#godzilla aftershock

[monarch-afterdark]

Titan History: Jinshin-Mushi

Welcome once again to Monarch: After Dark, the digital gateway between you and the organisation dedicated to understanding and navigating this troubled new world we live in.

For today's communication, we return ourselves once again toward the events of G-Day and the Titans that began the chain of events that led to Monarch's exposure; the Dragon Beetle and its spawn, Jinshin-Mushi.

(Pictured above: News footage of the Jinshin-Mushi Queen attacking New Jersey during the Mass Awakening crisis, circa. 2019

Monarch Database File: Jinshin-Mushi

Monarch Designation: Titanus Jinshin-Mushi

Height: 350 feet (Prime), 281 feet (Male), 298 feet (Female), 370 feet (Queen)

Weight: 135,000 tons (Prime), 15,000 tons (Male), 60,000 tons (Female), 110,000 tons (Queen)

Nature: Bio-Terrestrial (Prime), Bio-Atomic (Male and Female, presumably Queen as well)

Behavioural Classification: Destroyers

-----

To the majority of the public, these Titans are still referred to with the previous designation for superspecies discovered by Monarch, M.U.T.O (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). Even within Monarch itself, few seem to refer to the Jinshin-Mushis with their proper designation, the Prime being the sole exception.

Currently, the remains of both Jinshin-Mushi involved with G-Day, as well as the Prime, are being kept within Monarch's Castle Bravo facility for dissection and study.

Parasitic Titans with a history long intertwined with Godzilla's species, the Jinshin-Mushis were speculated by Monarch's former paleobiologist Emma Russell to have been responsible for several mass extinctions throughout Earth's history. During the 11th Century BC, the Jinshin-Mushi Prime had been documented by the Phoenicians bringing down a member of Godzilla's species (referred to as 'Dagon' or 'Raijin') and impregnated him with two spores.

These spores fed off the radiation-rich haemoglobin in Dagon's blood, ultimately killing the Titan once he was no longer able to replenish his atomic energy. For several centuries, Dagon and the spores lay within the Phillipines, seemingly lost to history.

(Pictured above: A Phoenician stone tablet presented to Emma Russell, depicting a battle between Dagon and the Prime, circa. 2014)

In 1999, Dagon's remains would be uncovered when a mining operation drilled into the site and caused a valley floor to collapse. One of the spores, catalysed by sudden exposure to the atmosphere, hatched and the larval male Jinshin-Mushi escaped to the ocean. Travelling a great distance to Japan, the male attacked a nuclear plant in Janjira before cocooning itself to feed off the radiation from the reactors. The second spore, later known to have contained the female, was determined to be dormant and was sent to a nuclear waste repository in Nevada.

15 years later, the male had finally finished feeding and hatched, disabling the containment facility around it with an EMP attack before taking flight. On its way to Honolulu, the male dredged up a Russian nuclear submarine and fed on the warheads it carried. After using its EMP to stop military jets from engaging it, the male continued to a nearby airport, where it was confronted by Godzilla.

The world watched in shock and horror as the two clashed, the male retreating soon after with Godzilla hot in pursuit. The truth of the existence of monsters was finally out in the open. Shortly afterward, the dormant spore in Nevada became active and the female Jinshin-Mushi emerged, already fully grown. She rampaged through Vegas before heading to California. With the threat growing, the military hatched a plan to kill both Jinshin-Mushis and Godzilla with a nuclear weapon.

(Pictured above: The male Jinshin-Mushi roaring at Godzilla when confronted in Honolulu, circa. 2014)

The female intercepted a military convoy transporting two nuclear warheads, devouring one of them and killing almost all the personnel transporting them. The remaining warhead was transported to San Francisco, though the male managed to obtain it and presented it to the female in an act of courtship.

From here, the events of G-Day are famously known. The female constructed a nest in the middle of the city and laid her eggs around the warhead so they could feed on the radiation. Godzilla arrived and confronted the two in a long and brutal fight, though he emerged victorious with some intervention from navy EOD specialist Ford Bordy. The male was killed after Godzilla smashed him into a skyscraper, and the female was decapitated when Godzilla fired an atomic blast down her throat.

Just a few months later, Godzilla fought the Jinshin-Mushi Prime across the globe. While the Prime emerged from a crater in Japan, their first battle took place in Guam, where the Prime fed on a nuclear sub before fending Godzilla off with a strike to the face. Their second, in the Barents Sea, ended similarly. Their third clash, at France's Athena II Nuclear Power Plant, ended with Godzilla heavily wounded, drawing concern that he may lose if the two Titans met again.

(Pictured above: Monarch's Titan profile on the Jinshin-Mushi Prime, circa. 2014)

The Prime's final battle with Godzilla took place in a US site for decommissioned nuclear power cores, where the Prime used a sonic roar to shatter the dorsal plates on Godzilla's back, greatly weakening him. As the Prime prepared to plant new spores into Godzilla, it became temporarily distracted by Emma Russell's experimental sonar device ORCA. Taking advantage of the pause, Godzilla fired a nuclear pulse from his back that sent the Prime flying, before he finally killed it with a stomp to the head.

Five years later, during the mass Titan awakenings triggered by Monster Zero, a previously undiscovered Jinshin-Mushi caste, a Queen, emerged from underneath a strip mall in New Jersey and rampaged until it was pacified by the ORCA's activation. The Queen was among the Titans that converged to Boston following Monster Zero's demise.

-----

And, there you go! A rundown on the history behind Jinshin-Mushi, to G-Day and the years beyond. The Queen is currently the only surviving member of the species, with some speculating that she may mature into another Prime some day, provided she is not killed by Godzilla beforehand. Only time can tell on that, however.

Until next time,

Monarch: After Dark

[artblooger19moon]

Godzilla Aftershock

Continuing the story of 2014’s Godzilla after the catastrophic events in San Francisco, the novel finds the big lizard threatened as a terrifying new foe rises from the depths of the earth, unleashing a series of devastating earthquakes and driven by an unstoppable primal instinct that will test Godzilla like never before. Introducing characters from Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the graphic novel delves further into the activities of cryptozoological agency Monarch.

The brilliant and driven Monarch operative Dr. Emma Russell races to stop the threat as clues emerge to reveal a terrible secret—a tragedy, of apocalyptic proportions from the distant past that changed the course of human history, is returning to threaten it once more. A shadowy figure stalks Emma’s every move as she travels the globe to uncover secrets, while Godzilla clashes in an ancient rivalry as old as the earth itself. The fate of the world lies in the balance in an epic confrontation that no Godzilla fan will want to miss

[godzilla-and-aang-monsters]

Muto Prime (Jishin Mushi tipo A)

Altura: 240 metros

Peso: 120,000 toneladas

Primer Avistamiento: San Francisco [Tierra: Teratoverso]

Guarida: Isla Monstruo [Tierra: Teratoverso] Monte Makapu [Avatarverso]

Aspecto: Muto Prime [Godzilla 2014]

Controles: Energia Control [Pulso Electromagnético] Tierra Control [Terremotos]

Aliados

Kaijus y otras bestias: Hokmuto, Femuto, King Ghidorah

Enemigos:

Humanos: Aang, Katara, Soka, Iroh, Zuko, Ozai y Azula

Kaijus y otras bestias: Godzilla, Anguirus, Mothra, Rodan

[spockvarietyhour]

oh these new worms are just tribbles with teeth and feet!

[hrodvitnon]

Remember that one time the Monsterverse Godzilla battled his Heisei counterpart in the PS3/4 Godzilla game? Because it gave me a funny thought.

Imagine if this took place sometime before Aftershock, where Goji suddenly got transported into another timeline for whatever reason, encountered a variant of himself causing a huge ruckus, and just as those two fought, he is then sent back to his own universe. For obvious reasons, he never chose to mention and elaborate on this strange event to anyone but Mothra.

("Remember the PS3/4 Godzilla game," with the PS3/4 I never had. My dude, I'm an Xbox girlie! You telling me the PS3 had games?! Ancient meme aside...)

Mothra: Hey, so that time you dropped off the map and apparently entered a parallel universe, do you think that'll have any ramifications?

Goji: ...nope.

Mothra: Are you sure?

Goji: Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it.

[antiresolution]

trigger warning: This au is based off the godzilla universe (specifically minus one). I focus on the aftermath of graphic disaster scenarios, so I suggest to skip if you're not in the mood!

He stumbles in the second act. 

Prisms of light scatter in Wenhan’s peripherals as he stares down at the stage floor. Red and gold pom poms and strings of glass beads hit against rouged cheeks, gouging out small trails the way careless brushes of fingertips do. The sweat curtaining his skin becomes seamless pearls blending into white face paint. 

The orchestra continues on, drowning out murmurs in the audience. They’re trained to recover from falls and mistakes like any other performer. Punishment from directors and sponsors is always more severe than a split second of humiliation. He could be up and into the next sequence within a heartbeat.

But he’d caught himself on stinging hands and knees. Motionless until the throb of the fall is a numb pulse and his tongue curls dry to the roof of his mouth. Frozen in place as ribbon dancers and masked figures in loose hanfu move around him. The slightest tremor caresses his open palms.

A guttural screech from a violin in the pit raises Wenhan’s head. Stage lights flood his eyes as he searches blindly in the audience. Dancers to his left hit the floor as the stage sways with a thundering crack and shrieks puncture the air from all sides. A layer of white dust rains down against a fleeing crowd, blanketing colorful costumes in splintered fragments. The ceiling above the audience collapses first, throwing up toxic clouds. Wenhan stumbles to his feet as his lungs shudder to breathe, pressing a sleeve to his mouth and nose as he shoves hesitant crew to the emergency exit backstage. 

Wenhan watches as a beam of overhead lights crashes down onto fleeing bodies. Snapped metal groans above from the weight of the collapsed ceiling. Shattered glass pops under his feet as he stumbles back to escape the gush of water from gutted pipes in the walls and stripped live wire. The low whine of twisted metal above ends with a sudden snap. The debris in his throat chokes him more than the pain of his legs pinned beneath steel beams. 

 He stares up at the open sky now painted in smoke and filled with the clamor of emergency sirens. A shaking hand grasps weakly at his shoulder, and he doesn’t recognize the face smeared in blood and dust to his left. A body smashed beneath slates of plaster and metal.

Wenhan stares up at the sky, holding that hand in his until fingers no longer tremble and everything is still. 

-

February 23, 2008

The WPC (West Pacific Coalition) was formally established after an unprecedented attack killed thousands in Shanghai during lunar new year celebrations. This international security effort is recognized by the governing bodies of China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Curated teams of military personnel and emergency responders are deployed based on high risk scenarios regardless of nationality to prevent further loss of human life and destabilization of global society. 

–

Tiles bleed cold underneath knees tucked in front of an empty hole in the wall meant to house a cross. Two weeks ago, the wood had been needed to repair the roof due to a small quake’s aftershocks. Now, no one wanted to make time to properly dress the space for anyone to pray, or mourn, or curse. Rebuilding Busan’s port communities took every willing pair of military hands. Any spare unwilling ones were busy burying the dead or clinging to a warm body, leaving no room to beg God for favors. 

Yet, it’s a quiet space, even if mostly abandoned. Away from shuffling bodies of overworked soldiers and unfamiliar faces.

Taeil stares down at the spray of grey and white now dusting his army fatigues. 

“Does that work?”

The man perched over him reminds Taeil of a bird. Every feature of his is sharp. The way each angle meets the next throws shadows under dark lashes and glaring cheekbones. Simultaneously jarring and soft. The way you wouldn’t expect a row of feathers next to talons. Even the accented Korean on the other man’s tongue feels pointed. Calculated. Almost too precise to be comfortable.

“What…” Before Taeil realizes his reply is more of an exhale than an answer. “--does what work?” 

The other man pauses, but the amused twitch of his lips lingers. He mirrors Taeil’s kneel, leaning a little awkwardly to the left instead of straight. His right leg isn’t fully tucked under his thigh. The way he presses his hands together is enunciated, as if he’s trying to overcompensate for his role in a silent film. He crosses himself, gesturing wordlessly to the sky. 

Stunned silence is the weight on Taeil’s bottom lip as his mouth opens, before the gnashing of teeth beheads words dying to form. His eyes fall on the burning end of the other’s cigarette, as if he’s watching the dying ember of his own annoyance. Taeil exhales through his nose and nods his head at the smoke. “--does that work for you?”

“Only when I don’t have anything better to put in my mouth.”

“Asshole.”

“Close, but it wouldn't be my first choice.”

Taeil starts to stand, tempted to shoulder check the stranger on his way up. Rationality was never his first choice. He was always chastised for emotionally charged decisions during training. Prolonging this conversation would likely end with his fists bruised and both of them bloody. It was the first week in this base. A reputation built on nothing couldn’t be used as leverage, no matter how good he thinks that sharp nose would look broken.

“It was an honest question. Do you ever get what you ask for?”

Curled fists open and close at his sides before he turns towards the door without answering. A much larger figure fills the frame, blocking Taeil’s exit. Dark eyes glance over a familiar wrinkled face. Taeil’s posture goes rigid. He bows his head to the senior officer. 

“Ah, I see you two met.” There’s the threat of a reprimanding edge, though it seems directed at the soldier behind Taeil. “Private Yoo, this is Private Li, a pilot from Shanghai.”

Private Li was now standing as if the casual collapse of limbs on the floor had been snapped upward by a pulled string. He still leans into his left side, as if he can’t wait to drop the salute once no one’s watching. Both men meet eyes, but this time neither of them are smiling. 

“Your new partner.”

–

Wenhan tears away flyers from the front door of the barracks. The images are grainy pixels enlarged sloppily to fit its new frame of cheap computer paper. But the painted features of the subject are clear enough even from a distance. 

“What a waste. You look so pretty, ge–”

Wenhan tosses shreds of paper at the face crinkled with laughter to his left. The mandarin that rolls off his tongue is an effortless shift. 

“Then you can tape it together and jack off later.”

“Shit, hey– hey, hey,” Hong shields his face and steps out of the way of an elbow aimed at his gut. “It wasn’t me. You know who thinks pulling this shit is funny.”

Even if the construction of this military camp had been congested to a rural corner in the city, their barracks only had four bunks. Compared to other soldiers forced to sweat and curse during the summer in a room with 18 other men. 

Wenhan’s busy emptying a shelf of one of his roommates, tossing the best snack wrappers a guaranteed death payroll could buy onto the empty bunk next to it. 

“You met him, right? Did you ask why he was transferred here? What's he like?”

What comes to mind first is the silhouette of a stranger’s back. One man on his knees in an empty room already abandoned by the hands that built it. 

Wenhan blinks. A dimple forms between his brows. He smooths a thumb over his forehead as if it would iron out the mental crease. 

“Ask him yourself.”

Wenhan gains the uncomfortable weight of Hong’s arm across his shoulders and leans away from the warm breath on the back of his ear. Hong doesn’t even whisper, confident in the disguise of their native language. 

“I heard he volunteered for a suicide mission.” 

Wenhan pauses. Considering superiors kept information to themselves until mistakes rose the death toll. It wasn’t so unbelievable they would consider going on the offensive before signs of an attack in the east sea. But Hong was overzealous, often inflating the truth with his desire for grandeur. 

“I also heard he killed someone, so it was either that, or prison time.”

The mandarin comes from neither of the men, but from behind. Fluent as if it flowed from the memory of a native. He shoves his shoulder into Hong, watching the other dramatically collapse as if he’d sniped him. Taeil stands in the open doorway, wearing neither a smile or a frown. Hong still carries enough shame to apologize, while Wenhan feels the corners of his lips curve up. 

Taeil doesn’t seem offended enough to start a fight as he walks further in, prompting Hong to throw an arm around his shoulders and continue rattling off in Mandarin.

“It’s always a suicide mission. Even if it’s true– just makes you stupid like the rest of us.”

Wenhan starts to roll up one hem of his pants as Hong interrogates the other soldier. He presses fingertips into skin, where his kneecap meets the solid metal of his calf, massaging tiny circles into the joint. 

Taeil’s attention lingers on the flash of silver jutting out where one would expect to see flesh. Wenhan could recognize pity in anyone's face. But the look Taeil casts at his prosthetic is devoid of surprise or even embarrassment for having been caught staring. Maybe more like a stranger in a museum. One who could only be voyeur to a past they could never live inside of or understand. Every glance strangely intense despite the impossible distance. 

But without pity.

“Pretty sexy, isn’t it.” Wenhan kicks his heel against the solid concrete floor. “My eyes are up here.”

“I was looking at your third eye.” 

Taeil catches the extra set of blankets Wenhan throws without missing a beat.

–

No one enjoys the nightwatch at Taejongdae. 

Wenhan prefers the weight of briny air on his tongue to the suffocating anticipation of everyone at the military base. He’s empty handed for his shift, with nothing but the weight of a buzzing comm system strapped to his side and the soft glow of the lighthouse glancing over dark waters below. Weapons wouldn’t save anyone on the ground. Time was all they ever had as a counter strike. 

He walks the length of the highest cliff’s paved trail, roped in by steel fences peppered with rust. Other soldiers stationed on the southern tip of the city are wandering shadows in the night. There’s no one close enough to hear him as he hums the beginning of a melancholic note. No one around to complain as his voice rises in volume, competing against the claw of the ocean’s wind and lick of waves against carved rocks. 

Then he’s twisting on his heel, grasping the butterfly knife hidden at his side. Golden light from the silent carousel of the lighthouse spills over Taeil’s face, lighting curious dark eyes and outlining the soft slopes of his cheeks. His open palms face outward to Wenhan in surrender.

“Are you a fucking idiot?”

Taeil steps closer, dropping his hands as he falls into Wenhan’s retreating pace. The only reply is the soft tone of Taeil’s singing, off key and unsure as he repeats the last line of the song Wenhan hadn’t finished. 

“If you can sing like that, why are you out here?”

Wenhan carries on in silence. The lighthouse careens over black sea water. 

“I wasn’t asking god for something.”

He turns back to Taeil. The abrupt stop has them breaths apart. He can see the dark circles pressed under both the man’s eyes. Chapped lips sealed thin. A small mole marks the corner of a tense mouth. 

“I was cursing him, actually. For giving me the grim reaper as a partner.”

The tense curl of Taeil’s mouth softens. The coil of anticipation is gone, as if a switch had been flipped. The entire man’s body relaxes. On the cusp of revealing something more, but pulling back. He sighs like a tired old dog and raises his hands to the heavens. 

It’s not the first time other soldiers warned new recruits about Wenhan’s reputation as an indirect death sentence. Some would even request to transfer before he’d meet them face to face. No one wanted to disprove potential mythology. 

“Idiot.” He barely speaks above the sound of the ocean. But Taeil hears him, kicking up rocks and dust at Wenhan’s heels as they continue up the slope. He sings in broken Mandarin at Wenhan's back.

But his eyes are trained on glints of silver and white bobbing in the black churn. The glow of the lighthouse sculpts the distant shapes into what looks like overturned buoys. He stands still, staring into the sea as if he could will away the sight of dead fish rising to the surface. Taeil calls his name, but the roar of white noise drowns out any thought or instinct. 

His comm device revives with a series of orders in Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog. Sighting along Taejongdae. Prepare for immediate impact. 

Wenhan’s collar digs into his neck as Taeil forces him into a run. White dead bellies of fish are swallowed by a rising dark form. The lighthouse fights to glow around the massive shadow, illuminating pulsing coils of scarred flesh. An aching roar ruptures the air before the tower collapses into a wave of dust and shattered stone. The ground becomes sand beneath their steps seconds after warning alarms fill the air. 

Taeil shoves Wenhan forward with desperate violence as the cliff beneath their steps crumbles. He turns back once his feet meet the solid safety of grass and arms of trees, lunging to grasp at Taeil falling into empty air. Fingers lock around Taeil’s wrist. Wenhan bites into his tongue, tasting the rush of blood and feeling the hot burn of torn muscle as he fights against the other man’s dead weight hanging over the cliff. 

Taeil’s fingernails carve bloody trails down wenhan’s arm as he struggles for a strong grip. His body drags against the ground, slowly inching over the edge.

Not again. 

His arms are shaking, tips of fingers pulsing numb. 

Not again.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (December 11-17, 2022)

After the success of last year's Pacific Rim Ultimate Omnibus, Legendary Comics has launched a Kickstarter for a MonsterVerse Omnibus collecting Godzilla: Awakening, Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, Godzilla: Aftershock, Godzilla Dominion, and Kingdom Kong. It blasted past its funding goal on the first day. The Omnibus will eventually make it to retail, but naturally the Kickstarter rewards include some exclusives, like a slipcase and a different cover, as well as higher-tier bonuses like enamel pins and the ability to get drawn into the comics.

The biggest draw if you've already bought the five comics above is the debut of "Call to Action", written by Brian Buccellato and illustrated by Zid. Logline: "[S]et during the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, a Naval fighter pilot with a personal attachment to Godzilla is put to the test when his squadron is called upon to intercept the King of the Monsters." Well, I'm a sucker for mining drama out of incredibly minor characters, and Zid's the best artist these MonsterVerse comics have seen. If access to that story's all you care about, consider the $15 tier, which nets you a PDF of the Omnibus. K-D-M, who's proven to be a reliable source, is also saying that a number of the minor Titans (Na Kika, Amhuluk, Tiamat, and perhaps others) will receive Monarch bios as well. Those have been delightful sources of lore in the past.

Speaking of comics, @mekagojira3k published the first issue of his self-adaptation of All Your Ruins on WebToon. Read it immediately, it's gnarly as shit! There's a kaiju with crosses on its back taunting a mysterious masked figure and what I'm choosing to interpret as a nod to the Age of Giant Condor!

I couldn't wait for the Week in Review to post about this, but it merits repeating: The Asylum is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a Destroy All Monsters-style epic called 2025 Armageddon. (Insert scare quotes around "epic" if you wish.) Most exciting to me is the return of Mega Shark, whose series inexplicably ended in 2015 just as it and the Kaiju Renaissance were finding their stride. It's also playing in five fairly random theaters across the country until the 22nd (sorry, should've gotten this post out faster). The rest of us will have to hold off until the VOD release on the 23rd.

After it placed second in the last two Movie Monster Series fan polls, Bandai has thrown up its hands and given Super Mechagodzilla a vinyl, just in time for the 30th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II next year. January 31st is the release date for that one. They also announced a third poll, this time allowing fan submissions to determine the 10 nominees instead of making the shortlist in a smoke-filled room themselves. Yes, that means Zilla, Bagan, and the Giant Condor are theoretically on the table (but no Godzilla incarnations allowed). All's you need is a Godzilla Store account to nominate a kaiju and eventually vote.

Finally, for you Dagahra fans out there, his first figure in ages is coming soon from the Kaiju Out of the Laws line. Shame those are so expensive.

Here's the teaser for the Kaiju No. 8 anime—and yes, it's going to be part of the Toho kaiju canon. I got caught up with the manga earlier this year and found it pretty enjoyable. An older protagonist is unusual for this type of story, and I like how he's constantly drawing on his experience cleaning up kajiu corpses after taking on the more glamorous work of fighting them. You also gotta admire the boldness of calling a metamorphosing character Kafka.

SciFi Japan has a first look at a film due next year called Kaiju: Island of Fire. The production company is based in Japan, but there's a lot of Hollywood talent in this one, including writer/director Andrew L. Phillips, who has a background in stunt acting. Inspired by 3Y Films, they've also brought back some veteran kaiju actors: Kent Gilbert (the swishy ship commander in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah), Chuck Wilson (the Futurian Wilson in same), Inge Murata (every Japanese kaiju movie that's needed a German since Monster X Strikes Back), and Tomoko Ai (Katsura Mafune in Terror of Mechagodzilla). No story details yet, although you can probably guess the setting. I like the suit design of what is presumably the anti-kaiju team too, at least from the back.

[jaydrawstick]

My redesign of the MUTO Prime from Godzilla: Aftershock! Always wanted to give her some adjustments. Took some inspiration from Orga!

[kb-amnewt]

Movies are my JAM!

The wonderful and beautiful @return-of-miss-mgm tagged me in a recent post, and I've decided to follow suit. The following are 9 movies that really meant something to me. My list of movies goes on and on, but here's some that stood out at the time.

Evil Dead 2 was one of the first horror movies I really remember watching. It's been one of my favorites for a long time to the point where I've listened to the commentary multiple times. It really set itself apart by appealing to my sense of humor, and including a level of derangement I rarely see in films since.

Godzilla vs Megalon is an absolute classic of a Godzilla movie. The showa era of Godzilla films is definitely a favorite with their weird story-lines and their occasional 4th wall breaking moments. This one holds a special place though as being on my son and I watch together frequently. Plus it features Jet Jaguar, a fan created hero for this specific film.

Singin' in the Rain makes my list as one of my favorite musicals ever. Gene Kelly was a marvel in his own right and this roll was a perfect fit and he got surrounded by talented costars. The whole movie just makes me feel good and makes me want to dance. Plus I can sing along to the whole darn thing.

Spirited Away was my fist Hayao Miazaki movie. I think it is a beautiful and stunning movie just as much as the first time I saw it. I think the story is sweet and weird. The world it painted was strange and whimsical while also having its dangers. I've since learned that most Studio Ghibli films have the same effect, but still, this was my introduction to a great collection.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind just hits super hard on my interest in aliens. As with most Steven Spielberg films it was kind-of a big deal what with the budget he normally works with. The fact that so much of the movie is done with practical effects really drives home how much better it is to be creative with whats available. It's one of the reasons I wanted to get into special effects in the first place. (along with the evil dead movies) Also you get to watch Richard Dreyfuss go absolutely bonkers for a solid hour and a half.

Tremors 2: Aftershocks made me not want to walk off the bike path behind my house for fear of getting devoured. Eventually it turned into a comfort movie that I would play it on my laptop to help me fall asleep, which I can admit it could be seen as a little odd as this installment in the franchise introduced the shriekers, which I would not describe as comforting to hear. Again, lots of practical effects as well as a very entertaining Michael Gross.

Little Shop of Horrors is again one of those top tier musicals for me. I can sing the whole movie. It's a fun, weirdly dark story wrapped up in a delightfully uncanny package. The baddies get their comeuppance via a hungry meat-eating plant voiced by Levi Stubbs. The special effects are mind boggling and the choreography leave nothings to be desired. Put simply, I love this movie.

Labyrinth to me is not just a great movie. I am incapable of thinking of this movie without also thinking of my wife. We've both loved this movies since before we met and now it's something we can experience and enjoy together. The day our son asked us to watch it together was one of our favorite experiences together. We've since seen some of the puppets, props, and costumes in person. The combined work of David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Jim Henson and his team made a piece of art that has brought my family closer together. (And like that I've made myself cry a little)

Scream was another favorite of mine when it came to the horror/thriller genre. Obviously at this point I know whodunit, but there's still enough substance there where I can watch it time and time again. It puts so many tropes on blast while following many of those very same tropes to a T. Upon re-watching you find that it frequently tells you exactly whats happening or about to happen without you realizing it. The cast was great, the cinematography was on point, and I've had a thing for Drew Barrymore since I was in high school.

All in all I have varied taste when it comes to films. I tend to bounce around from kaiju films, to musicals, to horror, and back to light-hearted animation. I have far to many favorite movies to count but these 9 should hopefully give some insight into what helped form my love of the art of cinema. I'm curious what some mutuals might have in there lists so hopefully I can look forward to what, @drgoblins @fat-tea-fat @kolkhozmilf or @transfatfemme @bigfatbuck @brendakthedonutgirl @the-grove and @chubote have in mind. Of course anyone is welcome to give it a go, I don't always remember everyone who's following me back.

Thank you for coming to my post, I hope I'm not bothering anyone by tagging them. This list was in no particular order.

[xolta]

Horror list finale

Xolta's Big ass horror movie recommendations list finale 1970-now will continue to update okay

Godzila vs. Gigan Godzilla vs. Megalon Godzilla Vs Mecha Godzilla Terror of Mecha Godzilla Godzilla: Final Wars Godzilla V Kong

Godzilla minus one Tremors 2: Aftershocks The Frighteners From Dusk Till Dawn Get out Us Nope Virus The Abominable Dr. Phibes Octaman(its shit but i have nostalgia for it okay) The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant The Wicker Man Jaws Jason X Event Horizon Wish master Wish master 2 Pyrokinesis Halloween h20 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Demon Seed Suspiria The hills have eyes House/Hasu Dwan of the dead Zombi Zombi 2 Zombi 3 Altered States Friday the 13th part 2 Halloween Halloween 2 Halloween 3 Evil speak Evil dead 2 Army of darkness Creepshow Friday the 13th Part 3 Cujo Nightmare on elm Street Hell Raiser 1 Hell Rasier 2 The deadly spwan Phenomena Re-Animator The Return of the Living Dead Poltergeist Rawhead Rex Ghouiles Gouiles 2 Gremlins Gremlins 2 Terrorvsion Swamp thing Return of swamp thing The fly Invaders from Mars Nightmare on elm street 2 Nightmare on elm street 4 Bad taste Return of the Living Dead Part 2 The Serpent and the Rainbow Phantasm Phantasm 2 King kong (1970s) king kong lives They Live Pet Sematary It(the mini series and new ones) The blob(1980s) Brain Dead Alien Aliens The Predator Bride of Re-Animator Scanners The puppet master Candyman critters Carnosaur Wasp women(remake version bab ted was changed for ever) Society(bab ted should havent be allowed to rent this Leprechaun Black Sheep Maniac cop Cemetery Man From Beyond The Mist Trollhunter Jurassic park Jurassic park 2 lost world Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Godzilla vs. Biollante Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Godzilla vs Space Godzilla Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla Deep Blue Sea Form Dusk until dawn 28 Days Later Cabin Fever Dog Soldiers Gamera movies (all of them okay) Dawn of the dead (original and remake) Shaun of the Dead Saw Saw 2 Cabin in the woods

In the Mouth of Madness.

[ale10ander]

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur episode tier list

Episodes within a rank ordered by release date

S

Episode 7: Goodnight, Moon Girl

This is everything I wanted from Moon Girl. There's no villain, just ordinary problems caused by being a teenage superhero. Lunella gets invited to a sleepover by the popular girls and is worried about not fitting in. We get some hilarious scenes as she switches bodies with her dino (something she can do much easier in the comics), and her legitimate fears of never fitting in, or of Devil being more popular than her are crushing.

I'm a sucker for any time when a group of people come together to help the hero, and the volleyball team bump, set, and spiking the remote to Moon Girl had me sobbing. We also get jocks who aren't just caricatures. 10/10 episode!

A

Episode 1: Moon Girl Landing

This double-length pilot does a lot of worldbuilding AND introduces a strong villain while showcasing the struggles between being a hero AND being a kid. I wouldn't have been upset if Aftershock was the villain for the whole season!

When Devil Dinosaur comes back at the end, I couldn't help but tear up a bit.

Episode 3: Run the Rink

Lunella gets herself into trouble and has to run the ice rink while her parents are away. Naturally, villains show up and ruin the day. We also get the best fight scene of the series, to Childish Gambino's Sweatpants (I'm winning, yeah yeah, I'm winning)

Episode 8: Teacher's Pet

In a classic premise, Lunella is tasked with taking care of the class hamster. She doesn't tell Devil that it's only for the weekend, and he gets extremely jealous. But, he's a Very Good Boy and tries to take care of Angel anyway. The hamster escapes and Devil tries to cover up the accident, resulting in hijinx. We also get introduced to the Rat King, who was my favorite villain of this show. More of him!

Episode 13: Devil on Her Shoulder

It's the Clifford episode! Devil can't go to the movies because he's simply too big! So Lunella makes a device to shrink him down, but things get out of hand when he shrinks too far! There's a Godzilla fight at the end, and Devil accepts that being big is okay. The ending is a little cheesy, but Devil's so cute at his various sizes that it makes up for the rest.

Episodes 15 and 16: OMG Issues #1 and #2

Woah! So much revealed in these last two episodes! The only part of this I don't love is "Moon Girl" being a name that Lunella assigns to the scientist in episode 1, only to learn now that she called herself that all along.

I really loved the history here, as well as the family dynamics. My favorite part of any superhero story is how it interacts with "real life" and this show has to deal with that from now on. The base raid is extremely cool, and we end the season with a neat cliffhanger.

B

Episode 4: Check Yourself

Lunella gets extremely competitive and challenges a computer to a game of chess. She acts selfishly, ignoring its boundaries until the computer turns hostile. Eventually she saves the day and the computer becomes the guidance counselor. I'd love to see the computer return for more episodes. This is a pretty run of the mill episode that's either a low B or a high C.

Episode 10: Moon Girl's Day Off

Lunella fakes a broken ankle because it's easier than communicating her needs to her friend. This episode has great lessons about lying, communication familial expectations, and setting boundaries. Plus we get to see Casey trying out the superhero gig for a day.

Episode 9: Skip This Ad...olescence

A solid episode that's really just Moon Girl's take on Click. The lesson here is to enjoy the now, even the mundane stuff. We get some goofy AI / Time travel sci fi stuff, but the show starts with a portal to dinosaurland, what do you want?

C

Episode 2: The Borough Bully

This is the first of the PSA episodes, this one about bullying. It's got a good message, and I do like the interplay between real life and superheroing, but something about the giant literal troll, and ignoring it didn't land for me.

Episode 6: The Beyonder

Probably my most contentious entry. This episode wasn't bad, though it did show Lunella being a huge jerk to Eduardo. I could tell that Laurence Fishburne was having a blast as the Beyonder (one of my favorite Marvel villains), but the stakes felt too high for the show. The science fair would have been enough, but the fate of the world? In episode 6? Nah.

Episode 11: Like Mother, Like Moon Girl

A creepy couple comes in and tries to make the lower east side into an Apple commercial. Moon Girl becomes an honorary mayoral figure and gives them all the power they need... until she realizes that gentrification is bad. As Lunella, she starts a protest, and as Moon Girl she beats up the couple and their fancy devices.

Episode 14: Coney Island, Baby

My favorite part of this episode (which had me tearing up again) was Devil Dinosuar being afraid to swim to Coney Island because of the jellyfish... and then doing it anyway and having his whole butt covered in them. What a good dino!

Lunella has to overcome fear at Coney Island, but this is done by facing memories of her past and, for some reason, the Beyonder is here again. It feels like a little too much going on, but it's fun nonetheless.

D

Episode 5: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

This episode has some important messages about loving your body (and specifically your hair). I'm sure it's good for Black kids to hear, and I don't think many other shows talk about this at all. That said, I didn't enjoy Mane as a villain, nor the school picture sub plot and deus ex machina resolution. This episode was rather underwhelming, the worst of the series for me.

Episode 12: Today I am a Woman

Most of the time, Lunella is the one who turns selfish for an episode, but here it's Casey's desire for fame that stirs the conflict. It's her bat mitzvah, and she wants Moon Girl to be there in order to attract a Twitter influencer. Unfortunately, this means Lunella can't also be there, which causes a lot of confusion from Casey's family. I don't think I've ever seen a bat mitzvah on TV, so that was neat, but the episode overall was forgettable.

[alexpopescu]

Comic 003 of 250: Kaiju Score (Issue #1 of 4)

Writer: James Patrick

Artist: Rem Broo

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Published by: AfterShock

Link: https://aftershockcomics.com/collections/kaiju-score

It’s the most dangerous heist ever attempted. Four desperate criminals are going all in on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to steal millions in art and turn their miserable lives around. The catch? They have to pull it off under the nose of a one thousand-ton Kaiju. And a giant monster might just be the least of their problems.

Funny premise: fish are coming to Florida golf, Kaiju (a sort of Godzilla) follows them, thus a heist to a museum can be organized. The person proposing the heist is an artist, who always fails at execution.

Favorite panel or page

[justarandomguyiguess]

Ok so I just got home. Movie of the year for me easily. I literally infodumped about it and other Godzilla movies when me and my dad were driving home. Anyways, as promised, I will put my thoughts under the cut (major spoilers obviously)

First, the Odo Island scene. Now, as most people know, Odo Island is where Godzilla originated in the original film, so it makes since to have the first scene of the movie there. However, during the Godzilla attack, there are 2 pretty major things that I noticed. His behavior, and his appearance. First, his behavior. He was very animalistic in that scene. He acted curious, but wary, and really only started attacking when he was shot at. Notice how he also didn’t attack the plane immediately, instead only looking at it before carrying on. Next, his appearance. His appearance over all is very different in this scene than throughout the rest of the movie. But there is a reason. As we see in the scene where Shikishima detonates a sea mine in Godzilla’s mouth, he still has his healing factor. However, it is not perfect. Instead, it leaves the area more scarred than before. And we see Godzilla significantly less scarred on Odo Island. And tell me, what could have caused major damage to Godzillas entire body that would also give him a resentment towards human? An atomic bomb. But not just any atomic bomb, the 1946 atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll. The test is brought up through a couple seconds of footage in the movie itself, and it wouldn’t make sense to be a later test considering the film takes place in 1947.

Next, the scene where Godzilla attacks the boats. We see Godzilla easily destroy the other wooden ship, whose name is escaping me right now, and we see that Godzilla is actively targeting humans. There would be no reason to attack the boat otherwise, considering it wasn’t threatening him at all. We see Godzilla chase down the boat with the main cast on it, and Shikishima tries to fire at him with the 13mm gun. It doesn’t work for obvious reasons, but I do wonder would it have done anything against his eye? We see in Shin Godzilla that he has protective eye covers, but that was because he adapted to protect his eyes from any damage after they took a hit in his 3rd form. Moving on, we see how Godzilla is vulnerable inside his body from the sea mine. This makes a lot of sense, as he would have no reason to protect his insides from being damaged if noting had ever attacked his insides before. Now, the Takao. We see the humans first true attempt at fighting back, and where they discover that conventional weapons are useless against Godzilla. We also see Godzillas upper body, as well as our first demonstration of his atomic breath. I’m gonna bring this up now instead of in the Ginza attack, but I love how the atomic breath truly felt like a concentrated nuclear blast. We see how not only does it hit its target, it also creates an explosion with a giant aftershock, just like you would expect from a nuclear bomb. In the other films, it felt more like a standard beam attack, but it truly love sup to the atomic name in this one. Not only this, but another detail I liked about the atomic breath was Godzilla’s dorsal fins extending upward when he is charging up the breath, and then clamping down when he unleashed it. My dad actually said it looked the the cocking of a gun about to be fired, and I have to agree with him.

Ginza attack now. The true extent of Godzilla is shown in this scene. We see Godzilla crumbling buildings with ease, smashing everything, picking up a train and tossing it like it’s nothing. This is also the scene where Noriko is believed to have been killed. I’m sorry that I haven’t talked about the humans much until now, I promise I’ll talk about them more later. Anyways, this scene most closely reminds me of other Godzilla films, in the fact that it is Godzilla destroying a city while the humans can do nothing to stop him. I don't have too much else to say about this scene, its a scene that evokes the city destroying roots of Godzilla.

After that, I'll talk about the scene where they come up with a plan. I will admit, I think the plan was kind of dumb. They stated that Godzilla could experience the effects of pressure because even deep sea creatures can't handle rapid pressurization followed by decompression. The biggest animal still alive is the blue whale at 242,00 pounds. Godzilla is 20,000 tons. They even state this in the movie itself. Plus he has probably been around for millions of years. But I do like this scene because it shows that even in the face of terrible disasters, WWII and the Ginza attack, humans are still able to work together.

Next, the scene where Shikishima goes to find Tachibana and reveals his plan. I will admit, I did like the "interrogation" scene between the 2, because think about it, if someone sent you dozens of letters saying you were responsible for the thing that gave you a huge amount of trauma, you have more than enough reason to be mad at them. Also, when Shikishima revealed his plan to Kamikaze into Godzilla, I got chills down my spine because it reminded me of Dr. Serizawa sacrificing himself in the 1954 film.

Finally, Operation Wada Tsumi. First, I wonder if Godzilla recognized Shikishima, and has a personal vendetta against him. I wouldn't put it past him. When the cables where surrounding Godzilla, I was very confused as to why he didn't just walk through them. Like he easily could have, he just didn't. Also, I was very worried when the 2 ships were colliding with each other when securing the cable. I was also not surprised that the plan to bring him up using balloons did not work, considering he is Godzilla. I will admit it was a pleasant surprise when Mishazuki (listen I have really bad memory when it comes to names, I think that's pretty close) appeared with the tugboats to help pull Godzilla up, especially after the captain (completely drew a blank on his name) told him to leave as he would be useless with one arm. I was very worried when we saw Shikishima go for Godzilla's mouth while he was charging his atomic breath. As stated before, I was super worried that he was going to sacrifice himself like Serizawa and leave Akiko without a father. Also, this is just a hunch, but the atomic energy from the blast bursting out from Godzilla's skin could be a reference to the end of GMK, where the atomic blast is diverted into a wound in his shoulder. Also, to some people, Noriko being revealed to be alive might have been obvious to some, but it was a big surprise to me.

Anyways, that's the end of this. I started typing this at around 10:45 pm, and now it is 12:20 am. Hope you enjoyed it because I sure did.

Alright, the showing of Godzilla Minus One starts in about 20 minutes. Last time I went to go see a Godzilla movie in theaters it didn’t go so well (aka the projector didn’t work and we got refunds for a one show only thing) so I’m hoping it goes better this time, especially since this one’s not only new, it’s in imax. But I am at a different theater so it should work. When I’m done watching I’ll make a reblog with my thoughts.

[chopperfancard]

Godzilla was on his way swimming, he was wondering how the kid was doing with all the new MUTOs around. As much as he hated to admit it, he had a sense of caring for Ivory too, like he was one of his own 3 cubs. He debated long before coming on his way, because he knew she likely didn’t like seeing him around. He could tell, even though she always was the quiet and timid type, he could recognize people like her who had many thoughts going on behind those eyes of theirs. And especially how she seemed to always hold her larvae tight whenever he visited. Was it personal, or just instinct? Was the next question in his head. These thoughts came one after another within his head, under the warm sun of the summer midday. His favorite time of the day to swim around, with not a single cloud in the sky, it reminded him of better days. He closed his eyes, taking in the water that shrouded his body as he swam and propelled further faster. In no time, he was here, the area he sent both Ivory and all the MUTOs to, and he was always greeted first with the soft sands of the archipelago. “ IVORY? “, He tried to say as casually as he could, but that was quite hard if you had vocal cords as thick as gravy. He looked around the island, hoping she hadn’t left this place. After a bit of looking, he found a cave, well; not exactly a cave. More like a large hole that looked dug rather than naturally formed. He heard the indistinguishable sounds of MUTOs cocooning. 

“ ARE YOU DOWN THERE? “, Godzilla roared into the hole, waiting for anything to speak back to him. He heard words, ugh; Ivory was always this quiet, probably wouldn’t even be able to hear her if she had the vibrative calls of a Sperm Whale, and was underwater nonetheless. “ CAN YOU BE ANY LOUDER? “, Godzilla called back. “ Y.. Yes… “, Ivory said from down there, Godzilla couldn’t tell if she was sad, or if she that was just her regular voice, he couldn’t have really told because he rarely paid attention to what she said most of the time. “ GREAT! CAN YOU TELL ME HOW I CAN POSSIBLY GET DOWN THERE? “, Godzilla asked her. But before she could answer, he was already crawling down the abyss using his claws on his fours, some dirt fell over him, causing him to grumble. He panicked as he did a misstep and began tumbling and sliding down the hole, creating a mudslide. He found Ivory stoically overlooking her cocooning children, or at least; trying to look stoic. He wondered if something was up, what the hell? Of course something was up, there wasn’t a single time when something wasn’t up when it came to Ivory according to his gut feeling. “ It’s just- I’ve been thinking, a lot.. Too much even. “, Ivory answered, clearly not wanting to talk. “ YOU ALWAYS THINK TOO MUCH. “, Godzilla responded in a witty tone, trying to make her smile, but it didn’t work. “ I just want to know that… If I were gone, would you-.. “, She cut off, trying to find the words to finish her sentence. “ Get rid of my brood? “, She finished, under her breath, likely hoping he didn’t hear it. “ WHY IS THAT ON YOUR MIND? “, Godzilla asked her, trying to dodge the question, but she didn’t answer. And she likely wouldn’t talk to him until he did give her an answer. “ LIKELY. “, Godzilla answered, but with how quick Ivory turned to him, and with her heartbroken expression, it made him regret the answer he gave. Maybe he should’ve lied, but would that be any better? To keep a promise, only to break it when she passes away? What kind of friend would do that? Well, are the two of them friends? Kinda, sorta, maybe?

“ YOU HAVE GOT ME IN A LANDSLIDE HERE, KID. “, Godzilla told her. “ I’M NOT MAKING PROMISES I CANNOT KEEP, IF I WANTED, I CAN KILL YOUR BROOD ON THE SPOT. BUT I WON’T. BECAUSE YOU CARE ABOUT THEM, I CAN’T PUT YOU THROUGH THAT GRIEF BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU. “, Godzilla continued. “ BUT ONCE YOU DIE, THERE’D BE ALMOST NOBODY LEFT TO CARE ABOUT YOUR BROOD IF I DO KILL THEM, THAT’S JUST HOW IT IS. “ Godzilla could have told that she was holding back tears, and she turned her head away from him, and he noticed liquid drops coming down. She likely didn’t feel safe to even cry with him around, he contemplated. And thought, and reflected. Even with the likes of Barb and Ivory, he still resented them all, he stared down at his claws, and he felt the same tingling inside of them that he did back when those two mates showed up, which caused him to come out of hiding. A rage, a specific rage to the MUTO species, that made him want to tear them all apart limb-from-limb with all they did to him, he even felt this primal rage when he saw Ivory. But… he was a better person now, he wasn’t just the rabid King of the Monsters. Kong made him feel something he wasn’t sure he ever felt once in his life; Forgiveness. Maybe, just maybe; for as long as he possibly could. He could try forgiving these parasit-.... Beings. Godzilla mustered the energy to get up, and shook the mud and dirt off himself. He stepped toward Ivory, and sat beside her, curling his tail behind her, he looked like a giant beside her. “ I’LL TELL YOU WHAT, WE’LL TRY TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT; ME-AND-YOU. WE CAN FIND A SOLUTION THAT WOULD MAKE YOU, ME AND EVERYBODY ELSE COMFORTABLE. DOES THAT SOUND ALRIGHT? “, He smiled at her. Ivory hugged him with all her strong forelimbs, since she stood upright now. The hug felt inescapable, which was good, because he didn’t want to escape. He returned the hug with his large claws, competing with her for the toughest bear hug, he knew he won. “ T-Thank you.. “, Ivory told him, but he had difficulty making it out, since it was muted by quiet sobbing. Godzilla smiled, letting her let it out, as much as she possibly needed to.

yeah last image badly illustrated ik lol

[hrodvitnon]

I find it hilarious how Gareth Edwards deliberately showed the Muto pair as caring for one another to play them off as a "sympathetic and tragic monster" and then Godzilla Aftershock and other Monsterverse side lore is like "uhhh actually she just goes full praying mantis on him after sex oh and also they're siblings" lmao

A genuine case of monstrous matrimony? Monarch propaganda? Femuto luring in an eager male for lethal hanky-panky? Incest insects? You decide the canon!

[small-creature]

Monsterverse summary ft. (Spanish) memes

Godzilla(2014)

Godzilla Awakening(Godzilla chasing the Shinomura)

Godzilla Aftershock

Kong: Skull Island

Birth of Kong

Godzilla II: King of The Monsters

Godzilla Dominion

Kingdom Kong(the whole Kong-Camazotz thing XD)

Godzilla Vs. Kong