#or what about the dance that peacock spiders do

[spiderrverse]

I only know bits and pieces of Spiderman 2099's comic lore but I AM a huge bug person so personally i think that if Miguel is really 50% spider, he should have the less cool spider traits too. I think it'd be incredibly funny if he involuntarily did the happy dance that tarantulas do when they get food

[swiftyangx12]

Oh! Do you know some species of spiders also perform certain rituals to get a potential mate, especially that involves with dancing?

[Funnel Web w/ Miguel O’Hara blurb]

Imagine Miguel O’Hara being occupied with his work at the Spider Society and hasn’t been taking any breaks since he first got to his lair/office.

Then imagine Spider![Reader], who just came in with some files and carrying a tray of coffee orders. They want to surprise the Big Boss with his usual Black Coffee and something to nibble on. As they got to his area, [Reader] greeted him with a “Good Morning!” and Miguel replied back, “Mornin’” as he still faces the screens.

They shot their webbing up on his platform and zip themselves up while still carefully holding the drinks. Still, even when [Reader] by exactly by Miguel’s presence, he doesn’t turn to look at them.

Spider![Reader]: I got your usual black coffee, and some pastries I found on my way here.

Miguel: *Still focus on his screens* Mhm…Thanks.

[Reader] places the coffee and other goods down by his desk and stood by him for some moments. Even waited a few minutes to see if he bothered to sip some of his morning brew. Then, an idea popped up.

Spider![Reader]: Psst. Miguel. Look at me.

Miguel: *Finally tears away his focus from his screens to [Reader]*

Spider![Reader]:

Apparently [Reader] learned from their Biology course about how male Peacock Jumping Spiders would perform a dance ritual to hopefully win their female counterparts as mates. If everything goes unsuccessfully, they’re sustenance at the end (it means they become food to the female spiders). However, the Spider variant Miguel “secretly” loves is attempting to distract him from overworking himself and also demanding attention.

Miguel: What are you doing?

Spider![Reader]: I’m trying to seduce my “potential mate” by dancing with all my heart’s content.

Miguel: *Chuckles* Amor, we been going out for a year now.

Spider![Reader]: *Sighs* I know. Jess told me you came in earlier than usual and she noticed you haven’t even taken a small break from monitoring the whole “Spiderverse”. I’m worried about you.

Miguel: Cariño, I’m sorry for worrying you.

Spider![Reader]: It’s okay, except for barely giving me attention this morning.

Miguel: [Reader]

Spider![Reader]: *Angrily Pouts*

Miguel: “Cute.” I’m sorry for not giving you the attention you deserve due to me being busy.

Spider![Reader]: And?

Miguel: I promise you a date to make up for my “negligence.”

Spider![Reader]: *Smiles happily* You’re forgiven.

Then the Spider couple spend the remaining morning enjoying their brews and treats while being in solace with each other’s company.

[Tagged]: @lazyjellyfish300 @mrsoharaa @msbidisaster @hao-ming-8 @greensagephase @kenjioharashotspot

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Prancing Peacock Spiders

Maratus volans is perhaps the most widely known member of the genus Maratus, also known as peacock spiders-- part of the jumping spider family-- which contains 108 recognised species. Maratus volans is common across Australia and the island of Tasmania, and occur in a variety of habitats. They are most commonly found among leaf litter and dry vegetation, especially in dunes, grasslands, and sparse deciduous forests.

Peacock spiders like M. volans are extraordinarily small; both sexes only reach about 5 mm (0.19 in) in length. Members of the Maratus genus are famous for the male’s coloration, and M. volans is no exception; the abdomen is covered in brightly colored microscopic scales or modified hair which they can unfold for mating displays. Some males can also change the color of their scales, and the hairs can reflect both visible and ultraviolet light. Female M. volans lack this distinctive coloration, and are a drab grayish brown.

Reproduction for M. volans occurs in the spring, from August to December. During this period, males will approach females and raise their patterned abdomens and third pair of legs for display. He then approaches, vibrating the fan-like tail, and dances from side to side. If a female is receptive, he then mounts her; if not, she may attempt to attack and feed on him. This may also occur post-copulation. In December, the female creates a nest in a warm hollow in the ground where she lays her eggs. Each cluch contains between 6 and 15 eggs, though females typically lay several clutches. Male M. volans hatch the following August, while females typically hatch in September. Both sexes mature quickly and typically only live about a year.

Like other jumping spiders, peacock spiders like M. volans do not weave webs. Instead, they hunt during the day time using their highly developed eyesight. These spiders are also able to jump over 40 times their body length, which allows them to pounce on unsuspecting prey like flies, moths, ants, crickets, and other, much larger spiders. Other spiders are also common predators of M. volans, as well as wasps, birds, frogs, and lizards.

Conservation status: None of the Maratus species have been evaluated by the IUCN. However, it is generally accepted that they are threatened by habitat destruction, like many other insects.

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Photos

Jurgen Otto 2 & 3

[absoluteocellibehavior]

The Web Avatars and Their Corresponding Spiders

This is an idea I came up a little bit ago when scrolling through the TMA wiki. So, many of the canon Web avatars are already associated with certain spiders like Annabelle Cane as the Black Widow or Raymond Fielding's episode being called "Recluse" for a Brown Recluse. So, what if each Web avatar (and some specially marked non-Web Avatars) each had a spider associated with them. These spiders manifest in places that the avatar wants them to be and gives them a general sense of what is going on in the room that they are in. The more advanced avatars will be able to control them more and take in more information from their spiders. Here is the list so far (I will avoid putting pictures up for those with arachnophobia, but I do recommend looking them up as they are all so cool): Orion Cerebri - Pretty Orb Weaver Thea Brooks - Sheepy Jumping Spider Barnabas Lukas-Bennett - Regal Jumping Spider. Manphy Lukas-Bennett - Tiny Blue-Faced Peacock Jumping Spider. Cillian Fanshawe Callaghan - European Nursery Web Spider Dr. Jonathan Callaghan Fanshawe - Skeletorus Peacock Jumping Spider Father Ignis Callaghan - Cross Orb Weaver Father Edwin Burroughs - St. Andrew’s Cross Spider Adonis - Dancing White Lady Spider Venari - Huntsman Spider Annabelle Cane - Black Widow Raymond Fielding - Brown Recluse Jasper Alder - Ant-Mimicking Jumping Spider Nell Keelin - Peacock Jumping Spider John Doe - Sparklemuffin Peacock Jumping Spider Arthur Lester - Bunny Harvestman Charlie Dowd Detective Noel Finley - Tuxedo Wolf Spider Kayne - Long Horned Orb Weaver

As always, I would love to talk about the relation of these spiders to these characters. If you want more of the funky things me and my friends have added to the TMA universe (and other podcasts as well), please check out the tag #ocelli expansion pack !

[oddballwriter]

Peacock Spiders

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Summary: A blurb in which you and your boyfriend, Steven, watch a video about peacock spiders and learn about their intense mating rituals, and make light hearted jokes about it. 

Warnings: There is sexual cannibalism jokes but there is none of either of those things actually in here. Also, there are no actual spiders involved, just the mentions of them.

Author’s Snip: I don’t really know what this is. I was just bored and watching BBC Earth clips and thought of this. So enjoy it I guess.

Notes: This was not proof read prior to posting this. So if there are any spelling or grammar errors in this don’t come at me.

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

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  Watching clips from animal documentaries was one of you and Steven’s favorite pass times when you had nothing better to do or watch. This time, you two were lounging around as the sound of David Attenborough telling you about the suicide mission that male peacock spiders have to go on in order to have a chance at mating with a female. In which one of the threats is the female spider herself and he has to dance in order to survive her attacking him. And unfortunately, sometimes the male still gets killed after winning her over. It was a very interesting thing to learn about, and made for some discussion between you and Steven.

  “Imagine if we as people did that.” Steven commented. “Having to follow the smell of a woman’s perfume for who knows how long and then once you catch up to her you need to start dancing in order to get a date.” Steven mused as he tried to use examples of similar things for the sake of the hypothetical situation. “And while you’re doing that she’s actively trying to stab you in the neck.” he added. “I wouldn’t even make my first attempt. I’m sure of it” Steven claimed. “I can hardly dance under nonthreatening circumstances. I’d be done for as soon as I started.” he said with an airy laugh riding along in his voice. 

  “I find you dancing actually really cute and endearing.” you comment, not wanting to leave Steven having said something about himself with such low-self esteem. “Well, if we were two tiny little spiders mating I’d still be a goner since you would have eaten me by now.” Steven joked. 

  “Oh yeah,” you say before smiling and looking at Steven. “I keep forgetting to do that part. You better keep your eyes peeled now, Grant.” you joked back with a wink causing Steven to laugh. 

[ririumuwashere]

‘My Spiderling’ 1/?

DJ MM wasn’t quite used to having another animatronic around, but ever since Fazbear Entertainment had sent in the spiderling he was no longer as lonely as before.  

The main designer Anthony had even allowed DJ to have a part in your making, Species, Practical features, and the like. It had taken months upon months for Anthony to finish making you. Not that DJ being impatient and antsy was making the process go any faster, but Anthony wasn’t one to complain about the obviously lonely bot.

DJ hadn’t gotten to see you during your creation so he was elated to see his new partner as soon as you were dropped off at the Arcade.

An animatronic built to be 3 times smaller than him with a peacock spider design, and a soft coating of fuzz all over.

Upon meeting you rubbed your pedipalps together and blinked at him with bright multi-co-lour eyes before raising your front legs and doing a little dance. Bright leds flashing on your abdomen. 

And he just knew you were perfect.

You were meant to be his handler of sorts… 

You’d help around the Arcade and keep the kids and teens in order, so the cleanup crew had less of a “Crime Scene” to clean up. 

Sometimes the teenagers would become violent and throw anything they could get their hands on at DJ. You were there to deescalate the situation and also help DJ clean up if needed. 

So far you’d only been with him for a few weeks but he already knew he’d protect his little friend no matter what. 

‘No matter what.’

[thelibraryghost]

Creeps and Crawlies

there's a theme here...

Deep sea life BBC. "Alien like colossal squid - Museum of Life - BBC Two." YouTube. April 16, 2010. Real Science. "The Insane Biology of: The Cuttlefish." YouTube. November 11, 2023. Real Science. "The Insane Biology of: The Octopus." YouTube. November 14, 2020. Real Science. "Why Animals Get Creepier the Deeper You Go." YouTube. June 10, 2023. Real Science. "Why Do Deep Sea Creatures Evolve Into Giants?" YouTube. July 16, 2022. Ze Frank. "True Facts About The Angler Fish." YouTube. December 27, 2012. Ze Frank. "True Facts About The CuttleFish." YouTube. October 30, 2013. Ze Frank. "True Facts About The Octopus." YouTube. April 1, 2014. Fungi National Geographic. "Glow-in-the-Dark Mushrooms: Nature’s Night Lights | National Geographic." YouTube. February 18, 2015. National Geographic. "What's in a Lichen? How Scientists Got It Wrong for 150 Years | Short Film Showcase." YouTube. January 25, 2018. National Geographic. "You Didn’t Know Mushrooms Could Do All This | National Geographic." YouTube. July 13, 2016. PBS. "How Trees Talk to Other Trees with the Help of Fungi | The Green Planet | PBS." YouTube. July 26, 2022. PBS Eons. "When Giant Fungi Ruled." YouTube. December 18, 2017. Ze Frank. "True Facts: Fungi That Control The Insects They Eat." YouTube. April 28, 2023. Ze Frank. "True Facts: Stinkhorns." YouTube. November 20, 2019. Slime molds BBC. "Mould Time-lapse - The Great British Year: Episode 4 Preview - BBC One." YouTube. October 18, 2013. BBC Earth Science. "Can Slime Mould Solve Mazes? | Earth Science." YouTube. December 5, 2018. Oregon Public Broadcasting. "Slime molds are gorgeous (you just never knew it!) | Oregon Field Guide." YouTube. January 3, 2022. Real Science. "The Insane Biology of: Slime Mold." YouTube. May 13, 2023. Ze Frank. "True Facts: The Self-Sacrificing Amoeba." YouTube. August 4, 2022. Ze Frank. "True Facts: The Smartest Slime." YouTube. January 31, 2023. Spiders National Geographic. "Deadly Cousin: The Redback Spider | National Geographic." YouTube. December 2, 2011. National Geographic. "How Spiders Use Electricity to Fly | Decoder." YouTube. April 25, 2019. Nature on PBS. "Social Spiders Spin Massive Nest." YouTube. April 14, 2015. Real Science. "Why Spider Silk is Stronger Than Steel." YouTube. January 15, 2022. Smithsonian Channel. "Incredible: This Underwater Spider Has an Actual Scuba Tank." YouTube. January 13, 2017. Smithsonian Channel. "This Terrifying Spider Hunts Fish Underwater." YouTube. May 26, 2017. Ze Frank. "True Facts: Mating Dance of The Peacock Spider (feat. Quinta Brunson)." YouTube. February 20, 2020. Ze Frank. "True Facts: Tarantulas." YouTube. November 19, 2022. Ze Frank. "True Facts: The Bolas Spider." YouTube. March 15, 2019. Ze Frank. "True Facts: The Ogre Faced Spider." YouTube. September 26, 2019. Worms ABC Science. "Blood-sucking leeches changed Cole’s life." YouTube. May 29, 2023. BBC. "The Amazing World Of Earthworms In The UK - Springwatch - BBC Two." YouTube. June 6, 2012. National Geographic. "Ice Worms | National Geographic." YouTube. September 17, 2007. National Geographic. "This Creepy Worm Pulls Its Prey Deep Under the Ocean Floor | National Geographic." YouTube. January 31, 2017. National Geographic. "Weird Worms Live Near Pacific Ocean’s Deepest High-Temp Vent | National Geographic." YouTube. June 11, 2015. Ze Frank. "True Facts: Bobbit Worm and Polychaete Pals." YouTube. August 17, 2018.

[hadoom]

i feel like you've been asked this before but what's your top 10 spiders?

i don't think i have been, and an opportunity to talk about spiders is always great hehe :)

1. the regal jumping spider

the female ones (like above) are very cute, the colors are really cool!! and the male ones have black coloration instead and they look good too!!! and jumping spiders in general are the best spider because of their intelligence and emotional capabilities, and they keep track of humans and can learn to understand human body language the same as dogs or cats

2. the peacock jumping spider

very cool spider, amazing colors, and the female spiders bite the heads off of any males that fail to impress her with their dance which is cool

they have really intricate dances, and the patterns on their peacock fans look incredible

honestly all of these would be jumping spiders but the rest are too similar to each other

3. gooty sapphire tarantula

do i even need to say why this one is amazing?? it's just sad how endangered they are :(

4. other tarantulas!!

just them in general, they're big and usually more friendly than people think, but if they're threatened they pull off some of their hairs and flick them at the threat

and those hairs cause really bad itching and rashes, like the hairs are what they would use to make itching powder

5. the golden orb weaver!!!!!

(my photo instead of wikipedia commons)

very very cool spiders, and their webs are incredible!!! i really just like how they look with the cool colors

6. the many kinds of house spiders :)

underappreciated and hated little guys, but they keep insects out of your house and live out of view

very good spiders, and a really amazing example of animals evolving alongside and adapting to humans

7. the ogre-faced spider

silly little guy look at he

he wants to be scary so bad but he's so small

(but for real they're very impressive, their eyes are better than owls)

8. elegant golden jumping spider

not as cute as other jumping spiders, but the colors are beautiful!! also metallic critters are always cool :)

9. hawaiian happy face spiders

silly :D

10. the black widow

the classic!!! very venomous but always cool :)

[dearest-painter]

What about a drider/arachne reader who is based on a peacock spider (type of jumping spider, cute fuzzy fellahs that dance). They've got flashy coloring on their arachnid body with excellent leg power, they're surprisingly limber considering their lower half is basically just a giant spider. Their colorful spider body offers them both advantages and also offers unique inconveniences from being what amounts to a spider centaur. The peacock spider instincts would be hilarious cause rather than intense focus on hunting, it's more like the urge to dance or do a little grooming, maybe fuss with someone's hair, or impulsively jumping when the mood and height is right. Someone is probably riding on drider reader's back if reader is big enough

That a pretty Spider!

Anyways the ones who would ride Drider!Reader would be Pavitr, mayday, Sun spider(it’s uncommon but she does it when she’s had a hard day), and Miles. Drider!Reader is probably and adult but it be so funny to seen a teenage Drider!Reader grooming one of the spider-people’s hair.

Miguel watched you because…what the hell are you? Like him not knowing what you are sparked his obsession, Peter B likes hanging out with you and likes seeing you jump but he mostly loves your colors. You become the second parent to MANY teenaged Spider-people which makes them super obsessed.

If anyone harmed you in any way the spider-people who are obsessed will beat their ass and that person may or may not die or get in a full body cast. Also their so willing to keep you away from EVERYONE just to have your full attention on them!

[onenicebugperday]

I asked a while back about threat displays, but what bug do you think has the best flirt tactics? I am very partial to peacock jumping spiders' dances

I’m not familiar with many tbh! Peacock jumpers are pretty great though. Scorpions also “dance” before mating but their show is less flashy than the jumpers!

[galacticnova3]

I will not shut up about this actually rambling in tags isn’t enough I need to shout my fantasy giant friend spider propaganda into the void or I will explode

-Various domesticated spiders raised just for their silk. Different species can produce silk more suited for some applications, such as construction, clothing, wiring, and even surgical use. Even the largest ones are comparatively cheap to care for, being content to stay in one place and being healthiest when fed once every few days or so. The main drawback would be the time it takes for them to reach adulthood, and the risks to males when it comes to breeding.

-Spiders raised as pets! Sure, people already keep real spiders as pets, but I’m thinking something a bit more tolerant of interaction. Not necessarily social, but able to recognize the people they’re around and not stressed by handling. Maybe they’re otherwise very similar to real life spiders, maybe they’re selectively bred to have reduced fang size or limited/no venom production. Think of all the morphs, too! Given that it’s a fantasy world I feel like it wouldn’t be unfair to have them come in all sorts of colors, since real life spiders of various kinds already do. Even just taking tarantulas into account they can be the usual dark browns, blacks, and grays, but also come in sapphire blue and bright purple and purplish-pink and peach and orange… And that’s not taking into account the fact that they can have beautiful patterns and MORE COLORS!! I mean just look at the Antilles pinktoe— contrary to what the name suggests, they start out bright blue and then grow into adults with a teal cephalothorax and black legs with fuzz that ranges from blueish-purple to red! Heck, imagine being able to keep a hamster-sized peacock spider that actually doesn’t mind being held!

-Spiders raised to protect livestock or even people. Could be brightly colored as a warning to would-be threats, put down thin layers of silk around the perimeter that alert it to anything approaching before it even comes into view, threat displays offer a final chance to avoid confrontation. Could kick hairs as another deterrent which might also act as a way to mark a would-have-been offender. Just imagine the satisfaction of finally having proof the neighbor’s dog is the thing that’s been terrorizing your chickens because your spider has a bald spot on its butt, and the dog has been scratching ever since a bunch of hairs that are the exact same color as your spider mysteriously appeared on it. Sure, scuffles would involve a bit of clean-up, but better to clean up after a spider than dispose of livestock remains.

-This one I don’t have any details for but imagine with me, for a moment: jumping spider if it was like a cat. Y’know how some cats do the begging thing with their front paws? Jumping spiders basically already do that sometimes. Excited tippy taps. Failing the mirror test and trying to either scare off or hide from the uninvited stranger spider. Doing a lil dance like a pigeon trying to woo its owner. Pouncing on toys. Showing off brightly colored chelicerae or booty. Making a little silk nest and hanging out in there. Trying to threat pose at the vacuum cleaner

[theausspideyguy]

First artwork to show off! The very first ever art pieces I had ever gotten of Leo, and the official moment I considered myself a Furry. ::3

"Who says a Spider cannot be of presentable taste? Leo certainly aims to prove that theory wrong." ::B

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(Originally uploaded to FA on the 12/10/2018)

These were done by my friend SwirlwindSilverstar! You can check them out here over on their Twitter through this link here! ---> https://twitter.com/WindySilverstar

Though I don't think they really use it anymore, unfortunately… ..w..;;;

Admittedly they are someone I haven't spoken to in a very long time, so I hope that they've been doing okay and still doing art cause they do some great work. ^^

This'll be the first of many more art pieces to come in the next few days! ::3

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But anyway! To provide some context behind these pieces and how they came to be. Some of yous may have heard this story before, but to explain it for those who may not know…

Back in 2018, I was already starting to feel a slow attachment to furry stuff. I had a lot of sympathy for furs cause of the bs that they would deal with from arseholes and the like, and just how extreme it got (Most notably the hotel gas attack at Midwest Furfest in 2014.).

Soon enough I came across the subreddit r/Furry_IRL back when I use to browse reddit pretty regularly. There I saw what appeared to be this sort of self-awareness and embrace of cringe, which included heaps of irony in the process. It made things a lot more charming cause it felt as if Furries were getting a lot bolder despite the years of attacks, harassment, etc. They dealt with it, and at the same, there was a vibe that made me feel people were more accepting, no matter how weird you got. At the time I was pretty alone, got bullied a lot, and in typical fashion, this was the group I gravitated to more over time.

I should add I do know now the more negative connotation that subreddit gives, and honestly, I have a lot of critiques as well. But at the time, this was just an important thing for me where I felt like I had no other group to be with.

Around October, I was in a voice call on Discord with two friends which included Igloo9201 (Nickname them Iggzy. ::B) and Silverstar. I believe I was sharing some of the memes I came across, and we were all joking about becoming furries and all. I had no plans at that point, but we were all poking each other and being dorks about it.

I was eventually asked the inevitable question though that changed the course of my life by Silverstar…

"Hey TAGG. If you had to pick a sona, what would you choose?"

I had to think! Spider wasn't my first thought at the time, and I was actually thinking at first a Kangaroo, just cause it was a main Australian animal, but at the same time I was reading this Manga called "I am a Spider, So What?", with a main character with a very self-explanatory thing about them. ::B

As you can see from their design, I found them extremely cute and at that point, I hadn't really seen any designs of spiders like this that weren't just meant to be evil. So it felt like it could be nice to go for a species that you probably wouldn't expect, even if it was a contribution to the #1 phobia that people have. ::B

I think at this time I was also getting interested in Peacock Spiders, I was fascinated by their peculiar dance-y behaviour. Obviously was meant for mating, they still had such an interesting personality that it really grew on me. Learning how basically they were all harmless on top of that really made them jump in my mind especially.

As a result, my answer was obvious. Cut to some time into the call, I am surprised by the drawings Silverstar did, and on the same day, I ended up making a Furaffinity account with them.

At that point, the rest was history!

It was a fun end result of everything, I love seeing how much Leo evolved from here. There hasn't been too many obvious changes, outside of him eventually being more based on the Sparklemuffin Spider I soon discovered some time after getting Leo.

The biggest differences that do stand out at least is his body being more like a harder looking shell, compared to the fur covering him all over. His abdomen is a lot more flatter than more rounder in shape. There's also a lot less head hair as well, and most notably his the number of eyes were the biggest change as well, which you will see in a lot of these art pieces I like to call "The Prototype" versions of Leo. ::B

I do feel like I need to do more stuff with Leo in a suit, it was a fun thing I miss doing especially since it tied with the intended "He will get in whatever fit if it means he will get to dance" characteristic I thought up at the time. It was also kind of a thing that was a reference to one of my old as heck usernames, which was on a bit of the embarrassing side, but eh, got to repurpose through this. XXD

I still really appreciate Silverstar for the art, I still hold these pieces fondly in my heart, and grateful of both them and Iggzy for what they did on that day that got me into being a furry and getting my spidey self! Heck they probably are the reason I kind of found out a lot more about myself, being asexual/panromantic, finding new folks, etc. A true butterfly effect. ::P

Here's to many more years ahead! ^^w^^

Also, bonus rough sketch that Silverstar did before getting the final art pieces done. A lot more Miss Muffet from Undertale inspired here. ::B

[healerelowen]

I must rant. Rant about bug. 

Tw for talk of bug, beware

I love bugs! I’ve always found them to be very interesting! What was even better when I was a kid is that it was mainly me and my older brother who were interested in them, but my sisters? Nope, unless it was like butterflies or ladybugs. Though my little sister was always fascinated by the praying mantis, they kinda scared me as a kid. 

I remember my older brother’s favorite was the rolly polly, and I also liked them though they weren’t my favorite. My favorite as a kid were dragonflies! I saw them around my house from time to time and every time my family went camping in the mountains we always saw this blue dragonfly. We named him Blue. We also took walks around a pond near a fish hatchery and during the summer we’d see a bunch of dragonflies. Red ones, blue ones, orange ones and all sorts of different colors! 

Though another bug my older brother and I really liked was bumble bees. I still like them since, you know, my second name is Bee. Before anyone asks, yes this was because of Bumble Bee from Transformers, in my older brother’s case anyway. I liked them because they were pollinators, they were helping us and our environment. I always had a deep respect for them because of that. Which is kinda why when one summer, when I accidentally stepped on one I was crying my eyes out but not because it hurt (It did but I could care less), but because I was scared that I killed the bee by mistake. The bee was fine by the way, only half the stinger went into my foot, I saw it fly away some time later when I went back outside.     

Though nowadays, my favorite bugs are moths. I adore moths! My personal favorite species is the Geometer moths. While my favorite moths specifically are the Madagascar Comet Moth, Giant Silk Luna Moth, and the Brown Geometer Moth. I love their colors, their wing patterns, and just how unique they are compared to other insects. It’s a shame that they tend to get thrown under the bus because of two species of moths that eat clothes, like not all of them eat clothes. Sure, some of them eat crops and garden plants, but they don’t eat clothes. If anything, most just eat plants around the environment, they have a wide variety of food. Especially since a good lot of them migrate from place to place, like I think the Polyphemus Moth does that during colder months, they go down south. 

But also, most moths are also pollinators. Yeah, since they spend a lot of time around leaves and plants, they gather a lot of pollen on them so when they go flying around they spread pollen like bees and even some wasps do! This is very effective since some moths that live in the U.S. can travel from one side of the country all the way to the other and back again. They’re very interesting creatures and I like to study them in my spare time. I also love trying to catch moths because I want to like, hold them in my hands and just let them crawl on me. One that was stuck in my mom’s car landed on my leg once, it was small and had a light brown color to it. 

Now here’s a kicker, I also like spiders. Not all spiders, but I do like some spiders. Specifically the jumping spider, because they are tiny and so fucking adorable. I mean, have you seen them? (I mean probably, they’re a very common species of spider) They are so cute and I love them. They also help with pests like earwigs and mosquitos. This is very helpful for me because I’m allergic to mosquito bites, so less mosquitos for me and more food for the jumping spider. Also, peacock jumping spiders, the ones that have the bright reds, blues and oranges? They do a little dance to find partners, a little dance! If that isn’t cute I don’t know what is, because they’re just little guys doing their thing and it’s so adorable. 

My older brother had a jumping spider living in his room when we were kids. We named him Spidey and one day while me, my older brother, and a friend were sitting in his room a massive earwig came out of nowhere, and I ran out of the room and into the kitchen where my mom was. I then hear my older brother and our friend exclaim, “Spidey!” Turns out, Spidey had came out and straight up unalived the earwig right then and there. I was impressed really. 

Anyway, if you want I can talk more about bugs if any if you want to hear more. Have a good rest of your day/night friends!   

[nueral]

Warner Brothers has excellent scans of Henry Cavill and the rest of the Snyderverse castings. Do you NEEEEED more live action DC heroes doing wrestling moves and trying to imitate Frank Miller comics? Probably not, but were you surprised by what INTO the Spider-Verse did with ANIMATION fo-fi years ago? PROBABLY so. You didn't expect to give a shit about a SPIDER-MAN Pixar/DreamWorks movie from Sony but you did.

Maybe that monster cartoon DC does surprises us, maybe it don't. The DC cartoons were trying, he liked them, and they keep playing out the best stories, they aren't really waiting for a new and engaging art style or story telling style. Grant Morrison did a BUNCH of Iconic story lines the Oughts. Tower of Babel, Rock of Ages, Armageddon, etc. Check THOSE collections out. I'd pick and choose elements and take what fits to salvage the story Already told in the movies we have, the Omac Wish Satellite from WW84(NOT A BAD FILD), etc.

But here's what's really cooking my beek,

There's an entire separate Non-Comic movie about how the audience doesn't or simply CAN'T comprehend Joaquin Phoenix's Joker's potential. Bo Is Afraid. I do not recommend it unless you Wonga know how fucked real life can get in real life.

The movie is ABOUT the audience, the story, and escaping stories, or more accurately Not Being Able To Escape from an Obvious Story, an Obviously fictional reality.

Both Joker and Bo Is Afraid confound the audience. Here, lemmy ax you something

Have you heard of the Unreliable Narrator trope? Prolly not. Closest you may have come to it was the shock when Joe Pesci gets whacked WHILE narrating Casino. Remember that? You're thinking, this guy is getting taken out to the cornfields to get whacked and Pesci's voice is narrating, like he's telling the story from an old folks home decades in the future, fine, and then WHACK!to the head.

Ok, that's not what Unreliable Narrator means.

Unreliable Narrator is something snobs love to peacock. The idea is that the entire movie is an unreliable and subjective account told from a person who's probably lying to themselves or the audience. Film Student types love it because it allows them to have an exclusive VIP area of interpretation. What really happened, out in the objectively real/static reality.

Here, I'll give you an example

Zeze Yayya Beets in Joker. E'rbody said she was supposed to be like that universes Harley Quinn, but by the end of the movie you're wondering if Arthur (Joker) even hung out with her at all. Or was it just in his head.

Arthur takes the audience into his experience and they went to the comedy show together, and they went to the hospital for his mom, together.

But at the end, she doesn't recognize him, is afraid of him.

We're those date scenes made up?

What if it's not the narrator who is unreliable. What if it's Joker's actual reality.

Unreliable Reality.

That's not easy. It's scary to think God has abandoned you in a dream world of feelings, factual memories that have no social authority, etc. What happened happened, right?

Unless you're a child. Then you can sing row row row your boat and lay my head down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

I don't know anyone who WANTS to live in the Twilight Zone.*

But Bo Is Afraid is an unreliable reality movie, even more so than Joker.

When I watched Bo Is Afraid, I came out thinking "They think it don't be the way that it is but it do."

And nobody on YouTube, or any social media posts have connected Bo Is Afraid to Joker.

Which is crazy.

You Were Never Really Here

Joker

and Bo Is Afraid all share this same reality resetting itself on camera with no indication of hallucination or magic occuring.

Why do I bring this all up for a DC movies discussion?

Because with an unreadable reality, anything can happen, it's horrifying. Continuity, Multiverse, timelines.

Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga Harley could dance at the end of the film and end up in the alley way behind Robert Pattinson's ZORRO theater, Ben Afleck's ZORRO Theater.

They could dance their way anywhere in the multiverse the scriptwriters want, and a Fifth Dimensional Imp could say it's magic and he don't have to explain shit.

But the audience has been shockingly robotic. We really don't know what's in the head of these bodies, I certainly don't have enough evidence from social media to consider it any more real than how to effects you and how you effect me.

Maybe you just want scene for scene moving images that match the comics.

Maybe you're eager to join the SuperHero Fatigue bandwagon no matter how much The Batman reassembled a David Fincher movie.

But look at the Muscle Daddies and Diva Queens of Zack Snyder's Justice League(United).

Do you really care if they wrestle some other muscle mountain and win? Who cares? It's not real, it's not MMA. It's a story. It needs a reason for you to PAY and PAY attention.

Look at who Snyder intended their main badguys to eventually be, Twinkydink skinny boys schizos like bingbingbing Jesse Eissenberg's Lex Luthor, and Jared Leto's Mister J-Joker.

Do you want to see either of these guys take a potion and get powers and buffy the vampire slayer fight against dudes 3 times their size like they have a chance to win? Do you want to see them in CGI armor? No, right? No. Do you want to see Big Muscle Daddies teach weakling uppity creeps a lesson? I don't think-so...I hope not. No.

But you know what might unsettle you?

A character who A. already doesn't have to play by the rules of reality (I already explained this, keep up Mr. Strongstrong) and who B. has the sympathy for the audience from a previous film, a character who's kind of the good guy of his own story, if his own story was stable enough for anybody to find a functional morality in it, something that might not have been there for the first Joker film, and probably won't be there for the second either.

I hope you aren't watching movies like it's morality homework. Every action film a who dunnit, gasping an AHA when the wizard uses the helmet to disappear the demon.

I hope you're real, capable of variance and variety of experience. Enjoying the changes internal and external that a character is or might be going through.

I hope your not building up gotcha torment, vengeance juice, enduring suffering in a contest of who can eat the most shit until you eventually explode in violence or despair.

I hope when you watch a movie you're escaping from life AND imprisoning yourself in personality, if only for the time BEING, and enjoying what it thinks like, what it feels like, and what it will/would be like to actually exist that way, his way, that other way, like them, like him, like her, like that thing, like a brave little toaster, or a little Engine that could, or as Michael Douglas's William Foster in FALLING DOWN.

I hope your flying. FLYING.

I hope you can handle it.

And I hope to see more Henry Cavil, as Superman😆

And yeah, I did just write this at 123ish am 11:5:23

Yup!

You can hear it echoing

[shehan-mga2022mi5019]

Overflow of animation.

WHITE HAT : SIX LEGS

Thoughts to convey

There’s a lot of INSECTS. So much so that they make up 75% of all animals on earth.

There are an estimated 10 quintillion individual insects

Million classified species.

Animation idea

Insects are both arthropods and invertebrates. Which means they cover a lot of ground. But what makes an insect an insect? Well it’s actually having three pairs of legs (six legs). We introduce the idea of six legs

 And there are some insects that are experts in camouflage. Some interesting nominees are as follows. 

Malaysian orchid mantis

dead leaf mantis/ butterfly

Buff tip moth

I wish to incorporate an artistic portrayal of these insects. A hidden in plain sight animation.

RED HAT : THE SUITERS DANCE.

Thoughts to convey

Let’s dance!

Initial idea was a rivalry dance battle between a spider and a butterfly, but that all changed when I saw the peacock spider dancing to YMCA. Let’s go back in time to little me freaking out and being scared of any spider even the size of a grain of rice. I HATED spiders. 

But seeing how spiders inspired superheroes, magical creatures and technologies, My fear turned to a sense of great inspiration. That’s how I feel about spiders now.

Peacock spiders are known for it’s unique mating rituals. These male spiders are expected to make constant vibrations scientifically known as ‘Rumble rumps’.  Not only is this dance beautiful to look at it’s also a matter of life and death. Because if the female spider (As the name suggests not as beautiful as the male) does not like the dance it instantly attacks the spider within a 1/10th of a second and injects venom that paralyses that spider and the mate becomes a meal. 

Some interesting facts about peacock spiders,

They are roughly 4 millimeters in size. That’s the size of a grain of rice.

They are extremely fast and can jump 40 times their body length.

Animation idea

It’s mating season and this peacock spider is finding for a girl to court. And there she is, beautiful and brown. He waves hi. Still nothing. He waves again with both legs. That does the trick. She cocks it’s head to the side, interested. He is anxious and nervous. Its life or death after all. He begins to dance. She moves closer and closer. He hits the jackpot. But no she just wanted to eat him. 

Alternate ending: A butterfly sees the performance and swoops into save the spider from the female.

YELLOW HAT : SIX LEGS TO EAT

Thoughts to convey

As mentioned before many insects help pollinate most of the food we consume. So I’m not a science guy but basically pollination is defined as the transfer of pollen from the anther (Male organ) to the stigma (Female organ). Brightly colored flowers and strong scents attract these insects to the flowers. 

Insects feed on nectar (Mostly) which can be consumed from nectary's located in the base of the flowers. So in order to feed the insect must go through the anthers (which is located on the head of the flower) and cannot avoid getting pollen stuck on the insects body.  Pollen is sticky and spiky so it attaches itself easily onto the insect. And these insects don’t just feed on one flower so its bound to spread to other flowers as well. 

Sometimes insects such as wasps and bees do consume pollen so the flowers are at a disadvantage. But this is a small prize to pay in the larger scheme of things.

Animation idea

A man enjoys a peach and it slowly transitions into a peach becoming a flower that in turn gets pollinated by a bee. 

[emptymanuscript]

So I did a clean reblog if you keep scrolling. Peacock Spiders are so cool. Worth two reblogs. And I'm threadjacking for this one.

Peacock Spiders were absolutely one of the inspirations for one of my favorite of my own made up monsters: Slorths. My specific acknowledgement / call back is that Slorths dance like Peacock Spiders do. It's part of their fairly sophisticated mating routine. And they're sapient & neotonous enough to do it for fun, too. Slorths communicate a lot by color, so catching them in a fun mood is a spectacular show.

They're really one of the things I want to figure out a way to export out of their setting. I'm not particularly interested in writing the stories they originally come from but I'm very interested in the stories that might distantly follow out from them. Both for the Laputian Empire and their species in the long run.

The set up we left them in is pretty much a guarantee of a speciation event from the rest of the Slorths. And the environment is going to push them toward some kind of cohabitability with humans. Just don't know if that's going to be something like dogs, conquest of the planet of the apes underclass species, or just straight up another species in the mix that is already there. Possibly all of the above. That strikes me as the most interesting possibility but I think their psychology would probably work against it.

But no matter what happens, there'll definitely be a cool bit every new year (by the Laputian Calendar - no idea how to figure out what the equivalent date would be for us besides for the fact that is almost certainly not January 1), where a whole mess of things that each look like a smashed up bundle of octopuses roll out and flex themselves into a more reasonable number of limb sets and start scuttling and waving around as they flash colors and shapes and try outdo each other creatively to impress as much as everybody as they can.

I suspect there will even be a rule that you can't eat Slorth on Dancing Day (actually the official name of the Laputian New Year celebration). Though I'm sure Queen Arva will make it a point of trying to break that rule every year just to sort of push that she can and that no one is going to tell her what to do... possibly she'll eat two just because she's bitter about all the people who do tell her what to do XD. And they were imported to be a self sustaining food source for "her people" anyway :p

And the Slorths probably aren't going to fuss about it. Getting a tentacle or few ripped off by one of the bird folks and surviving is a serious mark of pride already. Bull Slorths without a tentacle missing probably just won't get to breed at all within a few years of where we left off.

There'll probably be a specific type of Bull dance with the injuries all put together into a missing leg to try and show off the injury and how they can compensate for it. Best dances/dancers to be judged by how those factors can be accentuated: oh, I was hurt so bad, shouldn't have survived, had to change everything about how I lived, it was just a grevious wound but look at what I have learned to do, I haven't just survived, I've thrived, I'm even tougher and cleverer than before, let me show you that whole journey in a fireworks explosion of movement and color because I'm just that awesome.

XD. 10 to 1 at least some of the really prideful Bulls try to invent some kind of competition to earn the right to have another contest with Queen Arva. ...actually, I could totally see them using that as a way to choose their own Queen - That's the way the Laputian Empire works, every "nation" that belongs to it has a Queen and all the Queens sit on the Queen's Council. The High Queen is both a Queen on the council and the equivalent of an Empress / President / Prime Minister who runs the Council which runs the Empire and delegates tasks to other councils as they see fit. The High Queen is hereditary but there's no law saying that a Queen has to be hereditary or a life appointment. And the first High Queen, as authoritarian as she was, was pretty pro-democracy, she liked making people do what she wanted but was generally very opposed to the idea that someone might tell her or anyone she happened to feel empathy toward to do something they wouldn't want to. It's actually baked into the rules of Nu (the Ruling Queendom and Capital of Laputa) to try and force people to feel like they should not try to separate themselves into classes... don't think it works that well but she tried. So part of Nu Law is that everyone is required to spend time as someone else, the most common and wide spread version of it is the Change Year, where a future full citizen of Nu Laputa has their sex magically changed for a year so they don't get any wrongheaded ideas like one sex, gender, or proclivity is better than another. Most citizens who manage to get around the magical sex change requirement do so by living a year as a different species instead. Which nobody except the demon who does most of the transformation particularly likes but it still meets the requirements, so it is allowed. Which is all a long winded way of saying I bet some clever Bull Slorth could and would make a "survive a second go around with Arva" contest with the prize a sex change from the Laputian government, turning them into the rightful Queen as the highest socially ranked female for the year. It would also probably get a lot of favor because no one is going to push their luck too much. Yeah, you might win a few terms, maybe, but eventually Queen Arva IS going to eat you. Or her son, Friki, will if you make him nervous enough that you might make her look bad. And while Arva will mostly play fair - she doesn't believe in fair play, unless you define fair as her winning, but is not going to accept any level of shame that might come from being seen to cheat for food. She is an ancient immortal monster, she's not going to look bad for meat - Friki most definitely won't care about foul play. He'll sneak up on you in the dark and poison your drinking water... and then fly you away to drown you in the middle of the ocean, tearing open some wounds to attract the sharks, to make absolutely sure you're never found and can't possibly survive... and because he wouldn't want his cousin, Kori, who is the Over-Queen of the Slorths - she's a different species but related so she has the power to speak for them in addition to all of her own descendants - to get mad at him for hurting one of her Slorths. She might not be able to yell at her aunt Arva but Friki is neither immune nor impartial to her anger. It's very important to Friki to get along well with all his cousins. But Kori is one of his favorites and he understands that she has power specifically as a leverage against his mother.

I really want to read more fantasy political thrillers - Just ooh, political intrigue and double cross and long plays for the throne. Not all the war and torture and trauma of ASOIF / Game of Thrones, just actually the game of thrones - who gets to rule when you probably can't just seize power. So I can tell some grand political thriller of the Laputian Empire and have lots of cool pretty things like Slorth dances whirling around while it's going on.

And I'll shut up now.