#setting & species posts are coming soon for both settings tho

[void-botanist]

Happy WBW!!!

Have you developed any etiquette in Nicea (or other wips) — polite or rude? Is there anything that’s considered “too crass” for polite company?

— @outpost51

Okay, well, first of all, do not call permanent planetsiders "groundgrazers" in polite company. In fact do not take your etiquette cues from Isabel unless she has her captain voice on.

Some other things I thought of:

When you're docked at a spaceport (i.e. the kind with space elevators that go to the actual planet) it's common to use the airlock on the station side as a foyer/meeting spot because ideally you don't actually need to worry about pressure and air content going from your ship into what is essentially a space airport. But it's generally considered rude to hang out in your airlock with the station door open. It doesn't really hurt anything, except there is nothing to keep the sound from echoing and being annoying.

When entering a starship with artificial gravity, it's polite to compliment the hand-painted magic pigment patterns that create said artificial gravity. Sometimes that's the equivalent of saying "you have a lovely home" and sometimes it's like "dude sick floor. who did it??"

Copying over what I said in the tags on that post about Bo, witches wear gloves as a group signifier and a courtesy because one type of witch—dive witches—can read people's minds on contact. Even though you can only be one kind of witch and most are not dive witches, it's rude to taboo for witches to not wear gloves. (In a few systems, it's straight up illegal and you can be fined; however, this is only a functional rule in witch-only areas because otherwise it's literally people calling out anyone who looks too weird, nevermind that most witches dress in a "normal" way and there is no physical "witch" attribute.) In the Nicea's home locality, it generally falls on the rude end of the spectrum.

In many systems, but Antarac and Rade especially, it's not rude/weird to ask if someone is adopted. Like, maybe don't ask it the first time you meet someone, but so many people are adopted and so many families are a mix of the four known species (humans, cow people [I've been just calling them bovids; think "catgirl"/"catboy" but with cow features instead], werewolves [shifters], and dragon people [straight up bipedal/humanoid dragons]) that it doesn't carry the implication of being Different or not belonging. (If you ask it in less diverse parts of Gevorad or in Hybres they probably assume you're from one of the more mixed areas/systems.)

On Rade, it's particularly rude to give people cut flowers. Cut flowers are associated with death because they are typically what people put on graves (because they decompose and don't disrupt natural burial sites). If you want to get someone a plant for reasons other than burning bridges, get them a living plant.

On Gevorad, baking is a big deal, and there's some etiquette around giving people baked goods as gifts. Allergies/preferences notwithstanding, there are common associations between certain pastries and specific situations/milestones. Which means people have genuine conversations that sound like "you gave her a donut?? a COLD donut??? no wonder she didn't wanna go out with you". (I came up with this based on the current theory that Isabel and Rodney's dad is a baker and the ominous Family Business they want nothing to do with is literally just a bakery.)

I also wanna drop one rude thing from TFA here because Dez does this and mildly gets in trouble: calling tree people "trees". Their species name is actually "uep" and while "tree" isn't like a slur it is also something that Dez should have thought more than twice about before saying in front of a bunch of elementary schoolers at storytime. Relevant excerpt:

“I see you’ve brought a friend,” Jaccson said. “Mmhmm,” Lacey said, still not letting go of his fingers. “His name is Dez and he’s a blob.” Jaccson’s smile widened as one of the other sprouts said, “He’s obviously a robot.” “I’m an android, actually,” he said, and once again felt everyone’s attention shift from that other sprout back to him, which only made him feel more gigantic. He was too tall to be sitting among children. “What’s the difference?” the sprout asked. Per was big enough to be much older than Lacey, but didn’t sound like it. Maybe it was a species difference, because this other kid was a redbud. “An android is a type of robot,” he said, formulating his syntax based on his general understanding of network content for children. “So then you’re an android and a robot,” the sprout said. What per didn’t say was “and that’s why I’m right”, but he got that loud and clear anyway. “Yeah,” he conceded, “but calling me a robot is like calling you a tree. It’s not very useful.” He hoped he didn’t also have to say that it wasn’t very nice, either, in his opinion. Judging by the general widening of eyes around him, he suspected not.

(It's also rude to call uep children by something other than per/per pronouns unless they tell you otherwise. Some switch to other pronouns at a young age, some do it later, and a few never do. And it's rude to call Dez a robot because even though this random kid doesn't know it, he does not like that and will explain that as far as he's concerned robot is a category for roombas and such.)

Nicea taglist: @kahvilahuhut

[funky-lil-ghost]

Official™ Hermit Species Classification System

so grian decided that hermits are a species and i said no. no way docm77 and pearlescentmoon are the same species. but like. species is just one level of classification. long story short i gave myself a crash course in taxonomy and spent a whole day making this diagram. (im not a biologist tho, scientists please be nice to me. im just a small boy trying his best)

full explanation under the cut! also this link lets u view the diagram as a webpage

first thing, here's a handy chart of the standard biological classification system (image id in alt text). also btw I took a lot of inspiration from this post when i started figuring out how to apply this system to the hermits

after a lot of trial and error with different sorting criteria, i decided to put the "hermit" classification at family level. it made the most sense to me. also cause. the hhermits they r a family :( they., family . sorry my demons

As a family, the hermits' common traits are as follows from my diagram:

Members of the family parvihabilis have a genetic propensity for hybridization. All of these creatures are hybrids of some kind, although some are morphologically ambiguous and may not display obvious hybrid traits. Additionally, most are smaller than the average humanoid.

Let's break that down.

Hermits are creatures whose genetic makeup is well-suited to hybrid stuff. For this concept, hybridism is uncommon in most humanoids because it causes too many genetic conflicts and just kinda dies off before it even exists. Hermits have uhhhh. squishy genes. They're highly adaptable. This adaptability comes with a few specific characteristics, one of which is reduced size (thanks for that, grian. does it make sense? no clue! fuck it we ball).

I did a bit of research about scientific naming and cobbled together some Latin, hopefully it works lol. The family name parvihabilis should roughly translate to mean small + adaptable.

Next!

There are two genus categories in the parvihabilis family: Aedifex and ingeniator. Aedifex means "builder" and ingeniator means "engineer" (which I have used in place of "redstoner").

The builder and redstoner genera aren't hard and fast "this is what this person does all the time forever" categories, because there are a lot of hermits who work with both. Rather, these terms describe a genetic leaning that usually results in certain specialties.

For example:

Anyone can be a builder, but those of the genus aedifex are genetically predisposed to building-related behaviors. They gather and/or horde various materials, using them to create all kinds of structures. These structures can sometimes be homes for the aedifex, but they often abandon a structure soon after completion. Aedifex are known to be somewhat mysterious, following their instincts to different environments where they become attached to a certain area and set of materials until they feel ready to move on.

Similarly, anyone can learn redstone. However, those of the genus ingeniator have a natural affinity for logic problems and a genetically-wired fascination with redstone as a material. That last part is basically "oooooh Shiny Red Thing! i will put it in my box of Shiny Red Things because it is Shiny and Red". Ingeniator can sometimes become lost in their own contraptions, unaware of time slipping away as they work.

Finally, I put the hermits in species classifications based on whether they display hybrid traits. While all hermits are hybrids, they may not have traits that are obvious or clearly definable. Kinda like superhero universes where everyone has powers, but some people don't know what theirs is because it's some obscure thing like idk. folding sheets quickly.

Hermits are like this in the presentation of their hybrid genetics. Some have obvious traits like wings, glowing eyes, etc. Others do not. The corresponding species names are spectamistus, which should mean "visible mix", and secludimistus, which should mean "hidden mix".

Spectamistus will use their hybrid traits in accordance with their genus: Aedifex spectamistus could include a bird hybrid using their wings to safely build high in the air, a dog hybrid sniffing out the materials they need, etc. Ingeniator spectamistus may use traits such as fire resistance when mining for quartz in the nether, or specialized hearing when testing delicate machinery.

That’s all i got! Hopefully it makes sense, i spent pretty much all day on it lmao.

[m00nj3w3l]

Well here I am (ONS chapter 128)

Ok I'm finally writing out my thoughts about ONS' 128. Idk how long it'll come out (extremely long as I'm writing it it seems...) and also as always I want to hear others' opinions on this, but as a warning it will be mostly negative. I actually did a similar post back at the start of the year with BSD, but BSD at least managed to bounce back full force and do what it needed to do while ONS shows no signs of that.

I'll break it down into the following points:

>I'm also getting tired of the flashbacks (as many already did)

>I miss the Shinoa squad (will touch upon Mitsuba specifically and y'all probably know why)

>The belief that MikaYuu fans are getting much better content and why I think that's bs (will probably mention my theorem of "Mika, along with literally all the women of the franchise, got hit with the mysoginy stick")

So let's go I guess, under the cut so I don't clutter my non-ONS followers' dash.

>The flashbacks: I... Did not mind them up unti now, if I've got to be honest. Let's be serious here everyone probably expected a batshit crazy backstory for the characters, ESPECIALLY Yuu and Mika, and that's what made me not really complain. Now it has been like? 8 chapters of ONLY flashbacks??? Only things of the past with NO break and NO POV switches to at least let us know wtf is going on in the outside world. Christ. The fact that irritates me the most is that all of this adds nothing to the plot either!!! What are the MCs supposed to do now that they've seen one of them (WHO HAS BEEN 4 DIFFERENT SPECIES TOO SINCE THE START OF THE SERIES???) sacrifice for the 3rd time!!!! AND IN THE PAST AT THAT!!!! HOW IS THIS USEFUL FOR THEM OR ANY OF US AGHHFHGHHG. We got other gays going at it tho and that's just funny to me. This is just a BL masked as a battle shonen lmaoooo.

>The Shinoa squad: I feel like this is obvious. Where tf are they? They obviously are looking out for where Mika and Yuu are, how did we not see them again yet??? Some progress in their hunt (let's call it that) for those two??? Shinoa literally threatened to kill Mika (and, for a number of reasons, let me say this: ew.) I'd at least like to see her and how she's doing. And didn't Kagami promise us Mitsuba would get more screentime soon? THIS IS LITERALLY A PERFECT SETTING. SHOW ME HER AND SHINOA BEING IN CONFLICT CUS SHE WORRIES ABOUT HER FRIEND AND WANTS HER TO COME TO HER SENSES!!! SHOW ME HOW THEE LITERAL KIDS ARE DOING AFTER BEING ASKED BY A FULL ON 24 Y.O TO CHOOSE THEIR FAMILIES OR THE WORLD LIKE BE SO SERIOUS THE SETTING WAS *DECENT* (wouldn't say perfect cus I'm not the biggest fan of the "bring everyone back" plot but ok) FOR IT ALL I'M *explodes*

>MikaYuu: Oh boy ok here we go. So since I came back after my rewatch and catch up to this manga which resulted in hyperfixation again I noticed that the narrative of MikaYuu shippers getting better content cus a lot of the chapters now focus on them is... common. And for a while I just thought "ok" and moved on but now I'm fully on convinced it's just. Not true. Not because the content isn't there, I would be lying if I said that, but because it's... Not good. Good content, for me (as someone who clearly loves these two if you scroll for even 2 minutes down my fucking tag), would be seeing actual growth between them, some actual substance in what they are doing as of rn, and we are not getting any of that. Since when did we see them actually DO something? Last time we saw Yuu in his actual body and actually saying something was last chapter and he was EATING. Then we went back to them just passively staring at everything that went on. And to add onto this, I dislike demon Mika as a plot IN GENERAL because it recessed any development both for HIM and for Yuu himself. Yuu acts stupid (wtf happened to him after Nagoya I'm being so serious Nagoya Yuu I miss you so much) as shit cus anyway Mika IS strong enough to let him get away with it but not enough to oppose Yuu at some point and this was addressed as a problem for like 2 seconds and then nothing. Oh my God. And not only that but this fucking thing also shows that Mika did, indeed, also get hit with a mysoginy beam, but that's another topic I want to talk about in another post if anyone even really cares about it.

So... Yeah. I'm not tired (I only started catching up in March after my rewatch, so I'm still curios about how this will go), but I AM sad. I really miss the earlier arcs and the potential they all had that now seems like a long lost memory. Can we all collectevely just go back to the Nagoya one like if the series stuck to that path I would be able to excuse its flaws up until a point because GOD. The eyeball with its Seraph shit or whatever the hell it was doing was cool tho.

As always y'all can tell me what y'all think, but I'm mostly expecting this to get lost in the void given how dead the fandom is. So yeah, see ya.

[darker-overlord]

My OCs from different fandoms!

thank u @kindan-no-kanojo for the tag i'm about to be INSUFFERABLE for one full post <3

i wasn't the type to make ocs until last year so it's like 20% actual old ocs and 80% unintroduced dl charas :D it's my personal acc anyway someone HAS to see them before i go insane (they have lore drops tho so just look at the pretty pictures if u don't wanna know (?))

(also using the dividers on the oc blog i'm too lazy to find a cute one >:D)

Diabolik Lovers OC/s (introduced)

Komori Kayo x2 (human and fiend)

we have the babygrills of the blog, kayo and edgy kayo. jk but for ocs i only made like? january of this year i have spent WAY too much time thinking about and drawing them. hunter came first and the loser meowmeow drenched in milk pathetic loser one came after actually :p

i can go on and on about how i designed her appearance in specific but that's for another day :D just know that her blue/yellow color palette is literally a forget-me-not, and hunter's red/yellow color palette is a forget-me-not drenched in blood :D

hunter kayo's "species" is actually called a fiend (a term i just stole from csm LMAO) which is a very rare set of humans that are able to successfully be transplanted with a demonic organ. yes, yui is technically a fiend too in this case.

Lilith

mother <3

in terms of power levels, she's karlheinz on steroids (bc their powers have the same origin but u didn't hear that from me) but she's on another level of psychopathic. was she a demon before she was banished, or did god make her a demon? who knows.

kayo, seiji, and yui's relationship closely mirrors lilith, god, and eve's relationship.

Cecilia Lune

like spring, gone too soon. all that's left are the ashes she left behind.

Jumpscare warning: G*nshin Imp*ct OCs

i censored it bc i can't believe my first ocs were for THIS GAME...

i have a love-hate relationship with the game don't mind <3 i still think back to these three fondly and i'll talk about their lore for a bit cause this is probably the only time they'll see the light of day.

the two sisters are inazuman-mondstadter(?) in blood, but in nationality they're both inazuman, and their visions have inazuman casing. however, maya lives in fontaine and miya lives in sumeru.

Mikoshi Maya (Wandering Princess)

players complaining about too many sweet girls? here's another one!

from the last name, maya is a descendant of mikoshi nagamasa, the human son of the oni chiyo that served the raiden shogun. that part of her backstory doesn't matter to her as much as it matters to her older sister.

maya's a spoiled and lazy child of one of richest businesswomen of fontaine, and she's also a huge hermit. but she has the power to dream of the future, and it always involves someone needing help. even though she's spoiled, she's very kind in nature, so even as a hermit she often travels to help those she finds in her dreams. she's a dancer and has a very pretty appearance so 'wandering princess' is the title she got from traveling the other nations.

ironically, her nickname in fontaine is actually the rumored hermit, from her tendencies to almost never show up. people see her so little some are convinced that she doesn't actually exist.

her future dreams come into play in an interlude quest.

Mikoshi Miya (Transient Swordsman)

mommy. her name's miya bc i wanted it to match with maya

on the surface, she's a kshahrewar graduate who specializes in mechanics, and she specifically works on machines that can bridge the gap between vision holders and non-vision holders. she's pretty relaxed and sisterly, but at first she seems almost drawn in on herself.

in her past, she was trained as a swordsman by her father, a mikoshi himself. she was considered the greatest prodigy for her time, and she was 'destined for great things'. this was for a specific job that would need way too long to explain but related to this job is the fact that they're a bit of a problem for the fatui. this, and her mother's relationship to the fatui, culminated in someone attempting to subdue her mother with a very special fire made from delusions. however, they mistimed the mission, and instead caught a young miya and her father in the crossfire, which lead to her father's death and miya's hatred for the fatui and for visions.

no matter how much people told her that she was a once in a lifetime swordsman, and how her skill was almost completely unmatched, miya gave up swordsmanship. her skill never saved her father.

miya is intelligent, and always liked making gadgets (her first creation was a mechanical train set at the age of seven), so she instead focused her efforts on helping non-vision holders, including herself, by studying at the akademiya.

miya only gets her electro vision in her story quest, where she confronts her father's killer. she also decides to take up a sword again because of the quest :D

Irina (Witch of Thorns)

mother. that's my name yes but it kind of fits her. i go by yna anyway so i don't really see myself in her JFKJFSD if miya's past seems like a lot this woman has a whole document just about her lore......

to summarize, she's actually gold/rhinedottir's "accidental" creation, something too long to talk about but trust me on this. she's her first child in that regard, and rhine actually tried to raise her like a regular daughter.

they got separated in the cataclysm and irina ended up in mondstadt, which lead to her considering herself a mondstadter. fatui shenanigans happen with dottore and she changes her original appearance to become the witch of thorns, a witch specializing in an artificial flower with medicinal properties. she changes appearances every other decade and pretends she's the daughter of the last witch of thorns, all the way to the present.

miya and maya are her very real daughters though. maya resembles her true appearance more, while miya resembles how she was when she was younger.

(i also have two men who work under irina, yuuya and a runaway adeptus but their lore is like wayyy shorter than the three and these gi ocs are already taking up way too much of the post...)

Diabolik Lovers OCs (unintroduced)

HUGE LORE DUMP AHEAD.................... bc i need to vomit it out

Lunar Clan

the descendants of lilith's eldest, nyx.

while all demons are descendants of lilith, there is one uninterrupted line of daughters that are genetically clones of lilith herself. while their appearances do have variation, they all one defining trait: pure white hair. in my lore, white hair is a trait impossible to have if you're a pure founder. the only founders to naturally have this hair color are these clones, who are called lilith's avatars. makes you wonder how carla has white hair, though not purely white. doesn't that make him special?

there can only be one avatar born from a previous one in every generation, and any other child ends up as a regular founder. back then, this line of daughters were the royal family of the founder clan, then known as the lunar kingdom when all kingdoms were comprised of founders rather than the subspecies that arose from evolution.

they were overthrown in an event known as the fall of lunacy, a coup d'état arranged by the final queen, scylla's adviser. despite being overthrown, their connection to lilith and scylla's own sacrifices continued to keep them in an important noble position. their estate is located the closest to lilith's tomb, lilith's resting place, a garden of forget-me-nots the size of a town.

another special trait of the avatars is the ability to control and summon butterfly familiars, all with a unique appearance. they can also take up the butterfly's form.

all avatars are assigned epithets at one point in their lives. in their time as royal family, they were usually assigned their titles post-mortem, but afterwards their epithets tend to be assigned some time within their lives.

in order of appearance and birth.

Lilith ; Queen of the Night ; Lilith herself wasn't technically part of the Lunar Clan, as it only began upon the establishment of the Lunar Kingdom, long after her supposed death. Still, she was given the epithet due to her reign on Old Eden, characterized by her absolute control over all territories, like the all-encompassing embrace of night.

Queen Nyx ; Lunacy's Founder, the founder of the Lunar Kingdom and the first to take on the last name Lune. Lilith's eldest.

Queen Raikou ; The Silent Queen, the longest-reigning queen, second to only Lilith herself, ruling for 700 years compared to an average of 100 years. Her rule was characterized by its stability, though quickly overturned when the event known as the War of the Fallen occurred.

Queen Scylla ; The Children's Princess, the shortest-reigning queen, Raikou's daughter, and the final ruler of the Lunatic Dynasty. Becoming queen at a young age after her mother's death, she followed her adviser's ill-meaning advice due to the widespread famine in neighboring kingdoms, earning the peoples' ire and contributing to the successful coup d'état. That adviser's family became the reigning royal family up until Giesbach.

Zarya and Krone Lune ; The Dawn and the Dusk, a pair of identical twins. They are the first and only case of two avatars being born in one generation. Due to magic being the focus of the Demon World, Zarya's interest in medicine and biology was seen as a disgrace, especially compared to her twin sister, who excelled in magic and swordsmanship. Zarya was later exiled from the kingdom, though was reluctantly brought back upon the beginning of the spread of Endzeit. She managed to quell the disease's spread all the way until her disappearance, just before the War of Prophecy occurred, which trapped all Founders within the Pandemonium and allowed Endzeit to spread rampantly.

Cecilia Lune ; The Spring Bloom ; Zarya's daughter, the end to the line of avatars. Founders' eyes don't reflect light, and merely glow. Cecilia's eyes sparkled like stars. Hated, then loved by the people, who grieved her death for centuries.

She was known as the human among demons.

extra fact: the divider icon is the lunar clan's family emblem:3 it used to represent the lunar kingdom as a whole, but upon the fall of the dynasty it became associated with the former royal family instead.

anyway that's all this has gotten very long <3 thank you again for the tag ;w;

[ckret2]

What are your thoughts on mothra?

I've seen...... nnnine (?) Godzilla movies, four (?) of which feature Mothra, and I am wholly convinced that she is the only motherfucker amongst the kaiju that has ANY sort of moral compass at all.

It's kind of precious/hilarious, imagining this responsible protector goddess trying corral these big bunches of unruly obnoxious monsters into either leaving the humans alone, or helping her protect the humans from even more unruly monsters. Especially when she's doing it as a larva! Picture a toddler strapping on boxing gloves and squaring off against a bear. That's Mothra constantly.

Favorite Mothra scene thus far is when poor little larva Mothra is trying to rally Godzilla and Rodan to go kick Ghidorah's ass, and they're like "but the humans bully us!" and "I'm not going until Rodan/Godzilla apologizes to me!" and she's just like "GET OVER IT and COME ON!" Like guys. She's like, one year old. She should not have to act like y'all's mom.

Honorable mention to any time she kicks ass with silly string, because 1) lol, and 2) it really fits her character as a "protector" that her most effective and versatile fighting technique is basically a non-damaging crowd control move. It can very effectively slow down or even completely take out enemies, but it's harmless to them. It suits her.

I think her like, overall life cycle is neat, the "switches back and forth between larva and moth" + "dies and reincarnates via egg" thing she's got going. It's unique and leaves a lot of room for interesting questions. Like, is it a soul reincarnation, meaning she remembers each time she died? Or is it indeed "genetic memory" like the KOTM director said—meaning she only remembers her past life up until the point when she laid the next egg, and thus even though she might remember hundreds/thousands/millions(?) of lives, when she dies she will always be facing death for the first time? Are the eggs capable of hatching while imago Mothra lives, or do they only hatch once she's died—either of which would bring up more questions of the mechanics of her reincarnation? What happens if the latest imago dies without laying an egg—are their fallbacks and failsafes, spare eggs? When does she lay an egg—when she's getting old, or before going into battle, or as soon as she comes out of her cocoon, or once every few years as imago, or?? If it's soul-based reincarnation, what does that mean when there are twins—is only one of the twins the "true" Mothra, or is the soul split between them, and if it is do they get a telepathic bond or something? Regardless of whether reincarnation is soul-based or gene-based, in twin larvae is one ALWAYS doomed to die? Or is it possible for both to make it to adulthood and both be Mothra together? Do they have a psychic bond then? What would it be like to grow up from larvae with someone who is literally the exact same person as you with all your memories shared until the past couple of years? Do surviving adult twins get quadruplet fairies?

I'm a fan of her fairies too. I didn't think I would be when I first heard about them—I was like, "Okay, I know I've gotta be ready for goofy stuff in Godzilla movies, but that sounds TOO goofy to not throw me out of the movie when I see it"—but I actually do like them. They're cute, and they're SO earnest, and it's nice every time these giant humans treat them as very serious and respectable Mothra representatives/ambassadors. And any actresses that can say the exact same lines at the exact same time with the exact same intonation while ALSO emoting in the exact same way are talented as hell.

It's too bad about the uh, racist "native" caricatures of her worshippers. The only two movies I've seen featuring Infant Island were from the 60s though, I hope that later movies improved the portrayal of the island? IDK though, I haven't looked into it. It'd be cool to see Infant Island developed into a, like, realistic and respectful culture, beyond "feather-wearing brownface 'natives' that apparently have nothing better to do with their time than constantly bow to their goddess and/or follow around visitors grumpily."

I think MonsterVerse tried to get around that by going "oh no, Mosura specimens were ALL OVER the place, we only just happened to find one in China," but tbh I prefer the idea that Mothra has a permanent designated "home base" where she lives cooperatively with a specific human society. It was an interesting thing that set her apart from other kaiju that just roam around, and she loses a unique and compelling aspect of her character if she's changed to a wandering kaiju whose reincarnations can pop up randomly in any culture. I just. Want her island to be portrayed better, that's all.

I DID like KOTM's suggestion that Mothra's "fairies" are successive generations of human twin girls that dedicate their lives to Mothra in some way or another. It seems appropriate that Mothra and her human(oid?) representatives all go through a reincarnation cycle together.

Not sure if ship Godzilla and Mothra. I saw a post that briefly outlined their earliest rivalries and gradual cooperation up through their crowning as king/queen in KOTM and concluded with "Mothzilla is a 35-movie enemies-to-lovers slowburn" and that idea delights/amuses the HELL out of me—and all the fanart is, 100%, without question, precious as hell—but I think I'd prefer them to be characterized as extremely close platonic friends rather than romantically and/or sexually involved? There's room to enjoy multiple spins tho and I'm not going to stop going "awww ♡" at art of chibi Godzilla and Mothra in a wedding tux and dress. Variety is the spice of life.

In the same way, I like KOTM's "they're intrinsically linked together as symbiotic species" for one continuity—but I'd rather it not become the default/only interpretation in fandom or for all future movies, because I like the idea that they didn't know a THING about each other but gradually got to know each other & get along over time. ... Plus throw in the occasional movie where they're enemies again. As soft continuity reboots and whatnot allow for.

Out of the kaiju I know so far, Mothra's probably my #3, after #1 Ghidorah and #2 Godzilla. But Godzilla's working real hard trying to keep ahead of Mothra.

[sleepyfoodtruck]

back in the day (part 4)

final part of the meet-cute (?) lmao

i think i'm gonna re-write these and post them on AO3, not sure yet tho! i've never posted anything there

part 1

part 2

part 3

Graduation's in 2 months...

Coral sighed deeply as she marked another day in her calendar, bubbles rising up and popping on the ceiling of her cave. Two years had gone by so fast! Why, just yesterday she'd saved her bff's life after she nearly drowned.

Except it wasn't yesterday, that had happened about a year ago. Her friend didn't drown anymore, in fact they'd managed to up her "underwater record"; she could last for almost an hour now. A lot had happened since then! They'd go on walks every weekend, usually around the park and then get something to eat. Other times they'd skip class for the day and just hang out at the beach, Snowhill would bring a thermos with tea and they'd just talk and talk for hours. One time they even visited an amusement park! The rollercoaster was her favorite, a shame she had to ride it alone though.

She also visited a lot of places on her own free time. Usually, the goat would accompany her and try (and fail!) to take her to new places; on the times she was too busy, Coral would just get the directions and go by herself. Sure, she wasn't supposed to use her "temporary soul" without proper authorization, but who was gonna rat her out? She visited several museums and clubs, had gone to try a few restaurants by herslef and even returned to the amusement park once or twice.

Through it all, she also had tried to find her soulmate. Her time was running out and she really, really didn't want to come back to the sea empty-handed; she loved the surface! She wanted to stay there! Alas, it seemed it wasn't in the cards for her.

Every partner she'd managed to have would leave her within a few weeks. She'd meet someone, they'd talk, go on a date or two and then skip town as soon as she told them her species. At first she was rather upset, believing the main issue was her being an undine, but...

"It's because of the soulmate thing" Snowhill told her one such afternoon.

They were on their usual spot at the beach, sharing a thermos with "milk tea". She'd been dumped by her most recent partner, a siren that had lasted for a whooping two weeks before he decided they "weren't a good fit babe".

"You gotta be kidding...ugghhhh of course it's the stupid soulmate thing!" Coral groaned loudly, very upset and annoyed. She angrily drank her tea and angrily requested for more.

"I mean, it is a pretty big commitment" the goat picked up a small seashell "To be fair, we're barely 18. I don't know if I could commit to something like that either".

For some reason, that comment stung particularly hard. It didn't leave her mind for weeks.

Now, they were 2 months away from graduation. She was supposed to return the temporary soul and return to her life on the sea, as if nothing happened. But how could she do that? She loved the surface! It was so unfair, she didn't want to come back and live in the sea her whole life. The sunlight didn't hit as hard down there, there were no flowers or herbs, she couldn't feel the wind rush through her hair because there was no wind underwater.

Snowhill couldn't come visit either.

That was the absolute worst. She'd miss her best friend terribly, just the though of it made her tear up. They'd be through so much! Ever since that weekend, they'd become so much closer. Nowadays, Snowhill allowed her to touch her whenever she wanted; hand holding, side hugs, pats on the head and even full-on hugs. She complained and blushed and threaten with her horns, but Coral knew she was all bark and no bite. Occasionally, the goat even initiated contact herself. She was rather fond of one memory in specific.

It was after her second partner had left her, a lovely fairy that claimed she wasn't quite ready for a relationship just yet. The undine had been a mess, she was so sure this time it would work! She'd met her soulmate and she'd be set for life.

Snowhill hadn't known what to say, she'd never saw her in such a depressed state. Coral guessed it must've been shocking, considering her usually bubbly attitude. She skipped class the whole week and, surprisingly, so had her friend. The undine found herself on the receiving end of several hugs, nuzzles and even a few homemade poundcakes and cookies.

"Sorry it didn't work out" she had said one such day, offering her another cup of tea and a freshly baked lemon cookie "Can't say I know how you feel, 'cause I know my breakups aren't the same as yours. But, uh, I'm here if you need anything"

It had taken her a while to bounce back from that one, but her friend's support had helped quite a lot. Thinking that she would lose her, all because she hadn't managed to fin a soulmate on time was, ironically, soul-crushing.

Coral sighed again, swimming to the deepest part of her cave where her room was located. She laid down on her sponge bed and stared at the ceiling, a few glow-in-the-dark stars barely twinkling and providing a bit of light.

"There's nothing I can do about it anymore" she though, turning on her side and curling up around a discarded pillow "Guess I'll just make the most of these two months"

With that in mind, she slipped into an uneasy sleep.

___________________________________________________

Graduation's in a month.

Grumbling, Snowhill tossed her cellphone on the side-table, the calendar app still open and displaying the marked date with an angry red circle. The last two years had gone by so fast, she hadn't had time to process it all. One day she's the "lonely asshole from X class" and the next she's meeting her new "bestie for life".

She sighed, curling around one of her many giant teddy bears. It wasn't the ceremony itself that bothered her, but rather the implications that it brough. Leaving school, the pressure of picking a career path she'd be stuck with for life, start a savings account to move to her own place.

Mainly, that Coral would go back to live in the deep, dark sea.

It was so unfair! Coral loved the surface, if anyone deserved to live up here it was definetely her. But what could she do, really? They'd tried everything to find her soulmate, all attempts were in vain as rumours started to spread through the school. And it wasn't your run-of-the mill rumour, but something that affected Coral's reputation severely.

"Don't date the undine from X class. She's gonna steal your sould and drag you to the ocean".

What a load of shit.

She'd been furious the first time she'd heard it, demanding to know who the fuck had started it just to give them a piece of her mind. Coral held her back, saying it wasn't a big deal and that she didn't really care; but Snowhill knew, she'd seen the hurt and panic in her eyes. That rumour alone had scared off any potential partners, it was impossible to try and find anyone who would want anything "serious" with her friend.

Coral didn't want her to intervene, so she'd respect her wishes. However, petty revenge wasn't discussed, so she'd set to work; she moved the douche's desk exactly 1 cm. every day. Poor idiot kept falling on his ass because his chair wasn't in the usual spot.

Dumbass.

Snowhill twisted a strand of hair on her finger, staring at the ceiling. There was literally nothing she could do, no one wanted anything to do with her friend; hanging out? Sure, but if she proposed anything else they'd back off immediately. The goat had tried every other solution she could think of after that, but her skills weren't as advanced as she wished. Creating a fake soul was a stupidly difficult spell, one she'd been practicing for months and could never get to work; though, to be fair, her magic was more nature-focused. She growled, upset and frustrated with her lack of ability and at how unfair the whole ordeal was.

A knock on her door let her know she had a visitor.

"Come in" her mother came in and sat down next to her bed. Snowhill continued to stare at the ceiling, her thick eyebrows deeply furrowed "Mom, I'm a bit busy, can you come back later?"

"If you call "growling and puting at the ceiling" busy, then I think we have two very different definitions for the word" her mother chuckled, a sad smile on her face "How are you holding up?"

"How do you think I'm holding up?!"

"No need to rise your voice with me, young lady" she frowned "I'm not the one you're upset at".

"Ugh, I know...'m sorry..." she turned on her side, not looking at her mother "It's just..."

"I know honey, I'm really sorry we couldn't help your friend"

"It's...it's not on you, don't worry".

She was still frowning, but Snowhill noticed her mother had a rather thoughful look in her eyes.

"Uh, you wanted to tell me something?"

"Not quite. Just that I think you're not looking at this from the corret angle" she scratched behind her horns, the goat gratefully leaning into the touch.

"What do you mean?" she slurred, head petting always got her sleepy.

"...Your friend's an undine, yes? So she needs to find her soulmate"

"Because a soul can only be created or shared through a true bond, I know".

"So maybe you kids have been looking for this soulmate in the wrong place"

"Uh-huh..." she was falling asleep fast, her mom better tell her what she meant soon.

"I think your solution's right in front of you both, but you're a bit too oblivious to notice"

Nope, she fell asleep. The centaur sighed, looking at her daughter; the signales were right there. All that was left to do, was for them to notice and act upon them.

________________________________________________________

Graduation's today.

Coral shaked the director's hand, smiling brightly to the camera and holding up her diploma.

Graduation's today.

Snowhill walked down the stage, barely holding in tears and gripping the diploma so hard it was making an awful sound.

Graduation's today.

They shook hands with their classmates, took a few pictures in front of the huge flower vases decorating the stage and ate a few snacks from the refreshments table. Snowhill's family had dragged them to a small party to celebrate, they even had cake and a small karaoke contest. Of course, they were assigned dish washing duty; can't enjoy a party without cleaning up!

Graduation was today.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Coral said while handing her another dish to dry.

"Shoot" Snowhill stood on her tippy-toes to place the dish in the cabinets.

"Can, uh...can you come with me to the beach? I don't wanna be alone when the spell runs out"

"...S-Sure, lemme grab the keys and I'll drive us there".

If they saw the tears in each other's eyes, neither commented on it.

Graduation was today.

__________________________________________________________

They sat on their usual spot, in a corner a bit far away from the main section of the beach; a huge, plain rock that formed a small "pool" which, in turn, connected them to the ocean. An amicable silence between them, broken occasionally by the sound of jiggling car keys or tea being poured from the thermos.

Coral dipped her feet into the small, warm pool, enjoying the last few moments she'd have actual toes and not a tail fin. A cold breeze picked up and she shivered, scooting closer to her friend for warmth.

"Hey, I got a farewell present for you" said the goat, pulling out a purple box from behind her "Was gonna give it to you earlier, but it didn't seem like a good moment".

"Awwww bestie, you shouldn't have!" she blushed a bit, a cyan color tainting her cheeks.

She carefully pried the box open, trying to not tear the wrapping with her claws too much. Inside a thick, multiple-colored sweater sat neatly folded; soft pinks and blues made the garment look ridiculously cozy. Coral gingerly touched it, confirming it was as soft as it looked, being even more careful to not pull a stitch with her claws. She lifted it to her face, breathing in deeply. It smelled like a forest.

"Did you make this?!" she tugged it on immediately, hugging herself "It's so warm!!!"

"Yeah. I, uh, figured you'd get cold down there, so..." Snowhill tugged on the sleeves of her own sweater "I-It has a spell, um, granny taught it to me. It's waterproof so you can use it h-her or in your cave".

"This is literally the most toughtful gift I've ever received!!" Coral hugged her tightly.

"Y-You're welcome" she hugged her back as much as she could.

They didn't let go for a while, feeling the other would disappear if they did. The sun was setting and Coral closed her eyes, she knew the spell would dissipate as soon as the sun was completely gone. She didn't want to let go, she didn't wanna go back to her dark and cold cave, she didn't--

"I'm gonna miss you".

She did wanna listen to this.

"Fuck, 'm gonna miss you so much" Snowhill hugged her tighter, hiding her face on Coral's shoulder "Y-You're literally the only f-friend I've ever had"

"S-Same..." Coral gripped the back of the goat's sweater, resting her head right between her horns "I hate this stupid curse. I don't need a soul to know I love being on the surface"

"I know..."

"...And, a-and I don't need a soul to know I love you a lot. Like, you're the most important person in my life"

Snowhill sucked in a breath, her eyes widening and tears pouring freely. She loved her? Her??? The grumpy goat that almost broke her foot on her first day? She sobbed, and sobbed harder once she heard the undine had started crying too.

"I love you too" she separated just enough to look at her face, noting how her ear-fins were dropping so low they almost touched her neck "You're my best friend. It...i-it feels like you're a part of me I didn't even know was missing"

"I know!!! That's why I talked to you that day" Coral laughed, her eyes a bit puffy from crying "I didn't know why, I still don't! But I just felt that you and I were meant to meet, y'know?"

"I'm glad you talked to me" Snowhill wiped her tears on her sleeve "These two years have been...t-the best years of my life. Fuck, I wanna be so mad at you. How dare you come into my life and then go?"

"I wish I could stay" the undine took a deep breath, hugging her friend again "If I could have one wish, it'd be to stay here with you"

They lapsed into silence again, crickets singing all around them. It was quite dark by now, surely the spell would fade out any moment. All that was left was to enjoy any little time they had.

So, they waited.

And waited some more.

They anxiously waited until the moon was high in the sky, sharing confused glances and drinking from the thermos every once in a while.

"Uh" the goat scratched her head, confused "Don't get me wrong, it's not like I want you gone but...shouldn't you have a tail by now?"

"I should!" Coral wiggled her toes "In fact, I should be gasping for air right now. I should've turned already unless--"

And then it clicked.

She gasped, a trembling hand covering her mouth. God, she was so stupid. How did she not notice? Seriously? All the signs were there, their first meeting was no coincidence and the fact she hadn't been able to find her soulmate--

"You're my soulmate" she whipsered behind her hand, eyes open wide and looking at the goat.

"What'd you say? Dude, you good? You're kind of freaking me out" Snowhill lifted a hand, a concerned frown on her face.

"You're my soulmate" she said louder "We're--you're--you're my soulmate!!"

Snowhill opened her mouth. Then closed it. Then lifted a finger and opened it again, her face pale and eyes (also) open wide.

"That's why you feel so familiar!!!" Coral stood up abruptly "That's what drew me to you, we're soulmate!!! God knows for how long, but we're soulmates!!"

"W-We're...I'm your...huh?" the goat looked up at her, clearly still processing the information.

"We're soulmates!!! I haven't turned back, that shoulda happened hours ago!!!"

Snowhill slowly got up, her legs shaking, and grabbed Coral's arms "No way. You've gotta be shitting me"

"You're not happy?" her excitement immediately vanished, replaced with a deep sense of despair "You don't wanna--"

"NO!! I-I MEAN YES!!" she shook her head, a grin slowly forming on her face "I-I have a soulmate!! You're my soulmate! M-My best friend is my soulmate!!!"

"Yeah!!!!" she smiled, barring her sharp teeth "My best friend's my soulmate too!!!!"

They hugged and cried some more, jumping up and down in excitement. A few people stopped to stare at them but, honestly, they didn't care. After a while however, it turned too cold to stay on the beach.

Giddy, they ran towards the car and hurried back to Snowhill's house. They had planned a whole revelation, make a huge deal out of it because of course, it WAS a huge deal.

"WE'RE SOULMATES!!!!" Coral yelled as soon as she opened the door, lifting their joined hands "I'M STAYING 'CAUSE WE'RE SOULMATES!!!"

"God dammit Coral!" Snowhill tried to frown but, really, she was still too happy about the whole thing.

The whole family stared for a minute before erupting into loud cheers. Snowhill's aunt dragging them into a huge family-group hug, surely the first of many.

"Oh thank god, it was about time" the goat heard her mother mumble "Was gonna tell them myself if they didn't figure it out today".