@tyrantisterror ATOM Create-A-Kaiju Contest Entry #4: GnashphaltAliases: The Tarbaby, The Calif

@tyrantisterror ATOM Create-A-Kaiju Contest Entry #4: GnashphaltAliases: The Tarbaby, The California Creeper, The Unstoppable OozeDate Discovered: September 12, 1958 Place of Origin: The La Brea Tar PitsNotable Stomping Grounds: Western U.S. SeaboardHeight: 80 feetBiology:Few living things on Earth are quite as enigmatic as Gnashphalt. It is not precisely known how he was formed from the La Brea Tar Pits, for although there are Yameneon deposits in proximity to the area, no major nuclear testing has occurred near enough to Los Angeles to have affected them. It is possible that continuous geologic activity over the ages led to a buildup of Yamaneon radiation, which was in turn gradually released via disruptive mining activity when the pits were harvested for asphalt. More confusing still is how Gnashphalt even exists; while the bitumen forming most of his body IS comprised of the remains of microscopic algae and other long-expired living things, it is difficult to imagine Yamaneon radiation reanimating these materials without cells to work from. His relatively recent appearance in the geologic time scale suggests that the Yamaneon caused cells from animals that had been trapped in the tar during the Ice Age and preserved in its depths to mutate and begin regenerating haphazardly upon imbibing the radiation, taking in the tar around them to form one giant protoplasmic matrix which often struggles to form some sort of animal-like shape.About the only identifiable features Gnashphalt can form are eyes, a mouth, and rudimentary limbs, their arrangement giving him an appearance coincidentally akin to frogs and toads. However, these features are often all he really needs - his entire matrix and the cells within work as one giant fusion of circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems, giving him rudimentary control of his form and allowing him to move, breathe, sense his environment, and digest everything degradable he oozes over, at the same time assimilating harder things into his hulking form for personal use.Gnashphalt is slow-moving, hauling himself along with his stubby “legs” and sometimes rolling from place to place. His name comes from his large mouth, which armed with fangs made of bones, broken PVC pipes, metal bars, splintered wooden planks, and other inedible bits of debris. This mouth can lunge forward with deceptive speed and power, inflicting a nasty, septic bite that can snap smaller mutations in two. His viscous, tarry body can also form crude, short-lived “tentacles” to attack and grab things, and mires anything that makes physical contact with it, holding fast the fists and fangs of enemy monsters and dragging in anything small enough to eat for perfunctory digestion. Aside from this, he can also secrete a foul-smelling and highly corrosive vapor, capable of melting through any material - including stone, concrete, or even metal - that hasn’t been specially treated to resist oxidization; he uses this vapor to both disable and predigest bigger and/or livelier prey, allowing him to catch up to and swallow it easily.Gnashphalt therefore adds a number of deadly powers to the standard kaiju power set:Super strengthAn enhanced healing factorImmunity to radiationSticky TouchAcid FumesPersonality:Gnashphalt has been compared by frantic media outlets to Pathogen, another monster dictated by hunger and wanton destructive urges. But while Pathogen exists only to consume, Gnashphalt is a more subdued type of hunger. He eats to live, rather than living to eat, but eating is basically the only thing he cares about. No other living thing matters to him except himself, and it is perhaps thankful that he eats merely to derive sustenance rather than for the sake of eating. While capable of devouring most organic matter, he prefers things that have a similar chemical consistency to tar or petroleum, and therefore gravitates towards large cities and oil refineries where these substances are plentiful. If no such substances are around, however, he’ll try just about anything once, even scarfing down the contents of landfills and radioactive waste deposits at a whim.For a time, it was assumed that Gnashphalt was much like Pathogen in that he had no emotions to speak of, just mindless hunger. His rare interactions with other kaiju have proven this notion wrong to some extent, however - he isn’t mindless, just incredibly selfish and ignorant. Other monsters dislike his tendency to figuratively strong-arm his way around, carelessly oozing over other life forms and toppling or melting obstacles to reach what he wants; his answer to any problem is to either eat it or dissolve it, with no third options to speak of. That being said, he also seems to be quite aware of his durability, and engages with other monsters with a rather nonchalant air - followed by excited drooling if his opponents realize that they’re not going to win. Indeed, it seems that he can sense the Yamaneon-induced mutation in other kaiju, which (in the absence of oil) appear to be just the thing to tickle his fancy, his tastebuds, and sometimes his insides - he has a habit of swallowing smaller mutations whole, enjoying the sensation of their agonized writhing inside him as they’re slowly digested for hours at a time.Despite his gluttonous nature and sheer durability, Gnashphalt has a few weaknesses which are relatively easy to exploit. Being made of an oil-based substance, he is deathly afraid of fire, and avoids heat sources such as volcanoes; a literal firewall can therefore keep him at bay although the risk of causing other fires is certainly an issue. More importantly, however, Gnashphalt is driven by his appetite rather than any form of common sense, and can be easily led away from a valuable area simply by transporting oil or tar; when dealing with other kaiju, chasing after potential food sources could also get him into fights he can’t win, as some other monsters have learned to their advantage.Gnashphalt’s greatest weakness, however, is actually himself - indeed, he seems to be dimly aware that he actually requires fuel and waste to not only grow, but also to keep his own overcrowded digestive enzymes from dissolving him from within. In theory, if kept pacified in the short term, he could be managed only until all the fuel and waste in the world runs out, leaving him to “eat” himself to death later while man picks up the pieces and looks for more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways to power his global infrastructure. His time on Earth is thus limited, but when he passes, he will likely leave a cleaner and hopefully wiser world behind him.And here’s my last entry to this awesome contest - I hope I’m not too late! I feel like it’s kind of a rush job, but I still like the concept enough to submit it anyway.One of the archetypes that I feel has been missing from the ATOM universe is a trash monster like Hedorah or Raremon, and I decided to work with that along with addressing the lack of a slime monster archetype. (I see the Writhing Flesh, while a solid concept on its own, as not a true blob monster, more like a giant sentient tumor.) Fun fact: The “Date Discovered” references when The Blob was first released in theaters. ;)I wanted a blob with a giant mouth pretty much right out of the gate, but after I added some crude limbs to its sides I noticed how much it looked like a frog with weird eye placement, and honestly I think it’s appropriate, seeing as some frogs are literally mouths on legs. I also wanted an “antagonist” monster this time around, though he isn’t a mindless force of pure evil so much as a stubborn, selfish, socially inept slob who just wants to pig out on trash and make other monsters’ lives miserable. I also tried to balance him out by having him not in fact spread filth like other trash monsters do but clean it up instead, even if he causes way too much collateral damage in the process; it also means he can’t stick around indefinitely because non-renewable energy and pollutants probably won’t, either. That doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous, though - just ask the small monsters he’s probably eaten. :P I wanted to color him poop-brown at one point but I decided that look wouldn’t be in good taste, and I hadn’t had a green-colored monster submitted yet, so I went with a dark sewage sludge green instead - also a subtle hint that tar used to be plant matter. ;)Alright, with that I’m pretty much done with my entries, ‘cuz I probably won’t have the time to draw and send in another methinks. Good luck to all the entrants, and I’m sure that each and every one of them is awesome in their own right! :D -- source link

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