#she loves Godzilla but sometimes he can be a pain

[ruubesz-draws]

Godzilla and Kong's teamwork in a nutshell

No wonder they always fight...

Inspired by this video:

[hitozy]

have you ever ‹ masterlist › denouement

tw! manipulation, mentioned underage sex, dubious consent, cheating. i also want to point out that reader is around 2-3 years younger than Iwaizumi, while Jae and Iwa are the same age. ps. this is a long chp :)

𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞

Iwaizumi has no idea of what has possessed him tonight. He doesn't know why he's walking around the city in the middle of the night a day before he should be on his way home.

He doesn't know why after the celebration he didn't follow his teammates. He doesn't know why he has barely answered your texts since after the game.

He also doesn't know why he agreed to go and see Jae, to hear her out.

He's been doing fine so far, seven months Jae clean and while the first three were bumpy; your company had made it easier to deal with. Your cheerfulness, your happiness, the adventures you've both have been planning have taken his mind off the broken heart he was nursing.

She continued to contact him, even when he begged her not to and blocking her phone was no use, she just got a new one and tried again and again. His resolve was diluted and he knew it would be a matter of time before he fell into his old habits.

lil jae: congrats on the win haji! let me invite you to a drink, im in town.

-

Iwaizumi recalls an old memory from back in high school, a few weeks before moving to California, you were sitting on his bed helping him organize his suitcase with 'essentials'. His clothes all over the place but as always, you showed enthusiasm at helping him out.

He remembers you giggling and calling him a dork while folding his Godzilla themed underwear and placing it inside his suitcase. He remembers the way you hummed some songs that you had just placed on your shared playlist because 'it's kinda your style' and it kinda is. He even remembers what you were wearing, a pair of black running shorts and a blue tank top. When you reached over the edge of his bed for his fallen socks, your cleavage was visible to his eyes, 'If a man ever peers down his shirt', he thought, 'I'll kill him without hesitating.'

But what he remembers the most is you pulling out an old shoe box from under said bed, a shoe box that held his most treasured things. Pictures from his childhood that matched the ones on your bedroom wall, doddles from your hand, your favorite flowers pressed inside a copy of your favorite book, short stories and poems, snippets of stories never finished from you. He'll never forget your teary eyes and happy smile when he took the box from you, emptying the contents carefully inside his backpack. The hug you gave him afterward still sets his heart on fire, nothing has ever been more lovely than you and your happy smile.

He also remembers Jae coming into his room right during your hug, wearing an empty smile on her face, her eyes red and raging. He's only ever seen her this mad whenever he's with you and he still doesn't get it.

She stay's to "help" when in reality all she does is glare at yn the whole time. It helps that you don't even mind the glares or the bad mood, joking that 'Jae's grumpy because we couldn't go to the movies today'.

It was late afternoon when you left, Iwaizumi had given you a bag filled with some of his stuff - things he knew you loved and adored, things he couldn't take. He watched you get inside your parents car and wave him goodbye, even though you both knew he'd be coming through your window in a few hours for movie night.

He remembers when he came back inside to find Jae naked on his bed. How angry she was and how she took it out on sex, the tension so palpable he could taste it. Once it was over, she walked towards his backpack and pulled out all of YN's things and that's when it clicked. She was mad because he was taking stuff about YN and not her, she made it clear when Jae told him, 'What the fuck is this.'

-

He remembers that hours later, he finds himself in your room squeaky clean and wearing nothing but his sweatpants and socks, his back against your front with his head against your breasts. He hadn't told you that Jae broke up with him, but he knew you had figured out he was sad because your arms cradled him since he got situated there and had not moved since.

How Jae said she wouldn't move with him in the end. How she had decided to stay in Japan and have him go to California all alone in the end, just because she wanted him to. How he begged her to come, to stay with him, to not leave him and how he watched her get dressed to go home. How she winked at him as she left with a, "Call me once you're in Cali."

How she only wants to go out when she knows he has plans with you. How she only cares about him when you're around or how messed up and used he feels ever since she took his virginity during your 14th birthday party.

He feels disgusting sometimes after sex with Jae, disgusted with himself on how wrong it is but how much he loves her still.

He didn't have to say any of that to you, the kiss on the forehead you just gave him eased it all away anyway.

-

He remembers all of this while he's kissing Jae in her hotel room, her dress and underwear discarded somewhere in the room, his cock buried deep inside of her like a starved man, Her nails racking down his chest from his unbuttoned shirt as she moaned at the feeling.

When Jae separates herself from him with half lidded eyes, she smirks, "I bet my little cousin can't even kiss right, the little virgin." She kisses the column of his neck, grazing her teeth against the skin, getting ready to mark him as hers and even though he doesn't agree with her, he stays quiet.

A memory burst through his mind as he pounds into Jae. The way your sighed his name when he settled himself inside of you, the way your nails scratched his back when he hit your G-spot, the way you moaned when his thumb circled your clit; your gummy, tight walls griped him as you came, with his name on your lips. Your soft, pillow lips that have only been his, only kissed him.

"Be safe out there, Hajime! I'll be waiting for you!" She smiled as she kissed him goodbye by the front door.

He turned to deepen the kiss, pulling her closer to him like a starved man, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna runaway, mochi."

As he walked down the steps of his house, he heard her say "I miss you already."

It's then that Iwaizumi snaps out of it.

He pushes her off of him and steps back until his back is against the wall, feeling disgusted with himself in a way he hasn't since they broke up.

"I can't do this, I won't do this, I-" he pushes himself off the wall, tucking himself in and picking up his stuff, "Never again, Jae."

Jae watches him leave, a sinister smile spreading across her face. Her gaze steady as his figure disappears into the night, "If you think you can just up and go, Haji, you are very mistaken."

She walks to where she hid her phone and chuckles as she presses send, "Lets see what my little cousin has to say, hmm?"

-

Iwaizumi was worried, it wasn't normal for you to not answer his calls or texts. He was on the road back home with the team, their ruckus would usually give him a headache, but right now? Right now he can't focus on anything except the little 'unread' mark at the bottom of his last text to you.

my one: mochi? r u ok? im on my way back home

-

He didn't expect to come back home and find you in the living room in silence. Your eyes rimmed red and puffy from crying, you didn't have to say anything for him to know what had happened.

Jae told you.

He wish he could be surprised, but Jae had been nothing but a devil all this time and he can't believe he never saw it until now. Until he married you, an angel.

"Mochi, I'm sorry. I'm very very sorry, please talk to me." He knelt at your feet, his hands on your knees trying to get you to look at him. His guilt crashing down brick by brick, he should have never gone out to see her.

"I know this means nothing to you, mochi. But I'll never see her again, only when its a family reunion or you're with me."

Silence.

"There is no excuse, but yn, please, look at me, let me explain."

She pushes him off a bit, without much force as if her sadness took away all her strength and his heart clenched. How could he do this to his best friend? Lie and lie, again and again and again.

YN-”

“No, STOP! You- you got your say, now it’s my turn.” She's shaking and her breaths are short. She's starting to have a panic attack.

I get up and advance towards her slowly, “YN you need to calm down. Here,” I place my hand on her back, “let me-”

She pushes me off, her back towards me, “Please, don’t touch me. Please, please, please.” She's sobbing and its hurts so so much.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

“Remember your breathing exercises, mochi. In and out. In…”

Eventually her breathing normalizes but she still won't look at me and it takes all of my strength to not touch her.

“All I ever wanted was for you to love me, Hajime.”

Whoever said words can never hurt someone, has never been in my place. She just stabbed me without a knife and its more painful than I ever imagined.

“I wanted you to love me, to see me as your wife, as a woman but you didn’t. You don’t and I- it hurts so much.”

“But, mochi, you said you would marry me so we didn’t end up with strangers.”

“I know.”

“Then why-”

“I lied. I’ve loved you since the moment you came into my life. I’ve loved you for years, even before Jae came into the picture. I’ve loved you so so so much, I love you so much.”

“… you know about Jae? Since when?!” I made the mistake of reaching out for her, she pushed me back and said nothing. The dread of her knowing, of her finding out before today makes me sick.

“If you knew then why did you marry me!? Did you think I would change? That my feelings would change? You know I’m not like that.”

“I do know. I- thought that maybe-, but then it was clear that nothing would change but, I made a promise to you and I said it in our vows.”

“YN-”

“I know the mistake is mine. I know what all the blame is mine to take, I know it and I accept it. I’m sorry, Hajime, that’s me that you have to stay with.”

She finally turns to look at me, but I wish she hadn't. The tears are flowing steadily down her cheeks to her neck. I did this to her, I hurt her again and again, without thinking. No, without watching. Because if I had paid attention to her like Jae did, I might have seen it sooner.

“We could get a divorce, you know. That way you can stop getting hurt. Stop your heart from breaking. You don’t deserve this.”

“It’s okay. I- I give you permission to do it, to break my heart forever.”

“…What?”

She takes my hand, and in-between the tears she smiles at me as if her heart wasn't breaking in two. As if I didn't shatter her dreams for a few sloppy seconds, “It’s okay, I know what I signed up for, I knew it from the beginning. I guess I just didn’t want to accept it. So go ahead, break my heart, break it into a million pieces! I give you permission, Iwaizumi Hajime, please just - don’t leave me.”

I can't say anything, what am I supposed to say? My sweet, sweet girl is hurt and damaged and all she wants is for me to stay. I feel disgusted in a way I never did with Jae, because instead of being used, I am using her.

I bring her into my arms, and say the only words that have actual meaning between us, "I love you, mochi."

"I- I'll do better, I promise. Please YN," He gripped her shoulders tightly, "Please forgive me, I'll do whatever just, I'm so sorry, baby."

He can feel the tears spilling onto his shirt, a scorching pain expanding through his chest at the consequences of his actions. He hurt the one person who didn't deserve it, who he promised to keep safe and happy.

"Hajime, please take a bath, I wanna sleep without the smell of Jae."

His heart dropped at her words, he forgot that he had just upped and left from Jae's, only changing his clothes for comfort. His skin still smelled like her. As he separated from her, he kissed her forehead, "Join me?"

-

He laid on the bed with her hours later, her head on his chest where he could see her puffy eyes. She had washed him thoroughly to the point were he thought she had scrubbed him raw, and he couldn't blame her - he wanted to do the same since the beginning.

He pulled her closer, practically on top of him and felt her heartbeat against his own. He had done something terrible and he needed to fix it, fix this. So he needed to take the first step.

to lil jae: for someone who says they love me, u sure like to make me miserable. i don't know why u hate yn so much and tbh i don't care anymore. i don't want to see u or talk to u ever again. if u contact me, i'm gonna get a restraining order, jae. i can't do this anymore.

to lil jae: goodbye jae.

do you wish to block this number?

yes.

Remorse is memory awake, Her companies astir,— A presence of departed acts At window and at door.

Its past set down before the soul,         And lighted with a match, Perusal to facilitate Of its condensed despatch.

Remorse is cureless,—the disease Not even God can heal;         For ’t is His institution,— The complement of hell.

Remorse is memory awake - Emily Dickinson

taglist ! @daphnxy @zukoslosthishonor​ @i-am-a-hoe-for-shinya @mrsdoradominguez-barnes @anejuuuuoy

a/n! *hands you all this and runs* i'll see you soon for chp11~

but in all seriousness, i wrote this chapter with my heart on my sleeve. love is truly the strongest curse and for it to be unrequired? imagine it.

now, i'm off to write the next part! and i am sorry :) ♥

[i-need-entertainment]

Haikyuu!! Boys and what kind of  clumsy they are

Characters: Akaashi, Washio, Konoha, Kita, Suna, Ushijima, Yahaba, Iwaizumi, Futakuchi and Daishou

Akaashi Keiji: He trips over his own two feet

I’ve seen it headcanond before that Akaashi is actually clumsy, and I love it.

I see him as someone who could be perfectly stable one moment, but either step on his laces on sOmEthiNg and now he’s going down.

And as someone who has sprained an ankle by stepping on my own foot, I can attest that it DOES HAPPEN.

It doesn’t happen very much during games when his focus is at 100%.

But I do think on some practices he’s stepped back to set, and accidentally stepped on himself and *boom* Akaashi’s down again.

I can see the tips of his ears turning red when the coach or Konoha asks ‘You good?’ and he just kinda mumbles ‘yeah’ and tries to move on like nothing happened.

Washio Tatsuki: He is constantly stubbing his toes

I don’t think he’s super clumsy, but the guy is 6′2, and due to him being quite far from the ground I think his toes (specifically the pinkie toes) like to catch the edges of tables, couches, you name it.

I don’t see him necessarily cursing when it happens, since he’s pretty quiet.

But I do see him sucking in a quick breath, and just....pausing.

His mom probably asks if he’s okay and he just nods and lets our a pained ‘yeah’ and tries to go on with his day.

Konoha Akinori: Constantly tripping down the stairs

Like in the pet peeves one, he’s definitely the type to laugh at someone when they trip or hit their head or something.

Buuuut it’s only because he himself is clumsy and he knows it.

I think he most often trips down, and up, the stairs.

I don’t think it’s a daily occurrence, but I do think he has a nice fall at least once every two weeks.

Like, he’ll be at home and his family will all be in the living room and all of a sudden all they hear is a series of thuds and they know.

They just know ‘Yup, Akinori just fell’ and after making sure he’s fine they go on with their day with a shake of the head and a sigh.

Kita Shinsuke: Doesn’t quite fall, but he is known to stumble 

He’s another one that is aware of his surroundings and is usually quite put together.

So imagine the team’s reaction when their careful captain stumbled into the gym.

At first they just brushed it off.

Figuring there was something in the way or he had just had an off day.

But they soon noticed he stumbled a lot.

He never falls, just loses his balance and then 5 seconds later it was like it never happened.

Suna Rintaro: Runs into a lot of doors

I’m not talking about the door frame, I’m talking about getting hit by doors.

Like, he’ll be headed to class (not paying attention to anything around him) and *BAM* he’s now waving off the apologies of a poor underclassmen or staff member and heading to class with a red forehead.

It’s partly his fault since he’s never really aware of what’s going on around him.

But he’s also just really unlucky/attracts doors swinging into him like a magnet.

Depending on how hard he was hit, I see him being the type of person to shout when they get hurt. 

So when he is hit in the face with a door at school all that level hears is a single curse yelled by Suna.

The teacher that hit him with the door can’t find it in themselves to give him detention though.

Ushijima Wakatoshi: Hits his head on a lot of door frames

Seeing as he is over 6′2 and the average height for men in Japan is about 5′7, it’s not hard to believe that his face has met quite a few door frames in his time.

Unlike Suna, he doesn’t really get hit by doors (doors get hit by him), he runs into the door frame.

I do feel bad for him, but being someone with a father who is 6′5, as a child it was incredibly entertaining to witness.

He probably lets out a string of low curses, as he grabs his head and just waves off anyone asking if he’s okay. 

He probably just says ‘I’m fine’ before he continues doing what he was doing.

When this happens at school of course, no one but Tendo really laugh laughs at him.

But Reon and Semi have been known to let out a few light hearted snickers here and there.

Yahaba Shigeru: Closes his fingers in car doors and cabinets

He doesn’t know why this happens so much.

Maybe his reaction time is too slow? Or maybe it’s cause his hand-eye coordination isn’t the best.

Either way, he tends to nip his fingers on/in stuff a lot.

Like getting a cup out of a cabinet but shutting his finger in the door, or closing the car door on his hand.

He also tends to burn his fingers a lot.

Like picking up a mug that’s too hot, or grabbing a pan that just got out of the oven.

Probably curses when it happens, he doesn’t shout like Suna (cause he has a younger brother not a death wish) but something probably slips when it happens.

Iwaizumi Hajime: Drops his phone on a regular basis

Overall I don’t think he’s very clumsy.

But when it comes to his phone? All bets are off.

He doesn’t know wHy but to his hands his phone is like butter.

Doesn’t matter where he is.

It could be in the comfort of his home or McDonalds, that phone in his hand is not long for this world...

Curses like a sailor when it happens, then just huffs and picks it up.

He seems mad, but he’s really just mad at himself.

Mostly cause he could have scuffed the Godzilla phone case he has on it smh.

Futakuchi Kenji: Loses things like nobody’s business

The type of person to ask ‘where’s my phone?’ only for it to have been in his hand the whole time.

It’s never anything important like homework, more like little things you don’t think you need, but then later you end up REALLY needing.

Think items like spare glasses, or chemistry notes, things like that.

It’s not even that he’s messy he just misplaces a lot of things.

It’s come to the point where if he walks in the room to ask his mom where something is she just points, especially since he lost the same thing 2 days ago-

Daishou Suguru: Gets bumped into like a piñata on the sidewalk/school hallways

He isn’t a small guy, he’s 5′10.

So it is completely BEYOND him why everywhere he goes he gets rammed into and shoved.

It’s kinda like he’s invisible sometimes.

He even tried paying more attention, but alas he till got pushed and shoved.

Doesn’t fall down often, because of his size, but if he ever had a particularly bad collision he’d probably let out a few curses and get up. (Depending on who it was and if Mika was with him, he might apologize, but that’s completely circumstantial)

[iwaizooming]

➵ not good with words — i. hajime

✧ pairings: iwaizumi x fem!reader ✧ type: drabble ✧ genre: fluff ; a lil angst and pining ✧ wc: 1421

synopsis: iwaizumi knows of your flirty dynamic with oikawa, and he doesn’t really mind it—until he does.

ever since he was little, iwaizumi has always struggled with expressing his feelings.

his mom frequently joked about how much of a quiet kid he was. she said that he rarely ever cried or threw a tantrum. it wasn’t until he met oikawa that he started becoming more expressive, albeit with a little violence here and there.

even with oikawa’s help, iwaizumi still uses his words sparingly. it’s not like he’s shy or anything, he just feels like he isn’t good with socialising and he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing and accidentally offending someone.

on the other hand, oikawa has always been a charming kid. he has a way with words that can make every single woman, young or old, to hand their hearts to him.

ever since middle school, oikawa is always surrounded by a horde of girls who blush and giggle at his every word.

his charm and flirty nature never really bothered iwaizumi (well, except for the fact that it makes it five times harder to get to their next classes after each period), but this changes when he met you.

you moved to seijoh during your first year of high school, and through some miracle, you were placed in the same class as iwaizumi and oikawa.

you were a curious case. instead of blushing at oikawa’s cheeky flirts, you flirted back at him with a mischievous glint in your eyes.

naturally, oikawa was enthralled by this.

throughout the year, all of you became very close. you fit into their friendship group very easily. hanamaki and matsukawa adored you, because no other girl has been able to match with oikawa’s ridiculousness before. you always participated in bullying oikawa, which made them love you even more. the flirting did not stop though, oikawa always made sure to blow a kiss across the gym whenever you came to their practice matches, and you always pretended to throw the kiss in the air and served it back at him.

although iwaizumi is aware of your flirty dynamic with oikawa, he couldn’t stop his heart from beating twice as fast when you gave him a smile.

he didn’t notice his feelings at first, being the oblivious boy that he is. it wasn’t until he saw you receive a confession from a black-haired boy in the corridor during your second year that he realised, the clench in his heart wasn’t normal. well shit.

after that day, he started becoming hyper-aware of the little things that were previously normal in your relationship.

when you grabbed his arm to tell him to look at the new takoyaki stand on the way home, he couldn’t help but flush at the touch.

every time you shot him a toothy grin when you saw him waiting for you by your front door to walk with you to school, his heart skips a beat.

your flirting with oikawa is no longer just a daily annoyance, it causes his stomach to twist just a little bit.

but iwaizumi knew better than to interfere with his best friends’ relationship. he believed that you and oikawa were right for each other, your personalities were very similar after all.

he could only stand and look from afar while his heart aches when you laugh at another one of oikawa’s stupid jokes. his arms were around your shoulders and you were leaning into him. you looked happy.

as if you sensed his eyes on you, you suddenly look up to meet his gaze. you locked eyes with him for a moment, and then you shot him a soft smile. he loves all of your smiles, but this one is his favourite.

iwaizumi doesn’t even bother to deny the skip in his heart anymore.

like any other day, iwaizumi walked home with you by his side. you were happily humming to yourself while munching on your onigiri.

iwaizumi swallowed hard, as if trying to stop his stomach from jumping out of his mouth from nervousness.

“h-how are you and oikawa?” iwaizumi asked, immediately cringing right after. that sounded so awkward.

you shot him a weird look, “what do you mean? didn’t you see him just now? he looked fine?”

iwaizumi swallowed again. his palms were getting sweaty.

“what i mean is, do you like oikawa? you guys seem super close and he obviously likes you.”

you stopped munching on your onigiri as your mouth opened in disbelief.

a blush formed on iwaizumi’s cheeks, “stop being disgusting and chew with your mouth closed.” he hoped that his gruff tone is able to mask the embarrassment in his voice.

you obliged and swallowed quietly. he could see the gears turning in your head.

a mischievous smirk formed on your lips as you teased, “are you jealous, hajime?”

the blush on iwaizumi’s cheeks got even darker as he feels his head get hot. he thinks that he’s one second away from overheating.

“n-no! stop being so annoying.” wait, that wasn’t what he wanted to say.

you smiled, completely unbothered by his insult. after being friends with iwaizumi for over a year, you’ve grown accustomed to his antics.

unbeknownst to him, your heart was also beating abnormally fast. you were just better at hiding your shyness.

“well, to answer your question, no i don’t.” you shot him another one of your soft smiles.

iwaizumi felt like a weight the size of an elephant has been lifted from his chest.

“but i do like someone else.” you looked down at your feet as you feel a blush creeping up at your cheeks.

“oh,” the pain and disappointment was apparent in his voice, but he didn’t have the energy to hide it anymore.

your eyes widened in disbelief as you looked up at him, “what do you mean oh you stupid godzilla? oh?!”

now it was his turn to look at you with wide eyes.

“i like you, you doodoo head. god! you’re so dense it’s annoying sometimes.”

iwaizumi felt like time stopped when he heard you say those words. he thought that he wasn’t breathing for a minute.

when he came back to his senses, he looked down to see you clenching your fists with a furious blush on your cheeks. you looked so unbearably cute.

his throat felt dry. he swallowed again.

“are you sure?” he asked dumbly. dammit. that’s not what he wanted to say again.

you raised your eyebrows at him and shook your head. you scoffed and turned on your heels to speed walk away from him.

thankfully, iwaizumi shook himself out of his dazed state after a few seconds.

“wait, y/n! stop!”

you didn’t stop. you can’t believe that you fell in love with a man who’s denser than a brick. your pride was hurt today and you are beyond embarrassed.

iwaizumi ran over to you and grabbed your hand to spin you around to face him. he let out a heavy breath and sighed.

“i’m sorry for being stupid. i’m not very good with words, but I like you too. i’ve liked you for a long time but i didn’t tell you because i thought you and oikawa were a thing. i didn’t want to ruin your relationship so i just stood from afar as my heart long for you. i thought i didn’t have a chance.”

you felt another blush form on your cheeks. you think that this is the most honest and transparent iwaizumi has been over the course of your friendship.

“wow,” you breathed out. his confession left you speechless. you didn’t know he had it in him.

iwaizumi smiled warmly with eyes full of affection.

“i’m sorry for not saying it sooner.” he mumbled while scratching his head in embarrassment.

you couldn’t hold it anymore. “can I kiss you now?”

iwaizumi blushed but didn’t say another word. he held your face in his hands and leaned in to close the gap between the two of you.

his lips were a bit chapped, but that was the last thing on your mind. he kissed you softly, with so much tenderness as if he was afraid that you’ll disappear if he kissed you too hard.

but you didn’t complain. the kiss was a product of months and months of pining and secret glances at each other. both of you sighed in relief into each other’s mouths like the kiss was the thing the both of you wanted most in life. and it was.

iwaizumi may not be good with words, but you didn’t mind if this is what you get instead.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾  ⭒ ⊹ ⭒  ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

✎ a/n: I hope you guys like this one! I had fun writing this one bc this is sort of self-indulgent heheh :^) as always, reblogs and comments are appreciated!!!

other works

[archangeldraws]

Reunion

Since some were so interested in the story of King Ghidorah and their human Eva, this is their story. Please, enjoy (also give me feedback as I don’t usually write stories ^^)

A King Ghidorah fanfiction 

Dorat AU

„Wake up. Come on Ni, wake up boy. Time for walkies!“ A soft voice rings through the air, tickling Ni's ear. The Dorat stirs, sleepily opening one eye and looking around the living room. “Come on Ni-Ni! Don't you want to go outside?” His gaze falls upon a young human girl, standing by the door, hastily putting on her shoes and leashes on two other Dorats like him. His brothers watch him, waiting for him to move. Ni yawns, stretching his golden wings and climbs off the comfortable couch he was sleeping on, trotting over to his master.

She smiles, putting a red collar and leash on the third Dorat, giving him a pet on his fluffy head. “Good boy. Lets go!”

It's a sunny day today, the air is crisp and fresh. It's spring! Eva, their little master, loves this season the most. And they love seeing her happy.

The walk is the same as always. Passing by the same houses, going down the same streets, towards the park.

The park is great. It's big, big enough to stretch their wings and fly around all they want and play.

San, the youngest Dorat loves visiting the park. He's always so eager, flapping up and down, back and forth, almost crashing into his brothers and trilling happily.

Unlike their older brother Ichi, who glides gracefully through the air, looking down on all the passerby.

At the park, Eva lets her Dorats fly free and unzips her backpack, pulling out their toys, a blanket and some drinks and snacks.

Everything is great. They play, enjoy the sunshine and food. Master brought those fish crackers they like.

Ni is chasing another Dorat, a brown one, around the park. That one dared to take a toy! That thief! That one will pay!

A shriek pierces the air, disrupting the chase. Perplexed, Ni looks back. Master?

He watches in horror as a dog, a filthy beast, is attacking Eva. That thing dares to harm HIS MASTER?!

In a rage Ni races towards that monster, flying as fast as he can, not stopping for a second. He doesn't even notice Ichi and San also trying to get in between the girl and the dog.

Ni crashes into the foul beast, bearing his teeth and snarling. The thing yelps, rolling on the ground after the collision. The Dorat, though a bit smaller than the wild dog, put himself between the animal and the girl.

San and Ichi stay with Eva, hissing and screeching angrily, not moving from her side as she weeps and cries in pain, a puddle of blood already forming around her leg on the ground.

Ni growls, daring the dog to move. Do it! Come on! I'll tear you limp from limp!

Not that the dog would have understood it anyway.

In a flash the animal was upon Ni, biting and snapping at him. But Ni isn't afraid. All he sees is red. He bites and claws at it, chomping down on the beasts neck and shaking violently. Ni himself gets thrown around, bitten and scratched. It doesn't matter. He doesn't even feel it. Ni snaps at the soft neck of his opponent, biting and shaking him over and over. The dog screams, letting go of the smaller Dorat and jumps back. In a defiant stance, Ni stays between it and the girl. He growls. And finally his enemy yields and runs.

“NI! OH MY GOD! NIII!! NO!”

Ni turns, Eva approaches him with a limp and she wraps her arms around him.

“Ni! You're hurt! Oh my god, your ear! Your eye!”

A few hours later, Ni wakes up again. Was it a dream? He is in his bed, but something is blocking his view. Why can't he open his left eye? What is that thing?

“Be still, brother. Don't move. You need to heal.” Who is that? Oh, right. It's Ichi. Ichi looks down from his spot at the wall. He likes sitting there. San comes rushing to Ni's side, gently grooming him in a comforting manner. “Are you ok? That fight was really bad! You were lucky you didn't lose your eye, Ni!”

Fight? Oh, yes. Right. That dog. But, what about Eva? Is she ok? Ni looks around the bedroom, trying to see past that weird, round thing around his head. There she is. On the bed. “Ni. You're awake? I'm so glad you're ok!” She smiles, walking towards him and petting him, carefully stroking his back fur.

“The vet said you were really lucky! That dog almost got your eye with it's teeth. But your ear wasn't as lucky, half of it is missing.... Oh Ni, you were so brave! Thank you! I was so scared!”

She quivers, wiping off the tears from her soft, round face.

“You're my hero!”

Ni, not wanting to see her cry leans into her small hand and purrs reassuringly.

“You were hurt.” “It's ok, my leg is better now. Don't worry, everything is ok now. See?” She grins, showing hims her bandaged leg. “Rest now. You'll get a big treat later, ok? You're a good boy, Ni. I love you”

I love you

I love you

I love you....

Ni groans, opening his eyes and stretching his long, powerful neck. Groggily he looks around, spotting his brothers by his side. They've curled up around each other, still sleeping.

As always. Ni, first one to wake up and last one to fall asleep. He hates sleeping. Not sure when it started, but it's been a long time. Sleep brings dreams, memories he'd rather not see.

And now he has to wait for Ichi and San to wake. He sighs, keeping look out. Ni isn't known for being the patient one, but he can be. Not that he has much of a choice. It's not like he could just, get up and walk around. Not anymore. He could wake Ichi. A good bunt in the head would do. But that would also mean getting bit in the snout and right now he wasn't in the mood for a fight. Usually, yeah. But not right now.

His mood was too sour for that.

“Good morning Ni!” San has risen from his slumber and yawns, stretching and rubbing his head against his big brother in a greeting. “Did you sleep well?” Ni sighs. “Same as usual. You?” “Uhm.... I guess so. Got enough sleep at least.”

Ni wasn't the only one plagued by bad memories. San's weren't just memories. They were nightmares. Nightmares that had happened.

Sometimes the youngest brother would wake up screaming and thrashing during the night, begging to be “let out” and biting if you came too close. Ichi and Ni would have to subdue him together, just until the left head would calm down again.

Poor guy had been through a lot. They all have been. But it seems fate has been more cruel to the younger one. He had lost his head, quite literally, many times. Each time he lost more and more of his happy go lucky attitude, if only slowly.

But since that fat lizard had ripped him off last.... They know the memories. They weren't there, but San shared what had happened to him with them, after they reformed that last time.

Last time.... Was the worst. Things are a bit confusing, since they regenerated from a dead head, from a brain that had been dead for some time. They knew their old version had fought on, but their memories stopped after San's death, only to resurface once the humans did something to his brain, feeding him with the energy needed to come back to life.

They know of the pain and fear San had endured, being nothing but a thought in his own mind. Again. Again humans tried to control them, their minds, making them their toys!

But San didn't share everything with them, that they knew... Or they would know of the things he dreamed about and woke from, screaming for help.

They also heard what had happened to their old self. That that one was completely destroyed by the “King” of the monsters, with the help of his Queen.

It is weird to know that you did something, without being there yourself... Never before have they been.... two Ghidorahs. Can they even call it that? Are they themselves even real? Or just a copy?

They know each time a head dies, it grows back with all it's memories. But there had never been a time where.... They had to regenerate their whole being. Until now....

Ichi wakes, shifting and yawning before looking at San and Ni.

“How long have you two been awake?” “Oh hey Ichi, good morning. Not long yet. How was your night?” San smiles at the middle head, greeting him like he greeted Ni with a head rub.

“Luckily, uneventful. Full night rests have become rare” “Yeah.... sorry about that.” “Don't be, San. It's not your fault... Well, now that we're up, let's get out of here. I need some fresh air.”

With that, Ghidorah rose to their feet and walked out of the cave they had carved themselves some time ago. After they had regenerated, they had traveled the world for a while, not knowing what to do with themselves. They were thinking of going after Godzilla again, but..... They were just tired. So they made themselves a small home, if you could call it that, on monster island. They had made an agreement with Godzilla. While they would never yield and submit to him, they promised to stay out of his way and leave the humans alone. As long as they didn't destroy anything, they could be at piece.

Or at least by left alone. And the other Titans did leave them alone.

Wherever they went, the other Kaiju would run and hide. No one dared to try and talk with them.

Except for Godzilla, who would sometimes pass by and check if they still hold their part of the deal.

Sometimes Rodan would come and try to talk with them. That firebird is a huge chatterbox.

Right now Ghidorah made their way down the mountain they had made their cave in, living high above the others, where they had a good view over the island.

“Brothers, look there. A boat” Ni and Ichi look towards the sea, where San was pointing at. “Ugh, humans.... Those pests. They better not think about stepping on this island!” “Calm down brother. What do we care what they do? As long as they leave us alone, I don't give a crap.” Ichi snorts, moving their body down and to the other side of the mountain.

They walk towards a lake and San has a little drink. They don't really NEED to drink and eat, but it's a nice treat and it gives them something to do. One of the few things they can still enjoy, since destroying and conquering is now off the table. At least for now.

Ni looks at his reflection. It's him. But it's also not.

Gone is the round face and the big eyes, gone is the little snout and ears. Gone is the fur on his head and back.

Instead there is a long, strong snout, filled with rows of sharp teeth. His eyes are beady and red and his head adorned with jagged horns, sharp and deadly. Everything on them is sharp and deadly.

But the scar is still there.

He remembers, like in his dream. The scar that made him unique, a hero in that little girl's eyes.

But she's gone now, long dead.

Why is the scar still there? They can heal. And it was gone. But he made it again. For some reason, even though he wants to forget.... He scars himself over and over again, each time it heals, he takes one of their spiked tails to his face and draws blood. He's done it many time, he knows exactly where to cut, how to cut it. Each time a perfect copy.

And his horn. The second horn on the left, he always breaks it off. Where half his ear used to be.

Ichi keeps a look out, watching the smaller kaiju hiding in the shadows of the trees, waiting for them to leave and have a drink.

As they should. Useless lot, they are beneath them. Look at them quivering, shaken to their very core by their fear, Ghidorah's presence almost crushing them like little worms.

Ichi has always enjoyed looking down on others. Since he was a cup, he'd find the highest places and sit there, watching the others. He's always been more cruel than his brothers, that's just who he is. Not that he doesn't know how to be compassionate. He loves his brothers.

Sure, he reprimands them often, especially Ni, as he likes to act up and square off with Ichi.

But he still cares. And he'd do anything to protect them.

Once he cared for someone else. A little someone, though bigger than them at the time, but so small and fragile.

Somehow she made him want to protect her. To love her. And he did. He loved and protected and cared and vowed to stay forever-.... Until forever was over.

Gone were the good days, the days filled with happiness and love and care. Replaced with fear and pain and numbness instead.

They were like her. But they were not like her. Not soft and sweet and loving and warm. No high voices carrying nothing but goodness to his ear but instead, cries and screams and yells of malice and horror and the stench of rotting flesh and dry blood.

Their new “masters” were nothing like her. They never gave them the feeling of being safe. Only fear. Only pain. Only rage!

And then.... Nothing. Sleep without dreams, dreams without sleeping. Moving but unmoving.

Pain but no feeling.

And then they woke up. They woke at a cold place, nothing but ice and piercing cold and blinding white. No humans in sight. No... Her..... Alone. They were alone. And they were one.

They knew they were, have been for long. But now that they were awake, it was strange. Having to learn how to move again.

And the urge.... The urge to.... kill... destroy.... It was ebbed into their mind so deep, into their very core.... All they could think about was “Find Godilla. Kill him. Destroy him. Kill. Destroy. Kill. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy destroy destroy destroydestroydestroyde-....”

The thought was still there, once jackhammering in their head, now a soft drumming... They had found Godzilla. But that one was not the same they knew now. That one fought long and hard, made them weak and trapped them in the ice, where they had awoken the first time. And they slept.

And now.... The same thing. They found Godzilla, a different one, fought and lost again. Were killed this time and somehow they came back.

You'd think knowing that you were able to cheat death like this would make you stronger, would make you want to try again.... And maybe they will, one day. But now they're just tired....

“Hello?.... Are you there?” They look up. “Yes? What is it?” San looks to Ichi. “I didn't call you.” They look at Ni. “Wasn't me” “Can you hear me?”

Confused they look around. Was it one of them? One of the small ones hiding in the shadows?

“What do you want?” Ichi growls at the trees and the little kaiju skitter away quickly.

“It's me. I'm here.”

“Who the fuck is calling us?! Who is it?” They stand and Ni snarls and snaps at nothing.

“Come to me. I'm here. Are you there?”

“What the fuck?” Ichi grows more and more irritated, looking around but seeing no one.

“Come find me. Were you waiting?”

“Ichi.... I think it's coming from there.” San points back at the ocean again. Is it a water Titan? Manda perhaps?

“I swear if that snake is out making a fool of us then we'll have it for breakfast!”

“Good idea Ichi, sound delicious!”

They follow the voice, down to the shore. They don't see Manda, but the human boat is still there.

“Ohoh, it's the humans! It must be them. Of course. Why am I not surprised?”

“Wouldn't be the first time, Ni.” “Should we kill them?” “We can't, Godzilla-” “I know San, I know! But he never said we can't defend ourselves. If they try to attack us, it's free game!”

“My sweets....” They freeze. What did they just call them? No one ever called them that but-... No. No, she's gone.

“Can't you hear me? Please answer me. Remember our promise? I promised I'd come find you”

No... No, no no no, no! It's not true! This is a trick! They are tricking us!

San leans closer, looking down at the boat and the humans on board.

“Ichi... Ni... San.... Do you remember me?”

They stare. They stare at the human woman with the dark hair and eyes. The eyes they know, the eyes they only see in their dreams.

“It's her!” Sam rears ups, shocked and confused. It's her. She's back! She's come!

“Ichi, Ni, it's her! It's her! Master!” “NO! Get a grip San, it isn't!” Ichi roars, staring down at San. “This is a trick, clearly!”

“But-”

Ichi doesn't believe, doesn't trust. Ni wants to believe, wants to trust. San believes, San trusts.

San bends down again, trying to reach the boat, he needs to see her, smell her, touch her. “Master!”

“NO!” Ichi snaps, he grabs San by the scruff of his neck and pulls him away. They stagger, their body, twitching. The heads fight.

Middle tries to dominate left, biting and power grooming him into submission. Usually San would yield, but not this time. He rises, roaring at his brother in fury.

“STOP IT ICHI! It is her, I know it!”

“IT CAN'T BE SAN, SHE IS DEAD!” They are torn apart, feeling an array of feelings.

Yes! No! Want! Don't! Believe! Fear! Trust! Rage! Can't be! It is!

“STOP!!”

They stop. Ichi and San look at Ni. He glares at them. Is this what happens when they see a glint of what had been? It tears them apart just like this? How weak have they become, how low have they fallen?

“Brothers.... Please.... Who else could talk with us like that?” San pleads at Ichi and Ni, lowering his head. His eyes displaying nothing but sadness.

“Our connection is still there... After all this time, all those years our link is still strong. Who else but her could speak with us? Who else knows the names she gave us?”

All three heads turn to look back at the boat. The humans, pointing their weak little weapons at them, stare, waiting for them to move.

Except the woman. She stands at the railing, tears in her eyes, her face contorted as if in pain.

“Please, don't fight... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you. I promised you, remember? That I would find you, no matter what. I said I would come. And I am here now, my sweets.... Please forgive me....”

She cries. No humans ever cried for them but....

“Eva...?”

Her head snaps back up so fast, you could almost hear it crack. Ghidorah leans down towards the boat, all three heads until their noses almost touch it.

They look at her. The face, the scar of the dog bite on her leg. The way she smiles. They smell her.

Like spring. She smells like spring. Like her favorite season. And fish crackers. She reaches out, placing her soft, small hand on Ichi's snout and smiles that smile that sings of love and happy memories.

“I'm sorry.... Did you wait long?”

[kevinsvibe]

Death in pets is hard but I hear and feel her presence along with shadow every now and then. I hope and pray they never get jealous of one another in one life or another, because we're all family in the end, Nala such an incredible beauty and what a personality, Shadow was when I was young but he was a black Labrador and gave us love within the short time he was with us, I wished he had more time with us as a family, sad that he was lost when I was on a vacation and it was out of our control, someone murdered our dog when my dad was working on the house and I'll one day figure it out and understand why it all happened, but whoever killed our dog back then I hope has hell to pay, and then some because animals should never be hurt ever, and it pains me to always wonder what happened to Shadow those weeks or months I was away in the Philippines. I know I'll see them later in our sanctuary we call heaven but I always carry them within my thoughts, my heart, my love and my every breath. I live to tell their tales and share their love they've gifted me, our companions are more than life or death, they are our bestest of friends and our most loyal of animals, we can't live with them but can't live without them, which is why I treat my pets with the most of love I can to give. I even miss my reptile iguana Reppy (short for reptile) but I'm sure he's being Godzilla in iguana heaven, or in a Hogwarts class hopefully living his best life. Strange enough even though I've bought a cat for a previous girl before I always wanted a couple cats of my own, Cali and Oscar are the two cats I would call pets and friends of mine loving me in return every single visit. I would let Cali sit upon my chest and just hear her purring her life into warm happiness, even though she was sometimes dirty and outdoors I loved seeing her leave rat guts at the door as a thank you. Hope she's living her best life too like Oscar. I hope in death we can see all the cool points of views of our animals and their thoughts and sounds if they could talk, as if it was made into a movie, I think we all would enjoy that. I would steady cam every animal so thier beauty can be captured in their most comfortable and true of all environments, then pan up some slow motion shots of their attributes and cuteness and make an endless reel of beautiful animals. Here I am off on a tangent about animals and our pets, but I'm thankful for the feelings and emotions shared within these creatures and animals we take into our lives, not only do we care for them but they in turn as well care for us indeed. Animals, we don't deserve them but they deserve the best of us, so care for the environment, our planet, the species that share it and love nature and the universe as much as you can, thanks for reading, pet your animal for me and spread that love you feel every time.

In honor of shadow I added a photo of other Jack, he reminded me of shadow when I helped raise him.

[insomnia-arts]

Mama Crowler head cannons?

Crowler/Cronos is the biggest softie. After he retires he goes home to Italy and walks the beaches (absolutely not thinking about the Academy).

Sometimes he'll go into little shops along the boardwalk and see knick knacks that remind him of former students. He usually buys them and sends them out to students he has the home address of.

Because of this each of the following have a room (or in Manjoumes case a bunch of boxes hidden away) dedicated to these trinkets.

Juudai has SO MANY fucking dolphins he doesn't even find it funny anymore. He cringes every time he sees the oddly shaped packages in the mail. He's convinced this is how Cronos will pay him back for every ounce of trouble hes ever caused. They range from normal plush and figurines to hand painted/sewn E-hero themed ones. The only one Juudai actually likes is the plush with a custom Slifer jacket and a tiny eye mask like the one he'd use to sleep in class.

Manjoume never knew there was so much Ojama merch...he really shouldn't have worn that costume when he dueled on live tv...it only made the little monsters more popular. He has everyrhing from t-shirts to lunch boxes....its painful

Shou has so many transformers and other robots. he actually really loves it when Cronos buys him model kits. He sends pics of the completed ones to Cronos so he can keep track of what the boy has and doesnt have. With every robot, Cronos sends a pair of googly eyes so they can match Shou's cards.

Hayato has a similar problem to Juudai but with Koalas. He also occasionally gets art supplies. He's just happy Cronos remembers him fondly

Asuka has tons of music boxes and dolls. She wouldnt be suprised if when she's dead and gone a horror film is made with all her trinkets. They are beautiful, but in large numbers its creepy. If she can't seem to ditch a date she doesnt like, she takes them home to show them her "most prized possessions" (this may be accompannied by her making the "overly attached girlfriend face")

Ryou is hard to shop for. Cronos likes to get him old Godzilla and Kaiju stuff, vinyl figures, dvds, movie posters and other memorabilia. Cronos really would bend over backwards for the kid...hes been through enough.

Fubuki has a music collection that puts CD stores to shame. He'll listen to anything, so Cronos buys him Cds of bands no ones heard of, or old groups he listened to as a kid. Fubuki listens to them right away and sends thoughtful critiques every time.

Misawa has so much punny science stuff, think Chemistry Cat memes on steroids. He even has that periodic table shower curtain. Cronos wishes Misawa had become a teacher. If he had, he may not have retired so soon.

Johan is Cronos's favorite "grandchild". He gets rainbows and plastic (occasionally authentic) jewels and stuffed animals (he has lots of care bears). Johan loves every single gift and names them all, even the inanimate objects.

Ive probably forgotten someone, but this post is mega long so I'll call it here

[fubukiswifenoimnotjoking]

Some opm fanfic ideas I’ve come up with thatIwishIcouldwrite ._.

1. Therapy! Maybe a bunch of heroes are pushed into taking therapy by the HA for legal reasons and it’s SO angst filled, what with Genos’ depressing past, Fubuki’s inferiority complex, Saitama’s depression, Metal Bat feeling pressure to be a good caretaker for Zenko, etc. Hey maybe in a Garou redemption take he ends up there too, taking in his childhood trauma. And everyone’s arguing like SHUT THE FUCK UP MY PAIN IS REAL and throwing stuff, meanwhile Saitama sits with Mumen (who I see needing physical therapy more than therapy therapy but coming there anyway to support heroes) and they drink tea and talk. Maybe eventually it mellows out and they can (sometimes) put their pride away to talk their stuff out, but Garou SWEARS he will kill anyone who talks shit on him!

2. Genos decides he can’t take it anymore and leaves to go find the Mad Cyborg cuz he knows he just can’t get strong like Saitama, even tho he doesn’t want to leave him. This has been done a bunch in fic BUT I rarely see any where Saitama goes with him! And maybe they like, go on adventures to get there and maybe over them, they grow closer, learn to speak to each other more, Genosai pining etc etc. oh and lots of camping together. When I imagine the end I always see like, either they find it and Genos almost dies but Saitama’s like no, we can do this TOGETHER and they punch it together, or a really emotional one where they find the cyborg’s corpse and Genos breaks down but admits he’s almost relieved, and yeah idk what else.

3. AA ok so I have three very self indulgent Au’s, I’ve talked about one on here and it’s kinda lame but I love the idea. K so, there’s this scene in A Star is Born with lady Gaga where she sings la vie en rose in a drag bar and when her and the main guy meet eyes they just!!instant attraction. So yeah my idea was that but Genos is a new drag queen at a drag bar owned by Fubuki and Saitama is a taffy puller at a candy shop (idk why I chose candy) with King and Mumen and Saitama goes to the bar for the first time cuz they’re promoting their candy there. And yeah lol it’s Genosai again, they start to hang out in and out of drag bars and for Genos, in and out of Genny, his dragsona (tho Genoko is way better now that I think about it). He has trust issues cuz shitty past etc and Fubuki takes him under her wing and they’re friends and she gives him advice. Oh and Sonic is a drag queen too, him and Genos are rivals, Tatsumaki owns a more popular bar and her and Fubuki have that sister rivalry, Garou and Badd work there as bouncers and mess with Genos all the time bc I love Shitty Teen Squad. Mizuki is a bouncer too :0 Also there’s Mizuki x Fubuki and Garou x Badd. Sonic x Mumen too I guess, tho I’m not as into that ship as before

4. My second self indulgent one oo boy. Soooo this is an au where everything is more monstrous, ppl are half or have become complete monsters, but more traditional ones usually, like Godzilla level kaiju, incubi, stuff like that. Except these monsters fit a teeny bit more into society, so there has to be something like a police force to get at em when they’re criminals but with heroes/detectives. Cue Genos and Mumen, totally BAD, SCARY eMO cop and goody🥳two😍shoes✨ good cop. One day they’re getting coffee or whatever when the whole place blows up, and while most people survived in wreckage, Genos notices-a monster! He chases after an incubus, and even rockets into the sky after him when he starts flying. Saitama’s like ow what the fuck, I didn’t do any of this I was just walking by! And Genos is like shut up scum >:( they take him in for questioning and learn he’s a super OP incubus (go figure) but he doesn’t have much of a sex drive and doesn’t “do the whole incubus thing.” Genos doesn’t believe him but Mumens like omg that must be so hard, have some more tea sweetie. Anyway Genos leaves it to Mumen and when he’s gone Saitama uses his convincing flirty powers to get Mumen to release him. He feels guilty about using his powers, he feels skeevy! But he really doesn’t wanna be there and escapes, Genos catches him etc and it’s a whole conspiracy all 3 of them have to figure out that actually goes super deep, also more Genosai lmaaoooooo

5. THIS IS MY DUMBEST ONE BUT I LOVE IT. Ok so Saitama is out walking in the woods one day and finds an abandoned cottage and he’s like oh sick. He goes back home but can’t get it off his mind. He keeps going back and fixes little bits of it here and there, really makes it shine and then Genos catches him and he’s like yo Sensei? Of course Genos takes the project super seriously bc Saitama is hardly ever interested in stuff so they get it done and pretty looking ridiculously fast. Then Saitama suggests like, living there every now and again for certain seasons. Genos says yes without thinking, and is floored by all the tender things he discovers come with cottage life, like a garden, taking care of little hurt birds and not accidentally hurting the house. He’s scared to tell Saitama but Sai eventually worms it out of him that he feels like he doesn’t belong, he’s so bulky and damaging to everything. Course Saitama feels awful for not realizing, hugs the shit out of him and apologizes. Then he gets the idea to help Genos feel like he can enjoy a simple life, help him hold animals, feed birds, etc. and Genos is like oh my GOD Saitama is too good to me 🥺🥺 and idk what else happens hhhh. anyway could be either established relationship or mutual pining, I like either for this story but the most IMPORTANT part is it’s full of cottagecore imagery and vibes or it’s not a simple cottage au, and I live by that. Anyway if anyone likes these and wants to use them then hell yeah! I can’t write to save my life, but please gimme credit 🧡🎃

[missabnormal]

Alright, so I watched Wonder Woman 1984...

[MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT]

So, in no particular order:

1) I get where Jenkins and the writers are coming from: they needed a lot of time to develop the characters--establish their stories and their personal lives, especially where they are at emotionally. I just think they needed to find a better balance between the action and that development. That is to say, I think the movie suffers from the 2014 Godzilla movie problem, in which it took a hell of a long time to get to the action parts in a movie that was marketed as showcasing a lot of action. 

It’s... agh, I’m conflicted, but I’m leaning towards there should have been more action. It just needed better balance of it all, even when Diana doesn’t have her powers. After the first movie had a (mostly) nice balance of action and development (for plot and characters)--and frankly better action--it’s hard to then see this movie and not see... less.

I also feel like the movie thought because it was taking place in the 1980s, it needed the nostalgic tone to it; that is, it’s weird for Diana to be, at her final scene with Max to be talking about how beautiful the world already was without the lies that the wishes create, but I feel like she would know that the world wasn’t... that. We’re at the height of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race, racism is still rampant, the President (not sure if he was supposed to be Reagan or an analogy to him) in real-world history was defunding a lot of things including mental health treatment, and so on. The movie definitely establishes the Cold War, the conflicts in the Middle East, and at least anti-Irish sentiment from the English, but it all feels... not quite surface-level, but also not quite explored in depth. I don’t know, did Jenkins/the writers just not want to explore the same themes as the first movie? Maybe they thought it would be too similar? It could be, but... there could have been better ways of handling it, you know?

Of course, there was also the topic of racism with Max. Let me tell you, Max’s arc in this movie was so far and beyond what I expected. I thought, from the interviews from the cast and crew, that the movie was going to go full on Max-as-Trump-analogy. To show him as a Latin American immigrant who suffered from racism and poverty is a lot to adjust to. I like JLI Max Lord, but he was also the epitome of born-wealthy white man corporate capitalist privilege--he just had the opportunity to be fully developed by DeMatteis and Griffin as a character and not just be left as a cardboard cutout and personification of 1980s corporate America. 

Also, Max’s development is reminiscent to who he was in the very early days of the JLI, in terms of goals and--at the end of the day--care for like... not destroying the world and all that. The difference is that instead of an alien computer manipulating him (to an extent), the movie had Max use a wishing-stone. Also, he has a son for whom he cares about which, again, I was not expecting.

2) It feels bizarre and so wrong that neither Diana nor Steve asked themselves 1) why Steve reappeared in some random 1980s guy’s body instead of appearing as himself, 2) the moral/ethical questions of Steve inhabiting random guy’s body without consent and just doing whatever with it (especially after it’s implied that Diana and Steve had sex, which HELLO??? That’s not his body???). Like, it’s the kind of plot point that would probably happen in an actual ‘80s movie, no questions asked, but just because the movie is taking place in the 1980s doesn’t mean it should have the same values as the ‘80s. Like, it feels like the “trick” of the wish should have been Steve taking this random guy’s body and life and not just Diana’s powers. 

Anyway, how the movie handled this particular aspect of the plot is all kinds of wrong and baffling to see it coming from a Wonder Woman movie in the year 2020.

3) Flying aircraft from the 1910s would be drastically different from aircraft from the 1940s and on. Pretty hard to believe that Steve would just know how to fly a future military airplane without even a few pointers. 

4) The movie has a tendency of randomly showing objects or characters when it’s convenient instead of actually establishing them in a cohesive manner within the narrative. For example, the Eagle Armor appears just when its convenient to talk about it. The movie could have established sometime in the first act of the movie; i.e. it could have, say, had used the dinner scene to show Barbara asking Diana something like “What made you pursue anthropology?” and Diana answering with a “Oh, I wanted to explore my Greek ancestry” and then shown a brief moment when Diana is at her apartment of her checking the monitors and a brief panning over the ~mysterious~ object under the sheets. 

Another example is Diana using invisibility powers on the jet. I could have lived without an invisible jet in the movie, but if it was gun-to-the-head-there-MUST-be-an-invisible-jet, then I would have tried to also establish those powers before hand. For example, the movie could have shown Diana casually practicing using her powers on random objects once or twice before having her use them on the jet. That way, viewers could have understood that this power is a thing that actually exists within the movie and not just something that comes up when its convenient. 

5) It feels like Diana didn’t get as much development in this movie as in the last one. If anything, it feels like a lot of it was given to Max and Barbara, which on one hand I understand because they are new characters within the DCEU; but on the other hand, it’s supposed to be a Wonder Woman movie with the central character being Diana. She and Steve did have many scenes together, but the Max and Barbara scenes outshone theirs. 

6) Barbara... well, she borderline falls into the “powerful woman becomes evil” trope that is saved from falling into it full-on by the wishes having traps to them. However, things get complicated, narrative-wise, after Diana makes her speech about the world already being beautiful and all that. Sure, in terms of Barbara herself, she was already a kind, if awkward woman; but her coworkers and random men were shitty to her. They treated her like she barely existed, taunted her or attempted to assault her. Barbara became power-hungry, sure, but are the other people who had been shitty to her not wrong, too? There’s something fundamentally wrong with how society treats certain people (like how white Americans treated young Max Lord, or how that English woman treated the Irish man) and the movie can’t show it and then not address it in-depth, especially when the suffering that people have gone through is what lead many of them to make rash wishes (although, to be fair, the grand majority of them didn’t know what the wishes actually entailed). 

The movie doesn’t say if after everyone renounced their wishes everything became better or just went back to how things were. Although this movie is vaguely within the DCEU, it is still in it, to it’s fair to say that the world didn’t become better after people realized the destruction they were bringing upon the world with their wishes. However, to then say that everything went back to how things were is not a good ending, either. Does Barbara have to suffer through people’s indifference to her, if not outright assault, again? Is the Cold War and the threat of a nuclear apocalypse still going to continue? Are Irish people going to continue to suffer through discriminatory English sentiments towards them? Is unchecked exploitative corporate America just going to continue existing, especially those that deal with oil? Are people just going to continue to be racist? Because here’s the thing: Max may have said “life is good, but it can be better” but of course things weren’t great and the movie taps into that; yet, it’s just that, tapping into it. It presents the problems, but it doesn’t present the solution. If it’s not wishes, then what? Because going back to how things were is, you know, not great. 

Any story that presents the existence of complex conflicts has the responsibility of dealing with those in a satisfying way, and I’ve seen many stories that want to be complex, but don’t want to give it a complex solution. No story, or movie, is perfect (and none will ever be), but WW84 could have at least tried a bit more. 

7) I don’t mind Diana grieving so much over Steve, but her reluctance to renounce her wish to regain her powers could have been better handled, along with her grief. The movie briefly established that pretty much everyone she met in the first movie (except maybe Chief?) is dead. Yet, it’s so brief compared to the rest of the movie. To truly understand the depth of Diana’s desperation to keep Steve alive, the movie could have emphasized how pretty much everyone she ever cared about--on an interpersonal level--is dead or on an island that she can never return to. She’s not only alone in terms of romance, she’s alone in almost every emotionally conceivable way. And as time passes, she will remain young, but all the people she meets will grow old and die around her. The movie could have emphasized how Diana is emotionally clinging to those people she met when she first arrived in Man’s World and she can’t take being emotionally close to others again because she fears it will be too painful to see these new people die around her. It’s doubly hard when Diana also loves humanity: she wants to help them in any way she can, but that also means she can never separate herself from them. It’s love and pain interwoven, but the truth is that’s life. You lose people and doors close on you, but others open and new people come through. Everyone wishes to have everything they ever wanted, but part of being human is learning what that “everything” actually means to one’s personal life. 

The movie could have tried of uniting these ideas: Diana’s grief over Steve, Diana’s loneliness, Diana’s love for the world, the state of the world in the 1980s, human desire and fallacy, what it means to truly love and be loved, and what is it that we can do with our lives, and that of others, in an imperfect world. I can almost see some of these ideas floating on air throughout the movie, but they’re just that: floating, not quite coming together in a cohesive manner; a draft that never got that final and needed revision. 

*I might have missed a few things to talk about, but this is what comes to mind for now. 

[damnit-samnit]

Hey Sam! I hooe you re doing good! I've been meaning to ask you, is Smite the kind of villain who's looking forward to kill his opponent? I've been thinking when art saw her coworker die bc of the rock and all that and he was never like oh you should've been so scared or anything like that. Was it because he's too used to be around corpses because he's actually a killer or something like that? Sorry, English isn't my first language hope you can understand haha lots of love!!!

he’s ambivalent about it in regards to normal people. they’re all npcs to him, irrelevant. the average joe is never his main target but casualties are expected. if he goes godzilla for a bit, he’s not doing it *to* the people, he’s not getting that granular. when you flood an anthill, you’re not thinking about the individual ants, you’re thinking about the entire colony itself. 

plus, he’s usually angling to get the attention of somebodies.

as for heroes, it just depends on the message he wants to send. sometimes he’ll kill them if they annoy him enough/he’s over it/just wants to. sometimes he’ll leave them maimed since that hits harder than death. sometimes he likes the back-and-forth and will dip before anyone gets too seriously hurt so the good times continue to roll.

it’s not a game to him but... there’s some serious disconnect about killing being the ‘ultimate sin.’ in a world where heroes/villains are such a massive aspect of it, I gotta think death in that sphere is just so... i don’t want to say completely normalized, but it’s just a part of life. that’s what happens when society is hit by something again and again and again. you kind of become used to it. when someone big dies, you might get upset if you were a fan. if someone little dies, you kind of want to know the details behind their death and then you’ll just continue on with your life. of course, the higher the ranking of someone in the public eye, the more of an impact their death would be, you know?

plus, all might isn’t a brainless killing machine. he’s surprisingly savvy. he’s cultivated an image over the years of being the number one big bad. he’s found almost a middle ground. is he a bad guy? oh yeah. but he’s a villain. he’s a foil. there’s a cult of personality around that. just like there’s official and unofficial hero merch out in the world, there’s probably plenty of unofficial villain merch too that’s being bought up. there are fans of his. think of the halloween chapter -- people want to take a picture with him and will happily post it on social media.  there’s not this societal disgust over his evilness, there’s an understanding that good needs something to fight against. media around all might gets clicks and attention. he brings in the money. if he shows up, people are afraid, yeah, but there’s also that thrill of excitement that maybe they’ll catch a glimpse of him. an appearance by him is big news for a few news cycles. 

bnha is kind of a disguised dystopia in that sense lmao

oof i wrote so much already but let’s touch on the artisan thing:

this is something that’s going to be expanded on, so i don’t want to delve too into it. art and all might may be in the same general sphere, but their perspectives and experiences in that sphere are very different. just because art works with heroes does not mean she’s at all prepared to deal with what heroes actually go through. pain, fear, that hanging threat of death -- that’s not her world. she’s in a lab, man. don’t collaborate with villains and expect everything to go honky dory. she doesn’t know how lucky she’s been.

that’s all might’s world, though. he’s callous about it because he’s desensitized to it all. he’s been in the game for how many decades? physicality is the norm. holding someone up by the throat to sneer at them? that’s a villain 101 move. a stab wound in a non-threatening part of the body? i mean, midoryia does break his bones on an almost weekly basis. 

there’s a disconnect between the two of them that neither of them bothered considering before. or maybe they’ never realized it :)

[half-man-half-lime]

On why being dark makes Worm a good power fantasy

Okay I have a tendency to pointlessly and circuitously ramble so I’m just gonna leave a TL;DR up here: Worm shows that the most powerless people in the most hopeless situations can still make a difference through perseverance.

So here and there I’ve seen posts going around (not gonna search and link the various posts I’m referencing in this post, it’s 2 AM and I’m lazy) about why everyone should shut up about people liking lighter works, and how Steven Universe is a great work of escapism because it lets people experience a world where compassion can win wars and make the world a better place. I’m not gonna argue about whether lighter or darker stuff is better, the point of those posts is people can like what they want (also see that one comic I’m not gonna link where stories are balloons and someone makes a heavy iron balloon and drops it into a pit and someone stuck in the muck grabs a hold of it; you know the one).

But that stuff HAS been making me think about why Worm is a good escapist fantasy in a number of ways. My analysis of the Parahumans stories has been kind of sidetracked by the amazing analysis by the We’ve Got Worm/Ward podcast, all that stuff about characterization and themes and shit, it’s great, but all that stuff plus the YBUTTing (You’re Being Unfair To Taylor, basically dismantling her moral justifications and pointing out the negative effect her moral choices have on her and those around her) kind of make you forget the childish, sadistic appeal of a story about a girl who cuts people’s eyes out and is Completely Justified in doing so and also Extremely Clever like a seasoned D&D player. And that stuff is fun, even if it gets less so after too many rereads. (Seriously, I’ve listened to the audiobooks so many times now, I’ve lost count.)

But one thing Matt and Scott and the reddit commenters have discussed is the usefulness of horror story elements as a way of establishing stakes, which brings me to my point: It’s really fucking empowering to see a nerdy teenage girl take down invincible serial killers and bully god to death when she seems like she should have absolutely no way or right to do so.

Like, one of the reasons One Piece was always so appealing to me, something that sort of faded with the power creep and repetition of the same story beats over and over again, is how satisfying it is to see Luffy and pals take down warlords and tyrants a thousand times stronger than them through sheer force of will. What right does this punk-ass kid from the East Blue with stretchy powers have to take down a powerful Fish-Man, or a lightning-slinging self-proclaimed god, or a seasoned undercover assassin with a thirst for blood? But he does it anyway! He works out and trains and shit, and basically wrecks his body sometimes, and in the end, after a lot of screaming and punching, those guys are gone, and he’s still here! Because they had the audacity to hurt his friends, and he and his pals will fucking bully reality into doing what they want if it means stopping people who do those sort of things.

Now the thing about Taylor Hebert is she isn’t strong, not physically. This bullied kid never got super-strength or web-slingers to swing around on, nor the charisma to make quips and piss off the local mad scientists. She’s clever, but not enough to build a laser gun or a giant robot. She controls bugs. Wowee. Like the Stretchy Man, she should by all rights be underwhelming to deal with, but somehow she always seems to make it out alive, her enemies leaving without the eyeballs or prosthetic foreheads they came in with. (Don’t worry, they both got new ones, it just took a while. Well. Not Valefor.)

And that’s cool in a vacuum, but in the Parahumans universe? That’s an accomplishment. The Endbringers and the Slaughterhouse Nine, the horror as stakes, they’re like an uphill battle against a bigger, steeper uphill battle. And Taylor has bugs. She can’t chop Leviathan in half, and if she tries (which she does, to a degree), she risks drowning, being crushed and paralyzed, and being thrown headfirst into a concrete floor all at the same time. So she slinks around the Endbringers, too far away to be stepped on, giving CPR to the fighters wounded in battle; she plots against the Nine and probes for weaknesses, even if it means risking herself and her teammates. She beats the shit out of the genius killer mannequin man, not with fireballs or hundred-ton punches, but with spiderwebs and glue, and in the end, after being wounded and exhausted, tens of people are alive because of what she did.

To compare this to Steven Universe, or the opposite side of Skitter’s coin, the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (though sadly SU is a better comparison because on top of the positivity it handles things like abuse and trauma) (woe is me that I’m too lazy to write crossover or toneswap fanfic, between Worm and USG by the way, if you want to do that for me, be my guest (Also a Freaks and Geeks mashup, Worms and Germs)), it’s enormously encouraging that Steven is ultimately able to stop the onslaught of genocidal space empresses, not by punching them, but by appealing to their humanity, a task that his upbringing and challenges completely prepared him for. Doreen Green, in a world of angsty heroes and villains and murder and trauma, can befriend her enemies and stop them by suggesting more fulfilling career goals, or end centuries of interstellar war with a chalk board and a day or two of diplomatic negotiations.

And that’s appealing especially today because a lot of people feel tired of fighting and knowing that no amount of talking or empathy will stop transphobes and Trump supporters from making the world a waking nightmare. And plenty of people are tired of stories of Hopeless Bleak Despair, and want a little compassion in their lives. I get that, I truly do. I enjoy those stories for the same reasons.

BUT, Worm means a lot to me right now too. And it wouldn’t be the same without the pain and suffering. Scaring the Slaughterhouse Nine out of Brockton Bay wouldn’t seem like such an achievement if we didn’t see Brian cut to pieces, doomed to permanent PTSD, while the Undersiders lie paralyzed on the floor, subject to Bonesaw’s torturous whims. The defeat of Behemoth would seem a little more predictable and boring if the Avengers pulled it off in an hour, without hundreds of dead heroes (and thousands more who died in past fights), infighting, and the threat of an ally destroying all of India in a misguided attempt to stop the beast. Mannequin running away from a super-puncher or a fireball-shooter wouldn’t feel like the accomplishment it does coming from the scared teenage girl whose only weapons are some squishy bugs, a knife and baton, and some craft supplies.

Worm presents a world where suffering is everywhere, where the where traumatized, hopeless people can fight and fight and endure endless pain, lose loved ones and body parts, be given just little enough power by those that seek to exploit and hurt them that they shouldn’t be able to fight back, to leverage nothing but pepperspray and spiders against dragons, and, after all that struggling and fighting and pain, actually make the bad guys stop hurting people. (it’s like that Chesterton quote in Coraline that people misattribute to Neil Gaiman, about how fantasy shows us how dragons can be beaten.)

And it’s an upsetting and exhausting story to read, especially binge reading or listening, and it ends in genuine heartbreaking tragedy, yet somehow the victory seems like one of the most earned wins in all of fiction. Nobody should be able to defeat Grieving Golden Jesus or Superdense Hurricane Godzilla, and that’s why it’s so empowering when Taylor Hebert fucking does.

Isn’t that just as reassuring, in a world that seems so hopeless right now, when we all feel so powerless, so tired of struggling? I think so.

[lil-purplebird]

What is a King to His Men? (one-shot)

Fandom: Godzilla (Legendary)

Rating: T

Genre: General/Friendship

Words: 8,438

Summary: Man is a fickle creature. But so are the gods. Godzilla-centic, mild Mothzilla.

Can also be read here.

"Lushalmat ibri."

That was the last sentence uttered to the King by the sole-surviving worshiper, who was a ruler among his people, before his passing. The generations beneath him, already wavering in their belief due to their upbringing during peace, promptly feared him, even forgetting his work he did for them. Being feared wasn't much different from being revered, but they chased him away with weapons that, although non-life-threatening, were irritating and disrespectful. He was their king, their god, and they denied him for their own personal interests.

He wanted to give them a piece of his mind and wipe them out for their insolence, but his comrades wouldn't have it, Mosura and Anguirus especially. They still saw some good in them and pointed out other humans across the world who might still see him for who he is and what he represents. There wasn't just the one temple solely dedicated to him, there were multiple, and most of them worshiped multiple Titans.

So Gojira gave the human race another chance, brushing off the one clan as a fluke. Just because he was more close to them didn't mean he wasn't well-known elsewhere. They'll all come to, eventually.

But the Titans were steadily falling into hibernation thanks to the change in the earth's climate, and the increase in human intelligence and will meant they wanted gods to be more human or to disappear entirely. Some weakened enough that even humans were beginning to cause them harm and drove them from their homes, their temples. As puny as the creatures were, they were ferocious. No Titan feared Man, but no Titan liked what had become of them.

Gojira was the only one with enough strength to rebel and bring havoc and fear to the coastal civilizations. Anguirus and Mosura were not pleased with his actions, and that rift in their opinions caused them to butt heads than ever before. The other Titans flip-flopped and would ally or go against Gojira depending on the year, or even their mood. It happened enough that it wasn't long before he felt everyone, even his own kind, was against him.

"You've gone mad!" they cried as they attempted to hold him back from land. The ocean, being his domain, was a difficult terrain for many Titans to go head-on with the King.

Gojira's rage was nearing its apex, and had brought down nearly all but a few to their knees. His bloodlust had yet to be quenched, all it would take was to stomp some humans flat, yet the spiked quadruped and delicate moth were who stood in his way. His equals hadn't yet gone through the rejection he had, only in due time would their people also turn their hearts away from them. Although they were close friends, they had unusual human qualities that made them his worst foes in his view.

Anguirus was worn down and bleeding profusely, but his eyes still shone in determination. One of Mosura's wings had a large tear in it to ground her and she was missing a limb, yet she stood tall on his armored back. Their stances told him they were fighting to the death for their livelihoods, to prove themselves worthy of their godlike statuses. Not that the other Titans didn't fight valiantly, but even as an army they were no match for the King. The two were true fools to think they stood a chance, and merely resorted to words than their strength to strike back.

"The False King fed you lies in your final battle!" Anguirus said, teeth bared at the thought of the three-headed demon. "How could you believe them?"

"I didn't until the people turned their backs on me as prophesied!" he snarled, his plates pulsing in time to his heartbeat. "I didn't want to believe they were right all along about the human race until then!"

"There have always been a few detractors," Mosura reminded him. Her body trembled in sadness and anger, overtaking her pain. "Humans are quick to forget and stray."

Gojira huffed hard enough for a spray of atomic particles to pass through his nose and even his gills. "And you are allowing this to go on?"

"A great ruler leads with patience and loving guidance," she continued. "They are living beings with desires like you and I. Ultimately, we cannot decide their fate."

"To hell with that!" he snapped, his tail slapping the water's surface hard enough to trigger tidal waves that washed away some of the bodies. "They are disrupting the natural order's balance! This cannot be allowed to continue!"

"That is the earth's will," the horned dinosaur asserted, positioning himself to charge. "They need to prove themselves worthy to be rulers themselves. We are teaching them to take our place for when we're gone."

He had been accused of letting power get to his head, but he couldn't deny he liked the gratification he had over a large crowd of humans submitting themselves to him. He was their protector, and he had no qualms with it as long as it meant showing off his strength. Taking the time out to get to their level as somewhat-equals didn't appeal to him, though he had allowed some human leaders to converse with him in song and dance, or just to talk. They were... interesting creatures of lower abilities, although they were quickly growing.

Being small, it was only natural for them to multiply and progress as a species. Much like the Titans, his kind reproduced much slower, yet as few in numbers as they were, they were fierce predators. Born leaders, he was predestined to take up his sire's torch and continue the legacy. And he thought he was doing a swell job as their king.

"...Traitors, the lot of you."

The eavesdropping surviving Titans flinched at Gojira's low growl, and Mosura's antennae perked in shock. Anguirus' solemn expression didn't falter as he watched the King's spines light up, silently cursing the three-headed dragon for poisoning his friend in their final attempt to posthumously claim victory. He closed his eyes with a deep breath, accepting his fate as he charged forward. The moth's forelegs dug into his neck in a futile effort to brace herself for impact, and he couldn't help smiling a little at her gift of rebirth. As long as she lives on, Gojira, his old friend, would always have a chance at redemption.

Blind with fury to notice the multiple witnesses, the King burned down his life and scattered the ashes.

*~*~*

The world managed to keep turning as if to spite Gojira. Humans continued to advance as a race, scattering throughout the globe and refurbishing the face of the earth as they saw fit. As their civilizations prospered, their weapons improved, but they were still nothing more than a nuisance to the Titans.

However, the earth made it clear she was tired of the in-fighting, and punished both sides. She'd give the humans a hard time, even wiping out some clans, and they still persevered. The old-guard Titans that were left felt the change get to them, and either went into hibernation away from prying eyes or perished for being unable to adapt. Gojira was a fighter, for although he was the last to succumb to sleep, his will made sure it was temporary. Dreams of his past were violent enough that he'd stir himself awake every few centuries or so to patrol what became of his world and continue his mission.

Humans, being such fickle creatures, changed so rapidly that the King was no longer a king to them, but a monster to be destroyed or chased off. They had forgotten what made him akin to a god, and developed bigger, stronger weapons to be used against him after being used against each other. Gojira's hate boiled over, and he, too, forgot why the earth begat humans to begin with. Their activities, however, were slowly waking the other Titans from their slumbers, but many still avoided the humans, or found isolated clans who still remembered the gods of old.

Mosura had chosen to remain on her island after her rebirth, grieving for the loss of Anguirus and being scared for Gojira's future. She wouldn't see him for many centuries and went through the cycle many more times, but in her sleep, she had heard whispers from the earth herself about his antics. Her fear would gradually turn to fury that he incited the war, but she was not willing to expose her people's existence to the outside world. It took a frequent number of explorers disturbing the peace to force her to reveal herself to the world that had forgotten her, and the reunion with Gojira was nothing more than a nightmare.

She almost couldn't recognize him, he had aged and was scarred so much from his grudge and forcing himself to fight off hibernation. Her heart went out to him, but old wounds reopened, and Gojira lashed out at her for interfering. She tried for years to get through to him without success. They fought numerous battles each to exhaustion, and sometimes she would perish. Humans who hadn't known of her started seeing her as their savior for saving lives, and at the very least, her presence would slow down his rampages. Progress, she thought.

A night after a rough battle that had decimated a mountain range, Mosura couldn't sleep and had recovered enough to go out for a flight to calm her nerves. When she left her territory, there came a sudden prompt to track him down, and she searched the area where he had retreated to find shelter. She was successful in coming across him in a deep canyon licking his wounds, and he went on the defense upon spotting her.

"Didn't you take the hint? Your damn naiveté will be the death of you," he snarled in warning.

The wind dissipated upon her landing in the river. His face scrunched as he looked her over, hating that her beauty and grace hadn't changed in eons while his appearance did. He had lost track of the number of times she had reincarnated from mortal wounds or old age, a unique trait for a Titan, but rarely did she ever look different. Titans for the most part never experience death until Nature herself declares it, yet her cycle meant she was close to being a human while still remaining a goddess. Her open secret was her egg, but she was either lucky, or her enemies were too stupid or stupidly honorable to go after her weakness to kill her for good. For him, it was the latter, but more because he provoked her wrath enough times to not tempt making her even more scorned and potentially kill him for stepping foot on her island. And losing his life to her didn't sound appealing in the slightest.

However, he never would admit it out loud that ever since he started brawling with Mosura, he found her to be a surprisingly formidable opponent. She held her own rather well against the False King, but he measured power better when he was receiving blows than by observation. Her fragile physique led to creative combos to take him down while still remaining on the defensive side, and it wasn't just because of her advantage of flight.

She overlooked his lack of manners to study the damage she had dealt to him, now that she got a better look. She hated the act of shedding blood, but she was secretly proud of her work for giving him new scars. "You're unable to kill another Titan," she softly said.

He recoiled at her statement, but kept his composure. "Who said it would be I to deal the final blow?"

"You need to move on while you still can."

"But if it wasn't for the damn humans rejecting us—!"

"That didn't mean you had to turn your back on them," she sternly interrupted, wings fluttering irritably. "Anguirus didn't want you to take the path of no return."

Gojira rose to his feet with a deadly glare, eyes pulsing with blue light. "How dare you say his name to me," he hissed. His dorsal plates flickered in warning, a hum steadily growing. "Don't you dare drag his memory into this."

Mosura didn't back down, though her antennae began making short, sharp twitches from the waves of radiation rolling off of him. "You've changed ever since imprisoning the False King," she continued, her voice remaining firm but gentle. "Everyone could see it that you haven't been quite the same, and that's why humans feared you so."

"They no longer remember that day."

"Which is why your ridiculous war has to stop. This is an innocent generation that has had nothing to do with that battle."

Gojira harshly laughed, puffs of atomic fumes expelling from his mouth. "You have been stuck on your island for too long, Mosura! Humans have always been bloodthirsty, they hate each other just as much as they hate us!"

"So how does that make you any different from them that you must persecute them?"

"Are you accusing me of being as hateful as those parasites?!" The surge increased, small blue flames licking his teeth as his lips curled over his gums.

"Your hatred will be your destruction, the both of you!" Mosura declared, puffing out her thorax and stomping the ground with her forelegs. "You cannot die by your own hand, so you're trying to invoke Nature's wrath against her wishes by going after your people!"

The lights climbed up his back, and with a deep inhale, Gojira released his atomic breath, yet the moth remained rooted as it arched directly over to blast a crater into the canyon's walls, the heat singeing the tips of her hairs and antennae. Seismic waves made her, the water, and the trees sway as the cliffs collapsed, but her azure eyes remained locked onto his leer. The beam fizzled out with a huff, his nostrils flaring.

"That is your only warning, Mosura," he growled, steam rising past his fangs. "Your head is next."

Through the dust cover, bioluminescence raced through her wings as it flickered between blue and red. Usually a calm Titan, she struggled to get her emotions under wraps after watching the hurt cross her old friend's face. With a hitch in her breath, she stepped forward for the mountainous reptile. Annoyed by her persistence, adrenaline pumped through Gojira's veins and his temples throbbed hard enough for him to scrunch his eyes shut. Heat started to replenish itself again for his recharge, teeth gritting so hard he thought he heard a molar crack.

Mosura always knew how to get under his scales, her silver tongue being her most powerful weapon, and it was what had typically kept them all in line, even her king. With her adopted title as Queen, it was something he used to get teased about much to his chagrin, though just about every Titan had their tails verbally handed to them by her. Yet he was known to have a short temper compared to even the hot-headed Rodan, and so to help him get his act together, that's what she took the most advantage of to make up for her cutesy, non-intimidating appearance. He recalled Anguirus always liked that about her on top of her undying love for the human race, which was why they got along so well, and it balanced out their friendship as a trio.

He had almost forgotten his death by his own hands hit her just as hard. She just must've coped differently.

Gojira almost stumbled over his feet flinching from a pair of legs wrapping around his waist, her furry head buried into his abdomen. Dropping the charge, he peered at the glowing wings, taking in the snaking paths of light and texture of the colorful patterns. He noticed the edges were tattered from their brawl earlier, which he thought her healing abilities would've mended by now.

Snorting, he hung his head to stare down at the moth. He still wanted her to leave, whether by herself or by him blasting her over the horizon, but he could feel himself calming down and his power waning. Her drooping antennae and some fur were thin enough to skim between his smooth scales, which left a prickle with each gentle stroke from his breathing. The warmth was a little alien to him, he hadn't experienced touch (that weren't claws and teeth) in many centuries.

"Come back with me to the island, my King," she whispered like the breeze. His insides flipped at her utterance of his title more than her strange request. "My people still know of you through my songs."

Mosura's signature sincereness cooled him down, though he made an easy attempt to get around it. "They're just going to run screaming when they see me. They all do."

"Not while I'm around, they won't. It will be just like old times."

A slight smirk quirked on his mouth as his eyes glazed over in reminiscence. "I've become infamous as a threat. Your island will become a war zone, but I will not be the one to start it."

She went quiet, but didn't pull away. Her wings slowly rose and fell, small patches of shimmering dust sprinkling the ground and the water's surface.

"You're not ignorant of the human condition, Mosura," he then pointed out, "so don't even think about endangering your island to that curse. Besides, I have made my mark on this earth, and I will be sticking with it to my deathbed. And settling down on a small island with my size will just sink it into the ocean given my growth spurts. Wouldn't be the first time."

The dark, self-depreciating humor lightened the mood a little thanks to her stifling a giggle. Mosura lifted her forehead from his body, but took a few moments to regain her composure before meeting his gaze. "Then I'll stay."

He blinked, not liking where she was going with her proposal. "Forsaking your people is not your forte like it is mine."

She shook her head. "I'm not. Even though they've been discovered by outsiders, there's no harm to them. But they're slowly changing."

Gojira frowned. He hadn't heard about its geography in ages, but he was so sure her island was quite far away from any main continents. Humans traveled over water quite often, but its distance and isolation made it virtually impossible for worldly influences to touchdown on its shores. "How so?"

Her demeanor wilted as her grip loosened. "I'll soon be unable to live in harmony with my people."

The vagueness didn't strike a chord in him since all Titans for the most part were no longer in harmony with humans. "So what was with the invitation?"

She flustered a bit and pulled away to tap her hooked limbs together. "If your presence were to slow it down, perhaps it can still accommodate for the both of us..."

He snorted. "Naïve as always. I already refused, you can't change my mind."

"It still won't change my mind about your loneliness."

"I am not lonely, don't change the subject."

Mosura's eyes flickered gray with emotion for a split second. "Ever since you isolated yourself from us, the earth has wept in your stead. She's just as upset with the humans for forgetting us as you are, but she's been really upset with you."

Because the moth was the most in-tune with the life-force of the earth, she was deemed by the Titans as a mouthpiece for the spirit of Gaia. Gojira used to sense Nature in a similar fashion, but he had lost that ability ever since he rampaged. He was always at her mercy, yet Mosura's words were the opposite of what he expected. "Then why hasn't Nature offed me, yet?" he grumbled, not really meaning for it to be ominous.

"Because you haven't wiped out the human race."

He shot her a look of disbelief. "Seriously?"

"You've been trying her patience with this death wish of yours, anyway."

The accusation was too close for comfort. He thought he had bottled up his disposition and desires ages ago so he wouldn't dwell on them. He tried to brush it off to poke some more holes in her offer, "So is that why you're trying to get me to live with you? Nature sent you to give me a talk?"

Mosura's wings flushed pink for a second, which was an unusual sight. "Maybe?"

Rolling his eyes to the heavens, Gojira shook his head. "That is not going to happen, so drop it."

"I'm still serious about staying with you, though," she muttered a little too hastily, her mandibles clicking.

"Why, to keep me in line?"

She sighed and made eye-contact, suddenly shuddering to fluff up her fur and fan some dust in the air. "I want to help you reverse what the False King did to you. They were hoping to use you to do the work for them in their absence, so they said those horrible, nasty lies to you. We were trying to help... but I fear we were too late."

Mosura's eyes started pooling over, which astonished Gojira. Titans never cried, least not around each other if they did. Even the females, who were a bit more sentimental and nurturing, never shed a tear. But as he thought about it and her words about the earth, the changes may have done some irreversible damage that was worth mourning over, and so perhaps she learned to cry over time. And if so, that was why Anguirus' memory affected her so much—a better alternative than laying waste to civilizations to numb the pain.

"I'm just tried of you fighting the humans for something they haven't even done," she hiccuped, rubbing her cheek with a leg. "Please, let go of this stupid grudge. Leave them alone, and let them work things out. If they get out of hand, then you can give them a scare, or something. But you're disrupting them, and they're letting their fears and anger get to them. They're hurting the earth just so they could try to hurt you."

Gojira shouldn't have been so surprised that she knew all of that when they hadn't seen each other in centuries. As her voice faded, her works sank in, making him wonder—no, realize that everyone had to have been aware of his actions. They had to have known who it was stirring them from their slumbers, had to have followed every sound of his footsteps and explosions.

No wonder Nature was pissed off at him. Literally the entire planet could hear him.

Silence hung in the air long enough for Mosura to timidly, yet bluntly ask, "What did they tell you so many years ago?"

It took him a moment to comprehend that by "they", she was referring to them, the One Who is Many. Their searing three pairs of eyes were permanently burned into his skull, evilly grinning at his anger and anguish. Even before his vendetta against the human race, the three-headed demon was the most hated being he ever had the displeasure of meeting. Putting an end to their tyranny was the happiest day (well, night) of his life, he had never slept like that before or since.

But their venomous words seeped into his dreams and thoughts before he knew it. Mosura and Anguirus may have been there, but somehow the False King's presence didn't leave much of an effect on them. They went out of their way to try to slaughter his comrades, and there was great damage that nearly crippled his friend and put the goddess back into her cycle. However, none of them mentioned anything about nightmares, and they didn't hide secrets from each other back then.

Recalling how they cackled in his ear during the battle, Gojira flexed his claws in discomfort. The moth watched patiently as he finally was able to string together what he was willing to say, "They claimed I was protecting monsters who would be the death of us. They said humans would come to outsmart us, think of us as nothing more than dumb animals, and then destroy the world. I didn't believe them at first because the worshiping was stronger than ever at that point."

Mosura frowned deeply, her wings giving away her unhappiness with how the demon played him. "But... we should celebrate their intelligence—"

"Until they build a weapon to kill us," he suddenly snapped. "Maybe you're right about the earth being angry with me. This has to be her way of getting back at me for my actions."

She shook her head and hopped onto the canyon's walls to be at eye-level with him. "Gojira, did you forget that you weren't the only one whose people disowned them? They were all sad with the change, but instead of being vengeful, they respected their people's wishes. Anguirus was right when he said we're just guardians showing them the way to prosperity."

His gaze averted at the mention of their old friend, which was the stinging reaction she expected. She raised her eyes to the stars above, humming a little as she reviewed the memory archives of distrusting humans. "Perhaps... when they stopped looking up to us for protection, it meant they were ready to live on their own. Like when offspring leave the nest."

Gojira glanced back over with a stern look. She stared back in wonder until a thought pricked her mind: Says the Titan who coddles her people.

Mosura bristled in embarrassment, surprise, and displeasure, the fur puffing up on her face the most. "My people are a good people! They can take care of themselves!"

He growled out a chuckle. "Was just making sure our connection still works."

"Oh, you!" She jabbed his temple repeatedly with a foreleg in a playful manner, unable to help a smile.

The tapping was close to driving him mad, so he stepped back out of her reach and opened his mouth to speak—but words failed him. She curiously tilted her head, which he wish she'd stop looking at him like that. Mentally checking over his vitals, he was calmer than earlier, except his chest felt too heavy for some odd reason. He shifted his weight to see if he needed to stretch, but nothing helped.

"Are you alright, my King?" Mosura asked worriedly, and he somehow didn't like being called by his title at that moment.

With a snort, Gojira started lumbering off for the canyon's exit. "I need to be alone," he said starkly, sweeping aside the mess he had made.

"Where to?" she inquired, hopping into the air to soar above him.

He swatted her away as gently as possible. "Someplace private, so don't follow. Give me a week or so to sleep on it; I'll have your answer then."

She let him go without another word, but stayed behind on the cliffs to watch him enter the ocean and dive into its depths. He swam leisurely even when entering a tunnel deep down in a trench, following its winding path through instinct. In some turns, he could sense a passing presence of unseen Titans, either traveling or in their nearby dens, but ignored them just as quickly. He didn't need more confrontations in his state of mind.

The spike in radiation was his cue that he was nearing his destination. He passed by intricate statues and pillars when he exited the tunnels, barely stealing a glance at the carved murals as he squeezed through an opening. He slowed when he neared a bleached skeleton resting by his lair's entrance, gazing directly into its empty eye sockets. It could've just been his imagination, but every time he'd return, Gojira was certain he could hear him say, clear as day:

"Welcome back, brother."

Anguirus would only drop the formalities whenever they were alone, since it was such a lifelong habit that he could never bring himself to see him as anything more than a blood brother. If Mosura had ever caught wind of it, she probably would've thought it was a beautiful bond. And since the King had long given up on beating it into his head, he had to silently agree with that sentiment. (But he'd still swear her into secrecy, and she might counter that it was obvious and everyone knew about it. Damn, he knew her way too well.)

He had lost track of the number of years that had passed, but that day still haunted him. The aftermath didn't hit him until days later when enough of his rage had depleted and he wondered what was taking Anguirus so long to recover. The Titans were about to cremate the body when he came across them surrounding the pit, and they attempted to chase him off thinking he was coming back for seconds. In his grief, he caused more destruction before he was able to take Anguirus with him to his abandoned temple where the radiation could preserve him for a bit longer or maybe revive him—or so he thought.

His body decomposed so cleanly while under the sea even though no normal lifeforms could survive in close proximity. Flesh had to have been boiled away as the heat from the radiation rivaled the magma pools and hydrothermal vents. It was quiet and peaceful down in these depths, the risk of damage was limited only to the occasional seaquakes and himself if he wasn't careful. It wasn't that he didn't trust the earth to care for his ashes or the remains if buried, he didn't feel he could atone if anyone else handled the burial, and in a place that had potential of being disturbed by human activity. The Titans had meant well, they all respected him and were scared of what he was going to do.

With a slow sigh in the form of air bubbles, he pondered to himself, trying to figure out what Anguirus would say if he could talk again. What exactly did you and Mosura see in those humans? What did you see throughout your travels and your reign? Did you ever worry about them chasing you out? Would you have allowed it, or fought back like I did?

Those were the few out of many questions he had that stuck out to him, knowing now his people have long since forgotten him. Whether they knew what happened to him or not, or if they grieved or craved for his presence again, it was no different from what happened with his people after the young generations took over. Perhaps instead of haughtiness, they forgot out of surrender or necessity. They just gave up waiting for his return, thought he didn't have need for them anymore or just abandoned them to the mercies of the world. If that was the case, they would've been more angry or frightened at the King's visit instead of just studying him. Perhaps his showing up concerned them, and that's why the clan split afterwards.

After enough silence between him and the skeleton passed, Gojira entered his chamber for a nap. The lava falls made for soothing white noise, and sometimes the radiation hissed, which reminded him of how voices and footsteps used to echo through the halls. It kept him sane during his long slumbers, and it was an excellent way to remind him he was still drawing breath.

GOJIRA! Answer me!

He jerked where he lay at Mosura's chirp in his head, perturbed at her interruption, and he heard a sigh of relief. Why're you in my head? How are you in my head?

She was just as baffled as he, which he was ashamed to realize he must've made her think he had forgotten about their connection. Um... we're able to communicate? Anyway, I thought I heard you were in distress, but I couldn't reach you. Or, maybe the proper word is I couldn't find you.

Which was the point, he thought the reception couldn't penetrate through all that mantle. Apparently that explained why she screamed to be able to be heard wherever she was at. What makes you think that?

He preferred the silence that followed so he could get to sleep, but he could sense her working out her next sentence. Well... you were talking to Anguirus.

Gojira deeply frowned as he reviewed over his thoughts. Was he really that loud? Are you saying that makes me crazy? he directed at her.

She fumbled on her words; he could just see her shaking her head and waving her forelegs about. No, I get that. But it sounded like you were... actually talking to him.

He decided to be straightforward about it. I'm at his grave site.

Oh. It was such a quiet sound, it was a wonder it reached him so deep.

Do not bother to ask for directions, it is very deep underwater.

A pause. It was a pleasant pause, and he took that time to flip over to get comfortable again.

So that's what happened to your temple?

He sneered to himself—he thought he was being vague about his whereabouts. Perhaps the earth snitched to her or something. It happened when I was away. The entire city just fell into the ocean with the coast.

I'm sorry.

Whatever, it's been years, and it's still intact. I just had to dig myself a tunnel to get to it.

Oh, that's fascinating, but wonderful.

"Can you leave me in peace now?" he growled out loud, getting a headache.

Mosura's giggle pealed like bells in his head, and then the connection broke.

He leered at a corner of the temple for a while before he would sleep it off, wondering how much she had heard and why she even cared so much. It wasn't as if his dreams were hurting him, they were nothing but past memories that had already landed a blow.

In the midst of such a memory, while the False King droned on for the hundredth time about the evils of Man, he happened to look down at the spectators foolish enough to stay in the area. They were in awe at the sight of a war between gods, yet there was hope and determination present on their faces. Although powerless in strength against them, they had other ways that would bring aid to their ally.

For Man was more cunning than both Nature and Chaos had even planned.

*~*~*

The morning sun and breeze tickled her wings as Mosura scanned the ocean waves, watching as a pod of whales congregated near the horizon. They had been doing that since sunrise, it was odd behavior being close to land, suggesting something was on its way over. She used that as a visual cue to get herself ready, not wanting to make it look like she was waiting around. A sly smirk in her eyes, she flitted over to munch on the greenery (except when she checked for nests), trying to keep herself looking "distracted" while peeking past her wings every few minutes.

The whales suddenly scattered with surprised clicks and howls, and she nearly choked on a trunk at the sound of water breaking over a certain someone's back. She still smiled to herself while cleaning off the leaves and bark from her fur, her antennae fluttering as a shadow fell over her. Crooning in thought, she leaned her head back to meet Gojira in the eye.

The King and Queen stared each other down with little movement. He was not all that happy to see her, but he was looking better, and he even felt a little better. She briefly cocked her head to the side, and nodded to silently as if to say, "Go on?"

Working his jaw, he picked at his blood-coated teeth with a claw and turned away. Standing on all fours, Mosura curled her forelegs close in worry, unable to feel his thoughts running through her head. He didn't walk too far from the cliffside when he let out a rumbling sigh, his tail swaying above the waves. "If I'm to see your point," he started, cricking his neck, "I'll have to observe them from afar."

She nodded, stretching her wings. "That's right. That's the safest way for them to not see you as a threat."

He snorted when he looked back at her. "This isn't just about the humans' safety. It's also for my sanity to not get them worked up and strike."

Mosura soared on the wind to reach his shoulder. "You'll see they're not so bad. They never were."

"If they keep multiplying like that, they will be," he grunted, storming back into the open sea. "Soon you won't be able to see the ground they're walking on."

"Gojira," she whispered in a warning tone.

"And must you say my name out in the open?" he rebuked with a huff.

She leaned against his neck with a thoughtful croon. "Only if you'll let me keep you company more. Like old times."

Gojira bared his teeth for a moment, unsure if that was a good idea.

Like she knew his thoughts, she added still in a sing-song tone, "A king's going to need a healthy way to redirect his frustrations to avoid declaring war on his people out of boredom."

He raised a brow, unsure if he understood what she meant. "What're you implying? You're not threatening your king, are you?"

She trilled, shaking her body. "Call me your queen, and I'll respect your title."

Gojira snapped at her, but not in a serious manner when his snout bumped her side. She leaped off with a giggle and continued to hover around his head humming one of her little tunes. He shook his head, then had a thought that Anguirus, if he were still with them, would've thought it was about time they started acting like they were king and queen.

Watching his moth companion twirl around in circles, for a moment there, it felt like old times.

*~*~*

They kept their word: Gojira stayed his distance from the humans when out on his hunts. Mosura continued to watch the skies, but she was noted by her people for hovering around his cluster of spines when she was visited. Time was hardly a blip on their radars, but to stave off boredom when they were not in the same area, they'd communicate across distances their reports or thoughts, or just to see how the other was doing. The humans were rarely brought up, even though the King knew she always had them on her mind.

After some months pass by, he'd retreat to his sunken temple for sleep that'd last years. The ocean floor was not always a quiet place, however. There were occasions an underwater quake or eruption would disturb him prematurely, and he'd groggily make his way to the surface where Mosura would appear with a gleeful "Happy new year, sleepyhead!" Such a statement irked him a few times, feeling as if she was teasing him for his long absences, but she would tell him stories of the earth's accomplishments to catch him up while he patrolled. The planet was always busy, always changing, and Mosura was the historian.

During one of his naps, she went through her cycle, and showed off her wings to direct his gaze to the change in her appearance: the eye spots turned gold with a highlight. As she explained, it was her personal reminder of their promise for renewing their companionship. Gojira, not wanting to feel one-upped, clawed on his shoulder where she loved to perch three sets of four grooves to leave a permanent mark. After the shock of his self-maiming wore off, she laughed, yet adored the thought since it looked a lot like her people's symbol. It was a pain for him since he had to will his regeneration to not heal it, but it was worth it to see her freak out. Not so whenever a Titan would appear whether they were together or not, for they would take one look at their markings and then gambled losing their tongues when they smiled and teased, "Took the coronation long enough."

He had a suspicious feeling Mosura had spread the news about it.

The day eventually came when she told him her people were scattering, the last of the ancient clans to do so, but they did not vanish completely. Their history was important enough for families to pass it down to each generation, even if they no longer worshiped her. The twin priestesses, by genetics or by will, always had twins to prove their lineage, and maintained their psychic link to their goddess. She remained close-by to her birth island, but she was becoming more of a vagabond as the years went on, and she had to find a new place to lay her egg. All he knew about the new nest was it was someplace he was prohibited from entering.

So she got the better end of the deal out of all the Titans, Gojira had thought, and it was for the best. Their absence from the world meant the existence of Titans became nothing more than myth or nearly forgotten in worst cases, and although humans have risen to the top of the food chain, the earth had remained calm, and balance seemed to be in order. He'd still slink around in the ocean's trenches and look in on them, but he was getting bored and slept more often. He snorted to himself once upon thinking jokingly that the way to kill a god was by boredom, but by also stripping away every power they had, thereby effectively erasing them from existence. Perhaps that was the humans' plan from the start, but they'd deny it if approached about it, of course.

"Boredom" was his personal explanation for why Mosura was steadily extending her rebirth each time she passed on, for mostly it was from natural causes than from battle, which were scarce. He didn't like the thought of her dying from old age, but he never heard of Titans falling ill or of anything mortal like that. She'd return to her egg, but he wouldn't know how long she'd be in hibernation for. The last time the cycle took place, one of her last words she had said to him was "We'll be needed when Nature's balance is skewed", but the "when" part was never specified.

He never saw himself as a patient Titan, but if sleep made time move faster, he could handle boredom. His radiated den remained as the last sanctuary in the ever-changing world, and that's where he remained undisturbed when he wasn't out hunting. It was a bit of a lonely existence, but Anguirus' skeleton, all that remained of his memory, kept him from going mad in his solitude.

Then suddenly, mankind learned how nuclear fission and radiation worked, thousands of years after they forgot why it was they weren't meant to be in charge of harnessing its power.

The bombs had left some scarring from contact, but the radiation gave Gojira a boost of power he hadn't seen before in thousands, maybe millions of years. The surge meant they returned to fearing him, but curiously, some humans tailed him for observation purposes instead. He could just imagine Mosura thinking it was amusing.

It also stirred some old Titans out of hiding—the real nasty ones, too—and in the current earth's state, it meant disaster. He had to shake off sleep and work out some kinks to go after them, and he hadn't wanted to admit he was out of practice. He ached everywhere, felt too slow for his liking, and he used up much of his energy to defeat them each time, but at least balance was being restored. And the humans, who were as irritating and impulsive as ever, for a moment had remembered their King.

But so did the monster sealed in ice.

Gojira couldn't return to his slumber after he went after the parasitic Titans because Nature bugged him about it. Yes, balance was returning, but it was never to be thanks to the land-destructive incident where humans got involved. He had an unshakable feeling there was more to come, and he started to sense them coming into contact with human activity. He thought they were dead and forgotten, but humans are nosy troublemakers, and the False King rose again.

They hadn't aged a day from the looks of it, and as old as he was, he couldn't slack off on his defense or else the world was going to die thanks to the humans making a mess. Again. His years of indifference beginning to heat up with anger was what cost him the fight, although he would've won had the humans not intervened with a brand new weapon.

What was it, exactly? A bomb that sucked and dissolved oxygen in water with the power of a nuclear fission?

...Well, he had to give them props for creativity. Even gods couldn't breathe without oxygen.

While he had managed to drag himself into his den, Gojira wondered if his time had finally come. The False King had usurped and started wrecking havoc on the world, and his body was practically deprived of oxygen. Even if he could recover, there would be nothing left for him to salvage. Taking in the architecture, the reptilian Titan replayed ancient memories of a crowd waiting outside of the temple with offerings, and prayers of gratitude and guidance in a language no human alive knows how to speak. Mosura's song echoed in the room as the throng smiled and sang along. He found himself crooning to the tune as well, the King and Queen having themselves a duet that promised a lifetime of loyalty and devotion to their followers and each other.

It's funny how he never appreciated those times before now...

So real was his memory that a light touch to his snout manifested itself, and he slowly opened his eyes while his ears still echoed.

A human had made his way inside the den, a solemn, reverent look in his dark eyes. Gojira didn't know his name, didn't know of his life outside of the temple up in the surface, and yet there was a connection between the two. Some form of understanding that he swore was lost to time. And when the human spoke, it wasn't of the old tongue, but it was still universal, and it carried with it rejuvenating strength:

"Saraba, tomo yo."

*~*~*

Gojira's figure popped with aches when he stretched out from his curled state. His mouth felt dry, his stomach empty, and he wondered how long he was asleep for. A shame, too, he was just thinking back to the best part when he burned that yellow bastard to a crisp.

A couple of light jabs poked the back of his neck, and he snorted in amusement. He didn't mean to disrupt Mosura's sleep, but she had to insist on laying on top of him. Her reason for it was that it would be easier for her to get up and avoid being squished when he was not the one known for tossing and turning. Getting tangled up in his plates apparently was appealing to her.

"My King, you're awake again," she mumbled, which was very uncharacteristic of her, but she had exhausted herself laying her egg, thereby postponing their reunion. "Need something?"

He smirked to himself. "A back rub."

Another jab. "Your back popped back into place last month."

"Okay, then just the shoulders this time."

He felt her rolling over, and for a moment he thought she was going to do it. Then she drowsily leaned her head in sight before flopping back down. "Was it another nightmare, my King?"

A low rumble in his throat, Gojira just shook his head and lay back down. "I just got to thinking, is all."

"Hm?"

The faces of humans he had brief interactions with flashed through his mental eye, noticing something they had in common. They were in awe that he even so much as gave them the time of day, but they were sympathetic to his fight. Although he had of yet to see signs of gratitude with them, compared to days of old where they just were tired of looking at him, they were like younglings looking up to their guardian.

Noticing her antennae drooping in her need for sleep, Gojira mused out loud, "Humans and Titans are polar opposites, yet both have a balancing act that keeps this world from spinning out of control."

Mosura's head lightly bumped against his cheekbone. "Like how Nature intended?"

Carefully so as to not poke out an eye or knock her off, he turned to face her, making sure she noticed his gaze before saying, "Were we in the wrong to hide away when we did?"

Her wings feebly lifted like a shrug, biting back a yawn. "Maybe we were asleep a little too long. But... they needed their space—oh. A shooting star."

Gojira lifted his eyes to the night sky, scanning the twinkling pinpoints of light for the fallen star, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Too slow," she whispered, chuckling under her breath.

Dirt blew yards away when he dropped his head back to the ground. "I still think they were in the wrong to chase us off," he muttered, although he didn't sound like he really meant it.

"And they survived just fine. Don't worry about it." She nibbled his skin in a comforting manner. "Relax, my King. You need your beauty sleep, for once."

He briefly rolled his eyes, but was more than happy to take her up on that offer.

[calystarose]

My  (Adjusted) Top Twenty Favorite Movies of 2019

These movies are sorted by Ranking and then Alphabetically. Genres are mostly just my opinion/what my focus was on in the movie. This is a squee post, so I'm focusing only on what I loved about these movies. Titles link to the trailers I feel best represent the movie.

Abominable - This movie made my heart feel good. Yi's story, what she's going through and what she needs to learn and grow into is so amazing. Even watching the trailer makes me tear up because of how deeply this movie moved me. There is a lot of humor and a lot of heart and I love this movie very much.

Captain Marvel - The way Brie Larson walks in this, the way she moves her body is just so affirming and inspiring. I've never seen a woman move like that, not when she's not angry or in fight mode. She moves like Thor and it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I adore Maria & Monica, Nick & Phil. I love the call-backs to other movies, the 90s references, the cat! My face hurt from smiling after watching this.

Men In Black: International - I really like the characters in this movie a whole lot. I love that we watch Molly go from being a kid to being an adult determined to find the truth. I love how prickly and dorky she is. How smart she is. I love H. He's a complicated mess of a man that uses humor to hide pain and that's like catnip! I wrote fic for this, I was so enchanted.

Rocketman - This movie is an experience. It is very cathartic and validating. There is not one thing I'd change about it. This is the movie I consider the Best of 2019. The narrative structure, the songs used, the story told, the dialog, the acting, the singing, the dancing - it's all so perfectly done and satisfying. I feel almost drugged when I watch it, even just the trailer.

War (2019) - The action is over the top and full of unexpected twists. I've never gotten this emotionally invested in characters this quickly. About fifteen minutes into it I literally fell in love with this movie. I got that whole heady rush of new love. That giggly, silly head over heels feeling that even now can overwhelm me to the point where my body doesn't know if it wants to laugh or cry and so sometimes does both. It feels like the entire trajectory of my mental world got realigned after seeing this movie. I've started learning Hindi! It's available on Amazon Prime Video, if you're a member, and it is just so unrelentingly enjoyable I hope you'll go watch it. I'll be hosting a War Watch Party at Escapade because dear god, I want more people to know this amazing movie. This is my absolute favorite movie of the year.

Charlie's Angels (2019) - This was even better the second time, and fuck am I queer. :D But for real, this was fun and funny and exciting and...*exciting*. It's light-hearted, a little over the top, and pretty fast-paced. I adore the characters and the version of the world they've created. I look forward to watching it again.

Ready Or Not - SO GROSS! :D But exciting and funny, often in snarky and vicious ways. Very, very satisfying story with a great ending. I loved all the actors in this, just acting the FUCK out of their roles.

Stuber - This is big stupid fun. Lots of physical humor and the two leads have lovely chemistry together. The story is interesting and well done and the jokes almost never punch down. It makes me laugh hard, often. Like belly laughs.

Terminator: Dark Fate - I really love these characters. I first saw Sarah Connor when my sister somehow convinced our mom to let her take my 9 year-old self to see the first Terminator movie and I've loved her ever since. I adore the new characters of Grace and Dani Ramos. Their stories, what they go through/went through is compelling and entertaining. As a sapphic woman, this movie was very visually satisfying. I would kill to have more.

The Kitchen - I'm in love with Tiffany Haddish and it was so incredibly gratifying to get to see her in a role this meaty. Her character is utterly fascinating to me and I could watch hours more of just her. Melissa's character is amazing as well, strong and sturdy like an ox who can and will trample anyone that fucks with her. Elizabeth's character is oddly sweet and relatably crazy. This movie has weight and dimension, I can feel it in a sense.

Black Christmas - I have not seen either of the earlier versions of this movie, but I really loved how unapologetically 'misandrist' this version is. There are some heavy parts, some sharp social commentary, and some light-heartedness. But best of all there are genuine moments of triumph that were incredibly validating to the rage that I've felt from times I've been helpless. I really liked the climax of the movie.

Booksmart - My favorite part of this movie is probably Billie Lourd's character Gigi. She is a batshit crazy delight. But I also loved the friendship between the two lead characters, Amy & Molly. And it was so neat to see Kaitlyn Dever in this role. Lots of laughs and lots of fun. It's nice having a queer character in a movie where it's not all about them being queer. Amy's a nerdy lesbian teenager and feels like a real person.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu - This movie is just so damn beautiful to look at. I love the mix of animation and real world. I love the mystery. Pikachu was so freaking adorable. Justice Smith did a lovely job talking to himself. :D

Godzilla: King Of Monsters - I LOVE THESE KAIJU! Sincerely, I just adore them. Mothra is SO PRETTY and Godzilla is so brave! This was a very fun popcorn movie that genuinely entertained and thrilled me. We saw it on the IMAX screen and it was AMAZING. :D

Happy Death Day 2U - Horror-Comedy Groundhog's Day is how I sum this up. It's so much fun and utterly hilarious. I really like Tree, she's shouty and smart and funny.

Harriet - Cynthia Erivo is a gift. This movie was so compelling and moving. The narrative, and visual, focus keeps the emotion and stakes high without ever descending into voyeurism. Beautiful to listen to as well.

Hustlers - The complicated and complex relationship between Ramona and Destiny is the heart of this movie and I find it endlessly fascinating. The movie settled in my tummy afterward, making me think.

Nancy Drew & The Hidden Staircase - This was a really good mystery and a fun movie. The characters are likable and Nancy is adorable.

Shazam! - I really enjoyed this. I liked the kid Billy, liked his story and journey and how he grows. I love the foster family. The darker aspects of the story were handled well, I feel. I loved the ending. Great kid actors.

Spider-Man: Far From Home - It's impossible to not like Tom Holland's Peter. He's adorable and feels authentically young. I adore MJ's everything, the nerdy-dorky-macabre thing she does is so relatable. :D Marisa Tomei remains one of my favorite actors and she's so beautiful! 

We've seen 66 different movies in the theatre this year, so far, but the top 20 isn't going to change given what's left to see.  We saw 68 unique movies in the theatre this year, five of the movies were not released this year (4 from last year & The Goonies), so I disqualified them for this list. We were able to do this because we had first the AMC A-List & then Regal Unlimited movie club memberships. Some of the movies we saw multiple times. These are movies that I liked the best, that entertained me the most, that I would most often be up for rewatching or a combination of that. This has been a crazy experience and I'm thankful to my bff delibby for letting me come along on the ride. (The adjustment is dropping Knives Out from the top 20 and putting Black Christmas in.)

[unboundbnha]

hoooo my god. this is for ME

for me. for godzilla. :’) 

➤ rules; make headcanons of you and a character of your choice, be it sfw or nsfw.

Thank you so much for tagging me @spicyness​! I’m gonna SKAJHDSKJ. HHHHH. This is everything? Fuck I just want a purple boyfriend 😫 this will be about Shinsou because I like him a normal amount :-)

First off, I’m a pain in the ass. My sense of humor is wack (it’s basically just ‘annoy my friends and loved ones’), I’m always fricken TANKING The Mood (because it’s funny and I physically cannot resist making a Funny if the opportunity’s there), everything turns into a game unless you make me stop wink wonk. Shinsou seems like the type to snort in amusement and roll his eyes at my dumb antics, and I appreciate that! If I could make him legit laugh I’d die happy. (I am also emotionally savvy enough to know when to draw the line though, don’t worry. It’s just, man, my idea of fun is ‘LET’S ROAST ‘EM’)

I love cats. I’ll lose my whole mind over them. They NEED head kisses. Shinsou also likes cats. He also needs head kisses. That’s it, that’s the bullet point

Being open and honest and genuine is important to me. I believe most any relationship (friendship or otherwise) can work if you’re willing to communicate and empathize with the other person: I would 100% be willing to hear Shinsou’s shit, and he seems like he’d be a good listener too. I’m also good at logicking things through and he seems like he’d appreciate that. Likewise, he seems like he’d do the same for me, and as long as we stayed humble and weren’t looking to be offended (I don’t Do That -- he’s a Cancer -- love you, Cancers -- so it might take him a minute to get on the same page, but he’s emotionally smort and cares about me so I think he’d be willing to work at it) then we could help each other through emotionally hard stuff with hard truths. Plus, I’m a super honest person: if he was in a relationship with me he’d probably be pretty secure in knowing I wouldn’t hurt him on purpose. If past shit comes up with him, I’ll talk to him. Talking’s the good shit, y’all: utilize patience and empathy and you’ll be so well off!

I also battle, with a big fucking sword, a lot with mental health stuff (LMAOOOO WHO DON’T!!! YEET). I used to struggle with agoraphobia and still deal with anxiety and depression. On top of that, I have something like chronic fatigue -- I’ve been calling it chronic fatigue because I’m fucking tired, all the time. My top energy levels are like a 35% on a fantastic day. I really like the idea of this boye seeing me melting into a puddle, face down on the carpet, and bein like “how’s it going down there? you okay?” and the answer being obviously no, but him just like. Man I dunno. He seems like the kind of person who’s tired, but who can live with it. I can’t! When I’m tired, that’s it babes! I hit a 0% on my battery and I’ll collapse! So I just, hhhh. Don’t laugh, but I like to fantasize about him bundling me up and into bed. Thinkin’ about Birthday Snoot by my good friend @lord-explosion-baku​ and melting, okay?? OKAY???? I’m soft, the truth’s OUT, FUCK! I want to be taken care of like a sad but pampered cat.

(Please read Birthday Snoot I still cry over it)

Also I’m gross and struggle to shower often enough because it’s exhausting so bein given a gentle bath? oh MAN. Hands softly running through my stupid, terrible hair...asking me about my day and if anything happened that triggered me feeling this bad...just....the tenderness....the gentle affection.....being loved even when I’m at my lowest. Being cared for when I can’t do it myself. That’s a legit fantasy y’all. We out here!

I love to SNOOZE. I love being COZY. You bet your sweet bippy I’m gonna sprawl over a couch and take up the whole thing. Shinsou’d better be willing to snuggle the fuck up. I’ve got great squish which I personally feel like’s great for cuddling: I’m like warm taffy. How better to gently seep into every crevasse of your Favorite Person while enjoying a cozy cuddle?

Listen, everyone fucks hard with Shinsou calling his S/O ‘kitten’, and I agree (def have written leetle -- HOO -- leetle scenarios with that nickname because wow) but I get all wibbly with the idea of He calling me ‘Angel’. A joke at first because, like, guys, I’m really nice. (I know it sounds bad when people say they’re nice and LSDFLKJDF I AM, OKAY. I’ve worked on it. Cultivated the skill of kindness! Being kind isn’t easy, and sometimes you just wanna go apeshit, but I’ve worked hard to improve upon myself! Yeet!) But I also just really fucking love being annoying. I simply cannot resist the urge to sneak up behind someone and poke them in the ribs. I rib-poke while in the deep depths of making out too, I’ve tanked the mood a lot so picture my dumb ass Pink Panther’ing behind Shinsou, prepared to be Evil while he’s, idk, making breakfast or something, and before I can commit a Rib Crime he uses his hero training and fast reflexes and honed senses and all that good stuff to snatch my wrist and ask “what’re you up to, angel?” the answer is nothing, because he’s killed me by being sexy and fast and hero-y, and he’s probably actually killed me by startling me into collapsing like a fainting goat

He gets the deep stuff. Unfortunately for everyone and especially myself, I’m a Thinker with a capital T: it never fucking stops. I had an existential crisis for like three years in a row because of course, but I feel like he knows what it’s like to get lost in your head. Working each other out of panic attacks because holy jesus the universe sure is fucking huge huh? We’re not even a blip on the radar in the history of existence and we’re gonna be dead basically tomorrow aaaand that’s why we’d be good for each other, because I feel like we both have coping mechanisms that keep us from spiraling too bad, and we could share them with each other.

I also so fucking admire his drive, but it makes me angry that stupid fucking hero society would discriminate in the first place. 

Oh, yeah, that’s another good point: I’m hella mad about 98% of the time and I work hard to hide it! Because innocent people don’t deserve to get yelled at! I feel like Shinsou’s smart enough to sense when I’m about to pop and he can be like “heyyyyy...you wanna talk this out constructively instead of getting into a public brawl?” and I’ll be like “NO but I’ll do it for you because I love you” and then we get pizza.

Because I’m fine and balanced and stuff, I made a quirk for myself if I was in the BNHA-verse, and basically I can get stronger at the expense of higher thinking skills and will turn into a weapon of mass destruction against whatever I’m pointing at (ugh, that’s so sexy. Fuck I wanna be a big spooky buff as shit monster thing), friend or foe, so Shinsou and I would work well in tandem because if I got too rowdy he could use his quirk and get me to calm down! Keep me from accidentally doing a murder! Nice!

Okay this is nsfw so if you’re under 18 DON’T READ IT. I’LL CALL YOUR PARENTS. GET OFF MY BLOG. 

Relating to the point above, QUIRKPLAY. Mind control me into stuff I want to do but am too awkward to ask for, please and THANK you. Also, Shinsou’s a top. Gotta be, and thank god for it because I’m certainly not. I’m not happy about being a fucking bottom, because my first and most powerful personalty trait is ‘be as annoying as possible to the people you like; don’t let them tell you what to do.’ Can’t make it easy on myself, nope. Anyway, I want the appearance of being a top without the responsibility because damn, gotta be like, suave and shit. Gotta plan stuff. I don’t like that! I do that enough in real life and I don’t like it there, either! But whatever. I’m a brat and I feel betrayed by my coochie for it. But Shinsou’s a top and he’d tease me for being Fucking Terrible, and suddenly I wouldn’t be so mad at my coochie. She has her reasons.

I...like Shinsou for a lot of reasons, but a really big one, for sure, is that I feel like he can communicate about the important stuff. He likes to tease, but he knows when to be serious too. I’m really wack about being close and intimate with people and I have, hhh, special requirements to be able to sleep with them, and I feel like he’d both be able to respect AND honor that. Like, run through the rest of the BNHA boys with me here: would Bakugou be able to be completely cool, calm, and collected while still teasing, but knowing where to draw the line? Todoroki’s closer maybe, but he’s not as people-smart (which is also a big thing for me). Confidence (or at least the appearance of it when it’s important), respect, communication, listening and respecting what I ask for even if it seems wack -- Shinsou has that, and god is it attractive. 

Also, mind control. 

Also, his capture weapon. 

Also you know this motherfucker is kinky as shit. Thank the good lord.

Also, sexy-slow makeouts with his long, nimble hands running up my outer thighs to squeeze my waist -- teeth on neck, stolen gasps of breath -- 

\\\\\\

I feel bad because all of this, fuckin, WALL of text is pretty much ‘this is what purble boy can do for me’ and I don’t say a lot I’d do for him, but if I got someone like him I’d go to the end of the earth for them. I may be a perpetually-sleepy bitch, but one of my best -- and worst -- character traits is my unwavering loyalty. I’ll be 110% down to kick anyone’s ass who insults him: he can fight his own battles, but he shouldn’t have to over some dumbass with a big mouth and a little brain. Making him smile and laugh, oof, be still my beating heart. Words of encouragement when life gets too much. Genuine thanks for his help, whatever it may be. Hugs, because we’re both touch-starved as fuck and he deserves gentleness, dammit. He doesn’t seem like his love language is receiving gifts -- more like quality time and words of affirmation? Maybe physical touch? -- but I’d still get him little things that made me think of him, that could help him in his day to day life or maybe just bring a smile to his face. We could rescue each other at social conventions, have dates to the humane society and play with cats. Support each other through our depression days, prove that even having a brain that’s mean to you sometimes doesn’t make you unlovable. Man, idk. The whole thing’s soft and makes my heart go doki-doki. Hitoshi Shinsou is an extremely good person and god damn I’d want to show him I appreciated him and existing at the same time as him. He deserves love and kindness. He deserves someone to kiss every knuckle of his hand. He deserves hugs in the kitchen and blankets being pulled over his shoulders when he falls asleep at the desk. He deserves only good things, and I’d be honored to give them to him. 

HHHHH.

Okay! If you made it to the end of this, congratulations! You don’t actually get anything, but boy oh boy you have a lot of information about ME now! Aren’t you delighted? Heh. So! You tag people for this stuff, and I’m gonna tag @lord-explosion-baku​, @bnhascribbles​, @perpetual-bed-head​, @russianonion​, @weebsinstash​, and last but certainly not least, @usernamekate94​. Tell me about Monoma, Kate. Tell me.

[chicagoindiecritics]

New Written Review from Mike Crowley on You’ll Probably Agree: 10 Reasons Why ‘Blade Runner 2049’ is better than ‘Blade Runner’

If you haven’t’ seen the movie, see it then read this. No intro, let’s jump right in.

1. K is a replicant

The reveal of K’s genetic code, or lack thereof, flips everything we assume the movie will be on its head. We are learning along with K what it means to exist. Do we as humans, live like replicants? Do we obey a society that treats us like trash but breath anyways out of the fear of death? Where we viewed “Blade Runner” mostly through Deckard’s eyes who didn’t have much of a personality, K’s lack of a character is his entire purpose for existing. For K to emote is to face death.

Where Harrison Ford’s Deckard entire arc was us questioning if he’s human or not (despite what Ridley Scott unequivocally says), there’s nothing much of substance to Officer Deckard. He gets drunk, retires replicants, that’s it. Name one thing that makes Deckard standout? I’ll wait. Ryan Gosling’s Officer K goes from a machine that is dying spiritually on the inside to someone wanting to have a purpose in life. All while maintaining his composure, if perhaps too much poise for the film. Anything with a conscious can feel. Whether or not how it was made is as relevant as where you were born or what skin color you are. The importance is that you’re here.

K doesn’t seek gratitude nor affirmation. He doesn’t suffer from a narcissistic personality. All he wants is not just to be another useless piece of metal.

2. Deckard has depth this time

Being a daddy changes you a lot. Rick isn’t just a slouchy drunk who likes to shoot robots out of legal obligation. He’s a man who’s principles and love for forbidden things cost him his life. What kind of soul did Deckard have in the first film? Who did he care for? Please don’t say, Rachel, we all know why he was attracted to Rachel. Like Winston in 1984, Deckard rejects Big Brother for a life of pain to gain a glimmer of happiness. 

3. It’s horrifyingly relevant

Denis Villeneuve based the imagery in 2049 on a planet that has become degraded with pollution. The buildings are extrapolating enormous amounts of water into the atmosphere, the sea wall at the end of the picture will be our new Mount Rushmore, the orange Vegas is happening now. Denis Villeneuve didn’t predict the earth looking like this, but his production team was still spot on. A picture that transcends its very style, developing a look that will be discussed on its merits separate from the ubiquitous original, is a stunning achievement.

Everything isn’t dystopian because that’s the way it was in the book. It’s what will happen to us in real life, why we’d look for colonies to live on if we had the technology or funding towards NASA to do so. God help us all.

4. The love story questions the essence of relationships

The story between K and Joi further examines the meaning of love, sex, and mortality, with the two being different versions of artificiality. When the default sexed-up version of a naked Joy pops up on the screen, we are emotionally mortified. Some of us may be repulsed to observe a character we care for utilized like a thirsty Godzilla.

The towering ad tries to seduce K tempting him to buy it, rendering everything Joi said to K throughout the picture questionable. Its manipulation solidifies his final decision in life to help another man. We’re not sure if she loved him or said what it thought it wanted him to hear throughout the narrative. Possibly Joi herself didn’t know her intentions. An unusual amount of nuance and uncertainty rests in the love story. Who do we love? Why do we love? Do we love by the heart or the heart of our designers whom we don’t know?

Meanwhile, Deckard was just drunk and horny when he bashed Rachel up against the wall. Sorry, that really was all there was to their passion despite what Wallace says.

5. The movie was an honest commentary about how the world views woman

Here’s a controversial one. A lot of women were disgusted by the way they were depicted in the film. Outwardly watching the movie, I can’t blame them. I’ll let Mr. Villeneuve speak for himself. “I am very sensitive to how I portray women in movies. This is my ninth feature film and six of them have women in the lead role. The first Blade Runner was quite rough on the women, something about the film noir aesthetic. But I tried to bring depth to all the characters. For Joi, the holographic character, you see how she evolves. It’s interesting, I think. What is cinema? Cinema is a mirror on society. Blade Runner is not about tomorrow; it’s about today. And I’m sorry, but the world is not kind on women.”

Villeneuve is right. Women today are still sexualized. Even with the Me Too movement, women are continually seen as sex objects or subservient slaves in a male-dominated society. Villeneuve isn’t interested in painting a rosy picture that Hollywood does for female roles to make the audiences feel comfortable. It’s an honest reflection on who we are. What we see is what we don’t want to see, but that’s part of the honesty of cinema.

6. The score is mesmerizing

Another point in which I may face some contention. Yes, Vangelis’ score is iconic, but it only works for the era it was composed in. Much of its mixture of bleeps, blops, and wind chimes are a product of its time. A lot of emotion is missing from the score other than the opening theme and “Tears In Rain.” Hearing much of the soundtrack while on the road, I sometimes thought I was listening to something from a porno. Take a listen to “Wait For Me” in the soundtrack and tell me otherwise. Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Walfisch’s score is timeless while also paying respect to Vangelis’ synthetic use in the original. It dives into the character’s mind providing a replication of something more human than what Vangelis composed.

7. It thematically ties more directly to “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” than “Blade Runner” does.

“Blade Runner” got the overall gist of Phillip K Dick’s novel. Replicants are scared, trying to find a way to survive as Deckard hunts them down. However, the Andies in the movie almost deserve to die. In their quest for more life, they torture and kill multiple civilians. What did the guy making the eyes do to deserve being frozen to death? What about J.R. Sebastian? He was nothing but pleasant to Roy and Pris. Did Roy eye gauge him when he was done with Tyrell?

Aside from Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), our replicants are fully rounded people. Sapper Morton is a watchful protector who was meant to be a NEXUS 8 combat medic; Joi’s true intentions come into question for herself and us. K’s inner conflict is the central core of the story. All of this revolves around the meaning of existence within a world that has forgotten about you. The introduction of Robo procreation is an evolution of Dick’s ideas, widening his notion of why life exists in the first place.

8. It doesn’t get lost in the scale

Many sequels love scope over characters. Remember “The Matrix”? Remember how they talked about Zion and all these other things we didn’t see? When the sequels brought in Zion, the focus got lost in the spectacle. “The Matrix Reloaded” was a bumbling CGI mess of Agent Smith Clones and cave orgies. “The Matrix Revolutions” was a glorified “Space Invaders” game. Shoot as many sentinels as you can before becoming overwhelmed. Amidst the sequels bumbling chaos, I missed the smaller scale of the Nebuchadnezzar crew.

The story of “2049” could have focused on the replicant uprising with thousands of robots slamming into humans. We could have gone off-world to finally see what all these other colonies we’ve heard about are like. Some have argued that the movie could have borrowed some of its source material from the later novels about replicants creating humans, so on and so forth. All of that sounds incredible in theory. In execution, you would likely get “The Matrix” sequels.

A movie that overreaches in scope, attempting to please fans by showing everything. What we got was an incredibly meaningful story that further explores the themes of the original while building upon its world without going too far. We see what’s beyond L.A. on the dilapidated west coast. The answer is not much. The film aims at minimalism over extravaganza.

9. We’re still talking about it

After being MIA for decades, “Blade Runner 2049” isn’t forgotten. I can’t say the same for “Superman Returns,” “Monsters University,” “The Incredibles 2,” “Live Free or Die Hard,” and “Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull.” In fairness, people do talk about Indy 4, but not in a positive fashion. “Blade Runner 2049” returned to the limelight with disastrous box office results yet high accolades, even gaining the Academy’s attention. Ironically it seemed destined to live the life of its predecessor.

“2049” may have tanked because it was a multimillion-dollar art film that respected its audience’s intelligence. Maybe “Blade Runner” was too far gone amongst the public to gain an interest geared almost entirely towards comic books and Disney. I think the trailers after the reveal teaser looked too generic for my own two cents, turning me off from the film for a short while.

Here we are with Honest Trailers in 2020, making a video about a film that came out in 2017. Bloodsoaked orange skies from the headlines mention the atmosphere of this film. Somewhere, about 100 other people are writing their analysis of “Blade Runner 2049” as I type right now. Seven years from now, we’ll be talking about why the world is still like “Blade Runner 2049.” Villeneuve made a timeless sequel to be remembered.

10. It’s better than the first film and one of the best films in the last ten years

Here’s why you’ll probably agree with this one when you put your pitchfork down. Remove your nostalgia goggles. I know it’s hard to do, please, trust me. Look at the points I made above. Think about how ironic the love story is to our lives. The layers of meaning behind K’s existence is lightyears beyond the featureless Rick Deckard. The picture isn’t flawless. Niander Wallace is spectacularly corny in his scenery-chewing grim monologues. Dr. Eldon Tyrell had some ambiguity regarding the morale of his intentions. For that, I’ll give the original the benefit of my doubt. I understand Ryan Gosling was cast to be intentionally deadpan, but it’s okay to emote once. His distant stare in all of his other performances made it difficult for me to discern myself from the actor’s rather dull persona.

With this said, “Blade Runner 2049” understands cinema. Its atmosphere is why we venture into a dark room that takes us to a different place. Denis Villeneuve’s masterful follow up is one of the most orgasmic cinematic experiences I have witnessed in the last ten years that demands a re-screening in 2022 when theatres reopen at an entirely safe capacity. The style doesn’t overshadow its substance, which is far richer in detail than the original without grasping at blatant metaphors. “Blade Runner 2049” is slow cinema at its finest, letting us into the character’s heads, knowing when to be quiet and when to be loud.

Like “The Empire Strikes Back,” not everyone appreciated the movie at first. Time has been incredibly kind to it, though. I wish the Academy recognized “Blade Runner 2049” beyond its technical marvels in 2018. I suppose it wasn’t the type of picture that catches Oscar voter’s eyes. But it has acquired the audience’s to this day. Now, if you could just look up and to the left for me?

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[butterflyinthewell]

Godzilla’s mom! (Heisei era)

Godzilla’s mom was already quite ill when Godzilla hatched from the egg she laid, so he has no memory of her when she was healthy and energetic. She had a very slow growing brain tumor that was putting pressure on her optic nerves. It left her blind and over time it slowly paralyzed her, and she died when it crushed her brain stem against her skull. Not a nice way to go. Godzilla remembers his mother as being gentle, laying down a lot and, towards the end, so thin her bones showed.

Sometimes I wonder what it would’ve been like if she lived to get mutated too. I have an idea in my mind of what she will look like, what she would be like and what her name would be.

I call her Okaajira.*

She would be about the same height as her mate, Gojira, so about 164 feet tall (don’t forget, Heisei Godzilla is so much bigger because of “modern” 1970s nukes) with very irregular dorsal spines(fewer than her mate, though), soot black hide** much darker than her mate’s charcoal coloring, long claws (typical for female godzillasaurs) and striking yellow eyes. All yellow, not gold with an orange rim like Shezilla.

Her eyeballs alternate between being crossed (strabismus) and twitching (nystagmus). Had she lived to mutate, she would regain some eyesight because she grows a neocortex just like Godzilla and some of the pressure is taken off her optic nerves, but it won’t undo the damage already done just like mutating didn’t heal Godzilla’s heart defect or take away his palsy.

So any improvement in sight won’t be much for her; the best she would be able to see may be light, shadow, some shapes if the contrast is high enough, and some color. Forget about depth perception, she figures that out via sound because visually she has none. She can find a full moon at night, but not see the stars. She can tell if the sky is blue or cloudy. She can see if there’s a big dark brown boulder on pale sand. She can see the flickers of sunlight sparkling on water. At night she will see the different colored lights from buildings in a city. With no light she is totally blind, and shining bright lights right into her eyes gives her a total whiteout.

The tumor pushing on her optic nerves will go into permanent remission and not metastasize because her internal radioactivity keeps it from changing. Now, if she got shrunk in the Shrinking Project? That would kill her because she won’t be radioactive enough to keep the cancer in check and it will explode in size and get all over her body in a span of days.

Mutated godzillasaurs maintain a very delicate balance. They are as fragile as they are seemingly indestructible because changing anything about how their body works can either kill them or make them stronger.

It may take kaijuologists years to figure out she is blind, because she still turns and tries to look at things out of reflex, so they will need closeup views of how her eyes cross and twitch before they realize she doesn’t use them much. It will take them longer to realize she has some visual perception, and even then they will never know exactly what the world looks like to her.

If Okaajira walks into a city for the first time, she’s going to bump into things and sniff the edges of buildings. She will touch, nibble and mouth things to feel them like blind humans use their hands to examine something. She’ll think the cars on the streets at daytime are moving water at first because of the sparkle, but realize that’s wrong as soon as she steps on them and they go crunch. She will sniff and smell everything until she finds a path to and from a power plant that doesn’t require going through too many buildings.

After a few trips she will memorize how her footsteps echo off things and know she’s close to her target by the soundscape created by her footsteps. Sometimes she will stomp her foot, slap her tail down or roar to get echoes back and figure out where she is. This is more to find gaps between buildings than anything, and it’s not perfect. Cities are noisy and sound waves get absorbed. The weather can affect this too. Fog or snow muffle a lot, but rain is helpful.

While Okaajira can forage alone quite well, she’s more likely to come with Gojira and follow him around. He would totally leave a scent trail for her to follow if she decides to forage alone, but the humans will get wise to it pretty fast and start covering it up with something unpleasant in attempt to deter her. Then she’ll start following the stink and it’s back to square one, lol.

She has been blind for a very long time, so much that she hardly remembers when she could see, so she won’t be much of a scaredy cat until the JSDF and G-force show up. The loud, sudden noises and pain are likely to scare her until she realizes they don’t injure her, then it’s game on.

And God help you if G-Force or the JSDF “corner” her. (She can think she’s trapped when a clear escape path is right next to her, but obscured by smoke, or if there’s smoke all around.) She will crash into things trying to escape. She will whip her tail out to protect her back. She will follow the noises made by all forms of vehicle and take a few beam shots at whoever shoots her. She is more likely to miss than land a hit, but the property destruction will be astronomical, so much worse than Gojira or Godzilla could do. Once you set her off she will blast her beam at any sudden noises. That includes honking car horns, screaming humans and sirens.

She would have the strongest and most destructive violet (purple) beam. Think Shin Godzilla’s beam with a little less range...yeah. You won’t see her use it too often purely because it will cause her visual whiteout, so most instances of her firing it are because she’s pissed off or scared.

Now, her personality... oh boy. Godzilla didn’t get his loud, curious and flirty nature from his daddy. Okaajira likes to talk to anybody and everybody. She likes to explore and check things out. If she hears or smells something weird, she’s going to go sniff it or go find it. Gojira might do most of the hunting and foraging, but if Okaajira comes along SHE is the one calling the shots and saying the godzillasaur equivalent of “Honey, here’s the shopping list. You be my eyes. I’ll handle the rest.”

She is a gentle soul. If somebody is yelling in pain, she’s running over to see what happened and if she can make it better. Godzilla fell down and hurt himself a lot when he was first learning to walk. She kissed the tears off his face, kissed whatever part of himself he hurt when he fell and encouraged him to keep trying. She would still do that today if she was alive.

But as sweet and gentle as Okaajira would be, crossing her is a mistake. She won’t be great at distance combat, but get in close and she will rip you apart with her teeth and claws. This girl isn’t a graceful fighter like Shezilla; she fights dirty. She won Gojira’s heart by kicking his butt and sitting on his chest to dominate him after he underestimated her strength. “If you’re such a tough guy, why did a blind girl beat you up?” Gojira both fell in love and voluntarily admitted defeat for the one and only time.

Okaajira has perfected the Mom Growl. Every mom has The Look or The Noise they make to let their kids know they dun goofed. All she has to do is growl, bare one fang and hiss and Godzilla knows she disapproves of what he’s doing. AND IT WOULD STILL WORK TODAY, TOO. 🤣

And no matter how old Godzilla gets, he is always going to greet his mom the way he did as a hatchling. He will lean over so his nose is under her chin and bump upward to nuzzle her, and she does the same back. It’s because he still thinks of himself as being smaller than her despite knowing he actually isn’t.

He loves his mommy, that’s all. 💕

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*Okaajira is taken from okaa-san, which is how Japanese people refer to mothers who aren’t theirs. It’s basically Momzilla or Motherzilla in English. The term ofukuro is for talking to your own mom.

**Godzilla’s grandson, Kage, has black hide, one eye that is yellow and one eye that is brown. He got his dark coloring and yellow eye from his great grandma! The brown eye comes from Filia, Godzilla and Gojira. (Junior’s eyes look kinda brown in some light, but they are very dark hazel.)

His overall appearance is inherited from Junior, since I headcanon that Survival timeline Junior looks like MireGoji. That’s due to being mutated by radioactive chemicals in the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, which were different in composition to what mutated Gojira and Godzilla.

So Kage is a little shadow colored MireGoji-shaped goober who has heterochromia and the palsy like his grandpa. 💕

If you want to know how Filia and Junior met and got hooked up, go read my huge Legacy of Gojira post. https://butterflyinthewell.tumblr.com/post/187359259748/legacy-of-gojira

This post is just an exercise in wondering if a certain character had lived. Okaajira would change the timeline a lot by existing in it and right now I don’t have the energy to write it all up.

And I really hope tumblr doesn’t shadowban this post out of tags. I spent a week working on it ffs. 💥