#Material scatter

[duskvortex]

Sharktober day 5 - candy shark

Who wants a fruit gummy shark?

[athina-blaine]

Psst. Hey. What do you think Kabru's opinion on Laios' issues with his parents would be?

Gosh, I can barely manage to form my own concrete opinion on Laios' feelings about his parents, much less ascertain Kabru's, haha! After all, Laios says the source of his strained feelings towards his parents is how they treated Falin after her powers manifested, but then again, Falin still regularly writes to them and Laios himself says she wasn't particularly phased by her parents or the village's treatment of her (which is additionally confirmed in the AB). I can't help but wonder how much of Laios' resentment actually stems from how they treat Falin, or if he uses it as a justification to hide how deeply it hurt for him to feel like an outsider. I think this is best supported by how he says he couldn't stand how the village treated Falin, and yet, somewhat paradoxically, says this is the reason why he leaves her behind, which was worse for her than anything the village had done. As with all things, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.

Personally, I can't help but feel a lot of the tension between Laios and his father comes from the two of them seeing in each other the parts they don't like about themselves. Ryoko Kui leaves just enough breadcrumbs in the supplemental material to imply Laios' father also has trouble connecting with and taking an interest in the people around him, finding solace in hunting and his dogs, and that could be why he appears to be so standoffish with his family. It's probably especially frustrating for him when Laios falls up short of his expectations because he himself has already run this circuit. I think it's intentional that Laios' father seems to be an alternate version of Laios if he'd never tried to become adventurer, although it's hard to say if Laios had ever picked up on that himself. If they were to ever understand the similarities between them, I think it would go a long way to mend their rift.

As to how Kabru would feel about it, I'm sure he'd recognize how deeply complicated and tangled Laios' feelings would be, considering his own complicated relationship with Milsiril. Coming to terms with your parents' flaws is such a tough pill to swallow, and lord knows it's 10x more complicated with everything going on between Kabru and Milsiril, but Kabru at least seems to have already reached a place where he's made his peace with it, the same as with Falin (which, ugh, Kabru, you are a much stronger person than I am lol). I do feel that he'd want to help Laios mend his relationship with his parents if it's something Laios expressed an interest in doing someday. If nothing else, I feel that Laios' opinion of his father would likely soften over time after having experienced a few stressful years of leadership himself. (I also think Laios' father would more easily come to terms with his own mistakes as a father after seeing Laios surrounded by people who love and accept him for being himself.)

[crushedsweets]

creepypasta renaissance when

[happy-meal-playhouse]

(not my ocs !!)

Found out abt this ship :) 🧡💛

[age-of-moonknight]

Hi! It's me again.

In light of the upcoming Ultimate Black Panther 2024 coming out in Feb, "In the wake of Ultimate Invasion", in which Khonshu and Ra are doing things and then are the bad guys.... I thought it a good theme to explore Moon Knight in alternate universes. ....To which I actually know very little about. But I bet you know stuff!

I've seen Moon Knight explored in things like Arachknight (love that outfit) and alternate timelines where he's imagined in different outfits, but what about in actual Marvel time lines like the Ultimate universe or 2099 (which he is also going to be featured in briefly).

How much has he shown up in those lines and can they even be called Moon Knight or just some guys in a Moon outfit?

Thank you so much for sending this my way, because oh ho ho this is something I'm so excited to answer! :D You hit the nail on the head though in regard to how "Moon Knight" is only sometimes our beloved system of Jake, Marc, and Steven and other times it's more of a title. Interestingly, I've noticed anecdotally that many non-616 continuities choose to invent an entirely new character as opposed to doing an alternate interpretation of our favorite guy. A majority of the time, however, they still maintain key facets of the Moon Knight mantle (devotion to Khonshu, for example, being prevalent). I'll break down the major ones (and some of my favorites) under the cut, because there are some really great ones imo. :D

Ultimates (Earth-1610)

I started here not only because you mentioned it specifically, but also because it's the non-616 continuity with the most Moon Knight material and it's possibly the closest parallel to 616's Moon Knight.

Ultimates Moon Knight appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #79-80, #82-85, #107-110 and Ultimate Spider-Man Annual (Vol. 1/2006), #2.

He also makes some cameos in the Ultimate Fantastic Four (Vol. 1/2004), #52-53, Ultimate Origins (Vol. 1/2008), #5, and Cataclysm: The Ultimates' Last Stand (Vol. 1/2014), #5.

Sometimes I just think about this dude, because he's very recognizable as an analogue for 616!Marc Spector, but there are some major differences that receive frustratingly little expansion due to him only being a secondary character guest-appearing in a Spider-Man comic. One difference right off the bat is that it seems in this iteration the Marc and Steven identities are swapped, with Marc being the debonair millionaire frequently used as a cover identity and Steven as the scruffy operator.

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #83.]

The other big change, in my opinion at least, appears to be an attempt at more purposefully incorporating in and acknowledging the system's DID, whereas 616 pretty notoriously meandered its way through "nah, they're just cover identities" to "he contracted 'multiple identities' after doing those cover identities Too Hard" (???? Yike?) to finally landing on something a bit more understanding and respectful. The success of 1610's attempt at mental health representation probably depends upon your opinion on Brian Michael Bendis as a writer. An honest attempt was made, but it's definitely not free of the now very dated term "multiple identity disorder" or of stereotypes, with one headmate being a little girl and the whole system being threatened by an encroaching "evil" alter developed as a cover identity (which happens to be "Ronin," another wild little element of this universe) and subsequently going off the rails.

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #108.]

Markedly, I don't recall catching a reference to Khonshu during my read-through of these comics, which is inline with Ultimates' more "grounded" approach to characters, ig. In any case, almost all of 1610!Moon Knight's background is jampacked into a single panel (that consequently frustrates me to no end hahaha):

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #108.]

While some of this makes sense for Ultimates' whole deal of updating characters (Gulf War vet and Navy SEAL being more relevant to the 2000's than the very 70's background of globe-trotting mercenary selling his services to any insurgency that will pay,,,,although I shall keep my opinions on SEALs to myself asldkfij), from what I recall, however, they NEVER bring up the fact that this guy is a failed super soldier ever again? Nor the Roxxon connection??? But he (or rather Ronin) does drive a bus into Peter Parker's high school, gets domed by Kingpin's goons, survives (naturally), and is quite helpful in the case to take down Kingpin, so there's that. He's also responsible for some of my favorite panels of all time.

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #80.]

[Ultimate End (Vol. 1/2015), #5]

(technically that last one's from Earth-61610, a fusion of Earth-616 and Earth-1610, but it's the panel I always think about whenever trying to parse out how Ultimates and the main continuity came together hahaha)

2099

The other continuity you mentioned by name and an interesting one because apparently there are multiple continuities associated with "2099." None of them have a "Marc Spector" (may that be because he's resting in peace after dying of old age aslkdfj), but there are some other options. Something that fascinates me though, is that none of these options come from Miguel O'Hara's home continuity of Earth-928 and most of them are women.

Moon Knight of Earth-96943

I did a post on her character here and personally I think she's rather neat. She only really pops up in 2099: Manifest Destiny (Vol. 1/1998), #1, but she beats up opportunistic capitalists on the moon and tells the Watcher what's good, so again, I think she's pretty cool (and I love how all of her speech bubbles have crescent moons).

Tabitha, Moon Knight of Earth-TRN590

[Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3/2015), #14]

Otherwise known as Tabby (!), this "2099" Moon Knight actually got to meet Miguel and appears in Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3/2015), #14-16 (similarly, I expand upon her character here). She's another case of a character fairly firmly relegated to the "supporting" category, but when she does get some panel time, it's a lot of fun, as she has that pretty classic Peter David wit and a big ol' sword that she uses to exorcise a demon out of Doctor Strange (and subsequently banishes it to the moon).

[Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3/2015), #14]

Moon Knight of Earth-2099 (....not to be confused with Earth-928)

[Spider-Man 2099: Exodus (Vol. 1/2022), #3.]

This one is an....exceedingly interesting case, more thoroughly detailed here. After making a one panel reference to the Moon Knight temple guardian of Earth-96943 (and implying she died RIP sounds fake but okay), Spider-Man 2099: Exodus (Vol. 1/2022), #3 and Spider-Man 2099: Exodus Omega (Vol. 1/2022), #1 establishes this new Moon Knight as the leader of a new team of Avengers. But you have to watch out, because this Moon Knight is also just straight up Khonshu animating a corpse.

[Spider-Man 2099: Exodus (Vol. 1/2022), #3.]

Those times when the timeline got kind of screwy (so 616!Marc,,,,kind of????)

There are some instances where 616!Marc got caught up in those kinds of situations where everyone gets thrust into an alternate time line or a timeline that was erased for whatever reason, his involvement in which pretty much solely being due to him being an active Avenger at the time.

House of M (Earth-58163)

Marc is technically in House of M (Vol. 1/2006), #3-7, but he's only there to stand in the background of group shots wearing a fit so generic even I have worn it. BUT, however, it turns out House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #1-5 fleshes out his character's background in this reality and explains why he gave up the iconic white threads.

[House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #2.]

[House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #1.]

[House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #5.]

(imo, I mean, look I know it was the 2000's and simple/leather jacket "costumes" were in, but the reason provided was NOT good enough for putting him in the most boring fit possible, but that's just me alskdfj Further note, looks like I uuuuuh missed the House of M: Avengers comics on my initial readthrough so I shall probably loop back around to those some point soon)

Age of Ultron (Earth-61112)

Found in Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2/2012), #14AU and Age of Ultron (Vol. 1/2013), #2, #4-5, the mental health representation isn't always the greatest, but otherwise, there's a lot I'm fond of in these issues. Natasha Romanoff is much more firmly "the main character" with Marc supporting her, but you will definitely get no complaints on that on this here blog. This reality basically boils down to "Natasha and Marc are a criminally underrated duo that could probably destabilize juntas if they chose to do so" and it's great.

[Age of Ultron (Vol. 1/2013), #2.]

[Age of Ultron (Vol. 1/2013), #2.]

Other Continuities (Where Marc Actually Shows Up)

Earth-X (Earth-9997)

This one haunts me???? Because it's one of the earliest examples I can recall of really digging into the irony of a Jewish man serving an Egyptian god as well as artfully discussing that unique tension within Marc of "alive but only just/not really" AND gives Marlene some fascinating development....all within the pages of a special event the plot of which I honestly couldn't explain to you if I tried.

[Universe X (Vol. 1/2000), #6.]

But if you want to check it for yourself (and see if your reading comprehension is better than mine hahaha), this Moon Knight shows up in Universe X (Vol. 1/2000), #0, #6-7, #10-11; Paradise X Special Edition (Vol. 1/2000), #1; Paradise X (Vol. 1/2000), #0 and #11; Paradise X: Devils (Vol. 1/2000), #1; Paradise X: A (Vol. 1/2000), #1; and Paradise X: X (Vol. 1/2000), #1 (and if you're wondering, yes, I did lose a few braincells typing all that out).....but this guy does get a cool color inverse suit!

[Universe X (Vol. 1/2000), #6.]

Battleworld (Earth-51910)

Or at least, I'm pretty sure this is Marc although we only get the last name of Spector. Anyway, amidst the Beyonders’ and Doctor Doom’s shenanigans in Secret Wars Journal (Vol. 1/2015), #1, Spector here lost his faith in "Baroness Khonshu," but at least his design is dope as all get out.

Also, he's a werewolf.

[Secret Wars Journal (Vol. 1/2015), #1.]

Heroes Reborn (Earth-21798)

The "Marc Spector" who is presented in Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2/2021), #5 and #7 as the sort of Hush and Two-Face to Darkhawk's Batman frankly sort of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as he's straight up described as a "schizo who worshipped the moon" and is generally just a violent criminal who ends up in Ravencroft (...not great in the slightest, all around honestly). Accordingly, the only redeeming quality of this alternate is the DOPE costume he gets when he ends up on this continuity's equivalent of the Dark Avengers.

[Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2/2021), #7.]

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (Earth-TRN664)

Oh goodness, please don't make me talk about this comic again; thinking about it Hurts Me. Fairly well executed but so incredibly tragic. Mr. Knight is fantastically sympathetic and a brilliant detective and it all ends horribly. If you want to read Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (Vol. 1/2017), #1-3, godspeed.

[Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (Vol. 1/2017), #2.]

Other Moon Knight Variants

These are some honorable mentions that I'll just have to link my posts for, because I unfortunately have pretty much hit the image limit RIP.

Mariama Spector of Earth-818

Battleworld Frank Castle as Moon Knight

And finally, since I loved the phrase you used of "just some guys in a Moon outfit," I present the ultimate "just some guy in a Moon outfit":

Friggin "Moonwing" of Earth-9602

When Moon Knight got the Amalgam comics treatment, he got mashed up with Nightwing of all characters in Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Vol. 1/1996), #1, as detailed here. Basically, they just gave Dick Grayson a past in the CIA and DID, leaving the whole moon motif a bit of a mystery.

(Amalgam Comics Trading Cards, #8.)

Naturally, there are some variants I didn't mention here. Moon Knight pops up in quite a few non-616 continuities, but most of the time he's just in the background of large group shots and/or action scenes and doesn't have any lines or contribute anything to the plot. Accordingly, I attempted to include just the iterations with the most material that were expressly from different timelines (which is why I didn't include all of the historical Moon Knights from the 2019 Moon Knight Annual or Moon Knight Ravonna who are also from Earth-616). But yeah! I hope this is of interest to someone out there or at least somewhat vaguely answered your question hahaha thanks again!

[polycrews]

hehe @midnightcrustcat silly lil guy has captivated me. i am a little bit obsessed

[kosmic-kalamity]

lil putt pop swap poppy doodle to go with the branch doodle i made earlier

closeups below the cut

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

New Year Book Haul

I’ve been largely inactive since September, but I’m officially back with a New Year book haul, alternatively titled All the books I amassed during my absence.

Pictured from top to bottom: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram, Husband Material by Alexis Hall, The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, A Restless Truth by Freya Marske, Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, Babel by R.F. Kuang, Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell

[ragsy]

if big button not for eat then why look like candy

[flightlesskiwi]

My most controversial gay opinion is that to me S2 of good omens wasn’t that good

[evilvarric666-archive]

guy standing in the corner at a party meme They don't know about TOS Kirk's fucked up traumatic backstory

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Looking deeper into graphene using rainbow scattering

Graphene is a two-dimensional wonder material that has been suggested for a wide range of applications in energy, technology, construction, and more since it was first isolated from graphite in 2004. This single layer of carbon atoms is tough yet flexible, light but with high resistance, with graphene calculated to be 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum. Graphene may sound perfect, but it very literally is not. Isolated samples of this 2D allotrope aren't perfectly flat, with its surface rippled. Graphene can also feature structural defects that can, in some cases, be deleterious to its function and, in other instances, can be essential to its chosen application. That means that the controlled implementation of defects could enable fine-tuning of the desired properties of two-dimensional crystals of graphene.

Read more.

[homecomingvn]

WIP INSPIRED BY SILENT HILL??? 👁️👁️ I AM WAITING PATIENTLY.

I too enjoy watching James suffer, seeing as man got bested by dog. hoping the remake is good 😭

SJKHSF THANK YOU FOR THE INTEREST! Once HOCO is more on its way I may make a blog / work on that wip too if that's something people would be interested in. I will say it's a lot more serious + dark than HOCO is hehe ^^

ALSO YES nothing makes me happier than seeing James get his shit rocked <3 he's so pathetic it's almost endearing...I also hope the remake is good too! I know I'm snagging a copy as soon as it drops LOL

[katyspersonal]

I am still mad at y'all loosers for the 'wahh wahh but you typed 9000+ words in your Gehrman defending essay so you WERE kinda mean and over the top :(' sentiment.

If you actually read that post, you woulda noticed a very interesting element. That being, the fact that everything I mentioned is fucking found in the canon.

Like, what exactly are you accusing me of? Of putting together the bits and pieces that Miyazaki deliberately scattered across the entire source material? Of wanting to bring up facts and evidence rather than just whining the good ol 'just let people do what they want!!!!' that apparently never worked out for YEARS? It is not my fault that Bloodborne lore is so scattered and chaotic that you do, in fact, need an essay to connect all the dots.

I am just sick and tired of the mindset that large text automatically means that you are "mean" or "have no life", and that you are only allowed to defend your point with strictly emotional statements but not with literal fucking canon. If for you a fan placing canon evidence in a single post means they "have no life" - I have very bad news for your intellectual capacity. After all, the so-called "gatekeeping" only pisses off the people the gate is SUPPOSED to keep away.

[simply-spade]

the urge to make my friend’s ocs into little plushies (+ learning how to do it) is very strong

[seashellcheeks]

https://www.cecisariol.com/product-page/xochi-barrette