#Kaiju the service dog

[chitaqua-toast]

Kaiju crossed over quite suddenly on the 29th, after having symptoms that we thought were his standard turn-of-seasons cold.

He was the best little service dog ever. The greatest little jester. Mistakenly named Cabbage by one of my friends, and it stuck as his second name.

Kaiju Waiyuu will be forever missed by his family, his adopted sister, and a wide swathe of my little corner of the internet, who loved him deeply.

Kaiju Cupcake the Nutmutt Waiyuu, Chicken Father

Adopted: August 20, 2015

Passed: October 29, 2024

He tried his hardest to give us one last year & one last trip to Disneyland, his favorite place.

[chitaqua-toast]

Me with Kaiju. He literally trained himself to curl into the small of my back when I’m in bed fake-wailing “where’s my boooyyy” like he is an inconstant man from an Austen novel.

This fact later helped when I was recovering from a bad seizure, bc I was actually wailing this time and he’s my favorite hot water bottle. 🤣

The nerve!!

[brain-of-rain]

Kaiju no. 8 x Godaigo Daigo Crossover

I have some random plot points/ideas ping ponging around in my head but I don’t have the power to write an actual story, so I’ll slap some of them here for anyone interested.

Godaigo Daigo is the only surviving product of humanities kaiju experimentation from 30 years ago. The project was intended to create an immortal soldier by harnessing a kaiju’s regeneration and encoding that ability into suitable humans. Of course everything went horribly wrong and we are left with one giant man, a non zero amount of bodies and an oath to use kaiju abilities only through clothing and weapons.

The existence of Godaigo was somewhat hush hush for the first 15 years of his indefinite employment. However throughout the years as media and anti kaiju tech became more common, he was formally introduced to civilians to avoid future panic.

Similarly to Kafka, Godaigo can use very little of his suits power. In his 30 years of service he’s maxed at 11%

Godaigo is rarely deployed to the field anymore. After all, he is another giant combatant, adding to potential destruction and tech has gotten so good he’s more of a last resort nowadays. Of course he always gets ready anyway.

As after as possible Godaigo will volunteer for local clean up crews, which is where he originally befriended Kafka. Getting out to help never not worth the paperwork.

Because giant heroes aren’t a thing in this world, Godaigo has pretty harsh restrictions. Mostly he remains confined to the defence force base. He’s the chronically underestimated yet sociable old man. Like the forces’ inside joke mascot.

Godaigo wouldn’t stop wearing big pants over his suit so eventually they just made him a pair that matched.

When Kafka finally made with Reno, Godaigo was ecstatic. They would have been friends for as long as Kafka had been working for monster sweeper inc. not sure exactly how long that is but I’m sure he would have witnessed a lot of failed applications.

Godaigo learns the identity of kaiju no. 8 alongside everyone else in the force not alongside Reno because I think it would be really neat if they had time to have a fight while his identity is unknown. The first time the friendly old guy is a real threat. Bro would not hold back if he thinks people are in danger.

Power scaling wise, I know kaiju no. 8 could beat Godaigo so easy, I mean he’s just a tall man. So in this crossover let’s imagine they’re closer in strength. I would prefer if Godaigo is a substantial threat and legit last resort, final boss kind of character in this world.

Ok that’s all for now! Thanks for your time and sorry if the format/language is weird, I wrote this while walking my dog.

[garlictoast]

To Love is to Let Go

happy pacific rim year!!

here's Day 1 for @lastdaysofwar aka what Mako does with Stacker's dog tags.

of course i gotta make it sad.

Raleigh doesn’t keep Yancy’s dog tags.

At first, he tells himself it’s too painful. He doesn’t need the reminder, doesn’t want to hear Knifehead’s roar, doesn’t want to feel the Kaiju ripping through his arm, every time he looks at them. Normal people don’t really understand it. Don’t you want to memorialize him? They ask, as if Yancy wasn’t living in Raleigh’s head. Don’t you want to honor his service? Like Raleigh didn’t gain possession of everything else his brother left behind at the PPDC. His dress blues, his medals, his Gipsy Danger bomber jacket. The memory of every Kaiju they ever dropped. After a while, Raleigh gives up trying to explain to civilians. They just can’t get it, and he doesn’t have the energy to run circles getting them to try.

It shouldn’t surprise him that Mako is the first person to understand. After the Kaiju War, after Stacker and Chuck sacrifice themselves to save the world, Raleigh waits for Mako on the cliff’s edge as she holds the Marshall’s dog tags over the raging sea. It’s all that’s left of him, of course, his body incinerated in the blast.

“You don’t wanna keep them?” Raleigh asks, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.

Mako’s brow furrows, the corners of her mouth turning down. “No,” she says after a moment, but she doesn’t let go. The tags stay gripped in her fist, clicking together on their chain.

“Mako.” She closes her eyes, shaking her head. “You don’t have to keep them.”

“I should.” Her voice cracks, and Raleigh can tell she’s fighting back tears. “It’s all I have left of him.”

Raleigh doesn’t say anything. He’s familiar with this conflict, the constant tug-of-war between wanting to do what everyone else thinks is right and wanting to just be rid of the reminders. In the back of his mind, a younger version of himself stands on a cliff in Alaska, a colder wind lashing at his face, ice stinging his eyes. That Raleigh was alone, the only other person he imagined capable of understanding reduced to nothing but memories and two slips of battered metal. Mako mirrors that version of Raleigh now, a few tears escaping down her cheeks as she considers the memento in front of her. Raleigh steps up beside her, toeing the edge of the cliff as he pushes his hands further into his pockets.

“You know,” he starts, shifting his weight, “I didn’t keep Yancy’s.” Mako turns to him, eyes wide. “I couldn’t make myself hold onto any more of him.”

Mako’s hand lowers as she bring the tags to her chest. “I have to. I feel like I have to.” Her thumb rubs the raised lettering. “I won’t have anything left of him if I don’t.”

“You have this.” Raleigh rests one hand on Mako’s head. “Everything you’ve ever done with him, everything he’s ever done, is right here.” He lets his hand fall to her cheek. “Yancy’s been gone for a long time now, but I still see him. Every day. Every time I close my eyes, he’s there, whether I want him to be or not. That’s the beauty of the Drift, Mako. No matter what happens, no matter how much time passes, he’ll always be with you. You don’t need to hold onto anything more than you already have.” Tears are reforming in Mako’s eyes, spilling over as Raleigh talks. He doesn’t have to be in her head to know that she agrees.

“Let the sea have them,” he says, covering the dog tags in her palm with his own. “You can always find him in the Drift.” He’ll realize later that he was echoing Stacker’s last words but to her, but in the moment, all he can think of are the tears on Mako’s skin, her fingers trembling under his, the cold metal warming between their palms. All he wants is for her to feel okay with her decision, like she has something, someone. Like she isn’t alone in this, because she isn’t.

They drop the last remains of Stacker Pentecost into the sea together, watching the tags fall into the ocean until they’re swallowed by gray waves. He doesn’t move until Mako does, slowly turning her back on the sea, on her father.

“It’s not a goodbye,” she says quietly, almost to herself. “I still have him here.” She rests one hand over her heart as she smiles sadly at Raleigh.

He smiles back. “Let’s get somewhere warm.” He puts one arm around her shoulders as they walk back down the cliff, letting the warmth of her against his side chase off the chill of the wind.

In the back of his mind, he hears Yancy’s voice, faint but never fading. You did good, kid.

[mysanaf]

༄ Weekly Fic Round-Up ༄

Fandoms: DCU (Batman), DCU (Batman) & Danny Phantom Crossover, SVSSS, MCU (Captain America)

DCU (Batman)

Fairy Godbrother by envysparkler

What are brothers for? (Or: some minor dimensional travel, pseudo-kidnapping, and a whole lot of meddling.)

temporal fraternity by envysparkler

Damian clears his throat. “I require your assistance.” The words come out easier with the benefit of practice and the knowledge that no one will remember them tomorrow. Today. Tomorrow-today.

freaky friday by envysparkler

Jason doesn’t know how he got here or who that red-helmeted asshole is, but he’s not going to stand by and watch him kill people.

letter of complaint by envysparkler

Batman finds himself captured by the new crime lord in Gotham, who has a bone to pick with him.

A Linsang in Hand by SalParadiseLost Part 2 of Bestiola

Most shifter kids have complete control of their shifts and can seamlessly transition from one form into another. The process should be voluntary and never fear-inducing. But that isn't true for the newest Robin. Jason finds this out as he's breaking into the Titans Tower.

wibbly wobbly by envysparkler

The Red Hood, age nineteen, wants to strangle the Replacement for daring to take his place. The Red Hood, age twenty-one, wants to strangle the Replacement for not going to bed. The timeline…gets a bit confused.

Sympathica by Moxibustion (RyuuzaKochou)

Jason Todd is a fourteen year old Sentinel, struggling with senses, his place in the world and a legacy he's more than half convinced he'll never, ever live up to. Time Drake is an eleven year old Guide who can't connect with people, watches heroes from afar and yearns for more than a life of empty echoes and loneliness. One night, on a rooftop in Gotham, two unlikely souls meet.

The Study of Birds by MaskoftheRay

Tim and Damian have hated one another since the day that the youngest Wayne arrived in Gotham City. A few years later, that hatred has cooled into a mutual disdain and somewhat-wary tolerance. If necessary, they can even work together— though neither likes to. Then Tim discovers that Damian enjoys bird-watching too. Or: sometimes the difficult things are the most rewarding.

World’s Saddest Breakfast Club by motleyfam

Following a couple of Very Bad Weeks™ (which may or may not have involved being kidnapped and mildly tortured), Jason decides the best way to cheer himself up is to break into the Manor for a 3 a.m. snack. Turns out he isn’t the only one awake.

Exit Strategy by smilebackwards

Batman needs a Robin and Batman has a Robin. Tim is just extraneous now, vestigial. He’s a bandage over a healed wound. He doesn’t know what he’s hanging on to. Or: Tim didn’t expect his exit strategy from the Batfamily to involve quite so much bonding time with Damian over Wayne Enterprises bureaucracy.

Hot Dog, French Fries by eggmacguffin

Damian was not the sort of boy to mince words; perhaps he could get back to the Manor without alerting Drake to his compromised condition. It would be an exercise in espionage, he decided. or Truth Serum ft. Damian Wayne

Face The Monsters That Are At Our Door by ebjameston

Tim breaks into the decommissioned jaeger section of the Gotham Shatterdome at 3AM on a Tuesday. Bruce Wayne has been piloting Batman by himself for months, and everyone can see that it’s killing him. But Bruce’s last co-pilot was killed in action, and the co-pilot before that isn’t drift compatible with Bruce anymore. The next kaiju attack is due in three weeks. Gotham needs Batman, which means Bruce Wayne has to live, which means Bruce Wayne needs a co-pilot. Which means Tim has three weeks to get Robin up and running. +++ A Pacific Rim AU, because I cannot control myself.

In Service by smilebackwards (series)

When Bruce refuses to accept Tim as the new Robin, Tim takes the next best option. He apprentices to Alfred.

Surveillance by smilebackwards (series)

AU where Jason never died and Tim is a civilian who contributes to crime fighting by taking surveillance photos and leaving them on the desktop of the Batcomputer. Then he ends up part of the Batfamily.

The Time that was Erased by StarryStories2

Did Jason plan to get sucked into the past? No. Is he going to make the most of it? Yes. Will Bruce be mad at him for it when he gets back? That's half the reason he's doing it in the first place. Butterfly effect be darned he's going to fix things, even if it means he can't fix anything for himself.

Goon of the Fucking Year by AceOfDivineChlorophyll

Part 1 of Off the Fucking Rails

Red Hood’s men are worried. Red Hood got hit by something nasty that has him laid up for days and everyone is starting to get nervous. Fortunately, a few off hand comments by a not so lucid Red Hood give them all the hints they needed to get the perfect cure for their boss, a cop by the name Dick Grayson.

The Antithesis Of Magic by Ghxst_Bird

After a dimension travel mishap Jason Todd (recently established in Gotham as the crime lord Red Hood) returns to his universe with a ten year old Bruce Wayne in tow. He's not about to give up on his plans for revenge though, he just has to make it work around raising a tiny kid (who's hellbent on becoming a vigilante) now. Easy peasy, right? Right??? aka. The story of how Gotham obtained a fearsome crime lord and a gremlin sidekick widely regarded as Robin's Evil Twin.

what you're longing for (you claim to abhor) by Ghxst_Bird

He smiles, all teeth, “Come on Replacement, I even got to the door with both legs busted. This should be nothing.” “You’re right. Jason… Jason wouldn’t have given up. He would fight, I can still—“ The boy wobbles, and Jason has to suppress the mortifying impulse to jump to his aid. “I can still fight. Batman needs me.” “That’s a terrible idea,” he muses aloud, and if there’s a hint of real concern somewhere under all the roiling green, well, nobody can prove it. -- aka. the not-actual-hallucination Jason Todd tries the less hands on approach to getting revenge. It ends up backfiring spectacularly. aka. the non traditional way to (reluctantly) reintegrate into the family after being dead, coming back to life, and becoming a crime lord, Jason "Red Hood" Todd edition

Jason Todd's guide to finding out if your dad's been replaced by profoundalpacakitten

Jason sighs as he lowers his binoculars, chewing gum on one lonely Gotham rooftop. He leans against a gargoyle, thinking. So Batman has been… exchanged. Kidnapped, swapped, captured, mind controlled maybe. This changes his plans somewhat. Fuck.

Grave Pretender by Ghxst_Bird

The rambling cuts off abruptly, stony silence ringing from the other end of the line, but Jason knows Bruce is listening. Listening and running through several calculations on how someone— and who— could have gotten this number, while simultaneously tracking the call signal. This is gonna be fucking gold. Time to sell it. “Dad,” he sobs, pitching his voice until it breaks, teeth chattering exaggeratedly, “Dad, please, I’m scared, I-“ Jason cuts himself off with a scream and another series of sobs, “Please, I can’t— it’s locked! Please, no, Dad, it’s locked—“ OR Jason's need for drama successfully derails his plans for vengeance “Red Hood“ style

the fate you aim at me by nex_et_nox (series)

Red Hood gets tossed into the Young Justice dimension -- just in time to save Robin from being murdered by the Joker. Then, of course, everyone has to deal with the aftermath.

Every Star by GeneratorCat

It’s magic, Zatanna tells them. Tim isn’t so much dead as he is suspended in time like a particularly lifelike statue. According to her, there’s no ill-intent behind the spell. It’s another unexplainable curiosity that might have been born from Gotham’s strange brand of magic. In short, it’s not a man-made tragedy, but one born from the very fabric of the universe, and that means there’s no cure. Batman can take down gods and supermen, he can bring empires to their knees and subdue demons… but what can he do against existence itself?

DCU (Batman) & Danny Phanton Crossover

Lost In Between Our Needs and Wants by Murriana

After having to leave behind his mortal life in Amity Park, Danny ends up settling in Gotham. There, he gets mistaken for a vampire and decides it's the perfect cover. This has consequences, for both him and the crime lord Danny's nose keeps leading him to.

Throwdown Therapy by gamma_radio

Danny hears about a suspicious character lurking around Gotham and decides to befriend him. Jason has no thoughts on the matter — mostly, he has a lot of empty-head green-tinged rage on the matter. This is less of a roadblock than one might expect. Danny thinks he might even be able to help the guy, if he can form enough of a relationship to bring up sensitive topics like "you have the ghostly equivalent of lead poisoning or maybe rabies, we aren't quite sure".

The Scum Villain's Self Saving System (SVSSS)

Masochism by Prim_the_Amazing

“I’ll do it.” Shen Qingqiu stares at him blankly for a long moment. “You’ll… do what?” Yue Qingyuan feels the same way. What did he just suggest? But despite himself, he continues. “If you-- if you feel the need to visit a brothel, then-- just come find me instead. I won’t expect anything from you, including gratitude, and I won’t tell anyone about it either. That way it’ll be… it won’t cause you any trouble.” - Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu start an arrangement.

MCU (Captain America)

America's Monster by Prim_the_Amazing

Winter takes stock. Things are bad. Winter has never been inside this newest host’s species type before, but he can immediately tell that this one is broken anyways. Built inefficiently, poorly, badly, wrong. The host’s spine is misaligned, its immune system crippled, its eyesight lacking, hearing lackluster, its feet are somehow not the way they should be, the joints ache, the lungs are floundering. Winter’s host can’t even breathe right. This is it. This is the trap. Winter’s captors think that they can kill it by trapping it in a weak, dying host. They think wrong.

[chitaqua-toast]

Kaiju & now Tinkerbell were/are trained completely with positive feedback, freedom of choice, and minimal correction.

Kaiju’s career as a service animal has seen him praised by strangers everywhere he’s gone. I hope Tink sees the same (she’s still strictly NPF/at home care, right now) when and if she does public-facing service.

Both arrived skittish around men and with issues surrounding food (Kaiju refused to eat or drink, Tink ate as fast as possible and then paced the house looking for anything she could steal for months), both had issues with other dogs (Kaiju fear based avoidance and Tink fear based assertion/guarding), and both were found on the street with physical scars of past abuses.

Nine years on for Kaiju and one year on for Tink, they’re (mostly) completely different than who they were when we met. Kaiju plays in the big dog side of the park and loves it. Tink does a sit-down-speak-wait at meals. Both absolutely ADORE the men & non-women in our family & wider circles. They can eat together out of the same dish, they share bones, they come to us when there’s something stuck in their toes or they can’t puzzle out the solution to un-fucking when their toys get wedged under furniture.

Our domestics can learn so much and work alongside us as *partners*.

Learning anything about marine mammal training will make you re-evaluate so much of your relationship with your own pets. There is so much force involved in the way we handle domestic animals. Most of it isn’t even intentional, it just stems from impatience. I’m guilty of it myself!

But with the exception of certain veterinary settings where the animal’s health is the immediate priority, why is it so important to us that animals do exactly what we want exactly when we want it? Why do we have to invent all these tools and contraptions to force them to behave?

When a whale swam away from a session, that was that. The trainer just waited for them to decide to come back. If they flat out refused to participate in behaviors, they still got their allotment of fish. Nothing bad happened. Not even when 20-30 people were assembled for a procedure, and the whale chose not to enter the medical pool. No big deal. Their choice and comfort were prioritized over human convenience.

It’s almost shocking to return to domestic animal medicine afterwards and watch owners use shock collars and chokers and whips to control their animals. It’s no wonder that positive reinforcement was pioneered by marine mammal trainers. When you literally can’t force an animal to do what you want, it changes your entire perspective.

I want to see that mindset extended to our domestic animals.

[driftwithme]

You know Chuck was right to be mad 'cause he was indeed getting replaced with Raleigh.

Which doesn't mean Chuck had the right to be an asshole to Raleigh, since it was not his fault at all, but he had the right to be angry at how people were treating him.

He is the front runner of Operation Pitfall. He's part of the j-pilot duo that will blow up the Breach, strapping a bomb to their backs in a suicidal run. He's the youngest ranger to ever graduate the Academy, he has 5 years of active service with the best kaiju killing score in history and he pilots the only ever Mark-5, fastest jaeger out there.

But despite what others might think of him, including Herc and Pentecost, Chuck is not asking for fame or fishing for compliments. He knows he's the best, he knows that he is an amazing ranger, okay? He's a bastard in his personality and he sucks in any sort of social interaction, true. That's the problem, isn't it? It doesn't matter how good at his job he is, if he's not charismatic, people would completely pass from him.

That's the fight Chuck had with Herc on the deleted scene. Herc wants him to be a better person and gain the respect of his peers, but Chuck is angry at how people won't respect him unless he's well-likes or behaved. He has an strictly professional view. They are not his family, they are not his friends, all they are is co-workers. Isn't he good at his job?

Why isn't it enough?

When Raleigh arrives, suddenly no one cares about his flaws and even if they do, they can quickly forgive him because Raleigh is that likeable. Golden boy. Which ends up being a nasty lie because Raleigh is just as awkward now, after 5 years of barely interacting with others. But he is openly sad and his smile is soft and he is assertive, won't get no for an answer, gets what he wants even from the Marshall himself.

To Chuck's eyes, Raleigh gets praised over doing the barely minimum under the excuse of his trauma. Praised by Herc himself, who stares at Raleigh like he's very proud, not like he is a disappointment, not like he should be doing better, not like he expects more. Chuck was there during the worst five years of the jaeger program, he killed more kaijus than anyone, made it twice as far in half the time and now, now he is the one who will end it.

So where is the people proud of him?

He arrives to see Pentecost touring Raleigh himself and Herc rushing to shake his hand like a fan and Mako walking next to him like a secretary. Every other pilot are twisting their necks to stare at him on the messhall and his dad is inviting him to their table after going to pick his food tray for him and--

He is the superstar. He was gone for 5 years as they suffered and returned to be the hero.

Chuck is already angry at the spectacle when Raleigh sits to eat with them, but then when Chuck's asks him what he's been doing from 5 years that's so important? And Raleigh just answers "construction"? Chuck's slowly going insane. Everyone starring at Raleigh Becket like he's the solution but he hasn't pilot in 5 years because he was in construction.

Chuck is a professional, if anything else. He's dead serious about his job. In his asshole way he tells Raleigh that the rest the program has blind faith in his ability but not Chuck. And if he is there to be a liability, even if the rest of them want to play the sad dog rescuer with Raleigh, Chuck won't. Either he works or he doesn't, but he's not gonna ruin this chance.

Again, he's being cruel but he's not wrong.

Later, Chuck points out that maintaining the neural handshake is nothing impressive, but the bare minimum needed to fight. It proves nothing. He's still on edge, thinking about the operation. So when Herc snaps at him and tells him to be respectful because Raleigh is an amazing pilot, Chuck gets angry. Herc is correcting him like an insolent child in front of everyone.

His dad is effectively taking Raleigh's side.

Again.

Before the drift effectively collapses, almost killing everyone if it wasn't for the ones who stayed on the bridge. Everyone runs except Chuck, Tendo, Herc and I think Pentecost. Everyone scatters to save their lives, except them. Even if it didn't happen, it almost did.

Chuck is furious. Why can't no one else see how dangerous it is? Why everyone acts like Raleigh can do nothing wrong? Like Mako's not piloting for the first time? Why did they have to wait until a disaster almost happened to see the risks they were taking?

This time Chuck is not making a point but actually picking out a fight with Raleigh. He is angry and confused. Not at Raleigh per se, which he doesn't seem to comprehend, but at how people treat him. Chuck is scared and worried. He wants a perfect mission, to come back alive, to save the world, but it feels like he's the only one considering the importance of the moment.

Raleigh kicks his ass and it might be the first real interaction they have with no one else in between. This time when Chuck accuses him and puts him to the test, Raleigh shows him how good he is. Chuck is mad 'cause he got his ass kicked, okay? But at this point, they are for the first time in equal ground. Raleigh and Chuck both lost their composure in that fight, marking them as equal fools. But it is not an "one over the other" situation. Even when Raleigh "won the fight", it was a way of establishing Chuck on the conversation next to Raleigh.

Then the Double Event came.

And doesn't it speak louder than words that Chuck was cheering for G. Danger when they got deployed? He was not mad, he was not jealous, his ego was totally forgotten. He was happy to see them. For the first time in the movie, he held the same faith as the others. Maybe he was worried since his words were "Kick his ass!", maybe he was asking for them to not fuck it up. But after it? Chuck dropped his anger once and for all.

Herc never spoke for Chuck in the movie 'til that moment. He apologized to Raleigh for the way he raised Chuck, yes, but he never lie about what Chuck was thinking or feeling. Herc says "my son will never admit out loud how thankful he is for you having saving us". But when they show Chuck's face, there is more than gratitude there. If Chuck was the arrogant bastard everyone says, he would have hide or at least put on a respectuful blank face and leave it at that. He didn't tho. He stares intently at Raleigh and looked for his face when he arrived and he lowered his chin, gave him a defeated soft smile, made it clear how he was feeling.

A freaking apology would have been less.

Still, when they went to die, all Chuck got was his boss telling him that he was arrogant and had daddy issues. Chuck was sacrificing it all for the cause. During the Double Event, he had done basically the same Raleigh did with Yancy years ago. Had climbed on top of a jaeger to fire flareguns at a kaiju not even knowing G. Danger was on its way. He was leaving his dad behind, he was going to pilot with a man who wouldn't survive the mission anyway. 5 years of absolute devotion and the best career someone could ask for.

To be told you're arrogant with daddy issues but it's okay, at least you're your father's kid and I am such a good pilot I could drift even with you.

Even when people ignored Raleigh's trauma through the movie in favor of idolizing him (and effectively dehumanizing him by doing so), he got Herc to acknowledge his pain and Mako to listen to him and share his burden.

But what did Chuck get?

Not a friend. Not the respect of his superiors or co-workers. Only an apology from his dad and a reminder he did love him and he was proud of him, given before Chuck was sent out to die. We got Chuck kneeling before his dad and saying goodbye before the shot of Raleigh smiling at Mako and saying he was finally looking forward to the future again.

It was Chuck who in the end was respectful of Pentecost ("It was a pleasure serving with you, sir") and the one who directed the final words between the Hansens (by implying he wanted to do the correct thing so his dad could be proud of him, so he would be and act like his father's son). But that was it.

The only moments of glory Chuck got was at the beginning of the movie and at the end. That is, when people celebrated Mutavore's death and announced for the first time that Chuck was going to die on the Breach that he was going to Operation Paitfall and when he finally blew himself up, finally respected not in life but I'm death, as a martyr.

So while people are celebrating that it is over and Raleigh is alive, we get to see the grief on Herc's face. His son helped save the world as his said he would-- and now he's dead.

You might notice why I don't agree when people points out that he is just an entitled brat who likes to be cruel. Or that I very much think that he was disrespected and mistreated during the whole movie. Because to me, well, the movie is about hope and love and second chances, unless you are Chuck.

[delirious-donna]

So excited to see you're still accepting applications, Donna! I know nothing about Naruto or Kaiju No. 8 on your list of fandoms, if I'm honest. Either blorbo goes, and I go by she/her!

I'm quite introverted/shy upon meeting new people, an everpresent wallflower, but once I get comfortable I can be very loud and excitable when talking about things I'm passionate about. Although I love to stay home and recharge with my writing hobby, I'm a big fan of theme parks and food trucks/wineries! I really love learning about niche topics and taking deep dives into subjects I know nothing about. I'm often seen as a group mediator, an ear for anyone's problems, and in a perfect would I'd love to one day have my own animal sanctuary!

The song I'm currently crazy about is 'I Want' by Mk.gee!

Current blorbos are Sylus from Love & Deepspace, and Armin Arlert from AOT! (What can I say, I love a blonde/silver in fiction.) Definitely looking for love, so I put my fate in your hands 💛💛💛 thank you for such a lovely opportunity! 💋 all of the smooches your way

Thank you for trusting Delirious Donna’s Matchmaking Service! We have studied your information at length and the following match has been made:

Kakashi Hatake

Child prodigy. Sensei to Team 7. War hero. Goofy at times. Blunt without being cruel. Time keeping is not his forte. Blames himself for more than he should. A good man who refuses to believe that about himself.

Kakashi might wear the facade of a man who is unbothered and relaxed, but beneath he is very self critical. He loves erotic fiction and openly reads this at every opportunity. He’ll fit well with your homebody tendencies although trips out are actively encouraged so he can see you in different environments. Kakashi really is one hell of a man.

Date Options

Walkies? Kakashi is dog dad to a pack of ninja hounds and they all need walking. Perhaps you’d join him for a trip to the dog park where you can get to know the different pups and their mysterious owner, after all, he knows you love animals

New read? Fancy a trip to the book store to pick out some new reads? Maybe it would be fun to select some books for each other. Perhaps you could read the blurbs out loud… add to the experience 😏

Target practice? Kakashi is very adept with a kunai (just watch him swing them round his fingers 😮‍💨) and he’s more than willing to show you how to handle one. Pick a target and let it fly. He’ll correct your form, help you perfect your aim and if he gets to stand a little closer? Bonus

Result

So, how did we do? Did the date go well and which option did you choose? Is Kakashi going to hear from you again or should we be letting him down gently?

Bonus Match

Another candidate saw your profile and requested a match, he’s rather keen…

Gen Narumi - Captain of the First Division and lifetime gamer boy. He wants to know if you’ll challenge him at Smash Bros

Decisions decisions… who will you choose? Or take them both, they won’t know 😏

[chitaqua-toast]

Ran across a couple pics of Kaiju during different trips to his favorite place… Disneyland. This one was the second to last.

This one was his very first trip.

I have more pics of him there somewhere. He immediately adored riding on Haunted Mansion, decided the Star Wars animatronic cat in the shop was his best friend, and gave Chewbacca The Most Look.

[chitaqua-toast]

I’m crying. It’s beautiful and perfect, Mia.

Late nuttmutt in question:

(Yes those are eggs. He adopted a bunch of chicks as his puppies and would go out with them every day in his wings to watch over them. He guarded the eggs while I gathered them and would clean the chickens that had to come inside for infirmary time.)

req'd by @chitaqua-toast

for your beloved ouppy

text: Kaiju Waiiyuu "Cabbage" The Nuttmutt

[theinternetisaweboflies]

Jägermeister

Chapter Seventeen: Black Market

PPDC-43-CA-10963842491 ATTN: UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES  HONG KONG SHATTERDOME BUNKER 47B (17-B-3) 01/23/25 1441  TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT ORCON Classified by: LER-OPNS-IDH Dated: 2025JAN23 Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals

R. MORI: Excuse me! 

DOG HOWLING 

R. MORI: I need to see the Marshal immediately! 

DOG HOWLING 

S.O. TEBUTT: He’s in a meeting with the Secretary General!

DOG HOWLING 

R. MORI: It will only take [unintelligible]!

DOG HOWLING 

S.O. LINDUM: You can’t just [unintelligible]!

DOOR OPENING

DOG HOWLING 

S.G. KRIEGER: What the [unintelligible] is going on?

DOG HOWLING 

S.O.: TEBUTT: Ranger Mori is here to see you, sir!

DOG HOWLING

S.G. KRIEGER: I’m in a meeting! 

DOG HOWLING

R. MORI: I’m so sorry to interrupt, Secretary General! It’s Max- He won’t stop crying! 

DOG HOWLING

M. HANSEN: Come here, you ugly old mutt. 

R. MORI: I think he’s missing his master.

M. HANSEN: Yeah, I know you miss him, Max. I do too. Thank you, Ranger Mori, I’ll take him from here. Dismissed. 

R. MORI: Yes, sir. 

DOOR CLOSING

PAUSE

S.G. KRIEGER: Oh, that’s right. I don’t believe I’ve expressed my condolences yet. 

HANSEN: Thank you, Secretary Krieger. 

S.G. KRIEGER: Please, call me Dustin! There’s no need to be so formal when it’s just the two of us!

M. HANSEN: Oh, well, thank you, uh, Dustin. You can call me Herc. 

S.G. KRIEGER: Of course, Herc!

M. HANSEN: I’m sorry about Max, and once more, I’m really sorry for being so late. There was a fire in the men’s loo off the Jaeger Bay. I don’t know why they called me. I’m not that kind of bloody Marshal. 

S.G. KRIEGER: Don’t worry about it! I know what it’s like to get bothered with a problem well below your paygrade! 

PAUSE

M. HANSEN: Right. Well, enough small talk. Why don’t we get down to brass tacks? 

S.G. KRIEGER: You're a straightforward guy. I like that. I’m the same way. 

M. HANSEN: Glad to hear it, Dustin.

PAUSE

S.G. KRIEGER: Since the end of the war, there have been talks to dissolve the PPDC. I know, that’s gratitude for you, but people want to put the war behind them. If we want to save the PPDC, we need to restructure it as a fully civilian organization, bringing everything under my umbrella: Security, Medical, transport- even the eggheads in the science division. 

M. HANSEN: To do what exactly?

PAUSE

S.G. KRIEGER: Robots for Humanity. 

M. HANSEN: I beg your pardon?

S.G. KRIEGER: Just picture it. Jaegers rebuilding the regions around the Pacific Rim that were most damaged by the kaiju. We would rebrand as the Pan Pacific Development Corp. Wouldn’t even need to print new mugs. 

M. HANSEN: You want to use Jaegers to.. build houses? I think they’re a bit better at knocking ‘em down, mate. 

S.G. KRIEGER: Oh, it would mostly be for publicity, of course. We don’t want robots taking away people’s jobs! Just kidding, but we can get labor for cheap with the Wall of Life project now defunct. The Jaegers would ostensibly be to bring in donors, but we would keep development going, just in case the kaiju came back. 

M. HANSEN: The Breach is closed. 

S.G. KRIEGER: For now. Even if it’s closed for good, well, there have always been wars of one kind or another. How long do you really think we can all hold hands and sing Kumbaya, Herc? Soon enough, peacetime will come to an end. There will be war. Jaegers will be used to fight it. By the time that happens, the UN will have ceded control of the PPDC to the United States of America.

M. HANSEN: Wh- What? Why would they do that?

S.G. KRIEGER: We have a plan in place, but I’ll be honest: If we could bring the Jaegers directly into the U.S. Armed Forces, it would turn our ten-year plan into a five-year one. The only reason we were going to jettison the military division was because we knew Pentecost would never go for it, but I think you might be different, Herc. You know how the world works. You could still have a place at the new PPDC. Now, I know you’re technically Australian, but you don’t have to be.  

PAUSE

M. HANSEN: That’s very generous of you. I feel obliged to accept. 

S.G. KRIEGER: I knew it. I’ve never gone wrong trusting my gut. 

M. HANSEN: Do you really think people will let the U.S. take control of the PPDC like that?

S.G. KRIEGER: Of course they will! We stopped the war. Everybody knows Mori ejected before the payload was delivered. That was our guy! An American! Not to mention your Dr. Geizer. I will admit, I didn’t anticipate his level of celebrity, but well, if anything… people love a martyr even more. 

M. HANSEN: What are you saying?

S.G. KRIEGER: Don't act naive, Herc. I thought you were supposed to be the war-hardened vet. The doctor is an important asset, but we aren’t unrealistic about his chances for long-term survival. We’ll tell everyone it was a tragic consequence of his drift with the kaiju. It'll barely be lying. 

PAUSE

M. HANSEN: Let me make sure I understand. Dr. Geiszler is part of this- our plan?

S.G. KRIEGER: It’s called Operation Keepsake. Well, his involvement was also unanticipated, but now we’re hoping to use him to understand the hive mind. That was how he put it in his official report, right? A hive mind. Fascinating stuff, I’m sure. Of course, I didn’t understand most of it myself, but I got the gist. If two humans can pilot a 250-foot Jaeger, just think about what we could accomplish by applying hive mind technology.

PAUSE

M. HANSEN: So that’s why you asked Dr. Geiszler to meet you off-site.

S.G. KRIEGER: Well, he could hardly disappear from the hotel either! We needed to take custody of him, officially, but we needed an excuse to do it, since he was about to be cleared by medical. Fortunately, the Buenakai were already providing us with a Kaiju brain. All we had to do was pay them a little extra. 

M. HANSEN: Then why did you raid the bunker?

S.G. KRIEGER: Oh, well, that’s not important. The import-

M. HANSEN: Oh. I get it. They cut you out. You were used to the American Buenakai, who come from Kentucky and have never seen a Kaiju outside the 1:100th scale statues in their megachurches, but this wasn’t them. This was the Hau Wong Buenakai, who saw the double event and didn’t blink. Basically, they took the ransom and tried to kill the hostage anyway. Did I get that right?

S.G. KRIEGER: Well, of course the Chinazis sold us out, but we had everything under control.

M. HANSEN: So now you’re going to make Dr. Geiszler drift with the kaiju brain again. 

S.G. KRIEGER: Exactly!

M. HANSEN: Which is exactly how the damn doomsday cult was planning to reopen the Breach.

S.G. KRIEGER: That’s completely different. Besides, with the hive mind on our side, we could take the fight to them!

M. HANSEN: Well, I can see why you’re so keen on the idea of the hive mind.

S.G. KRIEGER: I knew you would be-

M. HANSEN: Considering you don’t seem to have one of your own. 

S.G. KRIEGER: Excuse me?

M. HANSEN: Well, you did just monologue your evil plan. The cult didn't even do that.

PAUSE

S.G. KRIEGER: You- You’re making a big mistake, Marshal. You have no idea what you’re going up against. It'll be your word against mine, and Representative Taylor is an old col-

M. HANSEN: Actually, it’ll be your word against the both of ours. 

PAUSE

S.G. KRIEGER: What- What are you talking about?

M. HANSEN: Secretary Taylor isn’t going to want anything to do with you if this recording goes public.

S.G. KRIEGER: You bugged the damn dog?

M. HANSEN: He has a name, you know. 

S.G. KRIEGER: Officer Tebutt! Get-

M. HANSEN: Before you try anything especially stupid, you should know that I took some precautions. I had Dr. Gottleib handle the cybersecurity, so this recording is already backed up to the cloud. If he doesn't enter a code once a day, the news goes straight to the UN and TMZ. You should also know that he is a very punctual man. 

S.G. KRIEGER: This is blackmail! 

M. HANSEN: I’m so glad you understand.

PAUSE

S.G. KRIEGER: What do you want?

M. HANSEN: Dr. Gottleib will keep entering that code on three conditions. One: You leave the Hong Kong Shatterdome now. Two: You resign from the PPDC tomorrow morning. Three: You never come near me or mine again.

S.G. KRIEGER: You- You’re just a damn grunt. I should have known you wouldn’t understand politics. You forget that I still have a piece in the game.

M. HANSEN: This isn’t a damn game, mate.  

S.G. KRIEGER: I still have your man. 

M. HANSEN: No, you don’t. 

PAUSE

S.G. KRIEGER: Dr. Geizer-

M. HANSEN: Dr. Geiszler is safe and sound. You can check in with the officers you assigned to him, if they pick up for you. The Security Office is still under my command, and more importantly, they’re my goddamn comrades- brothers, sisters, and siblings-in-arms, every last one of them. We were here at the end of the world, while you were cooling your heels Stateside. I may not understand politics, Dustin, but I don’t think you understand war.

...

@lastdaysofwar

[emcandon]

I return from my bg3 stupor with a fresh 2 am question:

was the TAU story and world a concept you were baking for a long time until you had a chance to write it, or was it a more recent creation?

Do you find it easy or hard to build out new story concepts? Like, do you need to sit on them a while until they feel right, or does it just come pouring out of you from the start? Or a secret, third thing?

Just anything about your personal creation process!

lol hi it might not surprise you to learn that i am also steeping in bg3 (i am still stumbling around act 1! i'm not allowed to play until i hit daily sequel writing quota, which is healthy, i'm sure, but does mean i am somewhat behind just about everyone i know who is also playing :P)

(my first Tav is an enormous nb tiefling bard named Faretheewell who is, imo, perfect. very beautiful. very kind. definitely does drag. lying a lot, but mostly just for funsies. has turned astarion into their little purse dog.)

ANYWAY, TO THE ACTUAL QUESTION:

TAU's an interesting case because it was cannibalized from a couple different ongoing projects into something entirely new.

The characters had been floating around in different iterations since about 2013, and their final forms in Archive are quite distinct from the original seed! Imagine Sunai as an exiled diplomat who got involuntarily apprenticed to a cursed king/the last magician in the world; imagine Veyadi as a disowned god-child tasked with murdering the last magician! I'm still probably going to use that world somewhere so I'll mum about it now (it's the one I call "grandma heist.")

((imo that's why you should always yoink characters you like from whatever source you enjoy, be it your own or something else -- they will inevitably change in their new context, often so substantially that they are nigh unrecognizable.))

The story concept also originated in 2013: "Pacific Rim, but the mechs are built out of the kaiju, and pilots must have survived being poisoned by those kaiju." The addition of strange and upsetting AIs of divine power was somewhat inherited from the story Sunai and Adi came from, where divinity was fraught, fractured, and hungry.

Here's a funny. In 2017 I thought TAU would be a nice, simple, clean project. However. I know some folks who turn out gloriously clean first drafts. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. My brain is a hazardous work environment, very non-OSHA compliant. Basically I do a lot of thought work in the drafting, so the drafts are consequently messy, and there are a LOT of changes from concept to actual workable manuscript.

Which I suppose is to say that story concepts nest in my brain quite often when it is healthy. The frequency with which I land on new and interesting story thoughts is actually a pretty good indicator of how well I am doing ambiently! Right now I'm storing up a lot of them, some of which I am fairly rabid about -- nearly as rabid as I am about Archive, which is the real indicator of a project that is ready to transition from Thought to Work. They are described here as "apocalypse magicians" and other such things. There's one that's going to be kind of an argument with Lovecraftian unknowability via desconstruction of Enlightenment epistemologies + queer identity destruction, and another that's going to be the Le Carré approach to espionage + magic as divinity meets public service + interplanetary empires intruding on your bumfuck planet offering the solution to climate change might still be bad actually. (I want to write that last with my wife and we are making SUCH GOOD FUCKING SHIPS FOR IT.)

How to summarize this? 1) find a story notion/concept about which i can obsess, 2) actually start writing it, 3) mess up spectacularly for a few drafts, 4) finally whittle together something more or less correct, 5) that's my editor's problem now!!

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

Kaiju Waiiyuu

“Cabbage”

The Nuttmutt

(My service dog, who passed away right before Halloween - I’m making him a little altar & would like to buy it eventually)

wait did you still want this one done? you got this one iirc

[chitaqua-toast]

I fully feel that scene every time I’m out on the balcony with the dogs.

I spent hours out there today, till they both (dog 1 breed origin: Mexico; dog 2 breed origin: Africa; home: FUCKING PNW) complained about it being breezy, cool, and slightly humid.

Tomorrow, we’re doing it again. I’ll remember to put their matching hoodies on this time.

sitting on the porch is something so personal actually

Like ok look at him. Look at him on the porch of his little house in wolf trap Virginia among the flat fields like a sailor in the ocean with his crew of dogs. Look at him…

[gale-dragon-writer]

Random Fun Facts from Quirks of the Cosmos.

The Tsukauchis are family friends of Yagi Toshinori, so both Camus and Hyouga see Yagi-san as Toshi-oji (an uncle-figure). To the two young Saints, their Toshi-oji is a sweet guy with a few health issues that needs to be protected (😅).

Milo, Ikki, and Shun’s parents are well-known Heroes that have made it to a few Top Ten lists; The Venomous Hero, Sasori (or Kardia to his friends and allies) and The Temperature Hero, Dégel. They also work at UA as teachers, as the Combat and Literature Teachers respectively.

Deathmask and Aphrodite are actually friends with Koda, who they met because of Deathmask’s father when they were 7. They get along surprisingly well despite the obvious personality differences. (And on that note, NO Deathmask and Aphrodite don’t bully Koda. Yes, they tease him occasionally but no bullying).

Shaka has an albino cat named Lotus, who is rather protective of her. Lotus has a Quirk by the name of “Phantom”, which gives him the same abilities as the namesake. Lotus can also be a mischievous little shit to those he dislikes and also has the unwanted habit of following Shaka to school w/o her knowing until he does something. Aizawa is one of the few teachers Lotus actually likes.

Mu has a Pigmy Goat named Kaiju that has the Quirk called “Macro and Micro”, which allow him to change his size. Kaiju doesn’t use his Quirk often, but he is very handy in most situations. Just don’t do anything to make Kaiju mad.

Dohko and Shiryu have two dogs. The first is a service dog nicknamed “Pal”, he’s a rather intelligent purebred poodle. The other is a Jack Russell Terrier named Wishbone. Both have Quirks that developed a year after they became part of the family.

Aldebaran is oddly observant due to his Mum being a Psychologist. His Father works in construction with Ochaco’s family, so he’s been friendly with her long b4 UA. Ochaco’s nickname for Aldebaran has always been “Kuma-kun” while his nickname for her is “Coco-kun”.

Shura’s folks are employed in jobs that oddly conflicts with their personalities yet they’re good at their chosen careers. So Shura knows a lot of “OoC Facts” about those things.

Aioria and Aioros have gotten better at telling their parents apart over the years, but they never enjoy explaining their family dynamics to others. Poor Seiya still has trouble telling his Dad and Uncle apart.

Saga and Kanon get a lot of strange admirers that they like to keep at a distance. Momoma accidentally ends up in that category after the Twins “caught” him with a rather “specific” doujinshi about them. Momoma has been trying to explain that situation to them since then but neither Saga nor Kanon want to be near him long enough for him to try.

Inko is relieved that Izuku has so many friends that care about him even though he doesn’t have a Quirk.

Izuku has been trying to get the hang of his “Wisdom of Athena” Quirk since it manifested. Hasn’t had much luck until a certain event b4 UA.

~}I{~

Until the Story comes out.

~}I{~

[kai-bitch]

This is Kujo! (sounds similar to kaiju)

I based him off of the Cane Corso since I wanted him to be a big boy, he is Lily's service dog! Kujo is her second dog, the first being a germen shepherd named Missy (also a service dog). He is also a trained guard dog, curtesy of Lily's mother being a bit overprotective after a few events. Lily is 5'2, so Kujo stands a little above her waist. The perfect cuddle buddy when your having a panic attack and hurting yourself! God why do I give all my characters trauma, I gotta stop doing this :P

Kujo is a very gentle boy, he knows his own strength and is very careful about not hurting others, especially those smaller than him. Though he will attack if given the signal or if Lily is freaking out and the people around seem a threat. Very smart boy, he is able to do his job without Lily talking, which helps when she goes non-verbal. When he isn't working he's bouncing around and exploring everything, tho never strays too far from her. He loves his mom and does such a good job of taking care of her.