#but Godzilla can be whatever you think they can be! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

neonghostlights · 6 months

Note

What about Halloween costume party and you can’t tell who the guy in the Godzilla (or your choice of monster) costume is, but you flirt with him all night. He refuses to tell you his name because thinks he’s not your type for whatever reason. But when the reveal happens, you are very pleased, and maybe the two of you had history or knew each other in high school.

Or some type of variation that you vibe with 🫠

BETTY!!!! You have no clue how much I love this! I wasn’t sure if I was gonna go with Godzilla BUT I googled inflatable Godzilla costumes and it all made sense. Thank you so much for the request!

Warnings: Reader is dressed up as Barbie (because Barbie is for everyone), just fluffy cuteness, shy!Eddie, bad writing, blah blah blah..

Wordcount: 1.2k

Those Eyes

Godzilla was checking you out from across the room.

You weren’t completely sure at first since he was in a giant suit and it was hard to make out what direction his face was going in with the snout but you had walked back and forth across this room a few times and he was definitely looking at you.

You had to admit it did take you a moment to figure out what the big scaly creature was supposed to be. The wearer of the costume was tall and was wearing a full body of gray scales. Even his hands and feet had been transformed into the giant lizard.

You were currently at your roommate's cousin's costume party. You typically weren’t one to go to things like these but there was a costume contest with a $100 cash prize that made up for you being dragged out here.

Plus you thought your Barbie costume was pretty cute.

You had decided to be the brave one in this weird standoff you were having with the scaly monster and crossed the room towards him.

“Hi,” you said with a sweet smile, looking up at the monster's face.

You could hear him choke on air and start to cough behind his mask, bending over with his fake claws on his knees to get a good breath.

You really weren’t sure what to do so you just let him cough it out until he got a good breath in.

“Hi,” he replied once he could breathe again. His voice was muffled through the mask but you could still hear him pretty well.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. You okay?”

You watched as the mask nodded quickly.

“You, uh, you didn’t scare me,” he mumbled.

“I didn’t? Darn, guess that means I’m not winning the costume contest.”

“I-I mean, you look great. Beautiful. Barbie was a good choice.”

“Thank you,” you said with a smile, bringing the plastic cup up to your lips. There was a glossy pink lip print on the rim from your lipstick.

You noticed him staring at you again but he quickly looked away when you caught him. You wished you could see his face. Even his eyeballs were obscured by the mask.

You thought it was the perfect opportunity then to tell him your name. You stuck out your hand, just for him to shake it with his plastic clawed hand.

“I know,” he mumbled.

“You know? Do I know you?” You asked. You didn’t know anyone here. At all. You hoped he wasn’t someone you had dated in college but he seemed too cool for that. You couldn’t think of any of your exes having this level of dedication to a costume.

“Kind of?” He hesitated.

“Well who are you?” You questioned.

“You’re gonna be disappointed,” he mumbled, you had to strain your ear to hear him over the loud music and chatter.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

You heard him sigh a deep sigh behind the mask.

“I’m not doing a good job. I was gonna walk up to you and say something to you that was cool or something but I…”

“You got shy?” You finished for him.

“Yep.”

“Okay we can try again. I’m gonna go back over there and let you have your moment to shine,” you pointed across the room, not giving him a chance to argue before you strolled to where you had been standing before.

He didn’t follow you at first and it made you wonder if you had been too pushy. He obviously knew you. What if he didn’t like you?

But your worries were for nothing when you watched him take one awkward step at a time, clearly having a hard time walking in the costume.

You covered your mouth to fight your giggle.

When he finally reached you he paused, grabbing onto the wall for support.

“That’s another reason I didn’t come over and say something to you sooner. I would have killed my chances the second I took the first step towards you,” he admitted with a chuckle.

You laughed. “I have to admit the mask kind of does it for me.”

He barked out a loud laugh.

“You gonna tell me who you are now?” You prompted, hoping he would make the big reveal.

He hummed for a moment before peeling the mask off his face. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead and his cheeks were tinged pink.

“It was really hot in there,” he said as he fanned himself for a moment.

You took the moment he was cooling himself down to appreciate the fact that Eddie Munson was standing before you.

You had a massive crush on him in highschool. And when you say massive you meant doodling his name all over your notebooks when you zoned out in class and spending the whole month of prom hoping he would ask you just to be severely disappointed when he never did. In his defense, you did hear him say multiple times that anyone that did go to prom was dumb so you weren’t sure why you convinced yourself that you could ever change his mind.

You had sat next to each other in English during your senior year. He was charming, making you laugh and earning you dirty looks from the teacher. Your brief friendship never blossomed into anything else. You were devastated when you went off for college and left him behind.

But time moved on, you stopped thinking about your crush on Eddie, you met new boys, and had a few brief romances.

And now Eddie Munson was standing in front of you, making you feel feelings that you hadn’t felt for at least six years.

His wide brown eyes were on you. If only you had seen those eyes sooner. You would have recognized him right away, even through the mask.

You gave him a big smile. You weren’t as nervous as you were in highschool.

It was now or never.

“Hi, Eddie,” you cooed at him.

“Disappointed?” He asked nervously, chewing on his lip.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“Because I’m me,” he said, gesturing to himself and his costume.

“When did you get so shy?”

“Excuse me?” He asked as he dropped his chin and raised his brow at you.

“The Eddie Munson I knew in highschool used to stand on tables and put whoopie cushions in Mrs. O'Donnell's chair even though she knew it was you every time,” you said with a pointed stare.

“I kinda blew my chance last time I saw you,” he admitted, going to play with his hair but getting the plastic claw stuck in it instead. He winced when he ripped it out and took some hair with it.

“We’re gonna circle back around to that little bit of information but I want you to know I am definitely not disappointed because I thought I blew my chance in highschool too. And if it helps any you’re really not blowing your chance right now.”

“Really?” He asked in disbelief.

“I told you that the mask really does it for me.”

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson au #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson x you #eddie stranger things #eddie munson request

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mortuarywriting · 9 days

Text

Falling into Place

Ao3 Link - [First] - [Next Chapter ->]

All things considered this isn't what you were expecting to wake up to when you went to bed. One minute you're on your phone, trying to pass out, and the next? You're here. You've had some interesting greetings in your life, but dropping about six feet and having twelve guns leveled at your face? That takes the cake

Warnings:

Reader Insert, Plus-Size Reader, The Author Regrets Everything, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Isekai, canon divergence Look we're gonna dig into the implications of omegasverse changing bits and pieces of history as well as addressing whatever the FUCK is happening as CoD's history. Idk man Godzilla is canon and nobody bats an eye at that fact and you think I'm gonna be normal about that? No

You could be having a worse day, you think, as you stare at the interrogation table you're cuffed to. They could've shot you the second you fell the six feet from the sky into a random army base. That's a very real thing that could've happened.

But no, you just had a dozen guns pointed at you in one moment and a slew of questions you didn't have satisfying answers for.

No, you had no idea how you got there. You'd been in bed tooling around on your phone and then you were falling.

They asked who you worked for, and were not impressed by your mundane answer. You didn't work for some pmc or intelligence organization. You asked them to their faces if they thought you could pass a PT test if you tried. Not that they answered or appreciated your point, mind.

It was only after you gave them whatever identifying information you had that things got… spicy.

"I would love to tell you what this designation of yours is if you tell me what you mean. Is it like a classification of civilian versus enlisted? Is it physical? Is it your horoscope? I don't know what I don't know," you explain again for the Nth time. You didn't wanna play twenty questions but here you fuckin were, captive audience and all.

The man asking you questions had lost his charming good cop look. He was getting more and more annoyed on this one, "your designation," a demand, not a question and sure as shit not an answer.

"Again, would love to tell you! I don't know what you mean! Feels like some kinda Star Wars thing," you grumble the last bit to yourself but the man cocks his head.

His eyes narrow, "what are… Star Wars, you said?"

You blink owlishly, "beg pardon?"

"Star War. Clarify."

It's your turn for your brow to furrow, and furrow it does, "Star Wars? As in the multi-billion dollar franchise created by George Lucas and eventually sold to Disney," your tone is questioning, just shy of asking if the guy lived under a rock but his expression didn't let up and the last thing you needed was bad cop, so you continued, "the story of what happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away? The political space series of movies versus Star Trek's more scientific and discovery based longstanding TV show? Nine major movies and the Clone Wars before Disney sunk their talons in. Like yeah we got more shows and movies that expanded the universe but they also cut out decades of book contributions in their acquisition and that kinda sucked. But yeah, that Star Wars?"

"Nine movies," his tone is disbelieving, and now it's your turn for your eyebrows to raise, "can you name them?"

You nod, "well yeah. Do you want them in episode order or release?"

His brows furrow, "did they not release in order?"

"In a sense? Three trilogies, 4-5-6 back in the late 70s early 80s, then 1-2-3 in the late 90s early 00s, and 7-8-9 through the teens. So order, yes, just… not a cohesive one."

"Release, then," he leaned back and crossed his arms, a position you'd love to mimic if you weren't cuffed to the table for… an indeterminate period of time now, actually.

"A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi-"

"Woah now, empire? What's a jeddy?"

You give him a blank look, trying very hard to mask your disbelief as you look between him and the mirror behind him. You look at your reflection, take a deep breath, and- "sir would it be easier for you to maybe check the internet?"

He seemed to bristle, nose flaring and looking at you expectantly.

You just… kinda sat there. You tapped your fingers together on the desk and kept the eye contact he was intent on. It took a good minute and him getting progressively pissier before you simply ask, "would you like the other movies now?"

You didn't expect an explosion of movement from the man. He downright snarled and slammed his hands on the table as he burst to his feet, the sudden change sending his chair screeching back before falling with a clatter. You leaned as far back as your cuffed hands would allow, eyes wide and a panic rising.

Both of you turned to look at the door when it slammed open with a barked, "Williams!"

The man who opened it reared back a bit, "Christ, layin' it on a bit thick," he groused, his tone sounding more like someone chastising a teenager for using too much Axe body spray. He smoothed his posture back into something casual as he fanned the air dismissively with a hand, "cap wants you to take a walk."

Your interrogator- Williams, apparently- stares at the man in the door, the two locking eyes before the one in the door straightens from his purposely relaxed posture. You watch the both of them, noting the shoulders tensing as the two just. Staring at each other? Eventually the guy who'd been grilling you looked away and stormed out, the man in the doorway letting him slip out easily enough before turning a charming look back to you.

He took a minute to fan the door a few times to get newer, blissfully cool air in before he entered the room, "sorry 'bout him. He really did a number in here," the new guy tsked before closing the door quietly behind himself.

Your brow furrowed even as you slowly relaxed a bit, had this Williams guy like… farted or something? A nice quirk of ventilation keeping you from smelling something abhorrent? Either way you simply shrug as he walks in and tips the chair back up, sitting and giving another reassuring smile, "how you doing, love?"

You opened and closed your mouth a few times before simply settling on, "I'm a bit… whelmed? This has been," you give as vague a rolling gesture as you can without your cuffs rattling too badly, "a lot? And I have no idea what just set him off either?"

It's the man before you's turn to quirk a brow, "no idea?"

"If I knew the answers to his questions I'd've given 'em by now. I don't, though, and then he just started staring? And hell I just thought it was some kinda macho 'I can stare the truth out of you,'" you pitched your voice lower and pushed your shoulders out for a second to mimic the douchebag behavior before settling, "so I kept eye contact because I'm so out of my depth I have no reason to lie at all and now…" you trail off, gesturing around the room, "all that."

The man nods slowly, "alright love, could you tell me about the last five years?"

Your brows furrow, "oh fuck, 2019 was five years ago wasn't it. God, time is an illusion. Anyway, you want what I was doing leading up to and through the pandemic?"

You think he might've startled for a second but he simply moved to scratch his chin, "mhmm. Just your thoughts on the last five years is all."

So… you ramble. Because he was nice and not prodding or asking weird questions. You talk to him about your job before the pandemic, how people thought covid was just a flu until the death tolls kept climbing, how tons of governments dropped the ball on a local or country-wide level and how that kicked back onto your life, and then the absolute crapshoot of the last election cycle, the shitty 'oh no this is the new normal everything is fine' behavior that has lead to surges and cycles of a fucking plague and so on. He simply nodded, gave some sympathetic hums and winces appropriately at your experiences.

"And did you go back and watch Star Wars through that? Or other things Disney owned?"

And, well, that was a weird way to phrase it but you shrugged, "the mouse is just shy of a monopoly and not one that anybody can take that down so… yeah, I guess? They kept putting shows out and expanding their Star Wars universe so that's been kinda neat to watch but not just them, no. Couple other games and stuff like that to keep me busy, too," you kinda handwave and shut up because panic rambling to MILITARY PERSONNEL is probably not your smartest move in hindsight. Especially when you don't know his name. A+, self.

You tap your fingers against the metal table as he looks at you, "and you said covid has a long term effect of ruining people's senses of smell and taste?"

You nod slowly, "yeah, dude? It's one of the biggest warning signs for most people? Like if everything starts tasting like it was made by a middle class white mom who keeps shoving random letters in her kids names you should swab? That kinda shit?"

What rock has this guy been living under? You were pretty sure the military were supposed to be way more familiar with this shit all things considered, but you've been wrong before.

It was his turn to give you a bit of a wide eyed look before he poorly covers a laugh, "alright, that's fair. I need to go talk with my captain," he hooks a thumb over his shoulder to the window, which didn't surprise you that there had been people back there. He offers a reassuring smile as he stands, humming idly as he pushes the chair back in. He pauses mid-step, "you mentioned that there were cards…?"

You find yourself nodding slowly, "yeah it was important and you couldn't fly or go to certain places if you didn't have one for a while. Should still have a picture of mine buried on my phone," you really didn't wanna get another first-round of covid shots, you REALLY didn't wanna repeat the 24 hours of suck for no reason.

"Cool, thanks," he flashes another charming grin before he slides out of the room.

You lean back in your chair, what an odd guy. Nice though.

-------

"Right," Gaz says as he opens the door to Price and Ghost, "either our mystery guest is off her nut or she's legitimately from somewhere and somewhen else."

Ghost and Price look at each other before turning back to Gaz, this… complicated matters.

Well, it's not like you hadn't given them information to identify yourself. They'd dig up who you were one way or another.

-------

You stare blankly as the nice man from before gives you a sympathetic look, "what do you mean I'm dead?"

Behind him is a guy you're not sure if he's just fuckoff huge or if he's just moderately huge and it's forced perspective.

You don't think it's forced perspective.

You are absolutely trying not to panic spiral.

You are absolutely doing a horrible job at that.

"Well," he opens the file before him and there's a news article, proudly proclaiming "Locals Die in Horrible Freak Accident" like that's not some form of you that was looking like some smear on the pavement, "there's this. Fingerprints match up. Can check for dental if you're really curious."

"Were there even any teeth left after that," you mumble as you take and read the offered article. Seven people were involved, the pictures used are mostly flattering. Hell, you almost don't mind what pic they used for an alternate you but�� "that's certainly not the pic I would've wanted. Maybe this me had different tastes?"

You take the time to actually read through the article. It's not helping because for as much as you stare at the page you're not absorbing any information. Some form of detachment, if this was really you? You'd died. A different you but a you nonetheless. You died and you're reading how it happened. There was a lot to unpack in all this and you just needed to put the suitcase away for now. You'd much rather throw it away at this rate.

You were rapidly coming to the understanding that you and Toto were not in Kansas anymore, and there wasn't a convenient yellow brick road to get yourself back home. No easy way to get the hell out of Dodge either. Was it Dodge or the O.K. Corral that was in Kansas? No the O.K. Corral wasn't in Kansas- Dodge was though, that's right.

This analogy was getting away from you and some part of you figured this was just your brain trying to protect yourself but… wait, wasn't this a metaphor? There wasn't 'like' or 'as' or goddammit not again.

You recognize some names here and there but largely everyone involved were perfect strangers. The article doesn't cover if it would've been slow or quick. You hope for the smear that it was quick. Smears like that don't happen slowly, right? Well, not unless it's like a dramatic slide down a window, but not usually across pavement like that.

Still not sure how you feel about all of it. Bit morbid being confronted with your mortality like that.

Certainly answered a lot of questions about your theoretical passing you never thought about. Like if the obituary for you in what you know to be your own home and world is just as… really kinda just mediocre as this. Have you really done nothing of note for an obituary? Damn.

You kept pouring over the article, each pass bringing new words into focus that help connect the picture a little bit, but… Something repeated in the article made you pause, "two alphas, four betas, and an omega?"

There was no decent way to ask about that. Any questions invoked from here would border into dangerous territory better kept between yourself and a private browser history. You knew what you were about but there was no fucking way.

"Their designations," the nice man whose name you still hadn't caught explains, "mostly explaining their secondary gender."

You look at him owlishly. You pray to whatever God might be listening that you wake up shortly. Or that the earth below your feet opens up and swallows you. Whichever comes first, the mortification will snipe you otherwise.

"Please tell me this is an elaborate joke at my expense," you are very quiet as you are trying to get really cool with a lot of things really quickly.

"Negative," the big fucker in the back practically growled and you knew that voice would do things to you if you weren't half stepped out of your own body.

You missed whatever his followup was but your brow furrowed when you checked the date on the article, "I've been dead for months? That…" you let the paper fall from your hands. Everything about this is wild at best and very overwhelming at worst.

A lot of this qualified as worst.

You look up at the two, missing the odd look they shot at each other as you try to pull yourself back together, "so now what? You've got a not-a-smear of me that fell from the sky onto a secure military base, and where I'm from we didn't have," you paused to gesture between the paper and the two soldiers, "dynamics was it? That was just a fanfiction special."

"Fanfiction."

The way he said it was so carefully neutral you paused, "oh my god without Star Trek to popularize fanfiction and the fan community, how has fandom evolved? Is fanfiction a thing- well, yes, it does fanfics have been a thing since Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy and even before- well, the question is more if it's still popularized? Are there still the wattpad fics of- I am getting so off track. What exactly is the next step?"

You look from the nice man to the big fucker and back, neither saying anything but looking at you with careful blankness.

You felt like you were being weighed and measured in their eyes.

You hoped to anyone listening that you weren't found wanting at least. Not when you're in the shit situation it looks like you ever so increasingly fell into.

"Considering I'm. Not smear. And very much not from here? Are blanks a thing? Or is that what a beta is I'm," you trail off, brow furrowing, "fuzzy. On the whole thing. The flavor of understanding, dynamics, and population skew tended to be dependant on the author's level of horny."

The did get a bit of a snort from the pretty one before you, the one in the back tilting his head just so as the pretty one spurred you on, "okay please don't take this the wrong way, you have given me nothing to go on but A/B/O and-" a finger was raised in question to that, you quickly explaining, "the fanfic shorthand for the universe without being a mouthful. Anyway- I've seen population numbers being roughly the same across the board, I've seen alphas and omegas at roughly 1% of the population of society on either end, I've seen alphas at about 5% and omegas at 1%- those ones are usually the most horny I swear.

"And it's all over the board, no consistency- sometimes it's betas are infertile, sometimes they're the straightman to the comedy that's an alpha and omega trying to woo each other without being too horny to function. Sometimes it's a sliding scale where being beta just means you're more the more middle-ground regulated hormonally with alphas and omegas being the opposing ends of a spectrum. Can you please say something and give me a fucking break because my panic rambles are probably like. Some kinda prejudiced. I'm still not over the 'I'm supposed to be a smear on the ground we don't even have dental images of to confirm who it is anymore' nugget you dropped on me. I think I'm doing well for this"

You would rather not tell them that as soon as you're out of this box of a room you were gonna be curled up in a ball and unabashedly weeping. That was none of their business.

The pretty one gave you what you're sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile but the quiet stretched just a bit too long. You looked from one to the other before leaning forward, "is this supposed to be soothing in some way? Because it's just a bit of an extended awkward silence and that's uh-"

It was the big one in the back's turn to give an amused snort, the pretty one looking bashful, "right, sorry, we uh-"

You jerk a bit, "wait, was that supposed to be some scent thing," you really didn't wanna say pheromones and potentially dig yourself into a deeper, more awkward hole based on Horny Pseudoscience.

Pretty rubbed the back of his neck, "something like that. You really couldn't smell anything?"

You know the exact Face you're making. It's very much your 'I have told you this and I'm getting tired of having to repeat it' face. You can tell he clocks it but for the record, because to your mortification this has to be recorded, you simply give a succinct, "no, I haven't smelled anything. Not from you, not from him," you jerk your head towards the big fucker, "and not from douchebag from be- Williams! His name was Williams. Nothing. Really had no clue why you were fanning the door when you came in."

You sigh, rubbing the heels of your palms into your eyes, "okay. Assuming I'm not about to be put into past tense a second time. Do we have any idea what popped me out here?"

The sentences are stilted, you know you're getting more rattled the longer you're here but sue you alright it's been the worst six hours of your life here.

They just continue to look at you, pretty keeping a polite almost customer service look as big one just stares unceasingly.

"Right. Okay. Am I going to be reintegrated to society or is this," you gesture around the little room as much as you can, "looking like my home for the foreseeable future."

No change in what you can see of either's expression, and you just sag. Deep breath in, deep breath out, "cool. Alright. Well. I know nothing of how biology is altered here, I'm not sure how that has impacted changes throughout history, and frankly I don't know what your pop culture has done. I'm assuming math and written languages are largely the same but in all fairness I don't know what I don't know."

You just stare quietly at the table for a bit longer before looking back at the two of them, "is there anything else you need because I can feel the freakout creeping up and while I know there's no real privacy, uh…"

The pretty one looked back to the big one, at some point you're sure you'll get some sort of names but for now? Now you watch the big one nod, the pretty one give you a polite smile and some vaguely polite bullshit your brain is swiftly going too far out to hear.

You only hope that whoever is behind the mirror is polite enough to look away as you put your head down on the table and give yourself the opportunity to, just this once, cry. As a treat.

[Next Chapter -> ]

#rambles from the morgue #a for effort and all that

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hyperfixatedfandomer · 7 months

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Do y’all think that Eywa has a physical avatar somewhere? Like a Godzilla type creature that awakens when humans fuck around too much and is indestructible to all known earth weaponry, so she just wrecks havoc on whatever they have built?

I was trying to imagine what she might look like, but in all honesty I believe she wouldn’t look like a Na’vi, or a thanator , or any known animal. She is all of those things at once. A network uniting ALL of Pandora, so all I can think of is this giant, titan of an organism that has many eyes and an undefinable shape. Something eldrich, that has been there before even the Na’vi, slumbering until the disruption of the balance, and the desperate cries of her children awakened her.

Imagine Spider, in RDA captivity, warning Ardmor or the recoms about her.

“She’ll awaken, see the world you have built…and she’ll destroy it.”

No one there believes the legend, but it gets to them, when they imagine an eldrich god in their nightmares, smothering their great cities in one stride.

#atwow #atwow lore #atwow headcannon #atwow rda #atwow spider #spider atwow #avatar spider #spider socorro #avatar 2 #avatar way of water #spider avatar #avatar quaritch #avatar headcanons

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shuttershocky · 10 months

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You know, it's actually crazy to me that FGO is one of the only big mobage games to have never done a true crossover.

I know /why/, they've said before that they're simply so successful that other people come to Type-Moon for crossovers and not the other way around, but if there's one thing I've always liked about FGO's setting it's that it's the perfect setup for whatever crossover or idea you have.

The way heroic spirit summoning works via recognition combined with the the in-universe pop culture matching the real world's (Mash for example grew up reading Sherlock Holmes stories with Romani only to end up working with Sherlock Holmes), and you can just... Do whatever you want. You don't even need to explain shit you don't want to the heroic spirit, the magic does all that for you.

Making a summoning circle around an old VHS tape and going "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope" is legitimately not a weird way to get heroic spirit Luke Skywalker (Saber) and do a Star Wars crossover. That wouldn't be even remotely unbelievable.

Other games, they gotta stretch it a bit you know? I think Arknights' crossover with Rainbow Six was done about as believably as they could have possibly written it and it STILL involved a sudden isekai moment and the R6 crew needing weeks to adjust to life in the catgirl dimension.

Anyway in my heart of hearts I know the true and correct reason FGO will never see a Grand Avenger is because Nasu knows the only proper candidate for it is Godzilla

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try-set-me-on-fire · 11 months

Note

Hi, me again, this time with the prompt "6. coffee in bed" 🙏

Send me soft prompts! Find the finished ones on AO3!

Buck has long since resigned himself to the fact that his sleep schedule is well and truly fucked. 24 hour shifts were all well and good in his 20s, but now at the ripe old age of 32 he collapses as soon as he gets home like someone’s hit a hard reset switch, and he never knows if he’ll wake up in an hour or ten. Frankly, he doesn’t know how Bobby is still upright, though he’d never say it to his face.

So, blinking awake on a Sunday (maybe) morning (possibly) in June, he has no idea how long he’s been down. His eyes are glued shut, so probably a while. He throws an arm out and it smacks immediately into Eddie, who grunts.

“Morning?” It’s sort of a greeting and sort of a question, and he feels weight shift on the bed as Eddie cranes to check the clock.

“9:15.”

“Mm.” Buck scrubs a hand over his face and blinks open his eyes. Eddie looks like he's just been taken out of one of those vacuum seal bags you pack your clothes in when you're trying to save space in a suitcase, and Buck has to lean over and kiss him about it.

"Oh my god, Buck," Eddie mumbles, pushing him away with his whole hand smushed against his face. "Did you eat roadkill for dinner?"

"Don't you insult Bobby's casserole like that." Buck goes for Eddie's neck instead but ends up yawning against his jugular. "Fuck. I'm gonna get coffee." He starts to roll over but Eddie slings an arm around him and pulls him back down.

"It's being taken care of," he says, burying his face into Buck's shoulder. "Act surprised."

Buck makes a questioning face at him, but his boyfriend is busy being half asleep again and nuzzling his pec, so he just lays there squinting at the ceiling and wondering if Eddie has developed some sort of coffee based telekinesis. He's started thinking about practical applications in the field (does it have to be hot coffee? How big a container can it be in? Can they just start remotely dumping venti iced lattes on fires?) when Chris enters the room, carefully transporting two mugs. Eddie flops onto his back and then flops upright, passing the mugs to Buck and pulling Chris down for a kiss on the forehead.

"Happy father's day," Chris says, only scrunching his nose a little at the display of affection.

"Thanks, kid," Eddie smiles at him, already flapping a hand at Buck to get his coffee back. He takes a sip as Chris leaves the room again, and Buck holds onto the other warm ceramic in his hands, suddenly feeling very awake and a little awkward.

"Uh- I can head out, if you want."

Eddie squints at him over his coffee. "Why?"

Buck waves towards the kitchen. "You know, if you and Chris want to spend the day together."

Eddie's still making a face at him. "Buck-"

Whatever he was going to say is interrupted by Chris returning, even more carefully balancing a tray of food in his arms. He sets it down on the bed and Eddie eagerly pulls it over, grabbing a waffle piled high with whip cream.

"Cards first!" Chris admonishes, sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Oh, o-kay, okay," Eddie laughs, picking up one of two folded pieces of paper tucked under the plates.

"Two cards!" Buck grins, stretching his foot under the covers to nudge Chris. "Your dad's a lucky guy."

Chris makes the same face his dad had just been making. "One's for you, Buck."

Buck's pretty sure his face makes the exact expression of the emoticon with the colon and the capital o. "Me?"

"Yeah," Chris says, like obviously Buck gets a father's day card, duh, don't be stupid. Buck kind of just freezes there, rebooting, until Eddie grabs the paper and swaps it with the mug still clutched in his hand and he looks down to read it automatically.

On the front, in suspenseful italic, are the words "When Rodan flaps his wings…" and Buck coughs out a laugh, remembering last month's Godzilla night where they'd stayed up way too late watching movies while Eddie was covering for someone on B shift. He opens the card and doesn't start crying immediately, thank you, he lasts a few seconds with dry eyes. On the inside is a full spread drawing of the fiery pteranodon looming over the city of Los Angeles. On the bottom left a firefighter stands on a rooftop, blasting him in the face with a hose. Written in the sky is "... Buck saves the day!"

"Told you he'd cry," Eddie says, smug. Buck tries to glare at him but he's just a big blur through the tears.

"You're so mean to me," he croaks, reaching out blindly for moral support from Christopher, the superior Diaz. Chris shuffles over and wraps him in a hug which, oh boy, doesn't help the crying situation. "Th-thank you," he manages to get out, clinging to the kid a little and fully expecting him to pull away all huffy and teenager-like.

Chris just rests his head against Buck's. "You've been my dad, like, forever," he says quietly, and, really, it's too early in the day to be put through a trash compactor like this. "I probably should have made more cards to make up for the other years."

Buck makes a sound like "gk!" and feels Eddie's hand on his side. "Well, we don't want him to actually keel over. That would be an embarrassing ambulance ride."

Buck laughs, and it sounds wet and gross, and then kisses the side of Chris's head, which probably feels wet and gross. "I love you, so much."

"I know," Chris says, grinning. "I love you too, Buck. Eat your waffle. I put sprinkles on it!"

Buck laughs again, and pulls Chris up onto the bed with them to share. He's big, growing up so quick, and two grown men and a teenager are a pretty cramped fit on a queen mattress, but none of the three members of this family that Buck somehow, miraculously belongs to minds the proximity.

"Happy father's day, Buck," Eddie says, eyes heart twistingly soft as he kisses Buck's cheek. "Glad you're here with me. With us."

Buck makes a face as his eyes start stinging again, and covers Chris's eyes so he can lean forward and kiss Eddie on the mouth, quick. "No place I'd rather be."

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #christopher diaz #my writing #911 fox #goofy sappy goofy sappy

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kaliido-s · 3 months

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What Godzilla monsters do you ship?

Recently on Twitter, an adult woman went on an angry tirade after coming across some Mothzilla fanart, proceeding to try and dunk on every teenager that tried to defend the artist or told her that she was being a weirdo. So right now feels like a good time to talk about monsters in love just to spite them.

You guys know me, Mothollante (Biollante x Mothra) is my biggie. I really love exploring Biollante as a character herself, and giving her someone to comfort her and grow closer to just feels really good. I love talking about them, they’re my favourite yuri. Gigan x Megalon is a classic and I love them, awful idiot boyfriends. I for one am very excited for the enemies to lovers slow burn in Godzilla x Kong, Kongzilla is peak and GxK will truly be an avant-garde masterpiece for including them. I’ve started warming up to Ghidzilla too, I like the kind of couple that will fight but fighting is their love language and they’re totally enamoured with each other. Not into the interpretations where Godzilla just seems like he hates Ghidorah and their relationship, cause then they just feel like boomer comics of husbands hating their wives (not to mention I am not into non-con :/). Either way, as long as they’re both into it, they can kiss, they can fight, it’s kind of beautiful. I like Angzilla as old man yaoi, I’m not really into Mothzilla but my favourite flavour of it is when Godzilla is a sheepish dork about it, Rodorah’s cool when it’s not so toxic that I’m screaming at Rodan to get out of there… yeah that’s about it. I’m accepting of a lot of pairings and I think it’s fun to be like “haha monster love life”. Go crazy do whatever you want. These monsters have such vague personalities that the world is your oyster.

#asks #ask #kal thoughts #mothollante #gigalon #kongzilla #ghidzilla #angzilla #mothzilla #rodorah #ship #kaiju ships #godzilla headcanons

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max--phillips · 2 months

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Indiana just launched a “snitch line” for people to report schools for teaching about LGBTQ issues, Black history, and other topics.

On Monday, the AG, Todd Rokita, launched this “Eyes on Eduction” portal where students, parents, and teachers alike can report… “objectionable curricula, policies, or programs affecting children.” While they hide behind the suggestion that this is to stop “political ideology - either left or right” from being forced on kids, we all know that this is really a tip line for parents to complain that someone told their kid gay people exist or slavery was a real thing that happened to Black people.

I’m not going to lie, despite this being from the office of the attorney general, I don’t think this is much more than a wall of shame functionally. The AG’s office looks at submissions, takes the credible ones, and publishes them on the portal for anyone to see. The PDFs of the so-called evidence also include names of teachers.

Anyway, unsurprisingly, people have been flooding the portal with junk submissions, as pointed out by the wonderful Erin Reed (@/ErinInTheMorn on Twitter) in her article on the portal:

A report that Godzilla was witnessed with a trans flag

Indiana Jones slapping a Nazi

A report of a famous picture of Trump next to Rudy Giuliani in drag

Multiple reports citing the Bible for teenage pregnancy

A confession purporting to be from Breaking Bad character Walter White

The script for the Bee Movie (classic)

The script to Oppenheimer

The script for Eurotrip, with a note not to tell Scotty

Young Sheldon saying “Bazinga”

So ALL OF THAT IS TO SAY. Here's another link to the portal. Whatever you do, don't add to the list above and flood the portal, making it nearly impossible for the poor AG's office to sort through all the submissions and find credible submissions! That would be sooo uncalled for.

Anyway, side note for you: if you're thinking to yourself, "damn, Todd Rokita, that name sounds awfully familiar," you may be thinking of the time in 2022 he said he was going to investigate Dr. Caitlin Bernard for providing an abortion procedure to a 10 year old girl who had fled Ohio to receive care because Ohio's abortion ban did not provide an exception for minor children who became pregnant as a result of rape. Ultimately, Indiana state courts found him to have violated the law and engaged in attorney misconduct due to his public statements on the situation. Yet, he is still AG. This guy has sucked as long as I can remember. He was Secretary of State of Indiana from 2002-2010, then he was a member of the US House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district (which my hometown is unfortunately a part of) from 2011-2019, and has now been AG since 2021. For perspective, I was born in 1997--the year he joined the Secretary of State's office as general counsel, then later became deputy secretary of state. He's been doing his damndest to ruin this state as long as I've been alive.

Also, his birthday is Friday (February 9th) according to his wikipedia page. Definitely don't give him any birthday presents by way of the submission portal, okay? Good talk

#lgbt rights #trans rights #black lives matter #black history #lgbt history #american politics #PLEASE reblog this lmao #max says things #tori says things

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tyrantisterror · 7 months

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additionally i think its funny that in the Godzilla-verse Kaiju have a SORT OF pseudo-scientific aspect to them, like theyre animals or aliens or whatever and they MIGHT be sapient, or at least thinking beings, while in Ultraman theyre just like "fuckin. yeah whatever. This Kaiju is a drawing that came to life. this one is two meteors and isnt from this dimension. that one is the ghost of a warlock. whatever, i dont give a shit. Specium ray"

Godzilla and pals are so fun because they're this blending of sci-fi tropes and, like Shinto and folk religion beliefs about nature spirits, and the two are so thoroughly mixed together that despite media trying to tell you they're incompatible, you really can't separate those elements and keep the characters whole. Godzilla is both a radioactive mutant dinosaur and an ancient sea dragon god whose wrath has been raised by humanity's mistreatment of his natural domain. Mothra is a bug magnified by radiation like the ants from Them! and a goddess of rebirth and salvation. Ghidorah is a space alien and a multi-headed dragon of the apocalypse. They're myths both ancient and modern, melded together, it's wonderful.

And Ultraman's rogues gallery is fun because they can be literally fucking anything, from time-lost dinosaurs to space aliens to a kid's drawings come to life. It's wonderful.

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biomic · 7 months

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while he definitely could've worded it better, i think simon bennett actually has a point about power rangers needing to move away from super sentai *dodges tomatoes*

i've lost count of how many times someone's posted the coolest shit i've ever seen from sentai, rider, or ultra, and all people in the comments have to say about it is "oh lol it's like power rangers". power rangers is most people's first impression of tokusatsu, and that's obviously not gonna be indicative of the wider genre unless someone actively chooses to dig a little deeper (which they usually don't)

stuff like godzilla, ultraman, and kamen rider came out of creatives using original, fantastical concepts to say things about the world around them, power rangers came about because an american executive found a cheap way to make half a show and sell toys. that's not to say the latter has never tried to be more than that or that the former is free from capitalism informing/hindering its creative decisions (lol.), but that's why one is an enduring media institution that's jumpstarted countless careers while the other is seen as "that one kid's show from the 90s with the goofy costumes. wait what do you mean it's still going"

a reboot that does something totally new is probably the only way for PR to dig itself out of that reputation with people who aren't hardcore fans. i think about how that voltron cartoon, before that became a shitshow of its own, was a huge hit with an audience who had zero nostalgia for the original show because it was trying to do more than appeal to the people who grew up with the original. similarly, you look at RTD's relaunch of doctor who and most of the things he brought to the series were basically sacrilegious to longtime fans. killing all the time lords, blowing up gallifrey, having the doctor KISS a WOMAN??????? the show's ruined forever now (still going strong 15+ years later)

and most important TO ME is that this is also a definite net positive for sentai too. i don't think it's a coincidence that right around the time toei ended their partnership with power rangers and hasbro we started to get huge shakeups to the series' formula with zenkaiger, donbrothers, and king-ohger, resulting in sentai's first year of being profitable since kyoryuger. they no longer have to consider how concepts will be marketable to an american audience as well as their japanese audience, which means we can do whatever the hell we want now. is that not the ideal scenario? i just don't see how the adaptation process is beneficial to either franchise at this point besides being tradition

#kendrix morgan died for our sins #power rangers for ts #super sentai for ts

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drowningparty · 10 days

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I have some thoughts re: Kayne / godhood (spoilers for intermezzo)

I don't think Kayne respects any of the other gods. He definitely doesn't respect the King in Yellow, he knocked him over the head w/ an oversized mallet to give him amnesia and stuck him in Arthur's head and reduced the Dreamlands to "a lawless waste" for a laugh. He also destroyed his city for the hell of it. He doesn't fucking care. He's rude to John, ignores him, says 'Arthur' when referring to both of them. I thought I noticed this undercurrent of quiet animosity, but felt vindicated during 40 + Intermezzo b/c he was suddenly soooooo loud! Ignoring & talking over John? Check. Telling him he's not special like Arthur? Check. Saying he'll torture him worse than Arthur just because he can? Check. My theory is it's b/c John's still a god, technically. Like the whole, choosing your own name + path... you'd think would be something Kayne could sympathize with (as much as Kayne can feel sympathy), but...........no. He knows John is easier to manipulate w/ fear (he can send him back to the Dark World w/ a snap of his fingers), and saves his faux sympathy for Arthur.

I think this is b/c he likes humans. Sure, he also likes killing them, but I don't think those impulses are mutually exclusive. Kayne's the most "human" of the gods we've met. He talks like a human, makes pop culture references, looks passingly human, etc. I think he envies them, in a way? They have a freedom I think he lacks as a god, even though they are confined to one timeline. We still don't fully understand how gods work, but from his description alone it sounds like he thinks of them as limited. They have incredible power compared to mortals, they exist outside the piano... but are confined to a single key. Which sounds to me like their path is predetermined and they're not intended to develop free will. Kayne's an anomaly b/c he does, or tries to.

He wants to put humans in an antfarm, perhaps as a demonstration of his free will. That's all Carcosa was, right? An antfarm. He wanted to play godzilla, smash the ants. Arthur's another ant in a different farm, and he watched his entire life play out across several verses to try to figure him out. What makes him unique is he dies in every other verse. Kayne can't figure out what makes this Arthur so special that he survives when all the others don't, but it implies he did something right with his free will, that this version is an "anomaly" like Kayne. He respects that, b/c it means this version of Arthur has done the same thing he has: taken control of their narrative. Even Kayne choosing his own name is an example of that. Becoming Kayne, rejecting the title Nyarlathotep and all the baggage that comes with it, the expectation to be what his father wants, a messenger for the outer gods (although he may still want that, I expect whatever his intentions are re: the Black Stone, they're his, not Azathoth's).

Arthur is usually a mirror for character's to see their humanity reflected, but instead of seeing his humanity (b/c he has none), Kayne looks at Arthur and sees himself. Which... surprised me? He seems so confident in his godhood, I thought he just viewed Arthur as his fave toy or human, like even in the S4 finale I found it hilarious how he kept going: "why can't you all just be more like Arthur???" apropo of.....nothing, but he didn't treat him like someone he identified with, so it caught me off-guard when he compared himself to Arthur, but that's big for a god! and I think it supports my thesis he envies humans for their freedom. Their roles aren't as "established" as a god's. Humans have free will, something he had to kill every other version of himself to gain. Even then, I think absorbing his alts (???) or whatever he did after killing them to become more powerful fucked him up, may have driven him mad if he wasn't already when he started this exercise in defending-himself-from-ever-getting-deleted, like he doesn't sound okay when he's talking to himself.

TLDR: Kayne thinks Arthur's special b/c he lived, when all the other Arthur's in Kayne's Arthur-Killing-Experiment died! (: Kayne can't figure out why, but he likes not knowing why. He likes humanity b/c of their freedom, b/c he's a chaos god who wants as much freedom as possible. And he's aware gods are fallible, they can be deleted, which takes all the romance out of godhood. Kayne's the most powerful god we've met b/c he's taken steps to emulate humanity's free will, the thing that makes Arthur "special," but what makes Arthur "hard to see" is probably his humanity. As much as Kayne likes humanity, I don't think it's something he can truly understand, which is why he enjoys sticking humans full of pins and trying.

I think it's neat Malevolent prizes humanity over godhood. Even gods seem to value humanity over godhood. John wants to become human. Yellow wants acceptance from a human. I think Kayne holds humans in higher esteem than gods. Those who look down on humans or try to 'ascend' and leave behind their humanity, like Larson, are clearly in the wrong. It's not seen as a weakness to be human, and even the parts of humanity that are usually written off as a weakness (our rage, grief, violence, desperation, etc...) are viewed as strengths in Malevolent, and I fucking love that about this show.

Anyway, I'll, uhh, shut up now.

#malevolent spoilers #malevolent #sorry if this doesn't make sense #I just think mad malevolent gods are neat (:#(rambles incoherently for six paragraphs) this could have been a tweet #kayne malevolent

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timefospookies · 20 days

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I think no one in the Agency is really that big on movies except Jun’ichirō and by extension Naomi. And by big on movies, I mean like BIG on movies. Like, knowing-the-directors-actors-and-elements-of-every-movie-ever-by-heart big on movies.

Cuz to me, the moment Jun’i developed his ability his first thought was: “OMG JUST LIKE THE MATRIX”

Now, Dazai and Yosano have seen their fair share (as in, whatever’s in theaters that sounds interesting) and Kyōka probably watched movies with her parents, but the other members?

Kunikida has never watched a movie in his life(/hj), Kenji doesn’t watch movies period, Ranpo doesn’t find a lot of them particularly interesting, and Atsushi probably grew up with zero TV access.

Fukuzawa is a maybe watches movies for time to time, but he strikes me more as a theater/opera guy.

———

So anyway, I imagine one day Atsushi and Jun’i are on an assassination case that takes a seemingly supernatural turn and Jun’i is like “omg this is just like men in black lol”

And obviously Atsushi was like “…what’s men in black” and Jun’i is like “oh it’s this american movie where yadda yadda yadda” and he gets why Atsushi didn’t know it cuz it’s foreign and Atsushi never watched movies anyway (he gets a best friend pass) and the rest of the case he talked to him abt movies

By the time he gets to the Agency he’s still talking (I think he’d be really into action, drama, and romance movies) and anyway Kunikida overhears and is like

“What are you two talking about?”

“Oh, I’m telling Atsushi abt Star Wars!”

“..What’s Star Wars?”

“YOU DONT KNOW STAR WARS?!”

And of course Kunikida doesn’t know Star Wars (despite its extreme popularity in Japan back in the day) cuz he’s Kunikida, but when Jun’i consults the rest of the Agency, half of them hadn’t even HEARD of it (admirable feat) and you could hear his heart shatter in real time. Then he starts interrogating everyone about ever film he can come up with and eventually Naomi joins in and they’re like

Naomi: “You’ve never seen Shall We Dance?!”

Jun’i: “What about Dead or Alive?! From 1999?!”

Dazai: “We’re you two even alive in 1999..?“

Kunikida: “Of course they were, idiot, they’re not babies!”

Naomi: “Dr. Yosano, what about Perfect Blue?”

Jun’i: “Please tell me you guys have at least heard of the Godzilla series?!”

Naomi: “Silence of the Lambs? The Ring??”

All: …

#naomi is a horro girly. to me #the amount of research i did for this one post is awesome i have a list of 90s Japanese movies to watch now #sorry this is cringe it will happen again #spooky talk #tanizaki jun’ichirō #tanizaki junichirou #junichiro tanizaki #naomi tanizaki #atsushi nakajima #kunikida doppo #dazai osamu #yosano akiko #ranpo edogawa #fukuzawa yukichi #kyōka izumi #kyouka izumi #kenji miyazawa

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hrodvitnon · 21 days

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can we talk spoilers? (if at least tag them so those who haven't seen it yet can block the tag)

anyway

DOUG STEALS KONG'S LUNCH LOL. He's even so smug about it when Kong relents and lets him have it.

Mothra is so much fluffier this time around! Love how when she breaks up Godzilla and Kong's fight she's almost SCOLDING Goji lol. "Goji! Stop bullying the poor monkey!" "S..sorry, dear..." Jia seems to be her main priestess now tho? Whatever happened to the twin scientists from KOTM? I hope they aren't entirely forgotten and replaced. Maybe they can return as Jia's guides.

Shimo is adorable. I'm glad she got a happy ending and some neck scratches from Kong. Big huggable lizard-horse-kitty.

Suko saves the day by retrieving Kong's axe? Huh. That lil kid pulled his weight a lot more than I'd expected to. Also love his mean streak at the start, he and Kong bickered a lot at first.

And of course, Skar King's very very karmic and brutal demise. I can only imagine the state of him (and Rio de Janeiro's streets) when those ice chunks finally thaw out. Good luck with the cleanup, Monarch.

Everyone make sure you filter "gxk spoilers" because I've been using that tag for everyone not looking to be spoiled!

I think Mothra suddenly becoming an Iwi protector is because supposedly there was going to be another Original MonsterVerse Monster called Phosphora or some-such, but it wasn't well received by test audiences or something so it got reworked into Mothra. I could be misremembering, but that's what I remember hearing. Which is funny, because if memory serves correctly the KOTM end credits hinted at Mothra having already laid an egg before the Boston battle, so... retcon?

I'm really glad Shimo survived the movie, I felt so bad for her being under Skar King's pain control and how she visibly resists him throughout. Even her roars sounded pained. It was really sweet seeing the look in her eyes when the surface world sky is being cleared up, like if she's the source of the last Ice Age then it's been literally thousands upon thousands of years since she's last seen a sky like ours. Hoping we see her again in another movie!

Holy shit, Suko's introduction scene got SO MUCH FUNNIER when he goes from "i'm baby" to biting Kong's finger to being used as a BLUDGEONING WEAPON BY KONG. Suko really chugged that character development juice.

I feel vindicated for not once underestimating Skar King, because he is the most vile MonsterVerse... uh, monster villain we've gotten so far. Ghidorah was a sadistic son of a bitch and Mechagodzilla was a crazy Titan Terminator On Blue Rock Steroids, but Skar King has the heads of fellow Kongs stuck on pikes (presumably to set an example for anyone looking to challenge him), when he mocks Kong's new tooth most of the apes and especially Suko seem to laugh along out of fear, he straight up KICKS an ape into lava, and has actual sex slaves holding babies in his throne room, and you just KNOW they don't consent to what he does to them. On top of him controlling Shimo with pain and his attempts on Suko's life - and considering the number of red/orange-furred babies in the throne room, we can surmise that Suko is one of his own children - Skar King may not have the spectacle or scale Ghidorah had, but my god did it feel good seeing him go down.

#Anonymous #godzilla x kong: the new empire #gxk spoilers

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crusherthedoctor · 8 months

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Get a Load of Traits - PART 1: Sonic the Hedgehog

Way back during my Tumblr infancy, I made a series by the mouthful of What Makes For A Good Incarnation, in which I listed the main noteworthy traits that I consider integral for crafting, at the very worst, a still above-average portrayal of the character in question. By "series", I meant I did exactly three of them, then forgot all about it. In the words of Moneybags, I seemed to have temporarily forgotten.

In the years since however, I've went back and forth on going back and redoing them - as well as providing entries for those who didn't get one the first time around - because shall we say, a few recent portrayals have caused me to believe they're in need of some additional points or further elaboration. So now here I am to actually do it.

For the DX: Director's Cut, and for the sake of not dragging them out too much, I've decided to keep it all thematically consistent by sticking with 9 main points per character, in terms of what I personally consider the highest priorities for each of them. These will usually not be listed in any particular order of importance or relevance unless stated otherwise, and while there may be other major traits that might not get mentioned (in which case, feel free to bring them up yourself if you see fit), this keeps things simple and focuses on the points that have the most flexibility with how much of the character they encapsulate.

It should also be noted that these posts will be made with the game portrayals in mind, because the games mark the core of the franchise, and as such, they objectively contain the purest essence of the cast. Adaptations generally like to play by their own rules, some more gratuitously and inexcusably than others, and this will inevitably crop up with certain entries. All that being said however, I'll attempt to stay focused rather than devolve into another rant about this adaptation or that adaptation, only directly referring to them if I feel it's necessary for the point being made.

So without further ado, for today's installment, we're jumping right into the main Crush 40 enthusiast himself: Sonic.

Since Sonic was one of the characters covered in the past, much of this will be retreading old ground. If you know me well though, I'm sure you'll be able to tell which of it is new or expanded upon.

He's meant to be fun.

"Psst, the mandates don't exist."

We'll start with one so easy to get that you'd have to be purposefully contemptuous of the franchise and the character to suggest otherwise: Sonic is a fun character. He's all about having fun. He looks at virtually everything, no matter how precarious, as a thrill ride first and foremost. He is perpetually filled with a carefree love for all that life has to offer, has never been shy about it, and is known to enjoy fighting the baddies as well. Nothing keeps him down.

It's a large factor into why the franchise itself commonly boasts a sense of energy and wonder. If you don't acknowledge this aspect of Sonic's character... what are you even doing here? Why are you writing for him? What character are you seeing?

But he also knows when it's time to get serious.

Oh look, Super Sonic when it still had milk left in it.

Sonic's knack for making snarky quips of debatable quality can lead some into thinking he's incapable of taking anything seriously at all. This is how we get writers who seek to humble him for it... but unfortunately for them, they're not breaking any new ground: Sonic does get down to business when the situation calls for it, and even when he's joking around with whatever villain he's currently facing, he's always got his wits sharp, never going out of his way to be sloppy. And no, this isn't limited to the one-off villains and Godzilla-type Pokemon we know and begrudgingly tolerate: he more than acknowledges the very serious threat and crimes of the deceptively jovial Eggman's actions as well.

After all, do we not recall some of the near-death situations that Eggman has found himself in upon defeat, and how Sonic usually shows no concern over whether he survives or not? Do we not recall Sonic interrogating Zor over what happened to Tails? Do we not recall what he did to the Erazor Djinn when he refused to YouTube Apologise for abusing his former lover?

Sonic takes a lot of things quite seriously. More than he tends to let on. He just also likes to have fun at the same time.

He does not loathe technology.

"You're telling me this board was made with... SCIENCE...?"

Yes, Sonic is the nature foil to Eggman's scientific scheming. It's been a constant with the franchise since its inception, all the way to modern entries like Colours. But if Sonic hated technology itself, he wouldn't be best friends with a tinkerer. Nor would he own a plane.

The series as a whole has always been sensible about the matter compared to other green aesop-spewing media of the 90's. Rather than demonize technology outright, it understood the strengths it had, and how it could be used for nature's benefit rather than its detriment. Sonic CD visualized this wonderfully, as the Good Futures were fond of showing them side-by-side, in perfect harmony, with no cost to the land's health and beauty.

So with Sonic, he doesn't oppose technology. He opposes Eggman, whose methods involve technology. If you want Sonic to preach about the evils of tech as he drops a mahogany log in the woods and scrambles for a leaf to wipe his ass with, just go on DeviantART. Or watch SatAM.

He has selfish needs, but he's not a selfish person.

"Shit, I forgot the third paragraph of my principle monologue."

Sonic knows what he wants, and that something is his freedom. He's not going to be anchored down, he's not going to live a mundane life, and he's going to adventure and explore the world and beyond for as long as he can. This goes both ways: it's further reason why he confronts oppressive sorts like Eggman, but on the other hand, it can be hard to keep up with him at times, and since Amy has a clear vision on how she would want their future lives to be like as a couple, it's no wonder Sonic hasn't shown much serious interest in his friend in that particular way.

Don't get the wrong idea though; this doesn't mean Sonic is a selfish person full stop. In part thanks to several adaptations, a common misconception with the Blue Blur is mistaking him for a pure egotist through and through, who only cares about his adrenaline-fueled ecstasy and nothing else. Cause y'know, he's firm about his needs, and he has a cocky side, therefore he's full of himself, right?

Well no, not at all: his opposition to big bad villains would surely be enough on its own to confirm that he cares about everyone else's freedom too, so long as said people aren't doing anything malicious themselves. Yes, he fights villains because it's fun to him, but he also has a genuine hatred for injustice. He doesn't think like a typical superhero, where he fights evil and saves lives because he feels he has an obligation to do so, he does it simply because he wants to. How is that not selfless?

But it's even more than that: he's proven himself to be humble in spite of his cockiness, right down to dismissing any and all formal terms for himself when others use them. Half the time he tells the people he's saved to not sweat it, and the other half, he's already bolted before they can even thank him. Sonic largely doesn't care about the fame and attention that comes with being a repeated world saviour, and in more intimate situations, he's full of compassion there too. Hell, even in Black Knight, despite initially intending to slice Merlina in half in a furious response to her betrayal, he was later willing to show empathy to her defeated self, recognizing that she was an extremist, but not like the other villains he had faced.

Also, he doesn't have a history of treating his friends and accomplices like garbage. He might not see them all that often due to his globe trotting ways ("Long time no see!"), but he clearly values each of them. Even the ones he pokes light fun at on occasion, like Knuckles and Shadow.

He's impulsive, but intelligent.

Remember when Eggman had a conch? Starline didn't.

Like any character, Sonic does indeed have faults. Sonic is a guy who, when he sets out to do something, he'll do it, no questions asked. If Sonic thinks he knows the solution to sorting everything out, then that's all there is to it. This has worked in his favor more often than not, but it can also just as easily lead to mishaps, like the moment pictured above from Lost World. His cockiness has also been taken advantage of on several occasions, like in SA2 and Unleashed. Both of those were by Eggman, by the way. Just wanted to throw that out there.

However, Sonic is not an idiot. Just because he's a speedster doesn't mean he can't think straight, and his moments of recklessness are often born out of not knowing the full story rather than blindly charging in after already knowing better. If he makes a mistake, he'll acknowledge it and attempt to rectify it as soon as possible, and if he thinks someone else has good advice, then he'll be willing to hear them out, especially if it's coming from his life-long buddy, Tails.

To put it generously, Sonic's intelligence is prone to be heavily downplayed in certain adaptations, most notably in SatAM and Prime. This is usually done for the sake of forcing him to learn a lesson that a character like him doesn't really need to learn, or to prop up another character as the brains behind his operation. Or because Hurr Hurr Vroom Vroom Character Dumb. In reality though, Sonic is actually very intelligent: certainly not a super-genius like Tails or Eggman, but he's quick to pick up on details, and experience has taught him how to optimize his speed and acrobatics effectively and gracefully, while making it look completely effortless. He's also emotionally intelligent, being able to read a room with little issue, and when placed in a new situation, it doesn't take long for him to adapt.

So Sonic is a very bright person who just so happens to occasionally make impulsive decisions, for better or for worse. This does not translate to him being a Funny Penis Man. That's a vast simplification that tends to come from people who take the archetype that describes him at face value.

He only cares about how others perceive him when it's based on deception.

"Surrounded by evil knights and a girl I've never met before... better inhale the worst cuisine they've ever seen with my goatse mouth."

To paraphrase the hedgehog himself, he doesn't mind having to play the bad guy if it's necessary to do what he thinks is right. This doesn't apply in a meta sense - WE know he's doing the right thing - but what it means is that in-universe, he understands that some people might think he's the villain due to their perspective on the situation. And he accepts that, because he doesn't care about how his true blue self is perceived by strangers one way or the other. He doesn't expect or demand the rest of the world to live by his own personal beliefs unlike some iterations, but since they're his own, he holds no shame in sticking with them personally. He can only be who he truly is, and if some people have a problem with that, then he'll just have to take it smoothly with a Winston break.

But, as proven with Shadow inadvertently framing him in SA2, he does care when it involves Shit That Isn't True. Because if you're going to judge him, it better be for stuff he's actually done, and for who he actually is. Sonic doesn't care about attention, but he does evidently care about his identity.

The real super power of teamwork.

"Because... we're Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric!"

Sonic Heroes is a game that frequently gets referenced in side-material, which is an impressive feat considering it condemned itself by dressing Metal Sonic like a wanker. Yet for some curious reason, despite all the Heroes referencing, writers have trouble remembering the entire theme of the game, because their idea of Sonic needing to learn the benefits of teamwork and friendship is... lol...? Lmao...? Dare I even say... rofl...?

Sonic is the last person on the goddamn planet who needs to learn this, and you'd know that even if you weren't familiar with Heroes. Other games have shown time and time again that he appreciates the contributions of his allies, and gives them the appropriate kudos with no shred of reluctance, all without placing himself above them in the process. And while he may not be quick to ask for help, he's usually willing to accept it when it's offered to him. Like in '06, in which he casually allowed Trunks the Hedgehog to help out despite his attempting to kill him when they last met.

Sonic knows the super power of teamwork just fine. It's in his business card. Him of all people needing to learn this aesop is a non-development, a cheap way to make it seem like the writers are doing something ~deep~ with him. Giving back something he should have had to begin with is not character development.

His thing about emotions.

"A tall girl. My weakness."

Despite his outward demeanour, Sonic has a lot of introversion deep down, what with showing himself a contemplative side on a regular basis, and most of his dialogue being fairly straight and to-the-point. As it happens, this extends to how he manages his emotions, aside from his alleged temper. Sonic is obviously not stoic, but you're not likely to see him break down in hysterics, or publicly show tears at all unless it's in private.

Some writers and artists - or should I say, certain writers and artists - consider this an abominable sin that must be rectified. They'll get it into their heads that Sonic shows no emotion at all, but never fear boys and girls, they'll fix that pronto. They'll give him the emotions that SEGA couldn't. And what do you know, the end results end up looking absolutely ridiculous, and simply not in-line with who and what our hero is. Fact of the matter is, not everyone wears their emotions on their sleeve, and not breaking out the waterworks is not the same as being an unfeeling machine altogether. As it applies to real life, it applies as well to fictional characters. Because they're not all going to be the same.

His introversion doesn't just relate to himself though. It also seeps into his visible discomfort in dealing with the complex emotions of others, especially those who can't shake themselves off as easily as he can. Notice how, during moments where someone else is upset by something he can't easily fix - such as Tails lamenting Emerl's demise, or Shahra grieving over Majin Ganondorf despite him being a terminal shithead - he often finds himself at a loss, needing a moment or two to think of what he should say or do to console them.

It's possible that, with his canonical tendency to not be all that open about whatever might be troubling him, under the belief of not wanting to make his problem their problem by extension, he might not consider himself the most well-equipped for someone else's anguish. Or maybe that's just a Game Theory. Either way, whatever awkwardness there may be on his part, he always does his best regardless, as he would for any other situation.

...unless it involves one-sided sadness. Then he's not as sympathetic.

He's an ideal.

"Fuck sake, another argument over voice actors."

Sonic is a static character. Deliberately so. He is also not meant to be a relatable character, at least not in the sense of what Twitter members who have never played a Sonic game in their life consider relatable, which is basically making the character exactly the same as them, beat for beat, including the mismatched haircut, announcing their pronouns every three sentences, and the compulsive thirst to speak to the manager.

Needless to say, this doesn't work with the fastest thing alive. Everything about Sonic - his refusal to give up, his refusal to let distress overwhelm him, his freedom to go where the wind takes him - all of it, and more, serves to make him an inspiration. And guess what? Characters are allowed to be that. Inspirational characters are just as important as relatable ones, because by seeing what they can accomplish, we can strive to become our best selves. Why would you want to take that away?

Every character, the good ones anyway, have a defined purpose. Sonic has his. Other characters in the series might be considered relatable, but that's not where Sonic himself lies. It's better to leave that occupation for others, such as those who were inspired in-universe by Sonic himself, like Tails and Amy.

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If you understand all of these points, and if you can take to them, then I believe you should have what it takes to write a good, or even great, portrayal of Say Yes to the Dress the Hedgehog. No portrayal is going to be one-and-one with that of another, there'll always be subtle distinctions depending on the writer, but you'll be fine as long as he's not a holier-than-thou dipshit who speaks more words than The Great Gatsby.

#Get a Load of Traits #Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 4 months

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Kaiju Week in Review (December 17-23, 2023)

Episode 7 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters laid down significant Monsterverse lore, showing the moment Monarch finally revealed itself to the public (under hilarious circumstances) and how the organization's partnership with Apex Cybernetics began. I did not find May's long-awaited backstory super compelling, to be honest, I think because the proto-Apex company was so thinly sketched. And that Frost-Vark better not be dead. :(

An incredible three Godzilla comics released last week: DC/Legendary's Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #3 and IDW's Godzilla: War for Humanity #3 and Godzilla Rivals: Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon. The crossover lit a certain section of the Internet on fire with the revelation that Godzilla did, in fact, kill Superman the previous issue. Writer Brian Buccellato chalked it up to Godzilla's atomic breath having "a radioactive signature similar to [K]ryptonite," which as handwaves go is pretty good. Behemoth and Scylla had moments to shine as well, and the issue ended with Lex Luthor discovering a Mechagodzilla eye. Glad Godzilla won't be the only Toho character in the comic; that would've been a bit lame.

Godzilla: War for Humanity remaining a thrilling read, and the Super MOGUERA debuting in this issue is not to be missed. Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon starts with a content warning for depiction and discussion of attempted suicide, which certainly surprised me. It's another strong issue, neither callous nor didactic, and told so efficiently there's plenty of room for the titular bout (which sometimes has felt like an afterthought in Rivals stories). Also, Jet Jaguar talks—something Toho forbade in a comic earlier this year, for whatever reason. Anyway, he's exactly the 'bot you would expect him to be. Hope IDW can keep him chattering in the future.

You've probably seen my flurry of posts already, but it bears repeating: The Boulet Brothers' Dragula, a drag reality competition found on Shudder, aired a kaiju episode. Reality TV isn't my bag, but I thoroughly enjoyed the competitors' kaiju-inspired costumes and performances. I also kept ping-ponging between awe that Americans are just expected to know what a kaiju is now and yelling at the hosts for, say, not naming any kaiju outside of Toho's Big Five.

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Hot on the heels of the black-and-white re-release of Shin Godzilla comes Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, which has to be the best title one of these things has gotten. As with Shin, this is no mere filter; each shot in the film was regraded, with director Takashi Yamazaki striving for "a style that looked like it was taken by masters of monochrome photography." It opens in Japan on January 12; no word yet on whether it will play in any other country.

Godzilla will follow in the steps of pop culture fixtures like The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars with Godzilla: The Official Cookbook by Kayce Baker, due from Titan Books on September 10. (You can tell it's official because he's actually on the cover.) 60 recipes lie within. It's a given that I'm going to buy something Godzilla-related that's this silly; I just have to pick up another cookbook first so it won't be the first one I ever own.

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I was surprised to realize that McDonald's has never done anything Godzilla-related; far less prolific fast-food chains have worked with the monster, from White Castle to Carl's Jr. The first salvo in the campaign was pretty underwhelming—BE@ABRICK figures that can only be won via lottery, with an entirely plain Godzilla. That replica MogeGoji suit looked great in the ad, at least. Tokusatsu is being kept alive in the Godzilla franchise through some truly odd means. The follow-up ad/promo was a lot better, but that's a matter for next week's post.

This is at least kaiju-adjacent—James Wan's long-gestating The Call of Cthulhu movie seems to finally be going somewhere, as revealed in roundabout fashion by a Deadline article. I thought the 2005 silent version was just fine, but presumably this will be produced by his company Atomic Monster, which is long overdue for an actual giant monster movie.

#kaiju week in review #monarch legacy of monsters #godzilla #dragula #comics #idw #kaiju

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