closed starter to: @heartxsighs time + location: the library, midnight

    𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝒀 𝑯𝑨𝑺 𝑺𝑶𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑬𝑫 into night. Shuffling footsteps and whispers have settled, dormant, in the corners until morrow day. There is the grainy residue of sweat long cooled and dried on the man's neck, chest, arms. Somehow, even in winter, he would start the day out bundled up and end it with sleeves rolled to the elbows and every button undone at the neckline. The icy wind felt refreshing on his bare skin during the trek down to the library. The day had long expired for most of the compound's residents, but Reuven tended to be one of the few that would stave off sleep; fight it, like a toddler to their mid-day nap, because even if rest would make him feel better, to him the day wasn't finished. He hadn't gotten to read that leather-bound journal at the far end of the reference section, tucked in between the encyclopedias and atlases. Surely whoever had put it there had meant it not to be found, but discovered it anyway, Reuven had.

    At first it had been innocent intrigue. After all, who would leave a nameless book tucked onto an incongruent bookshelf, as though it belonged there? The man had picked it up and thumbed through it, only to discover it was full of viscera. He had read some poetry as a boy, and then eventually once again as a college student himself, but he'd read the words of old. Hemingway and Poe and Dickinson. When he'd had the task of writing a poem himself, for a grade, it was done as fawn attempts to gallop. Reuven was not a poet, by any means, but this poetry collection he stumbled across had still captivated him so thoroughly. These words were relatable. The poet's grief was his own grief. He wondered how on earth he had been so lucky to come across such an eloquent and pertinent piece of literature, when he returned to read it again the following week and found that it had gained a new entry. His heart had thudded in his realization that he had been reading someone's diary. Someone who lived at the grounds. He felt that he had violated the writer's privacy, and it suddenly felt so wrong to pick it back up. His restraint lasted for a few weeks, until he thought to himself—well, what's the harm? I'll never meet them anyway. The book was unsigned. And he had, though he would never admit it, made casual attempts at figuring out who was writing it. Their identity remained anonymous. All of it except... all of it. He read about their inner workings. Their insecurities. Their dreams. Their depression.

    The man would find a quiet corner tucked in the very back of the library, sit down in one of the sofa chairs and melt into the writing. After long, empathy gave way to sympathy. Sympathy gave way to anxiety. And eventually, he could no longer deny himself the next page of the book out of pure necessity to know this person was still here. When he arrived to the library that night, he anticipated the silence and alone time. After all, who else would be in the library at midnight?

    Very quickly he discovered who. His linguistic effigy. His web weaver.

    He was rounding the corner of one of the shelves and stopped in his tracks. Dark eyes grew orb-like in surprise. There was a form, curled up in the same chair he so often sat wide-stanced in, reading the same book this form possessed now. There she was, with that leather-bound book open to its next page, weaving it together even more than its binding did. He stood, baffled and staring, for much too long, as when she realized a figure was staring at her, she gave a little start and a little scream and he found himself frantically apologizing for scaring her. "Sorry! Sorry, I—" but... he what? What would he say? He'd come to read her journal? Her most vulnerable and authentic thoughts? Finally, coming face to face with this poet he'd grown to know like the back of his own hand, the herbalist was struck with overwhelm to meet her, properly, and also to go running for the hills, because how entitled must he have been, to go waltzing up like it was written for his eyes alone to read? Reuven swallowed, and then suddenly he couldn't look at her any longer. His gaze panned off to the side, palm finding his neck. Gaze panned off at nothing, nowhere, anywhere but at her and that damn book.

    "Are you—uh—" he paused, cleared his throat. "Are you reading that? I was gonna..." but he trailed off. Should he even admit to his sins? Would she not be mortified? "Uh... You know what? Nevermind, I'm just gonna..." thumb pointed back, the way he came. "Sorry for bothering you. Um... Have a good night."

Would it be possible to list some of the general differences between wolf and grass spiders? Thank you!

Sure! Grass spiders are funnel weavers, so you will often find them in funnel-like webs, usually with a big flat sheet of web around it. I see them often on bushes or in corners of siding and windows on houses. And of course over grass. Here's a pic of what you'd commonly see:

Agelenopsis sp. photo by kaden_slone04

Wolf spiders on the other hand are active hunters, so you'd more often see them just running around freely or maybe in a burrow in the ground. They're a common sight in gardens, sometimes females carrying a little white egg sac from her abdomen.

Grass spiders and wolf spiders can look sort of similar, but they're easy to distinguish from one another with a few key features: the eyes and the spinnerets.

Of course there are a bunch of different species with lots of different markings so this is a generalization, but I'll choose two of the more common wolf spiders in the US, the rabid wolf, Rabidosa rabida, and Tigrosa annexa, which as far as I know has no common name. For grass spiders it can be difficult to determine exact species from photos so I'll just use the Agelenopsis genus.

The easiest way to ID wolves is with their eyes! They have 8, with 4 on the bottom row, two great big forward facing eyes in the middle, and then two on top of their head:

Rabidosa rabida photo by tshahan

And from above:

Tigrosa annexa photo by wildcarrot

The eyes are almost always very obvious and easy to spot.

Grass spiders have two eyes on the bottom row, four in the middle, and two on top. The two center eyes in the middle row are not as exaggerated as the two large wolf eyes. Some views of their eyes:

Agelenopsis sp. photos by jasonjdking and tmurray74

Grass spiders also have long, visible spinnerets sticking off the end of the abdomen:

Agelenopsis sp. photo by littlelegofan

Wolves do have spinnerets, but they're not as long and pointy:

R. rabida by schoenitz and T. annexa by wendybirdsbyrv

Hopefully that's helpful!

Any thoughts on Karniss being venomous?

I’m not sure if you’re asking if Kar’niss is venomous or how I’d feel about him being venomous. I’ll touch on both just in case!

Canonically, drider do produce potent venom which acts as a paralytic.

Driders naturally developed a venom that could sap their victims' strength and paralyze them for upwards of twenty minutes. They could deliver the venom with a bite, or they could alternatively use it as a sticky coating on their weapons. They were immune to all poisons.

This makes sense considering their prey victims are large and would need to be subdued for easier feeding. Drider appear to be ambush predators like jumping spiders rather than web predators like orb weavers. This aligns with the fact that only half of the drider population can spin webs. Why that is I’m not sure and I can’t say I fully agree with the idea. One of the neat aspects of having spider anatomy would be the ability to build webs. You’d think it’d be innate to all driders but who knows the reason behind that bit of lore. The way Kar’niss is designed it doesn’t appear that he was modeled with spinnerets. He has a strange barb on his backside and it appears closed off and solid. Even if that’s the case I still headcanon him as a web spinner, it’s just more fun that way.

As for how I feel about him being venomous, I think it’s cool! Kar’niss is a monstrosity and the more monster features he has, the better. It adds to the dichotomy of how he’s both dangerous and pathetic at the same time. I also like the idea that if Tav invited Kar’niss to bite them he could inject them with venom but actively chooses not to because he trusts them. It’s a strange bonding exercise between the pair and it tickles my brain meat in a good way. Big dangerous drider is secretly a squishy kitten meme. Thanks for the ask!

[ID: A 4 panel comic featuring a spidersona/oc (Weaver) and another unnamed spider-person, drawn sketchily in mostly monochrome with a few red accents. Weaver has a medium build and is wearing a spider-man esque body suit with a sleeveless shirt and shorts over the top, as well as a hooded cape with the hood pulled back. The other spider-person is tall and skinny and wearing a simple body suit with minimal details.

In the first panel Weaver is sitting on the edge of some kind of structure with web held taut between their fingers. The other spider-person's head appears upside-down on the top left of the frame as they say "Uh, hey. What are you doing?" Weaver replies "Prepping webs for later," and the other spider replies "Cool, cool."

In the next panel, they're partially hanging from the ceiling as they twist to get a closer look, saying "Wait, you make your own webs? Like, from your body?" Weaver is holding up a section of web to inspect it, and distractedly replies "Uh, yeah, how else would you make them?"

In the third panel the other spider has dropped onto the same ledge as Weaver and is pulling down their sleeve to show a webshooter, saying "With, uh, like a chemistry set? And one of these web-shooter things? Like everyone else does??" Weaver is looking over at them, seeming surprised. They say "...huh."

In the last panel, Weaver is holding up their web with one hand as they tilt their head and say "That might explain why no-one ever wears the scarves I made them." The other spider looks awkward and replies "Maybe..." End ID.]

-

Weaver being strange and offputting ft. Unnamed New Initiate Spider-Person lmao

Also don't try to tell me what's canon or not about the web shooters I have no idea how that actually works and that means I can commit to the bit as hard as I want 👍

Bonus:

[ID: A bonus panel in the same style as the above comic. The two spider-people are now sitting next to each other on the ledge. The unnamed spider is asking "It doesn't gross you out at all?" And Weaver is shrugging as they reply "Mostly I'm just glad it doesn't come out of my butt." End ID.]

since ur talking about bugs

what are ur favorite bugs...:o

-Chris!

HOOOOO I HAVE A LOT OF FAVORITES!!

My first and foremost favorite will always be Deaths Head Moths. (Moths in general too, but OUGH these guys!)

Just LOOK at how pretty they are!!!

And since I said I would defend earwigs, I will! Cuz guys, these lil fellas are freaking awesome! No they do not climb into your ear, they never do that

They have little pincers on their butts! Like I'm pretty sure that if they were called anything else, like pincer bugs, they'd be less hated. How come scorpions who have pincers and stingers get praise but these little guys don't? As a kid I always found them fascinating. They're just super cool lil guys! And yes, there are albino earwigs. I know this because I've seen a couple in real life! Was pretty cool!

Scarab beetles and longhorns are also a good fave. Beetles in general are just so cool, but then you have these guys with super cool features?

Uh, HECK YES?!?! Not to mention, beetles can squeak!! If you pick them up they'll make little eeking noises and it's so cute! Deaths head moths can do the same.

Another unconventional but cool type of bug would be millipedes and centipedes

Idk its probably the sheer number of legs these guys have that make them so freaking cool! And centipedes have venom too, which also makes them cool. The fact that they can be kept as pets is really awesome, makes me wanna have some. But I don't have anything for them yet. Regardless, you should be careful when handling centipedes. Millipedes are usually fine, but still. Be careful

And why not throw in a spider huh? Issue is, I can't decide on a spider, so let's go wiiiiith...crab spiders. And orb weavers cuz why not?

Crab spiders can shift colors to match the flower their sitting on. And they actually look like crabs, don't they? They're a very interesting little critter and I hecking ADORE them! Orb weavers are just as cool. With the massive intricate webs they make, and the fact they often redo these webs almost every night. They can get pretty dang big too, I saw one that was bigger than the size of a quarter. Such a beautiful girl. (Girl spiders are often bigger than boy spiders. Boys get eaten after mating too)

So yeah!! There's some bugs and spiders and other critters I adore!! Thanks for letting me infodump Chris!! This was a blast!!

I know he just featured in two comics that came out this month, but I neeed Cooper Coen to have a more regular series of comics focused on him! I adore Web-Weaver! I adore his flamboyancy, that he works in the fashion industry, his costume and secret identity rival romance, AUGH!

This is my new friend Kumoko and her very impressive web! (Featuring my kitty Nova as well) I think she's a funnel weaver spider (I'm in illinois) I think she's a girl, but to be honest I don't know.

She's been here a while, over a month at least, and I can get more pics if needed bc she's always there.

Unfortunately I can't get to her without destroying her web because it's holding on to the window and the screen.

This is sort of just to share my spider friend, who is a true crevice dweller, and also wondering if there's anything fun about her or if I'm misidentifying the spider.

yeah should be Agelenopsis

A few photos above from an early morning hike at the Friendship Hill National Historic Site near Pt. Marion, Pennsylvania. If you want to learn more about the history of this sprawling estate, you can go to this link or search for prior posts from the main search page of my Tumblr blog. In addition to the historic homestead of Albert Gallatin, the park features ten miles of hiking trails through verdant oak-hickory and riparian forests. This time of year, the Central Appalachian forest is rich with fungi, legumes, berries, and the loveliest orb-weavers imaginable.

From top: wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), also known as yellow ironweed, a late summer aster so named because the petioles of its leaves run down the plant's stem; northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin), a gorgeous native shrub whose bright red berries in late summer are followed by the most extraordinary gold foliage in the fall; orange mycena (Mycena leaiana), a lovely, gregarious fungi of deciduous logs whose pigment has shown antibacterial and anti-cancer properties; the ripened but dangerously toxic berries of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), whose young leaves are used by mountain folk to make poke sallet (but only after repeated cleansings to remove the toxins); American hog-peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata), a lovely twining vine whose roots and ground nut are edible; cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata), also known as green-headed coneflower and wild goldenglow, a close relative of black-eyed Susan with gorgeous, pinnately-dissected leaves (the leaf photo also shows the characteristic tri-foliate leaf pattern of hog-peanut); zig-zag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), one of two adorable woodland goldenrods that grow in this area (the other being blue-stemmed goldenrod), both of which produce clusters of brilliant yellow flowers in both their leaf axils and at the ends of their stems; steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa), also known as hardhack, which produces delicate plumes of pink flowers in late summer; a spined micrathena (Micrathena gracilis), which has ensnared a fly in her web; and an arrowhead orb weaver (Verrucosa arenata), also known as a triangle orb-weaver, a sparkling gem of an arachnid that reels in its prey like a fisherman dragging in a net.

Because this is what I went to college for I have to pick apart the spider representation.

Firstly, spiders have a cephalothorax (combined head and thorax) and an abdomen.

Secondly, Little Miss Muffett has the body shape of a Cobweb Weaver Spider (a black widow is also this type of spider), carries her babies like a Wolf Spider, and her art is a Jumping Spider. None of these spiders spin orb webs, as are featured in this episode. Orb webs are what we think of as the typical spider web, but there are many species of spiders that spin special web layouts.

I know the mash up of spider characteristics can just be a fantasy thing, but I think spider facts are fun! :)

*blinks*

Taking a pause from my gifset featuring this Kate Bush song to ask if anyone going to talk about the way the abbreviation of "Running Up That Hill" was RUTH?

You know...Ruth?

Or that (you know, just in case that wasn't enough) the name of the girl Robin pretends to be when she and Nancy go visit Victor Creel...is Rose Weaver? As foreshadowing of Henry being Vecna, because the rose + the way spiders weave webs??

I love this show for real lmao

ok this is cool

The new lines are:

Lioness: Euston to Watford Junction. Runs through Wembley, honouring the England women’s football team; yellow parallel lines on the map.

Mildmay: Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction. Runs through Dalston and honours the charitable hospital in Shoreditch’s pivotal role in the HIV/Aids crisis in the 1980s. Blue parallel lines on the map.

Windrush: Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon. Runs through areas with strong ties to Caribbean communities, honouring the Windrush generation. Red parallel lines on the map.

Weaver: Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford. Travels through areas of London known for the textile trade, shaped by migrant communities. Maroon parallel lines on the map.

Suffragette: Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside. Honours the fight for votes for women, running to Barking, home of the longest-surviving suffragist, Annie Huggett, who died at 103. Green parallel lines on the map.

Liberty: Romford to Upminster. Referencing “the freedom that is a defining feature of London”, according to TfL, and the “historical independence of the people of Havering”, where it runs. Grey parallel lines on the map.

Day 7 of 31 for @clovercrafted's Buildtober: Spider Web

At first, I really had no idea what to do for this prompt, but then I started thinking about spiders as weavers or spinners of thread. This build absolutely got away from me and ended up MUCH bigger than I anticipated, but I'm so happy with the amount of detail I achieved with the spinning wheel and spider web. Maybe one day I'll return to this build and add some more features to the room!

SoundByte Introduction

My name is Opal Gonzales-Silva, and thanks to a radioactive spider, I've been the one and only SoundByte for the past 3 years.

Juggling college, my job, and my superhero stuff is... stressful, but I manage! Whenever I'm not kicking ass or slaving over homework, you can find me playing DJ at birthdays, weddings, quinceñeras, bautismos, and more. If you need a DJ, here's my info. 50 percent off for your first booking with me!

The Spider Society? Oh yeah, I joined when a weird glitter variant of Sandman popped out of nowhere during a party I was DJ'ing. I'm still finding glitter on my equipment to this day, but if it weren't for that, I'd never have met and be friends with Web-Weaver (@floof-ghostie ), Ecto-Skeleton (@calciumcryptid ), and Miss Web (@insomniac-jay ).

And ya know what? No matter how stressful it gets, I just tell myself to ponerme las pilas. Cuz I'm the one and only SoundByte, and someone's gotta turn up the tunes and save the day.

Opal/SoundByte Trivia

Aside from the typical spider abilities, SoundByte is also capable of harnessing and controlling soundwaves.

Opal adopts a louder, more eccentric personality when working as a DJ and SoundByte as a way to protect her identity. She's a lot more mellow outside of the costume.

Her canon event was the death of her younger sister, Paula.

Opal has an older sister named Naomi, who is also her roadie. She is the only person who knows Opal's identity as SoundByte.

The most notable feature of SoundByte's hero outfit is the Daft Punk'esque helmet, a gift when she joined the Spider Society. The helmet has a voice modulator and emotes with LED lights.

All of the villains in SoundByte's dimension are musical variants. (Ex. Doc Ock is known as Doc Rock in her dimension)

Her original name was SyntheSilk but this was later changed.

I’m going through an unpredicted depth year. My deck collection has grown a lot over the past years, and I have reached a point where I just want to spend long, quality time with those decks I already know and love. That is why the additions to my collection (and hence, reviews for you) have slowed down: I’m being extremely selective of what comes into my shelf. One of those newer additions is a deck I’ve been working with for a while now: The Meraki Tarot, by Kerri Snook at Bouchette Design.

This deck, which speaks directly to my heart chakra, features the classic 78 tatot cards plus one extra major called The Meraki. On top of that, we find 8 extra oracle cards with concepts like yes, no, apathy or aspiration.  Aside from those, and since it doesn't come with an included traditional booklet, it has 14 extra guide cards that work as a condensed guidebook. One of them is an introductory & thank you card, followed by astrological signs, solar system associations, crystal and tarot associations, astrological and elemental major arcana associations, and keywords for all of the cards - including the oracle cards. So, while not in booklet format, you get tons of information in your deck box.

This is clearly an animal deck, but it also contains a lot of other natural elements (like plants) that may be missing in other animal decks. Besides, the crystals tie in each card theme. There are a few instances of humans or human-made elements, such as a hot-air balloon, or the hands in the aces. Even if it can be logically thought as an earthy deck, it feels very airy to me. This is due to the artwork, which is very spacious, giving you a lot of room to feel, think intuitively, and find a spot for yourself in each cards. There is a combination of light colours (usually in the background) and darker shades that create contrast to draw your eyes in.

Though airy, there is a strong sense of texture (and here I have to mention the wonderful clouds!). The animals in the cards have their own strength and presence, but at the same time, they all feel very soft in their way of conveying messages. Even in more challenging cards, like the eight of swords (with a ladybug trapped in an orb weaver spider web), there is a balance – so that even in the darkest situations there is a sense of connection and natural flow to be found. The cards are beautifully designed, featuring a botanical back, and gorgeous matte green edges. The cards are borderless, and have a soft rose petal finish. It comes in a sturdy two-piece box done with a matte finish and spot-gloss designs.

Aside from the deck, Kerri has created the Meraki Workbook for tarot and crystal work. This is a juicy softcover book, standing at 225 pages, an excellent tool for exploring this deck in depth. It starts with a letter from Kerri, and follows up with the sections: working with the Meraki tarot, working with crystals and tarot, how to use the workbook, layouts, tarot keywords, crystal keywords, numerology, symbology, astrology, elemental insights, defining divination, defining crystal work; and in page 40 it starts with the tarot cards themselves, with an introduction to the major arcana and a two-page spread for each card. This spread features the number and title of the card, associations, light and dark keywords and extended messages, and a section to take notes on your own interpretations, reflections, and tarot and crystal notes, finishing with an affirmation. What I really like is that this whole spread is repeated for the minors and oracle cards, and not something exclusive of the majors. This book is an engaging tool for beginners, but it’s also fantastic for those who want to introduce crystal associations into their practice, adding another layer to their knowledge. The book is exquisite in its production, including matching green edges like those on the cards.

The Meraki Tarot is a fun and enchanting deck that reminds us of the flow of nature, its gentleness and its power. The illustrations feel comforting to the eyes and to the heart, and they do a great job at conveying their messages. It can be described as an animal and crystal deck, but one in which cards you can easily find a place to accommodate yourself. Though the book is not a necessity to work with the deck (as the text cards feature a lot of information) it is a fantastic tool to both learn or explore more about the cards themselves, but also how they engage with the energy of crystals. If you want to know more, head over Bouchette Designs to learn more about Kerri Snook’s work!

Hey!

Woohoo. Time for introduction, I guess. Boring but whatever, gotta make a good impression.

Hey he-LLO! I am uh, Scolipede Kid. Was bitten by a very uh, special Venipede one day and got absolutely sick to the end of the whole wide world but survived like the awesome guy I am and became your one and only… Scolipede Kid. The aforementioned is now part of my team :)

Speaking of which, my team:

Zoomer the Scolipede

Crescent the Absol

Weaver the Leavanny

Striker the Zebstrika

Yeahhhh, I’m no good at names but don’t come after me for that or I’ll come after you. Not to brag but I got some slick stuff up my sleeve, hehe~

It was like someone said “hmmmm, we have too many spider-superheroes we need a change of pace!” and created Zoomer who then semi-created me. No I cannot sling webby webs around like the other coolio spider-heroes. But I can run much faster than the average person AND also have sharp poisonous stabby thingies like claws! Cool, ain’t it?

Anyway, that’s it for my introduction, I hope to see you around.

okay um yes i uh. had a dream where i was a scolipede running around defeating bad guys. and scolipede kid came to life

HSGHAHHGSHHEH i know scolipede’s not a spider but this was just an idea that came to me randomly and yeah! wanted to try it out.

main account is @robin-the-wanderer! (please see there for DNI etc) my other blogs are: @head-explode (blacephalon blog), @little-bag-boy-pokemon (little nightmares faller blog), @samurai-little-and-the-fairy (adventure blog featuring a kartana and comfey.)

New “Marvel’s Voices” Goes into the Spider-Verse

Marvel Comics’ newest edition of Marvel’s Voices anthology series will highlight the heroes on the Spider-Verse. The oversized one-shot features a Spider-Punk story from Cody Ziglar and Jahnoy Lindsay, a Web-Weaver, aka Cooper Coen, story from Steve Foxe and Luciano Vecchio, and more.

Marvel’s Voices: Spider-Verse #1, featuring a cover by Leinil Francis Yu, goes on sale on April 5, 2023.

(Image via Marvel Comics - Leinil Francis Yu’s Cover of Marvel’s Voices: Spider-Verse #1)