#Rick the spider

[foldingfittedsheets]

The location of the sex shop I worked was a haven for spiders. We had tall ceilings and skylights and unused storage rooms. It was a spider paradise. We quickly sussed out which coworkers to call on in case of emergency. The Dorito lady was a solid ally for spiders but absolutely petrified of moths.

But there’s actually a hierarchy of fear. Most people don’t realize. The person least afraid is the one forced to deal with the bug in question. If coworker B was scared, but coworker A was petrified, well coworker B was gonna have to screw their courage to the sticking place because by the law of fear they were the most competent person on scene.

Thus enters Rick. Rick first appeared in the back storage room. This room doubled as a second bathroom so we went in on a semi frequent basis. The girl who’d gone in to pee shot out again gibbering with fear about the biggest spider she’d ever seen had just run across her boot.

We sicced Dorito lady on it. She returned, shaking her head. “He was squatting on a power cord where it plugs in. I couldn’t get a clean shot at Rick.”

“Rick?”

She shrugged. “Spiders that big need a name. Seemed like a Rick.”

Rick, freshly named, became a store menace. I’d normally say this was probably a case of multiple spiders being mistaken for one but everyone who encountered him swore up and down there could be no mistake. This spider was massive, fast, and distinct. A gladiator among arachnids.

I never encountered Rick. His exploits grew in the telling but the theme was consistent: no one could kill him. He’d hunker in places that no one could reach and dart away when a strike missed. He also chased off the more faint hearted, charging them in bold dashes. There could be no benign cup transplant to remove Rick from the premise. He was not leaving.

The saga of Rick continued for two months. Not seeing him was almost worse, a fearful wariness when going to the bathroom or stepping into quieter areas. I waited with dread, hoping my eventual run in would have me on shift with Dorito lady to protect me.

It was not to be. There was a girl the same who hated my one moment of singing that was absolute piss-herself scared of spiders. She’d slam straight into a panic attack and couldn’t think or speak. And so it was that one night on shift, I heard her scream.

It was unmistakable. I was in the front window turning off the open sign. Through an obstacle course of mannequins and lingerie I performed an acrobatic sprint out of the window, darting up to find her quivering at the front counter, fully crying. I radiated calm at her and said, “Just point.”

I knew it was Rick. Our destinies were intertwined and we had always been pulled toward the inexorable battle that was drawing nigh.

Her hand raised to point to our sandwich board sign at the front of the store. So Rick had the metaphorical high ground. There was no quick easy strike on the slanted signs surface.

I armed myself and marched into battle, my knuckles white on my chosen weapon. I would do this, because I must. Because there was no one else. And because I wanted to close and go home.

I saw Rick immediately and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger spider since. Outside of a tarantula, he was truly the most massive spider I’ve ever beheld outside a zoo enclosure or terrarium.

We regarded each other. Rick launched off the sign toward me and I stomped my foot reflexively, making him pause in his charge. Then I raised my weapon. Anything else, I believe Rick could have evaded. He’d bested most of the store thus far. But I had chosen chemical warfare.

I doused the shit out of that spider with cleaning spray, stunning him with a barrage of chemicals. While he froze, choking on the unexpected deluge, I dropped a paper towel over him. My foot came down.

I felt his exoskeleton crunch and I can feel it still to this day. The shattering was as of bones and I truly mourned that we had been forced into senseless war. If only he has cleaved tighter to the shadows. If only he’d crawled willing into a cup for relocation. I released a full body shudder of horror, fear, and adrenaline as I stepped back.

I took several quivering breaths. I donned a veneer of calm and tidied the battlefield of it’s corpse then went to reassure my coworker that all was well, while internally I still shook.

You fought well, Rick. I hope you sired many more monstrous children to haunt retail workers in the years to come. Rest in valor, you monster.

[slowburnsucker]

Full faith in Uncle Rick and his vision🫡

[puriteenism]

"The average man thinks of the roman empire 5 times a day" factoid is actually a statistical error. Jason Grace, who thinks about the Roman Empire every second of every day, is an outlier and should not have been counted

[thescreenking]

Autistic Animated Character Appreciation Post

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

ok but what happened after annabeth ran away? how did frederick and the other lady react when one day, they woke up and their outcast child/stepchild (who is btw 7 YEARS OLD) wasn't sleeping in their bed? Did they NOT launch a police hunt for her? did frederick actually care but then the other lady shut it down? how did they feel as time passed and how did they live knowing that somewhere out there, a CHILD was dead or homeless and probably hunted down by monsters (which they knew all too well about) because of them? or did they both just brush it off as another burden off their shoulders, a blessing that was greater than annabeth's birth?

[spider-mandaily]

Fun Fact of the Day: Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 is heavily Venom inspired. His red symbol, web cape, and regenerating suit is taken from the original fan pitch of Black Suit Spider-Man. Both designs were finalized by Rick Leonardi. He and Venom both have organic webs and claws.

[nocontextspiderman]

Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man (1995)

[zegalba]

Rick Owens: 'Fogachine' Mohair Spider Web Banana Knit Sweater spring/summer 2020

[artphotographyofmen]

Spider-Man 2099 by Rick Leonardi

[waitingforthet]

This comic is, as is usual for Wednesday’s comics, chosen by my Patrons. Speaking of…

Check my Patreon out if you’d like to support the comic, even a little bit helps. Or just to check out the reward tiers, there’s some neat bonus stuff and I tried to make them fun: https://www.patreon.com/waitingforthet

[foldingfittedsheets]

I am (unfortunately) desperately curious as to what country/biome you live in. I have a horrid fascination with spiders, as one might have a morbid fascination watching tragedies play out in real time, and want to try and figure out what kind of spider Rick was. (If you already know, I’d be incredibly appreciative if you would please tell me!)

Oh my god I tried to google this to hopefully inform you myself and instantly self-inflicted the screaming heeby jeebies. I have regret.

I live in the Pacific Northwest in the US. We apparently have Giant House Spiders which can get very large. The store I was working at the time was further north than I currently live, closer to the Canadian border. I’ve always attributed that to Rick’s size, because again, I’ve never again encountered a spider as large as he was.

Interestingly while I went along with my coworkers he/him pronouns I always assumed Rick was probably female but the internet informs me that if he was a Giant House Spider that the males of that species are larger.

[phantomknight25]

Y/n- Im not getting in that garbage ship!

Rick- Im not asking -buuuurp- you to, im telling you. Your getting in the ship.

Y/n- IM NOT GETTING IN WITH THAT MONSTER IN THERE!

Rick- YES YOU ARE!

Summer- Why are Y/n and Rick fighting?

Morty- Y/n saw a spider and by the time Rick came over it disappeared into the ship.

Summer- Wow grandpa actually thinks he's gonna get them in there?

Y/n- AAAAAAHHHHH! LET ME GO! RIIIIIIICK LET GO!

Rick- JUST GET IN! ILL GIVE YOU ICE CREAM!

[tone-chan]

what if we just taught Eido that throwing up the middle finger is a greeting in The Last City

[abagofmagictrix]

Easily my Top 10 favorite animated villains

[misslisamiray]

Something JUST occurred to me about Fear no Mort a few days ago: We all know Rick doesn't have a clue about the extent of The Horrors Morty went through in the Hole. By the end of the episode, he seems to understand it was more than spiders, but that's it.

The part I'm going insane over? When Morty tells him, "Diane was in there. Not in a good way." Rick probably just thinks he means something like Prime's creepy Diane-bots, doesn't he? 😭😭😭

[themarvelproject]

Marvel poster featuring Miguel O'Hara as Spider-Man 2099 by Rick Leonardi with inks by Al Williamson and colors by Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh (1994)