#paul wei

[goatpunches]

finally listed some stickers from this summer up on Etsy! a few folks were asked about the dune ones, so now they’re up for grabs :) very limited quantities of those and wangxian!

get em while they’re hot by clicking here!

[lainealexandersson]

If Tekken Characters become Critter Pick as seen on Honkai Star Rail part 2

Part 1:

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Who Is Tekken?

I made a tier ranking because I was bored and because this is TEKKEN 8'S RELEASE WEEK!!!

So, basically this is a tier list based on who I think represents the series best. Not personal preference, just who I think of when I think of Tekken, and which characters I think usually act as the "face" of the franchise.

Tekken God Tier a.k.a. The one true "Face" of Tekken

Paul Phoenix - Although the story is centered around the Mishima Family feud, Paul I think best represents the spirit of Tekken as a whole. His design is outrageous, he can be considered goofy, not only because of the hair but because of his most recent portrayal and rivalry with Kuma, but he is nevertheless not treated entirely as a joke character. He is always there and he is a veteran.

Tekken Kings Tier a.k.a Characters present in all games that are also synonymous with Tekken

Yoshimitsu - Yoshimitsu is another character that is always present and, like Paul, he represents Tekken's spirit. He always looks ridiculous and he is completely redesigned in each new installment.

King - King also fits the same mentality as the other two. The jaguar mask, and the fact that when he speaks jaguar growls come out make him a staple to the "ridiculous but not a joke character" archetype that Tekken essentially jumpstarted and has polished to perfection over the years. Many other fighting games have joke characters of course, but some of Tekken's joke characters are actually pretty viable options.

Tekken Overlords Tier a.k.a. Characters who are present in almost all games and also represent the brand in promotional events and such

Nina Williams - Nina is undisputedly the Queen of Tekken. She is the only female fighter to appear in all Tekken games, she has her own spinoff game and she is almost always featured in collaborations and promotional events. She is the Chun-Li of Tekken with Cammy's demeanour. A two-in-one type of deal if you will.

Kazuya Mishima - Kazuya was the protagonist of the original Tekken game and has ever since taken on the role of either the primary or secondary antagonist. If Nina is Tekken's Chun-Li, then Kazuya is Tekken's Ryu, but with a twist. Kazuya is no hero, he is not the golden shoto honest boy who wants to save the world. Quite the opposite. Tekken can be campy but it can also be extremely edgy. Kazuya perfectly represents this inherent need to be edgy. When other fighting games attempted to replicate Street Fighter's Ryu by making more stoic stereotypical Japanese heroes who don't say much and only want to become stronger, Tekken introduced a villainous type of protagonist that will stop at nothing to achieve ultimate power. Tekken doesn't have a Ryu, only an Evil Ryu.

Ling Xiaoyu - Many would argue that Xiaoyu is Tekken's Chun-Li, and in the sense of having an upbeat female Chinese martial artist she is, but she is more like Chun-Li's little sister, or Tekken's little sister in this case. Nina is mature and sexy while Xiaoyu is cheerful and cute, childish even, in her debut appearance. Depending on who you ask she may be the main female character of Tekken but I'll say she's the second best thing. Still extremely important for the franchise.

Hwoarang - Hwoarang has never missed a game since his debut and I don't think he will in the future either. He is a very integral part of Tekken and his high kicks in the tightest of jeans definitely add a little more unhingedeness to the series.

Marshall Law - Every fighting game that respects itself pays homage to the greatest martial artist that ever lived. Law has every Bruce Lee mannerism that you can imagine and then some!

Tekken Warrior Tier a.k.a Jack

Although Jack's appearance and moveset are not necessarily remarkable, the fact that he undergoes a name change with each new Tekken entry, to match the mainline game's numbering, is kinda iconic in its own right and tied to Tekken itself. Even though he skipped Tekken 4 (and the JACK unit in the original game is a generic one not related to Jane's JACK who is present in all the following games) there is still a JACK-4 line, which further goes to show that you can't have Tekken without the JACKs.

Tekken Fighters Tier a.k.a. fairly recognisable characters who appear in most games

Lei Wulong - Tekken not only has its own Bruce Lee, but it also has its own Jackie Chan*! Lei has one of the most complicated movesets in fighting game history and as fighting game development gets pricier and pricier, he puts an actual strain on Namco's developments costs. While I don't think he will completely miss Tekken 8 or any following Tekkens, he is most likely gonna be permanent DLC to accommodate for the resources and money needed for his animations lmao

*since he is still alive though they actually started making his face more distinct as time went on and graphics became more realistic, possibly to avoid a lawsuit lol

Jin Kazama - Jin has essentially been the protagonist of Tekken since Tekken 3 (with a minor stint as a villain in 6 and, technically, being in a coma throughout Tekken 7's entire story) He is once again positioned as the "hero" in Tekken 8, although, like I said with Kazuya, Tekken doesn't do heroes the traditional way.

Bryan Fury - Bryan is the resident kickboxer of Tekken and he hasn't missed a game since his debut. His psychotic laugh is a Tekken trademark and his unhinged personality is a perfect match for a series like Tekken.

Steve Fox - Likewise, Steve is the resident boxer of Tekken. Arguably, he's not as strong in the personality department, so his fighting style kind of hard carries him and is also probably why he hasn't skipped an entry since his inception.

Asuka Kazama - Asuka is kind of the "new generation" type of Tekken girl. She had a really strong debut in Tekken 5, I think she really served in that game, but ever since the rivalry with Lili subplot was introduced I feel like Lili's personality overpowers hers. Nevertheless, they have been positioned by Namco as the new main female Tekken rivalry ever since Tekken 6 so that's that.

Tekken Brawlers Tier a.k.a. the last three core Tekken characters

Heihachi Mishima - Heihachi is arguably the Akuma of Tekken. He often assumes the final boss role and has been in all Tekken games until his death (?). Tekken 7 was teased as the big finale to Kazuya and Heihachi's rivalry, and his death (??) truly meant the end of an era for the series.

Feng Wei - I struggled a lot with this one because he's a character I personally don't care at all about, but personal bias aside I think his moveset is quintessential Tekken, and like Asuka he also had a very strong Tekken 5 debut that kind of hard carries him ever since. His scenes in the Tekken 5 opening cinematic are pretty memorable.

Lili - If the Tekken universe has an it girl it is her. Lili has been a consistently popular character since her debut and I don't think it's hard to see why. Her personality is hilarious, the rich mean daddy's girl type, her moveset is hella fun and her design is pretty slick and gets the message across - you know she is the spoiled brat before she even opens her mouth.

Tekken Grand Masters Tier a.k.a. characters who are still pretty important but can skip a game or two

Lee Chaolan - Lee's trademark "excellent" is definitely pretty standard amongst Tekken fans, but from here on, him and the characters that follow are more or less characters who are mostly relevant within the Tekken community and don't necessarily represent the franchise as a whole or are instantly recognisable as Tekken characters. Lee's is a very interesting take on Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. In Tekken 1, all of the "rival" characters are in some way reused or alternate versions of the initial eight characters' fighting styles. In this case, he practices Jeet Kune Do like Law, but unlike Law, he doesn't retain any of Bruce Lee's mannerisms, other than the outrageous screams.

Eddy Gordo - Eddy is the resident capoeira master of Tekken, and you could argue this alone could earn him a higher placing, but I feel like the fact that he was Christie's pallette swap for two games split the spotlight between them. He still has a story-related reason to fight and is therefore still coming back whereas Christie's story arc is done for now, but even still, he was missing from the initial arcade release of Tekken 7 and is now only coming back as DLC. Eddy is undoubtedly a trademark Tekken character, but I feel like all the characters above him have become a tad more essential than him over the years.

Sergei Dragunov - Dragunov certainly has his fans, and has a fun moveset and an interesting... gimmick, if you can even call it that, in that he chooses not to speak. Ever... Almost.

Jun Kazama - No other character has had such a strong impact in the Tekken fanbase as Jun. Despite only being canonically present in one game (and it will 100% remain so as she is definitely still dead in Tekken 8) she has been constantly requested by fans, has had a "clone" character in the form of Asuka, and even an "evil counterpart" in the form of Unknown. Jun is kind of the face of the Tekken Tag Tournament games, as both of them, and any future ones we hopefully get, were always fans' chance to get to see her again after her death. Even after Asuka's debut, Jun's comeback in Tag 2 was among the main marketing for the game.

Christie Monteiro - Like I said, Christie replaced Eddy in Tekken 4 and 5 as the "face" of capoeira for Tekken. Although Eddy was the OG, and I feel like his Tekken 3 and Tag 1 appearances are his main popularity and nostalgia boosts over hers, Christie is arguably the more fun of the two and although her story arc is over, she has more to give in the personality department. With Tekken 8 going the extra mile to make Kuma and Panda feel more unique, decades after their debut as identical characters, I think the same energy can be applied to Eddy and Christie. They already had different standing throws to begin with so a first step was taken ever since Tekken 4.

Craig Marduk - Marduk is the series' resident big burly screaming neanderthal type of character. He has had a bit of character development through his feud and eventual friendship with King and, even when it seemed like Gigas had kind of replaced him in Tekken 7 he actually made it back so good for him, I guess...

Leo Kliesen - Leo kind of invented being non-binary back in 2008 right? What was initially envisioned as a gimmick, a character without gender, has taken on a whole new meaning as people found new ways to express their identities that weren't as widely explored before and I think that this is a good thing. No one in the Tekken world seems to treat Leo's androgyny as something abnormal, in fact nobody even acknowledges it, nobody is bothered by it, nobody loses sleep about it. Leo is Leo and they're here to stay. My only issue is that Leo's personality trait sliders were all set right in the middle too and this is definitely something that could be worked on a lot more.

Lars Alexandersson - Tekken 6 tried really hard to set Lars up as "the new Mishima" and I don't think it worked. I mean look at Reina's reception. I think that's what they were going for at the time. Did it work? Yes and no. Lars is intrinsically tied with the story and he seems to have been positioned as a positive role model and moral compass for Jin to make him "find his way" or whatever the fuck. If you think about it, after Jun's death, Jin only had Heihachi's abusive relationship and murder attempt and then his equally bloody reunion with his father in the form of family. Lars, and I guess Lee (they don't seem to have canonically interacted with each other before Tekken 7's ending) are now positioned as the good influences in Jin's life. Although Lee has worked under both Heihachi and Kazuya, and Lars had no issues working as a mercenary for Heihachi in the Tekken Force and only quit after Jin started World War III. Once again this harkens back to how no one is a saint in Tekken. Lars is no exception.

Raven - He took a small break in 7 but his fighting style was still represented in the form of his master. Raven's design is a knock-off Blade but the fact that he is a ninja working for the United Nations and that they also keep expanding his organization with new members in the form of Master Raven and Victor is proof enough of his relevancy to the series.

Tekken Experts Tier a.k.a. the last few ones that actually matter

Kuma - Kuma is a joke character, but an arguably quite good one at that. Tekken employs many "jokey" characters, the Pauls, the Yoshimitsus, the Kings, as marketing gimmicks. "Oh you know Tekken has a guy with weird hair that punches real hard" or "Tekken has a mech space ninja" or "Tekken has a dude with a jaguar head" but nothing hits quite hard like "Tekken has a bear". Street Fighter II had many martial artists in its original eight-character roster. A stoic karateka, a cheerful Kung Fu master, a hardened wrestler. But it also had Blanka, a weird "out of the box" type of character that fights with an unconventional fighting style and has a unique appearance. The other characters I mentioned have unique appearances but Paul practices judo, King is a wrestler and Yoshimitsu is a ninja (so at least his shenanigans are somewhat excused). But Kuma is a talking bear (when he speaks we hear growls, just like with King, but he is canonically able to communicate with humans, he just follows Tekken's "everyone speaks their mother tongue" and therefore speaks 'bear') who practices a mix of Mishima-style karate along with... Well bear moves. Very few other games in the market can match that energy.

Anna Williams - Anna is unfortunately, more often than not, in the shadow of her older sister, a sentiment that perhaps hits too close to home for a lot of younger siblings. Nevertheless, even if she began as a Nina clone, she was among the very first who the developers started differentiating from their original counterpart, as early as Tekken 3. Anna is certainly popular, but she is constantly treated as an afterthought to Nina, which itself prevents me from placing her any higher. While Nina is allowed to be part of the main story and have a subplot with her son or others, Anna has only ever had her rivalry with Nina, her having the hots for Kazuya and an interaction with Lee that may not even be canon. Perhaps the fact that she constantly has to live in the shadow of a more popular sister is in and of itself her own gimmick within the Tekken universe. The fact that she always serves the cunt™, all the cunt™ and nothing but the cunt™ is also probably a reason why she is a favourite of the gays and the girls.

Ganryu - Ganryu is another joke character. He has many running gage, actually, from his obsession with Michelle Chang and then her much-younger-than-him (...) daughter and them barely even acknowledging his existence, his lying over his ranking in sumo (and being cancelled by the... Sumo masters??? because of it) and also trying and failing to promote his chanko restaurant through the Tournaments, Ganryu is perhaps the Joke Character of Tekken. Even so, Kazuya apparently found something in him as he was among his elite bodyguards along with Bruce, Anna and Lee in Tekken 2.

Julia Chang - Julia I feel like also peaked during her Tekken 5 era but has been slowly fading in the background ever since. Arguably the most interesting character development she's had was adopting the Jaycee luchadora persona... Which was not canon... Her new streamer persona doesn't seem to be necessarily popular and the fact that she's again missing from another mainline base Tekken game may reflect that Namco don't necessarily seem like they know what to do with her at all.

Devil Jin - Devil Jin is not really an actual character, rather an alter ego of sorts of Jin, although we haven't necessarily "seen" him so far. Whenever Jin canonically assumes his devil form he just seems to lose control for a few seconds and then snaps back to normal. The reason for his existence is that people were pissed that Jin's Tekken 3 moveset was dropped in Tekken 4 as Jin relearned his fighting style to distance himself from his Mishima heritage and go back to his mother's teachings and Namco simply decided to bring it back in the form of an alter ego. He simply exists as a gameplay mechanic, although it still has endured for all these years, showing the impact Tekken 3 still has on the series. The initial story trailers for Tekken 8 seemed to hint that Devil Jin was no more but, for better or worse, Namco doesn't seem to be ready to let go just yet.

Baek Doo San & Michelle Chang - Both have been completely replaced by Hwoarang and Julia respectively so both are mostly in this tier for their presence in the first few games and the fact that their fighting style lives on through their disciples. Arguably Baek's is a little more alive than Michelle's though lol

Alisa Bosconovitch - Alisa is another one of the teen girly characters that Namco loves to push as their main form of female character archetype. Alisa being an android with chainsaw blades coming out of her arms was certainly an interesting gimmick back when she was added to Tekken 6, but it doesn't have an impact nearly as strong as "man with jaguar head" or "talking bear".

Zafina - Zafina closes up the last tier of actually important characters for the game's identity. She is cunty and as assassin but also her fighting style is extremely cooky and her animations are hilarious and, on top of that, she now also has the rotting Azazel hand. A perfect mix of the three pillars of Tekken; edginess, camp and c*nt~

Tekken Mentors Tier a.k.a. Pallette swaps, the last few legacy characters and Mokujin

Tekken Initiates Tier a.k.a Bosses, one-off characters and the literal newcomers who cannot be properly placed yet. I consider Leroy a newcomer since he didn't get a story chapter last time and since he's the only T7 DLC to make it in T8 thus far he gets a small bonus boost

Tekken Beginners Tier a.k.a. even more palette swaps, characters completely replaced by others or obscure randos that only come back for the Tag Tournaments. The rest of T7's characters that did not make the cut (so far) are here either because they didn't have as strong an impact as the rest or they were DLC and haven't shown their full potential yet

[defconprime]

Paul Stamets by Wei Ho

[thefilmstage]

The 35 best performances of 2022.

[wornoutspines]

The Crow (2024) | Trailer

The 2024 Crow movie seems to be a cross between John Wick and Constantine and I'm here for it. #TheCrow #MovieTrailer #BillSkarsgard #FKATwigs #DannyHuston Trailer here ���️

Writer: James O’Barr (Comic book series), Zach Baylin & William Josef Schneider (Screenplay) Director: Rupert Sanders Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Danny Huston, FKA twigs, Laura Birn, Jordan Bolger, David Bowles The movie looks grounded and gritty like the first John Wick movie yet it still has a fantasy/supernatural undertone. The revenge movie aspect is very John Wick but the supernatural aspects…

[movienized-com]

The Crow

The Crow (2024) #RupertSanders #BillSkarsgard #DannyHuston #FKAtwigs #LauraBirn #JordanBolger Mehr auf:

Jahr: 2024 (Juni) Genre: Action / Krimi / Fantasy Regie: Rupert Sanders Hauptrollen: Bill Skarsgård, Danny Huston, FKA twigs, Laura Birn, Jordan Bolger, Isabella Wei, Sami Bouajila, David Bowles, Dukagjin Podrimaj, Paul A Maynard, Jim High, Sebastian Orozco, Kim Girschner, Baha Chbani … Radnja filma: Die Seelenverwandten Eric Draven und Shelly Webster wurden brutal ermordet. Mit der…

[kaurwreck]

I am both ecstatic and terrified to be chosen

You get slurped by the mystical god-like being and you get slurped by the mystical god-like being and congratulations! YOU also get slurped by the mystical god-like being!!

[rockytheraccoon]

 “I could draw naked ladies. I could do them on folded paper so that when it was closed up the lady had her clothes on and then when you opened it up... wey-hey! The only trouble was before she did the washing my mum used to go through my pockets for school dinner tickets and, of course, one day she found one of my naked ladies, I came home and my dad said, “I want a word with you. Did you do this?” It was like death. Anguish. Tears". -Paul McCartney

Also!! Before anybody jumps to Paul being dramatic, let’s all remember the horrible childhood he had to endure with his abusive father! He most likely got smacked for the drawings. So, yeah It’s understandable on how upset he was that his father found his pictures.

[gunterfan1992]

My new edited book: “Analyzing ‘Adventure Time‘”!

Hey, did you know that I edited a scholarly book about Adventure Time? Yup, that’s right, it’s called Analyzing Adventure Time, and it features over a dozen scholarly essays about the one cartoon about that kid and the dog. The book will be coming out this summer from McFarland & Co! Here’s the cover:

I’m pretty psyched about the project in general, but it’s doubly-cool that this book will be a part of McFarland’s “Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy” series! Either way, if you’re interested, you can pre-order a copy here.

And here’s the table of contents + contributors for those who are interested:

Introduction (Paul A. Thomas)

Prelude: "The Three Levels of Adventure Time" (Paul A. Thomas)

"Be More Than the Binary: Experiencing Queer Subjectivity with BMO" (Olivia M. Vogt)

"From Censorship to 'Obsidian': A Critical and Historical Look at 'Bubbline'" (Mage Hadley)

"Rainbows and Unicorns: The Influence of Bubbline on Apocalyptic Film and Animation" (Steven Holmes)

"'Get your hero on, dude!' Charting Jake’s Growth as a Positive Masculine Role Model" (Bridget M. Blodgett and Anastasia Salter)

"Yellow Voices and Rainbow Bodies: Accent, Multilingualism, and the Politics of Representation in Adventure Time" (Camille Chane)

"Mikhail Bakhtin in the Land of Ooo: The Carnivalesque, Heteroglossia, and the Fun That Never Ends" (Aaron Kerner and Birdy Wei-Ting Hung)

"'And we will happen again and again': Adventure Time and the Sisyphean Struggle" (Sequoia Stone)

"What Time Is It? Postmodernity! Postmodern Praxis in Adventure Time" (Jenine Oosthuizen)

"Making a New Meaning for Man in The Land of OOO: Object-Oriented Ontology, the NonHuman, and Difference in Distant Lands" (Al Valentín)

"Too Close for Comfort: On Finn the Human and Princess Bubblegum’s Relationship" (Zhi Hwee Goh)

"Of Lacan and Lemons: A Psychoanalytic Reading of Season Six’s 'The Mountain'" (Paul A. Thomas)

"Trauma and the Body in Adventure Time" (Steven Kielich)

"The Japanese Spirit and Aesthetic in Western Animation: The Influence of Anime on Adventure Time" (Kendra N. Sheehan

"'Bad Jubies': Giving Value to the Intangible in Artistic Professions" (Catalina Millán Scheiding)

Note that this is different work from Exploring the Land of Ooo... that work is going to be reissued this year by the University Press of Mississippi, though, so stay tuned for news about that as well!

[legallybrunettedotcom]

do you have any book recommendations? i’m coming out of a reading slump and i just think you have good taste in everything lol. i saved the one you added to that post (dead famous) bc it looked interesting, so if you have any other suggestions i’d appreciate it 🤎🤎🤎 i hope you’re well!!

hii omg thank you!! hope you're well too! 🫶 short stories and plays tend to help me get out of a reading slump. I read The Last Days of Judas Iscariot this year and was blown away by it, immediately scoured for full productions available online. one of my favourite short story collections is Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. if you enjoy those sort of American small town/rural stories and imagery then this is perfect. Walden by Henry David Thoreau as well as Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet are both some of my favourite books and whether you're in a reading slump or a life slump, they're both very comforting. on the other hand, a heavier but still a relatively short read is Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata for all the strange women who feel so very off in this world. if you want something more on the horror side, The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones will keep you on the edge. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla are also a good way to get out of a reading slump. oh Venus in Furs by Sacher-Masoch if you want something scandalous.

I was writing a paper on criminalization of activism last semester so can recommend Criminalization of Activism: Historical, Present, and Future Perspectives edited by Valeria Vegh Weis. the already mentioned Dead Famous book is also pretty good, it's not a difficult read at all, it's just a lot of historical tidbits. just finished Ten Myths About Israel by Illan Pappe, currently reading Edward Said's Orientalism. a really good book that I'm always recommending to people is Chromophobia by David Batchelor, it's a short book but so insightful and interesting. Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond is a fun and fucked up read. if you enjoy science, and like pop physics, Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension by Michio Kaku. I love vampires and everything about them, a must-read for every vampire aficionado out there is definitely Nina Auerbach's Our Vampires, Ourselves and if you want something more folklore, less popular culture then Vampires, Burial and Death by Paul Barber.

[phaedraismyusername]

It's been forever since I've mentioned any books so I just wanted to shout out a few of my favourites from this year so far

Mapping The Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

This little 100ish page novella was my very first read of the year and I truly could not have started with better. It follows a 15 year old Native American boy who believes he sees his dead father walk through their house one night and his mission to recreate the experience to find answers. It's an exploration of grief and trauma, and whether or not these cycles can be broken

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

This is so not for everyone lol. I've read four of Tremblay's books this year and this is my favourite. This book is about a horror movie that was never released. A couple of decades later, after a few scenes and the screenplay made it onto the internet, the film has gained a cult following and the only surviving member has agreed to be a part of a much anticipated remake. This is told through excerpts of the original screenplay, the autobiographical audiobook by "the thin kid" and the current timeline of the film getting made. It's weird and uncomfortable and I ate it up in a single day

Sea Change by Gina Chung

Obligatory sad girl seeks peace entry in the list. Ro has just turned 30, works at a mall aquarium, and her boyfriend has just left her to go to Mars. Estranged from her family and sidelined from her best friends life as she plans her dream wedding, Ro spends her nights drinking sharktini's and generally making bad choices. The only light in her life is a giant Pacific octopus, Dolores, who she sees as her last real connection to her missing father, and what happens when Dolores is put up for sale. It's sad and melancholy but with a throughline of hope that slowly blossoms into what my heart needed to read lol

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

I loved this so much. This book follows a Chinese American girl named Luli Wei as she breaks into 1930s-ish Hollywood and her journey to becoming a star as the monster known as the Siren Queen. I know that's a short summary in comparison but that's because the sale is absolutely in the vibes which are basically 'what if classic Hollywood was Faerie and make it sapphic' and if any one of those words appeal to you in the slightest then I beg you to try this one. I took out an American library e-card just to get my hands on this and it's best decision I've made all year. Please read it lol

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

This audiobook y'all. The book follows Lillian as she reconnects with her childhood sort of best friend from boarding school who has written to her begging for help with her politician husbands two children when their mother suddenly passes away. Lillian, living the life of the persistent down and outer, agrees easily, it's just for the summer and she can't turn down the money, after all how hard could it be? There's one little catch though, sometimes the kids burst into flames. When I say this audiobook broke my heart and then healed my soul I promise you I am barely exaggerating. I'm sure you could just read it and it would still be good, but Marin Ireland's narration brings so much heart to this story that I physically cannot bear to recommend it any other way lol. If you only listen to one book this year then this is the one it should be

[kitausuret]

Know Your Venom

A handy guide to differentiating all those spider-y symbols! (Part 1 of 2)

(Venom #150 "Malled!"; Michelinie, Lim)

Hey there, true believer! Are you tired of looking at comics with your favorite black-and-white wicked webslinger and not knowing who's beneath the goo? Fortunately for you, I'm here to help! We'll take a look through the years and hopefully give you some pointers on how to tell who's who. This isn't a foolproof guide by any means, but I hope it's helpful!

So, let's start at the beginning.

(Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #7-8; Shooter, Zeck)

It's very important to me that people understand that the original black suit costume came from Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter)! That's why I often, and will for the rest of this guide, refer to it as the Carpenter Symbol. Know your roots!

For the most part though, we see this design used as a mockery of Spider-Man by the first Venom, Eddie Brock.

(Amazing Spider-Man #299, #331, and #362, by Michelinie and McFarlane, Larsen, and Bagley respectively)

The earliest artists for Venom all drew the Carpenter Symbol very close to how it originally was designed. You see this continued pretty much to this day, and so if you see a stocky guy in this look with biceps the size of his head - that's probably Eddie.

Early comics are easy, because the only other person to bear this symbol is Anne Weying, and her She-Venom look is. Well. Distinctive.

(Venom: Sinner Takes All #3; Hama, Luzniak & Palmiotti - Venom: Along Came a Spider #3; Hama, St. Pierre)

A few artists will draw the legs of the spider-symbol either much, much closer together (sometimes if the shot is tiny enough they'll just look like a solid mass), but others like Ron Lim will at times draw them further apart. For the most part it's pretty consistent though.

(Venom: Lethal Protector [1993] #5; Michelinie, Lim)

And then... we get into the 00s.

(Venom [2003] #16-17; Way, Skottie Young)

The above looks are pretty unique to how Skottie Young does Venom. And even then, Young's Venom nowadays looks less... like that. I'm not going to share a lot from this series, but we start to get a beefier-looking Venom. This would continue into Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) by Paul Jenkins and Humberto Ramos.

(Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) #3, #5; Jenkins, Ramos)

In some ways, you can kind of explain the inconsistency in the symbol by the fact that Eddie and the Symbiote's symbiosis was crumbling - but it's also just. Not that well-written as a Venom story.

And then we get into other hosts.

I feel obligated to point out that Trish Robertson was the first host of the Venom clone that would eventually become Mania - she literally only appears in Venom (2003) but she's almost indistinguishable from Venom.

(Venom [2003] #16; #18. I'm not going to describe what's happening in these panels, I took too much psychic damage just gathering them.)

Best I can give you is; Trish!clone!Venom is slightly more grey-purple and that's all I'm gonna give you on this topic.

Angelo Forunato was only alive for 2 issues, and he has one look:

(Marvel Knights: Spider-Man [2004] #7-8; Millar, Dodson)

He's the first Venom we see fully deviate from the Carpenter Symbol. He also has really distinctive eyespots and the first instance of seeing an actual eyeball in the spot. The legs of the spider-symbol are fully separated from each other, and even extend down to the thighs.

The symbiote, displeased with Angelo (and having thrown him off a roof), next went to Mac Gargan, arguably the third or fourth most important Venom to carry the name.

(Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10-11; Millar, Dodson)

Beyond! is an interesting case in that it's the first time we see Mac!Venom with the Scorpion tail, which we don't really see again. It's an odd duck of a series overall, but it is kinda fun to see Mac utilizing some of the shapeshifting abilities. But, more to the point of this guide, you can always tell him apart by the white spider-legs going over the shoulders and up the arms.

(Beyond! #5; McDuffie, Kolins)

Thunderbolts is when you really start to see deviations from the original Mac look. This series especially leans into a very grotesque-looking Venom, but usually there's still some semblance of the original symbol. That's what to look for. But if you see a chonky boy and it's in that mid-2000s art style? You're probably looking at Mac.

You also get variations on the way the spider-legs are drawn. Some artists make them a little skinnier.

(Thunderbolts #114; Ellis, Deodato Jr. - Thunderbolts #122; Gage, Blanco - Amazing Spider-Man #570; Slott, Romita Jr.)

Here's where it gets tricky.

During Dark Avengers, Mac adopts the Carpenter Symbol (and a slimmer look) at Osborn's behest, and immediately starts looking anywhere between your classic Black Suit Spider-Man and Eddie's look as Venom. Your best bet during this era is to use context clues. Based on the art style for this era, if you're thinking "that's probably not Eddie", you're right. Eddie's running around as Anti-Venom.

(Dark Avengers [2009] #1; Bendis, Deodato)

And, yes, that means that this scene... is Mac Gargan. No other Venom would let Norman Osborn boss them around. Please, for the love of God, get this one right.

(New Avengers Annual #3; Bendis, Mayhew)

Mac keeps this look all the way up until he and the symbiote are separated, which leads us to...

Flash Thompson, AKA Agent Venom.

(Coming in Part 2!)

[yukiinvs]

🍒 : Lana del Rey songs I think suits the Tekken characters

This was a random thought in the early morning and I couldn't help but do it 😭, I didn't think much about whether the character's story remained, I just imagined it as a mv video with the background music and well this came out.

. Alisa : "Video Games"

. Anna : "Black beauty"

. Asuka : "Flipside"

. Baek Doo San: "Terrence loves you"

. Bob : "Florida Kilos"

. Bryan : "Serial Killer"

. Christie : "Summertime Sadness"

. Claudio : "Bel Air"

. Marduk : "Guns and Roses"

. Devil Jin : "Gods and Monsters"

. Dragunov : "High by the beach"

. Eddy : "Diet Mountain Die"

. Eliza : "Cruel World"

. Fahkumram : "Ultraviolence"

. Feng Wei : "Happiness is a butterfly"

. Ganryu : "Love"

. Heihachi : "Fucked my way up to the top"

. Hwoarang : "Ride"

. Jin : "Born To Die"

. Julia : "God Knows i Tried"

. Jun : "Dark Paradise"

. Katarina : "Burning Desire"

. Kazumi : "Carmen"

. Kazuya : "Off to the races / Ultraviolence"

. King : "Body Electric"

. Kuma : "The greatest"

. Kunimitsu : "Heroin"

. Lars : "Young and beautiful"

. Lee : "Million Dollar man" (I really thought about this one)

. Lei Wulong : "Art Deco"

. Lili : "Doin' time"

. Xiaoyu : "Lolita"

. Lucky Chloe : "Radio"

. Law : "American"

. Michelle Chang : "Lucky Ones"

. Miguel : "Freak"

. Nina : "A&W"

. Panda : "Yayo" idk ok

. Paul : "West Coast"

. Raven : "Coachella"

. Shaheen : "Honeymoon"

. Steve : "Off to the races" (again cuz' ottr fits with all characters)

. Wang Jinrei : "Yes to heaven"

. Yoshimitsu : "ridin'"

. Zafina : "Violet For Roses"

[roseunspindle]

My Blorbos

Lloyd Frontera (Kim Suho)

Kim Dokja

Cale Henituse (Kim Rok Soo)

Han Yujin or Yoojin

Kim Hyeonu

Kim Gongja

Souma Kazuya

Izuku Midoriya

Son Gohan

Son Pan

Son Goku

Edward Elric

Anakin Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Sansa Stark

Ulanara Ruyi

Harry James Potter (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/417849671692366378/)

Johnathan Sims (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/584693964143430907/)

Wei Wuxian

Percy Jackson (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/707980003945277862/)

Rhaenyra Targaryen

Lucerys Velaryon

Naruto Uzumaki

Tominaga Sei/Kamiya Seizaburo

Yuya Shiina

Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Castiel

Rose Tyler

Ciel Phantomhive

Fanny Price

Belle

Paul Atreides

Adam Faulkner Stanheight

Cloud Strife

Drizzt Do’urdern

[tuppencetrinkets]

Sorted caps, Season 4. The Expanse.

Adolphus Murtry - Burn Gorman #6,316

Amos Burton - Wes Chatham #6,734

Arjun Avasarala - Michael Benyaer #1,882

Bobbie Draper - Frankie Adams #9,510

Camina Drummer - Cara Gee #3,348

Carol Chiwewe - Patti Kim #903

Chandra Wei - Jess Salgueiro #2,429

Chrisjen Avasarala - Shohreh Aghdashloo #7,870

Clarissa Mao - Nadine Nicole #314

David Draper - Kolton Stewart #642

Elise Holden - Frances Fisher #287

Elvi Okoye - Lydie Greenwood #5,042

Esai Martin - Paul Schulze #1,611

Felcia Mazur - Kyla Madeira #1,107

Filip Inaros - Jasai Chase Owens #70

Fred Johnson - Chad L. Coleman #316

Jakob Mazur - Steven McCarthy #957

James Holden - Steven Strait #12,748

Josephus Miller - Thomas Jayne #2,419

Klaes Ashford - David Strathairn #5,381

Leelee - Dayle McLeod #825

Lucia Mazur - Rose Gilmore #4,578

Marco Inaros - Keon Alexander #3,308

Nancy Gao - Lily Gao #1,390

Naomi Nagata - Dominique Tipper #6,334

Thomas - Michael Xavier #1,185

This content is free for anyone to use or edit however you like; if you care to throw a dollar or two my way for time, effort, storage fees etc you are more than welcome to do so via my PAYPAL.  Please like or reblog this post if you have found it useful or are downloading the content within.  If you have any questions or you have any problems with the links or find any inconsistencies in the content, etc. please feel free to drop me a politely worded message via my ASKBOX (second icon from the top on my theme!)

Previous Expanse resources can be found HERE HERE and HERE. There are also some Expanse gif icon & base icon sets on my blog w/ more to come.