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shadetale · 2 months

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Shadetale - First Entry

This was not what he was expecting his day to contain when he woke up that morning. No, he was expecting it to be like all the other mornings where he awoke at home alone, made himself tea and breakfast before going to his garden to care for the blooms there. It was a routine that he'd grown used to over the years and it was almost comfortable save the loneliness that plagued it. What he wouldn't give for the companionship that he'd once had before his wife left. He knew and understood the reason why, the disgust she'd had with his plan to take the human souls. However, he just… He just wanted what was best for his people and felt this was the best way.

Mentally the ruler of monsterkind shook away the morose thoughts and emotions dealing with the absence of his darling wife to focus instead on recalling the moment that brought him to this point. The phone call with his Royal Scientist Alphys as she wailed in a panic about something in the CORE going desperately wrong. It had to do with what was powering the great machine… or was it the by-product of the process? He couldn't recall and quite frankly this wasn't the time for reminiscing. He quietly scolded himself for such a waste of time as he came back to the present, staring at the door once more.

There were two things of note happening in the CORE at that moment as far as Asgore could see. One was the siren blaring impossibly loud, ringing in his ears constantly that made him want to cover them and run like all the other monsters that worked here. The second and more pressing matter was the great vault door he stood in front of was bulging, straining to contain whatever breach was happening on the other side. Even with the siren's blaring noise the king could still hear the metal groaning and bolts ricocheting as they gave way to the strain from his safe distance away. All this caused his fur to stand on end at the immeasurable wrongness he could feel from beyond that door.

This time as he looks to the door he noticed something strange was leaking from the cracks and crevices forming due to the bulging faults forming. It was black, the blackest substance he's ever seen but more concerning was how it writhed and shifted as more of it leaked through the door as if it was trying to pull itself out further. It sent shivers down his spine and he clutched his trident tighter to himself as he steeled himself. He couldn't panic and flee like the others. Asgore knew this but it still didn't make it easier to stand there before this unknown threat. He was the king and he would protect his people.

The monarch took a deep breath before turning to look into the camera nearby and nodded his head to it. He knew Alphys was watching, knew that she could open this barrier from the safety of the Lab. Hopefully all the workers had fled from the CORE by now and if not that they were far enough away that this wouldn't affect them. He watched as the light above the door came to life, flashing and adding another blaring horn to the cacophony of noise to signify the door opening and Asgore braced himself. Whatever this substance was he would do his best to investigate what it was and would try to get rid of it.

The second that the door cracked open it was like the floodgates were unleashed and the black ooze spilled forth. It was bubbling, roiling, and pulsing forward making a beeline toward where he stood. Asgore was frozen for a moment, staring in disbelief that this substance seemed to have a consciousness or awareness of its surroundings. Or perhaps he was overthinking this in his anxiousness over the situation. However that second of being frozen ended as he finally moved forward, eyes brightening as he summoned his magic to swing his trident in a brilliant blue arc to try and force it back while it moved forward towards him.

The gelatinous ooze recoiled from the hit, bubbles bursting to release a hissing sound. It seemed to Asgore that the substance actually felt pain from that and it emboldened him. If he could just back it away, force it back into containment his people would be safe. He summoned forth fire from his hands as he directed the blaze to the threat. It recoiled further, backing away from the heat and light coming from that attack. Asgore continued his assault, attack after attack, giving whatever this thing was no room for recovery and making it yield to his might. It continued to retreat, nearly all back behind the door once more and Asgore never relented. He would protect his people. He would.

It was all working in the King's mind as he pushed the substance back. It would soon be over and he could rest knowing that his people were safe but then things changed in a second. Suddenly it lashed forward with its own attack. A whip formed from its substance raced forward and wrapped around the king's arm as he prepared another fire attack. Asgore let out a cry of alarm and pain at the glacial coldness of the goo wrapped around his arm as he worked to pull it free. He managed to do just that and with his arm free he watched in horror as it began to darken at an alarming rate where the goo was. And then it began to spread up his arm and he faltered. It hurts! It was freezing where it touched, a painful cold that made even his fire feel lukewarm.

That moment of weakness was all this thing needed as it began its own assault. Globs of it were flung towards the king which he managed to deflect with his trusty trident. That is until it began to stick to the weapon, changing and corrupting it, turning it into that same substance. This all made Asgore stumble back, trying to dodge away in a haze of cold and pain from the mass that reached for him. It was no use though he couldn't avoid it all as it latched onto his injured arm and legs, spreading upward from there. It was unimaginable the amount of pain this caused, how it bogged down his mind so that he didn't even realize he was screaming out that agony. A single thought flitted through that haze of pain and cold - protect his people… protect his kingdom… protect… protect me… prOtecT ME!

Fear driving his actions at this thought that clearly was no longer his own he used all his might to pull free of the mass, ignoring the agony and cold that covered half his body and he tried to flee. Tried to run from this mass of consciousness and darkness. Tried to ignore the thoughts still lingering in his mind that were not his own, that were bogging down his movements and willpower. Tried to ignore the spreading pain and cold he looked to the camera closest to him and with what little power he did have left shouted.

"Alphys…! Alphys sound the alarm of this threat! Of this Void! Make sure all monsters know of us, keep them away from us! … keep them… from… becoming one with… us."

The longer he tried to fight it, trying desperately to maintain control of his mind to give this command to his scientist, the less he found the willpower to move. He didn't even notice as the Void surrounded him and began to cover him, corrupting more and more of him. How his thoughts no longer belonged to him alone. He was of them now and he couldn't understand why he'd fought so hard to escape. He would protect himself, themselves, from any threat. They needed to escape, to gain more power to free themselves from the prison that held them for so long.

It was time to move.

#shadetale #ut au #ut aus #undertale au #au undertale #undertale multiverse #undertale fandom

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bakushinverse · 1 year

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シン•機龍 | SHIN KIRYU Mechagodzilla Kiryu [MGK01] [The Biomechanical King]

“This was a mistake, this should have been stopped before it even began. Using Shin Gojira's flesh to build this monstrosity! No wonder Yoroi no Gojira came after us! This is an insult to mother nature herself!”

When Shin Gojira made its second landfall it was seriously wounded by GBU-57 MOP Bombs launched by American Aircraft, enormous pieces of flesh were blasted from it's back including several dorsal plates. These specimens were crucial in the success of Operation Yashiori and were subsequently stored in deep freeze by the Japanese Government. Months after this, Monarch requested several specimens to study citing “a cure for cancer” and “self sustaining power sources” as a potential outcomes. Permission was granted and Monarch began work on several avenues of research including an Operation to combat any similar creatures like Shin Gojira with a huge mecha. Dr Ishiro Serizawa, former colleague of Goro Maki, initially directed the operation however left to track and study the second Godzilla. Dr Shinzo Mafune took over Operation Kiryu and decided to incorporate organic components into the enormous MechaGodzilla despite the objections of Serizawa and colleagues.

Purple Auroras at the poles grow in intensity, a strange unknown radiation is detected in Antarctica and Yoroi Gojira is spotted swimming off the coast of South America with a spiky dinosaur like creature resembling an Ankylosaurus.

Height: 105m Attributes: • Organic tendons and ligaments created from the regenerative flesh of Shin Godzilla. • Absolute Zero Cannon in chest cavity • Laser cannons inside the mouth • Shoulderplates hold Anti-Aircraft Missiles • Capable of short flight • Concussive Wave fired from tail • Limited Power supply (5 hours max if power draining weapons are not used) • Arm mounted Railguns • Sonic Cannons • Has a limited Photon Shield however it is a huge drain on power • Capable of storing and using 30 tones of military grade ammunition in numerous in-built weapon systems. • Scientists have noted that the organic components have started fusing with the metal of the machine, almost becoming a virus of sorts.

__________________ ShinMonsterVerse Series FIRST | PREVIOUS | NEXT __________________

SHIN MONSTERVERSE INDEX

#mecha #kiryu #mechagodzilla #シン機龍 #シンゴジラ #bakunawaart #shin monsterverse #shin godzilla

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ceo-of-sloppy-men · 2 years

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Phineas Welles x Captain Headcanons

This is draft 2 or whatever because I accidentally lost the first draft ;-;

Phineas actually enjoys leaving his lab for a "vacation" but only if that vacation is to study flora and fauna on various worlds. He doesn't like people, but he does like plants and animals

He'll spend hours watching Mantisaurs from Devil's Peak (much to Hiram's frustration), and he loves the quiet wilds of Terra 2 far away from any actual settlement.

The Groundbreaker is one of the only settlements he actually can stand, mostly because they're anti-board (he likes Monarch too)

Just don't take him every day. He's fine with it if it's once a month (or preferably once a year)

He just doesn't like people too much. Even when he revives Hope colonists they're usually sent immediately back to the Hope

He actually started working on the Hope to revive people after it was cleaned up and repaired so that there weren't people in his lab

Which makes it harder to get him to rest because Phineas does not like sleeping, and will drink caffenoide to avoid such needless endeavours.

Thankfully he weighs as much as a canid and can easily be carried off to the Lab or the Unreliable/his ship

Please repair his ship. He's too busy to do it himself, and the sight of you covered in motor oil, arms deep in the belly of the ship is breathtaking to him. He's got a thing for people being helpful.

If you decided to be even more helpful, such as doing the sticky notes he forgets about around his lab, he's going to do something for you in exchange...

Cook!

Phineas can actually cook (pretty damn good too) he's just usually too busy to devote time to it

But if you check stuff off his to-do list, he doesn't mind whipping something up to repay you

Because of this, the Hope scientists suggested you should have a garden on the lab (saves money and helps the atmosphere processors)

A bonus of his cooking is that it actually satiates him long enough to convince him to get a decent nights rest

Once all the Hope's colonists are received (or enough scientists have been to do the process themselves) Phin has a lot more time on his hands

Which helps his sleep schedule a fuck ton

It's also much easier to get him to take a break with the Hope revived because the whole of Halcyon is no longer relying on his genius.

He can devote time to little projects, or simply having lengthy conversations with the Hope colonists about shared interests, and catching them up to speed on Halcyon

#phineas welles x reader #phineas vernon welles #phineas welles #tow #the outer worlds headcanons

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do-not-careissa · 2 years

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OmegaGuy (this one's a long one, like I struggled to get a grasp on what this story wanted to be long, aka the reason it was never finished. It's also pretty disjointed as is, so sorry for that).

Nothing sexual, but obviously does include alpha/beta/Omega designations and the like if that's not your thing

Humans were not the first life forms the Green Lantern Corps had encountered with such wildly varying genders and sexes. The guardians set rules and boundaries for them all the same. Upon inspecting the Earth's inhabitants and their tendencies, it was decided that only alphas and betas were got to be Green Lanterns. Alphas were the heads of societies after all, the most physically fit and the most intimidating, and betas were perfectly bland for what was needed out of a Green Lantern, they had no ruts or heats to slow them down, and where they lacked that additional punch of authority they instead had that much clearer of a head. Omegas, however, they could not be trusted with a ring. For one, with omegas being the child bearers of the race the guardians could not put it to chance that an omega might become incapacitated with child, costing the Corps one of its needed members. Two, omegas suffered from heats, and while alphas might also suffer from ruts, those did not have the same needs or lose of time that a heat required. And on the final note, they were far too weak. Humans themselves had deemed the sex as such, largely relegated to those safe occupations or even just kept at home to care for their young. They did not have the physicality required to be a Lantern, and the less said about their emotional imbalances the better. It had been said that many an omega was hysterical after all, largely in part to a barren womb. If the species' own scientists from centuries prior were saying this, then surely it meant something.

There would be no omegas in the Green Lantern Corps, and that was final.

But the guardians were far more ignorant than they allowed themselves to believe, their arrogance forcing them to miss that not only had they allowed an omega into their ranks, he'd almost been the first of his planet.

* John

John was the first to realize. The newest Earth recruit was barely half a year into his ring when I happened. He was good, John would give him that, brash and loud, but that didn't deter from the work he'd done or the skill he'd shown. But the way he stiffened up, the sudden halting of breath and the frenzied look John's way, Guy knew he'd fucked up.

They'd been sent on a search and rescue mission. Some monarch's daughter had gone missing out in 763 and it was their job to find her. It was meant to be a test for Guy, a way for him to prove he could reign in that loud and proud exterior and exude the calm every Lantern needed from time to time. Based on that coo he'd let out upon finding the girl, and the way he'd scooped her up and held her close, running his cheek over the top of her head, mindful of the antenna there, he'd passed his test with flying colors.

John never bothered to ask about Guy's designation, and neither had Hal thankfully. Quite frankly, John didn't think it was anyone's business. It was bad enough there had been restrictions put in place, forbidding omegas from serving as Green Lanterns, but John and Hal had both accepted that rule. The armed forces back home had the same standing after all, and for how much John hated it, he knew his place didn't involve asking questions, especially not here. So he'd gone under the assumption that Guy was a beta. While he might have the loud attitude and the large form of an alpha, he lacked the ruts that had caused both Hal and John himself to request leave during Guy's short time in the Corps. He was a beta, an outgoing, overconfident beta, but a beta nontheless.

Except he evidently wasn't.

Guy stared back at him, a sharp fear burning in those eyes of his as he held the alien child close, frozen as he awaited John's judgement. On Earth if an omega was found to have infiltrated an alpha space, whether it be law enforcement, military, anything, they weren't safe. At the least they'd be discharged immediately upon return to base, at worse, well, John didn't want to think of the stories he'd heard, the things his fellow soldier had bragged about doing.

While stories like Mulan were heralded as great works and examples of how omegas could move beyond their allotted roles in society, society was far from willing to actually allow such a thing to happen.

John watched Guy for another few seconds, considered the man before him. Guy was an omega, as a Green Lantern he was part of Hal's pack, he'd hidden his designation from his packmates. But did his designation really matter? He'd been chosen to be a Green Lantern, the ring sought him out even with the Guardian's limitations in place, hell he'd almost been chosen first, before even he or Hal. In the few months he'd been a Lantern he'd done some amazing work, he'd proven himself even if it seemed like he didn't believe that himself. So what he wasn't an alpha or beta, what did it really matter? Who was John to decide whether someone was worthy? And based on things they couldn't control? He'd be a liar and a hypocrite.

Taking one last glance at the man before him, to how tender he held the child even as he remained frozen in a crouch, he nodded and moved to help him up. "Let's get back to the Capitol," he said as he gently grabbed Guy's elbow and helped him stand. "We can report in once we're there."

Guy stared back at him, a question in his eyes that he was clearly too scared to ask, his throat constricting as he attempted to remain calm. "And then?" he asked quietly.

"Then we'll talk," John answered, his eyes darting to the girl in Guy's arms. He looked back to Guy, grabbing his shoulder in what he hoped came off as comforting and compassionate, squeezing just slightly as he rumbled deep in his throat. "Just the two of us, okay?"

The nod he received was hesitant and barely there, but it was there nonetheless.

Their trip back to the Capitol was left mostly in silence, only broken by the girl's questions and Guy's answers. It gave John even more time to think, and then more still as they reached the Capitol and handed the girl off to her parents. He spent the time mulling over what to do, how best to help Guy. He'd already made his decision, it wasn't a hard one really. Guy would be staying as a Green Lantern come hell or high water, and John was ready to be there to support him. But an Omega had needs, needs that had no doubt gone ignored during the months he'd spent on Oa. Between the lack of a nest, the lack of sufficient pack bonding, having to hide his omega instincts, it would all be detrimental to Guy's health if not dealt with accordingly. And then there was the matter of heats...

His blood ran cold at the thought, realization dawning as he looked to Guy in shock. In the amount of time Guy had been a Green Lantern most omegas would have had at least one or two heats, some more, but in all that time there'd been nothing. He hadn't asked for leave, hadn't disappeared for the week that a heat would take to be dealt with. Even with the strongest available suppressants he would have had a heat, or would be preparing for one by now. What the hell?

He didn't get a chance to ask, not for a few hours anyway, not with the celebration the monarch wanted to throw for his daughters return, and definitely not with so many strangers around. This was a conversation that needed to happen in private, not surrounded by hundreds of strangers.

It didn't happen until the late hours of the morning, with the two of them drained and worn out, lounging around in the room provided to them for the night. John remained by the wall, watching and waiting for Guy to give him the go ahead. An omega's space was precious and not to be infringed upon. Sure they'd shared space before, but that was under different circumstances, a different understanding. He couldn't help but watch how Guy moved, how not-omega-like he was in his movements and mannerism. How did he become like this? It couldn't be natural, it had to have been learned, trained into him. But why?

"Are you gonna get over here or are you planning on holding up the wall all night?" Guy asked from the bed, throwing himself back onto the mattress. "Thought you wanted to, uh, talk, and shit. Or did you wanna wait til morning?"

It wasn't a normal invitation, but he figured it was the best he was going to get. "Now's good," he said as he dropped down next to Guy, careful to keep a reasonable distance. "Unless you'd prefer we wait."

"No, no, now's good," Guy said, forcing himself up into a seated position. He ran a hand over his face, the strain of the day showing in his features as he stared ahead. It took a moment for him to collect himself, but by the time he was looking at John he'd be hard pressed to believe the man was as tired as he'd just shown.

"I'm not telling anyone," John began, making sure to keep his voice as steady as possible.

"But I'm an omega," Guy said slowly, confirming what they both knew by now. "And that's against GL rules. You're the by the book guy, why should I believe you'll be any different just because of this one thing?"

It was an understandable question, one John would be asking if their positions were reversed. Really, John had nothing to lose by outing him, it wouldn't ruin him or his reputation, if anything it would put him in a good light with the Guardians, if anything he has so much more to lose by not outing him. Who's to say what the consequences of keeping such information secret would be? How far the hammer would fall?

But at the end of it all, could he really live with himself if he told anyone? Sure as hell no.

"I care about you Guy," he said. Guy's reaction was almost immediate, that squinting of the eyes, the stiffening and closing of his posture, like he expected there to be a catch, some kind of payment for John's silence. "I'm not saying that as some alpha looking out for a poor defenseless omega Guy, I'm saying that as someone who cares about you, I'm saying that as your brother in ring, as a friend. I'm not going to tell anyone, but I need you to let me help you."

Guy huffed, his eyes rolling as far back as they could go. "And why the hell would I need your help John? I've been going at it for months on my own just fine, I don't see why I suddenly need your help."

* Kyle

For months Kyle regarded the day he'd become a Green Lantern as the greatest. In the span of one evening he'd gone from a nobody to a hero, had gone from a powerless, random Omega to one of the most powerful individuals in the universe, weilding a power ring just as his heroes had before him. He could have only dreamed of obtaining this power and position before, only hoped and prayed and lamented for the universe to turn in his favor. And it did! He was a Green Lantern, and not only that he was the first Omega Green Lantern, he was making history. He did what no Omega had done before.

Except that wasn't the case was it?

And to make matters just that much worse, for every good thing that ever seemed to happen to him, another tragedy would follow.

It didn't take long to learn of what became of Hal Jordan, to find out that he was the only Green Lantern left, that he was Ganthet's last ditch effort to save the Corps. Being the first omega didn't really mean much when there was no one else around, now was it? And it certainly didn't make it any easier when the realization crossed his mind that the only reason he was here, the only reason he'd been given this chance, was because of so many deaths.

Alex had made it easier to accept that knowledge, and by extension the responsibility that accompanied such a role. "This could all be one misunderstanding," she'd said one night, "but you're the one wearing that ring now, and you're the one that made the decision to be a hero. Are you really going to waste it like this?"

He could still remember her voice, could remember her scent and the feeling of her hands, the love he'd felt for her and the love she'd felt for him back. They'd had their differences, had even separated before he got the ring. Most would say it was for the best, two omegas in a committed monogamous relationship wasn't exactly regarded that highly in the public eye, some going so far as to call it an abomination. But they loved each other and they were finally working through their problems, Kyle was finally growing away from being a whiny pup who wanted her attention without the effort and was becoming a man who could take care of and provide for her.

Unfortunately for him the universe didn't care. In the span of a few hours Alex was ripped away from him, murdered in her own apartment while he was answering cries for help. The image of her body, of her limbs twisted and broken and bent in ways they were never meant to, etched itself into his mind, dragging screams of anguish from him until his throat was raw and ruined.

He was alone, alone and hurting and in so much pain, and there was no one to ease it.

*Hal

"Well well well, if it isn't the great, the powerful, the oh so legendary, Hal Jordan, here to gift us with his presence."

There were more than a few things Hal had to get used to again after coming back. Even with his time spent as the Spectre, there were distinct differences between that plane of being and this new, very human one. He'd been here before, yes, but it all felt so new now, so different.

He could rember the banalities of human life from years past, from before he'd let fear overtake him. Small things like breathing, the small push to sit up in the morning, the pangs of hunger, and the drowsiness of exhaustion, they all felt so much more important now, so much more and human. He wanted, needed, to savor it all.

Just as he needed to savor those little, everyday occurrences, he needed to savor the not so everyday happenings. He'd been given a second chance, multiple even. Here he was, alive and whole, with a ring on his finger and the power of his will flowing through his veins. Somehow he'd been given a second chance with the ring, a chance he'd never expected to get even though he craved it with all his being. The Corps had been decimated because of him, left with nothing but Ganthet and a single ring. Yet here he was, amongst this new Corps, amongst these Lanterns both new and old. How could this have happened? Surely it was a mistake. People didn't just get second chances like this, no one did. Yeah there were others who confronted him, who made it clear he wasn't welcome or trusted, but then he'd have someone else step in, someone who made it clear they were on his side.

Somehow Guy was one of those people,and for the life of him he couldn't figure out how.

Even before Parallax they'd been at each other's throats, more than ready to rip each to shreds. Betas were usually pretty calm, keeping out of trouble and resolving those sorts of fights quickly, but there Guy was unwilling to back down no matter how outmatched he was. It had made Hal wonder for the longest time if he was wrong about Guy's designation, there were aggressive betas, but this, this was something else entirely, something he'd only ever seen in alphas.

Maybe it was just a learned behavior, Guy had been open enough with him and John about his childhood and his father, maybe that old son of a bitch had something to do with.

But now, years later, there was something else off, something much stranger. Hal could accept Guy's closeness to Kyle, between Guy and John those two were really Kyle's only connection to the Corps for the longest while. It would make sense that they'd create a bond of some kind. And with how tight John and Guy had been back in the day, it also made sense that it had continued on into today, whatever pack they'd had from their time with Hal had shifted to suit their new needs, seemingly drawing Kyle in. And with him the pack seemed so much closer, so much more complete. Even from a distance Hal could see it. Kyle brought to them what their pack had been lacking, completing the circle and finally gifting to the pack an omega.

That wasn't to say Hal only saw him through his designation, not at all. Kyle was resourceful, cunning, and so damn good with that ring, Hal practically forgot about his designation. But then Kyle would take off his scent blockers, or drag someone in close and scent them, or demand everyone in the vacinity gather round for a cuddle pile because he wasn't feeling well. Hal loved those moments, finally getting the chance to be pulled in with the others without worry for scorn or derision. But he'd always notice Guy off to the side, an unreadable expression on his face as he rubbed at his neck.

The gesture bugged him, something about it feeling off even if he couldn't figure out what it was. Guy had always been a bit more reserved in his displays of affection in the past, especially when it came to the pack. He'd always preferred to wait until they were behind closed doors to say or do anything, his voice gruff and closed off whenever Hal asked why. Seeing it now, he had to wonder if that was still the case, and if so why.

* Kilowog

The return to the Corps was...Interesting to say the least. Having just Rayner and then Stewart running around with a ring had been an adjustment, and that was before he'd had his body restored and a new ring put on his finger. Returning to the Corps, even if it was only the three of them and Ganthet, had felt like coming home. All things considered, it was.

Then came Jordan's return, and with it his and Gardner's return to the ring. Kilowog had almost cried tears of joy at seeing Hal, very much alive and not possessed by the yellow impurity. He'd managed to wait until Batman and the other Earth heroes were gone before he'd pulled the pilot into a spine shattering hug, but only just barely. And then he'd grabbed Guy, the man's joyful laughter filling the air around, and as he pulled him close he realized something was off, something was different. He couldn't quite place it, the echoes of their battle with Parallax and the adrenaline that accompanied it still racing through him, but he made a mental note to figure it out later, to check in on it and make sure his friend and fellow Corpsman was well. If anything the strangeness might have just been a result of the recent trauma Guy had gone through, a byproduct of his Vuldarian dna going haywire and causing his body to practically turn itself inside out. It would be much weirder if he was completely fine. Whatever it was, he could figure it out later.

Unfortunately later came a lot later. Between the new rings going out, training the new recruits, and then dealing with the mess with the Spider Guild, he'd hardly had a moment to himself, let alone enough of one to check on his Earth friend. Recruits were his priority as the Corps's trainer after all, his own personal concerns needed to be set aside to tend to them. Though he supposed that was something he and Guy shared now, wasn't it? The two of them alongside Kyle and the other veteran Lanterns all stood as the trainers of the hundreds of recruits, their leaders and moral compass, their example. While Kyle and the others had accepted the role with pride, Guy hadn't been as forthcoming.

"I'm not a teacher," he'd said, something which had confused Kilowog immensely. Guy had been a teacher, had counseled prisoners and taught children with needs that others were not equipped for, Kilowog knew that, Guy knew that, so why would he say otherwise? When they were struggling against the Spider Guild he'd rallied everyone together, he'd pulled them together and pushed them to victory, even those rookies that were scared shitless. If anyone was fit for the job it was him.

Did it have to do with whatever was different? Kilowog hadn't gotten a chance to ask about it. Maybe that was it.

He looked around the decimated Oan landscape to where everyone was working, watched as Lanterns rebuilt the parts of the planet that had been broken while others like Natu worked to help those that were hurt. He caught sight of his Earth friends, the four of them working with different recruits on various projects. It didn't escape his sight how dazed Hal seemed, with his eyebrows pinched and his gaze set unwaveringly on Guy, even as he lifted the fallen structure before him with ease. So he noticed it too, whatever this was.

Kilowog waved to the man, barely receiving a responding wave before he turned to head in Guy's direction. Whatever was off he needed to figure it out.

Guy nodded at his arrival, laughing and joking, before turning his attention back to the surrounding recruits, and that's when he realized his scent was off. Smell was always odd off of one's home world, the burning of a planets ozone, the stillness of space, and the atmosphere of whatever planet you landed on all working to alter ones scent. But even with all of that taken into consideration, he knew Guy's was off. Even the years since his last stint as a Lantern couldn't account for this sweet smell. He'd always smelled very neutral, not too sweet or spicy or bitter, no one smell overpowering him that he could remember. Yet here he floated, smelling of burnt Earth wood. It was off putting to say the least.

Humans didn't normally change their scents right? At least not like this. He knew of their odd genders and sexes, the alphas like Hal and John with their musky and earthy smells, the omegas like Kyle with their restrained but pleasantly sweet smells-so long as they were happy and scent blockers were not in use-, and the betas with their muted or even complete lack of a smell. Kilowog had never been able to smell Guy outside of normal acquired scents, he'd always been nonexistent to the Bolovaxian's nose. But taking a nice, deep breath, pulling in the surrounding air, it was undeniable. Guy smelled less like nothing and more like Kyle.

"You okay ya big butt head?" Guy asked with a light hearted shove. "You're looking like your head's about to pop."

Kilowog looked him over, not noticing any differences in him physically other than his altered hairstyle and the few additional lines that age had brought him. He breathed in one more time, that wood smell still there, still radiating off of Guy, and he had to know. "You smell different Poozer." He said it like a joke, adding in a small grin as he grabbed Guy's shoulder. "Trying to attract the new recruits? Smell's important to more than a few of their races."

In a flash the color drained from Guy's already pale face, his hand rushing up to slap over his covered neck, reaching under the material of his uniform for something Kilowog couldn't see. He threw his head back, eliciting a groan before following it up with an exclamation of "Fuck!" More than a few recruits turned around, scandalized at whatever their rings had translated the word as. Kilowog waved them away with a glare, grabbing Guy's shoulder to pull him somewhere private and away from the hundreds of eyes currently watching them. Whatever this was Guy clearly wasn't comfortable with it, and the last thing Kilowog wanted was to make it worse.

The other Earth Lanterns watched them go, Kyle and John with knowing looks, and Hal with one of worry and a little panic. Did he know what this was? Or was he as lost as Kilowog was?

"Are you okay?" He asked once they were well away from the others. Guy's face was firmly planted in his hands, waves of frustration rolling off of him as something soured the aired.

"No," he finally answered, forcing himself to look up at the alien towering over him before he started pacing around the space, running his hands over his head. "I'm not. I can't fucking believe, I know that I, it was there before, some fucker must've got a lucky shot, god dman it. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Guy, my friend, you c'n trust me, you know that," Kilowog said as he found a perch to sit on. "What wasn't supposed to happen?"

Guy stopped in his pacing, looking out of their space to the work being done, a sudden look of exhaustion coming over him. He hadn't rested in a while, had he? Not since before that recruit training session turned mission brief. The others had taken time to at least sit down, to be looked over for any medical needs, or even to rest for a bit. Guy hadn't.

"My scent blockers," Guy answered, squeezing himself in next to Kilowog as he reached into his shirt, pulling out a small skin like pad. "There's supposed to be two of them, one of them must've come lose during that final bit with the Guild. You're not supposed to be able to smell me big guy."

Kilowog reached down slowly, taking the small square once Guy nodded his approval. He held it up, looked it over for any oddities. It was small, smaller than one of his fingers, with a color that matched Guy's flesh almost exactly on one side, and an adhesive, white color on the other. He took a small sniff of the material, and in an instant his nose was filled with various smells and the feelings connected to them. He knew what this was, Hal had explained it to him years ago when Hal had first been inducted into the ranks of the Green Lanterns, the alpha having worn them as a way to keep his head clear and to not give away his emotions.

"You're not a beta then," Kilowog stated as he handed the square back. "I don't understand why you would be concerned over that. This is a new Corps, we trust each other here, you don't need to hide."

The look Guy gave him screamed of confusion, like he'd expected something much worse, something condemning. "You're not..."

"Why would I be? It doesn't change anything. You're still the same Poozer I knew before, you just smell different, that's all."

Guy nodded, fisting the used up blocker into a ball as he hung his head. Watching him, Kilowog went through the options that were left, what he could do. While he understood his own race's sexes and their unique characteristics, his knowledge of Earth's was still limited to what little information Hal had given him all those years ago and what little he'd observed on Earth. And for all he knew that could've changed. He didn't want to assume anything, not with his friend clearly so anxious.

"Is that why y' didn't wanna teach the new recruits?" He asked. "You thought the Guardians were stereotyping you?"

"Sorta?" Guy leaned into him, his head cushioning itself into the side of his chest with little resistance. "I mean, I wanted more action and stuff too, thought they were sidelining me compared to John and Hal, and considering Kyle was gonna be the only other one with me, well. Putting the two omegas as trainers and the two alphas on the front lines has some, implications, if you get my meaning."

"But the Guardians don't know," Kilowog said. "At least, they didn't seem to before."

"Ganthet knows."

"Do you really think he'd hold that over you? Especially now? After Kyle?"

"I've known people to do a worse heel face turn, I wouldn't be surprised."

There wasn't much to be said for that. Guy was right after all. Kilowog had been on Earth enough, had seen how some humans treated others based on their designation. He could remember the phrases "You're really good for an omega" and "Why can't other omegas just be like you?" clear as day, that implication that these people were less capable just by virtue of existing. He'd also seen the extent of human brutality, how manipulative they could be. If he had it his way his Earth friends would never return to that planet, he'd keep them away from those horrible people with their horrible lies and words, but he knew he'd be no better if he did. His friends deserved to make their own choices and go where they wanted, he just needed to be prepared if they ever needed him.

"Well," he finally said, pulling Guy even closer to his side as he leaned down to nuzzle his head. "If they ever try anything they'll be dealing with a lot more than just you."

"Is that so?"

"Heh, between me, your Earth brothers, and those recruits out there, the Guardians stand no chance against us."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that big K," Guy said, patting the hand on his side.

"Overcome your fear Poozer," Kilowog said with a joking lilt to his voice, running his hand over the little bit of hair on Guy's head. "Trust your fellow Lanterns, believe in them. They care a lot less about your human designations than you meat sacks think they do."

"Fine fine." Guy's laughter flowed again, bringing peace along with it. "We'll see."

"We better."

#she's a long one #is this still considered a snippet at this length #fic ideas #this ones just come out way too disjointed for me to feel good continuing with it #kilowogs part id say is the most fleshed out #with kyles as the least #hints of guyhal in there if you really squint #that was the original intention when it started #but alas #here we are #green lantern #omegaguy

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hrodvitnon · 2 years

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I haven't really told you anything about my pitched "main" AU story, right? One of the main ideas is that Monster X (who will be in their second form for the vast majority), or rather Vivienne specifically, is constantly trying to return to some semblance of a human life. It doesn't matter if she's a hundred-foot long lizard with two heads now; she's still a scientist, dammit, and she'd want to be recognized as such in Monarch. Have an official title like she used to, be reinstated as active staff, be kept up to date on Monarch's latest projects, study herself with research assistance in laboratory conditions. San protests, but she gently convinces him (and he reluctantly accepts) and besides, it's nowhere near as intrusive or torturous as what they've endured before. Not when she's technically the head of research.

But there's other things she's aching for, too. Human relationships, anything which can make her feel normal again.

The theme for mood

Relationships like trying to rekindle her flame with Ling. An invitation to a firefly-light dinner near Monster X's nest in the wild. "Dining with a Titan", now that's something nobody's ever experienced before. Talking about what their lives have been like, trying to act like everything's normal. How they drifted apart, and why. Vivienne asking - begging, quietly - if they can make things as they were again. Ling having to quietly reject, even if its clear something in her achingly yearns to reciprocate. It's just... she can't. Small, subtle, harsh reminders of the humanity she can never regain again.

---

Oh, this... I like this a lot. It rather harkens back to Ishirō Honda's quote that "Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. [...] That is their tragedy." And here is a Vivienne half of Monster X desperately holding onto her past normalcy when she can never be normal again, who doesn't want to accept that one day she's going to outlive everyone she knows and loves - even Ling.

In fact I can actually see this Vivienne slowly beginning to hate the fact that for all her monstrous qualities, her hands can still appear relatively human. Sure, they're covered in dark leathery hide and natural exoskeletal armor and tipped with lethal claws, but the shape is the same. All the things she used to do as a human, from jotting down quick notes to gripping a steering wheel to running her fingers through Ling's hair... those are things she will never do again.

#submission #abraxasverse #monster x!graham #ling chen

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adultswim2021 · 2 years

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The Venture Bros. #23: “Fallen Arches” | September 3, 2006 – 10:30PM | S02E08

This is a weird one. It's overstuffed with several subplots and none of them are super strong. Unfortunately I only remember this one for the bits I don't like, which are 21 & 24 trying to become full-fledged arch villains instead of henchmen and wearing double dare outfits, and the Monarch doing Saw stuff with a prostitute. Those two stories intersect in a gaggy way, and both could slide out of the episode very easily.

The prostitute plot originated as a scene that was deleted from the Trial episode in season one: the Monarch hires a prostitute to dress like Dr. Girlfriend and keeps telling her to make her voice go lower. From what's said on the commentary it seems like that was it. I seem to recall Jackson noting that fans generally don't like the Monarch being actually evil, and used the prostitute scenes as a for-instance.

Maybe this is because I follow a lot of strippers on instagram but I’ve noticed a rise in feminist critiques regarding plots like this; people pushing back against the trope of sex workers being targets for murder, being seen as more worthless than non-prostitutes in the eyes of fictional bad guys and also probably the mostly male writers who write scenes like this. I’m not trying to discourage people from writing rude, indecent comedy. I cherish most forms of comedy that is inherently rude-as-hell. I am just coping to having a mild sensitivity to it. On top of everything, it's just kinda tropey and easy to come up with. At the very least jokes involving hookers in danger should be considered a little over-done.

Onto the better stuff in the episode: Dr. Orpheus has received approval for an arch nemesis from the Guild of Calamitous Intent. He also gets a copy of a video sales pitch that shows why people would bother to go through these official channels in the first place. The Guild is kind of a bureaucratic governing body that exists to keep crazy costumed villains and super-heroes and super-scientists somewhat in line. The idea is that these activities are legal as long as you follow certain guidelines and stuff. This is all stuff that is sorta hinted at in the show, but probably never made as explicit before as it is here. In my opinion, this video pitch and this subplot is pretty good and funny, but there are moments and scenes after this that similarly get into the weeds of the Guild that I think sorta hamper the humor of the show a little bit. Right now we're in the sweet spot.

Dr. Orpheus has the Ventures sorta sit, or “entertain” Triana. Dean comically misunderstands this and thinks he's supposed to put on a dorky play for her. This misunderstanding is impossible to be swayed. I guess I could complain that it's a little too naive of Dean to be thinking in these terms, but truth is this subplot only really exists for Triana to wind up getting kidnapped by one of Orpheus' would-be arch villains, so I guess it doesn't wind up mattering much that it's a little weak.

Venture is also trying to drum up business for his walking eye, which doesn't seem that useful. There's scads of villains waiting to interview with Orpheus and his team (his approval is contingent on him having a team, so he has to go out and find one). This ends with him washing it seductively in front of them and getting them all to attack it, hoping it'll drum up publicity.

Several debuts in this episode, making it “officially important”: Orpheus gets The Alchamist (voiced by Dana Snyder! We don't get enough of him on Adult Swim!) and Jefferson Twilight, a Blacula hunter. We also see Dr. Girlfriend as her Lady Au Pair alter ego, with her murderous moppets. I still think about an extremely hot girl I sat next to during a comic-con panel dressed like her, using baby dolls as the moppets. Girl if you are reading this give me a shout, I wanna know wazzup, especially if you are a sex worker now, a profession I definitely respect.

Overall I wound up liking this episode. It’s a little messy and uneven and nothing is particularly strong, but I think I’m a sucker for episodes that mostly just take place at the Venture compound. It’s liking getting to go over to a friend’s house. I love my friends, the Venture Bros, who are barely in this. They are real and I can speak to them :)

youtube

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #the venture bros.

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wyrmfedgrave · 4 months

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Pics:

1. Godzilla way too close!

2. King Kong up close!

3. King Kong's full body exposure!!

4. Godzilla's truly impressive bod!!

5. Mothra's amazing looking wing span!

6. Ghidorah, the best Kaiju/Titan villain around!!

7. "Western" Hollow Earth map.

8. "Eastern" Hollow Earth map.

Note: A little from the middle of the maps is missing... There's still mystery out there! Or, should that be IN there?

1906: The Earth (is) Not Hollow.

Intro: Our modern Monarch Monster Verse is an American multi-media shared universe & franchise.

The series on TV & the big screen feature a mix of new & classic Kaiju/Titans. Basically, a monstrous MCU.

The whole series concists of:

1. "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" a 2023 Apple TV spin-off that jumps between the 1950s & the aftermath of Godzilla's reboot.

Explains how the U.S. military tried to kill Godzilla - in 1952! This led the 1st Kaiju to stay dormant until 2014.

2. "Kong", premiered in 2017 but takes place during 1973.

A Monarch team searches for giants in a newly discovered island.

And, a scientist looks for proof on the Hollow Earth Theory.

But, an encounter with the last 'king' of Skull Island turns into a fight for survival.

(I blame Samuel L. Jackson!)

3. 2014's "Godzilla" has 2 titanic insectoids waking up to mate!

Luckily, Godzilla's hunting them down - being the apex predator & all...

Meanwhile, a somber Bryan Cranston (& son) look into the atomic accident that killed his wife.

(Hello! And, released the insectoids!!)

4. 2019's "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" shows what happens when eco-terrorists allow the other Titans to awake!

Worse, the other Titans don't dare to challenge Ghidorah, who wants to terraform our planet!!

Godzilla's the only Titan willing to put up a fight...

5. 2021's "Godzilla vs King Kong" actually occurs in 2024!

A corporation manipulates Godzilla & Kong into fighting themselves.

Millie Bobby Brown works to uncover why - inside the Apex Corporation.

Meanwhile, scientists send Kong into the Hollow Earth - searching for a new power source.

Together, Kong & Godzilla are forced to fight against Mecha-zilla, who's being guided by Ghidorah's mind!!!

April, 2024's "Godzilla X King Kong" timescape is as yet unknown. Though, 2024 feels right.

Kong & Godzilla team up again.

(They're really milking the two Titan's "friendship.")

This time they're fighting Scar King, a new threat who might just be the true king of the Hollow Earth...

(Sounds like fun.)

#earth not hollow #weird geology #scifi fantasy #aside #adventure #kaiju #King Kong x Godzilla

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usagirotten · 5 months

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REVIEW: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is an impeccable, surprising, exciting and almost perfect series

A concept that is very fashionable in the entertainment industry is parallel universes and multiverses, other places with almost identical characters, we already saw this concept more specifically with The Flash or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on a large scale. This is very interesting when it is carried out well and the context is perfectly understood, each one has even had a name that evokes the franchise they represent in film and television, MCU, DCU, Monster Verse, this referred to what that Universal Studios wanted to do with its classic monsters that began with The Mummy (2017) starring Tom Cruise and although it was a freer version it promised that the following projects would give shape and meaning to this universe and it did not work. Although the term Monster Verse is in the public domain, it was Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures who knew how to take advantage of it since 2014 with the release of Godzilla, the North American version of the popular Japanese Kaiju. As part of this extended monster verse, Apple TV premieres a new series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters in which we will see in more detail what has happened how this mysterious organization was founded, and what role it has played throughout. years in his supposed protection of humanity from those titans who are believed to want to dominate the planet.

What is the series about?

After surviving Godzilla's attack on San Francisco, a creepy secret once again surprises Cate (Anna Sawai). Amid monstrous threats, she embarks on a worldwide adventure to discover the truth about her father, her family, and the mysterious organization known as Monarch. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as a television series is an excellent work that complements and contributes to that Monster Verse from the perspective of those affected by this destructive invasion of a colossal titan called Godzilla. The history of this monstrous character over the decades has caused expectations in different generations. The attempts to make it's North American version have had failures and major failures. Ronald Emmerich, under pressure from the studios, tried to do the same with his version of Godzilla in 1998 continued in an animated series that only had 2 seasons and intended to continue with its already terrible history. The reinterpretation of and the invention of new characters has given us the advantage of having something that we like as viewers and with which we can identify, some out of nostalgia and others because they know the modern versions of the classics have supported these projects that are ushering in a new era. Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island (2017) directed by Gareth Edwards and Jordan Vogt-Roberts respectively are the basis for this series to reveal the secrets of this organization called Monarch, which is a sub-organization created by the US government to stop threats. kaiju around the world, as expected, their intentions have a double meaning that we have already seen throughout these films. The series is currently broadcast on the Apple TV platform. It already has 3 episodes which are: 1. Aftermath. Cate (Anna Sawai) travels to Japan to get answers about her father. She discovers a shocking secret while in the past scientist Keiko (Mari Yamamoto), a young military adventurer Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell), and cryptozoologist Bill Randa (Anders Holm) follow a theory that will lead them to discover that the myth of the titans that inhabit our planet is true.

The episode opens with the sequence that we had already seen in Kong: Skull Island and the surprising appearance of this titan and its attack on the helicopters, the escape of Bill Randa (John Goodman) from a giant spider, when he finds himself trapped he carries a briefcase with recorded tapes and notes that he throws into the river while a giant crustacean fights with the arachnid, then we have the part that perhaps we all wanted to see, Godzilla attacking San Francisco on the Golden Gate Bridge, from this moment the series is telling us which part of the story We will see it from the point of view of an ordinary person who has witnessed these attacks, the sequence defines and conveys perfectly well how impressive and traumatic this event is for Cate, the school bus in which she was traveling is on the edge and about to fall, in a desperate attempt he tries to save all the children but fails, the plot is divided into subplots and these are told as flashbacks, the change between the past and the present and the presentation of characters can be confusing and even more so if you do not have the previous background of these 2 films, each event is explained little by little, for example when we discover that Keiko is the grandmother of Cate and Kentaro and we see her supposed death when she is attacked by giant insects, everything is worth it. It's another great scene that magnificently shows the desperation of the character, the central axis of this is discovering the origins of Monarch as an organization. 2. Departure. Monarch wants Cate's recently discovered files, Kentaro (Ren Watabe) and May (Kiersey Clemons) put them in the sights of this organization who follow them closely, while Keiko, Lee, and Billy make an important discovery that will change the course. of things and possibly the existence of humanity on the planet.

In this episode we can already see more emotional scenes that can fall into drama, Emiko and Kentaro accept that the father of this family was not what they believed and much less knew his activities, although the plot that they are developing in the present is good, almost nothing important happens and this is because they are still presenting things and better defining the characters in the past and how they are placing the events within this universe, the plot of Keiko and her relationship with Lee when she meets a young man Bill's mission is to find an impossible creature known as the dragon, but even so, all this only serves to help us understand how this friendship and search team is being forged and not so much about the creatures and Monarch, the narrative structure of this episode is very similar to what we have seen in the movies and balances very well what is happening before and what is happening in the future, we know that in each episode we will see a new and different creature like Godzilla and the insects in the first episode. 3. Secrets and Lies. An elderly Shaw (Kurt Russell) leads the team he has formed with Cate, Kentaro, and May on a dangerous mission to Alaska in search of Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira) who mysteriously disappeared while Keiko, Lee, and Billy present their findings to General Puckett who Skeptic of the discovery he will soon discover that everything they have said is true as he tries to destroy the alpha titan, Godzilla. This episode is more dynamic than the previous ones, we see a very interesting flashback about the army's first attack on Godzilla, we can complain and say that the sequence is not as presented in the 2014 film but what does it matter if what they are doing It is to restructure everything so that we better understand the order of things and how they are happening, it is exciting to see that the plot is already becoming more solid in terms of the characters, the presentations are over and now comes the development and motivations of each one, almost At the end of the episode we see the emotional moment between Cate and Du-Ho about what they have seen and what they are about to face, this team already has a clear idea of where they are going and what they want to know about Monarch, the best thing about this episode is still the presentation of the creatures, in Alaska they are attacked by a mole-like monster that can freeze things, this is a big step in the series because not only will we see the past but they will also have to deal with these titans in the present. The 3 episodes of 10 that make up this first season have been spectacular, we can say that Apple TV Plus is risking too much with this proposal, this may be because Godzilla: Minus One is already premiering in Japan, on the one hand, and the other, they want to connect and make more concrete in this universe with the 2024 premiere of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, it is inevitable not to make comparisons between what Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. are presenting with what Toho Co. Ltd. studios have been doing for decades. In Japan, let's clarify that each thing is different and has no relationship between them, each one belongs to a different universe if we put it in that context.

Something that has characterized these productions about kaiju is the fact that the stories of the human characters are more relevant than the creatures themselves and it is the rule to follow in this series, writers Chris Black and Matt Fraction have drawn all this partially out of nothing, although we know from the beginning that there is an evil organization with very sinister purposes for humanity that is behind everything that happens, giving it meaning and an origin that explains to us what we already know and what What we are about to see is one of the great successes. Every detail has been meticulously taken care of so that as viewers we sympathize with humans to the point that they have normalized in Japan the use of weapons and announcements of shelters in case of an unexpected attack, humanity as such in this universe is already prepared and has aware that these threats arise and we must confront them if we want to continue defending our place as a society and humanity on the planet. The directors Matt Shakman and Julian Holmes are the ones who in these 3 episodes manage to synchronize the script and the events very well without letting it look and feel fluid, the narrative is so agile that we can notice the change in direction, each one understands perfectly well the things and the vision they have about this project, although there are action sequences, they are not so exaggerated, the same happens with the comedy and drama parts. The special effects are impressive, Apple TV Plus has not spared a single cent in spectacularly presenting things, the setting, the photography, the locations, and the measured use of CGI find a balance in what we are seeing, so much so that the duration of each episode is over 40 min seem to be insufficient for everything we have to discover as viewers and what they want to present to us. Perhaps the biggest flaw it has is obvious, the series is supported by the previous material that without that is incomprehensible, even more so by the changes between times and sequences, we must be aware as an audience that if we see this series of 10 long episodes it is because the studio assumes and assumes that we already know at least the basics, they are not trying to play with us but rather to make things clear from the beginning so as not to waste screen time on things that they have to tell us again. The cast so far is made up of Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, Elisa Lasowski, Wyatt Russell, and Kurt Russell with the special participation of John Goodman, each of them is doing the best they can. They have and more so that these characters seem more empathetic and unforgettable than boring, each one understands perfectly well the characteristics that each one has, the dramatic moments are genuine, a good job at the height of a great production. The music composed by Leopold Ross (Black Mirror) is undoubtedly one more character in this entire project, pieces with samples of works that we have already heard before in Godzilla with Alexandre Desplat and in Kong by Henry Jackman are present in a subtle way without leaving to give it your style and personality. In conclusion, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is an almost perfect exercise in what a good spin-off can be, an impeccable production that is shaping up to be one of the best series of 2023. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is now available on the Apple TV platform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLHsM4bpfxY Read the full article

#AppleTVPlusOriginals

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novelemporiumonline · 10 months

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Real Antique notes

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ausetkmt · 11 months

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The Guardian: ‘Colonialism lingers’: Belize shrugs off coronation amid calls for reparations

When Dr Harold Young, an eminent Belizean political scientist, takes visitors on a journey around Belize City, the first stop is an unremarkable building, whose basement entrance is partly shrouded by creeping pink bougainvillea.

Its padlocked gates and broken windows back on to a parking lot in the city’s historic centre. Most passersby ignore the innocuous plaque outside. Belize, a country of 400,000 citizens, is geographically located in Central America but a part of the English-speaking Caribbean. A former British settlement and then colony, it is one of the region’s eight remaining Commonwealth realms – independent countries where the monarch remains the head of state.

Belize is the only Commonwealth realm King Charles has never visited.

But for those who are aware, the building serves as a horrifying reminder of the brutality of British rule here. “It’s the last remnants of a holding dungeon for slaves,” Young says. “Before they were put out for sale.”

Unlike the island states in the Caribbean, where plantation slavery underpinned the colonial economy, enslaved labour in Belize revolved around the logging of mahogany at camps in the country’s interior.

The major settlements in British Honduras, as it was known until 1973, were thus sparsely populated, and the remnants of violent enslavement are now mostly absent from public view.

The building’s story has been passed down for generations, and is noted in certain tourist literature. But the historic plaque outside, while acknowledging its use in the mahogany trade, presents its connections to slavery merely as “local folklore”.

As Young describes it, the building is a symbol of a broader identity crisis here, associated with the intimacy of colonialism itself and wounds that have not healed well into independence. History is still not fully told. Crimes remain unacknowledged.

“That colonialism,” he says. “It still lingers.”

But as the United Kingdom prepares to crown its new king, the citizens of Belize are laying the groundwork for a similarly historic event: they could be the first nation to remove Charles as head of state.

In November last year, the recently elected centre-left government announced that a people’s commission would review the country’s constitution – written at the time of its independence in 1981. A year earlier, a resolution in parliamentcalled for reparatory justice from the United Kingdom “on behalf of the former slaves and their descendants”.

Asked what relevance the coronation has to the lives of Belizeans, Briceño was honest: “There is no excitement,” he said. “We are so far away from the UK … You don’t see people taking out their Union Jack flags or anything.”

Briceño is unable to travel to the event in London, although Belize’s governor general will attend. There will be no public holiday here.

Walking around Belize City’s historic downtown, where an old Post Office building still bears the insignia of Elizabeth II and an occasional red post box is spotted on the street, it is hard to dispute Briceño’s frank assessment.

“It is time that the head of state, both ceremonial and legally, be Belize and Belizian,” says Orson “OJ” Elrington, an attorney and member of the constitutional commission. . He admits he did not know the coronation was due to take place within a week. “It is more than just symbolism. Ultimately it is the last stage of our decolonization. It is the last stage of true independence.”

Belize is not alone in pushing forward constitutional reform efforts. Following the Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley’s decision to use her party’s parliamentary supermajority to transition the country into a republic, discussions over the future of the British monarchy have accelerated throughout the region.

Now, officials in seven of the remaining realm countries in the Caribbean have indicated they will seek to follow the same path – thoughtimetables, procedures and government commitment vary in each country. Belize is the only remaining state in the Caribbean where, as in Barbados, the monarchy could be removed without a referendum. Briceño has committed to holding a referendum on the recommendations of the constitutional commission – but he did not rule out the possibility of removing the monarchy with a vote in parliament.

“Referenda come at the end of a long process, so change elsewhere [in the Caribbean] will not come overnight,” said Dr Kate Quinn, associate professor in Caribbean history at University College London. “And the outcome of referenda in general is unpredictable. There’s a danger that they become polls on the government of the day rather than the issues on the card. If the issue of moving to a republic becomes strongly associated with one party over another, they can be scuppered by partisan politics.”

Such debate is far from new to the English-speaking Caribbean and did not begin with Barbados’s decision in 2021, nor the death of Queen Elizabeth last year. Carried by a wave of Black nationalism and socialism, three former British colonies, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the newly independent Dominica, removed the monarch as head of state throughout the 1970s. Alternatives to the crown had been debated in popular circles long before even then.

Quinn, who is part of a research project, The Visible Crown, examining the history of the Caribbean’s relationship with the monarchy, points to groups like the early Rastafarians in Jamaica during the 1930s, whose belief in the divinity of Haile Selassie was itself viewed as an act of sedition.

Still, symbolism and imagery of the current moment – from the impending coronation to recent royal tours – matter, particularly as relations between the English-speaking Caribbean and the UK fall to new lows in the aftermath of the Windrush scandal and both the government and the monarchy’s recent refusals to go beyond passive expressions of regret and offer a formal apology for the atrocities of slavery.

In Belize, the couple were forced to abandon plans to visit a Mayan village in the country’s south, following protest. William’s connections to a conservation charity involved in a local land dispute and plans to land their helicopter on a nearby football field without consultation were deemed offensive.

“There’s only so much the fig leaf of public relations and exercises in ‘soft power’ can cover,” said Quinn. “These images and videos were widely shared on social media, and undoubtedly were a gift to the republican cause as well as to the case for reparations.”

Bryton Codd, a 28-year-old government policy adviser and a founder of the Young Leaders Alliance of Belize, was baptised here. Towering and charismatic, he has conflicting emotions as we walk around the rows of mahogany pews inside. At the front is a bench that seated Queen Elizabeth during her visit in 1994 – pointed out with pride by a staff member showing us around.

Codd remembers the royal visit of last year with a calm disdain. “From my perspective it was a colonial celebration,” he says. “There should have been a deeper discussion on broadening the conversation on reparations, acknowledging the atrocities of our colonial past and for them [the royal family], condemning the actions of their ancestors.”

His organisation is represented in the People’s Constitutional Commission here, along with the National Union of Students, a recognition of the need for younger voices to have a say in the country’s reform efforts. Belize is a young country: the median age is just 25.5 years.

Like many, Codd articulates a perceived intergenerational divide among attitudes to the monarchy.

“My grandmother was from the colonial era. She grew up singing God Save the Queen,” he says, “But I don’t even know the words.

“There has been a paradigm shift in terms of the culture of young people today. We are independent thinkers. We challenge the status quo.”

Codd is attuned to the need to keep people informed and educated about the work of the PCC, which held its first private workshop meetings last week. He is mobilising an information campaign over WhatsApp, preparing bite-sized chunks of pertinent discussion to share with hundreds of his young members.

The review extends well beyond the future of the monarchy, into issues like enshrining human rights, reforming the judiciary and changing the country’s electoral system, currently based on the Westminster system, meaning most members of the ruling party also serve in government cabinet.

Beyond the Caribbean, the coronation of a new monarch has so far done little to outwardly shift the needle in remaining realm states.

For the three largest, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, all former British dominions with majority-white populations and established republican movements, the dynamics of the debate are different by historical design, and the political will mired in other issues.

In Australia, for example, the recently elected Labor prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has long articulated his support for a republic. But his government’s priority in its first term is a referendum on a constitutional amendment to formally recognise Indigenous Australians and establish a permanent Indigenous advisory body to parliament.

Albanese has said any vote on the future of the monarchy would occur if his government wins a second term after 2025. He has appointed a new minister overseeing Australia’s transition to a republic.

The sentiment is similar in New Zealand, where parliament has the power to remove the monarchy without calling a referendum. In the immediate aftermath of the Queen’s death, the former prime minister Jacinta Ardern predicted the move would happen but laid out no timeframe.

Charles’s position as head of the Commonwealth of Nations, the broader political association of 56 states, mostly former territories of the British empire, has also been cemented for the immediate future. In 2018, Commonwealth leaders voted at the request of Queen Elizabeth to install Charles as her successor, ensuring that, for the time being at least, the crown remained symbolically atop of what is essentially a voluntary club of member states with little political or economic sway.

“The Commonwealth’s obituary has been written so many times, but it’s never been true,” said Dr Harshan Kumarasingham, a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Edinburgh. “Somehow it keeps surviving. And one of the reasons is that it does continue in the fabric of British society, and in the societies of all the member states.”

Nonetheless, said Kumarasingham, there is nothing to guarantee Charles will remain its ceremonial head throughout his reign if a significant number of member states raise dissent at a heads of government meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for 2024 in Samoa. .

In Belmopan, Belize’s capital city, Briceño acknowledges that should Belize move away from the monarchy, the country would remain in the Commonwealth of Nations, as Barbados has done.

There are no guarantees, however, and despite Briceño’s optimism he realises that there are still challenges to dispel the many myths that surround transitioning into a republic. Primary among them is a fear that departure from the crown would re-intensify an ongoing border dispute with neighbouring Guatemala, which has long laid claim to swathes of territory in Belize. (There are no guarantees of British military assistance in the current constitution.)

But above anything else, Briceño says, the constitutional reform effort must overcome a broader apathy in Belize, where 42% of citizens live in poverty and the climate crisis poses an ever-evolving threat.

“I just don’t think it [the monarchy] is up there in the minds of people at the moment,” Briceño says. Aside from the pressing issues of the economy, crime and climate, Briceño focuses repeatedly on the need for reparations.

“The United Kingdom became great on the backs of the colonies and they do have a responsibility to have some form of reparations. They will never be able to pay back what was plundered and probably the millions of lives that were lost.”

But, he adds: “A public apology is a start.”

#‘Colonialism lingers’: Belize shrugs off coronation amid calls for reparations #reparations #english lies #white supremacy #Belize #Commonwealth Slavery 2023

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newstfionline · 1 year

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Thursday, May 4, 2023

America’s debt (The Week) As of May, America’s total debt was roughly $31.5 trillion, according to Treasury Department data. And it’s on the rise. The United States government is on track to add $19 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. The government has always had some outstanding debts on its balance sheets—in the early days of the country, “debts incurred during the American Revolutionary War amounted to $75 million, primarily borrowed from domestic investors and the French Government for war materials,” the Treasury notes. But as the debt grows, so do interest payments on that debt: “As of March 2023 it costs $384 billion to maintain the debt, which is 12 percent of the total federal spending.” America’s debt has risen massively since the beginning of the 21st century, as “politicians from both parties have made a habit of borrowing money to finance wars, tax cuts, expanded federal spending, care for baby boomers, and emergency measures to help the nation endure two debilitating recessions,” writes Jim Tankersley at The New York Times. Pew adds that the biggest spikes have come during the Great Recession of 2008, and the pandemic of 2020.

History, civics scores of US students dipped amid pandemic (AP) Test scores in history and civics have declined slightly for eighth grade students in the U.S., according to results that show an increasing number of children lack a basic understanding of either subject. The scores were released Wednesday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The same assessment reported in October that every single state had seen a decline in math or reading scores amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest scores, officials said, reflect more of the impact of the disruptions from the virus that shuttered schools across the country. At a time of some pessimism about the state of the U.S. democracy, the test results suggest many young people are struggling to understand how government works and the importance of civic participation.

Mexico is seeding clouds to make rain—scientists aren’t sure it works (Nature) Farmers in Mexico desperate for rain are asking their government to ‘bomb’ the clouds. The country is experiencing its second-worst drought in a decade, and farmers are afraid for their crops and livestock. So they’ve asked the Mexican government to use cloud-seeding technology to help them. In March, the National Commission for Arid Zones (Conaza), a branch of the country’s agriculture ministry, announced that it would launch a rain-stimulation program in the northeastern and northwestern states of Tamaulipas and Baja California, respectively. However, scientists warn that there is scant evidence that cloud seeding works, despite the Mexican government saying that it has had successes.

King Charles III built a town from scratch. It embodies his worldview. (Washington Post) If you want to understand King Charles III, Poundbury is the place. The 74-year-old monarch, to be crowned on Saturday, built this town. From scratch, on his own land. Dismissed by his critics as a feudal Disneyland for nostalgists. Celebrated by its residents as livable and lovely. Officially, Poundbury is an “autonomous urban extension,” a community of about 4,600 residents, at the edge of Dorchester in south England, just a few miles from the sea. Unofficially, Poundbury is pure Charles. It is the physical manifestation of the way he thinks Britons—everyone, really (but maybe not him)—should live, work and commune with each other. Not in high-rise postmodern aquariums, but in “familiar, traditional, well-tried and beautiful homes,” packed close to keep everything walkable, with residential and commercial cheek-to-jowl, edged by parks where people can contemplate the daffodils planted by his hereditary estate. The narrow lanes are curlicues, like a medieval village, with abundant courtyards, alleyways and dead ends. There is not a single stop sign, let alone traffic light. In the interest of sustainability, the town is powered in part by renewable gas from a purpose-built anaerobic digestion plant nearby. Some of the houses include solar slate roofs and built-in bird boxes to attract swifts.

Could France protest fury spill into next year’s Olympics? (AP) Retired and with time to kill, Bernard Gauvain wants to be a volunteer at the 2024 Olympics—but a bad one. His intention is not to help out, but to gum up the Olympic machine by refusing to turn up for work. If others do likewise in sufficient numbers, he hopes they’ll sting the VVIP who stands to gain if the Paris Games run triumphantly like clockwork: French President Emmanuel Macron. The 68-year-old former agricultural consultant in southern France is part of an otherwise mostly hush-hush band of Olympic opponents who call themselves “un-volunteers.” Also anti-Macron—the president has ignited a months-long firestorm of French protest with unpopular pension reforms—the anti-Olympic Trojan horses are working to infiltrate and then disrupt next year’s Paris Games by signing up as volunteers, posing as willing-to-help superfans when they’re anything but. Their surreptitious operation, and other Olympic contestation that is picking up online and starting to spill onto French streets, highlight a growing risk of the Paris Games becoming entangled in unflagging public anger against Macron.

Discreetly, Berlin Confronts Russian Spies Hiding in Plain Sight (NYT) Every day as he settles in at his desk, Erhard Grundl, a German lawmaker, looks outside his office window into the embassy he knows may be spying on him. “I come into the office, and on a windy day, I see the Russian flag waving. It feels a bit like Psalm 23: ‘You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,’” he said, chuckling. “I’m not religious, but I always think of that.” In the shadow of Berlin’s glass-domed Reichstag, beyond the sandstone columns of Brandenburg Gate, German parliamentary buildings sit cheek by jowl with Russia’s sprawling, Stalinist-style diplomatic mission. For years, a silent espionage struggle played out here along the city’s iconic Unter den Linden avenue. Members of Parliament like Mr. Grundl were warned by intelligence offices to protect themselves—to turn computer screens away from the window, stop using wireless devices that were easier to tap, and close the window blinds for meetings. It seems an almost comical situation for officials in one of Europe’s most powerful nations, where tensions over Russian espionage were something Germany’s government long seemed willing to ignore. That has become increasingly difficult since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Late last month, Russia exposed what it described as a “mass expulsion” of its diplomats in Germany when it announced a tit-for-tat expulsion of more than 20 German diplomats from Moscow. It was a rare sign, security analysts say, of a subdued but growing counterintelligence effort that Berlin is now belatedly undertaking.

Two drones crashed into the Kremlin, which blamed Ukraine for the attack. (WSJ) Moscow said an electronic-warfare system downed the unmanned aircraft, which exploded over the grounds in the heart of the capital, injuring no one and causing no major damage. Kyiv denied involvement and suggested President Vladimir Putin’s domestic opponents were responsible. Another theory is that Russia itself was responsible for the incident, which some observers noted could give Putin political cover for further military mobilization.

Spike in Russian combat deaths fuels fears of worse carnage to come (Washington Post) The rate at which Russian forces are being killed or wounded in Ukraine has spiked in recent months, according to estimates disclosed by the White House this week, underscoring how ferocious the combat has become and suggesting the carnage could get even worse with Kyiv’s long-planned counteroffensive to retake occupied territory. Such a scenario could compound the already staggering number of military casualties suffered on both sides of the war, officials and analysts say, a figure that may be greater than 360,000 dead and injured combined since the war began, according to a tally of the most recent Western assessments to become public. Those assessments come as the United States and its allies continue to provide Ukraine with an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons intended to inflict devastating losses on Russia’s army—even as, in private, U.S. officials have determined that Kyiv’s counteroffensive will probably yield only “modest territorial gains” with the bloodshed extending well into 2024 with neither side securing victory.

Pakistan inflation (Bloomberg) Pakistan took the crown for Asia’s fastest inflation from Sri Lanka, as a weaker currency and rising food and energy costs drove price gains to a record in April. Consumer prices rose 36.4% in April from a year earlier, the highest since 1964. The Pakistani rupee is one of the worst performing currencies globally so far in 2023, declining 20% to the dollar. Pakistan’s inflation is expected to rise further after authorities raised taxes and fuel prices to meet the International Monetary Fund’s conditions for the revival of a $6.5 billion loan program.

One of the world’s priciest cities raises minimum wage—to $5 (Washington Post) Hong Kong labor groups are pushing back against a 32-cent raise in the minimum wage, the first in four years, which they say is not enough in one of the world’s most expensive cities. The government has increased the minimum wage by 2.5 Hong Kong dollars to 40 Hong Kong dollars, or by 32 cents to $5.10 per hour. The increase took effect on May 1, which is Labor Day in many parts of the world. Secretary for Labor and Welfare Chris Sun framed the raise as a celebration of workers, who he said are foundational to Hong Kong society. The government, has “always been committed to protecting labor rights and interests,” he wrote on Facebook. Labor groups say that the raise fails to keep up with the growing cost of living over the past four years. Hong Kong is the fourth most expensive city in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living report—tied with Los Angeles and pricier than San Francisco. Like its costly peers, the city has struggled with affordability, gaining a reputation for soaring housing costs and cramped living quarters.

Syrian refugees fearful as Lebanon steps up deportations (AP) Lebanese officials are cracking down on Syrian refugees against the backdrop of a worsening economic crisis and political stalemate, an escalation that has caused a panic among Syrians in the country. In recent weeks, the army has raided refugee camps and set up checkpoints to review the documentation of non-Lebanese citizens, arresting and in many cases deporting Syrians found not to have legal residency, according to refugees and humanitarian organizations. “People aren’t sleeping in their houses … and are afraid even to go to work,” said a woman originally from the Syrian province of Idlib who is living in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. Her husband was deported on April 10, along with 28 other men, after a raid on an apartment building in the Beirut suburb of Jounieh, she said, and she hasn’t heard from him since. Her 4-year-old son asks where his father is every day, she said. She fears her husband has been put in one of Syria’s detention centers because—like many men who fled to Lebanon—he was wanted for dodging mandatory army service.

Facial Recognition Powers ‘Automated Apartheid’ in Israel, Report Says (NYT) Israel is increasingly relying on facial recognition in the occupied West Bank to track Palestinians and restrict their passage through key checkpoints, according to a new report, a sign of how artificial-intelligence-powered surveillance can be used against an ethnic group. At high-fenced checkpoints in Hebron, Palestinians stand in front of facial recognition cameras before being allowed to cross. As their faces are scanned, the software—known as Red Wolf—uses a color-coded system of green, yellow and red to guide soldiers on whether to let the person go, stop them for questioning or arrest them, according to the report by Amnesty International. When the technology fails to identify someone, soldiers train the system by adding their personal information to the database. Israel has long restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, but technological advances are giving the authorities powerful new tools. It is the latest example of the global spread of mass surveillance systems, which rely on A.I. to learn to identify the faces of people based on large stores of images. In Hebron and East Jerusalem, the technology focuses almost entirely on Palestinians, according to Amnesty’s report, marking a new way to automate the control of interior boundaries that separate the lives of Palestinians and Israelis. Amnesty called the process “automated apartheid.”

#headlines #news

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