#// *i have no quetzalcoatl or dragon icons

[tyrantisterror]

To bring this chain of asks full circle, what are your top ten favorite Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi monsters and why? Either on the basis of biology, design, or even story significance? What are your favorite dishes from Delicious in Dungeon? 😋

I thin the chapter that introduced Dungeon Meshi's take on living armor is the moment where most readers realize they're in for something special and more than just the gag manga it could have been. For me, it's the epitome of what makes Dungeon Meshi's world-building so special. Living Armors are a stock monster in fantasy fiction, and normally the thought that goes into them begins and ends with "a suit of armor moves on its own because magic." That's all they have to be for an audience to accept them and move on, and in most fiction, that's all they will be.

Dungeon Meshi, by contrast, came up with the most creative explanation for why a suit of armor would walk around and attack people I've ever encountered. It's so bizarre that it's fascinating on its own - BUT THEN, just to show she's a fucking master of story-telling, Ryoko Kui makes the process of our hero discovering the nature of living armor vital to stopping them, saving his friends, and making his way through the dungeon. Dungeon Meshi took a monster archetype that is usually little more than a footnote and turned it into a crucial and iconic story beat, one so important that it continues to figure in to the plot thereafter in the form of Laios's living sword, Kensuke.

Griffins are a monster I have a great deal of fondness for, and one I feel should be more prominent given how iconic they are. There should be more kickass griffins in fiction, more memorable griffin stories, more griffins in general! Dungeon Meshi didn't reinvent the wheel with its take on griffins like it did with Living Armors, but its griffin/hippogriff arc is nonetheless one of the most important emotional beats in the story, and also led into the changeling arc, which is one of the funniest in the entire manga. They also gave griffins the gravitas as a monster that they rightfully deserve. A+ griffin use.

The vegetable lamb is one of my favorite obscure medieval folklore monsters and seeing it show up in this manga made me so happy. It is exactly the kind of bonkers idea that fits perfectly into Ryoko Kui's fantasy world, perfect addition, no notes.

I'm of two minds on how Quetzalcoatl has been reduced to a monster in pop culture instead of, you know, the benevolent god he was originally, but Dungeon Meshi's coatl at least gets a lot of gravitas and even plays a semi-heroic role in some scenes, which is better than most knockoff Q's get. Also the one in the manga itself is covered in psychedlic flower pictures because of SPOILERS and it's really cute.

...Falin's chimera form is ridiculously hot in ways that make me look long and hard at myself in the mirror and wonder why I'm wired like this.

On a less existential side of things, Laios's Ultimate Monster design is, for my money, the absolute best running gag in the manga, with the PERFECT punchline at the story's climax that you'll think you've guessed but trust me, you haven't quite. If you're looking at it and thinking, "That looks like what a four year old would draw when making a monster," you are right, and that is the gag, and trust me, it is ALWAYS funny when it pops up.

How many slots do I have left? Four? Fuck it, let's talk about the dragons, we can go over I don't give a shit. The Red Dragon is the Heavy for the first third of the manga, and it's built up impressively throughout all the monster-eating shenanigans, so that when it finally arrives as this small-scale kaiju who makes the dungeon tremble and quake in its path, you really get a sense of dread attached to it. A lot of modern fantasy fiction gets lazy with dragons, content to let their cultural reputation do the work for them, but Kui made sure that when a dragon entered her story, it feels like an EVENT.

I haven't watched the anime yet, but what I've seen shows they did a good job handling Kui's design, which has this wonderful blend of T.rex, sauropod, and crocodile to give it this primordial reptilian strength. I also love how they animated its Thor Thimble, it's a great touch.

About the only thing I'd change about the Red Dragon is its lack of wings, but then you see how the other dragon species look in Dungeon Meshi, and it makes more sense. Another trope of modern dragons I dislike is giving them all one body plan, when their mythic predecessors could have all sorts of arrangements and numbers of limbs. Kui's dragons follow suit - the red dragon is a stocky quadruped, green dragons have the hexapodal look with two wings and slightly more gracile proportions, we've got two-legged and two-winged wyverns, two-armed wyrms, multi-finned leviathans, Asian-style dragons, and even a big fluffy arctic dragon for those freaks out there who don't want dragons to have scales for some inexplicable reason. All of them are still very much dragons, but each one feels unique and broadens what a "dragon" can be in the setting. It's great, I love it, A+ dragon usage.

Oh, yeah, there's one other dragon species I forgot to put up there - the Nightmares, which in your dreams look like, well, a nightmare, and in the waking world look like... shellfish. Apparently it's a Japanese pun that doesn't translate easily into English. They're not really my favorite monster but I knew if I included all the other dragons and not these guys then at least one person would feel compelled to "Um, actually" me. That nightmare form for the Nightmare looks pretty wicked, though.

[savaralyn2]

If you had to guess, what kind of monster do you think Laios will become?

I've seen a lot of people guess Phoenix, and while that WOULD be fitting in a thematic sort of way, I just don't see Kui going for a monster she already dedicated a chapter to (also Laios' monster looks a LOT bigger than that Phoenix did) There's a ton of bird type monsters it could be though (and it definitely does seem more bird-like than dragon-like, given the beak and no fore-arms bit), maybe something like a Garuda? Since symbolism-wise they have a 'destroying injustice' type thing going on, as well as a connection with royalty/divine power. This is assuming that MAYBE Laios' monster form is not just mindlessly animalistic. (I guess a Caladrius might work too?) Could also be a Roc, since they're often depicted as literally just gigantic eagle-like things, which would be fitting size wise with what we see now (they're also super strong which would be cool to see in a fight, maybe against Marcille's Quetzalcoatl?). Also the Roc in general is a bit more of an iconic mythological bird, at least from what I know. Honestly I've seen a ton of good suggestions even outside of that so who knows how it'll really turn out, I'm sure Kui will pick something good regardless.

[monmuses]

@serpentine-rogue​ continued from here

     Chu-mana rarely ever went outside in a full dragon form. It had been years since she allowed herself to slip free into the sky. She brought Soldan along with her, knowing she just needed an hour or two with her.

     “I have no real need to be like this,” she said. “Besides, it is no secret to keep. I don’t mind flying with you, I just wanted you to take some time up in the sky. Away from people.”

     She kept Soldan resting on the back of her neck, allowing her to hang on tight as they floated across the clouds, “You can tell me how your day went. I know you’re not feeling the best, are you?”

[heisenberg-simp257]

Yo! Can I get the lords with a s/o who can turn back and forth into a dragon at will... Maybe different types of dragons for each lord? Like a Quetzalcoatl for Donna (cause so many corlors are great inspiration for dolls), a sea serpent for Moreau (cause fish man), a hydra for Heisendaddy (dunno why it just feels like a hydra would be a fit for him), a traditional eastern dragon for Lady D ( cause theyre elegant in their simplicity and said to be associated with royalty)?

I'll do my best❤ love me some dragons

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Lords with an S/O who can Turn Into a Dragon

Alcina Dimitrescu

-For Dimitrescu, you’d be able to turn into one of those traditional European dragons. You know, the ones depicted guarding towers and hoarding piles of gold, known for royalty and elegance.

-She’d be absolutely thrilled by this discovery. Heck, she herself can turn into a dragon-like creature. You be the second person to witness her in that form.

-Dragon cuddles with her daughters are a thing. You help keep them toasty and warm.

-Dimitrescu is a lady of maturity and reverence, but your ability to turn into a dragon gives her a chance to have a bit of fun in her other form. Ethan must be really confused when he sees two dragons flying around the castle, trying to race each other.

-Like your breed of dragon, you like to guard shiny objects. So, you are a protector of her home.

-If Heisenberg gets on her nerves, you make sure to fly over to his factory and make him feel your wrath. No one is allowed to make your lady irritated.

-Afterwards, you guys drink wine on the roof of her castle in your normal-looking forms.

Donna Beneviento (and Angie)

-For Donna, you would be able to turn into a Quetzalcoatl. These beasts are colorful and feathery as well as considered deities in Aztec culture. However, all she sees is a feathery serpent that is colorful.

-You are practically a rainbow in her eyes, so you can bet that she would take all that colorful inspiration when it comes to her dolls. Somehow though, they become creepier because of that.

-Donna even gets to use some of your feathers in her creations, or just to decorate around her house. To make it homier, you know.

-Catch Angie trying to ride on your back. This would be the most fun she’s ever had in her life. 

-Your favorite place to hang out in is her garden. Being a serpent of wind and sun, you find the outdoors with all her colorful flowers just makes you so at ease.

-Your relationship is ironic because she’s quiet and dresses in all black while you are a colorful icon of the sun. Being in either form, you try to help her come out of her shell.

-Speaking of that, you will constantly be nuzzling her scar (making her all flustered) because you want her to feel confident in herself.

Salvatore Moreau

-For Moreau, you’d be able to turn into one of those sea serpents. Kind of like a water dragon, and this probably doesn’t need any further explanation.

-You can imagine the thrill fish boi went through when he found out that his beloved could also turn into a giant horrifying sea monster. Poor guy wouldn’t feel so alone.

-The two of you would always keep the place flooded. So, it was basically a fun little playground for you guys to splash around in.

-He feels more confident with himself in his fish form, so you guys would spend a majority out in the water where he can just be free from the Lord’s teasing and Miranda’s negligence.

-You can bet there would be giant splash fights that might result in getting everywhere else wet. Expecting, most likely Heisenberg, to come and scold you, you guys hide in your normal forms.

-When it comes to things like watching movies, you can bet you would be all about things like the sea. Moreau has finally found his perfect match.

-You are even more terrifying than him, so you keep the place protected from outsiders.

Karl Heisenberg

-For Heisenberg, you would be able to turn into a hydra. You know, the terrifying monster that has several heads. This fits him perfectly because it’s just so chaotic.

-When it comes to him, several heads means several chances for you to bite Miranda’s head off. You can bet that Heisenberg will use your power to his advantage.

-This is the one time when he knows to stay on your good side. He doesn’t need you going full dragon on him after all.

-Might even test himself and try to make some metal armor for your hydra form. Heck, if he’s going to wage war against Miranda, he’s going to make sure you’re protected.

-Definitely would have you piss off the other Lords, especially Dimitrescu. It may be his fault when you and Dimitrescu get into a huge Godzilla fight because he asked you to.

-Teases you and makes a lot of stupid jokes about your hydra form when your human. Sometimes they make you smile, sometimes you want to punch him.

-Might become the supreme overlord of the village with you by his side.

[feathered-serpents]

Tagged by @crit20lesbian (thank you!!) 

1- why did you choose your URL?

When this blog started I was really into Good Omens (still am! just quieter about it but that’ll change as we get closer to season 2) so I wanted a URL that referenced Good Omens but was also neutral enough that I could switch fandoms without it being weird. “Feathered-serpents” is meant to be referring to the angels and snakes in Good Omens but also the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl because I’m a mythology slut. I love this deity so much and he’s ALWAYS made to be a monster in Western media when he’s!! A god of art, wind, and knowledge!! And created humanity!! He’s so cool Aztec mythos is SO COOL 

2- Any side blogs?

Not really. I used to have a Flight Rising side blog but it’s been abandoned for awhile. Been thinking about making a Dragon Age sideblog but I basically just use Twitter for that so this is what we get 

3- How long have you been on Tumblr?

10 years. Since I was 13. Technically 11 if you count when I made a blog in 2010 but didn’t know how to use tumblr since it’s not user friendly and just let it sit there for a year until I figured it out. 

It’s certainly done something to my development. Dunno what. But something 

4- Do you have a queue tag?

No. Everything you get is live 

5- Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I’ve had a series of blogs over the years, leaving older ones by either switching fandoms after I’d built too much of a niche in one to change my whole blog or by deleting the accounts cause I was swearing off tumblr and we can all see how that worked out. This one is my fifth main blog and I made it cause the fourth one got shadowbanned for no reason! Yay! 

6- Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

There’s this amazing comic by the artist @hollow-head of Aziraphale and Crowley’s drunken debate from the book and it contained a panel with Aziraphale in a little rocket ship as Crowley explained interstellar bird travel. I thought it was cute and asked if I could use it and they said yes and even sent me a version with a white background. I love it and I’m never changing it 

7- Why did you choose your header?

I really like the book Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman it’s DEEPLY weird and I’m still waiting for an adaptation. There’s an illustrated version which is beautiful and my header is the scene where the main character first enters the Underground world. I thought it was cool! 

8- What’s your post with the most notes?

The fucking. Stupid female aliens post I made in a rage after hearing that female aliens were barely included in the game Mass Effect because the artists “Didn’t know what that would look like” 

Like five seconds after I made this some dude reblogged it with “takes more than a voice and pronoun change but aight” after calling me a “puritan who hates women” on a separate post for expressing my approval of a scene in that same game being changed where a woman is confiding in you about her tormented childhood while the camera is just. Glued to her ass for no reason 

(he also reblogged and disagreed with me on like. many Mass Effect posts. It was deeply strange. I did not know him. He’s blocked now) 

9- How many mutuals do you have? Not sure but quite a few! I’d say about half the people I follow are mutuals as I tend to follow people I see in my notes a lot 

10- How many followers do you have?

1,577 but the number tends to go up and down constantly and also a good amount are probably porn bots 

11-How many people do you follow?

279! 

12- Have you ever made a shit post?

That’s all I do here 

13- How often do you use Tumblr each day?

That’s between me and god 

14- Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Not really. If someone is annoying me or if they just post too much content I don’t like I’ll just block them. Usually it’s not even because I think they’re a bad person I just don’t wanna see their Eliasfucking posts in the TMA tag I’m sorry it’s too much* 

*(that’s an example i’m not referring to anyone specific) 

15- How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

Usually avoid unless I think it’s very important 

16- Do you like tag games?

Yes but I will usually forget to do them unless I do it RIGHT AWAY (like this one) 

17- Do you like ask games?

Also yes but I tend to forget to respond to those too. I will do the WWDITS/TMA prompts you all sent I will do them I just get overwhelmed by things I enjoy 

18- Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

We’re all in pretty niche corners so I don’t think any of us are “famous” but I am mutuals with some really cool artists. That’s fun! 

19- Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Platonically <3

Oh god now I have to tag people uhhhhhhh @alexiley​, @dudeiwannasleep​, @annabelle--cane​, @ghostbustermelanieking​, is that enough? that feels like enough (no pressure!!) 

[kariachi]

Today is another 2-parter, Chicken of Chichen Itza. We’re good here, but I‘m gonna have to find It’s Story Time, Cosplay Day, and the Ben in Rome 2-parter online. Plus some others but they’re a while off instead of like, 2/3 of the next three days.

But, that’s nothing to do with today-

Tour guide calling out how inconveniently large the Tennysons’ chopper is alongside Gwen not being sure they can actually park in the parking lot, legally

Maxwell Tennyson, Indiana Jones cosplayer

Gwen, darling, it’s good you love your history, but you may as well just stop expecting anything from Ben on this front

*gasp!!* Mary Jo! My heart my love my queer icon of the franchise! (shut up, she is, do you really think a cishet could ever?)

She’s been studying the herps of the area, the icon

“You want a tour of the site?“ “Well we were gonna just let Gwen yell facts at us, but sure that’d be great“

Rule 1: No touching the monuments, Rule 2: no weapons

Gwen calling her Jo-Jo that is just too cute.

Okay, so specifically she’s here because a lot of the snakes she’s been raising are native to the region. She’s been rehabilitating them and they are now cleared for release

Ben calling her Jo-J too, awww

Snake Whisperer Mary Jo Fourfeathers

*gasp* Animo I know that’s you you leave that snake alone!

Animo is trying to make fucking Quetzalcoatl out of a chicken and a snake and can we just throw him back in the goddamn Pit where he belongs?

Mary Jo really knows how to work with kids, name a Gwen your special helper on the tour and give her a gold star sticker and that child is yours for the next hour and a half

If Ben dies this episode it’ll be because Gwen takes her shit seriously and Ben wouldn’t keep his hands off the history

Okay, that is the best cockatrice design I’ve seen recently, not that I see many. Still the coloration and body design are nice.

Awww, and is still just a chicken at heart

Cockatrice: *attacks* Ben: *defends self* Gwen: Benjamin Kirby Tennyson we do not punch gods!

I just love that for this fight they are working under the assumption that Ben’s trying to touch his temple pissed Quetzalcoatl off so bad he returned to the mortal realm just to kick his butt

Mary Jo: I’m fairly certain that’s not an ancient Mesoamerican deity. In fact it’s acting a lot like some of the reptiles I released out here.

Oh gods even Max coming in with the “you kids remember back when I was a chicken, because...“

Apparently having briefly been a chicken make you an expert

...give the cockatrice belly rubs to calm it (okay so technically they’re warming it up with their body heat but that’s silly in context and this is more fun)

Fucking Animo and his animal-control-collars, get back in The Pit damnit!

Oh gods Max is trying to talk the cockatrice down in chicken

He has subdued the beast with chicken treats that he apparently keeps on hand. I assume he developed a taste for them

Ben is trying to be smart, and not doing too bad

Animo finally has to get involved his own damn self because they subdued the cockatrice

Bitch leave the cockatrice be! Don’t make me dig a deeper pit just for cockatrice abuse on top of Kevin abuse

Everyone here to defend the cockatrice from Animo’s shitheel behavior

You know, you’d think villains would start checking for Ben before they started shit. Like, how many foiled plots could be avoided if they’re just take a look around, go ‘oh look, Tennyson’ and then put their plans on hold for a few days until he left? It’s not like they’re on a deadline, they’re self-employed purveyors of evil.

Mary Jo attempting to sacrifice herself to protect Ben, this glorious fucking being

Oh my gods Animo is a Mary Jo fanboy. He loves her work. Mind I’m not surprised given she is, in fact, perfect, but still.

Animo releasing Ben in favor of kidnapping Mary Jo so he can get her input of how he fucked up his cockatrice

Holy shit they totalled the chopper running it headfirst into a cockatrice!

Animo gets arrested and please tell me Mary Jo adopts the cockatrice, plsplsplsplspls-

Damnit. At least they’re gonna get him to a nature preserve though, where he can fly free. Gonna be hell on the ecosystem but then dragons are endemic to this Earth so maybe they’ll slot him in somewhere where he’ll replace a dragon species that should be present but isn’t due to climate change or human fuckery

Max in fucking tears over his totaled chopper

...gods tell me this isn’t gonna be another ‘we shoehorned in a storyline that doesn’t make sense for a Moral Lesson’. At no point did Ben lose control of anything in the last part, the nearest he came to that was timing out, which is a damn feature of the watch. Swear this fucking show...

Fucking conspiracy theorist trying to get them to release the cockatrice.

Ben being insecure for literally no reason, due to something that just straight didn’t happen

Max is eating chicken feed and Gwen is Done with her family

Good lords where did they find this truck? Two foot thick steel plating, refrigeration units keeping it at a temperature the cockatrice will be drowsy but safe at so it doesn’t do anything to injure itself, and plenty of ventilation for easy breathing. Actually, what did I just say earlier, this thing is probably built for moving dragons about

La Moron here to start shit just to start shit

...ya know, normally I’m anti-landlord, but in the case of La Moron? Drag his ass, get your money

This man is that ‘I think I will cause problems on purpose’ meme

Once it’s confirmed La Moron won’t get out form in front of them and that he’s not Ben’s friend the dude driving tries to run him over with the truck! This is perfection! I don’t care about anything else this episode has a cockatrice, Mary Jo, and someone trying to run La Moron and his car over with a fucking truck!

Benny, buddy, pick anything, it’s La Moron you don’t have much to worry about, just save the fucking cockatrice

La Moron just fucking punched XLR8

Ugh, Ben angst

Oh gods not Glitch too, fucking hate Glitch

La Moron still managed to hijack the truck

Ben, on Max hailing the truck over the radio: Welp, he’s speaking in tongues now

Max planning to confuse La Grange with trucker lingo so they can get him turned around and cut him off at a choke point

La Moron truly earns his name

He is gonna fuck up the cockatrice at this rate and then I’d have to kill him

Moral lesson time. Ugh.

Breaking the cockatrice free for it’s own safety

The cockatrice saves Mary J and the driver while La Moron goes plummeting into a river

Cockatrice damages the Rustbucket using it as a temporary perch before flying off into the nature preserve, where it shall live out it’s live in peace

8/10, Mesoamerica’s Next Top Chicken

[lotusheirs]

some things that have changed and that need updating:

world is a dystopia  /  cyberpunk future setting.  like 200-300 years later.

jou managed to destroy japan, make into a prison colony of sorts, and is now its tyrant king.  wow look at my boy go.

despite all that there will be some muses that have little to no relation to this canon in particular, but who cares.

might not be using icons for some muses??  maybe, maybe not??  who knows.  i don’t.  all i’m saying is that my resources are limited for some muses, aaaand i just don’t rly got the time nor motivation to crop them.

new muses????  new muses!!

airi.     kirin, empath, likes to tinker with electronics.  shy, scared of people bcuz the amount of emotions she feels from everyone gets overwhelming quickly, rather reluctant to form bonds because of it.

taka.     kitsune  /  dragon  /  angel hybrid, heir to shinjou.  had a personality-changing traumatic experience at around the age of 7 so that’s fun.  doesn’t really talk much because of it.  great at negotiations nevertheless, though.  would slit ur throat and enjoy it.  got akira’s old mutation bcuz i’ve decided i shouldn’t rly linger on that lore too much if it just doesn’t work with a character anD THAT’S OKAY.  and i didn’t have anything better to do with it anyway.

lucius.     a heavy  ( and long-awaited )  revamp of my oldest oc, conquest.  nephilim  /  quetzalcoatl.  along with elias and aurel, he belongs to the small bucket of muses that aren’t really involved in the whole angel apocalypse.  or maybe it was in fact his fault as the horseman of apocalypse.  HMMMM.  anyway, v arrogant and annoying to deal with.  some say looking upon him is blinding.

ren.     fox dad is back??  fox dad is back.

[dragonofyang]

why r u called dragon or yang if ur white? not trying to be aggressive but like if those r names u chose for urself u might wanna check that white privilege

I appreciate that you’re not trying to be aggressive, but I think you and I need to have a frank conversation about the assumptions made in this ask and nature of the question you are asking me.

My response is under the cut (sorry mobile peeps, I have a lot to say)

I think the biggest thing I have to address before I get into the history and semantics of my url is that first and foremost, I am not 100% white, anon. I’m white-passing, so I understand the confusion, especially since I’ve only recently taken to using my own face as my icon instead of art. I don’t fault you for that, since cameras historically have been machinated to function and read pale skin better and the lighting I have in my icon and the header image of my blog when you view it from the dashboard helps wash my skin out. Color and light theory work against showing my skin tone a lot of times, so unless I’m in direct sunlight wearing things that bring the color balance of a photo to black, I’ll look white, especially if it’s been a while since I’ve gotten any substantial sunlight. That said, I do experience a very conditional privilege as a white-passing person, but my passing is entirely dependent on how I as a person am read by other people. I have had everything from “hey you’re exotic [because of your race]” to “oh hello fellow person of my ethnicity” and been racially profiled by the police despite having security clearance at my place of work. Somewhere there’s two photos of me with my mom’s and dad’s sides of the family respectively and I’m either the darkest child in that photo or the lightest one. That holds true even now as a young adult, I’m almost always whiter than any Latinx people I know and at least have more saturated color in my skin than any white people I know. That’s all IRL, though. Online, I can easily just state my ethnicity if I choose to and people accept it, because the internet is a great equalizer in terms of first impressions. It’s not my skin or my voice or how my eyes are too light to belong to a Latina girl, it’s the words I use and I am judged by my character rather than the race somebody thinks I am. That said, this is the first time somebody’s assumed my ethnicity online, which is why I’m taking the time to reply to this the way that I am, anon, because I feel this could be a beneficial experience to you and to other mixed people out there who face the same questions and accusations and assumptions as I do. I am too white and too dark, I am commodified as exotic and therefore sexy to some, I’m “one of the good ones”, I have been asked if I wear color contacts (I don’t, but that’s a surprise to far too many people), I have a running list on countries/ethnicities people have guessed because they think they can pin down exactly where I am from (spoiler, I was born in the USA). Fundamentally, I am not white, but I can seem like it. I can be as affable as a proper Midwest-raised girl can be, but that doesn’t change that when people say “all the Mexicans should go back where they came from” they are speaking about me as well. They just don’t realize it. It’s not their fault that they don’t know my ethnicity, just as it’s not yours, but it doesn’t change the fact that assumptions can breed danger for me, because now if I don’t act correctly, I could become a target for racially-fueled vitriol or sexual harassment. Again, it’s not inherently your fault for assuming that you knew my ethnicity, but I strongly recommend you do not do this in the future to me or anybody in your life. If there is someone in your life who does not mind answering such questions, then speak with them, and my inbox/IM is always open to discuss things off anon if you have further questions.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to address your primary question: “why r u dragon or yang”. I’m guessing that you meant to type “of” instead of “or”, but just in case you meant “or” that’s what this paragraph is going to address. Dragons are not culturally or ethnically closed mythical beasts the way that the Native American Thunderbird is or how Hinduism is a closed religion. Dragons and other great serpents have existed as a concept pretty much everywhere humans have, and I have a very close spiritual tie to dragons and commune with them whenever I partake in my witchcraft.

That said, “dragonofyang” is a username I’ve used for the past 10-ish years, originally stemming from when I joined DeviantART at the age of 13. I’ve since deactivated the account since I hadn’t touched it in over five years, but when I joined, I was taking my first forays into paganism and was absolutely blown away by the gods, the concept of the five elements, spells, how the yin and yang symbolized balance and how it wasn’t just a religious concept but a way of life. On that site I took my first forays into Wicca and spoke with many witches, all of whom encouraged me to explore my spirituality and taught me many things about safety in practice, stealthing to avoid judgment by closed-minded religious folks, and how enriching it is to have a personal or working relationship with a pantheon or single deity/spirit guide. If I’m being perfectly honest, it’s also a remnant of my edgy phase because I really wanted the username “DragonofDarkness” but that as you can guess was taken already, but in my research to find something that described my new phase in life I got very deep into the symbolism of yin and yang, at least as deep as a 13-year-old with limited internet knowledge could get. Yang is the bright, it’s the bold, it’s the daytime and it harbors a bit of cold, of dark, of nighttime within it, but that makes it richer. Ever since I was little I’ve always been fascinated by magic, and this was a new take on how the world worked that my little kid mind was just blown away. Naturally, being a bit of an edgelord, I misunderstood it as a principle and focused on how deep and dark I really was underneath, ya know, typical 3edgy5me shit, but as I’ve grown, I’ve come to accept that yeah there’s some shit in my life that hurt me or was bad, it doesn’t overshadow the good and I’ve stopped trying to be an asshole because that’s actually not as cool or deep as people try to make it. I look at my username and I see how I’ve grown as a person, from somebody who doesn’t understand the concept of balance very well or where my spiritual journey would take me and I look at myself now as somebody who’s made but a few steps further in the road to life. I look at my username and remember that yang means the sun, the light and that without the yin, growth would not have happened.

My username also has some ties to my current spiritual practice, though less overt, because my patron deity is the dragon god Quetzalcoatl. Dragons in Mexico represent the sun, and jaguars represent the night, and in my practice, both dragons and jaguars have made themselves apparent to me, and in a sense they balance each other out in a way similar to the yin-yang symbol. I felt the call to Quetzalcoatl about six years ago now and I have much to learn from him still, but he’s continued to teach me about balance, in the day and night, in the human and the animal, in the violent and the peaceful. I’ve come a long way from being some edgy 13-year-old kid, thankfully, but I know my journey isn’t over.

That being said, if my username is offensive and a misuse of a Taoist symbol (such as if it’s a closed religion and use of its symbols when you aren’t initiated is offensive), I’d like to speak with Taoists directly and learn how and why so that I might not offend in the future, especially since I’m unsure if Dao jiao/Dao jia are closed a religion/philosophy. But it’s also been my online name for 10 years now and I’d have to change it on many platforms in order to fully rescind my offense, and if possible I’d like that sort of change to be as unobtrusive as possible because many people know me primarily or exclusively by this username. So unless I come to a point personally where I feel my username no longer suits me, or my ignorance addressed by those more educated than I, I will be keeping it. I am not the most educated person on the internet, and my resources are sometimes limited in terms of educating myself properly, so if there is something I am to learn then I request that I be taught. I am always willing to learn and better myself as a person.

[aion-rsa]

Monster Madness: Vote for Your Favorite Monsters

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Every season is monster season in our hearts. But this March is a particularly good time to celebrate our enormous, scaly, and/or hairy friends. In the film world, the long-awaited Godzilla v. Kong arrives on March 31. Meanwhile on television, the final season of behemoth anime Attack on Titan is in the midst of its final season right now. Given that many of us are already primed for bracketology in March, we decided to create a bracket of our 32 favorite monsters for you, the monster-lover, to vote on. 

In honor of Godzilla, Kong, and Attack on Titan’s many titans, we’re electing only to include kaiju-style monsters on this bracket. All of these monsters must A. be their own distinct individual (not a species like “cave trolls” or “aliens”) and B. be able to knock down a building (or at least cause catastrophic structural damage). That’s why you won’t see any Universal-style monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, et. al) on our list.

 If you’re unfamiliar with how a bracket works, never fear – each round we will present monster matchups one-by-one for you to vote on via our Twitter and within this post. The rules here are simple: peruse our list of 16 matchups and vote for your favorite monster. And whether “favorite” means “which monster would win in a fight” or “which monster I like the most” is up to you. 

You can vote over at Den of Geek‘s Twitter or within this post.

Whichever monster receives the most votes will advance to the next round to face another victorious monster. This will lead to five total rounds with round 1 featuring 32 monsters, round 2 having 16, round 3 having 8, round 4 having 4, and round 5 having 2. The full voting schedule will be as follows:

Round 1 (32 monsters) – Voting Opens March 15 (Closes March 16 at 12 p.m. ET)

Round 2 (16 monsters) – Voting Opens March 18 (Closes March 19 at 12 p.m. ET)

Round 3 (8 monsters) – Voting Opens March 22 (Closes March 23 at 12 p.m. ET)

Round 4 (4 monsters) – Voting Opens March 25 (Closes March 26 at 12 p.m. ET)

Round 5 (2 monsters) – Voting Opens March 29 (Closes March 30 at 12 p.m. ET)

Results – March 31

With the monster rules and arena set, let’s get into the round 1 matchups!

Godzilla Region

1. Godzilla vs. 8. The Blob

You know that saying “if you come at the king, you best not miss?” Well in this monster bracket, Godzilla is the king. The big lizard is the iconic kaiju, having appeared in over 30 films and countless other bits of media. Who dares challenge his monster supremacy? The Blob. The Blob is…well, a blob. Best of luck!

2. King Ghidorah vs. 7. Destoroyah

Though Godzilla may be the king of monsters, only one kaiju is bold enough to include “King” in its name. That would be King Ghidorah. This three-headed beast first appeared in the fittingly named 1964 film King Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. He’s appeared in multiple eras of Godzilla films as an enemy to Godzilla and Mothra. Opposing Ghidorah is Destoroyah, an unholy combination of crab, insect, and bat.

3. Biollante vs. 6. Colossal Titan (Attack on Titan)

Kaiju movies are happy to turn just about anything into a terrifying monster. Case in point is the plant monster Biollante. Despite its rosy origins, Biollante is a fearsome foe to all. Meanwhile the Colossal Titan can knock down just about any wall put in front of it. He’s not the most dangerous titan in Attack on Titan, but he’s unquestionably the most iconic. 

4. Yongary vs. 5. Quetzalcoatl (Q: The Winged Serpent)

Yongary looks quite a bit like Godzilla and that’s by design. The monster was introduced in 1967’s Yongary, Monster from the Deep to rival the success of the iconic monster. Suffice it to say, Yongary did not reach Godzilla heights, but he’s still pretty cool. Its opponent Quetzalcoalt comes from the 1982 film Q: The Winged Serpent. In some ways, Quetzalcoatl is the American answer to Godzilla, drawing from Aztec myth to create a winged beast. 

King Kong Region

1. King Kong vs. 8. El Blanco (Tremors)

Only one monster can challenge Godzilla’s claim to the monster throne. And that’s the MONKE. First appearing in the 1933 film bearing his name, King Kong pre-dates Godzilla by 20 years. He comes from a simpler time where monsters could exist naturally and not as a byproduct from man’s vile nuclear experiments. King Kong rules. Trying to take the gorilla down is El Blanco, a notable graboid from the Tremors film series.

2. Mechagodzilla vs. 7. Hedorah

What could possibly take a big nuclear lizard down? The answer is so simple it’s been staring us in the face all along: a ROBOT lizard. Mechagodzilla was first depicted as an alien in the 1974 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Since then he’s frequently turned up as a mechanical creation from mankind to keep Godzilla in check. And he does a decent enough job to be considered Godzilla’s archenemy. In this matchup, Mechagodzilla is opposed by Hedorah – who is just a big ol’ pile of toxic sludge. 

3. Anguirus vs. 6. The Mind Flayer (Stranger Things)

Anguirus holds the honor of being the first monster to go toe-to-toe with Godzilla in battle. It didn’t go well for the massive Ankylosaurus but that didn’t keep him from becoming a mainstay in the Toho Godzilla movies. Meanwhile, Stranger Things isn’t hurting for notable monsters, with the Demogorgon being the most well-known. It’s only season 4’s The Mind Flayer, however, who has the strength and size to compete in this tournament. 

4. Kraken (Clash of the Titans) vs. 5. Clover (Cloverfield)

The Kraken has had quite an impressive pop culture run. Who could forget Davy Jones crying “release the kraken!” in Pirates of the Caribbean? The Clash of the Titans version of this monster (both in the 1981 film and its 2010 remake) is undoubtedly the most fearsome. Opposing the Kraken in this competitive 4-5 matchup is the unnamed monster (oft nicknamed “Clover”) from the 2008 found footage movie Cloverfield. Viewers don’t catch many glimpses of Clover but when they do it’s clear he’s among the biggest and most dangerous monsters in the film canon. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Mothra Region

1. Mothra vs. 8. King Caesar 

Mothra is undoubtedly the most famous monster to come out of Toho’s kaiju films aside from Godzilla himself. As her name implies, Mothra is an enormous flying insect inspired by the “imagos” of silkworms. While many of the monsters in this bracket are destructive and villainous by default, Mothra is actually pretty chill and at times darn near heroic. Furred weirdo King Caesar draws the unenviable task of taking Mothra down.

2. Slattern (Pacific Rim) vs. 7. Pateesa (Star Wars)

Aside from the sprawling Godzilla franchise, Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim provides the most potential monster candidates for this list. Given that they’re all confined to one film, however (and make no mistake: there is only one Pacific Rim movie), we’ve opted to choose the most powerful PR kaiju to represent them all. That honor goes to Slattern, the biggest and baddest subterranean monster our heroes encounter. In the other corner is the Rancor (named Pateesa) from Star Wars – Return of the Jedi. Pateesa can be pretty fearsome…as long as there are no gate doors above him.

3. Cthulhu vs. 6. Monster X

H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu is one of the most terrifying monsters in all of literature. In fact, Cthulhu’s appearance is said to be incomprehensible and enough to drive men mad. Well, movies and television have had little issue depicting the Great Old One, with him frequently appearing as a squid monster in everything from 2020’s Underwater to a series of South Park episodes. Lovecraft’s version of Cthulhu would probably be unbeatable, but the film and TV version of him is a fair match. It’s up to Monster X, a skeletal kaiju from 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, to take Cthulhu down. 

4. Smaug (The Hobbit) vs. 5. Gwoemul (The Host)

Most of the monsters in this tournament fall a bit short of human intelligence. That is not the case for The Hobbit’s massive dragon Smaug. Smaug is a clever fire drake and possibly the last great dragon in Middle-Earth. He can cause some real destruction, if he can be bothered to leave his treasures unguarded. Meanwhile, Gwoemul is the creature from Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 The Host. It’s also quite smarter than any fish monster has a right to be. 

Rodan Region

1. Rodan vs. 8. Demon (Night of the Demon)

When it comes to Monster Madness battles, the ability to fly is never a bad thing. And that’s partially what makes Toho all-star Rodan so effective. Rodan is one of the Godzilla studio’s “big five” alongside Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla. That place of honor is well-earned for the irradiated Pteranodon. Rodan has the strength and the skill to go far in this tourney. The eight-seed that will try to stop him is the demon from 1957 British horror film Night of the Demon. Like the Cloverfield monster, this demon is little-scene but still quite powerful. 

2. Gamera vs. 7. Zigra

If you want a sleeper monster on this bracket, look no further than Gamera. This giant prehistoric turtle is a mainstay in kaiju movies and is often known as “The Friend of All Children” or “The Guardian of the Universe.” Alongside Mothra, he is one of the very few monsters willing to stick up for the little guy. His competition, Zigra, on the other hand is a total dirtbag. Gamera and Zigra’s matchups go way back to the 1971 film Gamera vs. Zigra. Gamera handled Zigra quite easily then. Can the loveable terrapin succeed again? 

3. Megalon vs. 6. Gyaos

Megalon is a mainstay of monster comics who has also enjoyed a couple of film appearances. He’s yet another insectoid-style kaiju but he also brings some awesome drill arms to the table. Opposing Megalon this round will be Gyaos. Gyaos is a bat-like kaiju who first got a shot at monster-stardom in 1967’s Gamera vs. Gyaos. He was treated quite shabbily in that but perhaps he has a shot against this new opponent. 

4. Gigan vs. 5. Reptilicus

This bracket already had some alien cyborg representation with Mechagodzilla but you know what they say “you can never have enough alien cyborgs.” Thankfully, Gigan is around. This red-eyed, be-chromed monster first appeared in the 1972 film Godzilla vs. Gigan. He’s since popped up in several more movies to give Godzilla a hard time. The monster that hopes to take Gigan down is Reptilicus, a sea serpent, who hails from a 1961 Danish-American movie bearing his name.

The post Monster Madness: Vote for Your Favorite Monsters appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3tmFrzP