San was a subordinate to his brothers.
Freudian Excuse: Though he's easily the Token Good Teammate to his brothers even when he's at his worst, San is still unnaturally vicious to enemies in his own right when he feels justifiably provoked, and these tendencies don't fully fade even after his Heel–Face Turn. This has a lot to do with Ghidorah's horrific backstory, where San and his brothers were brutally tortured and experimented on by the Makers for years, then were even further corrupted over eons by the Old Noise driving them past the point of insanity until they learned to completely love killing and torturing things.
Godzilla Threshold: One of Vivienne's berserker episodes gets so serious, San resorts to biting at her and then deliberately setting off a flashback of the moment Ichi/Eldest Brother ate her alive to make her stop lashing out. It's later implied his head resorts to biting her again to stop the Old Noise from consuming her.
Got Me Doing It: His mental voice gradually picks up a British-sounding accent from Vivienne over time.
Grand Theft Me: Downplayed — he transfers his consciousness out of the decapitated Ghidorah head he came from and into the new second brain he's making grow on Vivienne's body before her rebirth, so that he becomes her "sibling" head. Also inverted in that San is largely doing this so that he can rear and care for Vivienne directly once she's reborn (becoming a "shed skin" in the process), rather than for his benefit and her detriment.
Grin of Audacity: He has to restrain himself from grinning at the prospect of kicking Ghidorah's ass, and he fully has such a Grin at the prospect of fighting Rodan. See the General folder for more examples.
Happily Adopted: Besides eventually becoming accepted by Vivienne as her brother, he's eventually also fully adopted by Susan as her son.
Heel–Face Turn: He effectively becomes Heroic Neutral after fusing to Vivienne. He later endures a Heel Realization, and additionally becomes The Atoner as his Character Development progresses.
Heel Realization: He has a brutal one in Chapter 5, when he’s viewing Vivienne's memories and realizes why she's so miserable and doesn't trust him.
Held Gaze:
- He and Godzilla have an interesting variation in Chapter 9. Despite Godzilla and San's antagonistic history from when San was part of Ghidorah, neither are confrontational as Godzilla sternly tells San to be better than his brothers.
- In the non-canon Halloween Episode "Come Little Monster, I'll Take Thee Away", San, before bidding farewell to Ilene, Ling, Ziyi, Yong, Madison and Mark at the end, meets each of their gazes and refers to them as friends.
- See the other folders for more examples.
Heroic BSoD:
- When viewing Vivienne's memories, he has a pretty heart-wrenching kick-in-the-teeth Heel Realization about why Vivienne's been so wary of him and about how much Ghidorah's actions — including San's specifically — have tarnished her. It's short-lived as Vivienne brings him out of it.
- He has a more minor one after he resorts to deliberately reminding Vivienne of Ichi/Eldest Brother attacking her to snap her out of a PTSD-induced Unstoppable Rage.
Hope Is Scary: Word of God notes that San at first found being severed from his psychotic brothers and lacking their direction to be scary, even if being free of their constant screaming and rage for the first time since Ghidorah's turn to evil was a relief.
Horrifying the Horror: According to Word of God, the only two elements of manmade horror fiction that would truly unnerve San instead of appealing to his ingrained sadistic instincts are: The Backrooms-style liminal space, and hospital horror.
Humanity Is Infectious: Vivienne says this almost word-for-word when referring to San's Heel–Face Turn in Chapter 9. Indeed, Vivienne acts as San's Morality Pet, fueling his Character Development, and she also sates his curiosity towards humans.
I Am Not a Gun: Ghidorah's Backstory essentially makes San this following his Heel–Face Turn.
I Just Want to Be Loved: He never got approval and affection from his brothers, and so he seeks these things from his new sister who he recognizes is nothing like them.
I'll Kill You!: He angrily and repeatedly declares this after he and Vivienne (mainly Vivienne) is horrifically injured by a chlorine gas experiment.
Immortal Immaturity: A heroic/positive example. For a former part of a supposedly-immortal, Time Abyss-old alien monster, San can be quite childlike. Probably justified by a stunted psychological development.
Immortals Fear Death: He used to never worry about dying due to Ghidorah's ability to always regenerate, but in Chapter 5, he's terrified by the prospect he might die permanently due to his transformation into Monster X. Word of God confirms that he's still somewhat thanatophobic, although it appears to be tempered at the fic's end.
Informed Flaw: His tendency seen in King of the Monsters to be distracted and slow on the uptake (which is referenced in this fic) becomes this. As part of Monster X, he's actually quite competent and quick-on-the-draw. Possibly justified by him caring for Vivienne giving him extra motivation to do a good job that he didn't have with his brothers.
In-Series Nickname: He was given his name by Vivienne while she was monitoring Ghidorah in Antarctica — he initially acknowledges it isn't his real name. He's also nicknamed Eddie the Head by Tejada. Ghidorah and the Many refer to San as a "shed skin" after he’s merged with Vivienne. It's indicated that Ichi and Ni would have called him "Youngest Brother" when he was still attached to them, and it's what they call San's regrown Alternate Self.
Intrigued by Humanity: He's genuinely curious about humans overall, and apparently he's always been this way even when encountering other "little ones" on other worlds before Earth; unlike his brothers.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: He's on the receiving end at times. Notably, Madison in Chapter 11 begins contemplating San as a "he/him" instead of an "it" when she observes San's protectiveness of Vivienne. Ghidorah and MaNi/Elder Brother notably consider San an "it" due to Ghidorah's Dehumanization of its heads' "shed skins".
It's All My Fault: He has a serious tendency to mentally kick himself senseless when something goes seriously wrong and he thinks it's his fault. It's nigh on Guilt Complex levels, and it's rooted in how his brothers treated him.
Kidnapped for Experimentation: In Ghidorah's backstory, San and his brothers were originally living in the wild when they were juveniles, before they were captured by the Makers to be experimented on.
Killed Mid-Sentence: Narrowly subverted when his head is ripped off of Vivienne and almost devoured, in Chapter 16.
Knight Templar Big Brother: He's willing to kill if someone's crossed his sister, and he takes his Big Brother responsibility to Vivienne seriously. Vivienne at first abhors the former, but the duo become more cooperative with each other over time.
Life Energy: Word of God notes that his original severed head needs to conserve its internal backup supply of power and absorb power from sources it comes into contact with, in order to remain animate.
Lobotomy: Horrifically, the Empty Fullness one-shot "Damnatio Memoriae" reveals he was effectively subjected to one in the distant past billions of years ago. Specifically, it's revealed that the Makers cut directly into his brain to permanently hardwire it to notice little details that Ghidorah's other two heads might miss, so that he would act as Ghidorah's sentry head. A temporary side-effect was that San's communication became distinctly slowed and slurred after the surgery, although he fully recovered it after a time.
Locked Out of the Loop: He at first isn't aware of the main Ghidorah's death after his decapitation, until Vivienne passes the news on to him.
Losing Your Head: His original head severed from Ghidorah retains his mind and some degree of consciousness, as long as it conserves/recharges its power. Downplayed in that while San's mind is aware inside the head, on the outside the head remains (seemingly/mostly) immobile. Then in Chapter 16, this trope gets Played Straight when San's head is ripped off of Vivienne by MaNi/Elder Brother.
Love Redeems: Vivienne, as his Morality Pet, influences his Character Development into a more benign and non-malicious being, and San admits that he feels an emotional kinship with her that he didn't get from his brothers.
Magical Defibrillator: It's implied he gets a Shock and Awe variation, when exposure to Vivienne's lightning makes his head spring back to life, in Chapter 16. Justified, given what San is.
Manchild: Zig-Zagged. He seems to have a developmentally stunted personality and can often be very childlike — almost like an abused puppy. But he also has a much more serious, intelligent and pragmatic side when it's needed.
Master of Your Domain: His original decapitated head is able to both keep Vivienne alive in a coma inside itself and metamorphose her into an Artificial Hybrid when San wills it, while also forming a second head on the transformed Vivienne which San's mind can transfer into.
Meaningful Name: Subverted. Like in MonsterVerse canon, his name being the Japanese number three fits with his third-most position on the bottom of Ghidorah's heads' pecking order; and furthermore, this fic confirms he's apparently the youngest of the original three brothers whom Ghidorah was made from. Word of God suggests that when Vivienne gave San his name, she was influenced by San and his brothers telepathically whispering to her in her dreams. See the above folders for more examples.
Meet the In-Laws: Played With. As noted by the author and hinted at in "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", in time he might want to make a good impression on Dr. Ling, Vivienne's amicable ex, because of her past relationship with his sister.
Minion with an F in Evil / Token Good Teammate: His brothers certainly view him as the former trope. Even before his Heel Realization, he's less malicious than Ichi/Eldest Brother and Ni/Elder Brother, he's genuinely inquisitive, and he's not really invested in his brothers' Omnicidal Mania after being separated from them. However, he remains brutal when fighting or when provoked too far, and he's a competent sentry head.
Mirror Character:
- Once San's backstory is revealed, it turns out that both San and Madison Russell experienced a tragic trauma in their past alongside their respective families, which left them in the care of an elder family-member who had become genocidal and acted emotionally abusive towards them following said event. For both Maddie and San, Vivienne acts as a more loving, healthy familial substitute to said abusive elder.
- It turns out San and Alan Jonah were both led down the paths of omnicidal destruction in their respective backstories due to a traumatic tragedy befalling them and their immediate family. Interestingly, fear of dying is also something that both characters have in common.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Towards Ghidorah. The fact Vivienne never treats him abusively like his brothers did influences San's Heel–Face Turn as his Character Development progresses.
My God, What Have I Done?:
- Abraxas: Upon his Heel Realization, he comes to deeply regret what he and his brothers have done to Vivienne. He apparently still carries remorse after Vivienne has forgiven him.
- Abraxas: Empty Fullness "Damnatio Memoriae": Implied when Ghidorah is in the process of wiping out all visible life on a sapient world for the first time. The left head's dialogue consists of him musing how there'll be no more of anything for the lifeforms they're exterminating, and at the end of it; he passes comment on how there's "so much dust" everywhere and how the planet's natives were "crying and screaming" as they died, before his observations on their destruction take on a more cynical and nihilistic tone.
My Greatest Failure: He at times shoots glares or gets angry when someone brings up his past as part of Ghidorah against him, but he seems to regret the psychological harm he's caused Vivienne most of all.

Tropes N-Y

Near-Death Experience: Implied. Besides the one he shares with Vivienne, in Chapter 16, it's suggested he has one after his head is ripped off and almost Swallowed Whole before his head gets an electrical jolt.
Nightmare Fetishist: Word of God comments, and the non-canon "Come Little Monster, I'll Take Thee Away" shows; that San would have a genuine appreciation for mankind's creativity in horror movies if he saw them, particularly when it comes to inducing feelings of fear and anxiety and when it comes to the murder scenes. He would also be interested by the more morbid and less-discussed aspects of Christmas lore and history, like Krampus, if he were introduced to the holiday.
The Nose Knows: "Damnatio Memoriae" depicts San as a Dorat using his sense of smell to track the Makers' whereabouts before he sees them. See the General folder for more information.
The Nothing After Death: He apparently saw this between Vivienne's first death and her revival inside Ghidorah when viewing her memories (suggesting she had a Cessation of Existence), and he becomes terrified of entering the Nothing if he and Vivienne die permanently. He gets past it in "Sermones ad Mortuos".
Not Quite Dead: After his original head is ripped off of Ghidorah by Godzilla, it remains partially alive, retaining San's mind and pre-decapitation memories.
Obliviously Evil: Zig-Zagged and downplayed. He's under no illusions about the cruelties his brothers are capable of nor about how he relished in carnage himself to a degree when he was part of Ghidorah, but he's genuinely confused as to why Vivienne doesn't immediately embrace him as her new brother, and why she would consider her transformation into a bigger and stronger creature crueller than death. Ultimately subverted when seeing Vivienne's memories from her perspective gives San a Heel Realization about what he did to her.
The Older Immortal: Lampshaded in Chapter 18. As a former part of Ghidorah (who is billions of years old), San is believed to be older in age than all the Earth-native Titans, who are presumed to be hundreds of millions of years old at the most.
One-Steve Limit: Lampshaded when Vivienne makes a joke about San Lin from Kong: Skull Island and San reacts with surprise.
The One Thing I Don't Hate About You: Sort of. The only aspect of being part of Ghidorah that he remembers with fondness is the feeling of being able to fly.
Paint It Black: Inverted. Following his Heel–Face Turn, he fully trades his original gold color for gray flesh and bone during Monster X's second Metamorphosis.
Parental Abandonment: San has never had parents before, and though he's not at all bothered by his biological sire having no role in his and his brothers' maturation, as his Character Development progresses he comes to crave the experience of having a mother figure like his sister had in her upbringing.
Power Echoes: His voice is described as sounding echoic when he communicates with Vivienne telepathically, and his Comic-Book Fantasy Casting voice probably helps.
The Promise: He promises Vivienne in Chapter 3 that the two of them will escape their imprisonment and fix their Merging Mistake – he emphatically repeats it after Vivienne bitterly warns him not to make promises one doesn't know they can keep. Eventually, Viv and San escape together, and although it's Mothra rather than San who fixes their merging mistake, the latter half of San's promise is otherwise fulfilled.
Psychic Block Defense: He attempts performing this multiple times to keep Ghidorah's voices out of his and Vivienne's heads.
Psychopathic Manchild: Downplayed after he fuses with Vivienne and undergoes Character Development, but besides his Manchild quirks, he's more nonchalant than her about attacking and killing when provoked. Before fusing with her, San seemed to regard Vivienne the way a child regards their favorite doll or teddy-bear.
Quizzical Tilt: Being the inquisitive Good Boi that he is, he exhibits this a few times over the fic when he's curious or just confused about something.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- He angrily chews out Susan Graham for reacting as she did to Monster X and unwittingly hurting Vivienne.
  "YOU WERE THE REASON SHE WANTED OUT OF THE CAGE. [...] ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU, IN WAKING AND DREAMING. SHE WAS AFRAID YOU MIGHT BE DEAD, AFRAID YOU MIGHT LIVE, AFRAID OF WHAT YOU MIGHT SAY. SHE DID NOTHING WRONG, BUT YOU THUNDER IN HER EARS! YOU SAY SHE IS DEAD! YOU DON'T LISTEN! YOU HURT AND FRIGHTEN HER!"^noteYes, San was screaming in capitals
- San himself gets one from Ghidorah and Ni/Elder Brother's Many-construct in Chapter 16:
  Ichi: IT THINKS IT CAN PROTECT [Vivienne]? IT COULD NOT EVEN CHANGE HER INTO OUR SHAPE!
  San-2: even when you do something right you ruin it
  Ichi: IT CAUSED HER SUFFERING! IT TOOK THE QUEEN GNAT TO FIX THAT MISTAKE!
  San-2: so much of her is broken because of your mistake
  Ni: IT CANNOT EVEN TEACH HER TO CONTROL HER POWER.
  San-2: we would have shown her the most wondrous things
  Ichi: IF IT CARED SO MUCH, IT WOULD HAVE TAUGHT HER BETTER, NO?
Reflective Eyes: An In-Universe case in Chapter 5, when Vivienne views her transformed face for the first time via the reflection in San's eyes. See Vivienne's folder for another example.
Reformed, but Not Tamed: He was always the least malicious of Ghidorah's three heads, but even after his Heel–Face Turn, he's still a Blood Knight, and he can be as violent as Ghidorah when It's Personal with his enemies.
Reformed, but Rejected: He at first receives this treatment from Monarch, and especially from Madison and Mark, because they're understandably wary of a former head of Ghidorah. Their reservations lower with time when they realize San's Heel–Face Turn and care for Vivienne are genuine.
Removed Achilles' Heel: When he was part of Ghidorah, being submerged in waters deep enough for Ghidorah's size was his and his brothers' Logical Weakness. Monster X's different body structure coupled with Vivienne knowing how to swim means this is no longer a handicap for him.
The Runt at the End: It's explicitly confirmed in this fic that he's the Youngest Brother among Ghidorah's three heads according to himself and his brothers. He's also the only one of the three who has any real capacity for redemption — thanks to Vivienne's influence and him being cut off from Ghidorah, San ends up fulfiling that potential.
Say My Name: He does this a couple times, overlapping with You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious, when he's distressed and calling out to his sister in fear and need of her.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the Sensitive Guy to Rodan's Manly Man: an inquisitive, curiosity-driven Manchild who is as sweet as a giant puppy towards his sister, but when ferocity is needed or when someone he isn't close to has crossed him, he can easily remind everyone that he used to be one of Ghidorah's heads.
Series Continuity Error: San thinks in the first couple chapters that he's never been a singular entity separated from his brothers before. Chapter 10 establishes San, Ni and Ichi used to be three separate creatures who became Ghidorah. Justified, as these memories of San's are so distant, he barely recalls them and he seemingly isn't even sure anymore that they're real.
Sickening "Crunch!": This notably occurs when MaNi/Elder Brother rips his head off.
Significant Name Shift: He goes from calling Ghidorah's other two heads "Elder Brother" and "Eldest Brother" respectively to mainly simply referring to them as the "right head" and "middle head" respectively, symbolizing his disownment of them as his post-Heel–Face Turn Character Development progresses.
Silence of Sadness: He's silent around Vivienne out of shame and self-deprecation, after he resorted to pressing down on Vivienne's Ghidorah-related Trauma Button to snap her out of a psychotic fit. See the other folders for more examples.
Sleep Deprivation:
- During his and Vivienne's early days imprisoned, he willingly foregoes sleep so he can keep watch over his sister while she tries to rest.
- Ghidorah's Start of Darkness story in "Damnatio Memoriae" reveals that sleep deprivation was among the multiple agonies that San and his brothers endured during their captivity by the Makers, due to the Old Noise screaming in their heads and then later due to the other two heads being plagued by trauma-induced nightmares.
Snakes Are Sinister: Averted. He's essentially an alien hydra-head by origin, and he retains his old head's serpentine qualities when Monster X metamorphoses into its second form after San's Heel–Face Turn.
Speaks Fluent Animal: Naturally, being a Titan himself. Inverted by his and Vivienne's Twin Telepathy, which enables San to instantly pick up Vivienne's vocabulary for communicating, and by Monster X's ability to communicate in human vocalizations in its first form and via radio-waves in its second form.
Speech Impediment:
- Whenever he communicates with humans via his electronic voice projection, his voice comes through speaking in a stilted, halting manner with notable breaks. The effect disappears as the fic goes on, implicitly because he's getting used to communicating this way.
- In the Start of Darkness-chronicling prequel "Damnatio Memoriae", his speech is even more perpetually slow and slurred for a temporary time, immediately after his brain was cut open and rewired to make him act as Ghidorah's detail-keen sentry head.
- See the General folder for another example.
Super-Empowering: He transforms Vivienne, a human, into part of a Ghidorah hybrid Titan; by regenerating her while deliberately feeding his own enzymes into her when she's inside his severed head. Granting their shared body Ghidorah's Healing Factor and bio-electricity, and Kaiju Super-Toughness.
Swallowed Whole: Narrowly subverted in Chapter 16 when MaNi/Elder Brother rips his head off and attempts to devour it. Vivienne violently rescues her brother's head.
Tears of Joy: Downplayed. His eyes turn watery a few times when he's truly happy.
Tears of Remorse: Sheds these after his Heel Realization.
Terse Talker: Downplayed, but his dialogue is sometimes written this way, particularly when he's angry or distressed.
Thicker Than Water: Both played basically and very much averted. He considers himself and Vivienne blood siblings as well as emotional/adoptive siblings following their merger, and he is nothing short of loyal and caring towards her. Meanwhile, San disowns Ichi and Ni as his brothers as his Character Development progresses (not least because they are "Biggest Cunts" and all-round evil). It's also telling that San and his brothers had many biological sisters who died in infancy, but San considers Vivienne the first true sister he's ever had.
Third-Person Person: A slight variation. He initially refers to himself exclusively as "this one" or otherwise excludes first-person pronouns from his dialogue, but this changes as he gains a better sense of self-worth. The author went into further detail about why he does it here.
Two-Faced: He provides a non-villainous example in Chapter 3, when he manifests within the Nightmare Sequence as a duplicate of Vivienne's lost human form but with one side disfigured with Ghidorah-like Humanoid Abomination characteristics. See the General folder for another example.
Villain Respect:
- Downplayed regarding Godzilla. According to Word of God, San understands Godzilla's pragmatism regarding how Godzilla systematically caused San's decapitation from Ghidorah, and it sounds like San even slightly admires what this says about Godzilla's combative prowess.
- Played With regarding Thor's son. Though it's only after San's Heel–Face Turn that his thoughts on it are explored, he observes that Thor's son died honorably when he fought Ghidorah to the death and was Defiant to the End.
What Is This Feeling?: Downplayed when he has his Heel Realization in Chapter 5. It's clear that he's unfamiliar and unused to the painful emotions that he's experiencing, but he still knows exactly why he's feeling them.
When He Smiles: Several characters have observed that when San smiles in genuine happiness without any violent intent compared to his Slasher Smile, it's quite disarming.
White Sheep: He becomes this to his brothers and Alternate Self, being determined to be better than Ghidorah.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He hates being in deep waters, since it was his Logical Weakness when he was part of Ghidorah.
The World Is Just Awesome: Over the course of his Character Development, he's developed an appreciation for the world's beauty and wonders.
You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: It's usually a sign that things are frighteningly serious when he calls Vivienne by her name instead of calling her "sister".
Youngest Child Wins: Ghidorah's left head is explicitly the "Youngest Brother", or "the Third" of the Three. He's also the only one of them who has any redeeming qualities that have survived beyond Ghidorah's past, and this enables San to break free of Ghidorah's evil for good via Vivienne's influence.
You Remind Me of X: The downplayed form. Word of God notes that San was endeared to Vivienne from the beginning partly because she reminded him of a smaller, less powerful version of himself. It's also confirmed that a huge factor in San's hatred of Jonah is that the latter's actions bring back San's distant memories of when he and his brothers were being tortured into evil.

Characters / Abraxas (Hrodvitnon) - Monster X

Monster X (Abraxas)

General

Scientific name: Titanus Abraxas

Dr. Vivienne Graham

San

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Characters / Abraxas (Hrodvitnon) - Monster X

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Monster X (Abraxas)

General

Scientific name: Titanus Abraxas

Dr. Vivienne Graham

San

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