#Spawn the Support Ghost Parasite | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amazeingartist · 3 months

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alien vibe times (octosoap edition)

“alien soap being an apex predator species that ghost’s team finds floating in a test tube during a laboratory raid. soap’s conscious and floating around, tracking ghost’s movement in particular with large star filled blue eyes”

(slight divergence from the writing to this but shhh it’s fine)

(and full design here with all my little starting notes and scuffed as fuck photobash doodle)

here are some more notes that go into it a bit more if you’d like to read em (I basically made the species first and then was like, “ok soap your this now” lmao)

(also sorry for not posting for a bit before the global strike, hopefully this makes it up a bit)

currently calling the species “cephalopinna,” literally just combined scientific names lmao

physically they look like an octopus given seal qualities, but they don’t have as many bones as most of their body is just pure muscles. the bones they do have are dense like most aquatic life, and are there to support vital organs or provide the most simplistic skeletal structure

the planet cephalopinna live on is entirely water, with the landmass being submerged and most of the time floating along with the planets current. plantlife does exist, these landmasses varying in size and vegetation—from coral reefs and underwater forests, to sandbanks and floating debris.

cephalopinna are an incredibly intelligent and semi-social species, usually only straying away from other members of their species when a pair are incubating their young

cephalopinna are monogamous and only have one partner, at most two if the first partner dies, otherwise they can die from loneliness after being paired

cephalopinna also have up to 4 spawn but usually only one or two make it maturity. also technically have eggs that are kept tucked away under the hood of the adults neck, next to the gills so that they’re oxygenated and once born, cephalopinna will raise their young to maturity (young could be called pups, cubs, or whelps)

they are incredibly territorial and both male and female “equivalents” of cephalopinna will fight off a competitor to be paired (I say equivalents because there is no proper determination or designation of a male or female sex within the species by human standards)

courtships are dances where a pair will flash colours, gifts of food, and tests of intelligence via what could be considered puzzles (intelligence is highly regarded among cephalopinna)

the front fins have claws that can used for hunting, foraging, fighting, even potentially grooming (gently scraping off algae and parasites) and are very functional as hands as they sorta have a thumb claw

cephalopinna are incredibly large but are excellent ambush predators, laying in wait to latch on and bite while pumping prey full of venom. if the ambush fails, they will chase down the prey till they are close enough to prick them with venom to then follow behind from a safe distance as the prey succumbs to their incredibly potent paralytic toxin

their teeth can crush through bone, nothing of the prey is ever left afterwards

they have a long life expectancy

the connective tissue between their primary tentacles stretch to cover body, while swimming cephalopinna will cover themselves to be more hydrodynamic. they also often do this when sleeping out in the open to protect themselves.

cephalpinna grind their back teeth, like deer, which reverberates through the water, add it with their aptitude for colours, this form of communication has multiple meanings

they have an incredibly advanced camouflage ability, which helps soap in particular in this au appear human. for whatever evolutionary purpose, they have the ability to breathe earth’s—and a few other planets—atmosphere, however they do need to be kept appropriately hydrated it would seem

#soapghost #ghostsoap #soap mactavish #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #alien!soap #personal alien species lore dump too lmao

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lisartino · 3 years

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1M Go1n d3D

More stuff around Valerie and her living jumpsuit nanoparasite Spawn. Look at 'em beat some necrotic arse with their new toys!

#danny phantom #valerie gray #Spawn the Support Ghost Parasite #Got that Generator Rex-looking arsenal #Dual chainswords go BRR #Look how much the lil guy has grown #big-ass hands

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lukegrim · 2 years

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AI generated WIZARD COUNCIL 2022 BANNED SPELL LIST

1: Lobotomy Aura 2: Lick up for Sleet 3: Horny Toad Boy 4: Scat Mouth 5: Hypnotized Piledriver 6: Angry Ghost 7: Face Grabber 8: Leg Hickey 9: Jug Slapper 10: Body Weight Grope 11: Dangerous Grabber 12: Parasitic Emptiness 13: Lose the Fight 14: Ostrich Boots 15: Lethal Rot 16: Skullbite 17: Tight Tooth 18: Bath Salts 19: Phantom Powder 20: Full Body Grub 21: Superficial Facial Swallow 22: Measuring Device 23: Slime Digger 24: King of Balls 25: Mega Tiny 26: Nine in the Afternoon 27: I Feel U, Man 28: Mr. Canvas 29: Hammered Cake 30: Butterscotch Gobbler 31: Rapid Decay 32: Smurfette 33: Radioactive 34: Mondo Mole 35: Battling Ogre 36: Floating Fish 37: Braindead 38: Demon for Spite 39: Rampaging Mudcrab 40: Slime Dweller 41: Blood Bead Fuse 42: The Metal Skull 43: Hagfish 44: Cod Spawn 45: Bloody Necroflesh 46: Dildo of Doom 47: Wither 48: Shaped Mouth 49: Greasy Orifice 50: Corn Dog Salad 51: Industrial Knife 52: Jack-O-Horn 53: Forearm Block 54: Half-Perch 55: Redeye Bait 56: Satanic Maul 57: Ceramic Bowl 58: Duck Soup 59: Skewer of Doom 60: Porky Testicle 61: Time Feed 62: Dorito Gobbler 63: Pan-Grilled Fat Ass 64: Nibbler 65: Chicken Turd Culver 66: Tight Wing 67: Rick Astley 68: Planter 69: Liquid Dildo 70: Tool Chop 71: Bucket of Emotion 72: Puppy Dentist 73: Horse Cookie 74: Tan Man 75: Rambutan Fruit 76: Mount Rushmore 77: Bat-Horn 78: Pinchy Stick 79: Vexation Quills 80: Chewy Lips 81: Magical Popsicle 82: Steel Water Pipe 83: Suspended Life Support 84: Electro Amp to Body Horror 85: Skull Candy 86: Coffin 87: Cretaceous Carcass 88: Stone Age Hand Grenade 89: Shrimping Spatula 90: Brand New Ring 91: Ouroboros 92: Bones to Spoon 93: Electric Toy 94: Polaroid Lens 95: Poison Cocktail 96: Fibrous Structure 97: Spongelike Stems 98: Diving Arm 99: Clit-Popping Shooter 100: Blood-Curdling Slime 101: Bait and Switch 102: Maggot Blaster 103: Parting Glass 104: Illiterate Bard 105: The Busty Scorpion 106: Blood and Powder 107: Coffin for the Dead 108: The Forgotten Victim 109: Booby Trap 110: Really, Why? 111: Ham Sandwich 112: Beat Me If You Can 113: Lachrymose Vapors 114: Idiot Horn 115: Crocodile Pants 116: Vicious Pelican 117: Cannonball 118: Pit of Darkness 119: Pedophile Snatcher 120: Toxin Trigger 121: Brittle Bile 122: Gorecruncher 123: Familiar Cookie 124: Perky Fly 125: In-ground Vibrator 126: Porky Bra 127: Throbbing Tums 128: Spit on a Knife 129: Ventriloquist Snare 130: Homicidal Tornado 131: Spaghetti with Mushrooms 132: Acid Drainage 133: Cat Box 134: Dying Earth Fruit Basket 135: Fecal Sensory Device 136: The Dearly Departed 137: Snapping Minarets 138: Piggy Little Stink 139: Cow in the Middle 140: No One To Fuck 141: You Bastard 142: Filthy Mind 143: Pee-Pee-Pee 144: Narwhal Cunt 145: Cannibal Dinosaurs 146: Lab Test 147: Squanchy Gills 148: Maggot in My Pocket 149: Come On, Don’t Do That 150: Sulfurous Afterbirth 151: Hacksaw Dispenser 152: Potato Angel 153: Meaty Bandage 154: Gross-Out Bellybutton 155: Jack-O-Lantern 156: Lame Balloon 157: Plastic Booty 158: Meat Packet 159: Lean on Me 160: Jolly Roger 161: Animal Testicle Basket 162: Hammy the Pirate 163: Little Dust Collector 164: Bruised Shell 165: Cleaver 166: Will a Yardstick Do? 167: A Stiff 168: Tic Tac Toe 169: George Harrison Recliner 170: Anxiously Exploding Pusher 171: Gang Tattoos 172: Middle Finger 173: Chewed Cookie 174: Meat Hook 175: Soapy Stick 176: God-bless-you 177: Baking Sink 178: Grin and Bear It 179: Tiny Rubber Penis 180: Skull Out 181: Big Fat Dirt Burster 182: Raunchy Bag 183: Plain Soup 184: Chain-Saw Lifter 185: Blood-Ribbed No-See-Um 186: Girly-Man Vacuum 187: Aristocratic Slicer 188: Granite Stomach 189: Rock Monster Fucking Knife 190: Guy Slippers 191: Playdough Rorschach Test 192: O-zone Punch 193: Micro-Tongs 194: Bald Brushed Axe 195: Blackout Breath 196: Handgun Tongue 197: Butterfly Brain 198: Roast Sweeting 199: Merciful Bomb 200: Butterfly Sting 201: Cockroach Smash 202: Shotgun Twirling Bow 203: Jam-Ass Joint 204: For the Love of Tits 205: Telephone Pole

Shooter 206: Jello Shoot-Out 207: Gumball Mosaic 208: Carton of Eggs 209: Boomerang Bomb 210: Auto-erotic Rooster 211: Big Bucket O’ Bombs 212: The Idea 213: Deflating Balloon 214: Spoonful of Cancer 215: Carpet Bomb 216: Hexing the Pigs 217: Temporary Tattoo 218: Parable of the Grasshopper 219: Smart Guy 220: Minty-Licious 221: Urgent Bread Company 222: Shaver Ram 223: Methuselah Skin 224: Hairbrush Launcher 225: Cold-Blooded Rhino 226: Blackened Catalepsy 227: Wolf’s Delight 228: Flesh Blaster 229: St. Matthew’s Bread 230: Makin’ Friends 231: Crummy Wipe 232: Book-End Hair 233: Tired Whip 234: Nanny Goat 235: Barrage 236: Flipper Fingers 237: Cryptonite Crying Needles 238: 3x Pinstripe Succubus 239: Instant Insanity 240: Fan Fist 241: Child’s Play 242: Military Campfire Scent 243: Lousy Compressor 244: The Trip 245: The Slo-mo Lift 246: Grinding Hand (Big Bastard) 247: Friggin’ Dragnet 248: Chicken Tenderizer 249: Helicopter Business 250: Buttfumble 251: Crossbow Insanity 252: Drummer Lesson 253: Male Bantam Haircut 254: Tequila Shot From Hippie’s Giant Friggin’ Twat 255: Big Misunderstanding 256: Abandoned Sperm 257: Drunk Shoving 258: !!! 259: Triple Scrunchie 260: Collie 261: Twat Pisser 262: Fluteo 263: Red Hot Blooded 264: Outrageous Freeze 265: Pee Switch 266: Spaghetti Incident 267: Atomic Fry Fry 268: Holy Shit! 269: Good Vibration 270: Brain Diver 271: Locker Room Meltdown 272: Floppy Animal Lab Rat 273: Road Kill Rave 274: Love Rollercoaster 275: Crummy Wedding Gift 276: Belly Smasher 277: Spider Job 278: Spill-Boiler Nipple Blaster 279: Fist Bumping 280: Splasher Attack 281: Dead Legged Lobster 282: Weeping Guppie 283: Bloody Gourd 284: (Sorry, n.o.s.) 285: Seal Kisser 286: Saltine Thunder 287: Copper Kettle 288: Tangent 289: Get My Stylist 290: Cannibalism 291: Twitchety Runt 292: Repeated Heartbeat 293: Somber Stitches 294: Cap Rocker 295: File Maker 296: Singing Rorschach Test 297: Space Balls 298: Sock Duster 299: Bean 300: I’m Fine 301: “RUN IT BACK!” 302: Poster Boy 303: The Lurker 304: Rejects to Eat 305: Reject to Feel 306: Rupture Throat 307: Trap Motherfucker 308: Punishment Causality 309: Pedal Tunnel 310: Candy Cutie 311: Skuzzy Yunk 312: Lacrimation 313: Auto-erotic Reenactment of Suicide 314: Reactions to Facial Hair 315: Inside Boobies 316: Doctor Nipple 317: Hangar Ball 318: Bubble Dancer 319: Squeak 320: Elbow Throat 321: Draw String Gun 322: Post-Election Reflection 323: Destructive Earth Warrior 324: Time Bomb 325: Flight Attendant Cockroach 326: Hairy Collar 327: Pterodactyl 328: Dirtbag 329: Scuttle 330: Quivering Erect 331: Johnny Dangle 332: Pilot’s Most Important Function 333: Crank It 334: Bad Romantic Scent 335: Honey Broccoli 336: Noshing on Sausage 337: Top Ramen 338: Fire Bythe Throat 339: Inflatable Poo 340: Armpit Bastard 341: Fill Your Lungs 342: Oopsie 343: Crack Shot 344: Thong Shrug 345: I Guess We Were Shocked 346: Sequel 347: Cardboard Freezer 348: Eat Shit and Die 349: The Other End 350: Small Dumb Dog 351: Immune 352: Vertical Spur 353: Piece of Shit 354: Tranquility 355: Twat Bro 356: Twat Fingers 357: Upside Down Planets 358: Insanity 359: Piggy Back 360: Squirting Farts 361: Texican Waterfight 362: Chicken Biter 363: Tight Hipped Scrunchies 364: Spiky Testicle 365: Bubbles For Swimmers 366: Chainsaw Garden Gnome 367: Hairy Bugs 368: Mullet 369: Shaved 370: Flute 371: Carnival Illness 372: Naked Step Stool 373: Pond Hopper 374: Plastic Mermaid 375: Pandas For Parents 376: Yawning Vampire 377: Rake the Grass 378: Mass Balloon Rub 379: Butt 380: Finger Sign 381: Pizza 382: Balloons 383: Water Gun 384: Bleating Rat 385: Pizza Log 386: Sissy 387: Blood Water 388: Gaping For Terror 389: Aquarium Stereo 390: Googly Eyes 391: Packing Pussy 392: Snake Pervert 393: Sharper Image Personality Test 394: Frog on a Stick 395: Bullet Hole 396: Sweet Tooth 397: Shaggy vs. Velcro Donkey 398: Slippery Hairdo 399: Belching Firetruck 400: Mouth Bath 401: Snake Fart 402: Beer Can Vomit 403: Slicer of Shrimp 404: Game of Pan 405: Noetron 406: Spasm Drill 407: Water Gun 408: Bare Ass

Sponge 409: Roughly The Point of Chopsticks 410: Swallowing a Coffee P

#long post

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junker-town · 4 years

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How sports is Seven Worlds, One Planet: Episode 7?

Christophe COURTEAU/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

David Attenborough’s new show is epic ... and sports.

We continue our extremely important mission to conduct a scene-by-scene review of the BBC’s new nature documentary, Seven Worlds, One Planet, in order to see how sports it is. We determined that Episode 1, which focused on Antarctica, was reasonably sports. Asia was very sports, as was South America. Australia was more drinking than sports, and both Europe and North America were extremely sports. Now it’s time to wrap things up with ...

Episode 7 Africa

Scene 1: Nutcracking

I don’t think we appreciate how important the invention of writing is. Not only does it allow you to transmit facts (as far as I know, bookkeeping was, more or less, its original use) writing also allows the transmission of culture across time and space. Without that, animals are left passing along knowledge through direct demonstration, generation by generation. The requirement for direct contact, as you might imagine, drastically slows down the spread of knowledge.

In the Congo, a chimpanzee mother is teaching her daughter how to crack a nut. This is a relatively delicate operation. It requires finding a suitable anvil, with a nook to prevent the nut rolling around. The hammer must be the correct hardness and weight. The mother chimp makes it look easy.

Not the Nutcracker you’re used to seeing during the festive season. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/oRTMwYz91B

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

But this is the ease of experience. It can take up to a decade to master the skills required to reliably crack nuts, and the five-year-old has an idea of the basic mechanics and nothing more. Trial and error is the solution, and there’s plenty of error. She tries a pebble, a boulder and a stick, to no avail. Eventually she settles on the right answer: going back to mother and having her do it.

The little chimp is too young to be a millennial but these are some highly millennial vibes.

Aesthetics 6/10

Chimpanzees are pretty cool and there’s something beautiful about watching a child learning a new skill. Even if I was worried about the poor little chimp crushing her fingers the whole time.

Difficulty 6/10

I have gone through literally hundreds of hours of wilderness survival training, and would still definitely injure myself at least twice if you gave me a rock and told me to crack nuts with it. I’m pretty confident I could eventually eat it though.

Competitiveness 0/10

No contest.

Overall 12/30

Tools are sometimes used in sports, but do not, in and of themselves, constitute sports.

Scene 2: Cuckoo Catfish

Sometimes nature documentaries show me things that totally blow my mind. This is one of those times. Lake Tanganyika’s ecosystem is dominated by cichlids, which are some of fishkind’s best parents. That may seem like a low bar, but they’re actually not bad at it. Some of the more hardcore cichlids are mouth-breeders — after laying their eggs they take them into their mouths and let them develop in a safe place. Even after the eggs hatch, the young cichlids use their mothers’ mouths as a refuge.

Nature being nature, this creates an opportunity for some dastardliness. The cuckoo catfish, like its avian namesake, is a brood parasite. And while cuckoos parasitise nests, their catfish friends manage to get their hosts to raise the catfish’s fry inside their mouths. As the cichlids spawn, the catfish eat a few of the eggs and spawn themselves. Their eggs are ingested by the mother cichlid.

A few days later ...

Peek-a-boo! I see you! #SevenWorldsOnePlanet #Wasntexpectingit pic.twitter.com/WOkBJgnugv

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

Yep, that’s a baby catfish. And guess what it’s going to do to its adopted brothers and sisters?

Aesthetics 2/10

I’m really quite disturbed by those baby catfish coming out of that poor mother fish’s mouth.

Difficulty 8/10

A cuckoo waiting for birds to leave their nest so that they can sneak in and lay eggs is one thing. Pulling the same trick on a fish which uses its mouth as a nest is quite another.

Competitiveness 3/10

There’s not really much of a fight here. Once the catfish arrive the little cichlids are screwed.

Overall 13/30

Cuckoldry is also not sports.

Scene 3: Cheetah Brigade

In Kenya, a cheetah family hunts as a pack. Five-strong, they can bring down prey many times larger than would be possible for a lone cheetah, but with five mouths to feed they must also hunt much more often. Using scrub as cover, the gang tries to ambush a herd of topi.

Cheetah are the fastest land animals alive, but they’re not fast enough to overcome a head start of more than a few dozen feet. That means that, once out in the open, detection could ruin the hunt. That’s what happens here: the topi scatter, the cheetahs switch targets to a nearby herd of zebra, and one promptly gets bulldozed by an angry mare.

Botched hunts aren’t just individual, momentary failures. They set the entire savannah on high alert. If the grazers know predators are on the hunt, they’re much harder to ambush. The cheetahs you can see aren’t the ones that will get you.

Incredibly, the cheetah gang uses this to their advantage. Antelope possess merely an indifferent grasp of arithmetic, so they’re well not prepared to assess just how many cheetahs they need to be keeping an eye on. So the topi end up keeping a close watch on four of the cheetahs harmlessly parading in front of them.

In formation #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/qtRyRS7Ndg

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

The fifth? Well, that one is behind them and about to ... yeah. The topi run away from the ambush, but they’ve let the lead cheetah get too close. The four other cheetahs join the fray, and the gang can have a nice meal. Pretty clever.

Aesthetics 9/10

That running form is really something else. Cheetah hunts are special sequences.

Difficulty 10/10

The topi hunt is difficult enough — they’re fast and beefy critters — but the use of a decoy group to catch their attention while the trap is set really elevates the whole hunt. That takes a lot of careful thinking. Good work by the cheetahs here.

Competitiveness 9/10

It takes a gang of five cheetahs plotting carefully to bring down one topi, which makes this pretty well matched.

Overall 28/30

Obviously sports.

Scene 4: Vampire Birds

Big animals (and small animals, although theirs are mostly less obvious) come with parasites. Lots of parasites. This creates a niche for parasite-feeders, which is taken up on the African savannah by the oxpecker. These little birds are more than happy to keep any big animal as free as possible from ticks, lice, and whatever else they can find.

Keeping it chill, ignoring the little dude on my face.#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/c9mq8NlQmi

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

Oxpeckers will go pretty much wherever food is.

Not what we meant when we said leftovers were yum. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet #didntgetthememo pic.twitter.com/OK6UxPIie5

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

But while you might think that having oxpeckers around to clean you up sounds quite pleasant, there turns out to be a dark side to these otherwise benign little assholes. When they eat ticks, they also get a snack of the host animals blood — and they’re more than happy to cut out the middleman, if they can.

If an oxpecker finds an open wound, they’ll peck away at it, drinking blood and preventing the wound from healing. Hippos, territorial, aggressive and armed with dental sabres, are quite good at giving each other open wounds, and oxpeckers therefore are big fans of hippos.

The hippos try to dislodge their vampiric guests by splashing water on them, which fails to deter them. They also try a hippo special: the poop helicopter. No, I’m not embedding that gif. Don’t be gross.

Aesthetics 1/10

Every creature in this scene is pretty ugly, and then we get the hippo poop storm. Why!?

Difficulty 10/10

Being a hippo-annoyer sounds like just about the most dangerous job in the world.

Competitiveness 10/10

An oxpecker against a hippo is like David vs. Goliath except also Goliath throws his poop at people.

Overall 21/30

Disgusting sports, but sports.

Scene 5: Desert Hyena

youtube

In the Namib, an abandoned mining town still has one reclusive inhabitant. A brown hyena ghosts through the broken-down buildings, using them as shade against the desert sun. And she’s not quite alone. Her twin cubs await her in their lair, four months old and hungry. The mother hyena needs to bring back some meat.

While a dead town might provide good shelter, it’s not much of a hunting ground. The Namib itself isn’t much of a hunting ground either. It is something like the oldest desert in the world, bedecked by endless dunes of sand, blasted by the tropical sun and wind. How can there be enough food to support predators of any kind?

The answer lies with the Benguela Current, off Africa’s western coast. The Benguela brings up cold, Antarctic waters, which are nutrient rich and capable of supporting a vast quantity of marine life. Some of that marine life comes to the shore.

The shore is exactly where the mother hyena is heading. Fur seals congregate here, and she’s able to pick off a baby seal and flee back towards the dunes. She’s not the only one who wants possession of her kill however; and she has to face down a jackal pack to return her prize to her family.

Aesthetics 10/10

Everything about this scene is wonderfully dystopian. Brown hyenas are also surprisingly pretty animals, with long shaggy hair which looks extremely snuggly.

Difficulty 8/10

Killing a baby seal is obviously rather trivial, but making the trek back and forth from the desert lair in scorching heat is not.

Competitiveness 10/10

The jackal pack’s late intervention really makes this scene. Five jackals against one hyena trying to bring food back to her cubs makes this very interesting indeed.

Overall 28/30

It’s official: killing baby seals is sports. If you’re a brown hyena and live in the desert. Otherwise it’s just being an asshole.

Scene 6: Termite Quest

The Kalahari, adjoining the Namib, is slightly less hostile ground. Here there is some food, if you know where to look. A lot of it is underground, in the burrows where termites make their homes. Getting in there requires some specialist tools. Some of those tools belong to the pangolin.

Licking the plate ‍♂️#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/0008zwp4kd

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

With an acute sense of smell to detect their prey and strong, claw-tipped front legs to dig them out, pangolins are specialist insectivores. (The protective scales probably don’t help them as much with their food, but they’re also pretty neat so I am listing them as well.) When a pangolin cracks upon a termite nest, that gives other critters, like small birds, a chance to get in on the action too.

But a pangolin can’t go properly underground, so they can only really scratch the surface of termiteville. Getting to the good bits requires an even more specialised termite-hunter. Say hello to the aardvark.

The aardvark is the world’s largest burrowing animal.#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/ySB7DNgxaK

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

Aardvarks are big, hungry and more than capable of digging to depths of ten feet or so, enough to root out even the most well-protected termite colony. They need to be, as well — an aardvark needs to eat tens of thousands of termites a day. Climate change, however, is impacting the Kalihari’s aardvarks. Droughts have reduced termite numbers, and that has placed their predators on the verge of starvation.

Aesthetics 10/10

Pangolins are objectively some of the coolest creatures on the planet and I enjoy watching them very much.

Difficulty 8/10

You try digging ten feet down with your bare hands and get back to me.

Competitiveness 2/10

It’s not shown here but soldier termites are capable of giving some pretty impressive bites, even if they’re outgunned by the pangolin and aardvark.

Overall 20/30

Probably sports.

Scene 7: Elephants

An adult bull elephant needs to eat something like 200 lbs of food per day. That would be difficult enough in times of plenty, but during droughts, when there’s little food to be had, they have to get inventive.

There is still food about, in the dried-out forests of Zimbabwe, but it’s hard to get to. Trees are producing seed pods, but they do so up on their highest branches, well out of reach of even the elephants. Packed with protein, these pods are good eating. But how to get them?

Some elephants have learned a good trick — albeit one that requires incredible strength and balance:

“He weighs over 5 tonnes. This is a truly monumental effort.”#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/6xBohrr3KO

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) December 8, 2019

That is some impressive stretching.

Aesthetics 8/10

Elephants are cute, but the parched forest doesn’t really do them justice compared to more verdant shots.

Difficulty 10/10

That’s a five-tonne elephant rearing back onto its hind legs. What? How?

Competitiveness 0/10

It’s not shown here but soldier termites are capable of giving some pretty impressive bites, even if they’re outgunned by the pangolin and aardvark.

Overall 18/30

Difficult enough to be a de facto sport.

Scene 8: Well This Is Depressing

To close out the series (this is our last scene!), BBC takes us on a tour of what’s going wrong with the planet. Climate change is already impacting every continent on earth. Habitat destruction is causing animal numbers to plummet. Poaching has all but wiped out some of Africa’s most majestic creatures. We are, in many ways, killing the rest of the world.

This is not merely an aesthetic question or one of being morally good versus morally not. Ultimately this is a world we all rely on, and we are contributing to its sickness. As the climate crisis deepens — climate change has been settled science since before I was born, incidentally — we will not only impact the animals showcased in this series but also deepen crises that materially affect our own communities.

Cities are starting to get close to running out of water and crop failures look increasingly likely. Sea level rise, caused by melting ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica, will render coastal communities increasingly vulnerable to flooding. We’re already in the shit and nowhere near the worst of it.

It is our collective responsibility to mitigate this crisis as best we can. We must dismantle the structures which have allowed this to happen without consequences. We must accept that personal choice alone can’t save us in the face of rapacious behaviour from corporations. We must force our governments to confront the problem head on.

And we must also hold those responsible to account. For generations, fossil fuel companies have suppressed scientific knowledge about the damage they have been engineering and spreading misinformation instead, all in the name of profit. This is a crime against the rest of humanity, and the decision-makers involved then (and involved now) must be prosecuted and made to repay society.

The crisis is here and we cannot avert it. But there is hope nonetheless. We can lessen the damage it will do by mobilising to de-carbonise the economy, to move away from waste and greed and destruction in the name of “growth”. Mitigation now will save our children and our children’s children from the real brunt of the storm. We live in depressing times, but we ought never to forget that something can be done about them.

A better world is possible, and it is up to us to build it. Will it be hard? Obviously. Is it the only way? Yes.

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eddycurrents · 5 years

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For the week of 10 December 2018

Quick Bits:

Astonisher #13 adds Ryan O’Sullivan to the writer’s chair alongside Priest as this arc takes an interesting turn. The idea of the red parasite that’s been haranguing the planet since the first issue being fractured and confused pretty much turns the first twelve issues upside down if it’s indeed true. Great art from Al Barrionuevo, Rodney Ramos, Matt Banning, and Jamie Grant.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Avengers #11 takes a very different approach than the first ten issues or so as Jason Aaron throws more plot developments at us than Ursus Major hurls insults. It’s interesting as it works through the building problems with the US government, attempts at building a coalition of nations assisting the Avengers, Thor and Jennifer Walters’ date, and the surprise heel turn of a once deceased SHIELD agent. All with wonderful art from Ed McGuinness, Cory Smith, Mark Morales, Scott Hanna, Karl Kesel, and Erick Arciniega.

| Published by Marvel

Batman Annual #3 features a very sweet story from Tom Taylor, Otto Schmidt, and Troy Peteri that focuses on Alfred and all that he sacrifices and takes on himself in order to ensure Bruce can continue in his chosen vocation. The art from Schmidt is perfect and the heart and soul, complete with some very nice humour, that Taylor instills in the dialogue and narration are a very welcome change of pace from some of the grim and gritty takes on Batman. I think we need more Batman stories like this.

| Published by DC Comics

The Batman Who Laughs #1 is an interesting counterpoint to the Batman Annual, with a tale of body trafficking, alternate Batmen, and death from Scott Snyder, Jock, David Baron, and Sal Cipriano. It’s dour, bleak, and even more violent, even with corny insurance jokes. I can’t say it’s bad, though, the mystery is interesting, the art is wonderful, and there’s one hell of a cliffhanger, but it is dark.

| Published by DC Comics

Bitter Root #2 features some amazing artwork from Sanford Greene and Rico Renzi. The designs for the monsters, Jinoo or otherwise, are amazing and the feel of the colours, purples and greens, just bathe the story in an otherworldly glow.

| Published by Image

Black Panther #7 begins Book 2, “The Gathering of My Name”, with Kev Walker and Stéphane Paitreau joining Ta-Nehisi Coates and Joe Sabino to provide the art for this story. It’s a little more focused than the first arc, delivering a solid plan for the rebels to reclaim their identities.

| Published by Marvel

Captain Ginger #2 keeps things purring along as the Captain and Ramscoop leave off to follow a signal that they hope will bring them to another ship of cats. Then everything goes to hell aboard the mothership. Love the artwork from June Brigham, Roy Richardson, and Veronica Gandini. There’s also the usual prose pieces and a Hashtag: Danger back-up comic to round out the issue. “Company Policy Regarding Eel” from Mark Russell with a spot illustration from Ryan Kelly is particularly humorous.

| Published by Ahoy

Champions #27 concludes the Weirdworld arc and this volume of the series with the power of friendship. It’s actually a pretty good character arc for the former Nova and some neat stuff you wouldn’t necessarily have expected from Viv. Amazing art and designs from Max Dunbar and Nolan Woodard.

| Published by Marvel

Daughters of the Dragon #2 continues this digital original with a slightly different approach from the others, presenting an overarching story, but within that Jed MacKay is breaking it down into discrete two-part arcs. It works fairly well, giving some very entertaining action stories. The art for these two parts is handled by Joey Vasquez, Craig Yeung, Rain Beredo, and Jordan Gibson and it looks pretty good. There’s some really nice composition in the final confrontation.

| Published by Marvel

Dead Kings #2 is not quite as immediately bleak as Crude was, but it’s pretty close, with Steve Orlando revisiting some similar themes of regret and responsibility in Russia here. This is obviously more fantastical, blending fable and technology in a post-apocalyptic Thrice-Nine, with wonderfully dark art from Matthew Dow Smith and Lauren Affe to bring life to this slowly dying world.

| Published by AfterShock

Detective Comics #994 begins “Mythology” from the new creative team of Peter J. Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, David Baron, and Rob Leigh and it’s pretty damn good. It feels great to actually see some detective work in Detective Comics and the mystery of why someone would go to the lengths to stage a pair of murder victims to look like Bruce’s parents is intriguing. The art from Mahnke, Mendoza, and Baron is also wonderful. Mahnke’s style is actually fairly restrained here compared to what I’ve been used to, which when combined with this particular blue from Baron, reminds me more of the Batman of yesteryear and the works of Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, Norm Breyfogle, Marshall Rogers.

| Published by DC Comics

Doctor Strange: The Best Defense #1 continues this very interesting crossover event. Gerry Duggan, Greg Smallwood, and Cory Petit deliver a wonderful “Old Sorcerer Stephen” or “Doctor Strange: The End” type tale with Strange being almost the sole wanderer in a world where Dormammu and his spawn have conquered the Earth. It’s bleak, horrifying, and beautifully illustrated by Smallwood. It’s also interesting in how it ultimately dovetails the rest of the event. Although it definitely can be enjoyed on its own, this one gives a couple answers to the broader picture of what’s going on.

| Published by Marvel

Dragon Age: Deception #3 concludes with everyone hating everyone else, more or less, and an interesting revelation about the Magister everyone was so incensed about meeting, killing, and/or stealing from. Interesting new developments regarding the Qunari incursion of Tevinter as well. Great art from Fernando Heinz Furukawa and Michael Atiyeh.

| Published by Dark Horse

Electric Warriors #2 gets into the battles between warriors and the mechanics of those battles, what transfers to whom depending on challenge, as an alternate to war. It’s interesting enough on the surface, but Steve Orlando definitely seems to be building something bigger. Great art again from Travel Foreman and Hi-Fi. The designs for the characters are truly amazing.

| Published by DC Comics

The Empty Man #2 pushes the insanity caused by the disease even further. I’m not sure what’s more horrifying, the actions caused by the effects of the disease or the cult popping up around it. Cullen Bunn, Jesús Hervás, Niko Guardia, and Ed Dukeshire are delivering a fairly visceral, thoroughly brutal, horror tale here.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Fearscape #3 endeavours to make you hate the series protagonist, Henry Henry, even more than you already probably do with heinous act after heinous act. It is incredible as to how thoroughly unlikable Ryan O’Sullivan has managed to make him that at this point you kind of just want to see him torn apart by pedantic, pretentious literary critics literally.

| Published by Vault

The Flash #60 gives us more details on Fuerza, the new Strength Force user, and her plight against a corrupt police force in Corto Maltese. Joshua Williamson is definitely making these new characters interestingly complicated while Flash tries to understand the new forces. Great art from Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Tomeu Morey, and Hi-Fi.

| Published by DC Comics

Hawkman #7 brings Hawkman a new origin, and a new reason for being, from Robert Venditti, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft. This new origin nicely builds on Hawkman’s complicated legacy, not invalidating anything, but enhancing why he keeps being reborn in different places, different eras, and gives him a purpose that’s often been lacking in some of his reboots. Great work.

| Published by DC Comics

Hellboy Winter Special 2018 has a trio of tales, each of them spotlighting a different era. The first is a wonderful traditional Hellboy short from Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck, and Dave Stewart of a seance gone horribly wrong as they also seem to. The second builds on the vampire mythology from the BPRD: 1946-1948 series amidst superstitious villagers fearing for their crops from Gabriel Bá, Fábio Moon, and Dave Stewart. And finally a Lobster Johnson tale from Tonči Zonjić of criminals trying to pass off their handiwork as the Claw of Justice. All three stories are very well done, gorgeous art all throughout.

| Published by Dark Horse

Infinite Dark #3 reveals the plans, more or less, that Alvin and Kirin put in place to destroy the station. It’s terrifying, and its source possibly more so. It does kind of make me wonder why people are being driven mad at its reality, though.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther #2 concludes this mini, the last of the Infinity Warps. Absolutely stunning artwork from Jefte Palo and Jim Campbell.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Dark #6 concludes the Myrra arc as James Tynion IV waxes philosophically through Bobo and Diana about guilt and responsibility, even as the nightmares at the gate get even closer elsewhere. The art from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Adriano Lucas is really damn good.

| Published by DC Comics

Magic: The Gathering - Chandra #1 features some very impressive art from Harvey Tolibao, Joana Lafuente, and Tristan Jurolan. Nice detail, character designs, and beautiful colours.

| Published by IDW

The Magic Order #5 delivers one hell of a twist in this penultimate chapter. Also, very inventive methods of torture. Drop dead gorgeous artwork from Olivier Coipel and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Image

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1 is a great debut from Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garrón, David Curiel, and Cory Petit. This first issue mainly gets us back up to speed on Miles’ life and supporting cast, introducing and reintroducing the characters and his connections, largely giving narration through his journal, integrating an exercise from his classes to convey the narrative. We get a robbery and a confrontation with the Rhino that sets up the hook for a larger plot and mystery. The art from Garrón and Curiel is gorgeous.

| Published by Marvel

Oblivion Song #10 is insane. Another bit of Philadelphia has been popped off into Oblivion by the less stable of the Cole brothers and this issue is the resulting chaos. I’m still very impressed with how Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, Annalisa Leoni, and Rus Wooton are constantly throwing this book into upheaval, with practically every issue giving a new revelation or upending the status quo. This is just great.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Outer Darkness #2 follows up an entertaining first issue with an outstanding second issue, introducing us to much of the crew and more explicitly the types of horrors that they’re going to encounter in space. John Layman, Afu Chan, and Pat Brosseau have something fairly unique here, with the humour just putting it over the top.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #313 brings this battle with Morlun to an end and with it this series. It’s been a decent tie-in to Spider-Geddon from Sean Ryan, Juan Frigeri, Jason Keith, and Travis Lanham, but it is basically a three issue fight scene designed to keep Peter away from the main plot of the event.

| Published by Marvel

Red Sonja Holiday Special has a fairly entertaining lead story of Sonja learning about Christmas and then becoming embroiled in some weird witness shakedown from Amy Chu, Erik Burnham, Ricardo Jamie, Omi Remalante Jr., and Taylor Esposito. There’s also a classic reprint story from Roy Thomas, Frank Thorne, and Mike Kelleher.

| Published by Dynamite

Redlands #9 continues this arc’s structure of beginning with a flashback, this time giving us a hint of what Casper did before he was indentured to the sisters. This one’s a little light on pushing the narrative ahead very far, but very high on building more atmosphere, and developing a potential new problem for Laurent.

| Published by Image

Shadowman #10 has some really great art from Renato Guedes, Eric Battle, and Ulises Arreola. The trade off of sequences for Jack’s confrontation with Sandria Darque and then the flashbacks between Guedes and Battle is very nice, giving a unique feel to both.

| Published by Valiant

Silver Surfer: The Best Defense #1 has some oblique ties to the rest of “The Best Defense” crossover, mentioning whatever this “train” is, but like the others of these first four parts features a largely independent character study. Jason Latour and Clayton Cowles present a twist on a traditional Silver Surfer morality tale by making it a game between the Surfer and Galactus. Beautifully illustrated, tapping into some of the weirdness of Marvel’s cosmic.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #3 has Gwen and MJ work out where the Green Goblin’s hideout is with the assistance of this world’s Glory and Betty. This has been an interesting first arc and tie-in to Spider-Geddon from Seanan McGuire, Rosi Kämpe, Ian Herring, and Clayton Cowles.

| Published by Marvel

Star Trek: Waypoint Special #1 is more than worth it just for “My Human is Not” by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Sonny Liew, and Neil Uyetake. It’s an adorable story from the point of view of Spot, beautifully illustrated by Liew. The other three stories in this special also aren’t too shabby, but you’ll want to buy this one for the tabby.

| Published by IDW

Star Wars: Age of Republic - Darth Maul #1 continues this series of one-shots with a spotlight on everyone’s favourite horny Sith Lord from Jody Houser, Luke Ross, Java Tartaglia, and Travis Lanham. The art from Ross and Tartaglia is wonderful. The layouts for many of the action sequences are particularly impressive, knocking things off-kilter to evoke the kind of chaotic fighting style of Maul.

| Published by Marvel

Supergirl #25 goes home to Krypton in the lead story from Marc Andreyko, Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy, Lan Medina, Sean Parsons, FCO Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano. It takes Kara’s quest into another different direction, adding another possible impediment in finding everyone and everything that aided in the destruction of Krypton. There are also a couple of back-ups, one fleshing out Dr. Z’ndr Kol and the other a sweet Christmas story.

| Published by DC Comics

Superman #6 has some absolutely stunning spreads from Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, and Alex Sinclair. The battle between Rogol Zaar and Superman & Zod is incredible, probably some of the best pages I’ve ever seen from Reis. The narration by Superman from Brian Michael Bendis is also interesting as he waxes philosophical about his speed and fighting side by side with Zod. What is less magical is the ending. Superman leaving Zod, even with pressing concerns elsewhere, feels wrong. I don’t know if it’s intentionally a bad decision on Superman’s part that will be addressed, or if it’s just a bad decision from Bendis. It just doesn’t feel like what Superman would do. Otherwise, this is a pretty great issue.

| Published by DC Comics

Titans #31 adds Kyle Rayner to the team as Donna Troy officially takes the lead and a number of the simmering sub-plots converge to kick off a new adventure. Great art from Clayton Henry, Brent Peeples, Dexter Vines, and Marcelo Maiolo.

| Published by DC Comics

Vampirella vs. Reanimator #1 is a damn good start to this mini from Cullen Bunn, Blacky Shepherd, and Taylor Esposito. The art from Shepherd is very impressive. I love the choice to present the story almost entirely in grey tones with spot colours for red and a little bit of sickly yellow, it really makes the art stand out.

| Published by Dynamite

William Gibson’s Alien 3 #2 continues this excellent adaptation of Gibson’s unproduced screenplay by Johnnie Christmas, Tamra Bonvillain, and Nate Piekos. The political aspect and veritable cold war are very interesting additions to the Alien lore.

| Published by Dark Horse

Wonder Woman #60 turns the screw a bit with some unexpected developments for Ares. I’m really liking the art from Cary Nord, Mick Gray, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. While definitely partially the influence of Gray’s inking, Nord’s presenting a somewhat looser, more angular style that reminds me a bit of Frank Miller and Phil Hester which really works for the chaotic and bellicose story.

| Published by DC Comics

Other Highlights: Accell #16, Amazing Spider-Man #11, Animosity: Evolution #9, Asgardians of the Galaxy #4, Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits #2, Battlestar Galactica Classic #2, Birthright #34, Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, The Black Order #2, By Night #6, Cemetery Beach #4, DuckTales #14, Elephantmen 2261 Holiday Special, Fantastic Four Wedding Special #1, From Hell Master Edition #2, Giant Days #45, Go Go Power Rangers #15, God of War #2, Goddess Mode #1, Head Lopper #10, Hit-Girl #11, House of Whispers #4, James Bond: Origin #4, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #5, Joe Golem: The Drowning City #4, The Lone Ranger #3, Mage: The Hero Denied #14, Murder Falcon #3, New Talent Showcase 2018 #1, Patience! Conviction! Revenge! #4, Planet of the Apes: The Simian Age #1, The Quantum Age #5, Red Sonja/Tarzan #6, Rose #15, Sasquatch Detective #1, Sleepless #10, Smooth Criminals #2, Spider-Force #3, Spider-Girls #3, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #27, Star Wars: Han Solo - Imperial Cadet #1, TMNT: Macro-Series #4: Raphael, Typhoid Fever: Iron Fist #1, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #39, The Unstoppable Wasp #3, Vampironica #5, War Bears #3, The Wasted Space Holiday Special #1

Recommended Collections: Amazing Spider-Man - Volume 9, Black Crown Omnibus - Volume 1, Blackwood, Britannia - Volume 3: Lost Eagles of Rome, Cloak and Dagger: Shades of Grey, Curse of Brimstone - Volume 1: Inferno, Fear Agent: Final Edition - Volume 4, Giant Days: Early Registration, Go Go Power Rangers - Volume 2, Hillbilly - Volume 3, Ice Cream Man - Volume 2: Strange Neapolitan, Judge Dredd: Under Siege, Scarlet - Book 2, Star Wars - Volume 9: Hope Dies

d. emerson eddy would like to take a moment to finally admit...”I’m Batman”.

#This Week in Comics

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lisartino · 3 years

Photo

Awakes from her long-ass nap on Tumblr

I’ve seen people in the Phandom mentionning how Val’s suit could become sentient after Flirting with Disaster but I’ve never seen someone going into the meat of it (unless I’ve missed that one golden post about it).

Anyway, I present to you...

SPAWN, the Support Ghost Kamui Parasite

After Technus gave her a new “upgrade” on her suit, a new being made of ectoplasm, blood and nanobots was born. This ghost parasite now lives Valerie’s every moment and tainted her whole arsenal with their presence.

At first, Valerie was incomfortable with the idea of a speaking ghost nanoparasite within her at any time, especially with how she became the Red Huntress. However, the “ghost” wasn’t harmful towards her. In fact, they wanted to help her as long as she feeds them with some of her strong emotions. Overtime, the two get to understand each other and develop a whole new arsenal.

Click on the Read More to have a few infos on Spawn

Overall facts on Spawn

Spawn is a ghost nanoparasite that can shapeshift into her new enhanced jumpsuit. When Val doesn’t wear the jumpsuit, Spawn can change into her signature headband

In order to give powers to Valerie, Spawn needs two things: Strong emotions they can get thanks to Val’s anger towards other ghosts and Trust: Both has to trust eachother to work things out. The more “syncronized” they are, the stronger they’ll be

If there’s an overload of strong emotions (anger for example), Spawn can no longer control themselves and will “consume” Valerie to become an eldritch abomination fueled by whatever emotion triggered the overload.

Power-wise, they can bring any kind of technology and arsenal into existence. Along with that, Spawn can make Valerie intangible or invisible(He can’t do both)

Althought he can speak, only Valerie and ghosts could hear him.

When Valerie has to stop a ghost, Spawn "swallows” her whole in nanoshadows before the red parts glows and reveal themselves.

After a fight, Spawn “melts” and goes back to her shadow. Only the head section gets sucked into her headband.

Bonus facts about Spawn, Valerie and the rest of the cast

Spawn helps her on mostly anything, whether it’s ghost hunting or not

Valerie grew fond of the nanoghost and he’s known as the only exception to her hatred towards ghosts

Spawn has no problem with Danny but they doesn’t like his puns. Not the puns themselves but the quantity to be accurate: Too much puns kill the PUN, Twinky Invisobill!

Their instincts tells them that Danny and Phantom are related. Valerie doesn’t believe in that

Spawn coined the latest nickname for Phantom: Twinky Invisobill

Danny fucking hates that nickname to the point he hisses with sunken green eyes towards whoever said it. (and that’s the best case scenario...)

Skulker called Phantom Twinky Invisobill instead of whelp for a whole fight once. He almost died...

Wes can’t believe Valerie has a ghost headband on her head and felle completely fine( Of course, nobody believes in him)

Valerie and Spawn’s favorite anime is Kill la Kill hands down. This surreal anime somehow “teaches” her how keep a sane relationship between the two.

The idea of a ghost’s perception affecting their appearance applies to Spawn: He used to look like a black slime until they watched KLK. From now on, Spawn somehow looks like Senketsu (especially when Val changes into Red). This is due to them seeing the Kamui as a potential role model.

Valerie incorporated some of Ryuko’s moveset into her attacks.

Danny has to keep up with her by also watching the anime.

Phantom can be seen sleeping like a bat on lamppoles. If you want to take a photo, deactivate the flash and sound at all costs. If you don’t, he’ll look at you with pure green eyes and hisses at you until you’re gone.

#Danny Phantom #valerie gray #dp headcanons #Spawn the Support Ghost Parasite #myart #red huntress #Val is DP's Ryuko #Twinky Invisobill #Skulker is dumb...again #Hissy Danno

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