#kraken skulls

[gorillageek27]

I'm watching the skull island anime on netflix and it got me imaging godzilla being jealous that kong had a rival before him (the kraken) and this rival actually emotionally scared kong. Not just a rival. An arch nemesis.

Godzilla: so i'm just the rebound!?

Kong: godzilla please it was a long time ago. It meant nothing

Godzilla: WELL IT SURE DIDNT SEEM LIKE NOTHING!

Kong: zilla.

Godzilla: just tell me one thing. Did you hate him more than me?

Kong: i dont hate you

Godzilla: *gasp*

[ericmhe]

I did wait a bit, but sorry if I'm sort of spoiling Skull Island for anyone. I'm ok with the series, it's not going to be one of my favorites by any means but I don't have a strong dislike either. The ending was abrupt enough I almost asked if Dog's ok out loud. I usually don't care much about Kong but episode 7 did have me feeling more for him than anything else King Kong I've seen.

[bookwyrminspiration]

it took me longer than I care to admit to realize the reason tmos’s cover is an elephant is probably because elephants are Thaena’s sacred animal. and thaena sure was. important. that book

[rejectclone]

Here’s some super rough bust doodles of my interpretations of the S4! 🍛🌺☢️💀

See below for like some brief explanations for each minor change, since honestly I’m content with how they appear in the manga buuuuuut of course I had to add some minor design changes that are relevant to some of my fav design tropes lol 🦑

🍛 ARMY 🔫

- He is the shortest in terms of height and bodily proportions in the entire S4, yet he’s also somehow the most ‘angular’ in a odd way. Short ears, yet they’re upturned and pointed, large pointy eyebrows but they’re very wide, the only one with a slightly smaller head yet a more pointy chin, smaller tentacles but with a more pronounced pointed tip, etc.

- His eye black grease/face paint is a bit more loose, to further show that he’s loosed up a BIT over the years, and is no longer that meticulous about applying it. He still wears it 24/7 though, even to sleep!

- Out of the entire S4, his skin is somehow the most clean with barely any indication of scars on it, as he takes healing any of his turfing injuries very seriously. Because of this, he is considered to have a baby face (much to his dismay, as he WANTS to look intimidating) even though the rest of his body is actually CUT and toned, due to him having a rigorous daily training routine (based upon the drill routines that were used during the Great Turf War….. he is REALLY into studying war history/LARPing as a Great Turf War solider lol)

🌺 ALOHA 🌊

- Average in terms of height with no real stand out features to his appearance, other than his ears being slightly longer and thinner, and his eyebrows being very thin as well. He does have some freckles that go across his face and neck/top half of his chest, and some that go down the back of his shoulders.

- Even though he spends such a excessive amount of time outdoors, and thus he should have a pretty dark tan, he applies sunblock HEAVILY. He still has a bit of a minor farmer’s tan when taking his namesake’s shirt off, but you honestly really can’t tell the difference.

- As a avid surfer, he is quite physically fit as well, but his muscle definition isn’t that developed. He’s got more of a slight ‘washboard’ physique (basically he DOES have abs, but they’re still kinda flush against the flat smoothness of his stomach/chest, and are not that pronounced), and thus he relies more on his bombastic personality to catch the attention of others than relying on his pseudo-pretty boy appearance.

☢️ MASK 👾

- CHRONICALLY ILL 24/7. The near-permeant case of hay fever he has is quite visible in regard to it’s impact on his appearance and body. Pale skin, massive and dark eye bags, bleary eyes, droopy ears, sagging tentacles, and of course the near-constant string of runny snot/translucent ink that dribbles out of his nose. He wears a gas mask for a reason, as it’s really the only excessively effective piece of gear on the market that can protect him from some common allergens.

- His skin tone is visibly more pale due to his illness, to the point where his body’s ink is actually visible THROUGH his skin. It appears as slightly blurry patches of turquoise ink, popping up pretty much anywhere across his body, and they come and go often. All of his body’s skin is quite thin, thus making this possible. In a way, this made piercing his ears with gauges, although he did bleed pretty badly….. for a short moment thankfully.

- Due to his illness, he tends to slouch constantly, but if told to stand fully upright, he actually QUITE TALL. The second tallest out of the entire S4, but of course this isn’t that noticeable due to his slouching and also how long and disheveled his clothing tends to be as well (minus his gas mask, which is in very pristine condition!). His thin and lanky body physique does lend well in battle shockingly enough, as he can swim in ink MUCH FASTER without the need of any swim speed up abilities on his gear, as it’s more or less a naturally latent ability to him.

💀 SKULL 🍭

- You thought Mask had some pretty prominent facial features? Well, Skull is akin to Mask, in terms of also being chronically ill, but with a WHOLE other condition that is a more….. Intense. He wears his infamous bandanna for a reason, mainly to cover up his gargantuan beak overbite. His eyemask is MUCH more darker and larger, the iconic lack of eyebrows and instead having a pronounced brow, the two rings in his eye, his constantly standing-up tentacles (that also have some small sharp teeth in them…. hmm….), and some weird deep purple birth marks that streak across his entire backside of his body, all the way up to his neck….. Plus the fact that he towers over the rest of the S4 and MOST of the entire inkfish population is notable too. Plus he’s ripped, just utterly blowing Army and Aloha’s physiques out of the water.

- When taking off his bandanna, he immediately starts to sweat profusely, as he really, REALLY loathes exposing his entire face to pretty much anyone. Only Aviators, Vinatge, Mask, and Goggles (in that order) have seen his entire face when unobscured, and Goggles seeing his face was more or less a fluke, during their rematch.

- While he is actually kinda against body modification (due to already being deeply disturbed by his own) he still got two small piercings on his left ear, in a way to further push the public perception of him being a very intense and terrifying captain, as it does gives him a slight psychological advantage against weaker enemy teams in Turf War. He used to cover up his purple birthmarks with concealer, but after realizing how much of a tedious pain it was to apply it Every Single Day on his entire backside, he began to lie on how it’s a massive abstract styled tattoo. He did this to further push the ‘scary, badass, no-survivors Captain’ aura that had been applied to him by the eyes of the public. While he knows that he isn’t that cruel or mean in reality, he does lean on this misconception a lot, to get his way though anything.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

I ain't spoiling it on the first day but the main enemy monster in this is insanely cool

[chimericecho]

It was supposed to be a simple edit but it turned out as a whole re-design of Titanus Kraken from the Kong Skull Island show, because I don't like it and I still don't mainly because of the beak position.

[monarch-afterdark]

Titan History: Na Kika & The "Skull Island Kraken"

Welcome once again to Monarch: After Dark, the digital gateway between you and the organisation dedicated to understanding and navigating this troubled new world we live in.

For today's communication, we bring a double-feature, covering two different Titans in a single entry due to lack of current information to warrant each Titan recieving its own individual entry. As such, we present the two tentacled terrors of the deep, Na Kika and the Skull Island Kraken.

(Pictured above: A full-body sketch of Na Kika, courtesy of Drew E. Johnson)

Monarch Database File: Na Kika

Monarch Designation: Titanus Na Kika

Length: 898 feet

Weight: Unknown

Nature: Bio-Virulent

Behavioural Classification: Destroyer

-----

Prior to 2019, Na Kika was a Titan held within a great deal of secrecy, even to those within Monarch's ranks. The underwater outpost containing Na Kika was classified and excluded from the publicly available outpost network, and the Titan itself had not yet been given an official designation, only nicknamed "Kraken" by those who studied it.

The longest Titan on current record, Na Kika boasts an impressive arsenal of skills. Able to siphon the elemental energy of other Titans through the suction cups on its tentacles, Na Kika could quickly render an enemy helpless in its grasp. The Titan is also immensely intelligent, able to alter its state of being through disguising its own radiation signature. As the workers of its outpost discovered with horror, Na Kika was capable of playing dead.

Na Kika is also capable of changing its biological sex on a whim, going from male to female and vice versa. The Titan's strength is also notable, able to singlehandedly drag an entire Monarch outpost to the depths and devour ships with ease.

(Pictured above: Artistic rendition of Na Kika breaking free from netting used to trap her by ecoterrorists, circa. 2020)

In the ancient past, Na Kika had made contact with the Austronesian people of Kiribati, who came to worship the Titan as one of their gods. This worship continues even today, with their modern descendants continuing to worship Na Kika.

Throughout the world's oceans, Na Kika was at the center of a campaign of terror known to many cultures. A monstrous cephalopod sinking and devouring ships, feared by sailors for centuries. This fear continues to the modern day, though much smaller creatures than Na Kika seem to be the source.

In 2019, when Monster Zero awakened the other Titans, Na Kika responded to its calls by flatlining and appearing to those within the outpost that it had died. It is believed that, somehow, Na Kika's intelligence allowed it to figure out that the containment field around it only worked on living Titans, and played dead to be able to phase through. Once free, Na Kika wrapped her tentacles around the entire outpost and dragged it into the depths, killing all inside.

A year later, at the tail end of 2020, Na Kika found itself captured by ecoterrorists and held within an electrified net. Looking to exploit Na Kika for resources and Titan trafficking, Godzilla intervened and helped Na Kika free itself before destroying the rig being used to hold it captive. Na Kika retreated to the open seas, before later going dormant.

To date, no further activity from Na Kika beyon 2020 has been reported.

-----

(Pictured above: Artistic depiction of the Skull Island Kraken, based on eyewitness accounts, circa. 1993)

Monarch Database File: Skull Island Kraken

Monarch Designation: Titanus Kraken

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Nature: Unknown

Behavioural Classification: Destroyer

-----

Unfortunately, most of what we can report on the mysterious Skull Island Kraken is fairly limited, as a Monarch presence had not been established on the island around the time the Titan was alive. As such, all we can really report on is the information that survivors of the 1993 Skull Island incident were willing to provide to members of the After Dark team who questioned them.

From what we've been able to gather, the Skull Island Kraken was a chimeric creature that dominated the waters surrounding Skull Island. It's larger tentacles were capable of dragging down ships, tearing apart helicopters and throwing fully-grown whales several hundred feet inland to the island. Smaller red tentacles delivered a powerful electrical shock that also packed a venomous punch. This venom would slowly cause humans to sicken before entering a critical state.

The Skull Island Kraken was known to be a cruel, vindictive and relentless Titan. According to some Iwi accounts, the Kraken had ravaged a coastal village of island natives that Kong had grown attached to, and according to the 1993 survivors, it would throw whales into the island in order to bait Kong into approaching the waters. During its battle with Kong, the Kraken endured multiple brutal hits but continued to rise up until Kong finally killed it.

(Pictured above: Artistic rendition of the Kraken battling Kong, both Titans having sustained damage, circa. 1993)

In 1993, the cryptid-hunting vessel Once Upon a Maritime came under attack from the Kraken, most of the crew being killed and the survivors washing ashore on Skull Island. A team composing of mercenaries and the survivors witnessed the Kraken throw a whale onto the island in order to draw Kong's attention.

Eventually, Kong was lured toward the waters when Annie (a stranded islander) and her beast companion Dog stole a pendant belonging to an island native that Kong had a friendship with. The Kraken immediately jumped to attack Kong, and the pair engaged in a long and brutal battle. The Kraken endured being hit in the face with a shipwreck and pummelled mercilessly by Kong, continuing to get back up no matter what.

Kong ultimately defeated and killed the Kraken by grabbing hold of its colossal body and tearing it in half using nothing but his own brute strength.

Almost 20 years later, in 2012, Monarch officially established a presence on Skull Island. To date, no Monarch search of Skull Island's waters has successfully turned up with the Kraken's remains.

-----

And there you go! The world of the Titans continues to fascinate and inspire intrigue, and peeling back the curtains to reveal further monsters that have gone below the radar for centuries is always a joy to us here on the After Dark team. We hope you enjoyed this Kraken double-feature.

Until next time,

Monarch: After Dark

[ppmid]

Lost Memories - Check my artist shop here: ppmid.threadless.com

[kemonododo]

[heavensmortuary]

Girl who uses an unreasonable amount of skulls in her artwork

[dragonmuse]

Did Lucius initially have a bit of a complex over loving Izzy considering Izzy's CV being what it is and his dad being Like That?

Not really because Lucius has very very strongly compartmentalized his father away from his life. He tried his hardest to never ever think of the man and lives his life as if had no father at all. It also helped that at the start he didn't see Izzy as having any long term possibility. They were playing together and that was serious, but Lucius did not expect to catch feelings.

What does happen is that as Lucius learns more about him and what he did, he becomes more sure that he'll never him about his father. Not because Lucius has issues with it, but he's certain that Izzy will.

To Lucius' mind, Izzy's violence is at least straightforward and understandable (though he knows no details nor, as Izzy points out in Hymn, has he ever really asked) and mostly happens to 'bad' people. Whereas his father was definitely victimizing innocents.

I've always felt that Lucius (in Leda Verse) does a lot of mental gymnastics to maintain the cool sarcastic yet empathic and kind persona that he strives for at all times. Both his men can get underneath that with Pete bringing his sweetness to the fore and Izzy teasing out his desire for control.

Overall, as I start to stand back and look at the verse as a whole, there is a theme of people negotiating with who they were, how they perceive themselves, who they are becoming and how others view them. I think Lucius' greatest trick is to make it look like he doesn't reckon with those things when beneath the surface he may struggle with it more than anyone else.

[gorillageek27]

The fact that the kraken killed these villagers and kong's friend just to hurt kong is green goblin levels of hating.

[catacomb-bone-co]

[anthonyspage]

🌌⭐️🌊⛵️💀🐙

[caffeinedruid]

Call of the deep

[totallyrubbishgifts]

Not sure where I'm going with this, yet!