#kong suko and shimo are also here

[bubwiii]

found my pencil crayons :)

[adm-starblitzsteel-4305]

Kong's Little Princess 💛

(For the Kong Family AU) with @gorillageek27

Read here:

I plan to make some adventures with Jia, alongside Kong and their little family (Suko, Kiko, and Moon Eyes), Boots, and Shimo.

Will also add Astra/Ma. Celestina, her adoptive Titan Family (Godzilla, Mothra, Mothra Leo, Godzilla Junior, Battra), Madison's family (Mark and Chen).

A little something of my AU of Jia:

(IDK if her Iwi tattoos are accurate cuz goddamn I need to study it)

She's still Kong's little princess, not really a spoiled one, but is mischievious and always headstrong. Can be annoyed sometimes, and she has a strong sense of aura. She's not afraid of anything even if she risked herself for her friends and family. Also, the necklace is a gift to Astra (emerald gem because you know, Kaylee was born on May so, that's her birth stone).

And Jia's biggest secret? Ape Transformation. (Shout out to @gorillageek27 )

[hrodvitnon]

Mothra: Aww, isn't he the cutest?

Godzilla: Aw, where'd this little guy come from?

Shimo: Hollowed King! Come, we must show you something!

Kong: Yes? What have you fou-

Turns the corner to see Shimo, Goji, Mothra, and Suko crowded around Doug, Suko feeding him some leftover meat from an earlier hunt.

Kong: AH. Damn scavenger, where'd he come from??

All Kaiju present gasp and turn to Kong with scowls on their faces.

Kong: What?? He's a food thief!

Mothra: He's hungry. The poor thing's young, he needs the food to grow.

Shimo: He's almost no different than young Suko here. You can't tell me you were never young, alone, and hungry?

Godzilla: Seriously man, have a heart.

Kong: Oh coming from you, that's-

He stops himself when he sees Mothra and Shimo scowl at him harder.

Kong: -sorry.

Shimo: Here.

She picks up Doug and walks over to Kong.

Shimo: We're taking him in.

Kong: What??

Shimo: You heard me. Raising a child will be good for you.

Kong: We've already got Suko!

Shimo: You misunderstand. You and Godzilla will raise him together.

Godzilla's head snaps towards them and Kong's eyes also go wide in response.

Godzilla: Wait a minute, no I won't!

Mothra: Yes you will.

Godzilla: ...

Godzilla: Yes I will.

Kong, snickering: She's got you whipped, huh?

Goji: Laugh it up, Monkey. Mothra is Queen, which means she outranks us both, so if she says "jump," I say "how high?"

Kong: Huh. Okay...

Goji: Now! Little Dougie is going to need a bed to sleep in and a wrap to hold him while one of us goes hunting, so one of us needs to keep him close while the other gathers materials. You have opposable thumbs, so I'll get what I need.

Kong: Wait, why am I babysitting?!

Goji: It's not "babysitting" if he's your son, Kong! Make sure you and Suko play with him lots while I'm gone, any child of ours needs to keep in shape!

Kong: CHILD OF OURS!? WHAT?!?

Goji, walking away: IF MOTHRA AND SHIMO SAY WE'RE RAISING HIM TOGETHER THEN WE'RE RAISING HIM TOGETHER! YOU MUST BE A GOOD HUSBAND AND FATHER FOR DOUG'S SAKE!!

Kong: WHEN THE FUCK DID WE GET MARRIED?!?!

Goji, some distance away, yelling: MOTHRA WILL WORK ON IT! DON'T YOU DARE WALK OUT ON OUR BABY BOY!!

[Cut to Mothra and Shimo, both munching on snacks and loving the dramatics.]

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (February 11-17, 2024)

Warner Bros. unfurled the second trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which seems to be going over much better than the first. There are multiple glimpses of the ice Titan Shimo throughout, and an even briefer look at Mothra reflected in Jia's eye. (My favorite shot, of course, is Kong decking Skar King as he's holding out Suko like a wriggling shield.) The rough shots from trailer #1 still look rough, but at least the new footage is more impressive.

The new issue of Empire (how fitting) has a short article on GxK—the big revelation there is that Godzilla Evolved is pink simply because that's director Adam Wingard's favorite color. Collaborations are also popping up. Circle K is offering a movie-branded sandwich, chocolate bar, and Froster drinks/cups. Godzilla and a seriously wizened Kong are also entering the mobile game Lords Mobile.

I don't know much about Oscar politicking, but Takashi Yamazaki's strategy of bringing a model Godzilla with him everywhere he goes seems like a winner. Both appear in the "class photo" taken of all the nominees at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon. At the same event, Yamazaki and Godzilla met with Steven Spielberg, who told Yamazaki he had seen Godzilla Minus One three times. Posting their photo together on Twitter, Yamazaki said he had "met God."

Toho's English Godzilla YouTube channel also uploaded a six-minute video on Minus One's VFX, with a focus on the various ways the production was able to shave off costs. Officially translated behind-the-scenes featurettes for Toho Godzilla films are a rarity, a sign of how badly they want that little gold statue. It's worth watching just for Yamazaki scooting his chair around the office.

Shout! Factory's onslaught of old Toei tokusatsu films on its streaming service turned out to be a prelude to offering them all on disc. The Classic Tokusatsu Collection Blu-ray set includes Planet Prince (1959; called Prince of Space), Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961), Watari the Ninja Boy (1966), The Golden Bat (1966; called Golden Ninja), Magic Serpent (1966; called Dragon Showdown) , Ninja Scope (1969), and Terror Beneath the Sea (1966). None have ever been released on English-friendly Blu-ray before; some haven't even made it to DVD. The set is $70 and limited to 2,500 copies.

Major caveats seem to accompany every English-language release of vintage tokusatsu these days, and unfortunately this set's no exception. Despite the existence of English dubs for at least some of these films (two of them riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000), only Terror Beneath the Sea is dubbed; the rest are Japanese-only. And the dubbed Prince of Space well-known to MiSTies was actually an amalgamation of Toei's two Planet Prince films, only the first of which is present here. (Even the first film seems like it's going to be in upscaled standard-def, going off the streaming version.) No special features in the production description either, although one person who got the set early reports that at least one trailer is included (for Invasion of the Neptune Men).

IDW has announced still another Godzilla miniseries, Godzilla: Skate or Die. First-issue description:

It's Australian skater punks versus Varan and the King of the Monsters in this thrilling debut issue by writer/artist Louie Joyce (A Fistful of Pain)! Four years ago, four best friends and die-hard skaters found the perfect location for a DIY skatepark. After months of hard work, they created the world’s sickest spot that they could enjoy for the rest of their lives… That is, until the ferocious Varan appeared in the middle of central Australia and started making a beeline for their beloved park. Why is Varan on a rampage? Why did Godzilla just appear off the coast? What does their beloved skate spot have to do with this? And most importantly…what are these punks willing to do to save it?

Sounds like there's a lot of author appeal here, as Joyce is Australian and calls the tale "inspired by all the amazing DIY spots I've had the privilege of skating[.]" And a meaty role for Varan is a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps inspired by the success of Troll on Netflix, we've got another Scandinavia giant monster movie on the way. Kraken will be directed by Pal Oie (Dark Woods) from a script by Vilde Eide. No cast yet, but here are the plot details divulged by The Hollywood Reporter:

[T]he thriller will follow Johanne, a marine biologist who encounters several strange occurrences while researching a fjord, including the brutal deaths of two local teenagers. “At the bottom of Norway’s deepest fjord rests a mythical monster as large as a mountain, with a myriad of arms ready to crush and devour anything they can grab,” the film’s synopsis reads.

Krakens are certainly having a moment in giant monster stories right now, between Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken and the three that somehow wound up connected to the Monsterverse. (To wit: Na Kika was originally called Kraken, the unnamed antagonist of Skull Island bore the same name internally, and the guardian of Atlantis in the Justice League crossover comic is a Kraken as well.) This seems like a more back-to-basics approach.

[sonicasura]

A human child?

They didn’t look like one of Mothra’s followers nor were they similar to the normally skittish humans who checked up on Kong. Shimo had a very wavering opinion toward the non-below world humans. Some were kind, some were rude, some were loud, some dead quiet. There were no patterns to how those humans acted unlike Mothra’s own who were respectful.

The human child had been somewhat dragging their feet so she noticed them when they began walking in her direction. She shifted until her back spikes were clearly visible, not wanting to be bothered right now… Suko had already visited today and it was difficult to mentally disconnect the same fur color as—scarred king.

Ice began forming inward, but she took a shuddering breath to keep herself from panic freezing her mouth closed. Again. Last time that happened she nearly iced over the entirety of the tribe’s domain. It felt too close to when… Her muzzle marks itched when she got like this.

Shimo belatedly realized the human child was sitting several paces away from her. The ice Titan waited for the child to get bored with her not doing anything. Suko and Mothra’s occasional youngest priestess who lived on the surface got bored fast if she remained still.

.

.

.

The child was still here.

Shimo registered a quarter of the Tribe going out in the low activity hunting party so she knew they had been waiting a while. The ice Titan simply didn’t know why. Humans rarely stuck around this long without her having to intimidate or shy away. She was also already not engaging in whatever this human wanted. Reluctantly and with timid curiosity, she shifted until she was able to peek from having her spikes pointed out. They slowly waved at her.

Hmmm.

————————————

Shimo was very shy and defensive from the moment she registered them. If Dart didn’t have the Omnitrix to talk to, then they would’ve gotten bored ages ago. Six hours the ice lizard Kaiju ended up making them wait… Hollow Earth’s geography was fascinating to watch at least. Shimo moved very minutely over the course of the next hour: first untucking her head, then gradually shifting onto her stomach, and finally uncurling her tail from herself.

She was watching them through the corner of her eyes, but this was progress! Painfully mind numbing slow progress. Yet slight progress.

‘I still think I should slink off and scan her.’

‘Again, boundaries.’

Dart pretend not to notice how the ice lizard Kaiju was sneaking glances at a glass globe they were fidgeting with. Shimo had a massive amount of faintly translucent spines on her back. So, the Omnitrix user figured she might be passingly interested in something similar. They’d encased some of Frostsmite’s ice into the orb which had not been an easy feat.

Compared to her, the globe was probably the size of a grain of sand… yet very eye catching in teals and faint blues. Shimo leaned her head over a bit—then continued gradually getting closer as Dart pretended to be occupied.

Foot by foot (because again the female Kaiju was massive) she leaned over until she was practically close enough to touch. The Omnitrix user moved in a telegraph manner to “notice” the ginormous ice lizard. Dart carefully held up their globe in order for her to see closer…

Shimo hesitated for a moment…

Then, tilted her head to get a closer look.

The Omnitrix—which was facing down due to how they were holding the globe—briefly brushed against one of Shimo’s scales.

‘[DNA Sample Acquired].’

The Titan flinched a bit at the faint touch yet focused on the globe given neither of Dart’s hands were trying to touch her further.

…It was almost blistering cold.

—————————————

As Elusive, they were flying back out of one of the holes leading into the Hollow Earth when they heard the flap of much larger wings. Wings which sounded familiar to how Chakra flew… A warbling inquisitive cry tried to make its way into their mind so they flew faster upward!

Nope!

They were not dealing with Mothra right now.

—ROB’d Anon.

Coldsnap, Titanus Shimo transformation.

Shimo definitely remains confused about that weird encounter. No doubt strange but not unpleasant. Looks like Mothra is on the move too.

[naughtygirl286]

So we finally went to see the next chapter of the MonsterVerse GodzillaxKong: The New Empire. I was super excited to go see this because as a Godzilla fan I have been enjoying this series. Also yes there was plenty of collectable goodies for this movie which of course you can see here.

So as for the movie itself I would say I pretty much loved it I thought it was great myself. I loved all the monster action and all the smashing and crashing. You can tell how these movies evolved from the 2014 Godzilla to now being in the 2014 movie it was very I'd say human centric and as they went on the monsters pretty much took center stage. I feel that the human involvement in this movie was very minimal and were there when they needed to be. and that Warner Bros was all "they want monsters we'll give them monsters!" because I feel this was like 85% monster action!

Now with the story I do feel much like the previous Godzilla vs Kong that the story is focused more on Kong then Godzilla. Kong is the main character in this movie and does get the most screen time. but as for the story itself if kinda is telling two at the same time a Kong Story and a Godzilla story and going back and forth until the 2 meet up again. I don't know the timeline of this I don't remember if they mention anything but I think it does take place shortly after the previous movie maybe a year or 2?

Your basic story is this Kong is living in the Hollow Earth while Godzilla is above. Kong is still lonely believing he is the last of his kind until he finds a hidden underground area with many like himself but it is ruled by a ruthlessly despotic ape known only as "The Skar King" Kong of course comes into conflict with him and gets the upper hand for the moment until the Skar King unleashes his ultimate weapon a kiju named Shimo who has a devastating ice attack causing Kong to retreat and seek help from the only one who can match Shimo's power the King of the Monsters Godzilla! after a short scuffle Godzilla agrees to Help Kong and the Monster action goes into full swing!

Now I like I said I love this movie I thought it was every exciting and very fun and delved more into the mythology of the characters of Godzilla and Kong I loved how they introduced some more new monsters like The Skar King and the little minikong Suko who was a real bastard when you meet him but of course became a friend of Kong's as Kong earned his trust. I also love the return of Mothra as well. The animation and character work for this movie was impressive too especially with Kong and the other ape characters as well as Godzilla who seemed to have a greater sense of motion in this movie as you can see him both running and jumping.

Also like I said the monster action is amazing Ken Watanabe's character Dr. Ishiro Serizawa said it best in the first movie of this series back in 2014 "Let them Fight" and this movie takes that to heart and lets them fight! the fight in Egypt is alot of fun but its pretty much not until they get to Rio and then everything goes crazy! but it is so much fun to watch and I would say it is very satisfying all the smashing and crashing and buildings going flying as the monsters tear everything apart.

but in the end this is just an amazingly fun movie. There is plenty of action and its exciting and goes deeper into the lore and I feel it is having lots of fun expanding on this world and this universe. One thing with these movies is I would like to see more classic characters appear like Anguirus and maybe Gigan but I also like how they are creating newer monster for these movies too. I'm just enjoying everything in these movies and loving it all! but yeah if you are enjoying the MonsterVerse as much as I am then I would highly recommend this one.

[grimmgrinningghouls]

I'm back from GxK!! heres my thoughts

I sadly had quite a bit spoiled but nothing can compare to seeing the movie in person, it was sooo much cooler in the theatre.

I kinda knew going in there wouldn't be much Goji, but I did really like when he was on screen. and tbh I don't quite get why people are villainizing him so hard for killing Scylla?? Like she was just destroying things for funzies. She was causing unneeded destruction so Godzilla had enough of her shit and took her out. Tiamat I can kinda understand but she also could've just ran away instead of fighting him.

His evolved design grew on me HARD, like I almost prefer it to his original design. The pink was soooo cool and I loved the look of his atomic breath, I even liked him being thinner. I adored the glowing eyes too, like that was so fucking cool. I do kinda wish we saw him using his thagomizer but I liked it nevertheless, for me its not about how much we see Godzilla, its about how he's used and I feel like he was used pretty well in this movie.

And I'd also like to issue a formal apology to Kong and his fans. I wasn't familiar with his game. Godzillas still my boy but I ended up really liking Kong, his story was really heartfelt. You could really empathize and relate to Kong throughout the movie, his story, emotions, and everything about him made me really like him, I also loved his bond with Suko.

this is also the first time I've genuinely liked the human characters in a monsterverse movie, really the first time I've actively wanted more of them. Loved Bernie and Trapper, more then I expected too. I assumed Trapper was just gonna be obnoxious since he was in the trailers but I really liked him. Bernie too, liked him a lot more then in GvK. I also ended up liking Jia a lot more then I expected too, she was a cool character. I liked her bonds and connections to the titans.

I do wish we saw more Mothra, but she was great when she was on screen. Loved seeing her and Godzilla on screen together again, I'd love to learn more about Mothra lore in the MV tbh.

As for villains, Skar king was pretty cool. He kinda got shat on in all the trailers so he caught me off guard seeing how ruthless he was, I wouldn't put him above Ghidorah but he was cool. I also liked Shimo and her big ass forehead, her size caught me off guard too, girlies massive. Visibly bigger then both Godzilla and Kong. I genuinely felt bad for her and seeing her get freed + find a new life as Kongs friend made me smile a bit.

I liked (most of) the fights too! I really liked the hollow earth 0 gravity fight, especially Godzillas part in it. I am for sure someone who prefers when the kaiju feel massive and have a ton of weight behind them, but that fight was so cool, Goji was badass and I loved seeing his evolved form in action.

The only fight I didn't like was the fight with Scylla, a 900,000 ton animal cannot move like that. That was a bit too silly even for me, and don't get me wrong I love a bit of silly monster fighting but meh. The godzilla suplex was funny as hell though, for sure unrealistic but funny so it passes. I liked the comedy a lot in the movie tbh, more then the other movies.

Also rq, I don't get why yall were calling the movie ugly?? Like some scenes kinda but it didn't look bad at all. The cgi was fine with me and I don't see why people called it a ps4 game, some shots were a bit wonky but not enough for me to really give a shit.

Overall? pretty good movie, I feel like the pacing could slow down a bit but I genuinely enjoyed myself a lot and had a total blast watching the movie. There was never a dull moment and I'd give it a solid 8/10.

[hrodvitnon]

Just got out of my first viewing (spoilers so tag accordingly)

Yeah that was the most ridiculous shit ive ever seen and i had a blast lmfao.

--

To get the few negatives out of the way: Syclla and Tiamat got COOKED. That's crazy. Especially Tiamat. I had no idea she was in the movie and like choked on popcorn when they said her name. First onscreen appearance and she dies in like 3 seconds... sucks to be her. But honestly... this is probably one of those moments where Fan Content messes with the perception of a canon thing, at least for me. It hurts a lot more because of the emotional attachment from stuff like Ozymandias's story, Shamhat, and other adjacent stuff. If I had never seen those and watched her die I'd probably think "oh she had a cool design, but whatever". But yeah, my only serious complaint is her being shafted and I don't even really think I can call it objective because there was definitely an attachment there.

Ok besides that this might be my new personal favorite Monsterverse. Could be recency bias but I don't think so. Every human is at the very least entertaining. Everything Trapper did in this movie made me crack up, hearing Bernie say the words 'Discord chat' and 'Ghidorahstan64' (i stg this was a callout of some kind) onscreen gave me terminal whiplash, and although Jia and Andrew's story was sorta surface level, it was still endearing. I'd rather have a good human storyline, sure, but if we can't have that I'll settle for entertaining.

Here I thought Suko was gonna be an annoying marketing ploy to sell toys... I physically snorted in the theatre when Kong slammed him into that one ape. MVP of the film lmao. Mothra was... also there. Yeah, it really shows that she was a last minute addition. But DAMN she sent Godzilla ROLLING with a single attack. Speaking of, I don't think the Tia-Zilla form was as underutilized as I've heard people say it was. Especially that new Atomic Breath effect. Holy eargasm.

Oh man though, Shimo and Skar are fantastic. Skar hits the same beat as like a Celestial Dragon or Vladimir Harkonnen with way more grace than I would've expected from a big monkey. They go shockingly dark with his treatment of the ape-slaves and Shimo... especially with that female ape insinuation.

Holy shit poor Shimo, man. I honestly thought the Skar controlling her aspect would be kinda downplayed and just regular mind control, not genuine torture of some kind. I love that they let her have characterization by resisting him at every chance she gets, and that the pain control isn't always active (i'm assuming that's the insinuation of keeping her all chained and behind magma, it depowers and restrains her when Skar's not actively using her), further insinuating she gets merciful breaks from hellish enslavement only to be yanked back into it whenever Skar needs something turned into a popsicle. I think my favorite moment in the film is right after Suko shatters the crystal and the light blue luminescence fades to reveal her actual eyes for the first time. Eyes are used throughout the film to show subtle humanizing features, like Godzilla falling asleep in Rome, Kong's wide eyes when he sees his kin, and shock when Shimo realizes she's free. Having her eyes glowing the whole film makes her seem way more monstrous and inhuman, so when that suddenly goes away she starts getting framed as just an animal. Also her eyes are pretty. Also, I lied, that wasn't my favorite part of the film. My favorite part was Kong giving her chin scratches and that cute half-hug. This needs to be normalized. He needs to hug Godzilla next film. I will pay someone a king's ransom for this to happen. Final little detail, I like that Kong doesn't do his final roar from on her back but standing next to her, on the same level as all the other apes. He doesn't look to elevate himself over her or everyone else like Skar did, which is a great touch.

Also also also: Think it's time for a Doug solo film where he tries to steal all the Titans' food. Make it happen Legendary.

Much agreement here! I'd love for a solo Mothra MonsterVerse film to really capitalize on her lore and give her stuff to do (without dying at the end preferably); maybe establish some connection between the Chen family and Jia. Also, I need a little shot of Mothra going to visit Godzilla while he's sleeping in the Colosseum and just cuddle up to the big lug.

Andrews and Jia were a welcome breath of fresh air after GvK reversed Mark's characterization and Madison became... that. There was still some slight tension between Jia not feeling like she belongs and Andrews wanting to do right by her, even if it means possibly giving her up, only for Jia to go "you're my mom, you're my home, stop being dramatic". You love to see it.

Adding to the Doug solo film idea... Shimo adopts him because he's cute and she thinks his shenanigans are hilarious. Let us have fun wholesome times!

[adm-starblitzsteel-4305]

Godzilla: how did you pick a human to be your mate?

Kong: well...

Earlier

Kong: *approaching ilene*

Ilene: oh hello kong, do you need something?

Kong: *gives ilene a special flower*

Ilene: aw thank you kong. I love it

Boots: *shocked* ms. Andrews. Do you know what you just accepted?

Ilene; no. What?

Boot: if a male great apes five the female that he like THAT specific flower, and she accepts it mean she has accepted being his mate

Ilene:... what?

Now

Kong: and now we're here

Godzill:.. And it works?

(The things I ended up here talking about courtships...Imma try)

Kong: In the end...yes. But there's actually MORE than I bargained for! Thanks to Boots, Shimo, Suko, and Jia, I realized there are more than catching Ilene's heart. Like taking her out for a date, finding a perfect place to spend some time for us alone, picking up edible fruits...

Godzilla, in thought: Lucky for me, I won Mothra's heart all because of my "LAMP" time.

...SOMETIME LATER...

Kiko (child): Mama? Papa?

Ilene/Kong: Yes?

Kiko (child): How did you two meet each other? How do you create babies?

Ilene/Kong: ...

(Also, Ilene Andrews is again having a second baby so, more additional Kong Family.)

[hrodvitnon]

Something I hope they do with Goji going forward is to stop having him be alone all the time. And I'm not coming at this from the 'omg he's big lonely so sad' angle (even tho that is probably true), but having him running a solo show has the undesired side effect of not giving him anyone else to bounce off or interact with. This is an issue I never really noticed until the Wingard duology let Kong interact with both humans and other Titans regularly, which I think lended a lot to him being conceived as the 'more human' one. Kong's had relationships with Jia, Ilene, Shimo, Skar, the Apes, and Suko to flesh out over the two films- whereas Godzilla's just had... Mothra? For like- one scene? And- maybe Kong? They've looked at each other a few times. Fought together twice? Does Godzilla actually like him now? Idk.

Willing to admit that KotM did this better. Godzilla was allowed to interact with both Mothra, Rodan, Mark, and Serizawa and we were able to get a good idea of his relationship with each character. But even with that being said- the final film really only focused on giving his relationships with Serizawa and Mothra weight (he only interacted with Rodan once and the scenes with Mark were cut). Which- those were good, but given what we've now been shown is possible with Kong in Wingard's films- they can definitely go further.

And this isn't even a Godzilla-exclusive problem. He's the one everyone talks about, but imo, this is just as bad if not worse for characters like Rodan and Mothra. Rodan has only been shown killing people, wrecking havoc, and submitting unenthusiastically to Godzilla before being shelved for 2 movies. Sparing my- much hotter take in regards to Mothra- I prefer her KotM version where she was in the film for more than 20 minutes. I'm also unreasonably peeved she never directly interacted with Kong.

But there is hope! Lots of it, actually. Mothra and Shimo sorta had to have less screentime in this one because of how the plot was organized, so here's hoping the next film starts with all the monsters as main cast members- and preferably all together. I think a full movie not split between Kong and Godzilla's perspectives, and instead with them together- maybe accompanied by Mothra, Shimo, Suko, and Rodan (And praying to the gods they get another Titan to join them cough Anguirus cough) would do wonders for the Titans we haven't gotten to see much recently and would establish group vibes and dynamics. Godzilla could still be the tough guy serious one with an edge, but you could then give him a moment where he's about to kill some creature and Kong/Mothra steps in and makes him show mercy- getting him to be like 'ugh fine but only cuz i want to not because you told me'. Additionally, Rodan being annoying and poking Godzilla or Kong to get a rise out of them; Mothra/Rodan perching on Shimo, Godzilla, or Kong; Godzilla, Kong, or Shimo protecting Suko.

I just think letting the Titans be more of a group instead of isolated would do a lot for each of them, and just generally make for a more entertaining film.

It would be really cool to see the Titans actually interact with each other, though I for one would be glad to see Kong take a break in the next movie so others can shine and get some of the spotlight and characterization juice he's been hogging by comparison. Also, unfortunately I'm thinking it's unlikely we'll get Anguirus in the MonsterVerse considering we saw his skeleton in KOTM... unless another member of his species appears.

[hrodvitnon]

Damn I take a break from reading long posts for like 3 days and missed the Keeta stuff till now. Also YES for the love of all that is holy, give the Titans flaws. Complex characters are best characters.

Keeta trying to change the crawler's repuation that would largely be seen as a naive path, but their family would do their best to support them. However, some would obviously be peeved by this.

I think Kong would absolutely try to wipe them out as a knee-jerk reaction, only for that to be swiftly put down by basically everyone close to him- demanding he quit this tirade lest he end up like Skar (everyone talks about Suko here- but I think more than anyone, Shimo would be extremely anxious about Kong becoming like Skar and would spare no effort to ensure this behavior stops immediately). Even Kong knows when to let up though, I feel, and I doubt he'd try to genuinely escalate unless there's an overstep on Keeta's part. What I think would probably happen is he'd set the very strict boundary of 'no Crawlers in the Hollow Earth'. Problem is: that's their natural habitat, and they'd either be forced to leave or be subject to being hunted by the apes. But- Kong's well within his power to make such a call, his territory is below while Godzilla's is up top. Godzilla, or any Titans under his command, going down there would be seen as blatant encroachment and defiant of the rules Goji himself laid out. If he's allowed to attack Kong whenever he goes up top and ban the apes from seeing the surface, surely he can handle the crawlers being relegated to his territory, right? In Kong's eyes: if he wants this nonsense with the crawlers to continue, he can deal with it in his territory, not mine.

To potentially add another dimension and/or nuance the conversation a bit, I think there's a very real and pretty valid comparison to be drawn between the Skullcrawlers and the MUTOs. Functionally, they share many traits: regarded as an infestation by the greater populous, hated by many, have been known to rapidly overpopulate, and have historically been blights on whatever environment they inhabit. Keeta trying to change the Skullcrawler's reputation in a vacuum would probably be uncontroversial to most (minus Kong), but under the reality of this comparison as well as Godzilla being very strict about what the remaining MUTOs are allowed to do- this would look pretty bad on his part.

Kong would call this blatant hypocrisy, why are the crawlers allowed to congregate, reproduce, start families, etc when the MUTOs doing so is cause for Godzilla to start blasting beams in their direction? He may even spread this sentiment to other kaiju- with the subtle implication that he's showing favoritism to his favorite little birdy toy, as well as his family at large. I can even see some agreeing with this sentiment to an extent, but with differing motivation behind it;

Barb, for example, might hear this and wholeheartedly agree. Why should the Crawlers get this treatment while she's banned from mating or having her own kids? But whereas Kong would see the Crawler Pack disbanded, Barb would only want her privileges to be reconsidered by Godzilla if this is the stance he wants to take on the Crawlers. Dagon may stand with her- but he also may recognize where this path ends and that giving creatures like Crawlers and MUTOs an inch may cause them to take a mile. Tiamat may agree with Barb on the basis that restricting a creature's reproduction is a cruelty, and that both the Crawlers and the MUTOs should be allowed to populate as they see fit. As for someone that may agree with Kong's side of the argument, I think Battra might see this and be more than a little concerned with the long leash that Godzilla's given to a species like the Crawlers- and may kindly remind him and his sister that these things ravage ecosystems and that history has taught them to keep that population under strict control.

For Godzilla's part- I think that, like always, Kong ends up being a mirror that reflects some inconvenient truths back at him. Like mentioned in a previous ask, he could pull Kong to the side maybe after he banished Keeta and the crawlers from the Hollow Earth and give him a pep talk on how this is a cruel ruling and that he risks going down Skar's path if he goes through with it, only for him to clap back with the MUTO talking point and calling him out on his own potential prejudices. They really are the same in this respect, Crawlers were the death of Kong's species just like the MUTOs have historically preyed on Goji's kind. It may even cause him to think 'would I be allowing Keeta this freedom if they were a MUTO?', perhaps even changing his perspective for the better.

Yeps all around! In fact @alteringworldscapes addressed Shimo's take on Kong being in danger of becoming more Skar King-like here (haven't gotten around to it, apologies, all these Keeta asks have been a lot):

So, uh... yeah, Shimo I imagine would leap head-first at the chance to encourage Kong to not be like Skar King.

[hrodvitnon]

Some Thoughts on GxK

So, now that I’ve had a bit of time to collect my thoughts regarding GxK, I figured I’d share them in more detail. So without further ado, here goes!

Pros:

- The action was absolutely fantastic, although I do wish some of the fight scenes had been a little longer.

- I enjoyed all four of the main human characters in this one: I thought Ilene Andrews & Jia’s relationship was actually really well-done, and the dynamic between Trapper & Bernie was hilarious. Also, I feel like Trapper is definitely the Steve Irwin of Monarch in terms of how he views & interacts with the Titans. 😄

- Highlight was definitely the scenes that focused just on the interactions between the Titans, especially Kong & Suko, the first meeting between Kong & the other Great Apes, and the reunion of Godzilla & Mothra (which was absolutely adorable).

- Goji channeling his inner cat and taking that nap in the Colosseum was amazing, and the fact that he went back to take another nap there at the end of the movie was a perfect cherry on top. 😂 (Although I wish Mothra had gone back there with him at the end.)

- Skar King was a really fun villain; he might not be quite as imposing as Ghidorah or Mechagodzilla, but he’s just as scary, and I feel like he definitely made up for not being as physically powerful by having so much personality & intelligence.

- Shimo is so sweet, and I love her so much! 🥺 They did a really good job of making her sympathetic; I felt so bad for her while she was under Skar King’s control, and the way she acted after she finally got her freedom was so pure and sweet. Also, I love that she technically got to kill her abuser, even if Kong was the one who finished him off after she froze him.

- All the new Hollow Earth creatures were really cool, and Doug popping in and stealing part of Kong’s lunch legitimately cracked me up. 🤭

- Cool to see Scylla’s return and Tiamat’s onscreen debut, even if they didn’t last very long. I also couldn’t help but laugh a little at the fact that Godzilla killed both of them using his “Kiss of Death” tactic from the 2014 movie.

- I’d seen some of the rumors & leaks regarding Mothra beforehand, but I still got so excited when they finally name-dropped her, and her glorious return did not disappoint! Also, again, her reunion with Godzilla was super-cute, and I love the little detail that despite all of his aggressive behavior in the previous movie and most of this one, he visibly calms down as soon as she shows up and stays that way for the rest of the film.

Cons:

- Some of the film did feel kinda rushed. It wasn’t too bad, but I feel like they definitely could’ve extended it by a half-hour to expand some of the action scenes and some of the character development a little more. The Rio fight, in particular, felt a little too rushed & short compared to the final battles of the other MonsterVerse movies.

- Like I said, I’m really glad that we finally got Mothra back, but the whole “Iwi prophecy” explanation for her return felt kinda weird & unnecessary. Why is Jia somehow the only person who can wake Mothra up? Where did Mothra’s new incarnation come from, since it seems like it wasn’t from the egg that Monarch found in the credits of KOTM? Why is her cocoon invisible until Jia touches it? (I guess that last one’s probably for camouflage purposes, but it did seem kinda weird.) I feel like they probably could’ve just had her already be awake & protecting the Iwi in her new body, and ditch the whole prophecy subplot in favor of Jia just bonding more with the Hollow-Earth Iwi tribe instead.

- The fact that both Scylla and Tiamat were killed off as soon as they showed up was a bummer, although I did enjoy both of those fights.

- And although I do like the look of Godzilla’s new Evolved form, it didn’t really feel very important, if that makes sense? Like, when he unlocked his Burning form against Ghidorah back in KOTM, it was really important in terms of the story and also gave his character some additional depth by emphasizing his symbiotic relationship with Mothra, but here it felt like he could’ve played the exact same role in the story without that new transformation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Not my favorite of the MonsterVerse films (currently, I’d say my ranking from favorite to least favorite is KOTM, GvK, GxK, G2014, and KSI), but it was still a solid, fun Kaiju film, and I’m definitely planning on seeing it again while it’s still in theaters.

Oh yeah, big same all around! I definitely also expected the Rio fight to have more going on, and it would have been cool if Shimo was the one to end Skar King rightly in repayment for the hell he put her through. Mothra just suddenly appearing out of nowhere like that had me tilting my head, like what if her egg (somehow) was brought to the Hollow Earth and was chilling out on that pyramid in the cocoon stage, finally releasing when Jia did her thing (I didn't read it as Mothra's cocoon being invisible... time for a second viewing!); also surprising that Ilene didn't mention "oh yeah, Mothra, she laid an egg last time she was alive" or at least work in some way that Mothra could feasibly show up. The sudden prophecy subplot was odd, but okay movie, you do you. Maybe this will get cleared up in the novelization?

[sonicasura]

So I had an idea for what kind of kaiju some of the Toys could mutate into

Dog Day and Bobby Bearhug: They'd turn into something similar to King Ceaser, they'd have different types of special attacks like DogDay has a sunbeam like attack while Bobby has roar that creates a ton of air pressure that can push away boulders the size of a house.

Bubba and Picky: They mutate into something similar to Behemoth, large and heavily muscled Titans granted they don't really have Behemoths anteater like claws.

Kickin: He mutates into a kaiju similar to Rodan, to the point that Rodan actually joined Godzilla in breaking into Playtime Co. Granted Monarch draws the line when Rodan tries to take Kickin to his Volcano nest.

Hoppy: She mutates into a rabbit like kaiju/titan who has the ability of electrokinesis and oddly Godzilla seems pretty protective of her, to the point of Godzilla growled when Monarch performs physicals on her.

Craftycorn: She mutates into a titan/kaiju that is actually similar to Shimo granted with a large central horn, her mane slowly turning into collection of spines that Shimo has.

CatNap: He becomes a cat-like kaiju/Titan that can now climb nearly everything think like a mix of a monkey and a cat.

Huggy Wuggy and Kissy Missy: The slowly mutate turn into Great Ape like titans/kaiju to the point that Kong had a trip to the surface to see if they were alright. He brought Suko as he sensed there were new friends.

PJ Pugapiller, Cat-Bee, and Mommy LongLegs: They become titans/kaiju that are similar to Mothras species and the moth titan adopts them, granted they also consider Godzilla a dad.

Poppy and the Prototype don't really mutate into any titan or kaiju due to they were the first real forays into living toys so the kaiju cells used were real minimal

Establishing a timeline here as the Hour of Joy in canon occured around the 2010s so this is before KotM.

Cue the toys panicking as they have to be told this. All of them are currently undergoing therapy to undo whatever mental damage Playtime Co caused. Food therapy especially for those like Boxy Boo who were being tailored to human meat. (Pork being their best friend in that fiasco to help break the addiction.)

Poppy is the only one void of kaiju cells as Playtime Co doesn't know how to fully recreate the original conversion process so they used extra stuff. The Prototype was killed by Godzilla since he felt sense what kind of catastrophic damage he'll cause if left alive. Rodan also appearing definitely kicked Monarch into gear to handle the situation.

Every toy has a timer for when their body will trigger a kaiju related mutation. There are signs that occur before a shift: increased anxiety, uptick in aggression, increased appetite, feeling of tightness, and lethargy. It soon leads to unconscious as the first mutation is the most painful since the toys are essentially growing out of their mascot shaped shells. Their beginning size would be a bit smaller to Suko.

They'll retain some traits from their previous forms i.e color pallet, markings like the tags for the respective Smiling Critters, similar physical stature. Devices are being made so the respective toy can communicate in human languages. Monarch wants to give back at least as much of their original humanity. A division that handles them is also formed with Poppy being a key member since she still is the toys now turning kaiju friends.

Mommy Longlegs has some Scylla cells so she's more spider like in nature but Mothra's side overpowers it enough that any related mutation to spider kaiju are minor. Hoppy was given minor Titanosaurus Gojira cells alongside unknown rabbit kaiju so it explains why Godzilla would be extra protective. She's his kin in a sense.

Boxy Boo is an Tiamat and unknown ferret kaiju mix. CatNap has Hedorah based abilities as his mutation incorporated Red Smoke container in his body so he can shift into a violet gaseous state. Now for mutations in order:

Pre KotM: Hoppy, Kicken Chicken, Dogday

KotM: Hoppy(advanced due to delivering the nuke to Godzilla instead of Ishiro), CatNap, Craftycorn, Catbee

Pre GvsK: Bubba, Picky, Mommy, Boxy

GvsK: Huggy, Kissy, PJ, Bobby