There's a lot of Claptrap fan fiction, and some of it's NSFW | PC Gamer

There’s a lot more fan fiction about Claptrap than I expected. I expected one or two stories, no more than that, because I am a foolish man. There’s a stunning amount of Claptrap fan fiction on the internet, not to mention fan art. Search “Claptrap” on fanfiction.net and you’ll see a frankly intimidating list of Claptrap-centric literature. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised: he’s as ubiquitous in the Borderlands games as he is divisive.

Also, Claptrap is basically a robot slave, one of many single-wheeled sass-machines who exists solely to do others’ bidding. There’s a lot of poignancy and profundity to be wrung from little ‘ol Claptrap, and there’s also plenty of opportunity for humour. Borderlands did not prepare me to think of Claptrap as a sexual being, but of course there's fanfiction for that too.

I’ve made a brief list of some Claptrap fan fiction I’ve encountered, but as I said: there’s tonnes. I’ve tried to gather stories that vary dramatically in tone and setting, so that you can get a crash course in how hobby writers imagine the annoying little robot in their dreams.

Wayward Son is by thewhitepatch

This one’s all about Claptrap getting the opportunity to become a hero. Set after the events of Borderlands 2 (but presumably before the Pre-Sequel, where he could be a hero), it imagines Claptrap’s AI supplanted into an actual human being (“a dirty blond mohawk, light blue eyes, and a stupid grin on his face”), but rest assured he’s no less bumbling and profuse in this form. The first chapter has human-form Claptrap approaching a bandit camp unarmed—verily a stupid thing to do in the wasteland. He thinks he’s in a dream, except… he’s not.

Best quote:

“So, anyway, as I was saying, I need you to shoot me in the face!”
Face McShooty would be proud.

Claptrap’s Secret Stash by Foryewhoartliterate

This one’s actually a collaboration between four writers: Foryewhoartliterate, WhimsicalMayhem, Civilized Lee and Wayward Son author thewhitepatch. It has an immediately appealing premise, as it’s based around the Borderlands 2 mission of the same name. In that mission Claptrap demands the player carry out a series of ridiculous (and impossible) tasks in order to gain access to his stash. This story asks: what if a Vault Hunter actually carried out these objectives? Features disco dancing.

Best quote:

“That sucked skag nuts.” Salvador not so subtlety added.

A Claptrap’s Existence and A Claptrap’s Revolution by Nicksta101

This tale of epic proportions isn’t technically about the game’s sidekick Claptrap, but about another model found locked in a cage in the original Borderlands. It’s basically the backstory of that doomed Claptrap, belonging to the blind and one-legged T.K Baha who, as you’d probably expect, isn’t very nice to his robot. But Claptrap dreams of bigger things, and this story relates his journey across two very lengthy parts (it culminates in over 50,000 words). It also has a tone much more serious than is common for Borderlands fanfic.

Best quote:

“I had a master; no-one can replace who you were assigned to. No matter how cruel that master was.”

Oh Little Claptrap by SilverBlaze55

This one’s a poem. Lacking the interpretative skills needed, I’ll just leave you this quote:

“Poor little Claptrap,
All full of holes
Writhing and moaning
In a puddle of oil.”

Claptrap’s EPIC Adventure! By Hardman 5509

This one is relatively short. Claptrap has taken over Scooter’s mechanical repair shop in Sanctuary. He’s paid well and he loves the job, and people have even started respecting him. There are still plenty who might want to murder (or dismantle?) him though, and he keeps a handy list of who is nice and who isn’t. Anyway, we soon find out that Claptrap is going to die, and a lot of this story is him coming to terms with that fact. It’s not really an “epic” adventure, then, more a ruminative one. An existential one, even. It definitely ends on a thoughtful note.

Best quote:

“So is Claptrap finally crapping out?” Marcus asked, joyfully.

Claptrap’s Second Birthday by Shadow38383

Remember the mission in Borderlands 2 when Claptrap has a birthday party and it’s pathetic and sad? Writer Shadow38383 does, and they felt so sorry for Claptrap that they penned him this story. Basically, it imagines Claptrap having a nice birthday. There’s even a little incident where Scooter propositions Gaige.

Best quote:

“That was BADASS BECAUSE IT CAME FROM A MOTHERF***N GRAIN OF AWESOMENESS!”

The Girlfriend by iammemyself

And for something completely different, this one’s a mash-up of Borderlands and Portal, imagining what would happen if Claptrap and GlasDOS had the opportunity to become intimate. I know what you’re thinking. But The Girlfriend is actually a very sensitive story, all about the intricacies of approaching a love interest, with all the doubt and anxiety and electricity that entails. It’s a very slow burn and there’s a lot of anticipation, so much so that it’s easy to forget that it stars the actual shithead robot Claptrap. It ends quite abruptly: it might not be finished. But it’s definitely a very vivid portrayal of two robots learning to be close.

Best quote:

“God, she was so confusing. But also really amazing at the same time. Which was equal parts suckage and total awesome. She was like a puzzle with about eighty solutions, but every single one of them was also very, very wrong.”

Establishing Dominance by keroa

Warning: This one has very graphic sexual content. It’s another story that imagines Claptrap AI in human form, and this Claptrap happens to have a very raunchy connection with the Vault Hunter narrator. Be warned that it’s very unambiguously pornographic. You’ve been warned, but I’ll warn you again: be warned.

Best (safe) quote:

“This mission is gonna be really special…” he chuckled lowly.

PRODUCTS

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.