#also speaking of spider and drawn out questions

[oifaaa]

black cat is written terribly in the current run though. like absolutely horrendous.

You are completely right there tbf I don't think the current spidy arc has been that great overall like I'm not a big fan or the set up to the big mystery that takes ages to even start to explain

[theoneprecioustome]

Disconnected | Aikoto Thoughts

Someone at Atlus decided to gift us an opening dedicated to Aikoto and it's filled with gorgeous symbolism and foreshadowing, so I'm here to sing it the praises it deserves

Warning: This post will contain BIG spoilers for The Answer (Episode Aigis).

The opening starts with a blue butterfly which, in The Answer lore, is meant to symbolize Aigis' Papillon Heart. Meanwhile, Makoto is walking through a field of spider lilies which, in Japan, symbolize death and are believed to guide souls to the afterlife.

In other words: the opening starts with Aigis' heart chasing after Makoto, who has passed on 😭 But that's not all.

I love how they have Makoto heading towards a door engulfed in light, because it perfectly foreshadows the Desert of Doors. Makoto is gone and Aigis doesn't quite know what happened to him exactly, and the answer to that question lies behind the door that Aigis will eventually choose to open. So through Episode Aigis, Aigis is doing just that: chasing after Makoto.

This opening sequence is even built to reference Aigis' recurrent dream where she runs after Makoto's back but can never catch up to him. As such, even when the camera shows us Makoto's profile, we can't see his face.

After this, we see Aigis waking up from her dream, crying. She turns behind her, almost like she's hoping to see Makoto, but of course, he isn't there.

There's also a big contrast between the way Aigis' eye is drawn here and the way it's drawn in the P3R Opening. While the P3R opening emphasizes Aigis' robotic origins by showing the mechanisms therein, Disconnected does no such thing and instead emphasizes Aigis' human emotions in the form of her tears.

This contrast alone shows Aigis' development beautifully, but there's yet another contrast to be made. In the P3R opening, Aigis fell into a long sleep from which she would only awaken after feeling Makoto's presence on Yakushima. In Episode Aigis, we see her waking up and crying after losing him 😭

We momentarily leave Aigis to be shown SEES with an overlaid Fool card which ends up shattering. The SEES Social Link is represented by the Fool, so the card shattering at the end perfectly encapsulates how the bonds they forged in P3R are put to the test by the loss of their Leader, Makoto.

After this we get one of my favorite sequences in the Opening, because the way the lyrics are cleverly matched to the visuals is just too good.

Aigis' is shown running through the desert of doors—the desert that was drawn to the dorms because of her pain.

“時の狭間”はアイギスに起こったさまざまな変化と繋がった、いわばアイギス自身が原因となって生まれた空間である。 The ‘Abyss of Time’ is connected to the various changes that have occurred in Aigis, so it's a space that was created by Aigis herself, so to speak. Source: Persona 3 x Persona 4 World Analyze Book

She is, literally and figuratively, lost in that desert. In her own pain.

My heart fell and I can't find it, the lyrics say, and right after we're shown... Metis. The physical manifestation of Aigis' very own heart. She even pulls down her butterfly-shaped visor, symbolizing the mystery of her identity while simultaneously giving us the answer.

Aigis' key falls and so does Aigis, and here comes the heart and soul of the opening.

Makoto and Aigis juxtaposed just like in the Episode Aigis Key Art.

Just like in the key art, Makoto is looking at Aigis and smiling at her. Unlike the key art, here we can notice that Makoto is meant to be within the sea of souls. When Aigis parts her lips in surprise, bubbles of air come out, but there are none around Makoto.

This is quite literally Makoto's soul watching over Aigis, who feels like she's drowning without him 😭 She even looks lifeless until she notices him.

Aigis tries reaching out to him to no avail, just like in the movies.

But Makoto simply fades away, his smile being the last thing we see. The way they show Aigis' hand losing its strength felt like a kick to the heart 😭

As someone on Twitter pointed out, to make this even more painful, Makoto is smiling fully, looking happy and at peace. But since Aigis is looking at him upside down, his expression is less clear to her, to the point that it could even pass for a frown.

This ambiguity once again highlights that since Aigis doesn't know nor understand what exactly happened to Makoto, she can't be at ease.

Then we're treated to another masterclass in symbolism. We see some of Makoto's life flash before our eyes; that fateful night Death was sealed inside him, followed by the moment he chose to meet his fate to protect his friends and the world. These two moments are shown within his Evoker, representing his duty. His fight.

The montage ends with Makoto's lasts moments—spent with Aigis with a peaceful smile on his face. The rooftop scene isn't shown within his Evoker though, but within Makoto's MP3 player. The one thing he never did without.

So within just a few frames, we get to see the beginning and end of Makoto's journey superimposed on his two most meaningful objects. The Evoker—his fight—which passes onto Aigis, and his MP3 Player—his heart—which is synchronized with Aigis' (as evidenced by she inheriting Orpheus), showing their last moments together.

I won't go into the sequence foreshadowing the Colosseum fights (and Erebus!), but it's worth mentioning that Metis' entrance is yet another nod to the fact that she is a part of Aigis. When we see Metis charge, we're clearly shown that there's no one but Fuuka behind her, yet Aigis appears behind her soon after as if she was always there.

After this, we get another shot that was masterfully synchronized with the lyrics.

I'm so numb, so lost without you.

And right as we hear that "you", Aigis summons Orpheus. Makoto's signature Persona, which comes straight from the sea within his soul.

Orpheus being there is proof that Makoto's soul is still connected to Aigis', that he has never left her, which is why he was shown earlier looking after her in the sea of souls. And as if to further draw that home, when Makoto fades into the sea of souls, they add a breaking shards effect.

The same effect that appears when Aigis summons Orpheus.

The opening then shows us a shot of the Empyrean Door, the door which shows the moment Aigis awakens to the Wild Card as well as Metis' own birth. As if on cue, we see the blue butterfly catch up to Aigis like a light in the dark, taking us full-circle to the beginning of the opening where the butterfly flies past Makoto's profile.

The opening ends with a single cherry blossom petal falling, a callback to the rooftop scene and to that last moment Makoto and Aigis spent together.

And also, an homage to the ending of the original The Answer, which also featured the cherry blossoms for a split second.

TL;DR The Opening not only beautifully foreshadows Metis' origins and Aigis' own journey through Episode Aigis, it also highlights the connection between Makoto's soul and Aigis' and the fact that he will never leave her.

And this is all without getting into the lyrics which make all of this even more heartbreaking 😭 as soon as the official lyrics drop I'll revisit this post to properly match everything!

[areislol]

helloo! just wanna say that your writing is so good! could i request neteyam(or the sully kids), lo'ak and tsu'tey with fem! reader who's on her period? how would they deal with the bleeding and react? thank you ૮ ˶´ ᵕˋ ˶ა

sully kids, tsu'tey x human! reader

ft— neteyam, lo’ak, kiri, tuk, tsu'tey warnings— mentions of blood, inappropriate language(sperm, etc.), might be ooc? can be seen as platonic/romantic for neteyam/lo'ak. tsu'tey and reader are dating/the female na’vi’s do not menstruate, fluff!! not proof read but i will later, hopefully. a/n— tysm anon! i've been thinking about the boys with reader who's on her period and then this request comes in, thank you!! also spider isn’t in here because.. no. i’m sorry to everybody who wanted him in here. anything with tsu’tey in it is in avatar 2, he’s still alive. unless you request or i write it during avatar 1. synopsis— when your period arrives, they are curious and scared about why you're bleeding from that area, you explain to them about the female anatomy.

"Wait... so you bleed from there every month?" they asked, you nod.

they stare at you in disbelief, mouth wide open and eyes bugged, you chuckle from their reaction, “so what do you have to do to stop the bleeding?”

you pull out a thick cloth from your satchel and fold it until it’s the right size. “this.” you say while holding it up

they exchange glances at the piece of cloth and you, when they don’t say anything and just continue to stare at the cloth and then at you, you sigh before speaking.

“i put it under where the blood comes from, and then i wash the cloth and reuse. if i can’t then i just get another cloth and then do the same thing, understand now?”

they squint their eyes, unsure of what to make of this, determined to make them understand you decide to teach them the (human) female anatomy.

sully kids x human! reader

Kiri, tuk and lo’ak were talking to each other, wondering what you were going to be teaching them, neteyam on the other hand, watched you as you walk around to find a stick to use, his eyebrows raises when he sees you running toward where the group was, a stick in your hand. Once you reach them you sit down beside kiri, using the stick, you start to draw a human body on the sand, a very poorly drawn human body, well at least what resembles a body anyway. Everybody leaned in closer to look at your drawing, “hm.. okay! so this is the part where the blood comes from,” you say, pointing to the lower part of the body in between the legs, “okay?”, they nod, kiri and neteyam look at you which prompts you to go on. ”So this area...”, pointing at the uterus, “is the uterus, correct?” you ask, when they nod you start to draw lines coming out of the uterus and out of the part(v). “This is the period.” you say, pointing at the lines. “So every month a female starts her period which should only last for a week, the uterus lining, which is like tissue from our uterus, shreds because the egg hasn’t been fertilized.” Upon hearing the last sentence everybody raised their eyebrows. ”What egg? do you have a egg in you?!” tuk questions, worry filled her voice, she almost faints. You found it hilarious that she thought that, then neteyam and lo’ak also asked if you had an egg in you and if you were okay, you could see the worry on their faces, shaking your head you giggled, lo’ak stared at you in disbelief, why were you laughing at this serious matter? ”No no, not a literal egg. it’s like a small little thing in our ovary, it’s one of the main things that you need to get pregnant. Once the.. sperm reaches the egg,  the egg gets fertilized and you know, you get pregnant!”, once you were done talking you noticed how they all look dazed, their smiles faltering, like they didn’t understand, but you could understand. I mean, you were quite literally saying words that they didn’t understand. Sooner or later after you stopped talking, they started to ask you questions, what is “sperm”? why is the female body so “complicated”? and such. Kiri and tuk would grimace, scrunching their face, even sticking out their tongue in disgust whenever you answered their or the others questions. Lo’ak and neteyam were both slightly disgusted but interested. You then go on to explain how some girls experience cramps and mood swings when on their period. Neteyam expressions seem to soften after hearing the problems that you, girls, have to go through, while lo’ak expressions seem to harden, why did you, girls, have to go through that? Tuk shivers when she hears you talk more about periods. They all were interested in periods, all paying extreme attention to what you had to say. Kiri laid her hand on your thigh, giving you a sorrowful look. “I’m so sorry you have to deal with all of that... i’m so glad that we don’t have to go through that.” Tuk nodded, agreeing with kiri’s statement. You placed your hand over kiri’s, giving her a gentle smile you spoke, “it’s fine kiri, honestly, i’ve had it for a long time now, i’m used to it.” You pulled your hand back, kiri doing the same. After a few seconds lo’ak’s eye widens, he was crouching down, but after something had popped into his mind he moved closer to you, still crouching. “How can we help you?”, his voice was serious yet it also sounded like he was worried. ”Hm, well there’s nothing you can do really, but i guess for period cramps something warm? having an extra cloth on you and listening to someone rambling and comforting them when they’re having mood swings.” you answer, putting on your thinking face. While you’re still thinking for more things, you dont realize that all the sully children are taking in what you’re saying and remembering, so next time you have cramps or is leaking they have everything prepared. Every example you give they’re taking notes mentally, Lo’ak asks you more questions so that he can be FULLY prepared when you’re on your period, especially when you’re early. Neteyam, kiri and tuk are nodding at everything you say, remembering what you’re talking about. Once you’re done explaining you notice that they are all eager to go off somewhere. They all looked like they wanted to be somewhere, right now. When you all say your goodbye’s neteyam is off to his marui, grabbing some spare cloths. Lo’ak is off to grab everything to make the “heat pad”, cloths and something soft and some sewing materials. Kiri and tuk both run off to ronal, the tsahìk to ask for some pain killers. ”Pain killers? and for what?” ronal spoke, raising her eyebrows, eyeing the two young girls. Kiri and tuk exchange looks and giggle before answering ronal, “nothing!” Ronal contemplates whether or not to give the pain killers to kiri and tuk but in the end she gives in. They would all fight for your thanks' and fight to help you really, an example, you’re sitting on a rock, your legs swaying in the water, the sully children are playing in the water, chasing each other in the water when you feel a sudden pain in your abdomen. It was your cramps, again. Sighing you reach into your satchel, putting your hands in the pocket you feel for your pain killers but after trying to grab nothing you looked into your bag, a look of devastation feel on your face. Neteyam heard your groans and whimpering, just a few feet away from where he and his siblings were. His head popped up from the water, gasping for air once he got up, he turned around to see where you were, once you were in his sight his face dropped, you were tightly hugging your waist, your eyes were closed shut, you mouth agape, groaning. Wasting no time he quickly swims to where you sat and hopped on the rock, looking up you see neteyam standing next to you, his eyes said everything. ”Are you okay? do you need anything? period cramps?” with his question you nod eagerly. Neteyam hurriedly rummaged through his satchel when he saw shadows in the water approaching you two, neteyam closed his satchel, he fiercely stood right next to you, fists balled just in case ao’nung and his gang were going to cause trouble to you and him. Once neteyam seems the familiar faces rising up and popping up and gasping for air he eased, “What’s wrong neteyam? you just left us- oh, y/n? are you okay?!” kiri rushed to you, climbing on the rock and sitting beside you, placing her hands on your shoulder, looking at tuk she nodded and tuk swam closer to you and sat on the rock with you, but before tuk could open her satchel neteyam interrupted her, “what are you doing?” Tuk paused, looking up at her older brother her lips curved into a smile, “just giving y/n some pain killers, why?”, tuk saw how neteyam glared at her, playfully if you can even call it that. “Was going to give her some too..” he mumbled, gripping your stomach you looked at neteyam and gave him a faint smile, giving tuk one as well. Lo’ak and kiri then hopped on the rock and started to question if you were okay, when you told them that your stomach hurt they both opened their satchels, they were about to grab the pain killers when they stopped. Everybody looked at each other with confusion, kiri and lo’ak smiled in mischief, both grabbing the pain killers and offering it to you. Neteyam stood beside you, watching his brother and sister offer their pain killers to you, he wanted to give you the pain killers that he had, to you, but he didn’t want to cause a scene so he let his siblings to their thing. Tuk frowned but after you gestured her to come sit closer to you her smile appeared, although she was wet, she was warm, and that made your stomach pain fade away slowly. While that was happening kiri and lo’ak were both arguing, saying that you should take her pain killers because she’s a girl, lo’ak gives her a look of confusion and disbelief. Lo’ak then went on that you should take his because he got it recently while kiri’s was probably a century old, which was of course, false. Neteyam sat down beside you and put his arm around you and tuk, pulling you closer to his body, and again, he was wet but still warm, so with the warmth of two people, warmth on your shoulder and warmth on your stomach you sighed in relief, stopping the bickering between kiri and lo’ak. They saw you with a smile on your face, eyes closed, tuk laying on your thighs, hugging your stomach while neteyam held you close, his arms around your shoulders with a smug look on his face when he sees the look of devastation on his sibling face. ”Good luck next time” neteyam states, pulling you even more close to him even though you two were practically in each others bubble. Kiri looked defeated, lo’ak frowned before sighing, “I’ll need it..” and with that he sat beside tuk, kiri following him and sitting beside lo’ak. Neteyam, lo’ak and kiri looked beyond the horizon, Neteyam hugging you closely while tuk slept on your lap. “We should get home, dad won’t like it if we’re out any later.” kiri suggests, lo’ak and neteyam simultaneously look at her, “no, y/n and tuk is resting, later.” Kiri rolls her eyes and huffs, standing up and jumping into the water to see the fishes, again.

tsu’tey x human! reader “What do you mean you bleed from there? are you hurt? should i call the tsahìk?” tsu’tey asks, worry filled his voice, “what? no! im fine, it’s normal.” you answer, holding back your laughter, he sounded way too serious for something that was normal, well, for humans anyway. Tsu’tey raises his eyebrow at you, giving you a small nod even though he wasn’t completely sure if you were okay but he trusted you, also since you were a human so your anatomy is different to his kind. You and tsu’tey stop talking for a bit before he breaks the silence with a question, “how do you deal with all of that? the.. ‘period’?” he asks, inching closer to where you sat. The first thing you thought of was the cloth, which was the replacement of a pad, humming you open your satchel and pull out a cloth, you then fold it until it’s the right size and hand it to tsu’tey, he was watching you with confusion written all over his face when he saw you grab your cloth. Tsu’tey takes the cloth from your hands and observes it, it looks normal, nothing is different other than the fact that you folded it. He looked at you, cloth in hand and doesn’t say anything, meaning that he’s confused. “Uh- so basically we just put it under our part.. so stop the bleeding from going everywhere.” you blurt out, with your answer tsu’tey nods, understanding you but not fully. You know that he doesn’t know much about the female body so you decide to teach him, reaching into your satchel you pull out your notebook and a pencil, you set the notebook down and move (even) closer to tsu’tey, you start to draw a human body, or what resembles a human body. “Okay, so this is our part, it’s called a “vagina”, that’s the proper way to say it, another way to say it is “pussy” but that also means cat.” you say, then you tell him to repeat what you said and he does so. You then point to where the uterus is, “this is our uterus, where the baby grows, the reason why we bleed is because our “egg” isn’t fertilized, so our uterus lining shreds, so we bleed because we don’t get pregnant and it’s like “oh! no sperm? might as well shred”.” Once you finish talking you look at tsu’tey looks overwhelmed with the information you’ve given him, to you it’s not a lot, but to him it’s a lot. Once tsu’tey calms down a bit, his brows furrowed before asking you a “serious” question, “do you have an egg in you?” he asks in a grave tone. He sounded too serious that you burst out laughing, while you’re laughing hysetrically he’s giving you a confused look before pouting, why were you laughing at his question? Tsu’tey puts his hand on your shoulder and tells you to calm down, in an attempt to calm you down, and you do. Once your laughter dies down you had to wipe your tears away, “now answer my question, do you have an egg in you? why?” and again, he says it in a serious tone that it almost makes you laugh again. Using all your will power you stop yourself from laughing and answer his question, you shook your head and once you do his shoulders rest as if he has been carrying something heavy on his shoulder. “They’re small things in our ovaries, we call them eggs. Without it we wouldn’t have any children.” Once you finish your comment tsu’tey gives you a nod and pulls his hand back. After explaining some things, like how some girls experience cramps which is when the stomach hurts, mood swings, when their mood changes very quickly, tsu’tey then asks if there was any way to reduce the pain or help the women, you give him a tender smile and answer his questions. While answering his questions, he’s mentally taking notes since he knows that you’re on your period and is taking notes so the next time you’re late or early he’s prepared, oh you don’t have any spare cloths? fret not! inside my satchel i have some cloths just for you! your stomach hurts? here my love, a handmade heat pad (it’s a cloth that’s sewed with something soft inside of it and was left out in the sun for hours) just for you. You also explain how some girls leak, meaning that their “pad” or cloth, couldn’t hold the bleeding (most times it’s heavy bleeding) and leaked, or the size wasn’t right or the absorbancy was poor. Everything you say, tsu’tey is taking notes, and when you tell him how some men get mad at their girlfriends for leaking he gets mad, like how could you get mad for someone who can’t even control something? Tsu’tey scoffs, he assures you that if you ever leaked he’d never get mad at you and would help you clean up, get you a new cloth and underwear if you feel too disgusted to walk, or if you can you can go get it. Once you hear him say that you give him a hug and you made sure to hug him tightly, kissing his cheek, “best boyfrien- no, mate, ever!!” you squeal. Smiling, he hugs you back while running his fingers through your hair, When you pull back your hands are still around his neck, his eyes are staring deep into yours, his yellow eyes with a hue of green never failed to make you awe, “i can say the same to you my love.” he states before pulling you into a kiss. To say the least, he definitely praises and respects women even more now, since you women carry babies and deal with all this nonsense.

note: if you would like to be added to the avatar taglist pls just ask me!! dont be shy <3

taglist:  @winnithepoohh @nerbyrobotics 

liking + following + reblogs are very much appreciated!!

another note: im going on a cruise with my friends and family on jan 8th to jan 13th so i wont be writing for 5 days, literal hell. enjoy!! also i have others coming up to stay tuned bb.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!

[kairiscorner]

Miguel x Spiderwoman reader where the reader is his wife and he finds it so funny that despite being spiderwoman, she still has a crippling amount of arachnophobia 😭💀🤣

KDKDBFODKDKDKFKFO THAT'S SO CUTE WHATTTT he'd tease the shit out of her omgggg

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

miguel o'hara x arachnophobic!spider woman!reader

content warnings! mentions of blood and bleeding. please do not read any further if you are uncomfortable with these themes ^^

despite being bitten by a radioactive spider and adopting the moniker 'spider woman', you were deathly afraid of these eight-legged critters–it was like being scared of your own kin, in a way. you couldn't stand being around spiders themselves for too long, nor could you look nor touch them or their fat, hairy bodies; they disgusted and scared you sometimes, with those beady little eyes and those sharp fangs of theirs... kind of like your husband's.

he was an intimidating, scary man at times, though you loved him dearly and knew he was incredibly soft and mushy underneath; he also had an unprecedented sense of humor, which was tapped into when he discovered that–"you're afraid of spiders?" he asked you as you looked at him with embarrassment in your eyes, an evident fluster in your face as you nodded and muttered a 'yes'. miguel raised an eyebrow at you and gave a small hum. "what about it?" you asked him as miguel shrugged, going back to work and turning his back to you. "nothing." he murmured softly.

you sighed as you thought of what he could've been thinking about at the moment right now after finding out about your fear of spiders, the very thing that you share your DNA with. you heard miguel's footsteps behind you drawing nearer and even louder as he spoke. "why're you afraid of those little arachnids, though, they can't hurt you. one's tried, but it couldn't kill you..." he murmured as he ran his hands up and down the back of your arms, causing you to shudder and feel a heat all over your face, especially throughout your cheeks. "...so why're you so afraid of them, corazon? do they really... disturb you that much?" he asked you in a sultry voice as you gasped at his hands palming their way down to your waist, running his hands up and down at your curves with a low groan and slightly ragged breathing as he touched you.

he nuzzled his face at the crook of your neck, with you trying to find the words to answer his question, but even finding the voice to speak out those answers was difficult to do, what with him being so close to you. you had been married a little while ago, and though intimacy isn't a completely foreign topic to either of you, you could never get over how good his hands felt when roaming over every curve of your body, how warm you felt when he'd press himself against you. "mi cielo, what's wrong? why can't you answer, hmm? do you... find me disturbing as well? do you find me... scary?" he asked you in a low mutter as he gently pressed his lips against the length of your neck.

you gasped at the sudden contact, and he chuckled at your little reaction. "do you, mi esposa? do you get frightened when your big, scary husband gets all close to you? i'm half spider, mi esposa... aren't you scared of me, querida?" he asked you as you frantically shook your head at his question, with him giving you a low chuckle as he pulled you even closer and unsheathed his claws, gently running the sharp talons over the flesh of your arms and abdomen.

"spiders are scary... but you're just..." "just what, querida?" he asked you as your eyes darted to your side where miguel was creeping up and down your neck, and in the dimness of his office, something stood out as it gleamed in the dark–his fangs had been drawn out and were nearing your neck as the seconds passed. you felt the blood drain from your face as miguel neared you, his fangs threatening to sink into the flesh of your skin and... draw blood from you.

you squirmed under his touch as you tried to continue your answer, when all of a sudden, you felt something creep up your leg. you immediately casted your gaze downwards and caught a big, hairy spider crawling up your leg. that was far enough, you had to release it–and out came a loud scream from the depths of your lungs as you frantically shook the hairy beast off your lower leg. "getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!" you exclaimed as migurl burst out cackling.

he told lyla to terminate the simulation, and thus, the spider disappeared. you panted as miguel gave a small chuckle as he turned to you with a smile. "lo siento, mi amor, i just had to see your face after trying that simulation out. it seems it worked a little too well." he said as he looked at your confused and agitated face when you realized that it was all just a ruse.

you hit miguel's chest repeatedly, scolding and screaming at him that his joke was far from funny. he sighed with a big smile as he cupped your face with only two fingers and gazed at you with his irises reddening as his fangs bared when he grinned. "oh, mi vida... you're so beautiful when you're angry. a feisty little gremlin you are." he cooed to you as he crouched down to your level and brought his face even closer to yours. "maybe i should show you how scary spiders can really be, how scary this big spider you married can really be." he said in a sultry, low voice as he pulled you in for a kiss, and lightly bit your lower lip with his fangs.

as he drew a bit of blood from your lips, he cleaned up the blood that was spilling with his tongue lapping over your lower lip repeatedly. your little mewls and whimpers just motivated miguel to keep teasing and tormenting your poor lower lip... and keeping you to himself all night long, showing you just how scary a big spider like him can really be.

tags !! @miguelswifey04 @binibinileonara @meeom @hisachuu @arachnoia @fiannee @fictarian @yuridopted0 @melovetitties @ophanimgold

[omaano]

SW Hades AU May Status Update

I wanted to make a dedicated post about what I’m currently working on for the Star Wars meets Hades AU that looks more consistent than just sharing bits and pieces whenever I’m tagged in a Last Line Challenge. Because what else do I have but the poly sketch requests and this AU for my weekends? (If nothing else I know that the Hades AU has got me XD)

Other updates: June - July - August

For now Obi-Wan and Maul are stuck at the same stage: they are both lined, have their base colours down as well as the two adjustment layers of coloured lighting.

I suspect if I were ever to get through the agonozing few hours of shading Obi-wan’s face it would be mostly smooth sailing from there. The problem is that there are at least 2 - if not 3 - separate stages where the shaded face looks like I have no idea what I’m doing, and you need to get through the whole thing before it really comes together 😅 on the other hand Hades 2 has a lot of the directional shading I might need for his character art so that might help to get me there.

It also needs to be said that Obi-Wan comes with the extra disadvantage that is the entire background behind him. I’m really hyped to line it finally, it is quite a challenge, but at the same time I’m slowly coming to the realization that I have no idea how I will colour it. Hades backgrounds are so so pretty and full of details and gorgeous colours, and while I’m not delusional enough to think I could match that on first try… I still wish I could, you know? At the same time I will have to erase or recolour a lot of my lines, which will hurt quite a bit, I imagine. I’m so bad at killing my darlings 😅 also I hate laying down flat colours. I just find it very difficult to immerse myself in that process, while lining and shading can have their flow.

I had covered up so many lines and details in Maul’s spider parts it’s a miracle I didn’t cry XD However, tips on grouping my shadows and allowing the shape to speak for itself and the details in them are very helpful and on point.

Worrying over writing dialogue for them is also not as far down my to-do list as I wish it were. I have a good enough idea for a quip for Obi-wan, but Maul? He’d need a whole melodramatic rant of his own XD

Aphra has gotten some new lines and I had fixed the satchel I had forgotten the last time I shared the rough sketch for her, thanks to the new character art for Hades 2! Seeing Odysseus and Hermès’s updated looks were great helps here, so I might as well move on to lining her, and finally adding another female character to the roster on top of Ahsoka!

And then there is the biggest update on these little guys below! I will need to clean up the ones I had drawn for Cobb and Boba (and Din) well over a year ago, but with these my version of chtonic companions are done, and thanks to @lesquatrechevrons I have a full list of keepsakes for each character as well. I’m not very good at drawing these little tchotchkes (I say with Rex’s blaster right there LOL) but I hadn’t been very good at lineart or cell shading when I started this project either, so through forced practice I’m determined to change that :D

(It’s not a screwdriver under Boga, it’s one of Cody’s antennas. “It will grow back, don’t worry,” he says as he snaps it off his pauldron and hands it over to Din. Rex backs him up on that one without question. They can't lie for shit but trolling the shiny is their thing.)

Additional fun fact: the reason why I’d picked up the chtonic companions concepts was because I’d been poking at minor details in the background behind Maul (aside from the Chaos doors), and I started adding credits and recoloured nectar to the corner (before I realized that they wouldn’t be visible once the character interaction comes up oops), and I tried to figure out to whose keepsakes Maul would react favorably. I also mixed up companion dolls and keepsakes, so that’s why the Ahsoka doll came to being (I also forgot that that one belongs to Rex, and not Ahsoka herself but uh… they are close enough that they should count by proxy anyway. It’s not Obi-wan’s cup of tea and that should be enough!). Also bless @mapleowl18 for suggesting Lil Soka as companion for Rex ❤️

So this is the current state of this AU project right now. I have my lists and notes, a few scribbled pose ideas in my sketchbook for Sabine (she might be next, unless Bo and her Nite Owls make a comeback), Satine and Omega (with Batcher), as well as some angry scribbles and question marks for Quinlan (who has apparently made his way back into this AU even though he didn’t get a little icon of his own originally orz), and Obi-wan The Second that would stand with Cody post reunion, but I cannot make that one work for now 😅

[deacblues]

In your opinion, what makes a good spider-variant design? I'm trying to avoid the pitfall of "bunch of normal ass clothes over the suit" I typically see, but also struggling to come up with anything that's clearly a spider-man when you look at it and doesn't confuse with peter parker's spider-man

That's a good question! So good that I'm going to bust out the proper capitalization and everything.

I'll give you a freebie right off the bat, because this is probably going to be a long post: one easy way to distinguish your character from Peter Parker is to draw them with a different body type. That way, even if their costume was similar to Peter's, it would obviously not be him.

Now, before getting into what I think makes a good Spider-Man design, I feel obligated to speak on what makes a good superhero design. Namely: Keep it simple, stupid! The best superhero costumes are pretty easy to draw, probably because they were designed to be drawn a million times by a million different artists. These costumes are simple enough that they can reduced to bands of colour and stay recognizable.

I promise that keeping your design simple will undoubtedly make it better-- or at least more superheroic, because this applies to Spider-Man, too!

Onto making a Spider-Man costume that is recognizably Spider-Man, but clearly not Peter Parker's. Obviously this costume is going to look different than Peter's classic costume, so we could start by figuring out what about that costume we can change. Thankfully, they already stripped Spider-Man down to the essentials in 1984.

Mike Zeck's black costume identifies these necessary elements of Spider-Man's costume:

Those luchador eyes

The front and back spider emblem

Form-fitting tights

The rest of the costume (the segmented colours, the web pattern, etc.) are basically fine for you to ignore or change at your leisure. Okay, maybe not... you could just draw Green Lantern and put a spider on his chest and back, and that probably wouldn't make for a great Spider-Man. But it's a place to start, at least. As long as you're putting serious thought into this costume, though, you should be able to ignore pitfalls like that.

Hey, speaking of thought, I thought I should cover some of those extraneous details Ditko included in his iconic Spider-Man design! Namely the way he chose to segment the reds and blues, he actually put loads of thought into it:

Namely, the high-rise gloves and boots help Peter's costume remain invisible beneath his civvies. I actually think these logistics are important to consider when designing a Spider-Man costume (or really any costume).

Anon mentions the "bunch of normal ass clothes over the suit" trend in spider-design in their ask, which I was happy to see because it means I can talk about something that really bugs me about recent Spider-Man stuff: How does Spider-Man stick to walls through regular shoes? No, seriously? Think about it for a second! When Miles wears Jordans over his Spider-Man costume and tries to stick his feet to a wall, wouldn't his feet just stick to his shoes instead?

Ditko rationalized this by deciding that Spider-Man can stick to walls through thin fabrics, but that rule has basically been forgotten. Despite how I sound, I'm mostly fine with this change (this is a textbook 'rule of cool' case), but these kinds of things are worth thinking about.

In that vein, keep in mind that Spider-Man's superpowers really lend themselves to acrobatics. Your spider-character probably shouldn't be wearing a suit of armour, or something that would greatly restrict their movement or sticking ability. That's why I labelled "Form-fitting tights" as a necessary characteristic of a Spider-Man costume earlier on in this post.

Before I wrap this up, one more thing you can try doing if you're stumped is looking at real life for inspiration. Whether that's going back to the old strongman outfits that gave way to the original superhero costumes, looking at modern day equivalent athletic wear, or even looking at actual fashion (as long as you're not just putting that fashion over the suit), there's bound to be something that could give you ideas.

[kingstonromcom]

Talk 2 Me // Miles Morales

Masterlist | Join Taglist !!

↳ tags : miles morales x male reader, miles morales x reader, male reader, marvel,itsv 2, itsv, spiderverse itsv

↳ pronouns used : he/him/his (I think they is also used)

↳ word count : 710

↳ note : i apologize for just now posting this bbgs here's a fanfic I would like to read :)).

The night was colder than usual, the city's skyline illuminated by the distant glow of neon lights. Miles Morales swung through the city as Spider-Man, his lithe form moving gracefully between buildings, but tonight was different. His movements were strained, every swing an effort, and the grace replaced with a hint of desperation.

Finally, he landed on a rooftop, panting heavily. His suit was torn, and bruises marred his skin. The pain was evident in his eyes as he contemplated his next move. The danger he faced tonight had been greater than he'd anticipated. He needed a safe place to rest and recover.

A familiar address came to his mind, a place where he knew he would find solace. With a renewed determination, he launched himself from the rooftop, swinging towards your apartment.

As Miles landed softly on your balcony, he rapped lightly on the glass door. His breath hitched as he waited, feeling a mixture of relief and anxiety. The door slid open, revealing you in pajamas. Concern etched across their face as they took in Miles' battered appearance. Without a word, they stepped aside, allowing him to enter.

Miles managed a faint smile, gratitude shining in his eyes. He didn't need to explain; they understood. He was safe here.

The reader led Miles to the bathroom, where they retrieved a first aid kit. You motioned for him to sit on the edge of the bathtub, and gently began to clean his wounds. The silence between them was comfortable, a mutual understanding that words weren't necessary right now. Your touch was gentle and soothing, each careful movement a balm to Miles' battered body.

Miles winced as you dabbed antiseptic on a particularly nasty bruise, and he instinctively reached out to grip their hand. His touch conveyed more than words ever could – the trust he placed in them, the vulnerability he rarely showed.

As you worked, tending to his injuries with practiced care, Miles couldn't help but let his thoughts wander. Why did he keep putting himself in these situations? Was he doing more harm than good? And why was he drawn to the reader like a moth to a flame?

His thoughts were interrupted your voice broke the silence, soft and comforting. "You're safe here, Miles."

He met their gaze, gratitude shining in his eyes. "I know."

You finished bandaging his wounds and sat back, studying him with concern. Miles mustered a tired smile, trying to reassure them. "I'll be fine. Just need some rest."

You nodded, but there was something more in your gaze – a question that went unspoken. Miles tilted his head, curiosity getting the better of him.

"What's on your mind?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

You hesitated for a moment before speaking, your voice gentle yet filled with curiosity. "Why do you keep pushing yourself like this, Miles? You're just a kid."

Miles chuckled softly, a hint of self-deprecation in his tone. "I guess I feel like I have to, you know? With great power…"

"Comes great responsibility," you finished for him, a small smile tugging at their lips. "But you also have the responsibility to take care of yourself."

Miles nodded, his gaze dropping to his hands. "Yeah, I know. Sometimes it's hard to balance."

You reached out, tilting his chin up to meet their eyes. "You don't have to do it alone, Miles."

Miles held their gaze, a mixture of emotions swirling within him – gratitude, longing, and a newfound sense of connection. Without thinking, he whispered the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.

"Mi amor."

You blinked, surprised by the endearment in his tone. Miles flushed slightly, realizing he'd spoken without thinking. But your eyes softened, and you smiled warmly.

"Rest for now, Miles," you urge him, your voice a soothing melody. "We'll figure everything out together."

As Miles settled onto your couch, his exhaustion finally catching up with him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort he hadn't experienced in a long time. In the quiet of the night, as he drifted off to sleep, he knew he had found a place where he truly belonged.

[desb3ar]

Des Malinto in ATSV | Info Dump

Hey hey. Decided to go and give y'all a shpeel on Des and how she functions within the spider-verse... Despite her not being a spider-person.

this is a HUUUUUGE info dump so if you would like to read it, continue with enthusiasm!

Des Malinto is a nurturing, hospitable, gentle woman who can also break your arm when you threaten who she cares about. With that in mind, what is she like in here?

Des Malinto appears when the fire had been snuffed out, I'd say after BTSV. She was discovered when she was whipped into another dimension and was taken back by Miguel, who personally escorted her, via portal travel, instead of the Go-Home machine.

After their short lived interaction, Miguel had began to have feelings, to see her again. Before she was returned home, she had set off some bells and pushed the right buttons within him that had him smiling more than usual, or at the very least, fighting against it. Her aura, if you will, gave him a lingering feeling of warmth.

So, after a lot of thinking, he went to meet with her again.

The thing about her is that she was an anti-hero. She's an assassin/hitman/robber. She's a criminal. Yet, he has drawn to her like a bee to syrup. There's moments where he wanted to interfere and get her to not do these things, but of course, he can't.

How she got into the society

Des is a very skilled woman who still got power in her punches despite being 39 years old. She has nearly 20 years of combat training underneath her belt and she can mow down enemies with ease. Jessica was the one to bring up the notion of Des joining. Miguel was firmly against it because... It was a SPIDER society and Des wasn't one of them. Jessica mentions how much he adored her, and spoke about her, revealed by Lyla. Miguel, reluctantly, allowed her to join.

Very quickly, Des had became one of the beacons of the strike force and had gotten a name for her. Many people called her Grizz, others called her Mama.

Des is the remediator and settles many problems. Her presence alone could break up a fight. She didn't need to act tough and stoic for others to know she is not the one to be played with when she simply says to "Cut it out."

Her aura is effective against Miguel, too.

Her Relations

She spends a good amount of time with many people within the Society, a good chunk of it is with the Spider kids (Margo, Hobie, Miles, Gwen, Pavitr, and Peni). They see her as a fun aunt and always takes the brunt when their times of fun go too far and Miguel nags about it.

Jess and Des very close and actually gets along pretty well. They speak amongst each other, they talk about Jess' baby (who is born by the time Des comes) and Des' life.

Peter B and Des are a comedic duo and are close too! They can be talking about the most funniest story and then end up getting into deep conversations.

Miguel and her... It's complicated. He has some qualities she doesn't favor so it can cause some tension between the two. However, that's what makes their bond the strongest. The sheer amount of emotional baggage and clashing ideas that they have paves the way for how things work between the two. Its like, synchronized ice skating on inch thick ice... With them holding knifes.

Des' will to make things work despite the dislikes she has about him causes confusion on Miguel's part, and also slight admiration that she'd still be willing to be good friends, no matter how much of a jack ass he can be sometimes.

Ask me some questions if you're interested in knowing anything else!!

[raayllum]

I'm so sorry, but I'm SO confused. What's the difference between Deep, Dark, and Star Magic? And how are they connected??

Basic definitions:

Dark magic: magic taken by using the essence of magical creatures. Most spells need specific ingredients (sometimes multiple) and trigger words and we also see the Relic (Viren's) Staff being used for dark magic purposes*. Has no naturally occurring gemstones

Star magic: magic used by Startouch elves and a handful of other creatures, such as Starweaver spiders, or cuddlemonkeys (Stella). Involves visions, time, and seeming teleportation (Stella's little portals, the Merciful One beaming down to Aaravos, Aaravos' little bug pal*). It is incredibly rare and largely unknown in canon. Has three gemstones — quasar diamonds — that can be used to channel star magic and restore souls to bodies (most likely)

Deep magic: an ancient, older form of magic performed by beings — First Elves — in a time before there were distinct primal elves. We know one form of deep magic is just known as 'Power'.

Relevant metas (bolded is most relevant; rest are adjacent and/or helped develop bolded)

Weird connection between dark magic, star magic, and old/blood magic

Did Viren use star and dark magic to save Soren?

What's up with the dark magic dreams and Janai's nightmare?

Gift Giving & Primal vs First Elves :: Or Going Off Into the Deep Lore Deep End

What happened with Elarion?

Misc thoughts:

The tricky thing about your question OP is that the only magic of the three we have a 'good' understanding of is dark magic. Dark magic is a very cut and dry transactional process — you kill or take parts from a magical creature in order to channel that specific power into your spell — but for both star and deep magic, we can only guess. The fact that both these things are very often muddled with dark magic complicates things further.

For example, while Little bug pal / Sir Sparklepuff is very clearly Star magic — he's born and mirrored after Aaravos — "using his essence" to fully resurrect Viren is about as dark magic-y as it gets ("I'll harvest her / consume you" about Zym and Zubeia; "How are we going to take it home?" "In pieces" about the dragon in 2x07).

Then, we have Aaravos call the Blood of Child ritual "one of the old spells," which is routinely how other things — such as the Sarai avenge spell ("I knew about an ancient spell") and objects related to Aaravos (the relic staff, the cube being "an ancient relic") are referred to as well. Kpp'Ar's arm wounds are also distinguished as being "from an ancient and disturbing practice". We see blood being used in more minor dark magic spells (Claudia uses her blood to help breathe underwater, and Kim'Dael drinks it + moon magic combo) but there's been multiple instances of blood being used in spells that also use star magic (Sir Sparklepuff, the unicorn horn) alongside blood (Viren's blood, Harrow's blood) that also results in dark magic corruption ("No more dark magic, never again!" vs Viren's corrupted face after he corrupts the spear).

There are also more weird similarities — the way Callum and Viren's dark magic induced dreams warp time (Callum's foreshadow his dark magic use in S5; Viren is literally speaking to his past self "here we are again, only this time...") are the only things we've seen work that way, other than Janai's dreams that she asserts "may be a warning". And we know that time-bending and reality altering stuff is related to star magic (Callum's Spellbook).

We also know thanks to s5 that Startouch elves are known as the First Elves in ancient legends (there's that word again). Rayla states "if I can figure out how he put you into the cursed coins, maybe I can figure out how to get you out". Viren's staff — a gift from Aaravos a thousand years ago — is what put them in (dark magic?) but star magic is what can get them out (in theory) so there's a connection drawn there. The one Startouch elf we know well is Aaravos, and he can possess people if they've done dark magic, so there's a personal connection there he's pulling on through the magics, and we know he had some involvement in humans acquiring dark magic at least.

Basically the nearest thing I can figure is that:

Star magic and deep magic are possibly synonymous with no difference between them.

Unicorn / Startouch elf Leola helped give humans primal magic from a 'good' form of deep/star magic but it wasn't enough for insert xyz reason

Aaravos took it one step further and helped give humans dark magic from a form of 'bad' deep/star magic (Power), possibly through his cube key. It's primarily rooted in taking the blood/essence of things

Dark magic pulls on both this form of deep (star) magic Power and primal magic in a twisted perversion. Hence the dreams, corruption, and Aaravos' ability to possess

[blackfilmmakers]

Just had youtube recommend a video that literally titled "Wish's Animation is Bad and it's Spider-Verse's Fault". Man that is the FARTHEST scapegoating I have ever seen! This person seriously didn't realize that the REAL perp wrote their name in the movie's title! DISNEY'S Wish. DISNEY 👈 Right here. That's what made Wish's animation bad. Don't sit there and lie on ANOTHER movie to excuse Disney like that 😠 Come on 🤦

Bruh I saw that on my dash and was so annoyed

"Into the Spiderverse made the 2D+3D popular, and Disney had no choice but to follow the trend" hmm maybe stop that?

That was all on Disney. They had the means to actually pull off the effect they wanted to. But no, they had to rush this team to finish an unfinished movie. Did you know this was originally going to be a 2D animated movie? And they've been on this for 8 years? That tells me they've planned and workshopped a lot of material originally intended for 2D, only to have that all scrapped at some point

What's funny is that Disney did actually create something with a 2D+3D blend style: Paperman

AND THIS WAS MADE IN 2012!

All the other movies that went with the 2D+3D blend also had their own gimmick. Spiderverse had the various comicbook style. TNMT was going for hand-drawn sketchy look. And Disney wanted the storybook look, which cool in thought

Unfortunately they messed that up tremendously. All the human/animal subjects look unfinished, and the backgrounds have no depth. Half the time I was figuring out if a background was real or if it was a mural . There was also lack of color, lack of proper lighting, and staging issues

Animating all that in cinema scope btw? Dumbass choice on whoever decided that. It doesn't make everything look cinematic, it just forces the artists to put in extra work to essentially make empty spaces no one cares for. Look at this, some of these characters are forced to be cutoff for no reason

(Disclaimer: these are screenshots from a recording of the movie)

Sure you can use cinema scope for things like westerns or deserts. It's to show how vast those sort of places are, and maybe even emphasize how lonely and isolated a character must feel when placed there. This is a kingdom, we do not want that. It is such an empty movie. I questioned whether the castle even had servants or knights who I don't think were shown until near the end. But even then there would be like 2 at a time

None of this helps the animators, writing and directors whose credentials are either: Frozen staff (that are also doing 3 and 4 as we speak) or newcomers. Newcomers are already struggling. And Frozen staff are notoriously known for changing up entire storylines last minute, so now characters change personalities out of nowhere

So yeah, the movie is either AI generated in a lot of places, or the skills of the staff are lacking.

Either way, all that to say Disney is to blame for their failure as an animation company and also

[eeelectricsoul]

Prowlerpunk!Hobie

— HEADCANONS.

~ He’s the same as Earth-138 Hobie Brown, but was never bitten by a spider, so in order for him to protect his London/NewYork he became a vigilante, known as The Prowler

~ Inspo from Earth-42 Miles Morales and Earth-616 original Prowler

~ Just as Spiderpunk, he’s a major anarchist, and loves to take down fascists (also isn’t afraid of unaliving some every now and then, emphasis on vigilante)

~ HUGE nerd, obviously he makes all of his gadgets by scratch, maybe doesn’t have super strength and agility but he’s sharper than a frickin’ blade

~ Plays the guitar and some drums, but isn’t a part of a band, instead he does hang out with a punk street gang

~ This Hobie is just as silly as the original one <!!!3 but definitely has darker facets

~ If he were to meet the atsv spider kids he would scare the living sh1t out of them because he’s a reckless villain in almost every other universe????? yeah they all would be too stunned to speak. but once they get to know his backstory they have so many many questions and begin to engage more with one another, eventually the kids think he’s cool as hell and are naturally drawn to him

aaand that’s it for now, lmk if you want to know more about this Hobie luvs

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Learning to Crawl (issue 35)

Moon Knight, Issue # 35: Second Wind

Written by Tony Isabella and drawn by Carl Potts

Hey look! The X-men are in this one! And the Fantastic Four! That’s a lot of cross-over. As I’ve stated before, a lot of times when you have a ‘features’ on the cover, it means the characters show up briefly to do a one liner, then leave. A ploy to try to draw in more readers and sell more issues. Let’s see how much they all feature in this! 

And the plot summary? “Following last issue’s devastation, Moon Knight is at a crossroads on whether or not to continue his vigilante career. Guest-starring the X-Men and FF!” 

Now, keep in mind that this is a new writer (One that was acclaimed and recently retired that came out of retirement to guest appear) right after Moench left Marvel. So we're getting the character intro that feels more geared towards the writer than the audience. ALSO this is a cross over ultra long issue so they are hoping to have NEW readers that are here for the X-men and that will get interested in Moon Knight and then start reading regularly.

So we're not only going to get over intros of the characters, but we're also going to get a heavily watered down edition of the characters because the new readers aren't here for lore, they're here for X-men. 

We open at midnight in Manhattan. 

"It's Midnight when the man born Marc Spector (but who has long since glided into other identities as easily as he now glides over the city) spots the quarry that has brought him out into the darkness. 

Thus Marc Spector begins this in his identity as the costumed adventurer Moon Knight. When it ends he will know who he truly is...and why." 

His prey is "The Fly", who focuses on robbing rich vacation homes while the owners are away. 

After noting that The Fly recently went up against Spider-Man and lost, Moon Knight sneaks up on The Fly and immediately gets his ass kicked. He spends a lot of time on the ground. 

He’s doing well. 

OH. OH NO. I know this comic! (it may come as a surprise to some of you that I do not read the comics then write these analysis. I do a life reaction.) I knew this was coming but it had completely escaped me that THIS was how it happened. Oh. My. Khonshu. This is embarrassing. 

As always, Frenchie is up above keeping an eye on things. When he spots "The Fly" getting away, he radios down to Moon Knight. 

Worried for his friend, he climbs down from the chopper and finds Marc laid out on the roof, unable to move and barely able to speak. 

I must say, the art and colors on this issue are spectacular. 

Frenchie gets Marc to his chopper. 

"Moon Knight glides from pain to oblivion to delirium in no discernible pattern. Once he curses himself through agonized tears for being so sloppy this time. 

Once he wakes in madness to quote Keats. 'There is not a fiercer hell than the failure in a great object.'" 

Side note: We've seen Marc, specifically Marc, quote classical literature before. Marc is shockingly well read and it makes me wonder why he hides how smart he is. In later issues he talks about his struggles in school, but Marc Spector really is very smart. (An idiot but smart). 

John Keats is an English romantic poet. He is famously known for "Beauty in truth, truth in beauty".

Jean-Paul takes Marc to a private hospital that 'doesn't ask questions'. 

He undergoes surgery, but his spinal damage is great. They tell Marlene that they've done what they can and the rest lays in subsequent therapy. "I'm afraid it's entirely possible that Steven Grant may never walk again." 

We move to Paris where a young up and coming dancer is running for her life from some unseen danger. 

Her assailant is a woman who accuses her of abandoning Russia and taking all her gifts with her. The attacker uses the wind as her power and sends the girl off into the sky to meet a terrible fate. 

Back in Grant Mansion, we see one of the Moon Boys working on parallel bars to learn to walk again. The whole time, he curses himself for letting The Fly get away. 

Now, for the past couple of issues, Moon Knight has been facing another internal conflict of if he is doing any good. The people he was supposed to help turned out to be th villains and the villains turned out to be guided by circumstances and then paid a terrible price. 

"I'm not sure I should ever think about Moon Knight again... I mean, what if it's somebody else's life on the line next time I screw up?" 

Marlene calls an end to today's therapy session and helps 'Steven' back to his wheelchair. 

Samules, the butler, announces a guest and Gena busts in at full speed. 

"Guests, Sammy? We're family. Right Lockley?" 

"How's the kids, Gena?" (Jake is always such a sweetie). 

She gives him a hug and I may tear up. I love Gena so much. 

Crawley bursts in next. 

Jake's friends have always been his support and his heart. 

Jake is worried about the boys. 

Gena is too. "This sure isn't the easiest city in the world to grow up in...Even for good kids." 

They reflect on the gangs always recruiting new members. 

They talk about how Lenny, from the Music box issue, is serving time despite being a good kid. They reflect on the gang that was poisoned and attacked Gena in her diner. 

"Those are the reasons I'm thinking of leaving. My brother has a place in Houston. He needs a manager. Hard decision to make." Gena admits. 

"Do what's best for you and the kids. But... If you can --stay. You've got family here too." 

It's hard to let go of friends. Especially someone as important to their way of life and joy like Gena. Jake relies so heavily on his routine. He visits the diner for breakfast frequently and he goes there when things are stressful or he wants to get away from Steven's life and people. 

Gena heads out, back to the diner. Crawley lingers to have a word. 

Moon Knight used to pay Crawley for information. Crawley has always had a gambling problem and he admits that he's been in it again and is out of cash and overdue on the rent again. 

"I...I was wondering if Moon Knight would be requiring my services soon." 

I'm not sure who is fronting at this junction, but he's giving Steven vibes so I'll say Steven. 

Steven admits that he doesn't know when he'll be up and able to walk again, much less Moon Knighting... 

"I'm not sure Moon Knight will be back." 

Marlene offers to put Crawley on a retainer and holds out some cash. 

"Oh, no. I'm afraid I've gotten to enjoy working for a living again. Not to worry, my dear, I'll be fine." 

Crawley refuses help and asks to be notified if his services are needed. He heads back to the diner.

Steven is angry. "He's my friend, Marlene, and for the first time I'm wondering if it hasn't been my needs as Moon Knight that have kept him down in the gutters--While I come home to THIS every morning.

Maybe it is time to retire as Moon Knight." 

He heads into the room that houses his Khonshu statue. 

"What do you say, Khonshu, Old boy? Is the wheelchair and the legs that won't work some sort of sign that my tour of duty as Moon Knight is over? Have I paid for the crimes of my past? 

All the men I am... Can I put Mercenary Spector to rest? Can I stop driving Lockley's cab?

Can I finally be the man I want to be? I WANT to be Steven Grant, Marlene. He's a good man...The kind of man who could make you happy." 

"That would be nice. Let's talk about it...Sometime." 

"Right. Well, wheelchair or not, I've still got a life to lead. Let's get on with it." 

Narration: And if Khonshu has any thoughts of his own to add...He keeps his own counsel.

So we are dealing with Steven primarily in the chair. It’s interesting that Steven is the one dealing with the PT and learning how to cope. We get glimpses of Jake, but mostly it’s Steven wondering what sort of life he is supposed to follow. The desire to just be Steven. To be a good man. To make Marlene happy. 

Next we see Marlene and Steven going to a Ballet. Steven has sponsored the local ballet in an effort to be "just a good citizen doing what he can." 

Steven goes to meet the star, Sergey Valberg. He's brought along the media to help promote the company and get more people to the Ballet. 

As the media sets up, we catch a glimpse of the angry woman from before that sent the other dancer to space. 

Sergey has agreed to let the media record his rehearsal. They watch in amazement as he dances when suddenly...

A gust of wind knocks all the security around and the woman enters the room. "Sergey... Your dance is over." 

"Marlene... I think she's here to kill him! Try to cover me while I...I... Sit here like a helpless cripple." Steven is realizing he can't do anything.

Wind lady blows the chair over for his trouble. 

Sergey recognizes her. He calls her Bora. 

"I have heard...of a woman whose heart is as cold as the frigid winds she commands. I had hoped I heard wrong." 

She had once rehearsed under Sergey, dreaming of being a great ballerina. Then she found out that she was a Mutant as she not only gained wind powers, but she also grew to over seven feet tall! 

When she went to him for help, she found out that he had fled Russia to America. 

Her dreams of being a ballerina were over. 

"I awoke to find my long cherished goals thrust eternally beyond my reach, for what choreographer had ever conceived a ballet for a seven foot tall artist?!" 

So naturally she decided to punish all those who defected from Russia. 

She drops the temperature to below freezing as the winds swirl around them.... And Sergey starts to dance. 

"If I die, It will be as I have lived--Honoring life through my dance!" 

Steven is helpless to watch from outside of the rehearsal room as the temperature drops and the winds blow. 

"The Bora is a cold, dry wind. It can reach speeds of 125 miles per hour and has been known to overturn trucks. He lets the gusts catch him in mid leap.

His dance has become a language now... His movements its alphabet. The opposition of arms and legs create words. His dance speaks to Steven Grant. It speaks of courage unconquerable." 

Steven crawls to the glass and struggles to get to his feet. 

"The temperature in the enclosed studio is now sixty degrees below zero. The sentences form more slowly. Indeed, there is only breath left...for one... final... statement." 

Sergey takes a final leap. 

"The dancer is dead... But not his dance." 

The wind woman departs and Steven is left helpless. 

He has realized a truth. He asks Marlene to take him home. 

Love the imagery of Khonshu’s statue behind Marlene. “Inside the mansion there is a cold silence. It reminds Marlene of a tomb…in Egypt.” 

"Because I have to be here. Because I'm needed." Steven sits in the wheelchair clutching at the Moon Knight cowl. "You know what's out there. It's a world in which the savages all too often rule our cities, our streets, our souls. 

The Good citizens... The Grants, the Lockley's...They fight that tyranny as best they can. They aren't always enough." 

Steven is starting to understand that as much as he wants to be the good person and the only person, he can't. 

"Moon Knight is more than a good man. He's a force that transcends the brutality and the fear that are the savages' main weapons--Because he can use those weapons himself. 

He's a savage on the side of the angels. A protector of innocents... A symbol of vengeance and hope. And, God willing, If he does his job well enough... He'll be the last savage." 

It's an interesting understanding by Steven. Viewing Moon Knight a a necessary violence force. But does he see Moon Knight as his own person, as Marc Spector, or as all of them working together? 

I know how Moench would portray Moon Knight, but with him out of the picture, how is Marvel going to let the character of Moon Knight advance? 

Steven attempts to stand. 

He fights through the pain. 

For once, he’s not looking to Khonshu for support. Or a miracle. 

"This is the truth learned. That being Moon Knight is not a curse... Nor a state of penance. It is simply who and what he was always meant to be." 

So what is Moon Knight's first course of action? 

He goes to see Professor Charles Xavier's school for gifted youngsters. 

Alright. We are a little over halfway through the comic and we are finally bringing in the X-men. 

He speaks with the Professor himself. 

"The Russians have been unusually co-operative with the bare facts. She's fourteen, off her nut, and operating without their sanction. Not enough. I need to know how her powers work!" 

Moon Knight notes that there are four more defectors in the ballet company and he bets she'll strike again on opening night. 

Professor tells him how he thinks Bora's power works then asks if Moon Knight thinks one man can stop her. 

"I don't know. I don't see where I have any choice but to try. Thank you for your help, professor." 

Leaving, Professor X watches him go. 

"He has doubts. His injury--His recent failure....The pain that yet wracks his body. They all work against him. And still he strives to overcome. The man's determination is both inspiring and frightening." 

He calls in Colossus and Nightcrawler. 

Mostly because you can’t have a comic that boasts about an X-man crossover without the x-men. And any time there’s a one off X-men crossover, they tend to just kinda throw Colossus and Nightcrawler at the situation back in the day. (Current day it’s more like wolverine or some random side characters that Marvel wants to promote at the time for a smaller comic). 

Nightcrawler makes the argument that Mutants should deal with Mutants. 

"I would agree...Normally... But Moon Knight is at a crossroad in his life. He must be given the chance to prove himself to himself. He is a powerful force for good. 

Perhaps more powerful, in his own way, than we X-men. We will not interfere unless necessary." 

Yet... They do all agree that a night at the Ballet might be nice. 

Outside the school we find Frenchie chatting up Storm. 

Opening night, the theater is packed! And what's this? The Thing! 

He says his hello to Nightcrawler. 

Nightcrawler admits that he's there as 'unofficial back-up'. 

Ben laughs. "I guess that makes yours truly and pals the "Official Back-ups, then." 

It would seem that Moon Knight knew he wasn't fully up to full strength so he called in a little extra help. 

"The Fantastic four!" Kirk turns to his row and admits "I, too, came with 'Pals'!" 

And there we see more of the X-men! I'm not a big X-men reader, so I only recognize two, maybe three of the ones there. 

It's also interesting that Moon Knight would specifically ask for help from the fantastic four. He's only had run-ins with DareDevil, Ben, and the Hulk up to this point. Inviting Dare Devil to the ballet would be... a bit off. And the Hulk wouldn't exactly be good backup. 

It's also hilarious that to this day, Ben still considers Moon Knight a friend and every single year will send him Hanukkah cards. In later issues, Moon Knight admits that there aren't a lot of Jewish heroes and that Ben needs to meet others besides himself, since he isn't exactly the most observant. But it's still touching how Ben said "This is my friend." and clung to him for so long.

We see Moon Knight himself up in a box seat overlooking the stage. (And this image really tickled me for POTO reasons. If you know, you know.) 

"But if Kurt Wagner has gained new respect for the Moon's Knight of Vengeance, the object of that praise is himself still wrestling with doubts.

Bora has the power to level this theater. He was crippled by a glorified burglar. Memories of past failure assail him. The waiting is a battle in itself. And that he does not surrender to his doubts in those seemingly interminable minutes is a victory as great as any he has known." 

Okay okay okay. Let's take a moment to appreciate the actual Ballet! 

"Laurencia" - A story of love and tyranny. 

A ballet by Chabukiani. As wiki informs me, "Created at a time when 'choreodrama' was considered in the Soviet Union the only acceptable form of contemporary ballet.' 

Basically it stresses that dance was an ultimate form of expression and all movement should serve as a purpose. 

So ballet at the time seemed to focus heavily on drama based plays. 

The story the ballet is based on is one of a peasant revolution. Which, if you know the most basic of Russian history, this was a big deal for the Soviet Union. 

Now, Chabukiani created his own form of choreographic language in Ballet where he focused heavily on the Male Dancer and created 'the heroic male dance'. 

The play is pretty simple. Village awaits the return of some grand Commander with his army. Meanwhile a girl and her admirer are flirting. The commander returns and immediately desires the beautiful girl. She rejects him so he leaves with his army. The admirer asks the girl to marry him but she isn't sure and doesn't answer. The Commander returns and tries to have the girl. She rejects him again and this time he leaves promising revenge. The girl marries her admirer but the commander interrupts the wedding and arrests her groom. Pretty pissed off, she rallies the village and they storm the castle. They kill the commander and free the groom. 

The original story was written in the 1600s and was based on a real story. 

Back to the comic! 

Bora interrupts just as the revolt against the evil Commander is taking place. 

Winds batter around the ballerinas as Bora steps on stage. 

"The winds of retribution have pursued you from the homeland you hae betrayed! They have decreed your punishment! And they have named Me Your executioner!" 

The X-men and the Fantastic Four hold off, wanting to let Moon Knight take his chance to redeem himself to himself. 

(It's also funny to watch a woman command the winds and have Storm be there like, "Oh she is not going to get away with this".) 

Moon Knight leaps down onto the stage. 

She immediately blasts him with wind. This gives the dancers time to make their escape as he fights against the wind storm. 

Professor X had guessed that Bora's powers were psionic in nature. She was not generating the wind herself like Storm does, but she was opening a sort of portal to harness the winds from their original location. 

Off stage, Marlene and Frenchie flip on the lights and buzzers, giving Bora a massive headache and thus she loses control of her wind. 

The notion that Steven goes around building things ‘just in case Moon Knight needs them’ is hilarious. 

The Fantastic Four do their thing and ensure that the audience and fleeing Ballerina are not injured in the wild winds. 

You gotta love cross-over comics. The X-men could have ended this immediately. Much less the Fantastic. Both in the same building? Come on. But this isn’t their comic. They are guests in this comic so they gotta watch Moon Knight, a man without a single ounce of power who just finished recovering from massive spinal injury crawl across the stage. Look at him go. He’s used to being on the ground anyways. 

We get to see the Various X-men like Kitty Pride and storm and Colossus do their thing to help people. We also see the Fantastic Four do their own thing. 

Pretty pissed off, Bora now focuses fully on Moon Knight and he's getting blown around a bit. 

"The temperature drops rapidly, a full degree per second. He cannot feel what he clutches in his hand. He does not stop. Ice daggers cut deep into his flesh. And still he does not stop." 

Nightcrawler pops in just behind her, giving her a start. The momentary distraction is enough for Moon Knight to get to her and...

DID HE JUST CHLOROFORM HER?!

Yep. Sure did… 

Well... It worked. She passes out. 

Later, back at Grant Mansion Marlene and Steven talk.

"You're tired." "I am exhausted--and in excruciating pain--and feeling completely, totally wonderful!" 

"No more doubts?" 

"Lots. But I won't quit again. What we do is important." 

"I can live with that." 

And we end on Khonshu's statue gazing at Marlene and Steven embracing. 

OKAY. Coming from the future and gazing upon the past, we know what is to come in the comics much much distance from when this one was written. 

He does in fact quit again. He also ends up in a wheelchair again. What’s the difference? This time, it is Steven that handles it. In the future issue, it’s MARC that handles it. Another huge difference? In the future issue with Marc being left crippled, his friends have all left him and he suffers alone, angry, and in despair. This time, we see their friends rally around him. Steven is practical in how he confronts the problem, and Steven takes them through the rehab PT, he puts in the work, and he understands what it means to not be able to recover. He accepts potential failure and he makes peace with it. 

Marc does not. In that future episode, Marc pushes himself over and over again and suffers in miserable agony as he fails and fails and fails. Steven accepts that he is a good man and he can live with himself if he can’t be Moon Knight. Marc cannot. 

We also see the general use of ‘What WE do is important.’. He won’t quit again. He, being Steven Grant, acknowledges that he gave up too soon. He settled too soon and didn’t leave the others any say in the matter. He wrote off Jake and Marc and Moon Knight. Now he sees that he can’t do that. Moon Knight needs his place. 

What I also love is that this was again another show of a battle against oneself. We see him struggling again with his own failures and dip into self depredation. They suffer with imposter syndrome and doubt and depression. He acknowledges that the doubt is still there. That they are still struggling, but that they now know that they need to keep pushing on and forward. 

What I didn’t like about this issue? What happens to the girl? What happened to Bora after she is defeated? 14 years old and her dreams of ballet are gone and she is obviously not taking anything well. Do they just hand her over to the X-men to deal with? Also the main ballet dancer was killed! And the ballet just goes on? He was a pretty important figure it seems like! And the girl from earlier that was killed! I hate loose ends. 

Overall, I really did enjoy this issue, even if it was a cross-over with loose ends. This is the last we see of special guest writer Tony Isabella. In the next issue, we get our first full one from Zelenetz!

[nephilimbrute]

show .us

I haven't drawn one of the two yet cuz i didn't have motivation. I'll show my evil circus ocs though

i made these ocs back in like 2022 and my art style improves at a rapid pace, so they're well over due for redesigns. here are the performers/workers though :3c

- cirque de lumiere / circus of light is a french circus upholding a reputation of it being one of the greatest in france, with performances consisting of a giant cheshire cat, world's tallest man, even one of the most spectacular magicians. though, more sinister things happen under the big top

fratellini / The Saint or "Saint the Fool" (knife-juggling clown, she/her). she's very silly and likes to mess with the other performers. montblanc is her best friend

françois / "François the Great" (magician, he/him). flamboyant fuck that does all the "mind-controlling" at the circus. he likes to bother aesop, working with him to steal other's belongings when they're not looking

aesop / "He Who Talks to Crows" (crow tamer, he/him). obviously, he tames crows. kinda like a lion tamer, but his crows steal jewelry from the audience when they are too busy being enamored by the show

^^^ this drawing was made 2 months ago, just haven't got to coloring it. it is a redesign for them though, the names on the bottom are their former names cuz i changed them (or their stage names)

montblanc / "The Cheshire" (cheshire cat, he/him). veery giddy kitty. his voice claim is of course, sterling holloway (voice actor of the cheshire cat in 1951 alice in wonderland). he loves surprises and often dismisses questions, liked by everybody in the circus

apollon / "Big Top" (strongman, he/him). i haven't got to redrawing him yet so the anatomy is off ^^; it's the original drawing. anyways he's cocky and a big show-off. yes he's half spider

as you can see montblanc is also a recent drawing which i haven't colored yet

cassius / "Cassius the Warrior" (stuntman, he/him). he isn't really developed that well, but he performs dangerous stunts for the audience, though he's very jumpy. works well with montblanc and jack

mister (or wilheim) / "The Living Nutcracker" (nutcracker idk what he does, he/him). he's also Severely underdeveloped. made him as a christmas special and revealed him on christmas day last year. he lives up to the whole british soldier thing, he does whatever he is told to do n stuff

vivienne / "Black Widow" (vaudeville/cabaret?, she/her). she's kind of a flirt, she puts on performances for the more mature audiences. i like her and this drawing just made me realize how tall she is

now THIS is old. vivienne is the only one i drew recently, i'll be putting her at the end. also cassius' design was designed by a friend:3

chono (ringmaster, he/him). he's the lead of the circus, very very evil

nato (he/him) is chono's assistant. he's on high alert a good amount of the time

jack (or jacqueline) / "Jack-in-the-Box" (surprise performer, she/her). she loves to surprise people when fratellini cranks the handle on her box and she pops out. she can be foul-mouthed and rude, always getting in people's faces n' such

...yyeaah this one is also old. though i made some adjustments to the colors a few months ago, the style and stuff is still old

vanitas (or nicolaes) / "Memento Mori" (puppeteer, he/him) is the nicest circus performer. he puts on puppet shows, when he speaks he adapts the personality of what puppet he's using, and he'll often make up a conversation. his puppets are commedia dell'arte characters. when not using any puppet, he talks normally + he's polite. his 'face' is a mask by the way

this drawing i made like 3 days ago lol. it's his redesign concept, his original one i just went head-first and i still don't like it >.>

and last but not least these two. first we have baroness (or marie-christine) / "Dangerously Yours" (singing entertainment, she/her). she also puts on shows for the more mature audiences, in which she'll sing on a stage. her songs are often quite dark, the audience never realizes it though. her design is also by the friend who made cassius

and on the right is primadonna (or marcel. mime, she/her) who is, of course, a mime. i think her face is her actual face. my sister helped design this one

i made these doodles like, a month or two ago. just concepts so i can get their designs down

that's Allll for the circus performersssss ^w^^^^ hope u enjoy them. Oh and there's this other one who's been stuck in concept stage (i haven't even drawn them yet), their name is El Lissitzky, based on the real El Lissitzky's paintings. think they're gonna be a painter as well

onto old/new pieces... wwweeew

^ here's that vivienne piece i mentioned. i posted her to this blog already...

the original designs and how they're supposed to look when colored:3c also this montblanc is a slightly updated version of his original drawing to make his fur look better

and finally vanitas' original design... yeaahh. wanted to go for a jester-like look, his design is somehow simultaneously too much and too little. i never really had a proper concept for him beforehand, just the silhouette of what he was supposed to look like. strongly disliking the colors thou

also recent apollon i did as a style test:3 all of these circus performers have a voice claim BTW :P

...I think this was a reaaaalllly long post

[gamebunny-advance]

Sus.

I just need to get this story off my chest because it's been bothering me since it happened. It's nothing really relevant to what I usually post or anything that's happened here, so feel free to skip this "story" if the subject matter offends you.

Content Warning for minors in implied sexual situations.

So, Youtube likes to recommend cartoon review/analysis videos to me, even of shows I've never watched. Sometimes I watch them because I like watching people be passionate about any given subject.

But other times they can be a little cringe because it's still grown adults yelling about cartoons, ya know? I'm happy that they've got something they're passionate enough about to sink so much time and effort into a video, but that doesn't automatically make me share their enthusiasm, especially if it's coming from a place of a bad faith criticism.

For the most part, I just move on from videos that give that vibe, but I recently came across one that disturbed me in a way that no one in the comments was really pointing out because they were too busy agreeing with the sentiment that the cartoon in question was bad.

The video was about some reboot for Tiny Toon Adventures (I literally know nothing about it other than what the video told me, and at this point I'd rather not learn anything more about it).

The video had pretty high production values all things considered, with a lot of original animation and art, like actual lip-synching on the avatar and detailed backgrounds as opposed to the static sprites on single colored/patterned backgrounds I usually see among cartoon critics.

I didn't stay long enough for the credits or check the description, but presumably all the art was done by the speaker/creator. Due to this, I was impressed enough to stick around to see what he had to say. Generally speaking, you just don't put that amount of effort into something that you're not passionate about, and I'm here for the passion first and opinions second.

The first talking point was about how the show apparently changed the relationship between the lead characters, Babs and Buster Bunny, from friends/lovers to siblings. This was gotten across in the usual way of the speaker overacting how angry/shocked they are about what is honestly a mundane change in the grand scheme of things. This was turn-off number 1 because I don't find the "caustic critic" to be that funny, especially when it's in service to bad faith criticisms. But, that wasn't what really disturbed me.

What set off a red flag to me, was the "skit" that followed.

The speaker detailed a situation where children, illustrated as a young girl and young boy, who were fans of the new reboot would eventually go back and watch the original show and be corrupted due to them misunderstanding the characters' relationship as being incestuous. I thought that this point was heavily exaggerated (as bits of this nature tend to be), but it's still not what disturbed me.

What disturbed me was how one of the sight gags to illustrate this point was to show the children wearing character themed underwear.

I'm not saying the underwear was drawn as a separate prop that they were implied to be wearing. I mean that as a part of the gag, I was forced to briefly look at two children standing in their underwear for no good reason. And to get to that gag, the characters were first fully dressed in merch before revealing their underwear underneath.

So not only was I forced to look at two children standing in their underwear, but they were literally undressed in front of me to make that "joke".

And immediately following that, I'm also forced to look at the girl child wrapped up in a spiderweb about to be eaten by a giant spider to illustrate the point that the kids are now trapped in some sort of "mindweb" from the confusion.

So me, knowing that tying people in spiderwebs is an uncommon but real fetish, felt deeply uncomfortable by this scene occurring right after the children were shown half naked.

Like, I'm not accusing that creator of anything because none of this is proof of any wrongdoing or bad intention outside of the bad faith criticism of the show. But I will say that I was so disturbed by this that I literally couldn't watch the rest of the video, so I don't know if it got worse from there.

But to try and prove that I'm not trying to say this in bad faith, I'll grant a couple of "outs":

The children weren't drawn particularly realistically: they were stick figure-esque in comparison to the more detailed art in the rest of the video that I saw. If the artist really wanted to detail these children, they probably would have, so I don't believe the drawings were meant to be especially gratifying.

I also know that cartoon print underwear is a shorthand for the character wearing them to be obsessed with the cartoon on the underwear. It's literally a joke from the Spongebob Movie, so if this guy was old enough to have been a fan of the original Tiny Toons, then he probably would have been in the age range to watch that movie and internalize that joke (or seen it elsewhere in a different cartoon). So it's possible that he might not have considered the implications of showing a child in a similar situation.

Additionally, while I don't recall much of Tiny Toons, I know that it's one of those shows that while it's made for children/general audiences, has a lot of mature humor, so maybe he thought he was doing the same thing without considering the implications of what he'd done.

Which is basically the same justification as the last point, but really the only way I can imagine someone thinking any of that was okay is ignorance.

But your dear ol'Sammy has been around the block a few times. Even though I can easily make up reasons why all this could be completely innocent/accidental, I feel like I can tell the difference between someone who made an honest mistake, and someone that is incapable of hiding what they really are. And this is sadly falling under the latter.

I always hope that I'm wrong in situations like this. I hope that I'm just paranoid and there's no malice at play here because my goal is not to punish wrongdoing, it's to make sure that other people are safe. But I can't ignore a red flag once I see it, and it was driving me crazy that no one seemed to be acknowledging it.

I won't link the video here because I don't want it to spread around, but if you really want to seek it out, then I've probably given enough information for you to find it on your own and make your own judgement about it.

[softgrungeprophet]

I was rambling about this in my insta stories and had been thinking about making a post like this off and on for a while so, i'm just gonna do it now

Spider-Man comics to get to know me:

(Peter Parker: Spider-Man #47 (Jenkins/Ramos))

These are comics I like, comics that make me go "AUGHFDHGH" etc. I'm not saying they're masterpieces (though some of them are), but I'm saying I like them and they are a good insight into my tastes and why I write and draw the way I do, for my AUs, etc...

apologies in advance, this post is going to be a bit long.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

first: a comic arc (really, arcs) that makes me feel crazy (in a good way)

Peter Parker: Spider-Man #44-47 (Jenkins/Ramos) and Spectacular Spider-Man v2 #3-10 (Jenkins/Ramos) (also issue #27)

I am still randomly working my way through these comics in bits and pieces because I read like a weirdo (aka, sometimes out of order, often with large breaks in between) but in general I do recommend these specific issues to at least some extent if you want to understand my tastes in comics and what subplots make me absolutely feral

with the caveat that these comics are incredibly early aughts for better and for worse; some of the jokes don't quite land (particularly Nurse Helga in SSM, which is a textbook example of the Brawnhilda trope, such a staple of 2000s humor and just not funny), and I find Jenkins' take on Venom (and Eddie Brock's backstory, mannerisms and speech) to be lacking... though it's not entirely uncompelling.

but as far as Peter, and his life, and the stuff involving Flash, and also the scene where he makes Ock beg for mercy, it's very much my shit. He makes Peter feel lost and directionless in a way that feels very believable, and it's clear that Peter really gives a shit about people. Even just the other people in his apartment building breaking into his apartment to play games using his TV is like... Yeah. I love it.

Extremely "this was made for me," and I am definitely the target audience when it comes to taste. When/if I ever have the money I'll definitely be looking for used copies of the trades with these issues in them because I really do like it a lot. I guess there's something about the way Jenkins writes (not to mention Ramos' stellar compositions) both in terms of character but also in terms of style itself—something dreamy and melancholy but not trudging—that really speaks to me as a reader and drags me in, even when he sometimes misses the mark or makes a joke that isn't funny. (which i'll admit isn't... uncommon)

I WANT TO SAY ONE THING THOUGH which is that even though I like their Spectacular stuff, the Ock arc (issues #6-10 iirc) deals with the Israel/Palestine conflict as part of the plot and while, writing-wise, it's actually surprisingly thoughtful (tho idk if i can judge whether it's truly deeply thoughtful or just not as offensive as it could have been, especially for such a fraught topic in a superhero comic), there is an Israeli character that, to be frank, the way Ramos draws him feels very antisemitic to me. I know that he has a very stylized way of drawing and he exaggerates a lot of characters' features, especially facial features, but it's still fair to point out that the IDF character is undeniably drawn in a way that is questionable at best and clearly rooted in antisemitic stereotypes whether intentional or not.

Similar goes for the Palestinian character, tbh. Ramos is, again, very stylized, but definitely is leaning more into the big hawkish noses for the arab and israeli characters...

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Sensational Spider-Man v2 #23-40 (Aguirre-Sacasa/Medina/Crain)

NOT marvel knights spider-man, I do not like marvel knights spider-man, this is a different creative team, it got the title changed from MKS I guess? idk 23-40 is literally the entire run, it starts on 23 lol

well. no 23-41 is the whole thing but 41 is OMD and I still haven't read it 🤷 Also this is concurrent with a lot of Civil War stuff, like, Aunt May getting shot, and like one of the trades actually is a Civil War branded book, but like... I didn't read basically any of that stuff. If you know the gist of what happens during Civil War, it makes plenty enough sense on its own.

This run is... my shit. Overall, I just like it. And more specifically the issues from the POV of, respectively, Aunt May, MJ, and Felicia, made me cry like a little baby. Hell—I don't even like the villain who's revealed at the culmination of the first arc but I still really like the first arc as a whole. (though I'll admit, while Aguirre-Sacasa writes a Peter I really like, he does fall into my biggest pet peeve (he's not the only one) of talking about Peter's Inherent Pure Goodness but like... he still writes a great Spidey imo)

Also. It turns out I have a thing for moody 2000s comics where it's pouring rain with art that can occasionally be described as "wack" 😂 I actually... unlike Ramos' art, I don't really find myself defending Medina's. It's ridiculously lumpy, it's very mid 2000s aesthetically, it's kind of fuck-ugly. But. The atmosphere is impeccable. I'm also not really a fan of Clayton Crain (who did the art i put up above), generally (he's just not to my taste most of the time) but like, again, the mood is impeccable and Crain is good at what he does when what he's doing is meant to be uncomfortable or creepy. The atmosphere is off the charts, man.

It's absolutely not for ages 9 and up ("A") and I really don't know how or why it got that rating instead of the 15+ "Parental Advisory" warning, because even the briefest of glimpses shows that it's a pretty intense run from the start... it's really just not for kids at all imo, though young horror buffs I'm sure could handle it for the most part.

Also yes this is the comic run where Peter meets and talks to God (#40, the Book of Peter) which. i know sounds weird. and it is weird, i won't lie. But... I liked it? I think it rewired my brain a little bit. When I mention Peter punching dumpsters in fics, this issue is where I got that from. It really made a lot of things click for me.

This run is also why I draw Felicia's hair down to her fuckin ankles lol like—even though I said! that I don't really like Medina's art! The way he draws Felicia in the pouring rain with her long, long hair plastered soaking wet to her body, like. again, rewired my brain a little bit.

THAT BEING SAID—

I feel the need to put a VERY BIG TRIGGER AND CONTENT WARNING on this recommendation.

Issues #38 and #39 are The Last Temptation of Eddie Brock.

The Last Temptation of Eddie Brock is upsetting to read (regardless of your opinion on Venom and/or Eddie as a character(s)).

Listen, I like angst. I write and read a lot of angsty stuff. I like sad endings. I like reading stories that are dark, to an extent. One could probably accuse me of liking edgelord-y or grimdark stuff. I don't even think The Last Temptation is bad. BUT. It's upsetting to read and I think it really requires a trigger warning for the things it deals with—not just cancer but also attempted suicide and self harm, and graphic violence/blood—because it's kind of intense even in its briefness, and it was a little bit upsetting for me to read even as someone who usually isn't bothered by this stuff in fiction. It's just kind of a lot.

So just keep in mind that those two issues but especially #39 might be... kind of intense or upsetting, especially if you don't know what to expect going in. I did know what to expect, I knew what happened in it already, and it still really threw me for a loop just because of the presentation of certain scenes and the visuals themselves, and it kind of stuck with me for a few days just cause it's that kind of heavy.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Grim Hunt (Amazing Spider-Man #634-637) (Kelly/Lark/Chechetto)

What can I say except AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

another comic that feels like it was made just for me 😂 you might be.. noticing a pattern here.... lmao it's true i'm the target audience for edgy, violent superhero comic books (i'm just also the target audience for like. the ones where the interpersonal relationships are just as important as everything else)

Grim Hunt's got it all: it's got angry Peter, it's got dangerous Peter (perhaps even... murderous Peter), it's got Kaine being tragic, it's got nice art overall, it's got Kraven being a DILF (thanks checchetto)—also it opens on Peter with swine flu 😂

I really enjoyed Grim Hunt when i read it recently, and it really does tap into exactly the kinds of things I like in Spider-Man, in making Peter really give a shit about people, and in having Kaine trying to do the right thing, and especially in having Peter switch into my favorite mode: Horror Movie Serial Killer Mode.

It's a lot of fun!

It's not perfect, of course, and like many of the other comics on my faves list, does that "innate goodness" thing which I disagree with and I think is a thing Kelly often does? At least, twice, i guess, cause it's in Non-Stop as well sort of (though it feels more justified there). And it makes me go NOO Peter's anger does not take away from his humanity, his anger is PART of his humanity! His flaws are what make him human! But other than that it ruled and I really liked it, and like the other comics on here I'll probably try to snag a trade someday if I can find one, cause I like to physically own my favorite comics, generally.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Non-Stop Spider-Man (Kelly/Bachalo) (all of the issues; it's not very long, it fits in a single trade, you can read it in like. an afternoon.)

(note: I haven't had a chance to read the follow-up to Non-Stop (Savage Spider-Man) yet, so I can't say if that's good or not but Non-Stop is fantastic so it's gotta be at least halfway decent)

Something I'm realizing is that I think I might like Joe Kelly's writing 😂 even his arc in SM/DP is genuinely not awful (I mean, anything that gives me Peter being sexy in a sleek black suit with claws, threatening people, ends up a minimum level of decent just by that virtue alone)

Others have said this: Bachalo's art does feel a little rushed, especially compared to other comics he's done, and yet, despite this, visually it is a TREAT. It is a FEAST for my eyeballs. The layouts are fucking WILD, it's like 90% diagonals, it fucking RULES. It goes 500000 miles an hour. This is hands-down one of the best modern (past 10 years specifically) Spider-Man comics I have read. Period. It rips, slaps, fucks, etc. It's bitchin' and I'd recommend it for the art and layouts alone!

(even if, yes, Bachalo makes Peter the most twinky twink to ever twink; at least he's fuckable) (even if not as fuckable as in SM/DP #23... with the DSL...)

But I like the writing a lot too! It's not just visually appealing, it's simply a stellar all around piece of comic-making, from the art, lettering, writing, the whole team really made something amazing.

And also, okay. So. This comic. I think it's well-written and well-drawn. But. Okay. The dialogue. It's... very very clearly influenced directly by things like the popularity of the MCU by which I mean: over-reliance on Whedon-esque, frequently memetic dialogue (which is weird because none of the other stuff I've read by Kelly has this kind of dialogue style?)... it's Cringe, essentially. That being said, I think Joe Kelly is significantly more successful and better at using this style of dialogue compared to basically every other writer I've ever seen doing it—not that that's saying much but, I do think he was largely successful with it, as cringe as "Nazi, please" is. It doesn't really stop being cringe but it is, for the most part, fairly snappy and well-paced with a good patter that matches the pacing of the art very well. It's called Non-Stop Spider-Man for a reason, it really does not stop.

Also, even with that dialogue and trying to make Peter more hip and cool (which I assume is at least partially editorial), well, Kelly remains very good at writing Peter. He just has a great handle on the character.

I also think that there's a really huge point in Kelly's favor here which is that he's completely, 100% candid, upfront and straightforward about the story he is writing. The villains in this comic are racists. They are neo-nazis and anti-semites. Kelly doesn't shy away from that or try to couch it in metaphors. They're just racist, and that is why they are bad people.

There's a scene where Zemo makes a crack about gold fillings, to Peter's face. Kelly and Bachalo allow for a single completely silent panel following this (which is very impactful in a comic that's this frenetic) and then he snaps. It's a very effective scene, and unlike some other "Character Experiences Discrimination" scenes (such as, for example, Zodiac's violent homophobic assault of Johnny Storm) even despite the fact that "Peter is Jewish" is the only thing that does remain only subtext, it feels very cathartic and well-done because Peter is allowed to be angry and fight back in response; he's not the object of the scene, he's the subject and he gets to act rather than be dehumanized or objectified as nothing more than a victim, and I really liked that and I know that I've talked about that with others who felt that it was very well executed as well.

AND that fighting back and anger is presented as justified, and right, rather than an unfortunate flaw. Peter's rage is sympathetic, justifiable, and not presented as Wrong. He is allowed to be angry, and it is okay that he is angry—in fact it is good that he is angry. Because it means he gives a shit. I like that.

I don't think the plot twist at the end entirely hits right, like... I do 100% see what Kelly was going for with it, and I don't think it's necessarily unbelievable or bad, but something just didn't click right for me there. But overall, I still think it's a good comic and is a good window into my tastes.

To quote myself: it takes big swings, some of them miss, some of them hit really hard, and it feels like it has a lot more teeth than some of the more recent comics. and i can appreciate teeth.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

(Spider-Man: Redemption #3 (DeMatteis/Zeck)

Not specific runs per se but I also really just like anything DeMatteis does—sometimes he does whiff it a tiny bit (rarely) but overall I love his writing stylistically (he's one of few writers that can get me to enthusiastically read a wall of text in a comic book), in terms of characterization and interpersonal relationships—

comics like Spider-Man: The Lost Years or Redemption were really enjoyable for me to read (thanks for the recs TC)

and of course there's Spectacular Spider-Man (Flashback) #-1 (That Thompson Boy!) which is such a foundational issue for Flash's backstory at this point

and who can forget the iconic Child Within (i'll admit i haven't actually read TCW myself but I've seen many, many pieces of it via discord lol)—he and Buscema are such a dream team for comics, really... they work so well together. Nothing hits harder than Harry's death...

Anyway, those are like, The Comics That Define My Taste to some extent (or offer the best window into what I like and understanding my taste) but

There are also other comics I know I would like that I have not read yet! Though I've read a couple issues from JMS' ASM run and enjoyed them, such as ASM #55 (love teacher!peter so much), but there's still a lot I have yet to make my way through. (i still haven't read Kraven's Last Hunt 😂 yeah I know)

(Amazing Spider-Man #55 (JMS/Romita Jr.)

(peter's like, in his mid-to-late 20s at this point i'm pretty sure lol)

And there are other single issues I won't be taking the time to list just cause, there's a lot, you know? Like...

The B story in ASM 622 (or the A story, if you're horny and want to look at peter's biceps and beautiful profile)

(Amazing Spider-Man #622 (A-story: "It is the Life," van Lente/Quinones (peter gets vampire hypnotized), B-story: "Stages of Grief," Weisman/Ross (peter and the crew throw flash a birthday party so he knows just how much he is valued and loved))

or like... ASM Extra! #3 where Flash comes back w/o his legs and Peter beats the shit out of a z-lister because he feels so guilty, and so on and so forth.

(Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #3, "Character Assassination: Coda," Guggenheim/...Fiorentino I think? There are two artists in this story, for the two different things happening, but I think the artist for this sequence is Fabrizio Fiorentino, not Olliffe)

anyway

Good shit!!

obviously there are the classics as well, Amazing Fantasy #15, early ASM, etc., like of COURSE. Silver Age is a lot of fun (or, sometimes, tragedy) and the silver age gave us the coffee bean gang, and peter's bitchiness, and such good character dynamics, and was the start of all of it—obviously none of these comics would exist without the silver age, and like, gwen's death is iconic, and so on. but to try to pick specific issues, idk if i can single any out? i hop around so much when i read, you know? it's hard to keep track or to pick favorites 😂

but I do think that Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 has really valuable insight into Peter as a character (spoiler: he's not very nice), though requires some basic understanding of Cold War politics and the Rosenbergs (thank you Traincat for pointing that second part out to me, it really brings nuance and clarifies subtext that might go missed otherwise)

but you can like… go on wikipedia for that really… I just think it's a neat comic and tbh for every fan (or pro) who tries to insist that Peter is a perfect, delicate, harmless boy maybe they should go to the source and see that Stan Lee disagreed. lol

(and also those people owe me... five bucks and a pizza 😉)

[hellshire-harlot]

Mk no one asked for a Cotl/LN crossover but I have brain worms. Basic ideas + placeholder picrews below the cut bc I need to scream about this

So what I have so far is that they were killed in canon, including Narinder, and once each of them died they just sort of ‘woke up’ as human kids in the Little Nightmares universe. Probably in the Pale City, though Heket feels like she’d navigate the Maw easily and I feel like one of them survived the Nest at some point. They have no memories of their previous lives at first, but memories of godhood slowly start bleeding in after they reunite. Shamura finds Narinder first, and then Heket, Kallamar, and Leshy, and something in each of them just tells them that they’re siblings. They don’t question it, and though they look nothing alike, as far as any of them are concerned they’re kin. To easily identify each other (and because they used to wear black and gold robes), they all wear a visible yellow/gold garment.

Shamura is the oldest at about 12 years old, mentally and physically. Their head was injured during an escape with a group of other children from the Maw, resulting in them developing echolachia, short-term memory loss, and frequent migraines. Their pet spider, Cradle, spins silk which Shamura uses to make bandages and articles of clothes for themself and their siblings. They tend to be very quick to Choose Violence and are the best fighter among their family. Their main weapon is the axe they’re carrying.

Narinder was always a bit of a loose cannon. He and Shamura found each other in the Maw, where Narinder was leading a small group of escaped children to safety (among them Baal and Aym, though I haven’t made picrews for them yet). They immediately recognized each other as family and banded together. Nari always felt drawn towards cats and so he had Shamura sew a set of ears and a tail onto his hood and robe. He is also a fighter, but less explosive than Shamura- he’s more of a persistence hunter. He’s about 11 and his main weapons are his bone, and his pet cat Nile. You can’t see it but his arms are heavily bandaged and injured from defending Shamura and his band of escaped kids from the twin chefs. The injuries make his hands very shaky and sensitive.

Heket was found by Shamura and Narinder hiding out in the Forest, where she used her knowledge of plants and animals to forage for food. She has a voracious appetite and has been known to bite into still-living enemies when hungry enough. Her throat is bandaged and she wears the mask to hide her scarred lower face, both injuries she sustained after narrowly dodging a shotgun blast from the Hunter. The wounds left her completely unable to talk for a long time, but with her herbal knowledge and the help of Shamura and Kallamar, she’s healed enough to be able to speak, albeit with a much more grating voice than she once had. Her voice also tends to cut out abruptly. She’s the provider of the group, using her knowledge of what things are safe to eat and her resourcefulness to collect food for her siblings. She’s also their resident cook! Her pet frog, Anura, helped her find the strength to recover after her injury, and she wears that mushroom cap on her head so that she can blend in when in the wilderness. She’s a little over 10 years old, but looks and acts much older than she is because she had to be alone for so long.

Kallamar is a nervous wreck. His injury came after he was traveling the crumbling buildings of the Pale City and narrowly survived a structural collapse, but was trapped inside the falling building. The sheer volume of the collapse left him almost completely deaf for a time, but his hearing slowly recovered to the point that he CAN hear, but sounds will fade in and out for him. He spent a long time in the Hospital utilizing the supplies and his knowledge of medicine to help himself recover, until Shamura, Narinder, and Heket found him. His weapon, that needle, and his necklace were both stolen from the Hospital- the crystal necklace from a body in the morgue, and the needle from right under the Doctor’s nose. His nome companion, Anchor, helped alert him to audio cues of danger while he was healing, hence the name. Kallamar himself is 9 and serves as the resident healer of the family.

And finally, Leshy, the chaos goblin. He spent a lot of his life in the Forest, being a general menace to the Hunter, until he wandered into the School and started causing chaos for the Teacher and the Bullies. He’s not entirely blind anymore, but his vision is incredibly sensitive, and he prefers to wear his blindfold for the sake of not having a sensory overload everytime a light is a little too bright. The injury itself came from a group of Bullies who managed to catch him and held a candle so close to his face that it temporarily blinded him. He used his pet Leech, Darkwood, as a seeing-eye pet while his vision slowly returned. He’s 8, but most mistake him for being either a lot older (due to his size) or a lot younger (due to his behavior). His little flower headband was a gift from Heket! His stick doubles as both a weapon and a navigation cane. He serves as the family’s scout, scoping out locations and forming plans, as well as a distraction against enemies that they can’t take down on their own.

I have plans to include Baal and Aym in the future as well as possibly the Lamb and maybe even the Witnesses, but we’ll see. Right now I really just wanna write about these dumbasses fucking with the enemies.