You're Not What I Need

Re-draw of my most popular upload over on the Lion King Fan-Art Archive: [link]

Original drawn in December 2009.

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Scar's heart began to crumble slowly as tears streamed down Nuka's face... What was this? Such a foreign emotion... one he didn't even feel when killing his own brother. The young cub was running from him, but with a swift swing of his paw, the cub was stopped, cradled as he struggled.

"Nuka, my son... I... I am truly sorry..."

Nuka tried holding back the tears, a lump in his throat, breath escaping him and unable to be caught, shielding his face from his father as he fought weakly against the large, dark paw that held him back. He tried to be strong. He tried to be smart. He tried to be good enough...

Scar, on the other hand, knew his son could not be raised to be the ruthless, black soul that could carry forward his even darker plans. Nuka was kind. He was sweet. Innocent. The latter being a trait Scar wasn't sure he could bear to crush.

"You just can't be the King I need you to be." Scar spoke solemnly. It wasn't long before he realized that the words he just spoke were the same words his own father, Ahadi, had said to him when he was a cub.

He looked down at his weeping son. He remembered that feeling.

Disgusted by his words, Scar flattened his ears and raised his haunches from the ground.

"Now go!", he yelled, voice cracking and exasperated. That was it. He felt like the monster he had long refused to become... he vowed early on that he would never be his father, and all his actions had now fallen... fallen to a sentence, a link, a memory...

Nuka hadn't moved. He was laying on the floor, so small, so alone, shaking from the sobs. Scar turned and walked away, not looking back at his son, trying to block the conversation from his head. That would be the final apology uttered from his lips; at that moment, his mind narrowed, his intentions darkened, and all reason was gone.

It was time to tell Zira.

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A little piece from my TLK fan-fic Scar was quite obviously delusional, thinking his actions so far weren't terrible like pride perceived. I like to think that, after he got rid of Mufasa and took over the Pridelands, that he thought he truly could be a great king, loved and adored, with a flourishing kingdom... but he became too self-centered and controlling, and thus everything began to fall apart.

I also believe he sired many cubs, some before and some after Nuka, some with Zira and some without. I don't, however, believe he has any relation to Kovu and Vitani.

So here he is, telling Nuka he has plans for a different heir... and then remembers how he felt when Ahadi chose Mufasa over him.

Poor Nuka. He tries so hard to make others proud of him ;aslfkjas ;;