#goji a real one for that

[crusaderguy]

Shout-out to the big G for going out of his way to adopt some random babies.

I mean to be fair, I'd become a dad too if I saw an infant member of my species after years of thinking I was the last living member of my kind so can't really blame the guy for stepping up.

[ruubesz-draws]

Minus One will NOT accept any imposters... RIP Minus One Plush... and Shin's 64th sandwich... :'(

Btw I it's Shin's 64th sandwich cos people gave 64 likes on my Instagram lol

Godzilla Minus Plush is REAL!!

[lilpuffyart]

Bonus art doodles I forgot to post yesterday

[knightwhoisni]

there's hilarity to be found in finding out what real world shit could've been present in wf 1999 i think

[zzthekaiju]

Best of the Reptiles in Media - 01 - Godzilla (Monsterverse)

I figure that while I'm using this blog, I might as well post my ramblings on a subject dear to my heart: That being the representation of reptiles as characters in media. And not just villainous or vile ones like we're so used to. I'm talking about ones that inspire me. The ones that are legitimately compelling to me. And these posts are an excuse to espouse why.

Plus, it's just fun. You can thank the likes of @tyrantisterror and @bogleech for inspiring me to do these.

So who better to start with than with the lizard who's been an inspiration to me for almost my entire life. That being the one known as Gojira. AKA...Godzilla.

This is the one character in these posts who probably needs no introduction. Ever since his debut in 1954, the walking embodiment of the horrors of nuclear war, among other things, has been nothing less than an icon. This is the beast people think about when they hear "giant monster" or "kaiju". This is truly the King of the Monsters.

My introduction to Godzilla was a children's book called "Godzilla on Monster Island". It was a fun read full of neat monsters living together and teaming up to stop an evil plan. And it left me wanting more. I wanted more stories of these fantastic yet friendly beasts being friends and living together while having fun adventures. Little me was a bit disappointed to find that Godzilla spent more time fighting his fellow kaiju and trashing cities instead.

The truth, as I would find out, was that Godzilla is never just one thing. He is a fun defender of the Earth. He's the terrifying consequences of our tampering with both nature and science. And in recent memory, he's been a lot of other things. But most of the time, he's either hero or mankind's hubris on two legs. To me, he was a giant dinosaur that could fire thermonuclear breath, and that was all that mattered. It was after hearing about the historical significance of him that my respect doubled.

Back then, I would tell you that my favorite Godzilla from a design standpoint was the 2002 version. Personality wise, almost every Showa appearance post-1964.

But in 2014, everything changed. In came a Goji that seemed to have everything I could ask for. So, we're going to look at the one that resonates with me the most. The Monsterverse version.

That right there is perhaps one of the most awe-inspiring entrances I've ever seen in a cinema.

Before the release of Godzilla (2014), the franchise had entered something of a slump period. The last film was all the way back in 2004, and sadly, the kaiju genre was still something of a niche thing growing up. Here in America, you either liked superheroes or real-life celebrities as a kid. If you liked monsters, let alone giant monsters, you were one of the weird kids. That, or one of the kids who never lost their passion for dinosaurs. But those were rare.

Then Gareth Edwards unleashed this film, and while one could argue that Pacific Rim (2013) got the ball rolling, THIS ultimately resurrected the entire franchise of the Big G, and got him a degree of general respect from most film-goers (so long as you ignore the irritating internet drama regarding screen-time back then).

But let's get to the meat of this post. Why is this Godzilla so much better to me than the rest? A few things, really.

First off, there's Godzilla's role in the Monsterverse's narrative. For the most part, he is a guardian of the natural order, a means of bringing balance to imbalance. He is a metaphor for how nature is capable of righting itself, and how we either have to deal with it, or live with the consequences. In practice, Godzilla ends up going up against almost every monster, most of which are only a threat because we awakened them/created them. Yet despite this, he doesn't go out of his way to destroy us. He's not mindlessly destructive or particularly vengeful either. He knows we're a part of the world too. We just tend to grate a bit more on his nerves because of how much we screw up. If there's one thing this series isn't afraid to show, it's that...well, "the arrogance of man is thinking nature is within our control, and not the other way around."

Design-wise, this is one of the best Godzilla's around. He's bulky, has a killer stare, and there's something oddly endearing about how...well, meaty he is. He's like if my aforementioned previous favorite design, the 2002 one, put on both a lot of muscle and weight. It also ties into his fighting style, said to have been inspired particularly by bears. Even the sounds associated with him are amazing. From that hype-inducing charge of his thermonuclear breath to what might be the best rendition of the classic roar.

Then there is the body language. This Godzilla's usual gait is slow, almost plodding at times. He shows clear signs of exhaustion in some scenes. What he goes through is hard, and his job is even harder, but he still does it. It really helps sell his personality most of the time.

Part of why I like the Monsterverse so much is that, for the most part, the kaiju are treated as characters in their own right (that's not to say they weren't in previous iterations, far from it, but it's a bit more pronounced here than most of the post-Showa stuff). Sure, some films in this verse are better about it than others (more on that later...), but I like how you can glean what Godzilla is thinking of just by looking at his eyes. Of particular note is how they widen in "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" when Ghidorah gains the upper hand during the final battle, his absolute sneer of anger in the first movie when the male MUTO approaches him, or...this.

This scene. This one right here encapsulates so much of what I love about this iteration. Where Godzilla, dazed and thoroughly battered by both the fight with the MUTOS and having a building fall right on him, locks eyes with a tiny little soldier. You see a sense of tiredness, of pain, of acknowledgement, and maybe even a little wonder. This is not just some mindless beast fighting for its turf. It's a thinking being. And he's hurt. The most powerful creature on the planet isn't invincible, neither on the outside and definitely not on the inside.

And you know what? I've been there. There are times where I feel like I'm carrying the weight of the world, that there are things too heavy to bear, and its suffocating. Godzilla constantly shows throughout the Monsterverse that his job as a living balancing act is wearing on him. He gets put through so. Much. Crap. From getting buildings dropped on him to being personally dropped from a distance above the clouds to watching his symbiotic partner/mate die, it's almost unfair how we're expected to not really sympathize with him as much as...I'll get to that later.

But he never gives up. Despite all the pain and fatigue, he gets back up, and he fights. And he fights. And he continues until the deed is done. Someone has to rise to the occasion, and it might as well be him. If not him, then who?

That is the biggest reason I resonate with this Godzilla. His awe-inspiring design is one thing, but he gave me the strength to persevere. I don't give up, because he never did. Never before had the Big G been such a hero to me. Such that in 2014 I found myself silently sobbing to myself when it seemed like he was dead near the end even though that was clearly not the case. It's hardly a surprise that I based my personal Godzilla AU on him, albeit with the more sympathetic traits dialed up. Stuff like this made G14 and KOTM some of my favorite kaiju flicks...

...which made it more than a little disappointing when Wingard took the helm and basically said "screw that, this is about the monke now!" Yeah, GvK is the weakest entry in the series for me for a reason. Godzilla's more redeeming qualities are buried under a narrative that clearly is not interested in giving him the time of day or even the benefit of a doubt. Both it and it's successor, GxK, are Kong movies through and through, and that means poor Big G is put out of focus.

I cannot tell you how much I HATE this idea that the only way a monster can be relatable is if it either looks almost just like us or is really cute. Yes, I understand the universal appeal, but they had such a good thing going for Godzilla! And they throw almost all of it away just so that they can make Kong look better by comparison.

Credit where it's due, these issues are slightly improved in GxK. It's not only firmly established that Godzilla is an overall benefit to the world for keeping the other Titans in check, but we get some interesting bits with him like how he instantly responds and prepares to answer the call of the Iwi and help them. It shows that despite his tenuous relationship with humans, there are ones he clearly gives a lot of thought to. And there's also how he makes the Roman Coliseum his own personal bed. Not only is it kind of hilariously adorable, but if you remember how in KOTM he had his own man-made temple, you get the impression that he has a bit of homesickness. That's the kind of thing I like to see! More of that and less "he's only ever angry and he only ever fights, character is for primates only".

Also, while the Evolved design has nice details, I WANT THAT GUT BACK! it just looks weird otherwise with that disproportionately skinny waist.

But thankfully, our prayers might be answered:

With GxK's roaring success (ha!), it's more than likely that the next Monsterverse entry will finally give Godzilla an overdue character arc that doesn't begin and end with "destroy everyone and act big and scary and nothing else". Just please make sure that he doesn't have to die to get that. There are plenty of ways you can make us invest in the guy's story without having to kill him. I WANT to see more of that emotional vulnerability teased across the movies. I want to see him come to terms with how he's been going about his job. And more importantly...I want to see a more explicit Mothzilla scene. A nuzzle and everything. But that's just me.

Whatever the quality of his current status, nothing is taking away how much I love this version of Godzilla. He's taken me out of some very dark places, and for that, I say long live the king.

Also, he brought Mothzilla into the public sphere and every Mothzilla pic made since is the cutest thing ever, so I just love him even more.

[kaiju-krew]

Gotta say, the Space-Godzilla/Battra ship was not something I knew I needed till you dropped in on my dash. I’m all in. Like; I will be helmsman, navigator, cook, and shipwright for this bitch.

I am wondering tho, what are their respective relations to Goji and Mothra in your au? Is Battra Mothra’s brother? Is Space-Goji Godzilla’s brother? Is it the other way around? (Like Battra is Goji’s brother and vice versa… probably not but that’d be funny lmao) or are none of them related at all and just of similar species?

SPACEBAT NATION RISE UP LETS GOOOOOO this ship will SAILLLLL im taking applications for the crew aka send me all ur ideas for them bcuz i need MORE

okok sOOOO. this is my personal au. it's a soupy amalgamation of monsterverse lore, toho lore, and a whole lot of bs i made up.

>goji & spacegoji (i call him kesshō bcuz sg feels too impersonal and he deserves a real name) are basically clone-half siblings (i have a lot of bs lore involving bio to explain this but it's a whole different thing i dont wanna flood this post with lol) >mosu & battra aren't related, but definitely have that Found Family dynamic (battra is a mutated divine moth, so the same species as mothra, but some funky hollow earth stuff made him mutate when his egg left stasis and began to develop again)

and for some Bonus Starter Propaganda: goji n kesshō are chill by the time battra emerges, so goji bothers him to hang out when mosu n battra have their Moth Therapy sessions. that's how kesshō first sees battra and has one of those gay ass tsundere dokidoki moments and is instantly smitten but pretends not to be, runs in the family bcuz goji did the exact same thing with mosu goji bullies him into shooting his shot and gets mosu on his team so they become the main cheerleaders for the ship sailing. spacebat in general has a much longer slowburn than mosugoji since battra is a lot more prone to lashing out than mosu is, so there's no Mediator Moth to quell the gojiran moodiness lol. but eventually it works out and they Become The Gay. they're not as disgustingly PDA as mosugoji but are definitely touchstarved asf so once they bridge that contact gap they're kinda glued at the hip :'')

anyways i have more cookin but that's enuf for now if anyone wants to brainstorm more ideas abt them hiT ME UP im starving for more

[mountmultimuses]

My Top 10 Favorite Godzilla Designs

I used to say that Millennium Godzilla was my favorite design for the character, but that might not be the case anymore. I still love it, but after thinking about for a good long time, I have found that there are designs that I like better. And I finally narrowed down my top 10 favorites. So here it is. My Top 10 Favorite Godzilla Designs

#10. Earth Goji

By far the most unique design on this list. With his tree-bark-like skin and leaf-like dorsal plates, I wasn't sure to add this design on my list as I felt Goji looked best when he looked reptilian. However, the more I look at it, the more this design begins to grab me. Something else that works in this Goji's favor is that he is ABSOLUTELY GIGANTIC!!! Seriously! This big guy got up to 318 meters tall! THAT'S 1043 FEET! I never got the chance to see this series, but I can at least say that its design for Godzilla is one of the best.

#9. Shin Goji

This design for Godzilla is ABSOLUTELY HIDEOUS in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY! It looks like the charred remains of a creature that got caught in an explosion that is somehow still alive. The crazy jagged teeth, the tiny, beady eyes, the purple atomic power, even the splitting jaw is great, in my opinion. The only things going against this design is tail seems a little too long sometimes and the arms are super scrawny. It's a bit distracting, I won't lie. Still, Shin Goji is TERRIFYING, and that alone got him on this list.

#8. Singular Point Goji

I didn't like this design at first. I felt it was a little too odd looking. However, I eventually saw the pictures of the S.H. Monsterarts figure of Singular Point Goji, and found that it did have a certain charm. My only real gripes are the placement of the fangs and that the way the mouth looks from certain angles seems a bit inorganic, if that makes sense. I have not heard a lot of good things about the series, but at the very least the design for Goji is solid, and definitely good looking enough for this list.

#7. MireGoji

Godzilla had a few different designs during the Millennium Era. This design is called MireGoji, and it comes from Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs Megaguirus (though it varied slightly in both films.) There's plenty to love about MireGoji. One is the colors. This is one of the few Godzillas that is green instead of gray. Not only that, but the pinkish purple dorsal plates are striking. It's very eye catching. Another great thing is all the jagged elements. The jagged teeth, jagged scales, and jagged plates gives this Godzilla an edgy look. The only real downside is the size. MireGoji is one the smallest Gojis on this list at only 50 meters tall. Sure, you can argue that 50 meters is the original Godzilla's authentic height, but personally, I like Godzilla in the height neighborhood of 100 to 120 meters. Still the MireGoji design has its charms, and a special place in my heart.

#6. KiryuGoji

KiryuGoji, featured in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Tokyo SOS, is a lot like MireGoji, but with a few differences. The jagged elements are a bit more streamlined, he's back to being dark gray with silver plates, and he has a wolf-like face. In my opinion, it has pretty much everything going for it. Again, the one thing it's got going against it is the size at only 50 meters. But aside from that, KiryuGoji is fantastic.

#5. IDW Goji

The only Godzilla design on this list that isn't from a movie or show. Illustrated by the remarkably talented Matt Frank, IDW Goji has everything KiryuGoji has going for it, only this time, he's a whomping 100 meters tall. Something about this streamline design and grayish green color really works. It certainly helps that this Godzilla is one of the more powerful versions of the character. IDW Goji is like the perfect blend of the two Millennium Gojis on this list, and definitely my favorite illustrated version of the character.

#4. Monsterverse Goji

More specifically, his design in 2019 and 2021. It's big, it's menacing, and it looks like it could be an actual animal. I also love the skin and the addition of visible gills, making this Goji stand out that much more. There are only two major problems I have with this design For one thing, the head's a bit too small. I know Godzilla has never had a particularly large noggin, but it's hard not to point out. The other is that I wish he had more teeth, and that those teeth were bigger and more noticeable. Still, this design works, warts and all. Monsterverse Goji is a force to be reckoned with, and I look forward to seeing more of him in future movies.

#3. Gemstone Goji

This design is brilliant, in my opinion. It's like a perfect blend of Heisei Goji and Monsterverse Goji. Sometimes the skin looks less like scales and more like lumpy, gray warts. It's not bad, but it is hard to ignore sometimes. Most of the time, however, it's not a problem, and this Goji definitely fits with the narrative Gemstone is creating. If they make more media with this design, I'm game.

#2. Heisei Goji

You can't go wrong with what is, arguably, the most recognizable design Godzilla has ever had. Some even consider this the definitive design for Godzilla, and I can't say I disagree. Most days, you hear the word "Godzilla," and Hesei Goji comes to mind, especially his look in Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla, AKA "MogeGoji," with his enormous size, expressive eyes, two rows of teeth, and bulging muscles. My only two drawbacks is that sometimes the shoulders are a bit too slim, and sometimes the legs seem a little too massive. It's not a deal breaker, mind you, but it can be distracting from time to time. Still, the Heisei era does have, arguably, the most consistent and recognizable design, and it's definitely makes the top 2.

#1. Final Goji

I have thought about this for a good, long time, and I think I can safely say that Godzilla's design in Godzilla: Final Wars is my personal favorite. The red eyes, the teeth, the longer ears, the slim yet powerful build, it all works. Sometimes the tail length seems a little inconsistent, no doubt due to the fact that they used three different suits for the movie, but other than that, it's perfect. Is he as powerful-looking as Heisei Goji? Not really. Is he as imposing as Monsterverse Goji? No. But something about this design strikes a near-perfect balance for me. Not only that, but Godzilla's personality in this film is great. Godzilla feels like a battle-hardened rōnin warrior with a chip on his shoulder. And now that I think about it, this Goji might be the most powerful aside from Earth Goji. He goes through the whole movie beating the other kaiju left and right without even breaking a sweat. He's unstoppable. If they made a whole film series with Final Goji and all the other monsters in Final Wars, I would absolutely LOVE it. So yeah, after a lot of thinking, Final Wars Godzilla is my favorite Godzilla.

[hrodvitnon]

Godzilla: are you from space!?

Ghidorah: no of course not.

Godzilla:...

Ghidorah: no one's from space, idiot. I'm from a planet like everybody else.

Goji: Then clearly you're from Planet Dick, capitol world of the Prick Solar System where you were born on the peak of Fuck Mountain, and at your birth all who bore witness turned around and presented their bare asses at you, declaring you the King Shit of Fuck Mountain!

Ghidorah:

Ghidorah: I'mma keep it real with you, fuck nuts, I don't even remember what the planet's name was so for all I know it really could've been called Planet Dick.

[sepublic]

Back from Godzilla x Kong! Gotta say, I love how you have this dynamic of... Mothra is Lawful Good, Kong is Neutral Good, and Godzilla is Chaotic Good. Because sure, Godzilla is officially the arbiter of nature's balance, he's the one keeping things in check; But boy does he not care about what he needs to do to get it done. I like how the Monsterverse has made Godzilla into quite the anti-hero as well; It's a nice mix of both heroic and villainous depictions. He has no real love for humanity, even if he begrudgingly acknowledges its right and need to exist.

If Godzilla needs to get from Point A to B, it doesn't really matter to him too much if there's a fully-populated city he needs to stomp through, especially if he's on short time (Conversely, Mothra and Kong seem much more sensitive to that sort of thing, Mothra especially). It really does make Godzilla feel like a wild card that humanity just has to accept and deal with, and coexists with uneasily; You know, in theory, he has your back. But you're still rightfully terrified of Godzilla, and hell so are other titans. He's the scariest kaiju on the block for a reason, and I love how he's still a mean city-destroying menace while technically being a 'good' guy. Portraying Goji from Kong's perspective, where he's often an antagonist, was a good way to maintain that terror that was alleviated with King of the Monsters' depiction.

Also, I can't help but imagine how relieving it was for Jia to find more Iwi! Trapper makes a good point about how she ends up having a lot of weight on her shoulders with saving the world, but you know what? She ends up having so much other weight taken off knowing there are other Iwi alive and thriving. For years, Jia must've been saddled with the burden of keeping her entire culture alive, finding a way to somehow preserve it and keep it going; But now she can relax, she knows it'll live on with or without her, and that makes Jia's decision to stay with Andrews all the more natural because she's free from obligation.

You know, seeing Monarch successfully augment Kong with cybernetics... I'd love to see the Monsterverse tackle Gigan soon, because with how technology has become so much more advanced since the first film in 2014, it feels plausible that some would see the success of Kong with the gauntlet and think; Hey, let's bring back that project full-force! Maybe they find Gigan, originally flesh and blood, deeply injured and torn apart after fighting Godzilla. Initially he's on life-support with artificial organs, but at some point investors decide, let's just reprogram him into a cybernetic attack dog to defend humanity with!

Alas, Gigan breaks free of his programming; And he ends up going on a killing spree. Because while other antagonists like Ghidorah or Skar King are ambitious warlords, Gigan is a pettier sadist, a bully who likes to hurt and torture. He kills for sport, and that's literally all he's going to do once he gets his upgrades, doing it all for no other reason than fun.

Of course, another part of me would really like to see Gigan still associated with aliens, too; Monsterverse has clearly become modern Showa, we've basically got magic now! And I like that, the weirder and more fantastical, the better. There's an underground civilization that uses ancient technology bordering on magic, the Iwi of the Hollow Earth are like the Monsterverse's Seatopians. So it seems a natural evolution to introduce a more one-to-one counterpart to Seatopia in another film, another group of Hollow Earth humans who want to destroy those on the surface, and worship Megalon's power to tunnel through the earth itself. And if you have Megalon, you should have Gigan, and if you have Gigan, you may as well throw in aliens, not just in the sense that they're from space like Ghidorah, but I mean like. Actual UFOs and the like.

[graspingremlinhands]

So @milk-powrit asked me to draft why I didn't like GxK, to which I decide to oblige.

DISCLAIMER: Those are my personal opinions; of a fan of Monsterverse since 2014 and a nobody with any competence in analyzing media, save some common sense and maybe rudimentals??

Also I already hugely disliked Godzilla vs Kong so my discontent had a part in how I enjoyed the movie.

To conclude English is not my first langauge and even in my langauge, debate is not one of my strenght.

Spoilers alert; so skip or I kindly suggest to block the tag: Godzilla x Kong spoiler.

Let's start with the first thing: I don't enjoy how the tone of the movie shifted so drastically from Kotm to GvsK.

In this post, a youtube user explained better than me why the shifting tone felt like a downgrade. If in Godzilla (2014) Godzilla was introduced by hearing his foot stomping on the ground. It was heavy, massive, it reverbered on the glass of the airport. It felt natural, realistic. How a creature that BIG would move in the real world.

As the user said Realistic =/= Seriousness. Godzilla can be goofy. But Monsterverse!Goji was estabilished in a setting, that was the real world.

In both GvsK and in GxK Godzilla does not feels natural. Was necessary for Godzilla to evolve, to be more nimble, when already in GvsK was already moving in a way unnatural?

Or pulling the 0 gravity fight? What purpose had the evolution, if in the end it was not even necessary. Had really improved his fighting skills? They were the same, on earth and in the hollow earth.

2 reason: I've seen around posts about how media litteracy has gone bad; in some ways about people can no longer sospend their belief and calls anything a plot-hole.

But I think that one thing is suspending the belief but another is the director of the movie making the plot moving from point A to point B without telling the audience how.

For example: Suspension of belief: They had the Beast Glove ready to use, because Monarch was already working on it ✅

But why Jia is the chosen one of the day? How the Iwi in hollow earth knew of Skull island? How the shard to control Shimo works? Why Godzilla would respond to the distress call of the people who fought against him? Why Mothra has a connection to the iwi, in particular. Since in Kong: skull island there's no reference to her? How Jia flew back on Earth with Mothra, without dying for the gravitational pull?.

Not everything has to be the viewer's guess that's what I'm saying.

3 point: Shimo and Skar King are as much wasted potential as it was MechaGodzilla was in GvsK.

Skar is menacing yes, has the ability and dexterity of a formidable foe. He's vile and disgusting, oppressing his clan (let's call it that) and he's even an abusive father. All of these things: but as a villain he's really that dangerous?

He was introduced as this terrible tyrant, a danger to the world. And he wasn't even trying to go on Earth; he went up by accident basically. Because the Iwi had to play with gravity. Or should I believe him, forcing his subordinate moving rocks was to build a staircase to the upside?

And Shimo, sweet girl. She looks so horrible. Her white scales don't blend in for anything. Like she was photoshopped last minute. Her powers do damage I see. But her being presented as one or The first Titan do actually mean something to the plot, to the character? Or a simple red-herring to made her more interesting than she actually is?

Because at the end of the day SHE IS A PET!!

"Oh Kong now has found a mate, so cute". My brothers on earth, she goes on four, is used as a mount the all time and she kept panting the whole time. That's a pet, the old dog you have to force inside when it snows.

It was pretty disappointing.

Last but not least the reason I personally dislike Wingard take on the Monsterverse, which is the point you could probably throw away all my arguments, compelling or not because it's really a ME issue, who don't think no one'd agree and I don't blame anybody for it.

I HATE HOW WINGARD DECIDED TO PORTRAY GODZILLA.

I don't hold nothing over him for having Kong as his favorite. That's personal taste, I respect it.

But when it comes to at the expense of the other protagonist, it rubs me so in the wrong way.

On this point I don't know if I want to discuss it further, but boy I do have to complain on this topic.

To summarize I'm mad Godzilla doesn't get to have the same introspection and grace is allowed to Kong, knowing he can to (if you read the Dominion comic. But since they are only distributed in the US not many does. OR should care about it. Cause I'm first a supporter of the idea that if a media is not capable to give all the informations in like the Movie, you the audience should not have to pay for more. So basically the Novelitation are cool but also a scam)

That's all I had to say about it.

Hoping any of this uphere is comprehensible. If in the end I only sound like a rambling idiot I accept it. This movie is too stupid to be too mad about it.

I'll just ignore it

[empressofmankind]

The Show Must Go On - Pt. 1

Buggy x F!OC

Waitering at Baratie is not a bad life, but that doesn't mean life couldn't be better. That life didn't use to be better.

It's Wednesday evening, and that means entertainment is on the menu for the restaurant's late night diners. She enjoys doing so, truly, but her mood has been spiraling and she's not feeling it today. (Un)fortunately, she is not the only entertainer in the room. And the show must go on.

Tags: Fluffy like black cotton candy. Pre-amble to a whole lotta will-they-wont-they. No smut (yet) :(

Word count: 4.7k

{PART II}

A/N: For those of you new here, coming in from the OPLA tags: I enjoy writing character driven stories - thus the OC and not a Reader-insert. I am the type of author that gleefully goes through their baggage and holds a yard sale. And Buggy has a lot of baggage.

PS. I know it's no longer the 90s, and this isn't geocities, but please listen 'Party at Baratie' with Buggy's entrance. I promise, it won't disappoint.

Baratie wasn’t full yet, but it would be by the time the clock struck ten. It always was on Wednesday nights. Shivs cleared the table as the couple rose to shrug on their coats and leave. They were regulars, a fisherman and his wife who liked their baked cod with a generous helping of Zeff’s home ground mustard. More often than not, they brought the fish for their dish. She liked them. They were nice people, quiet people. Baratie’s late night diners tended not to be.

“Ah, a free table.”

Shivs didn’t like the tone of his voice, and never had. “And you are?” she said as she turned around. Even though she knew perfectly well.

“Captain Nezumi of the 16th Branch,” the marine standing behind her said with a huff that made his mouse-like whiskers twitch.

Tall, slim and pointy-faced, he always reminded her distinctly of that rodent. Where’s a cat when you need one, she thought. Shivs crooked an eyebrow, slow and deliberate. “Who?”

“I don’t have to ask who you are,” he hissed, whiskers trilling. “Goji berry red hair, missing eye: short-straw Shivs. A pirate.”

“A waiter.” Shivs wiped down the table. “Reservations go through Xavier.” She raised her hand to alert the maître d’ at the top of the stairs.

“Illegal seaters,” she said as the timid fishman approached them.

“Well, have I never!” she heard Nezumi sputter as she left. Making her way to another table in need of clearing, she was stopped by other regulars — louder regulars. Toby and his crew. Four in all, they were about her own age. She looked at the hand on her elbow, old bruises around the knuckles.

“What is it?” she said as she turned to them and shook it.

“Will there be a show tonight?” Toby grinned, showing off a silver canine through black bangs.

“No, I don’t think so. Can I get you boys anything?”

“It’s Wednesday!” Toby spread his hands in mock disbelief. “There cannot not be a show! We put in real effort to stay sober this long.” The way his grin was lopsided suggested otherwise.

“Tough luck,” Shivs said as she stacked their pint glasses.

A hand around her wrist, the one steadying the glassware. She followed it up his arm and to his face. He’d plastered a preposterous pout on it. “I don’t need luck.”

She considered tugging her wrist, letting him smash the glasses as he pulled her back. And stabbing him in the face with one. “Does that grimace ever work for you?”

Sanji appeared at her side, a tray on his fingertips. “Leave madam alone or I’ll have you lot banned permanently this time.”

Making the smart choice, Toby let go.

“Your drinks, gentlemen,” Sanji said as he took pints from his tray and put them in front of the four pirates. Shivs left while they were distracted. There was not going to be a show tonight, she decided. Fuck them.

At the sudden shouting, followed by a deafening roar and a cackle, Shivs abruptly turned to look behind her. Yet the commotion was up the steps and near the restaurant entrance, where Xavier attempted to calm the motley crowd roused before him. Which included a lion. A large lion with a lilac coat and mane, and red face paint daubed on his snout. Customers seated below had risen to look, too. A woman screamed when the lion roared once more, the sound reverberating through the wooden beams of Baratie’s hull.

“Animals are not allowed inside, good sirs.” Xavier’s nervous voice rose only just above the ruckus.

“Animal? Richie is no mere animal —.”

Shivs squinted, her jaw jutting a little forward. Is that a clown?

“—he is a founding member of my troupe!”

“Richie?” Xavier’s voice pitched as he leafed through his register book. “Oh, ah, he’s on the list. I see. That makes, um, how many?”

“Thirteen.”

“Why yes, of course.” Xavier pushed his glasses up his nose and closed his book. He turned towards the dining room at the bottom of the stairs and caught Shivs’ gaze, motioning her towards the long table in front of the hall’s modest stage.

Taking the hint, Shiv shook out her cloth and went to it.

Xavier coughed for attention, and the few diners that hadn’t been staring up yet turned to do so now. “Captain Buggy,” he announced with sober dignity. “And, hrm. Crew.”

“No. No-no-nono. That is no good!” The blue-haired captain shooed Xavier out of his spot. In red stripes, baggy pants and schmink, he did look like a clown. One that had slept the past week in the bilge. Shivs wondered if he’d reek.

“Spotlight!” He said with a wave of his gloved hand. Benji, the techie that worked the stage lights and curtains during shows, obliged with a nice bright beam, sparkling off the captain’s wide grin. Where the jaunty music came from, Shivs had no idea.

“I am Buggy,” he announced, and it animated his whole face. “Buggy, the Star Clown. Buggy, the Flashy Fool. Buggy, the—.”

“Pirate.”

The music scratched to a stop as Buggy turned on his boot heel to the speaker. It was Nezumi, standing prim with his unit beside the table he’d been denied.

“And your name is?” Buggy pulled a grimace as if he’d found three-day-old cotton candy stuck to his glove. Then it became a grin again, though this time it didn’t reach his eyes. “Nooo, let me guess: Captain Obvious?”

Shivs snorted as a woman in a glittery leotard held up a sign that read ‘laugh’ in gaudy calligraphy, and the diners did.

“My sincere apologies, captain Nezumi,” Xavier said as he ushered the marines away. “But you have no reservation and I must therefore ask you to leave.”

“Toodles!” Buggy said with a little wave.

The spotlight trailed after the marines slinking away, but Buggy snapped his fingers and it promptly returned to him.

“Now, where was I?” He straightened to his full height and adjusted his hat. “Ah yes, I am Buggy!” The music restarted as he flicked out his coat tails behind him and sashayed down the steps, his timing to the tune and his own words impeccable. “Buggy, the Star Clown. Buggy, the Flashy Fool. Buggy, the Genius Jester!” He spread his arms wide as his grin. “Has come to your magnificent establishment with his fabulously flashy troupe!”

Acrobats spilled from behind him, flanking his descent with handstands down the steps and sliding along the curving railings. There was a fire-breather too, causing many ohs and ahs. And the lion, of course, roaring once more.

Shivs gave the table a quick wipe down as they came towards her, spotlight and lion and wide smiles and all. Buggy paused beside her, head cocked, bicorne comically askew.

“What?” she said.

He pouted and pointed at the table. “Missed a spot, candy cane.”

She realised her mistake the moment she leaned forward to look, but he’d already flicked her nose with a cackle. At least the laughter around her sounded forced.

She was going to say something about polishing someone’s overly large nose but didn’t. Up close, she wasn’t so sure it wasn’t real. And she’d glimpsed half a dozen stilettos lining the inside of that tacky fur coat when he bend towards her. No one carried that many unless they knew how to throw them.

Instead, she pulled out the chair at the head of the table for him, and he seemed properly surprised for a moment.

“Such service,” he said as he crossed his long legs and sat down, his grin broad and toothy. She moved her gaze up and narrowly avoided it lingering on his nose. His eyes were as blue as clear ocean skies and framed by impressively long lashes for a man. They batted up at her and that did something. She wondered if the red lipstick covering half his face would smear even further if she kissed him. Wondered if Zeff might actually fire her for it. She had a suspicion this was the ‘special guest’ the old cook had alluded to.

He certainly looked special.

The lion’s grumbled roar drew both their attention.

“There are only twelve seats,” Buggy observed with a note of displeasure.

Xavier all but appeared at his elbow out of nowhere. “Apologies, truly. Perhaps, a divan for the noble beast?”

Buggy glanced at Richie, who sat down with a plop like an overly large dog. He motioned between his own and the seat of a man in a poorly done bear costume. Or was that meant to be a lion also?

“Put it here,” he said, then turned to Shivs, an edge of teeth peeking through his red smile. “Honey cake, the menu?”

“I’ll fetch the chef,” she said. “Would you like something to wet your tongue, in the mean time?”

“North Blue gin?”

She’d somehow expected him to order a cocktail. “Not something sweet?”

His grin managed to split wider yet as his blue eyes flicked down and up. “Are you ‘something sweet’?”

“No.”

He winked and clicked his tongue for emphasis. “Then no.”

“A’right,” Shivs said and made her way back to the galley at the rear of the restaurant. She spotted Zeff by the stove, tasting a creamy-looking soup.

“Needs more oregano,” the old chef muttered under his breath.

“A whole damn circus just arrived,” she said as she walked up to him.

“Ah, good, I was expecting him.” Zeff put the soup ladle down and he turned to her. “Pirate captain. His name is Buggy—.”

“—the clown,” Shivs finished with a chortle. “The face paint gave the surprise away. You know him?”

“We met, briefly. Long time ago,” he brushed her question aside as he wiped his hands on a dishcloth.

“Haven’t seen his mug on paper?” she said. Though that in and of itself wasn’t so strange. Zeff kept Baratie free of that sort of tacky wallpaper. Those who knew, knew. Those who didn’t, dined none the wiser. And she hadn’t left Baratie in… some time.

“It graces a few towns and forts, I imagine,” he said with a smile. “Though probably not as many as he’d like.”

Yes, that ego had been hard to miss. Shivs tilted her head. “How much is his bounty?”

“Twelve million, last print I saw? Probably gone up since then.”

“That’s not bad for the East Blue,” she said, actually surprised. He must have some tricks up his sleeves. It made her think of the knives. And those cheeky blue eyes batting up at her. “Xavier seated them at the oval table. Asked for the menu, told him I’d fetch the chef.”

“Is that so?” Zeff chuckled. “I best get to them then.”

“Zeff.”

The chef paused halfway moving past her.

“I am not performing,” Shivs said. “Not tonight.”

He turned back to her, a frown drawing his bushy eyebrows down. “You like doing it?”

She set her jaw. “If you want a show, ask the clown. I’m sure, if you ask plenty nicely, he’ll have his whole freakshow up on the tables in no time.”

Zeff gave her a fond look. “Our Wednesday guests come for you.”

“No doubt he has some in his troupe as well, if that’s what they want to see.”

“If you want to become better at it, you’ll have to practice.” Humour sparkled in the old pirate chef’s eyes. “Maybe you can get some professional critique, huh?”

From a clown? Her thoughts scoffed. Although, he did have all those knives. People weren’t always 'one act' wonders.

She pursed her lips. “Fine.”

“Atta girl.” He gave her shoulder a good squeeze and a little shake. “Can you start on the dishes until then?”

“Sure.”

By the time ten o’clock came around, Baratie was packed. It always was on Wednesday nights. Shivs had taken off the blouse she wore under her waiter’s vest. This way, she had better freedom of movement. She removed the scarf she wore around her throat and tied up her red hair in a bun. Then adjusted the diving knife in her left boot, concealing it from view.

Coming out of the employee’s toilet and left around the stage from the back, she saw Xavier already stood upon the planks limed in the light of Benji’s spotlight.

“Dear ladies, honoured gentlemen,” Xavier said with solemn dignity. The diners quieted as the lights in the hall dimmed and the spotlight brightened, setting a shimmer to the maître d’s well-manicured scales. “May I introduce to you—.”

“BoooOOOooo!”

Buggy, hands touted beside his mouth like a megaphone as he rose from his seat.

“Sir!” Xavier admonished at the blatant breach of proper etiquette.

The spotlight jumped to the clown, who stood in it like a flower turning towards the sun.

You really love yourself limed in stage lights, don’t you? Shivs thought, standing in the shadows off-stage.

“This is not a show,” Buggy said in a tone as if a great offence had been committed. He spread his arms wide. “This is a farce!”

Before anyone could stop him, he’d hopped on stage, the spotlight kissing his heels. He blatantly stepped in front of Xavier and turned to the diners.

“Grand folk! Welcome, welcome!” he proclaimed with animated gestures — he talked with his whole body. “Tonight, you will have the rare pleasure, the absolute singular privilege, of being the very first to witness Buggy’s Astoundingly Flashy Impromptu Diner Show!”

The lights did a little colour switching dance at his last words. Benji was having fun, at least.

The dinner guests applauded even before the woman held up her sign. Visibly delighted, Buggy turned to Shivs. “You need an introducing act, caramel popsicle.” He beckoned in the direction of his crew without breaking his gaze away. “Cabaji!”

A lanky young adult rose, followed by several fellows. Acrobats and jugglers, turned out. The diners liked it well enough, but the applause was notably less than before. Shivs frowned at the flicker of irritation flitting under the surface of Buggy’s expression the split second before his perpetual grin reasserted itself.

“Next, all the way from the deep, dark South Blue,” Buggy announced, his tone low and dangerous. “A true wild beast, a known man-eater!”

The audience gasped unprompted as the lion came onto the stage with a great roar, the man in the poorly made suit in its wake. Its handler, Shivs supposed.

An elderly lady at a front table, attired in a fabulously expensive appearing gown, waved her fan all but on the brink of fainting.

“Fear not, sweetest of candied apples,” Buggy said, leaning forward from the stage to take her hand and allow for a dramatic pause. He kissed the air just above her silken glove. “Fear not. For the monster is no more.” He rose, spreading his arms as he turned towards the lion while addressing the diners: “He is now Richie, the dancing lion!”

And, sure enough, at a prompt of his handler, the lion rose on its hind legs and danced. It stepped from one paw unto the other, side step here, side step there, turning in a circle and pawing with a front leg punctuated by a much sweeter roar.

The applause was genuine and excellent as the lion sat down with a plop and yawned.

“And now~,” Buggy started.

“FuCk oFF!”

Toby, from somewhere in the rear. Shivs saw Buggy’s hand twitch at his interruption and knew what that meant. Short fuse.

“I am here to see my girl!” Toby added, supported by the hoots of his friends.

Buggy glanced at her and she made a puking face that returned a grin to his. He beckoned her and as she climbed on stage; she resisted the urge to ask if his act was throwing knives, perhaps? But only just. She had about reached his side when Toby opened his mouth again.

“Nobody is here to see your ugly mug, you red-nosed freak!”

Buggy froze.

His crew shrank away.

And those were all the tells Shivs needed, really.

“What did you say…?” Buggy said as he turned slowly towards the audience, a wink of spotlight along concealed blades as his coat shifted with his movement.

“Captain Buggy!” His blue eyes snapped unto her and she held them. “It is time for my act now, isn’t it? It’s been such a wait, is it my turn finally?”

“It is!” he said and his grin split to show teeth again. “It is time!” Buggy spread his arms in sweeping gestures towards her. “For the one, and only, fabulously flashy~!”

He leaned towards her, his tone and mime overacted confusion. “I didn’t catch your name, popcorn pop?”

The audience laughed.

“Shivs,” Shivs said.

He made a comically stabby gesture, and she chuckled despite herself, and the audience with her. “Yes, just like those.”

“The Superbly Spectacular Shivs!” Buggy concluded with a sweeping arch of his arms. The spotlight jumped on her as gold foil poppers showered her in glimmering sparkles and the audience clapped.

He turned to her, his smile all tooth and wide as an oar. “What is your act?”

Not what you think, she thought at the sparkle of cheek in his blue eyes. Instead of an answer, Shivs lifted her left foot slowly, and drew the arm length diving knife from her boot. She flipped and caught it midair, holding it now by the hilt, the blade tip down. Stretching her arm, she lifted it above her head, never breaking their gaze until she had to.

Shivs stretched, straightened and tipped her head back, aligning her esophagus with her spine. She took a deep breath, then let it escape as she slid the blade down her throat. Unblinking, she held her breath and watched the hilt approach. When she felt the short crossguard rest on both corners of her mouth, she let go of the hilt and spread her hands.

Applause exploded from the audience as she turned a full circle, showing a bare neck all around.

She retrieved the blade with care and bowed.

Rising, Shivs glanced at Buggy and saw his eyes were positively gleaming. He clapped no less excitedly than the diners.

“Encore!” an elderly man called as he rose while vigorously clapping, and the call was taken up by the others.

“The audience wants more,” Buggy said, chuffed as if he’d done it himself.

“This is all I can do.”

“No no, that’s no good,” he said with a click of his tongue. “The show must go on.”

Buggy turned to the audience. “Do you want to see the Stunningly Flashy Shivs swallow another blade?” he asked, and the response was unfortunately deafening. “Or two?!”

“Are you insane?” she hissed, grabbing his sleeve.

Buggy turned to her, smiling wide as ever.

And out came the knives.

Four stilettos, similar in type if not in make, precisely. He held the hilts clenched between the fingers of one fist.

“Pick any two.”

This was a terrible idea. She hadn’t done double blades before. His knives were shorter and thinner than her own blade, sure. But multiple meant more insertion time, a longer breath.

Sword-swallowers fucked up only once.

She picked the two that seemed most similar, digging the hilts from between his fingers. She weighed them, one in each hand, gauging their balance.

Then held them up to the audience, eliciting a few encouraging cheers.

She flinched at the twin ‘thunk’ of Buggy throwing the remaining two into the stage’s floorboard. “No foldables here,” he assured the diners, who held onto his every word with baited breaths.

There were many people. Familiar, unfamiliar. Sitting, shifting, fidgeting. She turned to Buggy, training her gaze on him. No distractions. Easier to focus on one face than on a crowd. His expression was eager, his mouth a fraction open. She could see an edge of teeth, the tip of his tongue.

This better not be the image I am taking with me to the grave, she thought as she tilted her head and rolled her eyes at the ceiling. She flipped one stiletto, then the other, bringing the tips up above her head.

She closed her eyes.

Banished that look on his face.

Focus.

She steadied herself, breathing in time with her heartbeat. One deep breath. Two deep breaths. On the third, she blew out and let one stiletto slide down her throat.

4… 5… 6… So far, so good. No new trick, this. But now for the second one, and no deflation to aid the ease of passage.

9…10… She guided it along the blade of the first, counting her heartbeats since breathing out.

15…16…17… The slow heat of suffocation started its ascend from within her chest.

24…25… The second crossguard joined the first. Sweat beaded on her forehead. The applause came from miles away as she spread her trembling hands.

28…29…30… She turned on her heels for an eternity.

32…33…34… Her vision tunnelled as she grabbed their hilts. Her throat shifted, her tongue twitching backward.

And then they were out, and she drew in the breath of the drowning, great gulps of it as she blinked stars from her eyes.

They focussed on Buggy.

His eyebrows had drawn up into a pout, but cotton candy clouds drifted past his wide blue eyes. Her gaze dodged his nose and landed on his mouth. He was biting his bottom lip. Her eyes flicked down, but his baggy pants and sash revealed nothing, or hid everything.

She flipped the stilettos and held them hilt first out to him. “These are yours.”

He snapped out of it with a smile, taking them off her hands and bending down to fetch the ones sunk into the floorboards.

Shivs pursed her lips, watching his butt shift. It was only fair, that look on his face had been a whole lot of something. Stupid clown.

He farewelled the show with the same flourish and drama he’d initiated it. The spotlight dimmed, the curtains closed, and the audience applauded one final time.

“That was more than perfect cherry tootsie,” Buggy beamed as they walked off-stage.

“I regret everything,” Shivs said. A slow, pulsing headache whined at the back of her neck. Her throat was sore. She hoped she hadn’t nicked anything.

Buggy’s face fell faster than the curtains at her words. “You are a talent, a natural, unique,” he said, all hands and exaggerated encouragements as he spoke. “You will be great one day, the greatest! Famous! Performing on the Grand Line, in the New World!”

He was right in front of her now, all but nose to nose. “You are a class act. You are one of a kind. You are—.”

“—in pain.”

“Chocolate toffee you must rest,” he said in a tone people usually got before launching into a hug or some other type of physical reassurance. It never came. He just looked at her with a concerned pout and held his own hands.

She smiled weakly. “I’ll live.”

“You must,” he grinned, then produced a shimmering golden ticket from an inside pocket of his coat. He held it between two fingers and out to her. “You should join my crew.”

“I’ll think about it,” Shivs said as she took the card without really looking at it, and out of politeness more than anything. Short fuse.

She watched him leave with a spring in his step.

It was a long while before the last diners had left, and longer still until the gold confetti had been cleaned up. Shivs sat at the bar, broom leaned against the stool beside her. Baratie was presentable once more. There was a pile of dishes, but those could wait till tomorrow. The ticket Buggy had given her laid on the bar beside her glass of water. It was a gaudy, gold foil iteration of an old-timey circus entrance pass. The front was graced by a red-nosed Jolly Roger, and the back told her on which slip the ship was docked and when they’d leave. Big Top, slip 9. Tomorrow, at 07:00. She’d smiled at the name, wondering if it would look as ridiculous as its captain. Probably.

“Saw you talk,” Zeff said.

Shivs spooked out of her thoughts at his words, not having heard him approach. He stood beside her, drying the last of the pint glasses.

“Any good feedback?”

She pinned the ticket with her middle finger and slid it towards him across the bar. Zeff put the glass down, the dish cloth across his shoulder, and wiped his hands before picking it up.

“Asked you to join his crew?” he said as he read the ticket.

“Hah. Told me to join his crew, more like.”

Zeff handed it back to her. “Will you?”

Shivs wound the ticket around her finger, making the foil crinkle and crackle in the silence. She ran her tongue past her teeth.

“No.”

The short word sounded dry and definitive.

“No,” she repeated as she shook her head and let the ticket unfurl from her finger and fall onto the bar. “He’s weird and pushy.”

“He’s an odd one.” Zeff set the broom aside and sat on the barstool beside her. “Though all pirate captains are, this old cook included.” There was humour in his tone. “The sea gets peculiar with you, you know this.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. It’d been years since she had sailed. She’d thought it would have been different, that last time. That their bond would have mattered. She pulled a stray bang free and watched the red strands slip through her fingers. You pushed your will with smiles, but pushed it all the same.

Zeff gave her a gentle nudge. “He asked you to join his crew, not to marry him.”

Privately, she wasn’t so sure all of them understood the distinction. She did miss the ocean. Baratie was ever at sea, but it was not the same. She realised, she’d held out hope he’d come back. Even though he had told her — 'I am not coming back.'

It made her angry. Angry with him, for leaving. Angry with herself, for. For what? Defaulting to existing instead of living?

Zeff observed her in silence.

“I like my life,” she said. “Here, with you and Sanji. The restaurant, our guests. It’s nice.” And it was, and she refused to be ungrateful. To just… leave.

“Your dream is not becoming a cook,” Zeff said as he tried to catch her gaze. “You’re young yet. You enjoyed being a pirate.”

Shivs looked at the ticket, wrinkled but shining no less for it.

“What is your dream?” he asked gently.

To not be miserable, she thought, then shrugged, half-heartedly. “Swallow the biggest sword on the Grand Line, I guess.”

That drew a chuckle from the old cook. “You are still a pirate, and you want to become the best sword-swallower across the Blue.” His gaze flicked from her to the ticket and back. “Sounds to me, this is the crew to be.”

12 million, she thought. It was not nothing, but. “I don’t want to tie myself to an anchor thrown into the East Blue.”

“You know, I once met a captain along the Grand Line while searching for the All Blue.” Amusement tugged at the corner of Zeff's lips. “Decent fellow, solid crew. Though I distinctly remember being mouthed off by someone with a red nose.”

Shivs cocked her head. “He’s sailed the Grand Line? Under whom?”

“A good captain. Went before his time, really.” Zeff’s face clouded with sorrow. “Famous now only for his last words and lost treasure.”

Shivs speared the ticket with a finger. “That’s a former Roger pirate?” Impossible. “He can’t be that old.” He was maybe a few years older than her, tops. “He’d have been—.”

Zeff smiled. “—half as tall as he is now.”

Shivs sat back, crossing her arms. Thinking.

“Why would he leave the Grand Line?”

Now it was Zeff who shrugged. “Ask him?”

“That’ll go over well, I am sure,” Shivs huffed, amused despite herself. Hi, why did you tail it out of the Grand Line? Oh, it was embarrassing? Oops. No, not bloody likely that she’d ask.

Zeff observed her for a moment, then said: “Will you be skipping breakfast, tomorrow?”

Shivs glanced at the ticket. The ship, the slip, the time. She smoothed the creases out of the jolly Roger, running a finger right across its big red nose.

“I’ll think about it.”

Zeff patted her shoulder and rose. “You do that, girl.”

Shivs watched him leave, listened to the tap of his peg-leg receding. Then rose, crumpled the ticket and threw it on the ground.

Tag list: @gingernut1314 @gabegade

Stupid clown.

{PART II}

[multi-fandomsfreak]

Art Dump 2:

Hey y’all I’m back. Just here to post some art I did between my last post and now. Still going to be on a break from doing requests though. Also at some point later on (because it’s like past 5am here) I’ll be posting a body reference for my online sona because as you’ll see later on I decided to create one but since it’s late I’m going to get some sleep then I’ll start it and upload it. I’m also going to update my introduction because I don’t really like how it looks. Anyways that’s it. ~Blaze/Dawn

TW: Blood + Missing Limbs + Possible Scopohobia or Trypophobia? (In photo 3)

Little gloopy man (Basically if Chernobyl can travel to the real world) -

Chernobyl As A Human (Just the sketch because I didn’t like how the Lineart looked. Also ignore the reference in the corner) -

A Host Greets The King (After listening to Dark Forest for the umpteenth time I realised that Coronation and My EXE oc have somethings in commmon so I drew them together. Also used this as an excuse to place my HC’s onto Coronation) -

DILF Chernobyl (Yes I’m making him a Father mostly because I want to traumatise this dude so goddamn much. I’ll explain the lore behind it at some point but for now take this information as you will) -

Chartreuse Needs To Keep Its Streak (Basically My Pokepasta OC of spirits taking forms of Red, Blue and Leaf just to be cult leaders. By the way all three of them use it/its pronouns with Crimson and Azure sometimes using He/Him and Chartreuse sometimes using She/Her) -

My Sona -

Split Sketch (Been obsessed with Regretevator lately so I drew Split. Again ignore the reference in the corner) -

Bro Is Mr Virtual Ascending? (Been listening to a lyric cover by Luke Goji on YouTube and basically this was my reaction to it) -

[adm-starblitzsteel-4305]

“Godzilla usually cuddles her every time, inhaling her lovely scent.”

He’s so real for that

"You've got to be kidding me, aren't you Goji?" The Queen asked, her voice muffled by her fluffy fur.

Of course, why would it be? Thought Godzilla, his face squashed on her delicate fur, the loveliest scent of rare flowers are addicted, for a King to his Queen.

Both were tired dealing with almost a month of checking the humans and Titans. So much that the King of the Monsters yearned her scent. When the two finally met each other, they settled down on a huge cozy cave.

That didn't wipe his goofy smile upon landing his golden orange eyes at Mothra's lovely sapphire blue ones.

Something that he really, really meant to cuddle her for a long time.

The King bring his tongue out to lick her fur, nipping it tenderly. She squirmed a bit, almost feared if he squished the moth too much, but he was a gentle King.

"Feeling better?" Godzilla asked, earning a nod to Mothra.

Adjusting one more time of their position, the moth finally fall asleep.

He took one last inhale of her scent, feeling his mind become lightheaded, dreaming of their never ending love and loyatly to one another...

"Good night, My Queen."

[theizzifromosaka]

I'm Back

Remember when I made those monster categories and said I'd test them out? I went out and looked for some monsters from various sources to try and categorize, and my system mostly holds up.

Here's that post btw, TL:DR the categories were Natural, Extraterrestrial, Paranormal, Artificial and Deific

Reporting my findings, source by source:

Pokemon are mostly what you'd expect. Mostly Natural, a few Paranormal, extraterrestrial and Artificial and a handful of Deific.

There were a few interesting cases I found all in the same vein, where the Pokemon appears artificial or supernatural but is organic

Digimon isn't all that complicated past the initial concept, they're interdimensional beings who can only exist in digital form outside of their home dimension, so they're all Extraterrestrial.

Classic Movie Monsters are once again pretty simple for the most part, but things unexpectedly started to get a bit complicated here.

Dracula, The Wolf Man and The Mummy are all paranormal, Frankenstein adds Artificial to that and the Gill-Man is completely Natural. Surprisingly it was the Invisible Man that threw a wrench into the works, his story is he developed a chemical that rendered him permanently invisible, which I initially made a judgement call on and placed into Supernatural.

Toho is where my earlier judgement call would have to be made again, and where I initially considered making a new category. A lot of weird monsters come from here.

First, a few of the easy ones. Mothra has some vague details in her backstory but it's pretty clear she's either Paranormal or Deific. Jet Jaguar is a human made robot so he's Artificial and Mechagodzilla is a robot of extraterrestrial origin so he's Extraterrestrial/Artificial and many others such as Gigan are simply aliens.

The guy Goji himself, as well as several other monsters such as Biollante and Orga, however, brought up the same issue as The Invisible Man. My phrasing of Paranormal in my previous post was simply "things that should not exist", which ends up encompassing these monsters in a way I didn't really expect.

Godzilla and Orga are monsters who started off much more ordinairy before being mutated in differnt ways, and Biollante and The Invisible Man were intentionally mutated. As a result, I'm considering adding a new category for creatures like this:

Mutant

An otherwise normal creature that has been altered in a significant way, usually ending up as something completely unique

I'm still not sure about this as a category, and I may also change the description to exclude Cyborgs, or the name to better include them, which the description I wrote is vague enough to encompass.

Yu-Gi-Oh also introduces a new complication, though this one's pretty easy to sort out. Specifically, many of its monsters exist in many states which vary the monster's categorization.

The first stage that includes just about every Yu-Gi-Oh monster is the in universe and IRL card games, in which the monster's categorization heavily relies on the card's flavor text if it's present, and must be intuited if not.

The second stage which includes very few monsters is the in universe origins of the monsters depicted on the cards, which don't vary as much as they work very similarly to Jojo stands or Personas from the Persona series. They're mostly supernatural, with exceptions including the Egyptian Gods, who would be Deific.

The same separation concept exists in Scooby-Doo funnily enough (maybe it's a hyphen thing), where there's the perceived nature of the monster, for instance Space Kook being an alien or The Phantom being a ghost, and the creature's true nature as a regular human, which I guess would put them under the Natural category.

Scooby-Doo will occasionally subvert this trope by having the monster being real, such as Charlie the Robot being an actual robot or the Zombies in Zombie Island being real. There are many examples, though the series has been going on for so long it's still relatively underutilized. Other than that it's usually straightforward.

I still need to see if "Mutant" is even necessary, and if it is it needs to be reworked, but my system held up surprisingly well.

[swiftthecardinal]

Jet Set Radio Redux!

So, this is the first post about the silly AU, aside from past drawings. Unlike other AUs, it's more like an AEU (alternate-expanded universe) and doesn't have a specific theme. It's more my weird remix of Jet Set Radio and whatever things I find neat I mixed in built up into a wild little alternate universe I call my own. So yeah, let's get to it.

The actual going ons of this world

This alternate universe is split up into a trilogy of theoretical games, each with their own sort of style and what I'm doing with them.

Jet Set Radio Milennium

The OG JSR of this universe. Sticks pretty close to the original game in the base plot and gameplay style and was basically the original sprout that resulted in the AU, but the fridge horror is very intentional and much more clear than in the real OG JSR, but it's still portrayed in a pretty comical way due to whose point of view it is exactly and keeps the sweet, saccharine, fairly simple artstyle of the source material. Gameplay-wise, it's much faster than OG JSR and isn't momentum-based anymore so the tagging QTE doesn't feel like it's slowing things down too much and you don't slow down on rails like JSRF. I'll explain further about it with the JSRM gameplay post.

Jet Set Radio Overclock

The replacement for JSRF and the sequel to JSRM! Why you're all teenagers still in 2024 needs a pretty damn grand explanation of the lore behind Graffiti Souls, rudies and related magicky hijinks, but we'll have to skip that for now as that'll be explained in a future post.

Basically, 23 years after the events of Jet Set Radio Milennium, Goji's successor and son, Masashi Rokkaku, has totally changed Tokyo-to, now Neo-Tokyo, to a pretty bland metropolis completely absent of real rudies, as in the type of haunted teenager that was present in JSRM. Now it's just a bunch of kids who think they're cool, paint on legal graffiti walls and call each other gay until you bust onto the streets once again in your fresh new bodies like the big damn spooky badasses you are.

Why did no rudies return before? Well, Masashi Rokkaku was using netrium, basically magical Graffiti Soul power as a clean energy source for his big awesome city. Thus, no Graffiti Souls could come around to make any teenagers spooky again because they were getting juiced. This is getting long, so I'll elaborate in a further post.

I'm not sure what to do for the actual gameplay, but it'll actually be momentum-based now. So yeah Jet Set Radio Overclock. This one's plot is... wild...

Jet Set Radio Retro (title in progress)

A prequel game in the 1970's shamelessly filled with OCs. Not done too much work on it, but I have ideas in mind and it's title won't have Jet Set Radio in it because the titular radio station in it at all for obvious reasons. So, this'll be one you get to watch and evolve in real time!

Other Video Games

Ollie King is canon, basically being rudie culture for non-haunted peeps, and lacks stuff like actual vandalism. The predecessor to the "rudies" in JSRO. It's more so me just thinking about the funny skateboard people tbh.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is non-canon in all forms in JSRR to avoid even more comparisons to Jet Set Radio. It's a thing of it's own. Honestly, I would love to but this is more for the sake of Team Reptile's cool game not just being compared to JSR constantly even if it is a spiritual successor.

So yeah, beware and adore my abominable brainchild.

[kaiju-krew]

Heya! After watching GXK at my local theater, it reawakened my old hyperfixation with Toho and the Monsterverse out of a long hiatus. And boy am I glad it did! I wanted to find the people who made the comics that some people dubbed awhile back when I watched them! (With credit of course!) And you and another artist by the name of Ruubesz are a HUGE driving point for my hyperfixation happening in the first place and I couldn't thank y'all enough! And plus your art and Ruubesz artworks are just FRICKIN AMAZING LIKE CRAP WISH I COULD DRAW MONSTERS LIKE THAT! But still you guys rock with your art and I couldn't be happier about it! (And I also ship Mosugoji as well too because I have a shipping lil goblin in my brain too! Soooo yeah there's that.)

(Also sorry if the thing is really long for you to read. -u-')

ruubesz .............. who tf is that.........................

jk @ruubesz-draws is my ride or die i luv them with my whole lil heart!!!!!! truly the only one who i know i will never annoy with my mosugoji hc dumpings. a real one. 1000/10. i would die without them. new collab soon btw stay tuned

anyways rrRAAAAAGHHH you're so sweet thank you!!! :'') the mosugoji agenda spreads daily aS IT SHOULD

i hope the goji/kaiju drawin tuts i got cookin can help simplify the scary starting parts of monster arts!! praying it wont take me 9 months to finish it i want more ppl to try it out, it's a lot of fun <3